Thursday

alright. i'm trying despirately to get some tubular wheels in time for next saturday's race. i have 5 races scheduled in the next couple weeks, so i'm going to be busy. click on the OBRA link to the right and check them out. there was a good article in a local alternative paper up in portland about the popularity of cyclocross up there. click here for it. yesterday i said i'd write a little about cx training, so here goes.
since cyclocross races are so short (45min.) training needs to be ralatively short and intense. i try to get 2 quality workouts in every week. if i'm racing on the weekend, the race counts as a quality workout. i try to get another quality workout in during the midweek. the rest of the week is spent recovering, along with some cyclocross skills training.
quality workouts are workouts that will make me a faster, more efficent racer. workouts typically consist of intervals done at, or just below lactate threshold. what's lactate threshold, you ask? lactate thresold is the point at which your body converts from primarily aerobic metabolism to anaerobic metabolism. during anaerobic metablolsim your body can no longer buffer the amount of lactic acid produced by your muscles, and muscle cramping and fatigue set in quickly. cyclocross races are ususally performed above lactate threshold, so training your body to increase lactate threshold, so you can sustain near maximum efforts longer, is the goal of cyclocross training. sophisticated training tools such as a heart rate monitor, or power meter are needed to measure lactate threshold. i use a heart rate monitor, and with prior tests, i have determined my lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) to be 191 beats per minute. if using a power meter, you can directly measure lactate threshold in watts/hour. basing training on LTHR is much more accurate then baseing training on maximum heart rate.
a typical quality workout usually involves a 15 minute warm-up at 60-70% of LTHR, with 5 to 10 minute intervals, totalling at least 45 mintes (race distance) done at LTHR. rest between the intervals is usually half the lenth of the previous interval. a 15 minute cool-down done at 60% of LTHR completes the workout. occassonally i will throw in short 1 to 2 minute long intervals done above LTHR in the mix as well. i find that these workouts simulate races very closely.
recovery rides are usually around 2 hours done at 70-80% of LTHR. i try to get in 2 quality workouts and at least 2 recovery rides in each week. quality workouts work really well on a stationary trainer, and i tend to do these at work. well, there's my little exercise physiology lesson for the day. i'm off for a 2 hour ride on the road bike.
-brooks