Ok, I guess I have to start increasing my hours in the saddle. It’s torture sitting on that trainer for longer than an hour, even watching a movie. At least I get to add some ‘force’ workouts. I find ‘speed’ workouts VERY boring. 
Week of 12/15: Base 2 Starts
December 15, 2008
Week Of 12/8: Base 1 Continues
December 7, 2008
Oh boy is it hard to get back on a trainer. Nothing like staring at a wall when your use to mother nature. I did my final night ride on Wednesday during a snowstorm and in 6 inches of snow. It was great, but it clear that riding is not much of an option anymore. My bike looked like an ice cube by the time I got home.
Anyway’s, this weeks workout is similar to last weeks, but I will actually do it (I only missed one day last week). Speed workouts are not very exciting.
Week of 12/1: Base 1 Starts
November 30, 2008
The goal for this week is 7 hours. Normally, Base 1 would have another speed workout in it, however I am doing a field test on Tuesday. I’m going to try Chris Carmichaels test that he outlines in his book: The Ultimate Ride. It’s a pretty straight forward test:
minimum of a 10m warm up, with 2 to 3 high intensity bursts.
Effort 1: Ride three miles at 80-95 rpms.
10m active recovery
Effort 2 is the same as effort 1.
Cool down.
Record the data from each effort: time of each effort, average HR, average power (if you have a meter, which I don’t), average cadence, weather conditions, course conditions (doing on my trainer) and RPE.
My other workout days are weight lifting/core, a couple endurance/recovery rides and a speed exercise: S1-Spin-ups.
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PERIODIZATION
November 16, 2008
By Joe Friel’s Mountain Bike Training Bible
Periodization is a training concept in which the year is divided into distinct periods, with each having a particular purpose in preparing the athlete for the stresses of racing. As the training year progresses, a properly periodized program gradually causes the athlete to adapt to the specific conditions of the targeted races.
The basic premise of Periodization is that training should progress from creating general fitness to producing fitness that exactly matches the demands of the most important races of the year…In the annual training plan you create…the season will be divided into six distinct periods;
PREPARATION
In the late fall or early winter, following a break from training, fitness development is the most general of the entire season. Cross-training with weights and aerobic activities such as running, skiing or swimming prepares the athlete for the next period. This is a period of ‘training to train’ that may last three to eight weeks.
BASE
In this 6-12 week block, on-bike training gradually replaces cross-training. Base is divided into three subperiods-Base 1, Base 2, and Base 3-of three to four weeks each. The last few days (up to a week) of each of these is devoted to rest, recovery and testing. The training emphasis in all three is on the basic abilities of endurance, force and speed skills.
BUILD
In the period the specific demands of racing are paramount. That usually means more time devoted to the higher abilities of muscular endurance, anaerobic endurance and power….Build 1, when the body is cautiously allowed to adjust to anaerobic training, is a bridge between Base 3 and Build 2. Build 1 and Build 2 may each last three to four weeks with rest and recovery in the last few days of each [week].
PEAK
A peak period may last one or two weeks. During this time, volume is gradually reduced and workouts become like miniraces. In fact, low-priority racing is a great way to help produce a peak. About every 72 hours, include a workout that simulates the intensity and conditions of the targeted race, but for less than race duration…All other workouts are for recovery.
RACE
This is the period for which you’ve been preparing for weeks. Physical fitness high, mental skills are sharp and race readiness is high. One brief, race-specific workout about four days before before the big race, with lots of rest on either side of it, will ensure mental and physical peak….Remember, the longer this period is stretched out, the great the risk of losing fitness due to decreased training. [2 weeks max]
TRANSITION
following a race period, it’s generally a good idea to take a break from training to allow for physical and mental transition from the Race period before starting a buildup to a new peak. The transition period following a midseason Race period may only be a week long. The purpose of the Transition period is rest and recovery.
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Planning: Consistent Training
October 30, 2008
From Friel’s Mountain Bikers Training Bible
When it comes to exercise, many people fall into the category of “more is better”. This training philosophy will lead to limited growth, fatigue and worse, burnout. The better philosophy is to do the least amount of the most effective training at the right time. It is this reason that you need to have a well thought out training plan.
Consistent training results in greater fitness.
Training consistently, not extremely, is the route to the highest possible fitness and your ultimate racing performances. The key to consistency is moderation and rest.
We all know what happens when we burn through all our energy. No matter how much will power we may have, we are still forced to slow down. If we approach such limits frequently and over a long period of time, the body’s ability to adapt is exceeded and recovery takes much longer. This is not considered consistent training.
By usually staying within your limits, and infrequently stretching them, you can avoid breakdowns and achieve consistent training results. You should finish most workouts feeling like you could have done a bit more.
The time to abandon a training session is when your speed or power has noticeable decreased, or pedaling and handling techniques are becoming sloppy. Some riders are so focused and determined that they lose control of the workout in such situations and mistakenly believe that continuing will make them faster. It won’t.
Friel says it very well “When in doubt, leave it out.” This leads into the next subject: Rest.
A well-rested riders looks forward to workouts, enjoy’s being on the bike, is powerful, has good endurance, and grows progressively stronger as a result of training. Never underestimate the need for sleep.
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Training Stress
July 3, 2008
Friel mentions five terms used to in regards to training stress. I’d like to focus on three of them: Frequency, Duration and Intensity. You can find more info in his book Mountain Bikers Training Bible (see link in right sidebar).
FREQUENCY
This is how many training sessions are done. Beginners may train five to six times a week and experience 10 to 20 percent improvements. Sport to Expert (to pro) train as often as 2 workouts a day at certain times of the year. Seven to 12 sessions in a week are more common. However, these high frequency sessions may only produce a 1 percent gain in fitness, since these athletes are already so close to their potential. If a beginner try to train at the the same frequency level, they would be overtraining, thus see a decrease in fitness.
Frequency at which you work out is dependent on what you body is currently adapted to.
DURATION
This refers to the length of every training session. Anaerobic endurance intervals could last several hours, while recovery rides could be much shorter. Much like frequency, the riders experience will determine the length of the workout.
The appropriate time for long rides is largely determined by they anticipated duration of your races. Workout duration equal to, or up to twice as long as, your longest race are common. But there are obvious exceptions, especially at the high end. If you are training for a 100 mile trail race, your longest rides will seldom, if ever, be as long as the anticipated race.
Note: In mountain biking, duration is measured in time while road cycling duration is measured in miles.
INTENSITY
Combining both frequency and duration refers to the volume of training, thus much easier to quantify. Volume of training is an incomplete description of a training session since it does not account for intensity. When you combine volume and intensity, that is referred to as ‘workload’.
Quantifying intensity is much more difficulty than quantifying frequency and duration. One way to quantify intensity is by use an RPE scale. The REP scale (ratings of perceived exertion) use a 1-10 measurement, with a 10 being the hardest level of intensity (race level effort). You can than multiple the the number of minutes by RPE and get a workload number.
Intensity is the stressor that most athletes get wrong. For most mountain bikers, getting intensity right is the key to moving up to the next level.
VOLUME VS. INTENSITY
Which is more important? Should a rider get in as many minutes as possible or ride less time at higher intensity?
The answer depends on level of experience. A new riders would benefit from higher volume while a more experienced rider should focus on intensity.
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Joe Friel on Peaking
June 5, 2008
I added a new article in the left sidebar. CLICK HERE to be brought to that page.
This page gives important excerpts from Joe Friels Mountain Bikers Training Bible. It has taken me a long time to understand ‘how’ to peak during the season. It is not as easy as it seems. My biggest mistake was trying to peak too much. Friel addresses that common mistake:
Such a peaking process should only be done two or three times in a season. The shorter the race season, the fewer peaks are possible without losing too much fitness.
I need to adjust my annual training plan to reduce my peaking periods. Right now I feel strong so I definitely don’t want to lose anything. I also haven’t been getting the hours in that I need too. Doesn’t help that the weather SUCKS lately. It’s been so freaking windy and now they are calling for high winds AGAIN this weekend. Not so bad when on the trail, but I’m tired of driving an hour to the nearest trail, especially at $4.00 a gallon. Riding on the road is the best method of training, yet wind makes that just miserable.
ANYWAYS, take a look at the Peaking page. Good info.
Interval Training
February 25, 2008
I’ve been re-reading Friel and looking at how he sets up a week and I think I’m being extremely aggressive in my training schedule. I do heavy interval training during the week, where as Friel only schedules three days of intervals, usually Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (although it can be any combination of days).
My past schedule on 2/11 and my current schedule follows Friel a lot closer. My 2/18 schedule has four days of intense intervals, which is too much. Going forward, I will follow Friel more closely and do three days of intervals: power, muscular endurance and anaerobic endurance (assuming in build period). If I need an hour workout but interval only lasts 30-45 minutes, then I’ll just cap it off with an E1 or E2 ride.
The big interval day will always be Saturday, which is 2 to 3 hours of intense intervals (spin class). The extreme class usually ends as the weather warms up and us bikers move to outside riding. I will make Tuesdays more power and Thursdays more anaerobic endurance. I’ll let spin handle muscular endurance for now. I’ll adjust next weeks workout to reflect this.
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Training In Review
November 27, 2007
Well, reflecting on what my season goals were for 2007 and my actual results, I’ve left a lot of room for improvement. 
Here were my past goals and the result:
- Yankee Springs in 55 minutes. I did 57 minutes in TT race, but did do 52 minutes this month. Fort Custer in 1:27. I did 1:29 minutes. The other goals were for Hanson Hills and Maybury, but the rainy conditions made those goals irrelevant.
- Finish Iceman in 2:05, I finished in 2:03 so I did hit this goal.
- Follow annual training plan. Did not do good here at all. Training plan called for 350 hours, I did 175 hours. I don’t think the hour count is exact since I did not count tranisitional time spent snowboarding, etc.
For 2008, my goals are as follows:
- Yankee Springs TT time of 48 minutes. Fort Custer time of 1:20. Boyne time of 3:15. Stoney Creek time of 50 minutes. Iceman time of 1:50. These times are based on previous years race trails, so if the trail changes, my time will need to be adjusted. Basically looking to finish top 3 in every race.
- 360 hours of training time with consistent RR periods.
- Compete in 12 races with 2 races being races I’ve never done before.
- Volunteer for two trail days.
These goals could change as I move out of the transitional period, but for now, these are the goals I’m shooting for.
Filed under: racing, training by Guppie
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Training Week: Oct 29th- Peak Period
October 29, 2007
Final peak week before entering race period. Didn’t do too bad last week, I think I put in about 7.5 hours. The weather broke on Sunday so I spent close to three hours at Yankee Springs mountain bike trail. I really kicked my butt out there, my legs are still sore.
The upcoming race is roughly 28 miles so I worked on my race strategy on Sunday. I think I will set up my Garmin with intervals. I’m not sure yet, I just seem to ride a lot faster when doing intervals.
I am going to tune it down this week to 6.5 hours. The game plan is very similar to last week:
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: Power workouts: 1 to 1.5 hours at high intensity (HR Zone high 4 to 5).
- Workout #1: 45 minute spin class
- Workout #2: M3-Hill Cruise Intervals. 12 minute intervals with 2 minute recovery. I want to do however many it takes to put in 35 miles. I will do this on the road. Target HR is Zone 4 and 5. TT Cadence.
Wednesday: 30 min recreational ride
Thursday: 1 hour E2- Endurance Ride. On road or on trainer in Zone 3 to low 4.
Friday: Suppose to be an off day, but I might do an easy night ride. Maybe a 45 minutes no real HR target.
Saturday: Target today is power and anaerobic endurance. My workouts will depend on where I ride. I will most likely be at Yankee Springs again, maybe Robinettes.
- Workout #1: A7-Time Trial. Find a loop that takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete. Do 4 laps with 10 minute break between laps. Try to go faster each lap. The back loop at Yankee is PERFECT for this. Robinettes is as well, but will be a KILLER workout there.
- Workout #2: P3- Crit Sprints. 9 sprints, 35 seconds each, 5 minute recovery between. Again, Yankee back loop is perfect for this but doing this at Robinettes will kill you. There is no recovery there.
Sunday: 30 minute recovery ride.
Have a good week.
This weeks training: Peak Period
October 21, 2007
Well, this is the final ‘peak’ period of the season. Iceman in three weeks.
This past week I did start out good, but then it really slowed down. Saturday and Sunday was dominated by my advance scuba diving lessons. I was unable to get any trainer time either. I had basically 3 hours of training time. Although it was high intensity training, still not nearly enough. I will increase this weeks training to 8.5 hours. Here is the plan:
Monday: Normally this should be a day off, but that assumes you did a 2+ hour endurance ride on Sunday. I did not, so my butt get’s in the saddle today.
Workout: A1: Anaerobic Intervals. On a trainer or flat course, do four to six intervals of three to five minutes each. Higher than normal cadence (+110). Heart rate target is high zone 5. Recovery is same as interval duration.
Tuesday: E2: Endurance Ride. Ride on a rolling hill course for 1.5 to 2 hours. Keep HR in Zone 2. If done on a trainer, shift gears to simulate rolling hills.
Wednesday: M2: Cruise Intervals. This is three to five intervals that are six to twelve minutes in length. There is a three minute recovery between intervals. Target HR is zone 4 and/or 5. My personal goal is 5 intervals at 12 minutes each.
Thursday: Recovery day off. If possible I may do a quick trail ride. I need to do some bike work so it might be a good ride to test the bike.
Friday: E1: Recovery Ride. 30 minutes at a recreational intensity.
Saturday: I am going to focus on two groups: Muscular Endurance and Anaerobic Endurance. These workouts are based on riding on the road or a trainer. If I ride on the trail, I may change to a workout that is more conducive to a trail.
Workout 1: M5: Threshold. Ride 40 minutes nonstop at HR zone 4 and zone 5. Time trial cadence, which for me is around 90 rpms (I think).
Workout 2: A3: Hill Intervals. Find a hill that takes about three minutes to climb and do four to six climbs at higher than normal cadence (+100). Stay seated. HR target is zone 5. Recovery by spinning easily down the hill and then three minutes at bottom.
I may do an A2: Pyramid Interval as well, especially if I’m on the trail. This workout is a KILLER on the trail. These intervals are 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 minutes long. Recovery is equal to the duration.
Sunday: E1: Recovery Ride. 30 minutes at recreational intensity.
Week of October 8 – Training: Build Phase
October 7, 2007
I think I took advantage of RR training last week. Saturday and Sunday I did not get out on the bike. However, I do have a good excuse. I received my new Kenda Karma tires and Stan’s Tubeless Conversion kit. The instructions say that it takes less than 30 minutes even on the most difficult tires. Well, a day and a half later I’m still working on them. Just can’t get them to seal good. Right now they see to be holding, but we shall see.
With the Iceman race coming up (Nov. 10), it’s time to go back to work. For the next two weeks, it’s build time. The goal for this week is between 7 to 8 hours of saddle time.
Monday: Technically this should be an off day, however I have the day off from work so I’m going to do Tuesday’s workout, except I will do it on a mountain bike trail. Cross my fingers that my new tubeless tires hold up (I am bringing two tubes and co2 with me).
Tuesday: Power workouts: 1 to 1.25 hours at high intensity (HR Zone high 4 to 5).
- Workout #1: Hill Sprints. 12 sprints at 10 seconds each with 5 minute recovery between sprints. This is to be done on the road, however I will be on a trail so I will just sprint up every hill I come too. Sprints are done by standing on pedals. Take 5 seconds to build up speed as you approach the hill.
- Workout #2 (if time permits): Jumps. 5 sets of 5 jumps with each jump lasting 15 seconds. Standing during jump and use TT cadence. 1 minute recovery between jumps and 5 minute recovery between sets.
Wednesday: Endurance Ride. 1.5 hours in HR Zone 3.
Thursday: Muscular Endurance Workouts: 1.5 hours at medium intensity (HR Zone 4 to low 5).
- Workout #1: Hill Cruise Intervals. Done on the road or trail. 5 intervals at 10 minutes long HR Zone 4 with TT cadence. Do on a 2% to 4% grade hill. Do a 3 minute recover between intervals. Make sure you have a solid warm-up.
- Workout #2: Shifting Intervals. 3 intervals 10 minutes long with 2 minute recovery between intervals. Best done on the road since you want a flat terrain. During the interval, ride in a low gear for 60 seconds at HR Zone 4, then shift to a higher gear for 30 seconds at HR Zone 5. Repeat this pattern for the entire interval.
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Anaerobic Endurance Workouts: 1 hour at High intensity (HR Zone 5).
- Workout #1: Pyramid Intervals. 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 minutes long. The recovery is equal to your duration. Example, the first interval is 1 minute long with a 1 minute recovery. Then a 2 minute interval with 2 minute recovery….so forth… Done on the road or trail.
- Workout #2: Lactate Tolerance Reps. Do on an indoor trainer or on/off road to prepare for fast starts. Find a slight uphill grade (1%-2%) or into the wind. Do 5 sets with each set containing 4 reps of 30 seconds long. Recovery is half the duration, or in this workout, 15 seconds. Do a 5 minute recovery between sets. Each rep is high cadence and high power. This is training for fast starts.
Sunday: Endurance Ride. 2.5-3 hour ride in HR Zone high 3 to low 4. A portion of this ride can be used as a recovery ride. 
Week of the 24th Training – Race Period
September 24, 2007
Pando Race in 6 days.
Monday: Off (woohoo)
Tuesday: Muscular Endurance: 1.5 hour intervals on the road.
Workout #1: Shifting Intervals. 3 intervals that are 10 minutes long. Ride in a lower gear for 60 seconds in HR zone 4 then shift to a higher gear for 30 seconds, with HR in zone 5. Repeat this pattern for entire interval. The total workout should not exceed 30 minutes. Recover 3 minutes between intervals. Use TT cadence and stay in aerodynamic position.
Workout #2: Pyramid Intervals: 1-2-3-4-3-2-1. HR Zone is high 5. Recovery is same as interval duration.
Wednesday: 30 minute recovery ride.
Thursday: Power Workouts: 1 hour on the road.
I want to do spin, but I am kind of burnt out on it right now. Since I do spin all winter, it’s probable best I stay away from it for now. Instead, here are my workouts:
Workout #1: Hill sprints. Do early in a workout. Find a 4-6% grade hill and do 12 sprints, each 10 seconds long. Take 5 seconds to build speed before sprint starts by approaching standing on pedals, then apply maximum force at high cadence for 10 seconds, while standing.
Workout #2: Jumps. 5 sets of 5 jumps, each jump is 15 seconds, standing on pedals. Usually best done on a mountain bike, but will use my road bike. High cadence. HR is not important. Recovery is 1 minute between jumps and 5 minutes between sets.
Friday: Easy ride at Robinettes MTB trail (if it’s still around).
Saturday: Pre-ride Pando
Sunday: Pando Race.
Joe Friel Mountain Bike Training Bible
November 23, 2006
In my quest to train smarter and harder, I picked up this book. Just about every chapter pointed out something I did wrong this past season when it came to my training.
First big error was overtraining. This is easily the biggest error most people make. Not enough RR days.
Second biggest mistake was lack of structure. I would just get on my mountain bike and ride as fast as I could every time. Instead, I should have done exercises that focused on speed, power, force, anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance and overall endurance.
Now that I know my two biggest errors, here is some other things I learned: Break training into periods so you know what exercises to do and when. Learn to use a HRM. Testing for LT Threshold. Etc.
This book also had great info on what to do the week before a race, race day and after the race. Warm up techniques and cool down techniques. Just about everything you need to know.
This book has re-energized my enthusiasm for the 2007 season and it’s only November. Technically I’m suppose to be in my ‘transitional’ period, which means you pretty much stay off the bike for awhile. I look forward to developing my new training plan.