Multisport: Preparing For Your A Races

Hard work and preparation lead to success

Written by: Tim Crowley

Originally posted on Bike.com, March 11, 2004

We all know certain athletes can put the hurt on everyone in training, but somehow don’t produce the same result in races. Conversely, there are those who never seem exceptionally fast or strong in workouts, but always seem to do well when it counts the most. Preparing for key events can make or break your season and utilize all the hard training you have done.

Preparation for this season’s important events begins NOW! Preparation is the attention to detail that can bring about superior performances. It is what makes average athletes good and good athletes great. Lance Armstrong is a great athlete that has propelled himself to the status of champion because of his meticulous preparation for the Tour De France.

There are many facets to proper preparation. Take a look below at some of the obvious and not so obvious areas you need to attend to in preparing for your “A” races.

Racecourse Recon - This involves the terrain and distance of your “A” races. Try to match your lower priority races in both terrain and distance to your key races if possible. Learn as much about your “A” races as you can. This may mean talking to athletes who have completed the race before, looking at race profiles and assessing climate conditions in the past. Training on the course weeks or months ahead of time will give you a better feel for the course as well.

Equipment - Don’t make any last minute equipment changes. Get to know your gear and how it responds. Give yourself plenty of time to break things in.

Visualization - You need to be able to see yourself being successful on the course. This can involve using various mental training techniques that will build your confidence and ability to make proper decisions when it matters most.

Training - When it comes to getting ready for the big events, proper training can be counter intuitive. Let’s face it, most endurance athletes are not lazy. When given the choice, most will over train rather than under train.

As the big races loom on the horizon, here are some guidelines to keep in mind as you prepare your training.

More is not better. Train less, but do more at or slightly below your lactate threshold. This can include steady state intervals at an intensity 3-5 beats below threshold. Total volume can be up to an hour, such as 4x 15 minutes, or 3x 20 minutes.

Race simulation- Ideally, you will have access to bike trails that closely resemble those you will race on. In training, you can experiment with different race tactics to find what will work best for you. By using a downloadable heart rate monitor in these sessions, you can use the data to decide how best to plan your race strategy.

Block training- This training concept is quite popular for elite cyclist and multi sport athletes. Simplified, block training combines several (usually 2-3) quality training days, followed by an equal amount or more days of recovery. Hard training on Saturday and Sunday can be followed by 2 days of recovery. Another 1 or 2 quality days mid week can round out the training week. This is an effective method of increasing the total minutes of quality training in the week without over reaching or over training.

Power Intervals- PI’s for short, are high intensity intervals lasting from 2-4 minutes at a very high power output. You will be anaerobic before the end of the interval. A 1:1 work to rest ratio is required between intervals. Search for hills that are similar in grade and length to those you will encounter in your key events. A total of 12-20 min of PI’s is sufficient.

Rest - This is a four-letter word for many athletes. But remember, it’s during the recovery phase that the body supercompensates and gets stronger. You are better off entering your big events slightly under trained, than any amount over trained.

As you begin planning those “A” races, it may be wise to plan some on consecutive weekends. This means that in the event of a family emergency, illness or a miss timed taper or just plain old bad luck, all is not lost. I have found that having several chances at a peak performance will aid in lowering the anxiety level of most athletes.

Successful races are earned through hard work and proper preparation. So let your training partners scratch their heads and wonder how you got so fast.

Visit Carmichael Training Systems at: TrainRight.com.