Specialty Phase, Racing Simulation Workouts - 2 days recovery and carbo loading?

[Muzzaffar]

Hi guys,

I’m on the specialty phase for criterium and I have a question as to how to approach the race simulation workouts.

I was supposed to race on Sunday but due to logistics didn’t end up racing. I did however carbo load and had electrolytes on Saturday. Pretty much standard race prep for a Sunday 100km road race for me.

Ended up doing Nevada city classics +2 (week 5 of specialty plan) instead of racing. Managed to complete 24/25 of the intervals but it was definitely one of the hardest trainer road workout I’ve had. Felt strong the entire workout. Off day on monday with an hour stretching.

Tuesday comes and its time to do Abbott and my heart rate was maxing out on the very first interval. Bailed instantly and did Carson -5 instead, had to tough it out.

Question is, did my nutrition help me out during the Sunday workout? and since it was so hard, should I add in more rest than usual?

Tour De Nez +2 is coming up before my crit next Sunday and Im wondering if I should approach it the same way as well with almost race like nutrition prep and 2 day recovery after.

Any tips for you guys that regularly does these workouts would be much appreciated

.

[Raythebike]

Do you have any fatigue feedback from your Garmin or similar? Has your morning resting HR come back to normal to show if you’ve recovered from the Sunday workout. I wouldn’t do another HIIT session until you have recovered fully. With regard to your next race, work back to reposition the next HIIT workout and give sufficient recovery, for either Wednesday or Thursday. As regards nutrition, each day you should eat to replenish used glycogen and prepare for the following day. For longer/ harder workouts have fuel in your bottle and drink regularly. Is your cooling sufficient?

[Muzzaffar]

I dont have any kind of resting heart rate monitoring system. I use a wahoo and a Garmin Vector power meter for training. Is the garmin fatigue feedback reliable?

I have recently started to use protein shakes for the post nutrition recovery however I do not pay much attention to glycogen. What exactly do i eat to replenish the glycogen lost? Carbohydrates? Something to do with the 3:1 rule always mentioned by Nate?

I dont usually have food during the long workout maybe thats why I find it super hard for me to complete any workouts past the 1 hour mark. Will make sure I have nutrition on the bike as well from now on.

I currently have just one fan and train in the morning (before 830 am) since thats the coolest time of the day. Will bring out another fan and see if it helps.

As for the next workout, Ill plan it for wednesday or thursday as to not overdo it come race day next Sunday.

Thank you for the reply.

[Raythebike]

To answer your points:
Garmin fatigue- I’ve not used this but understand it predicts how long fatigue will exist.
Nutrition: I wouldn’t worry about the science, have a ripe banana on hand to nibble on rest periods. Also suggest an energy drink with caffeine such as the High 5 one.
Cooling: A powerful fan at floor level pointing at the chest does wonders for keeping you on track in the workout, with another one at head height. I use these on remote controls to switch on as necessary , see Amazon for these.

[brendanhousler]

you might still be feeling the effects from Sunday on Tuesday, no doubt. Sometimes riders need an extra day before getting back into a really intense session.

I’d def follow that for Tour de Nez; lean your diet towards carbs a couple days before and definitely recover hard after.

Let us know how it goes!

Brendan
EVOQ.BIKE

[Muzzaffar]

Hi guys,

Just an update to this post. Tour De Nez +2 today. Only managed to hang on for 23 out of the 34 intervals. Fought hard but couldnt get the legs to do more than 80 rpm on the 18th interval. called it quits after doing 4 standing intervals back to back.

I did however do the following:

1. switched on the a/c for cooler temperatures
2. ate more carbs than I normally do for yesterday.
3. had a snickers bar to nibble on standby but never felt the need to eat it

Heart rate never reached max (only 176 instead of 180 max) just couldnt get the legs up to speed. I think I have a problem mentally of forcing myself to suffer. I know im fitter than most of the guys on my group rides yet I get dropped on every single ride that I’ve joined (the guys up front have an ftp of around 3.8 - 4.0, me around 3.5). 30 min Crit on Sunday so easy 90 km ride on Saturday cause ive been cooped up far too long indoors.

Getting demotivated as this is my 101 trainer road ride indoors (since January 2019) and I have only increased my FTP by 4 watts. I’m due for an FTP test but still wish I’d be progressing a lot better.

Thanks for the tips guys. Appreciate it.