Trainer

So far this year, 26 hours on the bike, 10 running. Today was 24 minutes on the trainer. I didn't want to be late for work, and just did not get on early enough for more, but this was fine. I looked over last year's logs and I was on the trainer a lot, and also doing a fair amount of real work. This year my trainer days have been mostly just spinning, but I have got outside almost weekly, and I am also running fairly hard sometimes, so I have gotten some intensity in with that.

I am trying to set a good example for a young lad in my club. I can hear you now, thinking what a joke, 24 minutes? The lesson here is consistency. You have to do something. I have ranted about all the so-called expert coaching out there enough already, but here goes some more. Of course in a perfect world all bike racers who were just starting out would follow the expert advice of their coach, and carefully complete the well thought out plan that was assembled for them. Armed with a powermeter and a scientific blueprint for success, the young charge would quickly ascend the categorization ladder and be on to greatness in no time.

Too bad the world is not perfect. I looked back at last season, and took note of the results of a few riders who I knew to be Cat 5's at the start of the year. A couple of them had already got their results and moved up, and look promising to keep going. These two guys have something in common: they love to ride, and they ride hard often. This is the way a lot of great riders started out. This is also something a lot of the coaches out there seem to have forgotten. A carefully done plan with specific work and periodization may be appropriate for a seasoned rider, but beginners need to pay their dues and build a base. Is it scientific? No. I have said many times that too many medium days makes a medium rider, but if you are a Cat 5, moving up to medium doesn't sound too bad, does it?

The moral of the story is that if you are in your first season or two of serious riding/racing, don't worry too much about the finer points of planning your training. Get out their and ride, get strong, get tired, get mean, and get out of Cat 5.