1st Race soon :D some advice pls?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by hdtvkss
hay yall, hows it goin?

well i have my 1st race comming up and im pretty excited ( its the 2nd last race of the season so im a bit of a late starter....) Im only riding in the lowest grade so im not expecting to get whipped, but neither am i expecting to win. Just got a couple of questions i thought i mite run past some of you....

given that the race is on a sunday, and i normally ride monday - friday + 1nce on the weekend, when should i taper off for the race? I was thinking maybee do a light 1 1/2 hour recovery ride friday nite, then day off sat, then race sunday? is that the way its normally done?

Also given that its a low grade race, its only going to be 12 K, and not too hilly but pretty techy. normally i train with a HRM ( i train on a roadie) , does anyone use a HRM in a MTB race? if so what HR zones are you pushing in the race, or do you jsut go on percieved effort? i have this fear of going out too hard and dying in the ass at the end, but i also dont want to take it too easy and leave my run too late. i guess some of these things come with expereince?

ok, 3rd and final qestion. i normally ride with a camel back, would 500 ml of water be ok? ( its winter here in Sydney) id carry a bottle, but given the course is techy i cant see myself having a chance to have time to get the bottle onand off the rail.

anyhows thanks in advance for any hints and suggestions!

G

Hey there hdtvkss,

I too am a roadie that does the odd mountain bike event.

Most of the events I've entered have usually been endurance events that take hours to complete. For that, I follow programs where my longest effort is three weeks prior to the event and taper down from there leaving the last 4 days completely blank.

Unless the course is extremely technical, I'm assuming you'll finish in under an hour, right? If that's the case I'd still take both Friday and Saturday off.

People use HRMs for mountain bike races all the time. However for a short technical race I'd leave it at home. I would just find it a distraction and personally I wouldn't want to alter my pace because of what it says.

For me, in a short race 500 ml of water would be fine. But I'd need to quench some thirst at the finish line. I see your point over using the camelback however I know I'd want it tight so that it isn't jumping around on my back in a race like that.

Have a great race!

I would either walk/ride the course a few times and plot your strategies. Maybe think about when you'll attack/hangback. Where will some difficult turns be? Whatever you can think of, just have a plan.

Good luck