Following a plan or do it yourself

Wow, that's a lot of options. Let's see, I... 1) follow a plan, 2) made it myself, 3) occasionally have fun during training (especially during group/team rides, and when my improvement is noticeable), and 4) have had a lot of fun winning races this year and moving into a higher race category. Was that one of the choices? 😉

Some other guys I know don't have much of a training plan, and they don't seem to have as much fun as I do at race time, so maybe it depends on when you'd like to have your fun.

Here is the deal. Unless you are gifted, you NEED a training plan to do well (winning or close to winning) in races. Most people who are serious about racing do not race for the sake of fitness. You can get that from your weekend's fast group rides. They race because they think they can win. For me, racing becomes fun when I can only exert just the right amount of pyschological and physiological pressure or expectation for me to come back and race again if I didn't win my last race. It would suck if I lose a race and I feel that I should be racing anymore. That would be horrible.

SCDETAILER said:

I am wondering how many of you follow a structured plan, and how many of you just race and ride? I know some guys who stick to what they have to do, and they end up bored to death and not having fun. I know other guys who have never followed a plan and do races and training races and group rides to get there fitness. What do you guys do?

I 1. Follow a loose plan, mostly centered around training hard 2. Made it myself 3. Enjoy training always, sometimes from fulfillment, other times just plain enjoyment and 4. Enjoy winning and breaking balls in races.

Sorry, frenchy, had to copy you.:p

I suppose the difference is what your goals are.

whoawhoa said:

4. Enjoy winning and breaking balls in races.

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I've recently discovered that I've developed an earnest enjoyment from that as well. My wife says she saw it in my eyes after my first win, but I've only really felt it in the last couple weeks.

I used to enjoy the teamwork of cycling; keeping the group together to move more efficiently, etc. But recently I've taken a joy from just riding people off my wheel. Who says you can't have fun while training hard? 🙂

I follow a loose plan that allows for rest days when needed and a few extra hard days when I feel good. I do not have each day planned out instead I have the week planned out so I can be flexible with school assignments, lack of sleep etc. I tried doing day to day but I just couldn't handle it. Exceptions are on race week where I pretty much have a set routine for each day then on race day I have a routine for each hour.

Eg of a training week.

1 rest day (most likely friday or monday)
1 club race (sunday)
1 LSD ride (saturday)
1 Distance/ recovery day (most likely friday or monday)
1 2km interval day with SE in the morning
1 Sprint day with efforts on climbs in the morning
1 Extremely intense paceline work at high speed in the morning, 1x 10km TT

1 session of X-Training at the pool working on lung capacity (any day except for the rest day).

this way I get all my training done but I can manipulate the days to suit how I feel.

I don't really follow a plan; in fact, I took my cycling computer off the bike. I only use a stop watch to track total hours. I ussually know where I need to be week to week. I have a few personal goals I want to tackle, break 1 hour for 40km, become a better climber, and complete a century. Why no plan, you ask?

Last year I spent a full year training toward one key race in August. I hired a coach and I followed a structured training plan for each day. The week before my race I was hit by a car. My hopes along with everything else fell apart. The race was a disaster and I barely finished. This year, I decided to ride without a structured plan. Next year, I'll start back toward a structured training plan.

I am training for races later on in the year (july, august and a tour in december) yet I am having my first race this weekend after nothing but base km's. Will I go any good? maybe- maybe not atleast I will know where my body is at compared to my rivals. Here is my advice evilgoodguy, race all year round, race as much as possible. Its the best training session and you LEARN how to race...targeting one race a year is just rediculous IMO.

dm69 said:

Here is my advice evilgoodguy, race all year round, race as much as possible. Its the best training session and you LEARN how to race...<snip>

That's not advice I would recommend following, because races are not the best training sessions. I get a lot more targeted work done during a typical interval session than any of the races I have done. It's time at specific intensities (or a range) that causes one's body to adapt, and you can get that in abundance during an interval session. Shorter races tend to be too easy (since so much time is spent sitting in the pack at low power or coasting), and long races require too much recovery for the amount of benefit you get from them. If you get a chance to race with a power meter you'll see what I mean.

I do agree that racing helps you learn how to race. If that's the weakness you're trying to improve, then racing a lot is a good way to do it.

I was trying to find out if anyone actually uses a coach on a regular basis. I have spoken to a coach lately who is working with a teammate of mine. I have also talked to a guy who is a national time trial champion and a killer road and crit racer. He has never had a coach. This is why I have asked the question. Would it be beneficial for a person who wants to go as high in the category range that they can to inlist the help of a coach, or would it be to work out a plan on their own that allows for the flexibility of doing different rides with different people and different aspects of the sport, i.e. climbing, sprinting, time trialing.

I don't use a coach because I enjoy learning about training, tinkering with my workout plan, and I don't want to spend the money for this 'hobby'. I'm pretty sure that having the right coach could add motivation and get me closer to my potential, but I choose not to hire one.

Personally, I think the amount of benefit you'd get from a coach depends on 1) how knowledgeable you are willing to become about effective training practices (ie, how much you want to study, as opposed to just riding), 2) how self-motivated you are, 3) how honest you are with yourself about goals, time commitment, desires, and performance, and 4) how high you want to go. Some people will benefit more from hiring a coach than others.

Well, I started this season the last of March, as a Cat 5. I had raced a little in 02, but took some time out of racing due to lack of marrital support. Anyhow, that has changed and she loves to go and watch the races now. Anyway, I raced 7 races as a Cat5 and won 6. Now as a Cat 4 I raced the SC State Crit this past weekend and finished in 5th place. That was after trying numerous attacks on a flat course. I train on Tuesday at a training race on a 7 mile circuit with Cat 1 & 2 racers mixed with a lot of other categories. The attacks are usually hard and numerous. I have found that is an area I need to work on, attacking and answering attacks as they come. I would like to be a strong Cat 3 by the end of the season and then make my way to Cat 2 by next season. This is why I think that having a coach would help improve my areas of weakness. What do you guys think. I am 31, so going complete pro may be a tad out of my reach, but a Cat2 with a good team would be nice.

dm69 said:

targeting one race a year is just rediculous IMO.

It seemed to work pretty well for Armstrong. 😉

Well, The coach that I have talked to has a junior team that he is the director over. These guys have certain races that they are racing, and only some are set for them to try and win. That way they get the training they need and still get to win some races. These guys are strong also, and seem to know how to handle themselves also. I may look into it some more, instead of buying a set of wheels, I can pay for coaching and then get faster anyway.

I have a world famous coach called RapDaddyo. In 3 months he has dragged me from being totally useless on a bike, to not quite so useless.

He hasn't invoiced me yet, but I'm expecting his bill anyday now.😄

SCDETAILER said:

Well, The coach that I have talked to has a junior team that he is the director over. These guys have certain races that they are racing, and only some are set for them to try and win. That way they get the training they need and still get to win some races. These guys are strong also, and seem to know how to handle themselves also. I may look into it some more, instead of buying a set of wheels, I can pay for coaching and then get faster anyway.

Are you currently part of a race team? I could see a big benefit from team coordination on preparation and tactics, and many teams do this to some extent either from a formal "Team Director" or by just relying on the more experienced members of the team for guidance. With the success you've had so far, you should be able to approach any number of locals teams to find a team philosophy and personalities that you like. At the same time, you might ask whether most of the team members get individualized coaching, or rely on team coaching. I've seen comments from coaches here that they help their clients with race analysis, but I could also see a potential rub between a rider's personal "training" coach, and a team coach, if their priorities don't line up well.

frenchyge said:

I don't use a coach because I enjoy learning about training, tinkering with my workout plan, and I don't want to spend the money for this 'hobby'. I'm pretty sure that having the right coach could add motivation and get me closer to my potential, but I choose not to hire one.

Personally, I think the amount of benefit you'd get from a coach depends on 1) how knowledgeable you are willing to become about effective training practices (ie, how much you want to study, as opposed to just riding), 2) how self-motivated you are, 3) how honest you are with yourself about goals, time commitment, desires, and performance, and 4) how high you want to go. Some people will benefit more from hiring a coach than others.

I agree with this post completely. The only thing I would add is that when one is self-coached, he doesn't appreciate the implications of his misperceptions. It's not just that, as they say, "I don't know what I don't know." It's that I don't know the implications of what I think I know but I'm wrong. So, I'm going along happily pursuing a training plan built on some false premises. What are the adverse consequences? If it just means that I am not getting as much out of my available time on the bike as I could with a more informed approach, that's not too bad. If it means I'm actually hurting my performance, that's different altogether. If I didn't want to learn so much about this sport (especially riding with power), I would get a coach.

frenchyge said:

Are you currently part of a race team? I could see a big benefit from team coordination on preparation and tactics, and many teams do this to some extent either from a formal "Team Director" or by just relying on the more experienced members of the team for guidance. With the success you've had so far, you should be able to approach any number of locals teams to find a team philosophy and personalities that you like. At the same time, you might ask whether most of the team members get individualized coaching, or rely on team coaching. I've seen comments from coaches here that they help their clients with race analysis, but I could also see a potential rub between a rider's personal "training" coach, and a team coach, if their priorities don't line up well.

Yes, I am part of a team. Racing for a shop out of NC. We have varying abilities, so race strategy is usually held to a couple of racers. The rub arguement is the one that I have with the coach that I have talked to. His team is out of the same shop I race for, so in a race situation where I am racing those guys, and we both want to win, how is he going to be subjective and not show favoritism to the guys that race under him and the ones that he coaches?

SCDETAILER said:

Yes, I am part of a team. Racing for a shop out of NC. We have varying abilities, so race strategy is usually held to a couple of racers. The rub arguement is the one that I have with the coach that I have talked to. His team is out of the same shop I race for, so in a race situation where I am racing those guys, and we both want to win, how is he going to be subjective and not show favoritism to the guys that race under him and the ones that he coaches?

I was more thinking that the rub might occur if your training coach was prescribing (for example) a period of easier rides, but your team coach wanted you to race very aggressively during that period in support of a teammate. The situation you mention is also a possibility, but would be very unprofessional of that coach. Is switching teams a possibility? Would you get free training planning if you switched to that coach's team? Something to think about.

There are LOTS of coaches out there, so talk to many before settling on one. RST Coaching even helps sponsor and moderate these forums, so you might visit their site or drop them an e-mail as well.

Dm69, to clarify, my key race in August was not the only race of the year. I had several other races throughout the year. However, I would train through the other races.

My experience with coaching is somewhat different. For the most part I was self coached. My coach would offer several key group workouts during the week (3). The rest of the week, I would design my own training schedule. However, my coach was also available to oversee my training plan and correct any possible errors.

IMO, I enjoy the freedom of self driven training. I've never had a lack of motivation to train. I'm also eager to learn as much as I can by reading everything I can (probably why I am on here 😄 ). In my limited experience, I think the most important factor seems to be coach/athlete compatibility.