Mont 24hr Training Strategy

Gags said:

-Do the next three or so BRs to get some longer rides in on the weekends.

Gags? Gags? the name rings a bell.

Quoted message said:

-No change to my diet.........

Alert the stock exchange, Wheet Bix shares to remain strong.

DaveB

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

Quoted message said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the bikes,
I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to the
Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some other
guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly to the
crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs and
bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not that I
don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been panelled on a
course, and they've said I can join late, but I've missed this course the
last three years and I am a bit concerned about the hassle of getting
there, etc. And I haven't booked flights because I decided to pull out.
But he wrote back and insisted I stay in the team, something about being
the Inaugural ADF Women's MTB Champ (which I guess means I'm the only
female on the team, although I haven't checked that much... eek! What to
do!

Tam

Tamyka Bell said:

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

Quoted message said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the bikes,
I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to the
Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some other
guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly to the
crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs and
bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not that I
don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been panelled on a
course, and they've said I can join late, but I've missed this course the
last three years and I am a bit concerned about the hassle of getting
there, etc. And I haven't booked flights because I decided to pull out.
But he wrote back and insisted I stay in the team, something about being
the Inaugural ADF Women's MTB Champ (which I guess means I'm the only
female on the team, although I haven't checked that much... eek! What to
do!

Tam

Couldn't you post on MTB forums to find a replacement for you?

Gags said:

-Do a few rides at night (prob 2 or 3 a week) to get back into the swing of things with riding off road using lights. This will also allow me to
fine-tune my light setup (currently planning on 10W and 15W on the bars with
15W helmet light as well)

40W total... what the? Need a pretty big [censored] off battery to power all that. Considered a HID instead? A single helmet mounted 13W should give you more than enough light (read: almost as much as 40W of halogen).

On 2005-09-15, Tamyka Bell (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
<snip bunch-o-whining>

Quoted message said:

What to do!

Mont 24hour. Easy.

Not much help, am I?

--
TimC
"On a clear disk, you can seek forever..."

training tips...

When on BR's dont bail BEFORE Bugundy St 😄

maybe avoid the fixie too. not sure it will help you riding day-on-day...

SomeGuy said:

Tamyka Bell said:

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

Quoted message said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the

bikes,

Quoted message said:

I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to

the

Quoted message said:

Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some

other

Quoted message said:

guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly

to the

Quoted message said:

crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my

legs and

Quoted message said:

bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not that
I
don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been panelled on a
course, and they've said I can join late, but I've missed this course
the
last three years and I am a bit concerned about the hassle of getting
there, etc. And I haven't booked flights because I decided to pull out.
But he wrote back and insisted I stay in the team, something about
being
the Inaugural ADF Women's MTB Champ (which I guess means I'm the only
female on the team, although I haven't checked that much... eek! What
to
do!

Tam

Couldn't you post on MTB forums to find a replacement for you?

--
SomeGuy

It's not about whether I'm there or not... it's about the glory!

Tam

Gags said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the bikes,
I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to the
Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some other
guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly to the
crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs and
bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

Hopefully I will be able to make it out on Sunday for the BR to rack up some
kays and have my first decent hitout on the Cecil Walker since I built it
up. Also, I am hoping to catch up with a few of the BR guys who I haven't
seen in ages!!

My basic training strategy for the next three weeks is as follows:

-Take the long way to and from work along the Yarra (about 30km each way)
and try to use all of the singletrack bits along the way. I also want to do
a few runs into work on the new fixie and so I will prob go via the Yarra
Blvd to include a few undulations.

-Do the next three or so BRs to get some longer rides in on the weekends.

-Do a few rides at night (prob 2 or 3 a week) to get back into the swing of
things with riding off road using lights. This will also allow me to
fine-tune my light setup (currently planning on 10W and 15W on the bars with
15W helmet light as well)

-No change to my diet.........I will continue to eat lots and often. Will
probably try to up the water intake though and maybe cut back a bit on the
coffee.

-Probably taper off for the last 3 or 4 days before the race.

Now all I need is for those in the know to provide me with
feedback/suggestions/tips on if what I am proposing is reasonable and how I
might improve on it. Of course I will drop the name of anyone who
contributes to my training schedule during our team's acceptance speech on
the podium 😉

Ride On,

Gags

What you said above is pretty good. I'd also consider your planned lap times in your training, ie if you think you'll do about 1 hour laps then train for that. Go out for a hard 1 hour ride, take a break for an hour then repeat. Do as much single track & night riding as possible too.

MTB enduros are fun, in a painful, sleep depriving type of way. 🙂

"Gags" wrote...

Quoted message said:

My basic training strategy for the next three weeks is as follows:

Having just completed the WSMTB 12hr my training for the Mont is now almost complete and am on my taper. I found the icy cold
Coopers Pale Ale worked wonders, only surpassed in taste by the curative effects of the slightly below ambient temperature Boags
handed to me by Random Data Dave after the finish. I think I'll use a similar hydration plan for the Mont but will spend the next
few weeks determining the optimum beer to use.

Parbs

"Tamyka Bell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

Quoted message said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the

bikes,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to the
Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some

other

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly to

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not that I
don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been panelled on a
course, and they've said I can join late, but I've missed this course the
last three years and I am a bit concerned about the hassle of getting
there, etc. And I haven't booked flights because I decided to pull out.
But he wrote back and insisted I stay in the team, something about being
the Inaugural ADF Women's MTB Champ (which I guess means I'm the only
female on the team, although I haven't checked that much... eek! What to
do!

Tam

You know that you being a self confessed runner, I was going to dirk you for
the first lap duties (from memory, the 2002 Mont had about a 400m run at the
start). I reckon you should rock up and take the women's title......the
first few days of a course are usually just admin [censored] and pretty boring
anyway!!!!

Ride On,

Gags

Gags said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the bikes,
I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to the
Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some other
guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly to the
crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs and
bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

Hopefully I will be able to make it out on Sunday for the BR to rack up some
kays and have my first decent hitout on the Cecil Walker since I built it
up. Also, I am hoping to catch up with a few of the BR guys who I haven't
seen in ages!!

My basic training strategy for the next three weeks is as follows:

-Take the long way to and from work along the Yarra (about 30km each way)
and try to use all of the singletrack bits along the way. I also want to do
a few runs into work on the new fixie and so I will prob go via the Yarra
Blvd to include a few undulations.

-Do the next three or so BRs to get some longer rides in on the weekends.

-Do a few rides at night (prob 2 or 3 a week) to get back into the swing of
things with riding off road using lights. This will also allow me to
fine-tune my light setup (currently planning on 10W and 15W on the bars with
15W helmet light as well)

-No change to my diet.........I will continue to eat lots and often. Will
probably try to up the water intake though and maybe cut back a bit on the
coffee.

-Probably taper off for the last 3 or 4 days before the race.

Now all I need is for those in the know to provide me with
feedback/suggestions/tips on if what I am proposing is reasonable and how I
might improve on it. Of course I will drop the name of anyone who
contributes to my training schedule during our team's acceptance speech on
the podium 😉

Without knowing excactly how far away the event is (3 weeks?) I can
offer the
following advice :

3 weeks is bugger-all, as physiological adaptations take around 10-14
days to have any effect, so fitness-wise, there's not a lot you can do.
If you've left it late to get base miles in, then that's a bugger, but
there's not a lot you can do about it. I'd not be doing much volume
(it's too late for that now).

What I'd be concentrating on is getting used to the distance and
intensity that you'll be racing at. Assuming 4 x 1 hr shifts, you need
to get your body used to riding for 1hr at close to your MSS*
threshold. You won't have time to change that threshold, but you can
get your pacing roughly right. As MTB events aren't quite like
flatland ITTs, you'll (as you know) be sometimes flogging yourself up
hills, and recovering downhills, so you'll be crossing your threshold
over and back a lot (crits are good training for MTB races!) so
threshold work isn't as targeted as it is for a road ITT, but it's
still going to help.

I'd also be, as you mention, doing a lot of skills work - this has the
potential to save you from wasting energy, especially at night. One
bad crash will cost a lot of time!

Re a taper, I don't know what sort of base you have, but you
*definatly* want to taper. If you haven't tapered for an event before
it's difficult to suggest "the" right taper, but you can certainly
carbo-load, I refer you to this :

http://www.aboc.com.au/perl/tips.pl?p=carboload

Tapering's an interesting subject in itself, but as a general rule of
thumb, don't do anything during a taper (anything from 2-10 days....)
that leaves you not fully recovered in 24 hours. This *usually* means
short, high intensity
sessions - high cadence, low resistance, short interval work, mixed in
with easy base (E1) riding. The emphasis during a taper is to be fully
recovered on raceday, but not flat. It's a balancing act, and one that
takes experience to get right.

* Maximum steady state. There's lots of myth and misunderstanding
about what consitutes MSS, some call it lactate threshold, others
anaerobic .. it's not really either of them. Have a look at this :

http://www.wholeathlete.com/documents/ABSTRACT-mss-protocol.pdf

(appologies for the PDF, it's not my info!)

Also, for some more explanation - the abstract isn't much use, and I
haven't been able to get a copy of his paper yet :

http://www.wholeathlete.com/testing.htm

Hope this helps!

I forgot to mention, unless you're doing the event on a fixie, ditch
the fixie for training.
It won't help. Fixies are good training for .... riding fixies. Your
time is very limited, don't waste it on something that isn't
specifically useful to your target event.

Tamyka Bell <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

Quoted message said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the
bikes, I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs
prior to the Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with
Tam and some other guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS
this week due mainly to the crappy weather we have been having in
Melb and I can't wait for my legs and bum to remember what riding a
bike feels like again!!

<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not
that I don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been
panelled on a course, and they've said I can join late, but I've
missed this course the last three years and I am a bit concerned about
the hassle of getting there, etc. And I haven't booked flights because
I decided to pull out. But he wrote back and insisted I stay in the
team, something about being the Inaugural ADF Women's MTB Champ (which
I guess means I'm the only female on the team, although I haven't
checked that much... eek! What to do!

Tam

Scarily Gags seems to think you are a guy - confused

Cheers

BrettM

"Bleve" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Without knowing exactly how far away the event is (3 weeks?) I can
offer the following advice :

At 12pm today it will be exactly 21 days away. Oh Bugger!

Parbs - Hoping to do 10 laps or half as many as Willo (the freak!)

"BrettM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tamyka Bell <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

Quoted message said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the
bikes, I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs
prior to the Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with
Tam and some other guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS
this week due mainly to the crappy weather we have been having in
Melb and I can't wait for my legs and bum to remember what riding a
bike feels like again!!

<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not
that I don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been
panelled on a course, and they've said I can join late, but I've
missed this course the last three years and I am a bit concerned about
the hassle of getting there, etc. And I haven't booked flights because
I decided to pull out. But he wrote back and insisted I stay in the
team, something about being the Inaugural ADF Women's MTB Champ (which
I guess means I'm the only female on the team, although I haven't
checked that much... eek! What to do!

Tam

Scarily Gags seems to think you are a guy - confused

Cheers

BrettM

No I don't.....I said Tam and some other guys.......she is the only female
in the team!!!!

Gags

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"BrettM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tamyka Bell <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, it was written:

> Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off
> the bikes, I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the
> legs prior to the Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of
> six with Tam and some other guys). I have ridden to and from work
> on the SS this week due mainly to the crappy weather we have been
> having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs and bum to remember
> what riding a bike feels like again!!
>
<Snip>

I just emailed our coordinator today, to try to pull out! It's not
that I don't want to do the event - I'm mad keen. But I've been
panelled on a course, and they've said I can join late, but I've
missed this course the last three years and I am a bit concerned
about the hassle of getting there, etc. And I haven't booked
flights because I decided to pull out. But he wrote back and
insisted I stay in the team, something about being the Inaugural
ADF Women's MTB Champ (which I guess means I'm the only female on
the team, although I haven't checked that much... eek! What to do!

Tam

Scarily Gags seems to think you are a guy - confused

Cheers

BrettM

No I don't.....I said Tam and some other guys.......she is the only
female in the team!!!!

Gags

Sorry literal meaning only.....thats Tertiary level english studies for
you. Since you haven't done the training or the event yet I didn't
really think you were that confused (yet).

Cheers

BrettM

Gags said:

Well, I am now back from my trip away and after about 3 weeks off the bikes,
I have got about 3 weeks left to get some miles in the legs prior to the
Mont 24hr race in Canberra (I am in a team of six with Tam and some other
guys). I have ridden to and from work on the SS this week due mainly to the
crappy weather we have been having in Melb and I can't wait for my legs and
bum to remember what riding a bike feels like again!!

Hopefully I will be able to make it out on Sunday for the BR to rack up some
kays and have my first decent hitout on the Cecil Walker since I built it
up. Also, I am hoping to catch up with a few of the BR guys who I haven't
seen in ages!!

My basic training strategy for the next three weeks is as follows:

-Take the long way to and from work along the Yarra (about 30km each way)
and try to use all of the singletrack bits along the way. I also want to do
a few runs into work on the new fixie and so I will prob go via the Yarra
Blvd to include a few undulations.

-Do the next three or so BRs to get some longer rides in on the weekends.

-Do a few rides at night (prob 2 or 3 a week) to get back into the swing of
things with riding off road using lights. This will also allow me to
fine-tune my light setup (currently planning on 10W and 15W on the bars with
15W helmet light as well)

-No change to my diet.........I will continue to eat lots and often. Will
probably try to up the water intake though and maybe cut back a bit on the
coffee.

-Probably taper off for the last 3 or 4 days before the race.

Now all I need is for those in the know to provide me with
feedback/suggestions/tips on if what I am proposing is reasonable and how I
might improve on it. Of course I will drop the name of anyone who
contributes to my training schedule during our team's acceptance speech on
the podium 😉

Ride On,

Gags

Went through all of this last year in preparation for the Kona 24hr - nowhere nearly as comprehensive and detailed as yours, but in a similar vein all the same...

That's all great and will contribute well I'm sure, but underlying that will need to be some serious skills work and experience (as Bleve suggested too) if your offroad technical skills aren't already good. In my experience, I was feeling fine in terms of stamina, energy, etc during the race - but suffered because I wasn't mentally or physically prepared for the technical aspects - and thus suffered sore body muscles I never knew I had, plus a mental unwillingness to go out again and again (as the other two members of my team collapsed even worse under the pressure and turned us into a one-man team!). If I'd had the technical ability, then I'd have been able to use my training efforts much more wisely...

Just a few thoughts - but don't take them too seriously - After all, we came stone cold motherless last in our division!

Eddie(grumble stupid teammates grumble)C