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Race The Training Thread

I did some low-cadence drills on the trainer today. But I am limited by my gearing and my trainer's resistance curve, I can only get down to 60 rpm and hit my power targets. But it felt good anyway (3 x 12 minutes of sweet spot at 85 % FTP, a really easy workout).

60rpm is usually the value where you start to lose form so it is a good target.

As strength work I try to do them in muscular endurance zone 3.

Like you say, not so demanding. I like to do them after higher intensity intervals to "finish the legs off".

Andy
 
60rpm is usually the value where you start to lose form so it is a good target.

As strength work I try to do them in muscular endurance zone 3.
… otherwise it'd be VO2max work. 🙃
Like you say, not so demanding. I like to do them after higher intensity intervals to "finish the legs off".
I found it very relaxing to be honest. I sprinkled in some out-of-the-saddle work. I rarely go out of the saddle in real life (unless you count getting up to speed at traffic lights or sprint), but it is a good skill to have and hone.
 
… otherwise it'd be VO2max work. 🙃

I found it very relaxing to be honest. I sprinkled in some out-of-the-saddle work. I rarely go out of the saddle in real life (unless you count getting up to speed at traffic lights or sprint), but it is a good skill to have and hone.

Yes, I often tag on out of the saddle climbing efforts at the end of the ride.

Monday was 30s/15s x 13 x 3 sets + 20 mins SFR + 3 standing efforts.

Like you I rarely get out of the saddle but I think it is good for keeping the core strong.

Cheers, Andy
 
What do you guys use for fueling workouts?
In Brazil, i would go for maltodextrin in the bottles, but here i find it too expensive.
Or am i missing somewhere i can buy it cheaper?
 
Here is what I use indoors:
- Coffee
- I buy gummi bears and gummi bear analogs to have something to nibble on.
- I bought energy mix from SIS and Wiggle. SIS stuff is more expensive, but tastes better and leaves no residue and smell in my bottle (like the Wiggle stuff does).
- I sometimes buy gels (with 160–200 kCal) for about 100 ¥ a pop.

Outdoors:
- Energy mix in my bottle
- Guu "gels"
- SIS gels
- SIS energy "brownies"/baked snacks
 
@Ruda Amazon is usually the cheapest. Last time I bought this one: [link]

Edit: I mix maltodextrin with fructose, plus a pinch of salt and a dash of lime juice. Apparently the body can absorb more energy by combining fructose and sucrose. Also, add gin for a great cocktail.
 
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@Ruda Amazon is usually the cheapest. Last time I bought this one: [link]

Edit: I mix maltodextrin with fructose, plus a pinch of salt and a dash of lime juice. Apparently the body can absorb more energy by combining fructose and sucrose. Also, add gin for a great cocktail.
wow, now we're talking! Thanks
maltodextrin with salt was always what i'd go for, works well


Here is what I use indoors:
- Coffee
- I buy gummi bears and gummi bear analogs to have something to nibble on.
- I bought energy mix from SIS and Wiggle. SIS stuff is more expensive, but tastes better and leaves no residue and smell in my bottle (like the Wiggle stuff does).
- I sometimes buy gels (with 160–200 kCal) for about 100 ¥ a pop.
Didn't think wiggle would send in nutrition stuff (In Brazil, most of that wasn't allowed). Definitely will buy some in the next order.

Those 160-200kcal gels you get on any cycling store?
 
Personally, I like to just go with solid food.

For a 4.5h ride today, I did 3 bananas, 3 soy joy bars, 2 yokan bars, all in the pockets. And two bottles of barley tea on the bike.

But in the hotter months I go with a drink mix to replace lost electrolytes.

And in an intensive long road race, I use gels.

But yeah, everyone is different. Experiment. If you don't bonk and feel good till the end, you are on the right track.

Andy
 
I uploaded last Sunday's race report (Japanese)and some photos to the Imezi homepage.


Ibaraki CX next weekend. The course is a dream for me. But there is tough competition including multiple Okinawa winner and recent Japan tip to toe Guinness record breaker Takaoka san.

Chin on the stem time!

Andy
 
Personally, I like to just go with solid food.
In my experience, the longer the ride, the more solid food I eat. For all-day trips, I usually have a proper lunch. For some shorter rides, I buy onigiri at some konbini. On hot days, I sometimes treat myself to ice cream. Although I have to be careful with proper lunches, I once bonked after a lunch because all of my blood was in my stomach, digesting hand-made soba and tenpura. On shorter rides, I usually just have gels or something similar.

Speaking of konbinis, it is really helpful when you have a bunch of staple konbini foods you can/want to eat during rides.
For a 4.5h ride today, I did 3 bananas, 3 soy joy bars, 2 yokan bars, all in the pockets. And two bottles of barley tea on the bike.
Food is all about personal taste. I can't stand soy joy bars: I find them bland and they make my mouth dry. I can only recommend to try a whole bunch — perhaps soy joy bars do agree with you. When it comes to konbini food, my go-tos are some version of gummi bears. They usually have relatively soft ones in various fruit flavors, those are always great. You can nibble on them, you can share them with your mates (!) and they are stomach safe. Of the bars, I like one type of dark chocolate bar. In Germany, I'd usually buy boxes of müsli bars, which are great, but you can't find those here. SIS et al. have similar bars, but for the price of 1.5, I could buy a box of 6 or 8.

Bananas are great, and offroad I usually put some in my backpack. On my road bike, I usually don't. They get squashed easily and rummaging around in my back pocket becomes more difficult.
But in the hotter months I go with a drink mix to replace lost electrolytes.
This is a very important point. On very hot days, I take two bottles with me, one with highly concentrated drink mix, which I then add while refilling the other bottle with water.
 
For longer rides, i`m still figuring out, but mostly counting on konbinis and vending machines for refueling. Not so practical, but its been working.
But it would be nice to have more calories with me (specially now with covid and also to same some money).

Shorter and more intense rides is what`s been worrying me, since i don`t feel the need to refuel, but i know the calories should be replenished. And also, to train my guts to digest the carbs while working hard.
 
In my experience, the longer the ride, the more solid food I eat. For all-day trips, I usually have a proper lunch. For some shorter rides, I buy onigiri at some konbini. On hot days, I sometimes treat myself to ice cream. Although I have to be careful with proper lunches, I once bonked after a lunch because all of my blood was in my stomach, digesting hand-made soba and tenpura. On shorter rides, I usually just have gels or something similar.

Speaking of konbinis, it is really helpful when you have a bunch of staple konbini foods you can/want to eat during rides.

Food is all about personal taste. I can't stand soy joy bars: I find them bland and they make my mouth dry. I can only recommend to try a whole bunch — perhaps soy joy bars do agree with you. When it comes to konbini food, my go-tos are some version of gummi bears. They usually have relatively soft ones in various fruit flavors, those are always great. You can nibble on them, you can share them with your mates (!) and they are stomach safe. Of the bars, I like one type of dark chocolate bar. In Germany, I'd usually buy boxes of müsli bars, which are great, but you can't find those here. SIS et al. have similar bars, but for the price of 1.5, I could buy a box of 6 or 8.

Bananas are great, and offroad I usually put some in my backpack. On my road bike, I usually don't. They get squashed easily and rummaging around in my back pocket becomes more difficult.

This is a very important point. On very hot days, I take two bottles with me, one with highly concentrated drink mix, which I then add while refilling the other bottle with water.

For actual meals, I rarely eat during a ride. Even before a ride I have to be careful. Indigestion issues. Anything fried like tempura or croquette for lunch makes it difficult to go hard. High fibre too. A stomach doctor actually made me realise that sweet potatoes, although a wonderful nutrition source, were no good for me before a ride.

As for bananas, surely it's worth designating one of your three pockets for!

Soy joys are okay for me. Lots of different varieties and you can carry lots. I had 14 in my non banana pockets for our long gravel rides this year. But they are dry. So you need to drink too. But that can be a good indicator to take in fluids, assuming you are carrying enough.

I was sponsored by SIS a few years ago. So I had all the gels, drink tabs, recovery stuff. Even then it is important to find a balance.

I was laughing at Noguchi san today after our trail ride when he ripped open a 7-11 air packed chicken breast. But as a vegetarian, he had the last laugh as I ripped open 2 bags of 7-11 mixed nuts. Cheap at 100 yen though!

The nutritional value of two Asahi Zeros is neither here or there after a hard ride...

Andy
 
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For longer rides, i`m still figuring out, but mostly counting on konbinis and vending machines for refueling. Not so practical, but its been working.
But it would be nice to have more calories with me (specially now with covid and also to same some money).

Shorter and more intense rides is what`s been worrying me, since i don`t feel the need to refuel, but i know the calories should be replenished. And also, to train my guts to digest the carbs while working hard.

Basically, anything over an hour, you should try to eat something. One item every 30 minutes is a good rule of thumb. Every 20 minutes if it is a long and intensive road race.

I wrote a blog about it here if you are interested.

Cheers, Andy

 
A hard training week for me this week. I feel I have a really big base so I'm trying just to get a bit more top end.

Crashed 3 times on the trail today. One of those days?

The usual training blog link and cut and paste below.

Cheers, Andy



「HIIT! SFR! RACE PACE!」

last week's training blog
今週のトレーニングブログです
変な日本語すみません!

・HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training

先週は4日間に30秒/15秒x13 x3 のインターバルをやりました
last week I did 30s/15s x 13 x 3 intervals on 4 days

・SFR = Salite-Forza-Resistenza / Slow Frequency Repetitions

そして2日間に50〜60rpm×20分のインターバルもやりました
I also did 2 days 50~60rpm x 20 mins intervals

・RACE PACE is race pace!

2日間のレースペースもやりました
and 2 days of race pace

今日は3回クラッシュアウトして
肋骨の痛み!
大丈夫かな?!

3 crashes today
sore ribs!
I hope it's not serious!

last week's training:
先週のトレーニング:

・monday: active recovery (30km)
・tuesday: HIIT / SFR (50km)
・wednesday: HIIT / frontier CX race pace x 3 (60km)
・thursday: HIIT / SFR (50km)
・friday: HIIT / yahiko long (110km / 800m)
・saturday: rest / kids kakuda CX
・sunday: race pace kakuda CX, super long x 5

来週茨城CX
僕にとっての夢のコース!
でも強い選手がいっぱい!
自分ができること
自分が力出せるところ
がんばります!

ibaraki CX next week
a dream course for me
but the competition is really strong
all I can do is my best effort
put the power down where I can!
here we go!

#imezi #imezi167 #167grv #imezisealant #プロジェクト167
 
I'm glad nothing serious has happened. Why did you crash? Was it a gust of wind? Or a careless driver? Or some dirt on the road that made one of the wheels slip?

Took a downhill corner during a race faster than available front grip allowed. It happened almost instantaneously, so I wonder if there wasn't something slippery in the road.

Probably should have lowered the front pressure by five PSI.
 
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