EN training for the off-road addict?
First of all, thanks Rich and Patrick for letting us all in to see how this works and being so willing to answer questions.
I am really looking forward to checking the team out for the next couple weeks to see if it would be a good fit for me and I have some questions that I hope someone can answer!
A little background... I've finished (and not finished) a couple IMs in the past as a self-coached "just effin' train" athlete. Now I'm signed up for my first IM in five years - CDA 2011.
My goals for 2011 are:
- FINISH and have a blast at CDA
- PR at IMCDA (14:49 - lots of room for improvement there!)
- Use all that fitness to do something super cool later in the season (100 mile mtb race? 50k or 50 mile run?)
So here's the thing: I love mountain biking more than life itself and I'm hoping to be able to continue spending at least SOME time on the dirt while I'm training for IM. I TOTALLY get that the vast majority of my riding will need to be on the road but I'm hoping to at least keep up some of the time on the mtb (say, 1 ride/week?).
How would this fit in with EN? Is that something that can be worked into an EN plan/team approach or will I be encouraged to hang up the mtb from February-June? I'm hoping that as long as I'm getting in enough time on the road that all that time on the mountain bike is something that can be worked with. I'm never opposed to going for a mtb ride instead of doing a swim workout.
Having some guidance on how best to move around and modify workouts so as to include some mountain biking would be HUGELY beneficial to me ... Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Jen
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I've done IMCDA 3x and, in my own training, either March 1st or April 1st was my day to hang up the road bike and lock myself into the aerobars on my tri bike. So you can set a hard date like that. Up until then, I don't really thing it matters what you ride. My motto is the bike to ride is the bike that keeps you excited about riding a bike, the one that is more fun for you. My tri bike is alllll business, like a business suit. Great for the job but when I put it on, there ain't much fun about it. I only want to have to put my head into that place for only so long during my training. For me, it's about keeping it fun for as long as I can, then getting serious and going to work for a relatively short, but very focused, timeframe.
Thanks for the input, Rich!
I wouldn't mind hanging up the mtb from March/April-June if it weren't already mostly hung up from November-March due to weather. The reality is that I don't end up getting in THAT much mtbing in the spring because our trails are usually soaked ... I just hate the idea of completely giving it up completely during that timeframe.
We plan on doing our annual trip to Moab and Fruita again this spring. In the past this has been a MTB trip but I am planning on bringing the road bike along also this year so as to get in some road rides where its WARM at that time of year. I'm just hoping this doesn't preclude me from hopping on the mtb too ...
Is there any reason why I couldn't replace a swim with a mtb ride during those last few months before CDA? I don't really need to do a ton of swimming so from that angle I would think it would be ok but I wonder what the impact would be on recovery for the runs and road rides?
Bottomline is this is all just a game. If part of that game, for you, is riding a mtn bike then go for it and then lock yourself, or not, into your tri bike whenever you want. Again...it's all just a game.
Do you mean Fruita just outside of Capital Reef? I'm a UT NUT, I love the place, though I've only done one cycling trip out there, from St. George to Blanding then some Mtn biking in Moab. I'm scheming a Tour of UT training camp for next September, and will, with Dog as my witness, hook up a 1-2wk dirtbiking trip out there next spring or fall.
If I won the lotto we'd move to Springdale, outside Zion, tomorrow....or Moab
Yeah, I have a hard time getting excited about swimming more than twice a week ... it doesn't really seem to make much of a difference for me. I could swim more and make up a minute or two or five but I don't think I'm ever going to get that swim any lower than that. Hard to get very motivated for it!!!
Fruita, Colorado ... not Utah. Altho it is near the Utah border about two hours from Moab. Its gorgeous out there and the mountain biking is amaaaazing. I want to move there but the husband says no as 1) we probably won't find jobs there and 2) there is no brewery. I say we open up a brewery and kill two birds with one stone!
P
I spent most of last summer riding my mtb (running injury pulled me out of IMC). I rolled into mtb riding with my highest FTP ever. It just did not translate to huge and better power on the mtb. At the end of the summer, my FTP had dropped 30 watts, but my V02max watts were at an all time high. Not to completely geek out on you with the power stuff, but my point is that riding mtb is not like IM riding of steady watts. Also, I noticed that my average rpm/cadence dropped with mtb riding only.
Coach Rich is right: it's all a game. If it's not fun or if you feel like you're missing out on what you love, then it's not worth doing. That being said, I wouldn't replace the FTP intervals on the road bike with an mtb ride. Also, be mindful to not become a gear grinder like I did.
I'm planning on doing a couple of 100 mile mtb races after Outseason next year. I do think they will be increase my bike fitness and will be good exercises in pacing. However, I shall tearfully put my beloved mtb away once the 12 week Race Prep starts.
So Jen...what mtb to you ride? Mine is the Gary Fisher Hi-Fi Pro---yep, I'm a 29er nut job. Love the wagon wheels! Building a ti hardtail with a carbon belt drive and Rohloff hub this winter...
Is Fruita totally awesome? I've never been but have been itching to go...
Its good to know I'm not the only one around here!!
I just counted back 12 weeks from CDA and its sometime in April. Not getting on the mtb (worst case scenario 
) for that time probably wouldn't be the end of the world. And if I can get in at least a tiny little bit it'll probably be enough to keep me happy! I'd really like to do a 100 mile mtb race this year (I actually entered the Leadville lottery last year but didn't get in) after CDA. Which 100s are you thinking of doing?
Niiiiiice bike! How tall are you? I test rode a 29er a couple years back and it just felt like too much bike for me (I'm 5'3" ...). My husband is a 29er freak as well - he's been coveting a Superfly for a few years. I'm riding a Scott Spark Contessa RC - its new to me this year (all the chips fell into place and I got a killer deal on it!) and I LOVE it. I was riding hardtails up until I got this bike and now I'm never going back!
Fruita is so much fun! Great trails, great vibe, gorgeous scenery. I love that place! We're trying to get back out there yet this fall. Have you ever ridden in Crested Butte? We were just there for the first time on Labor Day weekend and I am in love. Its my new favorite place to ride (sorry Fruita, I still love you!!). Just gorgeous!!! I've never done any mtbing on the east coast - how is it out there?
jen
For the mtb races, I'm planning on the Mohican 100 in Ohio and Wilderness 101 in central PA. I've never been east of PA to ride mtb. Riding around my neighborhood is mostly twisty, rooty trails with mud when it gets rainy. Last year was so rainy that I changed my tires to Conti Mountain King 2.4's and put a fender on the back. Central and SW PA riding is all about rocks. Rock gardens that can stretch for over 2 miles---which is when I heart my FS and tubeless tires. Riding in VT is with all of the above: roots, logs, mud, and rock gardens--with rocks covered in moss.
Moab, Fruita, Crested Butte---they are all on my mtb bucket list! Someday I would also like to do the BC Bike race (hence getting a mtb with the Rohloff and belt to have a near maintenance free drivetrain). So what has made CB your new fav?
just gonna lurk & learn from you two
I'm seriously about $3995-towards-a-dirtbike-first away from scrounging up another $1k (?) to buy a good used frame then working with Sawiris to kit it out.
www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp
My starter MTB...Soon as the achilles shuts up, I am on it!!