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Why and When For An Epic Bike Week

SwanieSwanie
in General Training Discussions

I have read the Wiki regarding epic bike weeks, but in laymans terms, what are the benefits of an Epic Bike Week and how far out from your A race should they be planned. Al Truscott did his 4-5 weeks out from Coeur d'Alene and Rich is doing his 9 weeks out from IM Wisconsin.  Also,  If they are benefitial why are they not part of our regular plans?

Comments

  • Gordon CherwoniakGordon Cherwoniak

    Steve,

    I've never done an epic week of training and I don't know about timing.  What I have read it that the big bike week or an epic week can give you a good boost to your fitness several weeks down the road.  For me personally I could not handle a 35 hour week of training like Coach Rich just put in. 

    As for not being part of the plans, not everyone can fit this much training, recovery and more training in.  That's why there is the wiki and the macro thread to allow those with the option to work it in to their plan.

    Hopefully someone else will chime in about the timing.

    Gordon

  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    What Gordon said. The opportunity to do a weeks like these are very individual and it wouldn't make sense to blanketly include them in the plans. But the team and the coaches have enough experience with these to advise people on how/when to organize their own high volume opportunities, based on their schedule, ability to recover, etc. In my experience, timing is more often a function of the stars aligning in your life to let you put together a week like this. Life says it goes _here_ on the calendar vs where we would recommend.

    In the end, you can do a lot with just frequency. I've ridden every day since last Saturday. I only added up the volume yesterday and was surprised to see I was over 330 miles. I've also been running frequently and even though I took Thurs off from running, I'm still at 33 miles running within that bike volume. Aside from being overall just tired and sleepy, I don't feel that bad. Everything has been at a steady intensity and all I've done, literally, is eat, sleep, train, watch the Tour (no TIVO so I have many friggin' commercial songs bouncing in my head, my own little nightmare), return emails, do RR podcasts, etc. IE, a very unique situation.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    Thinking about the timing of a "camp" ... what I've discovered over the past few years is I seem to get the best results from having a camp in the range of 9 >> 6 weeks before an IM. When I do the ones 5 >> 3 weeks before, my marathons haven't been as fast. I am suspecting that the camps are a great way to soldify putting the far on top of the fast relatively early in a 12 week IM build. It seems, for me at least, to be very important to hit the long runs and rides and RRs precisely as written in the final six weeks before an IM.

    That said, my timing has always been dictated by life requirements, rather than any grand strategy. But I've done enough of them at various times to have come to the above conclusions about myself. Life this fall is dictating the following timing in the lead up to IM AZ: Two weeks just before the start of the 12 week IM build (dictated by my daughter's wedding on Sept 4th), and then again for about 12 days in weeks 7 >> 6 before the IM (dictated by the need to not take too much consecutive time off work, and the deteriorating weather in CO mtns where I go for these). I'm hoping I'll get the same results I did the last time I had this timing in 2009: a 4:03 marathon after a sub 5:30 bike.

    As to what to do during the camp: they are great opporutnities to get in a lot of 75-85% bike work, 3-4 hours  a day, 4-5 days a week, with a couple of bricks, and longer runs on the other days. Speed work on the run is out the window d/t acumulating fatigue, and harder work on the bike can easily be taken care of by hammering hills a bit during the rides.

    I started doing these really as a logical extension of the week + long bike tours I used to take with friends and family. When those folks got too "old" to do them any more, or moved on to other pursuits, I just took the vacation time myself. My family (sister/bro-in-law, wife) still come along, just don't ride any more.

  • SwanieSwanie

    Thanks G, R, A-

    I guess I knew the answer to the question- "Why BBW isn't part of the normal plans"

    I am tentatively planning a big Bike Weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) for the weekend of Sept 11th. It works well into family life and the weather is excellent this time of year in the Washington Cascades.

    Al you will know the area, Starting in Packwood , WA  then a 110 miler up to Stevens Canyon (7000' gain) for Friday, another 50 miler to be decided with similar gain for Saturday, and a 114 miler up to Mount St Helens (7500' gain) on Sunday. The sunday ride is catered supported ride with a large local bike club (High Pass Challenge). This is 10 weeks prior to IMAZ.  Could I expect to maintain the gains that I will get from this weekend until Arizona?

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    @Steve, those gains will help you with your final prep...but at 10 weeks out I think that it won't boost your race performance per se. I think that what you do in those last 8 weeks is more likely to make a difference. If the BBW won't work, then just crush all your training...the plans really work!
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    @ Steve - the back-to-back rides on weekends are powerful tools for building and sustaining IM specific fitness - take them seriously and they will work, but be sure to get the rest you'll need on Monday.

    I will sometimes drive down to Chambers Creek, ride to the Dupont SST ride from there, go 2.5 (45-50 miles) hours with the club, and return to do a 30 minute brick on the hills on the Golf Course trail there. That's a mean Saturday ride, then on Sunday, either up to Port Orchard and back, or over the bridge to Pt Defiance, and a few loops there and back.

  • SwanieSwanie

    @P- I might put that big bike week off a couple of weeks so I can carry some of that fitness over to IMAZ. I have to be careful about waiting too long or the snow will start to fall. Thanks for your reply. And thanks for starting that thread regarding the volume of the coaches- good conversation!

    @Al- I am starting to pay closer attention to those sat/sun rides and nailing the zone 3 stuff more. I may add a little bit of volume to my mid-week ride while the weather is good, while closely watching my revocery.

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