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Making an annual training plan--#1
Nov. 21st, 2004 07:50 amAll right... it's time to make an annual training plan. (Not an endurance athlete? Bored by the arcane technical aspects of road cycling? Feel free to skip; I will not be offended.)
In past years, I've had a coach do the ATP for me, and I ended up in excellent shape and did great in races. That won't work this year; I suspect that, for me to be motivated enough to work out when I have a large competing priority (school, naturally), I have to understand exactly what a particular workout is doing for me.
Fine. I will train myself.... first I make the annual plan, then that devolves into monthly or weekly training schedules that I follow.
So first, the questions to ask yourself.
Step 1: What did I acomplish this year?
Ooooh oooh, an easy one. First road race, first criterium, couple of cyclocross races, rode across Iowa, learned to hang with the fast guy ride on weekends.
Step 2: What are my limiters, or to put it another way, what kept me from winning the races I was in?
Hmm... can't climb hills as fast as other people. When I have to follow a pace dictated by someone else, like in a paceline, or respond to the group's changes in speed, I struggle. When there's a sprint, I struggle. I have a hard time staying upright on my 'cross bike-- technical skills are definitely a limiter. And speaking of limiters... time and emotional energy are limited.
Step 3: What are my strengths?
Endurance and ability to stay at my anaerobic threshold (the point where my legs are making lactic acid as fast as they're disposing of it-- the maximum sustainable aerobic pace) for a long time.
Step 4: What drives me to do this? Why do I race bikes? What do I get out of it, and what do I expect to give up to get it?
I'm healthy, I look good, I accomplish things, I test myself against others. I expect to give up free time, money, and emotional energy, all of which can be in short supply.
Step 5: What are my goals?
I have two goal race series: (1) ACE speedway (April to September, every other Tuesday, 30 minutes on a flat track) and (2) NCCyclocross (October to December, 30 minutes in the dirt). If my new team is also devoted to the idea of the Dixie Classic Criterium series in Winston Salem (50 miles away, but on Tuesday nights alternating with ACE), I could be persuaded to do those too. I might also throw 2-4 road races in there (25 miles, ~2 hrs) and 2-4 criteriums (30 minutes). Hmm... I don't yet know which races my new team will want to do.
Hmmm... looking briefly at the results from last year, I find my new teammates listed in the results for the following races that are in a driveable radius of my house:
Tour de Moore (late April)
Top of the Hill Road Race (mid May)
Wake Habitat Cycling challenge (late May)
State Championships (early June-- need to see where they are held)
State Games (late June)
and some politically important crits in September: The Carolina Cup, the Elon Crit (my hometown race)... and finally, the Two Hours from Anywhere Omnium (road race, time trial, crit) in late September. Cyclocross, as always, starts in October and goes until December.
In past years, I've had a coach do the ATP for me, and I ended up in excellent shape and did great in races. That won't work this year; I suspect that, for me to be motivated enough to work out when I have a large competing priority (school, naturally), I have to understand exactly what a particular workout is doing for me.
Fine. I will train myself.... first I make the annual plan, then that devolves into monthly or weekly training schedules that I follow.
So first, the questions to ask yourself.
Step 1: What did I acomplish this year?
Ooooh oooh, an easy one. First road race, first criterium, couple of cyclocross races, rode across Iowa, learned to hang with the fast guy ride on weekends.
Step 2: What are my limiters, or to put it another way, what kept me from winning the races I was in?
Hmm... can't climb hills as fast as other people. When I have to follow a pace dictated by someone else, like in a paceline, or respond to the group's changes in speed, I struggle. When there's a sprint, I struggle. I have a hard time staying upright on my 'cross bike-- technical skills are definitely a limiter. And speaking of limiters... time and emotional energy are limited.
Step 3: What are my strengths?
Endurance and ability to stay at my anaerobic threshold (the point where my legs are making lactic acid as fast as they're disposing of it-- the maximum sustainable aerobic pace) for a long time.
Step 4: What drives me to do this? Why do I race bikes? What do I get out of it, and what do I expect to give up to get it?
I'm healthy, I look good, I accomplish things, I test myself against others. I expect to give up free time, money, and emotional energy, all of which can be in short supply.
Step 5: What are my goals?
I have two goal race series: (1) ACE speedway (April to September, every other Tuesday, 30 minutes on a flat track) and (2) NCCyclocross (October to December, 30 minutes in the dirt). If my new team is also devoted to the idea of the Dixie Classic Criterium series in Winston Salem (50 miles away, but on Tuesday nights alternating with ACE), I could be persuaded to do those too. I might also throw 2-4 road races in there (25 miles, ~2 hrs) and 2-4 criteriums (30 minutes). Hmm... I don't yet know which races my new team will want to do.
Hmmm... looking briefly at the results from last year, I find my new teammates listed in the results for the following races that are in a driveable radius of my house:
Tour de Moore (late April)
Top of the Hill Road Race (mid May)
Wake Habitat Cycling challenge (late May)
State Championships (early June-- need to see where they are held)
State Games (late June)
and some politically important crits in September: The Carolina Cup, the Elon Crit (my hometown race)... and finally, the Two Hours from Anywhere Omnium (road race, time trial, crit) in late September. Cyclocross, as always, starts in October and goes until December.
