by Toks » Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:32 am
[quote="ian bradbury 400"]Today i attempted my first race at goodwood,Enjoyed it but suffered and only completed 10 laps of 13,2 things are very apparent,1 nowhere near fit enough even for a geriatric,2Total lack of racing knowledge.So with this in mind here are my questions,1Is there any litriture i can get my hands on to help with fitness training and nutrition.2Besides the club run on saturday how many more miles per week to start should i be pushing.3I,VE A RESTING HEART RATE OF 46 BEATS AND MAXIMUM RATE OF 208 BUT A QUICK RECOVERY TO 90 WITH IN MINUTESWHILE STILL CYCLING BUT NOT UNDER LOAD.Anybody who can help with what more i require to improve before i next race in september.

Hi Ian well done on giving racing a go yesterday; I'm glad to hear you're going to give racing another go when you feel a bit fitter.

I actually reckon if you hung on for 10 of the 13 laps you're not too far away from bunch finish. To be honest with you simply quoting maximum and resting heart rates doesn't really tell anyone a great deal. For example my resting heart rate is 48 beats per minute and my max is 182 (on paper I could be an elite rider or an average 3rd cat) It doesn't tell you much and at least half a dozen people in the club would seriously kick my butt right about now if I atttempted to ride with them. Can I ask some questions?
1. How often do you ride?
2. What percentage of that max could you sustain for say 20-30 mins
3. What happened in the race. Did you sit on wheels/ stuck in the wind etc/
4. What ACC groups do you ride with 16s 17s 19s? If you can stick it out with the 19s you should be ready to do a 4th cat race
5. How about giving a TT ago. Could you hold 20mph for 30mins?
6. Oh and as Sylv alluded why wait till September? It's not as if you got dropped on the first lap. Its only March, I'm sure with more riding/training you'll be ready to race again in June/July?
There are quite a few books on cycling training - The Cyclist Training Bible, Smart Cycling, Bike Racing 101 and various book by Chris Carmichael. They are all useful but provide very general advice - in other words not specific to your needs (you'll need a coach for that)
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, for most newbies like yourself thinking of being competitive in sportives, time trials or road racing the best way to get fitter is to...ride more often(or for longer) and gradually increase the "intensity" a bit on some of those rides (via hills, a few minute surges or sticking with faster riders). Good Luck