What To Expect In Your First Endurance Race – Last winter, when the slopes near my house were covered in snow and the simple idea of taking my bike out of the garage for a weekend ride was right up there with fighting a polar bear, Peloton colleague Liesel_Vink asked if I would like to be interested in joining a 50 mile bike ride in the spring.
Every year she puts together a team, Suds Girls Crew, to raise money for the American Heart Association in honor of her late father. I enthusiastically accepted as I had been looking to take on a new challenge after riding thousands of miles on my Peloton bike for the past four years. But a question immediately arose… How do I train for a bike race? I had no idea where to start.
What To Expect In Your First Endurance Race
To compete Is it inside or outside? Mountainous or flat? Long or short? A benefit trip can be a great place to start if you’ve never taken a competitive trip. Benefit rides can be competitive, but the purpose of the ride is to benefit a charity or cause, so it can be as intense as you like, or not.
Hone Your Marathon Speed Endurance With Speed First Training
You’ll also want to consider how you’ll train for it. “At the end of the day, the most important factor is that the training is done, whether it’s indoors or outdoors,” says Peloton instructor and professional cyclist Christine D’Ercole. He trains indoors when the weather is cold, but stresses that “it’s just as important to train on the ground you’re going to run on.”
“Training for your race is based on duration and intensity demands,” says Christine. That’s whether you’re training for the 3,000-mile race across America, a 200-meter time trial in a velodrome, or anything in between. Select and understand your race first and then build your training plan around it.
No two careers are the same. In addition to the type of race, consider the location and terrain you’ll be competing on. “37.5 miles on a plane at sea level is a very different ride than 37.5 miles from sea level to 10,023 feet of elevation at Haleakala on Maui.” says Christine. He also notes that there are several types of outdoor races to consider.
Consider an indoor race, especially if you prefer sprints to endurance rides. And best of all, you can do some of your workouts indoors, even on a Peloton bike. A virtual race is a type of indoor race. They are exactly what they sound like. Race against other people, also pedaling at home, through a virtual world. Virtual races vary in length and difficulty.
First Endurance Efs Energy Drink Mix 30 Serving Canister Excel Sports
Regardless of the type of run you choose, Christine says it’s important to establish your fitness base so you can create the most precise and impactful training program. Take the 20-minute FTP test on your Peloton bike, which determines your endurance pace. “Once you know your data, you can train to your strengths (or weaknesses) depending on what you want to achieve,” she says.
In other words, the data may surprise you; you may have thought you were a sprinter, but it turns out your body prefers longer, endurance rides. So let the data help you choose the career that’s right for you.
Velodrome races are races on oval, indoor or outdoor tracks that can last 10 seconds (200 meters) or 20 minutes (a few miles), with various lengths in between.
“A Velodrome is a type of stadium. Spectators can watch the races in their entirety from the stands around an oval track. There are several race formats and they are shorter in duration compared to Crits and Stage Races. Races range from as short as the 200-meter time trial to a 200-lap Madison Race. There are both indoor and outdoor velodromes,” explains Christine.
How To Run A Successful First Spartan Race — Syracuse Fitness Center
Once you’ve selected a race, it’s time to build your training plan. In my case, the run will be 50 miles on relatively flat roads, but I live in a hilly area. By training on hilly roads, my thinking went, I would be adequately prepared for a flat endurance race. (However, I immediately learned two hard lessons: 1. Shifting in a timely and sensible manner takes practice, and 2. On a Peloton bike, if you have trouble with a hill, you just need to reduce the resistance, but on a road bike that you would potentially shift to a lighter gear as you approach the incline to avoid torque shift.But there are a few other key considerations.
Everyone who enters a race for the first time has a different goal. Is it just to finish? Is it to finish strong, feel like you could do it all over again right away? Is it to win? Once you understand your goal, you can start developing your training program.
Finding a workout plan can look a number of different ways. You can consult a professional or trainer who can help you make a plan if you’re not sure which one is right for you and your fitness level. Your plan will be based on the type and duration of the race. In my case, I found an eight-week training program of three rides per week. My plan included recovery days for each week, usually with two full days off after the longer rides on Saturdays. Here’s an example of what the first few weeks looked like for me:
Of course, this is my personal plan, so what works for you may look different. For example, on days I know I can’t ride outside, I can just hop on the Peloton bike.
Basic Tips For Running Street Races — Juli Alfonso
One area I know needs improvement for my run is leg strength. There are tons of lower body strength classes on the Peloton app, and if you haven’t tried them before, you’ll learn how I made your legs hurt. After all, you are using your muscles in different ways. But over time, strength work will leave you less sore and increase your numbers on the bike.
20 min Strength Roll Call: Glutes & Legs Adrian Williams · Strength 10 min Glutes & Legs Strength Rad Lopez · Strength 30 min Glutes & Legs Strength Tunde Oyeneyin · Strength
Remember that cycling is a low-impact effort. But when you run, every step involves your foot hitting the ground. This impact helps increase your bone density, which can help prevent injury.
“Cross training is important to help us avoid injuries from repetitive and limited range of motion activities,” says Christine. And cycling is, by its very nature, repetitive with a limited range of motion.
The Ultimate Guide To Strategy In Iracing
Rowing is also great for strengthening your trunk and lower back (a part of your core), which helps you maintain your posture and balance on the bike, especially over long distances.
You’ve probably also heard that rowing is a full-body exercise, working multiple muscle groups at the same time so you expend a large amount of energy with less overall impact. That’s exactly what you need when you’re training for a cycling race.
However, for both running and rowing, there is another key benefit: increasing your mental strength. Simply put, your brain needs a break from cycling all the time. Mixing things up with other exercises helps clear your mind, especially as your training rides get longer as race day approaches.
Although training for your first bike race (even if it’s a charity ride) can seem daunting, if nothing else, just get out, or strap onto your Peloton bike, and ride. Just as we all get better at various things with repetition, riding a bike is no different. But if you want to perform at your best, keep these tips in mind.
Sandbagging, Snoozing And Peeing: What Really Happens At Le Mans?
As Christine mentions above, take the FTP test and a sprint test to help you figure out where your strengths are, what type of race to run in, and how you should train. “No matter what type of running you do, it’s essential to build a foundation of fitness,” he adds, and by doing long endurance rides like Power Zones during the winter months, you’ll improve your resistance to fatigue.
Christine, for example, knows that one of her strengths is a two-minute effort. So your training involves building your capacity around that duration. No matter what type of running and training you choose, she says, “that program should have the right balance of low, medium, and high intensity, as well as strength, plyometrics, overload, stretching, and recovery.”
If it’s your first race, the goal should be to finish. How you want to feel after you’re done—ready for bed, ready to party, or somewhere in between—is up to you and should influence your workout. “Part of the training is developing the mental ability to catch yourself before you give up and, instead of pulling back, push harder,” says Christine. “This requires a willingness to dig deep, face fears of discomfort and push through them.”
Data scientists like to use the expression “garbage in, garbage out,” meaning that if you don’t put in good information, you won’t get good ideas. The same goes for training. Food is fuel, so take a look at your typical eating habits and do a little homework