Jack’s training so far for this season has included:
Preseason – The last part of 2014 riding at least four days a week and doing physical therapy to rehab an old injury before the main season begins.
Base – Five weeks of endurance training. The key workouts were twice-a-week aerobic capacity intervals ridden at moderate intensity so that he could talk the whole time but didn’t have enough air to sing.
Base and Build – Seven weeks of combined endurance and power training. The key workouts were once-a-week aerobic capacity intervals and once-a-week slightly harder power intervals.
Peaking – Eight days practicing the time trials with at least two easy days between each TT practice.
Taper – Nine days reducing the volume of training so that he recovered fully from all the hard training while maintaining the intensity so that he didn’t lose power.
Throughout this training Jack only rode two challenging workouts a week, rides that were either longer or more intense than the preceding week. Until he started Peaking he always rode at least 5% below his Lactate Threshold (Functional Threshold Power).
When Coach Hughes saw Jack’s results he wrote, “Your results show phenomenal improvement over last year. Your times were better than last year, with only slight improvements in your power. That’s not disappointing — that’s great news! Your riding is becoming much more efficient. Think how much faster you’ll be when you start training at race pace and your power and speed really increase!”
Jack is training for the Virginia Senior Games in May and the Nationals in July. Under Coach Hughes’ tutelage his training will continue this phased approach, working on different types of conditioning and racing skills in different periods.
Specific, Personalized Training Plan is the Key
Even without a personal coach, you can get the benefits of this periodized approach to training with Coach Hughes’ new eArticle, Your Best Season Ever, Part 1: How to plan and get the most out of your training. The eArticle walks you through each step to develop your own specific, personalized plan that includes:
- The right kinds of workouts,
- At the right times,
- In the right amounts,
- To result in continuing progress.
Implementing the Plan, Measuring Progress Also Vital
A plan is only a piece of paper or a spreadsheet, though. As Coach Hughes points out, to have your best season ever you need to implement your plan by training effectively. In his eArticle he shows you how to:
- Exercise at the right intensities for you,
- Recover fully to allow progress,
- Measure your progress, and then
- Adjust the plan as necessary.
“Creating your plan is work and takes time,” Coach Hughes says. “Every year for each client I create a personal plan, which then guides what I write for specific workouts each week. The hours you put into creating your plan will pay 10 times the benefits of any training you could do on the bike.”
Coach Hughes’ 32-page eArticle Your Best Season Ever, Part 1: How to plan and get the most out of your training is available today for only $4.99 ($4.24 for Premium Members after their 15% discount).
Part 1 of this article series will flow naturally into Part 2, which will take what you’ve learned in the first article and build on it to help you achieve your ultimate goal(s) for the season.
Your Best Season Ever, Part 2: How to use your training and skills for your best performance, is slated to be completed next month. Stay tuned for more details.
Coach Hughes podcast
Coach Hughes will be talking with George Thomas on Monday, May 4, about how a rider can have a great season, including discussing McCombs training. More information on the podcast at http://www.overthetop.bike
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Trek Announces Massive Recall of QR’s on Front Disc Models
Trek has announced a recall of more than 900,000 bicycles in the U.S. and Canada to replace the quick release lever on models with front disc brakes because of a potential crash hazard.
According to the recall notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, “An open quick release lever on the bicycle’s front wheel hub can come into contact with the front disc brake assembly, causing the front wheel to come to a sudden stop or separate from the bicycle, posing a risk of injury to the rider.”
The recall involves all models of Trek bicycles from model years 2000 through 2015 equipped with front disc brakes and a black or silver quick release lever on the front wheel hub that opens far enough [the affected models open more than 180 degrees] to contact the disc brake. Bicycles with front quick release levers that do not open a full 180 degrees from the closed position are not included in this recall.
Trek reported three known injuries resulting from incidents related to this issue: One incident resulted in quadriplegia, one resulted in facial injuries, and another resulted in a fractured wrist.
Consumers should stop using the bicycles immediately and contact an authorized Trek retailer for free installation of a new quick release on the front wheel. Trek will provide each owner who participates in the recall with a $20 coupon that is redeemable by December 31, 2015 toward any Bontrager merchandise. (The coupon has no cash value.)
For more information, contact Trek at (800) 373-4594 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or online at www.trekbikes.com and click on Safety & Recalls at the bottom of the page.
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May is National Bike Month – Some Key Dates and Events
Be sure you’re plugged in to all the Bike Month events happening next month. National events include:
May 1: Bike Month begins!
May 6: Bike To School Day
May 10: Cyclofemme
May 11-15: Bike To Work Week
May 15: Bike To Work Day
May 20: Ride of Silence
Throughout May and beyond: National Bike Challenge
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Cyclist Records Road Rage Attack, Turns Tables on Accuser
Just last week we provided a heads-up to a column written by our friend in cycling safety and founder of Close Call Database, Ernest Ezis, arguing in favor of cameras on road bikes as a deterrent to bad motorist behavior – and to provide incontrovertible evidence in a “driver said – cyclist said” situation.
And this week we got word of a cyclist’s video helping him get a driver arrested after the driver harassed the cyclist, pushed him off his bike, menaced him – and then called the police to claim that the cyclist was harassing him!
When the police responded, it didn’t take long for them to review the video and realize the driver’s story was the opposite of the truth. They arrested the driver and took him to jail.
This could have happened anywhere, of course. But it’s of personal interest to me because it happened in Rome, Georgia, about an hour outside of Atlanta, where I’ve several times ridden one of my favorite centuries on beautiful, bucolic roads.
Share this story (click to see the Atlanta TV version) with friends, both cyclists and non-cyclists. I agree with Ernest that the more drivers know that cyclists (may) have a camera on board, the more likely they are to think twice before doing something threatening or otherwise dangerous to a rider.
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