Race another season of CX and learn some more! Yeah!! This year I will be in the Cat 3/4 field and I plan to spend more time practicing skills and bike handling before the season starts. Last year I just threw myself in with little practice.
Participate in road races again this year, including the ABR and USAC IL State Championships. No crits.
Participate in gravel races - Rough Road 100, Little Apple 100, Steamboat Gravel Race and other gravel events/rides.
Do more of the hard group rides in the area to sharpen pack-riding skills, with a focus on positioning.
@Joan Good luck with your goals. What ride are you doing in Oregon? I go to Central Oregon several times a year and like to road and mountain bike while in Oregon.
I am a sprint triathlon specialist, at this point. I love them. I am getting over a disappointing cyclocross season and a subpar off season, with a dose of depression and lack of motivation mixed in. Nothing is exciting me but I did sign up for 2 women-only sprint triās. Secretly, Iād love to race Chicago and Nationals (and qualify for Worlds in Australia) but Iām struggling to hold on to a threshold that used to be my tempo power and thatās just on the bike. I am intrigued by speed skating so next off season, Iām looking forward to it as cross training for cycling.
-Angie
Hey Angie- those women-only sprint tris sound like fun! If you come to Chicago please tell me- Iād love to meet you in person!! Iād invite you to stay at my house but you would risk getting to the start line tired and stressed out (blame it on the kids and dog hahahahaha!!!)
As for the bike, threshold power is only a very small part of the equation. You donāt need- and really shouldnāt- hold a constant power in these events. The most important training you do is to work on your power zones above and below threshold in intervals that allow you to build and clear lactate while increasing speed and momentum according to the terrain. Itās the training that we are focusing on!
To give you an example, I am working 1:1 with an athlete who went to Kona a few times. He came to me because his time is always the same on the bike. He got really good at doing the same power every time, but cannot seem to improve it. Turns out, even though he is very strong, he needs to develop the ability to surge and recover at the various zones. Same for cadence- he has never done cadence training.
Stick to the workouts and you will see improvements in your speed, regardless of your FTP.
