Thread: getting back to race shape

I've got this crazy notion to start racing again. I'm going to be 40 next year but my wife is totally up for it. It's been 15 years since I've donned a number and I'm slightly intimidated/overwhelmed at trying to find the time to train with work and family responsibilities. The one bonus I do have is being a full time virtual employee so taking off in the middle of the day for a ride isn't a huge issue.

Track has always been the most fun for me. Crits/road and XC would all be tied for second. Been waiting for the track in Erie to finish up but I'm a little concerned with how it's going to hold up over the winter.

Anyone here in my age bracket that has input? Any recommendations for folks (trainers/coaches/etc) in the Boulder area to go and talk to?

You'll find at the endurance events, 12/24hr stuff, that most people are in that age bracket. I just did the Rage in the Sage, friends got 2nd in 24-4 all over 40, but crush the shit out of it. We had two 12-2 teams, got 2nd and 3rd. Get on a winter program be it a spin class or whatever, go to some cross stuff even if you don't compete being around the riders will get and keep you stoked. There are some events still going on, check them out and you'll see you are in the sweet spot for age.

Other folks have recommended the endurance events to me as well. One of them actually told me I'd be a great candidate for Leadville which I wasn't sure how to take.

Winter spin classes at the rec center are already on my list. Probably going to pick up a new set of rollers as well. This is going to be our first full winter up here so I don't know how much outdoor saddle time is going to be possible.

Thanks for the input.

I raced semi-pro/pro cross country until I was 42.

First, start tracking you weight, resting hr, and other baseline stuff so you can catch over-training early. It's a lot easier to tear yourself down at 40 than at 25. I never got this part right. Every year, by the time the Crested Butte race rolled around in June, I was completely hammered. I'd take a couple weeks off then race well at Snowmass in July. A good coach probably would have kept me from over-taining, but I was too cheap (poor) to have a coach.

Second, if you're a fast twitch dude, get a power meter so you can do long intervals at the right output. I always started my intervals too fast and ended them too slow before I got a power meter. Going by heart rate didn't work for me.

Rollers are great, but they drove me crazy if I tried to do more than 7 hours a week on them. Skate skiing and rando are great for aerobic training. I've seen almost every pro in Durango out skate skiing at some point.

If you're going to race on the track, forget all aerobic crap. Lift weights and do what this says: http://www.ridethetrack.com/pdf/train_paulrogers.pdf

Originally Posted by smslavin

Other folks have recommended the endurance events to me as well. One of them actually told me I'd be a great candidate for Leadville which I wasn't sure how to take.

Winter spin classes at the rec center are already on my list. Probably going to pick up a new set of rollers as well. This is going to be our first full winter up here so I don't know how much outdoor saddle time is going to be possible.

Thanks for the input.

You're in Colorado so you'll always be crushed by someone from the Boulder crowd, but there are plenty of people who just like to have fun. Race CX this fall, then 2x20s on the trainer as often as you can over the winter.

If you are in the Boulder area, you should be able to get lots of outdoor saddle time in the winter. Even though it does snow in the area, it seldom stays on the ground for very long and there are plenty of longer periods where roads are dry and temperatures well above freezing.

Regarding the type of events to race in: It is true that age is less of a factor for ultra long endurance events than in others. The loss of max heart rate (=> loss of V02 max) and type II muscle mass (=> loss of anaerobic capability and speed) that comes with aging is not as critical in ultra long events where one, by necessity, is operating well below VO2 max and seldom goes anaerobic. In addition, older endurance athletes often have developed better capillarization than younger ones and in many cases have improved the efficiency of their riding technique. Both of these factors can offset the loss of max heart rate somewhat and are particularly critical to success in ultra long events. It should be said though, that these offsetting advantages usually are only achieved by those who have been continuously active in the sport as they aged. Improved capillarization, in particular, takes years and years of continuous training to accomplish.

As such, if you are just getting back into it you will have few of these advantages and all of the disadvantages compared to younger riders. Further, training for ultra long events takes lots of saddle time, which can be difficult to organize if you 'have a life'. As such, I'd probably recommend targeting some shorter races for the first year or two, before aiming at any ultras. I'd probably start with some shorter road or XC races. Crits are really fun, but until you get your bike handling skills back up to speed, the crash risk is just too high.

Regarding training: One advantage older athletes generally have over their younger competitors is disipline and self knowledge. You can generally achieve more in less time if you are very systematic and insure that your training sessions are at a high level of intensity. (Just below that which would lead to overtraining). Following a high intensity training regime successfully is only possible if one is very systematic (e.g. not going hard on easy days, not getting suckered into psuedo races with one's buddies when one had a specific training goal for the day, etc.) and knows one's own body pretty well. It will also generally mean doing most of your riding by yourself, since group rides will seldom follow a specified training plan.

You should be able to find a good coach in the Boulder area. If not, there is plenty of good literature out there (The Cylclist Training Bible is a good starting point). I would highly recommend getting a power meter for your road bike. This will allow you to manage and monitor your training sessions as well as any progress you make. It is also a great tool to manage pacing in time trials and on big climbs in road races.

Good luck!

i am by no means a racer, and by no means do the following any longer, but:

if you only have 20 minutes, go ride a hand full of 2 minute intervals.
if you only have an hour, go ride: hard and fast and be wasted at the end.
if you have 2 hours, ride for distance, but feel wasted at the end.

but regardless, make sure you ride everyday you should be riding, but make sure you rest on the days you are supposed to rest.

Hey buddy, not much. What up wit' you?

Originally Posted by smslavin

I've got this crazy notion to start racing again. I'm going to be 40 next year but my wife is totally up for it. It's been 15 years since I've donned a number and I'm slightly intimidated/overwhelmed at trying to find the time to train with work and family responsibilities. The one bonus I do have is being a full time virtual employee so taking off in the middle of the day for a ride isn't a huge issue.

Lots of good advice in this thread already. just curious...15 years since you've pinned on a number, but what has been your activity level (talking specifically cycling of course) since then?

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

just curious...15 years since you've pinned on a number, but what has been your activity level (talking specifically cycling of course) since then?

pretty high. i do about 200 miles a week between road and dirt. definitely not structured cycling specific workouts by any means but i also put in about 25 miles a week of trail running.

Sounds like you have a pretty good base. Mix it up a bit and do a few Xterra races next year. The cross training will help with your cycling fitness.

He fails to mention that his MTB is a single speed. Sheesh.

Originally Posted by smslavin

pretty high. i do about 200 miles a week between road and dirt. definitely not structured cycling specific workouts by any means but i also put in about 25 miles a week of trail running.

ok well shit, yeah that is pretty high. Sounds like at least 10 hours a week? Sometimes more?

Speaking from a standard MTB XC race, I bet you'd do fine if you entered something now. Maybe give it a shot to get a baseline measurement, then set goals for improvement for next year?

Hit Winter Park this weekend, 25 miles of freak show race will sort it out.

Originally Posted by Poop~Ghost

He fails to mention that his MTB is a single speed. Sheesh.

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

ok well shit, yeah that is pretty high. Sounds like at least 10 hours a week? Sometimes more?

Speaking from a standard MTB XC race, I bet you'd do fine if you entered something now. Maybe give it a shot to get a baseline measurement, then set goals for improvement for next year?

yea, at least 10 hours. if i'm not too bogged down with travel or conference calls, it can be 12-15. between work and 3 daughters, it keeps me somewhat sane.

any good pointers for race calendars for the front range? as poop mentioned, mtb is a SS so if i could find a couple of late season SS specific races, that could be fun.

Originally Posted by smslavin

yea, at least 10 hours. if i'm not too bogged down with travel or conference calls, it can be 12-15. between work and 3 daughters, it keeps me somewhat sane.
.

Well, that's about the amount of time that I average as well....divided between a mix of road and SS MTB as well (my MTB races are 100% SS). That amount of volume per week has gotten me quite a bit of success in SS MTB races (click on blog link below, then results header), so you might be closer to race shape that you might think. Some weeks I'll average in the 17-21 hour range for a 2 - 3 weeks blocks when gunning for a result in a longer distance (i.e. 100 miler, 8 hour solo, etc.) race, but 10 - 15 hours a week is probably the typical amount for an Expert level XC MTB racer.

Most races have SS categories, but even if they don't, just enter the geared age group on your SS. I'll do this from time to time and it's no big deal. You'd probably do just fine!

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

Most races have SS categories, but even if they don't, just enter the geared age group on your SS. I'll do this from time to time and it's no big deal. You'd probably do just fine!

thanks for the vote of confidence. i'll see what i can find.

Originally Posted by smslavin

This is going to be our first full winter up here so I don't know how much outdoor saddle time is going to be possible.

Outside of a few days around big storms, if your time is flexible and you know how to dress warm, you should be able to ride nearly year round in the Front Range. The real limitation is lack of daylight for stiffs that have to work 9to5.

- Booker C. Bense

Here's a link with a pretty good schedule of road, track and cross races in Colorado:

http://www.coloradocycling.org/

Originally Posted by smslavin

thanks for the vote of confidence. i'll see what i can find.

You're probably riding more than enough.

I was able to be a respectable semi-pro doing 10-15 hours of training a week. I tried to do more than that in February, when I was doing base miles. I did a 100 hour month in April of '07 or '08 to try to be more 'pro', but I just got extra burned out in June. Most people try to do a 3-weeks on, 1-week recovery schedule. I think I did better, especially as I got older, with a 15-day on, 5-day recovery schedule.

One of the top local pros from Santa Fe told me he races best at 7 hours/week.

I'm pretty sure I remember talking to Ned about training time and he said he hardly ever did more than 15 hours a week.

Several years ago Travis Brown was kicking all the locals butts doing 2 1-hour rides, 1 4-hour ride and lots of yoga per week.

I'm not sure they're still doing it, but there was a great cross country series at Winter Park several years ago. Racing the same people on the same course over and over really lets you know what your strengths and weaknesses are.

Originally Posted by smslavin

I've got this crazy notion to start racing again. I'm going to be 40 next year but my wife is totally up for it. It's been 15 years since I've donned a number and I'm slightly intimidated/overwhelmed at trying to find the time to train with work and family responsibilities. The one bonus I do have is being a full time virtual employee so taking off in the middle of the day for a ride isn't a huge issue.

Track has always been the most fun for me. Crits/road and XC would all be tied for second. Been waiting for the track in Erie to finish up but I'm a little concerned with how it's going to hold up over the winter.

Anyone here in my age bracket that has input? Any recommendations for folks (trainers/coaches/etc) in the Boulder area to go and talk to?

Are you on STRAVA?