Afton Lifferth
5½-Week Training Plan
September 16 – October 24
Recover → sharpen → race Mantua.
Rebuild/sharpen → taper → peak for StateSince we’re well into the race season, for this plan, we’re going to use RPE (rate of perceived exertion) rather than exact heart rate numbers.
RPE
Feel
Purpose
Comfortable
3-4
Endurance
5-6
Steady/moderately hard
Tempo
7
Hard but controlled
Threshold
Maximal
7
VO2/Race Efforts
Recovery
1-2
Very easy
Starts/sprints/short attacks
9-10
Hard but controlled
Wednesday
Recovery / easy spin — 45–60 min
Easy MTB or road
RPE 2–3
High cadence
No sustained climbing efforts
3–4 × 10-second high-cadence accelerations if you feel good
Goal: Get the legs moving without adding fatigue.
WEEK 1, Sept 16-20
Thursday
MTB skills + controlled intensity — 60–75 min
Warm-up: 20 min.
Then:
4 × 4 min @ RPE 7
4 min easy between
Finish with 3–4 × 10-second accelerations.
Friday
OFF or 30–45 min recovery
I’d lean toward off if school/life fatigue is high.
Saturday
Endurance MTB — 2–2½ hours
Mostly RPE 3–4.
Include:
3–4 × 5 min tempo climbs @ RPE 6
Plenty of technical riding
Practice fueling
This should not become a race simulation.
Sunday
No bike
30–60 min walk
Mobility
Light stretching
Optional 10–15 min core workout
WEEK 2, Sept 21-27 This is probably the most important training week before Mantua.
Monday
Recovery / easy spin — 45–60 min
Easy MTB or road
RPE 2–3
High cadence
No sustained climbing efforts
3–4 × 10-second high-cadence accelerations if you feel good
Goal: Get the legs moving without adding fatigue.
Tuesday
VO2/climbing power
Warm up 20–25 min.
5 × 4 min @ RPE 8
Hard uphill or sustained effort
First minute controlled
Last 2 minutes very hard
4 min easy recovery
Then:
4 × 10 sec sprint/acceleration
Full recovery.
Total: ~75–90 min.
The goal isn’t to destroy yourself. It’s to teach your body to repeatedly produce high power when the race gets difficult.
Wednesday
Easy endurance + skills — 60–75 min
RPE 3–4.
Work on:
descending
cornering
line selection
accelerating out of corners
technical climbing
Keep it fun and relatively easy.
Thursday
MTB race simulation
This is the key workout of the week.
After a thorough warm-up:
3 × 10–12 min race-effort blocks
Think:
Hard → settle → technical → hard → recover → attack
5–6 min easy between blocks.
We could do this on the Mantua course if we pre-ride
Friday
Day off
Saturday
2–2½ hr endurance MTB
RPE 3–4.
Toward the final 45 minutes:
2 × 8 min @ RPE 6–7
5 min easy between
Have fun, but don’t turn this into another race simulation.
Sunday
Recovery walk + mobility
WEEK 3, Sept 28-Oct 4 Mantua Race Week
Monday
60 min easy endurance
RPE 3.
Add:
3 × 1 min @ RPE 7
3 min easy between
Just enough to remind the legs how to work.
Tuesday
Race-specific intervals — 60–75 min
Warm up thoroughly.
4 × 3 min @ RPE 8
4 min recovery between efforts
Wednesday
Easy MTB — 45–60 min
RPE 2–3.
Thursday
Openers — 45–60 min
Very easy overall.
During the ride:
3 × 1 min @ RPE 7–8
3 × 10 sec accelerations
Full recovery
Nothing more.
Friday
60-90 min spin the legs
Very easy overall.
Saturday
CRUSH MANTUA
Sunday
No bike
30–60 min walk
Mobility
Light stretching
Optional 10–15 min core workout
WEEK 4, Oct 5-11 RECOVERY + Rebuild
Monday
Recovery / easy spin — 45–60 min
Easy MTB or road
RPE 2–3
High cadence
No sustained climbing efforts
Goal: Get the legs moving without adding fatigue.
Tuesday
Recovery / easy spin — 45–60 min
Easy MTB or road
RPE 2–3
High cadence
No sustained climbing efforts
Goal: Get the legs moving without adding fatigue.
Wednesday
60–75 min endurance + skills
RPE 3–4.
Thursday
Threshold: 90 min endurance ride +
Warm-up.
3 × 8 min @ RPE 7
4 min easy between.
Then:
3 × 10 sec accelerations.
Friday
Day off
Saturday
2–2½ hr MTB endurance
Mostly RPE 3–4.
Sunday
Recovery walk + mobility
WEEK 5, Oct 12-18 Last Peak Training Week
Monday
60 min easy endurance
RPE 3.
Add:
3 × 1 min @ RPE 7
3 min easy between
Just enough to remind the legs how to work.
Tuesday
60-90 min
Warm up.
5 × 4 min @ RPE 8–9
4 min recovery.
Then:
3 × 10 sec accelerations
This should be a very high-quality session.
Wednesday
Easy MTB 60-90 min
RPE 3.
Thursday
State simulation
This is the most important workout of the entire block.
Warm up thoroughly.
50-90 min continuous race simulation ride
Friday
60 min easy spin
Saturday
1½–2 hr endurance
Easy/moderate.
Sunday
No bike
30–60 min walk
Mobility
Light stretching
Optional 10–15 min core workout
Monday
Recovery / easy spin — 45–60 min
Easy MTB or road
RPE 2–3
High cadence
No sustained climbing efforts
Goal: Get the legs moving without adding fatigue.
WEEK 4, Oct 19-24 State Champs Week
Tuesday
Final intensity session
45–60 minutes total.
Warm up.
3 × 3 min @ RPE 8
4 min recovery.
Then:
3 × 10 sec hard accelerations
Full recovery.
Finish easy.
Wednesday
45–60 min easy
RPE 2–3.
Friday
Pre-Ride, 60 min easy spin
Thursday
Openers
40–50 min total.
Very easy except:
2 × 1 min @ RPE 7–8
3 × 10 sec accelerations
Long recovery.
You should finish feeling better than when you started.
Saturday
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.