Friday's training

Friday. The big day before the race. You took a travel day yesterday and that leaves today wide open. If that's the case, and you can, just relax. If you have the time, get out and pre-ride the course today. Try to get it done at or around the same time as the event. That way you'll have a better idea as to what the temperature will be like, the angle of the sun which may help if you have multiple lenses to choose from with your shades and most importantly, your legs will have the same routine the following day during the big event. The more structured you can be with your race preparation, the better chance you'll have to be stress free and focused. If you don't have the day off or can't pre-ride the course, don't worry. Try to get out sometime during the day to spin out the legs and confirm that everything is in place. Make sure there are no last min. adjustments you need to take care of. Take the time to clean up your bike and throw some lube on the chain. Growing up my dad always told me "a clean bike is a fast bike." That's no lie. It's important to get as organized as you can the day before especially if you have an early start time. There's nothing worse than rushing around the morning of the event, trying to get your gear together.

As for the pre-race-day ride; I generally don't put in more than two hours of easy spinning with a few small efforts. It's pretty simple really, I mainly tune in to my body and base my efforts on how fresh and snappy I'm feeling. Even if I'm feeling pretty good though, I still don't ride too hard unless I'm training for a stage race in the future. Then it's a pretty good idea to put in some solid efforts the day before a race. Staying out of the heat and making sure you're getting lots of fluids down is also very important. I'll discuss race day nutrition with helpful tips and examples that have worked for me, in a post coming soon.

In some cases, I've found myself getting stressed out because I'm unable to get out and at least spin the legs the day before. Whether it was because of travel or just other obligations that kept me from a little time in the saddle, it's not the end of the world. If you can't get out try taking a walk on your lunch break or if you're that dedicated, jump on the trainer for a bit. Friday's before a race should not be looked at as a "training" day. They're more of an active recovery day. A day to loosen and repair tight muscles and to make any necessary final tweaks to the bike, your positioning or your game plan for the event. The key is to stay relaxed. Don't spread yourself so thin throughout the week while training that you have to catch up on Friday. Try to find yourself in a position to take it easy and enjoy your health and fitness.

Friday. The big day before the race. You took a travel day yesterday and that leaves today wide open. If that's the case, and you can, just relax. If you have the time, get out and pre-ride the course today. Try to get it done at or around the same time as the event. That way you'll have a better idea as to what the temperature will be like, the angle of the sun which may help if you have multiple lenses to choose from with your shades and most importantly, your legs will have the same routine the following day during the big event. The more structured you can be with your race preparation, the better chance you'll have to be stress free and focused. If you don't have the day off or can't pre-ride the course, don't worry. Try to get out sometime during the day to spin out the legs and confirm that everything is in place. Make sure there are no last min. adjustments you need to take care of. Take the time to clean up your bike and throw some lube on the chain. Growing up my dad always told me "a clean bike is a fast bike." That's no lie. It's important to get as organized as you can the day before especially if you have an early start time. There's nothing worse than rushing around the morning of the event, trying to get your gear together.As for the pre-race-day ride; I generally don't put in more than two hours of easy spinning with a few small efforts. It's pretty simple really, I mainly tune in to my body and base my efforts on how fresh and snappy I'm feeling. Even if I'm feeling pretty good though, I still don't ride too hard unless I'm training for a stage race in the future. Then it's a pretty good idea to put in some solid efforts the day before a race. Staying out of the heat and making sure you're getting lots of fluids down is also very important. I'll discuss race day nutrition with helpful tips and examples that have worked for me, in a post coming soon.In some cases, I've found myself getting stressed out because I'm unable to get out and at least spin the legs the day before. Whether it was because of travel or just other obligations that kept me from a little time in the saddle, it's not the end of the world. If you can't get out try taking a walk on your lunch break or if you're that dedicated, jump on the trainer for a bit. Friday's before a race should not be looked at as a "training" day. They're more of an active recovery day. A day to loosen and repair tight muscles and to make any necessary final tweaks to the bike, your positioning or your game plan for the event. The key is to stay relaxed. Don't spread yourself so thin throughout the week while training that you have to catch up on Friday. Try to find yourself in a position to take it easy and enjoy your health and fitness.