Don't you love the word, "specificity?" I had to look the pronunciation up on that one because my long tongue kept getting tied up trying to say it. Spes-if-ic-ity. Got it. Ok... what is it in relation to mountain bike training for the Transylvania Epic? It means the focus is on something specific and for the next two weeks that means climbing and Lord knows I'm the worst climber out there so this week and next week will be good to help me work on my weakness. Part of my problem with climbing is a very poor weight to power ratio. You see, I'm too chunky to be a decent bike rider and that doesn't make for good bike climbing skills. But I'm working on the weight part and my training plan will help me work on the power part for climbing. I'll be in the trainer during the week and will get out on some good mountain climbs this coming weekend. Here's a sample of a trainer workout:
15 min warm-up with easy spinning
15 minutes at 75% effort (for me, that's about a 132 heart rate)
5 minutes easy spin
15 minutes at 80% effort (144 heart rate)
5 minutes easy spin
15 minutes at 75%
5 minutes easy spin
4 x 1 minutes at 90% with 1 minute rest between (90% heart rate is 162).
I live on a hill, so Saturday will be some hill climbing next to my house and if the weather sucks, I'll do a half and half ride: half on the trainer and half on the hill next to my house. Hopefully the weather will hold out and I can get to Michaux on Sunday to climb with my bud, Donna. Nothing like suffering with someone. Actually, after years of training by myself its really nice to have someone to train with for a change. Even Rick is hopping on his trainer during the week and we "train" together. It's awesome. (Although, I had to ask Rick what pedaling so slow does for him...). A whole new realm of training has opened up. It's fun!
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