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Marathon Tips |
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~ Training
is just for professionals ~
No not at all in fact training principles can
be used by anyone wanting to improve their
general levels of fitness regardless of the
point at which you start.
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Training sounds all to serious
~
Well O.K. some riders do take it seriously but
riding should still be fun ..." isn't that
what it's all about ? The good news is
that a ride with your mates down to the pub or
cafe at the weekend still counts as a training
session.
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Training sounds too much like hard work
~
Yes, there will be times that riding your bike
is hard, but following a training programme
does not mean that you have to bust a gut on
every ride you do. In fact this is not a good
way to go training. Easy low effort rides are
excellent at building up your fitness. |
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New
Riders
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You have probably just started in this new
and exciting sport and with every new
sport you want to do everything in one day
but probably find out very quickly that it
requires strength, stamina and technique.
Or maybe it's one of the many things you
do but you would like to dedicate more
time to it. So far long distance rides are
not in your plans but by looking at the
MTB marathons you will be in right event
as you will be one amongst many who will
purely see it as a personal challenge.
Trust
us at Bicyclemania.co.uk
the feeling after completing the course is
well worth it. To have a regular pattern
to your exercise is probably something
very new to you and might be difficult to
stick to but in any case you can benefit
from the tips given in this planner. |
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Regular Riders
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As a regular mountain bike rider heading
out onto the big trail you are used to
riding your bike for a few hours at a time
and have done some longer weekend trails.
Some of you may not have undertaken a 75km
or 100km non-stop marathon before or
perhaps you compete in short distance
cross-country events. Even if you have
entered a marathon before you maybe
wanting to improve your efforts.
Are
you someone who feels pretty fit by the
end of summer but at lets it all go by the
wayside at the back end of the year.
Having a realistic training plan for the
next few months will help you to prepare
in advance for the summer season of
marathon endurance rides, sharpen your
speed and shock your mates!. |
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Experienced Riders
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As a relatively experienced rider used to
marathon endurance riding and with a few
races under your tyres, you may already
have some knowledge of different ways to
train up. You may have experimented with
cycling at different intensities and used
interval training sessions before.
This
training planner will help you to
structure your cycling over the next few
months so that you progressively introduce
harder sessions that will ensure that you
are fully fit and well prepared for the
event. |
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Keep things in
perspective:
Remember that the
emphasis should be on enjoyment, satisfaction and last but not
leased Fun ! training should not be a chore.
Listen to your
body:
If you are feeling
unwell, don't train on regardless. As a general rule of thumb,
if you have symptoms below the neck (Sore throat / Cough /
Body aching ... ect) then rest and do not train. If you
are injured see a doctor who will give you advice on how to
avoid further damage.
Vary the speed:
That means the speed
your ride at, although you have entered a mountain bike
marathon, your training rides should not be all long distance
runs! if you train slowly, you'll ride slowly in the event. On
the other hand, if all your work-outs are done at break neck
pace, you run the risk of over training and possible injury.
Varying the intensity that you ride at has the best results.
Warm up:
With at least 15 minutes
of steady riding before each training ride to prevent injury
and prepare the muscles for exercise. Also, try not to end the
training run at full pelt! cooling down with easy pedalling
for 15 minutes helps in the bodies recovery.
Progress slowly:
Avoid getting too
carried away early on! to much to soon can cause injury and
prolong fatigue. If you are new to biking your training plan
will include lots of easy workouts initially and plenty of
rest days to ensure full recovery. Even as a regular mtber's
and experienced MTB rides, training should start out gently,
particularly if you've had a bit of a lay-off.
Recovery:
If you do not allow your
body sufficient recovery time between training sessions your
performance will be affected considerably. Recovery means
having plenty of sleep and incorporating rest days into your
training plans. Experienced mountain bike riders may manage to
train on a daily basis but need to build in " easy days ". New
and regular riders should have several rest days each week of
the training programme. All groups have a recovery week every
4 weeks to allow the body to adapt.
Technique:
Once you can physically
ride a bike, you tend not to think about your technique!
however a good pedalling stroke will make you more efficient.
Poor technique will cause muscles to fatigue and can lead to
injury and decreased performance. Concentrate on a smooth
pedalling technique and make sure you are not pushing in too
high a gear. When cycling on the flat aim to " spin " the
pedals at approximately 80-90 rev's a minute rather than
muscling it in the biggest ring! as you change down the gears
on hills, try to keep the rev's ..(cadence) as high as
possible. Ask more experienced bikers to give you tips.
Cross-training:
This means including
other sports into your cycling programme, for example
swimming, running, football, an aerobics class or gym work.
Cross training has lots of benefits, it rests the cycling
muscles whilst still training the heart and lungs and it
introduces variety to your training so prevents you been brain
dead. |
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~ Frequency ~
How often you are able
to train will vary hugely from person to person. It will be
dependent on work and family commitments and also on the level
of fitness that you have to start with. The idea of a training
plan is that you go for quality and not just quantity, (More
is not necessarily better) So even with a limited amount
of free time for training, if you use your time wisely the
benefits will be greater. This avoids just miles for miles
sake!.
As a new mountain bike rider
used to just occasional
rides, you will find that your performance will improve with
2-3 workouts a week. Cross training is particularly useful to
minimise injury, so the training plan also incorporates other
sports.
Regular mountain bike riders
will have a higher basic
level of fitness to start with and should aim for between 3-5
workouts each week, work and family commitments allowing.
Again these can be varied with other cross training sessions.
Experienced mountain bike riders
will often manage 8
workouts each week with 2 training sessions done on some days.
However as we are not professional mountain bikers and still
have to fit in full time work and have a social life we will
leave it to the pro's to do there thing.
~ Frequency ~
The duration of each
ride will vary depending on what you are trying to achieve in
the training session. Some rides may be short but hard, others
will be long and slow at an easy pace. Long rides in the
winter are always a bit of an effort due to the depressing
weather. So break them up with a cafe stop, take plenty of
warm gear and get your mates to join you!. The length of your
long easy paced ride should gradually be increased as the
weeks go by.
As a new mountain bike rider
start with rides of
about 30-60 minutes but increase so that at least one month
before your first event you have completed a ride of nearly 4
hours.
Regular mountain bike riders
will progress in the
same way so that at least one month before your first event
you have completed a ride of nearly 5 hours.
Experienced mountain bike riders
will complete a ride of
over 5 hours that should be almost equivalent to a full
marathon Enduro distance.
~ Intensity ~
The intensity part of
your training will prepare your body to provide.
Endurance:
To enable you to keep
going the entire distance.
Burst-Speed/Power:
This is the ability to
be able to produce bursts of power for short sharp climbs and
that sprint for the finish line and the end.
Sustainable Speed:
That is the ability to
keep pedalling as strongly in the last 50km as you did in the
first 50km for the marathon event. |
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