Training and Nutrition for Over the Hump
By Craig Hopps: Craig runs Efficiency Coaching, specializing in customized Cycling Specific training and nutrtition
On May 24th the 2011 Over the Hump Mountain Bike Race series is going to start. That means you only have 5 weeks left to get ready! There are several classes and age groups to choose from so you are sure to fit in! On August 30th there will be an awards ceremony to celebrate the top 3 achievers in each class.
Here is the question; are you ready to come out and play? With daylight savings time in your favor now, I’d like to share some specific Over the Hump training tips to help you get race ready.
Before we jump into the tips I need to throw out a disclaimer and commercial. As a coach I get asked, “What do I tell all my athletes to make them faster?” The truth is “what I tell each athlete” is invariably variable! Of course there are general principles that carry over to most of us like I’ll offer in these tips, but the specifics of any Efficiency Coaching training program are customized to the individual. For example, a 20 year old is going to respond to training much quicker than a 50 year old, so the training will vary accordingly. Additionally, many athletes make the mistake of self-coaching through general published truths like doing intervals or doing long hard climbs each week. The question is how many intervals should you do, or how long and at what intensity should your climbs be? Please appreciate that I am attempting to speak to all classes and ages with these general tips and getting the specifics of your training comprehensively “dialed in” will require an individual interaction with a good coach. (That is my commercial) So that being said, let’s get into the tips.
Tip #1: Begin to sequence your training to match the Tuesday night race efforts to come. In other words, do two things here. One, if you can, train in the evenings after work. This will help adjust your biological clock to going fast at about 6:00 PM. And two, make your Tuesday training sessions race pace for about the same sustained time your race will take. I have said it many times, “train like you want to race!” So on Tuesday night, if your race is going to take you 40 minutes, go out and do two separate 20 minute sessions at race pace. If you find that one 20 minute session wipes you out, aren’t you glad to discover that weeks in advance of your race? Build up to your race time in roughly 20 minute increments. This is a hard anaerobic training night that will mimic your race. So on the night of May 24th you will line up at the same time for the same type of intensity, only the Hump will be way more fun than your workouts!
Tip #2: When you follow tip #1 you will discover what nutrition works best for you on race day. If you eat a huge pizza at 3:00 PM, perhaps it will revisit you during your Tuesday night training efforts! On the contrary, take the coming weeks to discover what nutrition works for you and what does not. Consider visiting one of your local bikes shops (Preferably one of the Hump sponsoring shops) and discuss what you should consume in your pre-race hours. I do know that 6-time Australian National Champion Sid Taberlay really enjoys H2O Overdrive prior to, and even during his races. Again, use the “train like you race” mentality to check out what is going to work best for you. In general, the Hump races are short enough to be a little hungry on the start line. Your body’s glycogen stores will carry you through the race without a problem, and a full stomach makes for a potentially messy race experience. Last part of this tip is stay hydrated always, not just on race days.
Tip #3: Take Wednesday off, or pedal easy for a short ride to actively recover. Your Tuesday “race pace” training should be VERY hard! Consider that the top pros in Europe are fearful of 60 minute TT effort. Go as hard as you can for 60 minutes against the clock with no drafting, well, that’s just plain tough. For the most part, the Hump effort resembles a Time Trial in that you go as hard as you can for the duration. It is a maximum sustained effort and you’ll be tired the next day for sure. Even if you “feel” good on Wednesday, chill! Yup, I said it out loud, chill.
Tip#4: Now to discuss a potentially too specific training protocol for Thursday-Saturday. If time allows, I would recommend you do a “base” ride on Thursday. This ride is simply an aerobic 1.5-2.5+ hour ride, where you go relatively easy. (Perceived 70-75% effort) No jumps, bursts, or otherwise hard efforts. If you happen to own a road bike, break it out for this ride. Go light and steady on those pedals keeping your cadence at a 90+ rhythm.
On Friday you can repeat this ride, shorten it, or not ride altogether. What you do Friday has to do with your overall weekly volume of riding. Please do not increase your volume and intensity all at once in order to get faster at the Hump. This is a BIG mistake for most. You’ll find yourself over-trained and a beautiful race will get less enjoyable for you. Go hard on Tuesday and on Saturday. Make the rest “base” days up to your normal weekly volume. With this approach you should be generally pretty good!
On Saturday do your interval training. Start by going out for a 30 min warm up with a few good efforts to pry open your physiology. Then drill out 6 X 1-2 minute all out explosions where you go as hard as you physically can. These short 1-2 minute efforts are “Rip the pedals off your bike and eat them” type of animal grunts. The more pain, the more gain today. Yup, time to really pour yourself into the work out. If you do these right, no one will want to train with you on Saturday! J Take 4-6 minutes of easy granny gear type of pedaling between your efforts to get a complete recovery. During your rest period let the kid on a tricycle pass you! You’ll love what intervals will do for your Hump performance. And you’ll cuss me out after your first one! J
Tip #5: Skip riding on Sunday and do a short “warm up” type of ride on Monday. Like prepping your car for a long trip, prepare your body to perform well. Let your body recover and load up its energy for the race on Tuesday night. Make sure you get plenty of food and sleep on these two important days. If it is hot out, make an effort to drink more fluids. If you’re a vitamin taker, remember to take them! Practice “full sleep” nights as that is when you get stronger! Lastly, on Monday, make sure your ride includes some “leg openers”. This is where you press the pedals just hard and long enough to feel the lactate begin to accumulate, and then back off. Monday’s ride is like a good warm up should be. You need to warm up both your aerobic and anaerobic systems. Should take about 30-60 minutes and is one of your most important rides of the week. It wakes up your body to perform on Tuesday.
Tip #6: While following any of the training tips above, you will come to know your bike very well. You will also come to know that moving parts need maintenance. As a coach, I am amazed at what some athletes are willing to tolerate from their bikes before they finally cave and get it fixed. Here is my best advice, don’t wait till just prior to the first race to take your bike in for a tune-up. You may find that the shop cannot get your bike done for a week! Additionally, you may discover that post repair your bike needs to be fixed again. I am not bagging on the shops here, I am merely stating that after your bike has been overhauled it should be trail tested before the race. It is best to line up with a “dialed in” bike.
Tip #7: Hire Craig Hopps at www.efficiencycoaching.net to optimize your progress over the next weeks. He will structure your customized program around the same hours you currently train and you will arrive at the series a much faster rider! Please call or shoot Craig an e-mail and ask about the Over the Hump Coaching Special. Additionally, here are two athletes that Craig has coached who have improved beyond their expectations.
1. Bow Lemp owns Estate Services AV (http://www.estateservicesav.com/ ) and trains 3-4 days a week. He placed second in the Men’s Beginner 3 Class last year. Here is what he has to say:
“All I can say is WOW regarding the results I have gotten from your training program. Recently, I competed in the Over the Hump Race Series. After looking over my finish times between the first two races, I noticed I had improved more than 3 minutes. On a short 11 mile course, 3 minutes is a huge improvement. Considering that the two races were only about 2 weeks apart that is quite an improvement in such a short period of time.” – Bow L., Mission Viejo, CA
2. Josh Kompa won the Sport 1 class last year and is coming back this year even stronger:
“Craig Hopps’ (Efficiency Coaching) personal and professional experience and knowledge is clearly evident. He personally tests every method and product. He quickly recognized my needs and customized a program to help me succeed. His passion for my improvement is contagious and motivating and will no doubt play a large part in my advancement for years to come.” – Josh Kompa.
3 Comments
Very thorough plan with a good use of hard, easy & rest days.
How would you adjust OTH training for racers who XC race on Sunday (Kenda Cup, Rim Nordic) and sometimes Super D on Saturday? We intend to prioritize the Sunday races and consider the Tuesday race to be a training vehicle – although he fully intends to place high enough to earn swag.
We have the same problem right now with high school track meets on Wed or Thur and high school MTB races (socaldirt.org) on Sundays. To avoid over training, Fridays are typically rest days. Twist in schedule – intense track practice today with league prelims Monday and a HS MTB race Sunday, so Saturday is now the rest day – no Sat pre-ride ;(
Great question: We’ve sent it over to Craig Hopps at Efficiency Coaching for a reply.
Wow, is that ever a great question. It seems you are already sensitive to the concept of over doing it! That is really the first step in progress. Better to error on the side over over recovering than on the side of over training. I would recommend different amounts of recovery day based on age variance. But since i would rather error on the conservative side, I would take all additional intensity days out of the weekly schedule if you are racing the weekend as well as the Hump. Racing is your best thresh hold work, and if your do it 2-3 days a week, you really have done enough! So all other days need to be very moderate with a 70-75% Heart rate and power surge cap. “Save it for the races” is a good analogy here. Hope that helps!