I did my first motor paced workout yesterday, though I’m not sure that I did it correctly. How does one go about effectively incorporating these kinds of workouts into a training program?
RP
motor pacing is a race specific workout done with road racing in mind. you can learn to ride at a higher intensity with a bigger gear than you normally would, just like in a race. Riding is done close to lactate threshold for extended periods of time, much like tempo riding, except at faster speeds. Over-under intervals are also good to do while motor pacing. 5 min at LT or slightly above, 5 min slightly below, repeat. You can vary the length and intensity of these workouts. I would start with like 20-30 min of tempo, depending on how fit you are at this time of year.
tommy
Also note motorpacing is technically illegal on public roads in the US. Enforcement is spotty but if you see a cop it’s safer to back off a bit so it’s not so obvious what you are doing.
This may be a dumb question, but do you remain in the slipstream of the vehicle during the entire workout or do you fall out of the slipstream for an interval? I just stayed in the slipstream for a 10 mile ride yesterday, and cut four minutes off my regular 10 mile time trial time. I want to increase the time of these kinds of workouts, but I want to make sure I do them correctly.
RP
You should try to ride in front of the motor bike, riding at the same speed as you would behind it. After a few minutes, move back in the slipstream. Do a number of reps. At first this will be quite hard, so keep the time short in front of the bike. Try to increase time in front the more used you get to the speed.