What I mean is that at some point this spring I’ll be sequestering myself as best I can, telling the wife that she won’t be seeing me much that week, and putting in some mega mileage in preparation for races in late May and June. I plan on doing this for 9 days, just not sure exactly when. Over those 9 days I hope to do something like 1200 kms on the bike, or approximately 3x my normal volume.
Not sure if this is going to kill me or make me stronger. Hopefully the latter.
If anyone has done something like this, what were your experiences? Beneficial or no? I am not an IM guy, and don’t intend to be. This is primarily for bike racing, up to about 4 hour races.
I have a copy of Friel’s book, just haven’t opened it in a while. I’ll take a look, thanks.
BTW, I wouldn’t characterise this as crash training. As of now I’ve been on the bike for a month, building base. By the time I do the mini-camp, I’ll have another 2 months of training and racing in my legs. Just looking for something different that will help with my endurance.
I have been contemplating doing an over-mileage weekend. Take a half day off on Friday, head out for a long brick, and then swim, bike and run as much as humanly possible over the rest of the weekend.
I did it in Curacao. It works. It is tough, but for me, it works. One week: Train, eat, sleep; repeat. As much as possible. It is always a “breakthrough” for me.
I’ll tell you after the 1st of March. I leave the cold of Ohio behind on Wednesday night and I’m heading for south Florida. The wife is not coming along so it’s me, two bikes, a wetsuit, and running shoes (oh, and the girls on South Beach). We’ll see how it pans out and if it is worth it.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with camps. I’d like to make a few suggestions to maximize your experience:
LEAVE HOME…Seriously, you’ll never truly relax and it’s a lot harder to “get away from it all” if you are riding the same roads, eating in the same place, and dealing with all your personal issues. Trust me, you can still do a VERY affordable 1 week camp on your own (grab a buddy, stay a Motel 6, and train together).
Focus on Riding AND Swimming…Let the running legs take it easy, but look to build volume in the non-contact sports.
Speak to a coach to discuss your background and goals for the week…Seriously, if all you do is ride, you may not fully take advantage of the time off.
Ensure you have a good recovery week after the camp.
Another approach is to simply take a 3-4 day weekend every month. This allows small spikes in volume, doesn’t disrupt your life, and increases consistency more than a camp which often results in a huge spike followed by a bit of an extended trough.
This would be a bike-only camp. I haven’t been able to do much running in the offseason, 'cause I keep getting myself injured (poor biomechanics and weak joints, so my entire season will be cycling, at least to June.
I don’t think that travelling will be an option, since our first child is due in June and I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking off for a week unless I absolutely had to (ie for work).
They’re all great suggestions, but I think that only 3 and 4 will be practical for me to actually carry out.