November

November is a good time to start preparing slowly for next years race season. After the State Champs in mid October most riders took a week or two easy or completely off. This is always a good thing to do after a long race season. 

If your goal is to be on form at the start of the Florida race season (Tour of Bahamas starts Jan 22-24) then you should be training already seriously in November. Training this month can include longer rides on weekends and strength training in the work week both on and off the bike. 

If you are planning on changing bikes and pedals then now is a good time and not in the middle of the season. This is also a good time to bring your weight down if you are carrying a little extra body fat. Working on improving your core strength and leg strength in the gym will contribute to your all around fitness and bike performance for next year. 

December

Base training focused on building endurance and muscle strength.

Ideally, perform all training this month under threshold power. It is okay to go in Zone 4 for short periods of time during group/weekend rides.

Use big gear intervals to build muscle strength, and add a few standing-start sprints to improve your explosive power.

Use On/Off intervals to keep your fast twitch fibers from falling to sleep. Work on leg speed, without stressing the heart, to improve pedaling stroke and cadence.

Use long rides to build endurance. Use cross training on or off the bike for fun and fitness maintenance. Use the gym for core and specific strength training.

January

Increase your threshold power. This requires plenty of long sustained intervals right at your threshold heart rate or power. Now is the time to prepare for the race season coming up with local fast group rides or training races that simulate racing. Make some hard race type efforts in the local group rides by going for the sprints or breaking away. When drafting spin at over 100rpm to improve your leg speed.

January is also a good time to improve your sprint with weekly sprint session. To maintain your endurance gains from your winter base training include a weekly tempo intensity ride in a big gear or at a high cadence.

If you have been training in the gym over the past couple of months then now is a good time to focus on explosive power. To achieve this increase the speed of execution while reducing the weight. Keep the reps low so that you don’t increase muscle size.

If you are carrying extra body fat then now is the time to reduce your body fat percentage. This with specific training is the best way to improve performance.

Your bike fit should be dialed in for race season by this time. If you are going for time trials in 2009 then ride once a week on your time trial bike.

February

The Florida race season starts in February! It is time to test your legs against your fellow competitors. Once you start racing all the training goes out the window. In a race there are many riders of similar strength. What separates a winner from other competitors is his mental outlook. Consistent winners go to races with the attitude to win. They believe they can win. They are focused and know how to maximize their strengths.

Here are some tips that will help you prepare better for an upcoming race:

Come up with a goal for each race. Aim high! Ask yourself - how do you need to race and what strategy do you need to implement in order to achieve your goal.

Come up with a pre race routine. You should have in place a pre race meal plan, a specific warm-up, the time your need to be at the race, and your bike should be tuned to race by Friday the latest. Being organized will take some stress away from race day.

Visualize your success! There is nothing more powerful than putting out a strong intention to achieve a certain goal. If it is hard for you to believe that you can achieve a win then remind yourself of all your best races or group rides and the great training you have done. This will increase you confidence.

Training in between racing should include plenty of recovery and some very hard interval sessions on a Wednesday, but only if you feel like you are recovering well both mentally and physically. Performing a simulation ride that is similar to the race on a Wednesday is a great idea and will prepare your body for what is in store on race day.

March

April

In April there are 3 exciting race weekends on the calendar with Webster Roubaix, Chain of Lakes weekend in Winter haven, and the ZMotion weekend in North MIami. Training for Webster should include some hard VO2 type efforts over 2 miles in durations, simulating the gravel road section.

The Chain of Lakes will be a great weekend of racing with a road race on Saturday and a critierum on Sunday. After Webster you will need to recover well and then include some speed work and short, high intensity intervals to prepare your body for the race weekend.

Many of you will be targeting the State criterium at the middle of May. This race is one of the hardest criteriums in Florida with a hill every lap. To be good for this race you will need to start training in April. Include plenty of speed work like long sprints and repeated acceleration intervals that simulate the intensity of criterium racing. Practice your cornering skills if you lose ground in the turns. Improve your leg speed with high cadence spins on the rollers or trainer.

For touring riders training can include longer endurance and group rides. Remember to increase your fluid and electrolyte intake significantly with the recent increase in temperature. The local weekend group rides will keep things fun and competitive.

May

June

In June there are some great races to look forward to with Stuart, Ocala Stage Race, and Lake County State Race. This is the last big block of racing in Florida before a 2 month break from racing over the summer months, up until middle of August.

It is a good idea to give these last races your biggest and best effort knowing that you can take a rest period after Lake County Stage race. Train hard, stay motivated, and do something special in your races.

After Lake County you can take a week completely off from the bike unless you are preparing for Masters Nationals a week later. You will not lose any fitness with a week off the bike but will gain good mental freshness. After 1-2 weeks of rest and recovery, you can resume similar training to what you did in the winter months with longer base rides and some on and off the bike strength training.

July

If you don’t plan to race in July out of state then now is a good time to resume some base type training. You can do very similar training to what you did in the winter months with long rides on weekends and on and off the bike strength workouts.

Now is a great time to work on areas that are hard to work on while racing like improving your pedal stroke, weight loss, and bike position changes.

One or two hard rides a week will keep your body fine-tuned for racing and high intensity riding. The local group rides are sure to be fast as riders become inspired watching the Tour de France.  Be prepared for some epic rides in San Antonio on Sundays!

August

Florida racing has now resumed in August. In September and October there are some great races on the calendar. August is a month to build up your race fitness for the final 6 weeks of racing. 

If your goal is to hit top form for the end of season races and the State road race on October 10th, then August is a key month of training. Training this month can include longer sustained intervals at your threshold power/heart rate. As you approach race weekends you want to increase the intensity by adding some VO2 intervals and short, very intense anaerobic power intervals (30-60 seconds). 

Riding more than 3 hours during this very hot time of year is very fatiguing. You are better off riding a maximum of 3 hours on your long days. If you can ride early in the morning or in the evenings then that will help to avoid placing unnecessary stress on your body.

September

September is a month full of races with only one weekend this month race free. As we approach the end of the season it is important that you stay fresh by cutting down on your overall training and include more recovery days.

Specific training this month should be specific to the races coming up. So for a race like Sugarloaf it is a good idea to go out to Sugarloaf before race day and ride up the hill a couple of times at race pace. This will simulate very closely the effort that will be required on race day. You can do the same for the St Joe race which is also an uphill finish, although shorter than Sugarloaf. Remember your speed work and time trial training for St Augustine and Clearwater.

The 2009 race season will be over in just a couple of weeks. Make these last races your very best effort and finish off your season with a great race!

October