Mid-Week Warrior?
If there’s one thing you should know about Marc, it’s that he really loves going hard on his bike. It doesn’t matter if it’s a group ride, mid-week training crit, or European cyclo-cross race — Marc will happily turn himself inside out at any opportunity. Suffering is his love language.
Marc in action at Diksmuide CX, Belgium
Much of Marc’s summer training centers around unstructured mid-week training races and small weekend group rides. He’s highly motivated for these, and they’re an important part of his training and lifestyle.
As Marc builds fitness into the ‘cross season, you might think that his mid-week workouts become more intense to mirror the demands of a 60-minute ‘cross race — but they don’t. Instead, I often have Marc dial back his training intensity and do solo workouts. We deliberately limit the intensity of Marc’s training between races so he gets to the starting line feeling fresh and ready to do what he loves — ride really hard!
Marc’s “mid-week CX prep” workout is composed of several short VO2 intervals, a block of steady tempo and a set of microbursts at the end of the ride.
This workout hits a number of training zones and energy systems, much like a ‘cross training race or group ride. But, unlike the highly variable duration and intensity of a mid-week cross practice, this workout generates a predictable and specific type training stress that Marc can readily recover from before his next race.
Training between race weekends can be tricky, especially as the days get shorter. It’s fun and doesn’t take a lot of mental effort to head to your local ‘cross practice or training race, and it’s great bike-handling practice. But, if you find yourself with tired legs come race day, take a look at your mid-week workouts — are they working for, or against you?
Happy Marc, and happy coach! Lichtervelde CX, Belgium.
Off-season Training Made Easy
Don’t let your fitness fade into the sunset this fall — get a jump on the offseason with a Custom 3-Month Training Plan. With plug-and-play workouts (like the one above) and follow-along core & mobility work, you’ll always know your training’s on the right track. Learn more here, or jump on a call with me to talk more about your custom plan.