Cyclocross CX A Race Taper advice

Training
1

Hello!

Looking for some advice on tapering for a A CX race. I’ve been using trainer road for about a year. I had a setback in May with a herniated disk. I got back on the training quick enough to at least get back to the fitness i was at in March/April plus a bit more as i realized on my last ramp test. i’m about two or three weeks into the CX plan after dabbling with base earlier in the year and short power build program (twice over due to the injury). Current plan is train twice during the week with a 50 minute race on saturday.

question is this- i’ve got my A race on November 17th. when do i put a recovery week into my plan to maximize my freshness? do i follow the plans natural recovery week which would be two weeks out with a workout week the same week as the race- or plan for one extra week of training before doing my recovery the week of the race? While i want to continue my incremental gains in FTP and keep training, i’m noticing that each saturday as i get into the season i’m feeling less and less “snappy.” I want full snap at the A race.

2

@Slcmunchie I went ahead and took a look at your plan to see where you are and what we can fit into the 4 weeks you have until your event. What I would do is finish up week two of the plan (which you are starting today) and after this week, jump to week 4 for some recovery since you said you were starting to feel a little flat. After you finish that recovery week, continue on with week 5 of the plan and then jump to the final week in the plan so you finish on the day of your race. This final week of the CX plan is a built in taper so you will be primed and ready for race day. Here is some clarification on that:

  • Week of 10/21-10/27: Week 2 of the plan (this week)
  • Week of 10/28-11/3: Week 4 of the plan (recovery week)
  • Week of 11/4-11/10: Week 5 of the plan
  • Week of 11/11-11/17: Week 8 of the plan (taper)

Hope this helps!

3

Awesome! Thanks!

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