November is the start of the training year..time to get yourself ready for the coming Season.
Most of the Class A type personalities are already itching for next season. Even some of the Bs are twitchy. They're thinking about this seasons f*ck ups and mistakes.
So November is the time to start the base training, the long non stop,bread and butter miles need to be started.
Anybody serious about next season has a road bike. We're not talking about severe creasing sessions..just base fitness. Whether you are a serious XCer or Dher. Nows the time.
March is now only 5 Months away unfortunately
Most of us will lose a few training sessions during December due to socializing and January and February could intervene with the Weather.
So..
don't switch off and don't even think about trying to catch up in December. Commit now and enjoy the rewards next year in the NPS or the Club League.
but most of all pace yourself...long and steady.
And yeah..unless you are committed to racing next year, either the CLub league or the XC/DH NPS then I don't want you on my spins.
Richie
now to continue..
First of all..for some bizarre and idiotic reason next years XC NPS is 8 races starting in March.
This is stupid..believe me, i've been involved in all the NPS' since the very first one..
6 races makes a perfect NPS..
5 races to count.
This tightens it up and makes it competitive..
8 races starting in March makes people concentrate on March while the Nationals are in July.
so you train for March, by June you're dead meat, tired, burned out, demotivated.
and next years Courses ?
The last race before the Nationals is a universally despised course with poor Organisation.
So think about it..5 out of 8 races equals a dilution of the series.
Theres no problem starting the season in March with a 4 race K Capital style series..short, enjoyable , technical, sizing up sort of races.
then bam..NOS 1 Starts in May..
god weather, lessons learned, equipment and courses ready for the riders and away we go..
start with Carlingford, Bunclody, Castlewellan, Slade, Djouce,Kilruddery , Nationals on 3 Rock.
Thats the perfect NPS and Nationals..
But sure what would I know..
then end the season with Tracton, The Marathon champs in Ballyhoura, The Cooley Thriller, the Djouce Trail Challenge and The POG reinvented.
So if you want to do well at next years NPS and Nationals..look at the last 5 and the Nationals..
racing in March should be fun and sorting yourself out. Not serious and not contributory to your season goals.
Look at 2010..
the people who were Championship material at the start of the NPS lost their edge by June..
How do I know this..
never forget that i was the very start of this game..this is not new or surprising to me.
If every other Country in the World has only 5 or 6 races in their NPS then why do we have to be different?
I don't give a fiddlers what other Clubs think..you work back from your Nationals, not up to it from the depths of Winter.
Richie
So if you want to do well at next years NPS and Nationals..look at the last 5 and the Nationals..
racing in March should be fun and sorting yourself out. Not serious and not contributory to your season goals.
Look at 2010..
the people who were Championship material at the start of the NPS lost their edge by June..
Oh yes, I'm not making the same mistakes again next year, it was my first serious racing season so I was so excited I started too hard and when the competition were pulling their aces out of their sleeves for the Nationals I had nothing left.
I think that if you plan your season well, that is to peak at the most important races, then it doesn't really matter that it starts in March or how many racers there are in the series, it's up to the rider to choose the strategy. I think I like it more this way....
well max, i understand your view but my experience ( which is collossal in this !) riders train for race 1, its the lucky/unlucky few who start their racing in May , that win the Nationals, unless they are Elites..even then..thats just Robin and as he is basically unbeatable on a proper course its outside the trend.
look back..remember who was going great at the start in Bunclody and then look at who was going well at Nationals time.
believe me, i've seen the pattern since the first ever race..
The K Capital Cup was a great idea by Robin, he got in 4 short technical races early on in the Season and then off he went to race great in the UK for the remainder of the Season and build up to the Olympics.
It ruined the NPS but they were brilliant events.
Very few people are racing now more than a couple of years..its all new to you, you think you have the right formula.
You're wrong.
Unless you are supremely disciplined and can race the first few races in an 8 race series as warm ups, then you will race 100% from the get go..
Look at yourselves on the Thursday road spins.
You should all be spinning along in your inner ring..but no..you're all beating yourselves to death in your big ring and yonking up the Clmbs out of the saddle.
You don't have to listen to me and you don't have to trust my knowledge and experience in this and I'm sorry I have to remind you lads just how long i've been doing this but every year I see the same mistakes being made.
if any of you really want to win next year then email me or talk to me in person.
All I wanted to say is that for a disciplined rider (I'm yet to see if I am one!) the long season will probably be ok, but I agree that for most it might be too long and confusing.
Sorry Max, no offence meant, i'm just speaking my mind and giving you the benefit of my experience.
Its entirely up to you and others what you do with it.
i'll be racing seriously next year for the first time since I started EPIC and I'm planning ahead myself.
Look at yourselves on the Thursday road spins.
You should all be spinning along in your inner ring..but no..you're all beating yourselves to death in your big ring and yonking up the Clmbs out of the saddle.
I was trying to explain this to a unamed rider about the based miles, peaking for a race etc.... I thought it was funny when he said "not in the big ring sure what other ring would you be in!" I hear you Richie, people should take advice off riders with more experience to try and improve themselves if they want, but I suppose people need to figure out what there goals are and how much there willing to commit. The session is very long I even made the mistake for starting racing in February but was burnt out by June. Wont be making that mistake next year as my session could be over in May when I getting married!
heres a very good site to look at.. http://www.xcracer.com/
ok its very English and some of the stuff is way over examined...but read through it and find the bits that relate to your goals.
Its really very simple but people just don't believe it when its simple, they have to have reams of data and information and testimonials from John Q winner to get them t believe it.
Jesus the Brits and Europeans are miles and years ahead of us.. this cracks me up..when I ran the first XC nationals here, we had nearly the same turnout as they had. Now look at us..
Mind you, they don't have the Blast !!
So I guess I must know something.
by the way, these are not cranky posts, I have strong feelings about the NPS, i'm not going to publicly criticise the Commission on the main forum but I am entitled do do it here in the Members area.
What i'm trying to get across here is that try to base your training on an 8 race series look at the first 3 as preparation and work on the remainder as the real deal. No offence to the first 3, I still think one of the more popular races should be the last one before the Nationals,
Slade Valley or 3 Rock would be ideal.
I will be running a Team in next years NPS and so I will be attending them all, I have plans for a Ladies and Youth Team, training them to prepare and race the NPS.
It might encourage others to race, as opposed to looking at 3 or even less in categories !!
I'll be racing Elites myself if Alfies idea of dropping one lap from the Elites race.
obviously I changed my mind because of the disgraceful treatment of Luke by the Commission.
I'd do the same for any member of EPIC I felt was being **** on !
Just to add my opinon....
I am trying to get in the miles at the moment. I am getting in a couple of hundred base kilometres per week, at a steady pace. To try and build up the fitness, but to be honest, I do it because i enjoy it. not so much for racing, but to try and stay healthy.
Thursday nights spin isn't overly fast. the only time it heats up is on the climbs, and I kinda enjoy the battles with Alfie up the hill. not that either of us are competitive.
I have a good understanding of training principles, and feel the odd hillclimb at threshold is harmless at this time of year.
Plus, I am not training for racing next year... and with the way things look for the coming season, I'm happy to not be.
I sat out 2010 in protest of how CI treated a simple email of mine. Looks like I will sit out 2011 too. I refuse to give my hard earned money to something don't believe in.
I don't have a problem with that Fatty, you are free to do what you want..you have always been a valuable member of EPIC, i know I'm happy to accomadate you, knowing how you feel and what you're like ( i mean that in a good way )
I always count on your help..you are one annoying c*nt but I love you inanyways..
Richie