Right before we left
I was asked a question. I have ridden this week more than in the last few
months or perhaps at all. What do I do
next?? The USMES Camp provided the opportunity
to elevate your fitness level, but the camp is not what will make you
fitter. It is the recovery afterwards.
For many of us,
getting in 300 miles and 18 hours of riding is not something we get to do every
week. So the first few days should be
very light in terms of training stress incurred. Also try to limit any outside
stress or additional training stress. This
means do not go to the gym to start that new weight lifting program since your
intensity on the bike is lower. Your
body needs to absorb all of the hard work over the last week. If you push too hard, you could put yourself
in a season-limiting hole.
It is normal experience
a sense of let-down through these recovery days. I know just getting on the
plane did that to me. Returning from
sunny and warm days on the bike with free hotel cookies to normal life requires
a training strategy….just like your camp preparation. Relax and focus on good recovery tools. The goal should be to put yourself in a
position to resume normal training by the weekend.
Here are some tips
for the next couple of days:
1.
Get the heart rate up, but just a little (75-80% of your LTHR): of us damaged our muscles
during the last week and they need time to heal. Blood flow is the body's
healing method. Inflammatory metabolites and damaged proteins can be removed
more quickly, while carbohydrates and amino acids can be delivered. Just
sitting around for the next couple of days is even worse than if you went out
and tried to train hard next week. However, avoid any high heart-rate or high
power efforts till at least Thursday or Friday. Thus, your training should be
"restorative" and not more of a stress load. Ideally you will want to
focus on whatever hastens recovery, rather than that which delays
it.
2.
Focus on Recovery Eating: This means taking in plenty
of carbohydrates, proteins and healthy food as possible. I like to say, eat like an ape. I haven’t seen many McDonald’s in the
jungles, lots of fruit, vegetables, nuts, all the things Jim and Lori told you
about. As Jim said, you should not try
to lose weight during camp but the week after camp can affect the denominator
in your W/kg. If weight loss is an early
season goal for you, use this next week to take advantage of your ramped up
metabolism combined with the lighter training load. Your body does not need as many calories as
Mt. Lemmon and Kitts Peak demanded, so watch your dietary intake.
3.
Hydrate more often than usual. Lots and lots and lots of water. I will even add a little Osmo to my water to
provide flavor and sodium.
4.
Ugh sickness! So
one of the things to think about is that your immune system has been suppressed
over the last week. You are ripe to get
sick if under the wrong circumstance (yep like all of those sick people on the
airplane). Think sanitation, be a
germaphobe this week and get LOTS of sleep.
5.
Healing hands at camp, recovery hands at home. Go get a massage, this
will hasten recovery and allow you to feel (and perform) better that much
sooner.
6.
Reflect. Take
a few days and reflect on what you just accomplished. Take this time and see how you are going to
parlay it into a great season. Book your
flight for next year.
Every camp I do I learn more about our sport, athletes and
myself as a coach. You have learned a lot and accomplished a lot. Take the time and go back to your
TrainingPeaks account or your Training Log.
Write what you have learned so you can reflect on it late in the season
and at the beginning of your next camp.
The big thing for you right now is to focus on post camp recovery or you
won't reap the benefits of your fitness bump.
We had a lot of great coaches out in Tucson this week. If you have any questions, please don’t
hesitate to email me chuck@kylecoaching.com, ask the question on the
internal Facebook page, or reach out to Jim, he has an email address for all of
the USMES Affiliate Coaches.
Rubber Side down,
Chuck
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