Pre-Season Review
Before the main portion of the cycling season gets underway, it is a good idea to review your training records and journals up to this point. Ask yourself how is the training going so far? Is your body adapting to the increases in volume and intensity? Have you been completely recovering? Are you getting enough sleep (one of the most important things to keep track of)? The questions are virtually endless, so it is important to take an objective, non-biased look at your logs, or have a riding partner or a coach review them. If you do discover mistakes, don't worry! The training process is not etched in stone — in fact, training programs should be designed with some flexibility to accommodate any necessary change. It is much easier at this point to make any needed adjustments than later on in the competitive season when there may be no time.

While you have your logs out, it is important to review your targeted events. In the initial stages of planning it is quite easy to become overzealous and try to plan for multiple events. In our sport, events can vary from several hours long (centuries) to several days long, over demanding terrain and less than hospitable environmental conditions, so it is important to choose your event(s) wisely, carefully and realistically. During this review, try to learn as much about the event as possible — talk to other riders and the organizers, gather information, look at websites to get a complete picture of what the event entails. We will look at tactical preparation later in the article. While we're on the subject of training logs, let's review the concept of periodization. Periodization in simple terms is the careful manipulation of training volume and intensity to achieve certain desired results. If one would look at a graph or table of the overall training schedule, the competitive or in-season phase is quite often the longest phase and since the competitive phase includes, well, competitions and other key events, it often is the most intense phase of the overall training schedule. When we combine high levels of volume with high levels of intensity, a nasty word can occur — overtraining. Overtraining can lead to decreases in performance and worse — injuries. An injured athlete cannot perform at any level, much less optimally, so overtraining avoidance and recognition is very important. It is therefore essential to define for yourself well-established objectives for each ride to maximize training efficiency and minimize the possibility of overtraining.

On-Bike Training Considerations
Let's start by looking at the most important aspect of in-season training — the cycling itself. Up to this point, you should have many miles of pre-season base conditioning in the legs. Many rides probably consisted of steady riding to promote the efficient development of the aerobic energy system and its associated pathways. If you have a new bike, a new piece of equipment, or wanted to try out a new feeding plan, these rides have been ideal to allow your body to sufficiently adjust to the new setup. Now that the main season is approaching, it is important to emphasize quality over quantity. Rides at this point will become more intense and it is critical to remember the periodization concept — high intensity and high volume can lead to overtraining. So, as your workouts get harder, cut down on the volume a bit to allow for positive adaptation to the increased stress. Just think of volume and intensity as an inverse relationship — when one goes up, the other must come down. That may be an over-simplification, but avoid the overload of increasing volume and intensity at the same time.

As for the actual on-bike workouts, here is a sample of some common types. (Note: the exact prescription for workouts is highly individual and beyond the scope of this article. You may or may not need to incorporate these workouts into your individual program. These workouts also assume that you have an estimate of your anaerobic threshold to allow intensity to be prescribed as a percentage of AT. These are just very general recommendations)

Base or cruise intervals are usually performed during the last phase of your base aerobic development. These workouts generally last around two or three hours at 85-90% AT and allow for the gradual introduction of higher intensity workouts.

Threshold rides are performed during the first month of high intensity training. Basically, the goals of these workouts are to increase the ability to work at a higher intensity while remaining in an aerobic state. Threshold workouts commonly consist of shorter, harder efforts followed by a recovery period. For example, after a sufficient warm-up, 30 to 60 minute efforts are performed at 95-100% AT followed by a sufficient cool-down to allow for the anaerobic by-products to clear.

Lactate buffering workouts start during the second month of intense work and are performed for short periods at 100-105% AT. An example of this workout would include a sufficient warm-up then shorter 15 to 30 minute efforts followed by a recovery period. The purpose of these workouts is to increase the anaerobic threshold, or the upper point of efficient aerobic energy production. The higher the AT, the faster you can ride without tapping into anaerobic energy demands.

VO2 max workouts are the most intense type of interval work and should be used sparingly — again remembering to focus on quality, not quantity. These efforts are done for very short periods at very high intensity. For example, after a sufficient warm-up, several short 4-6 minute intervals are performed at >105% AT with recovery intervals between each effort.

Even though the training intensity is increasing during this stage, it is equally important not to forget about recovery. Before the start of your in-season training, it is a wise idea to plan out a rest/recovery period of training. Training is not a linear process — it should involve periods of high intense work interspaced with periods of recovery and if recovery periods are built into the training program beforehand, there will be less of a tendency to skip them. Remember when you train hard, you must rest hard as well.

It is also important to keep up those training journals as the workouts become harder. Never underestimate the value of detailed training records. It may be somewhat tedious, but the information gathered will be extremely useful and the more information you include, the better. As with all elements of cycling, try to enjoy the process of reviewing your training records and view it as a learning experience to further your development as a cyclist.

Off-Bike Training Considerations
One very significant point is that all training adaptations occur when the body is at rest, so it is very important to give some thought to time spent off the bike. Now that the training intensities are dramatically higher, adequate rest and recovery are crucial for a consistent season. Again, here is where training journals become an invaluable resource — by logging the amount/quality of sleep, daily mood/stress levels, etc., you can get a good overall picture of how your training is coming along. In training for ultra distance events, rest is just as important (many would argue more important) as the actual training sessions. Many cyclists meticulously plan out their season down to the last mile taking into account training distances, times, heart rate, power output, cadence and other parameters but fail to address planning a rest/recovery strategy.

Speaking of journals, daily nutritional intakes should be logged as well, ideally on the same page as all of your other training data. With the increased heat and humidity, more intense workouts, and more time on the bike, good solid nutritional practices must be followed. Simple things such as keeping track of water intake throughout the day, or ensuring adequate fruit/vegetable servings can make a substantial difference in performance.

Once the cycling season is underway many of us neglect resistance and flexibility training. Cyclists typically employ resistance training in the pre-season phases and abandon it once the competitive season gets underway. Instead, try to implement a maintenance-type strength training program one or two times per week. Nothing elaborate is required — 20-30 minutes is sufficient. This program should involve exercises focusing on core strength and endurance (a key aspect for ultraendurance cyclists) and flexibility exercises which can serve as a preventative measure to minimize the occurrence of overuse-type injuries. An excellent reference is Resistance Training for the Ultra Cyclist.

Perhaps the most important consideration of off-bike training is to remember that we do not live in a bubble — we all have family, friends, work, and other social commitments that deserve our time, energy, and commitment. It is very easy during the main season to get tunnel vision and neglect others; instead, get them involved! Maybe you could have your friends and family ride with you. OK, they are probably not going to do your threshold workouts with you, but you could use your cool-down portion of the workout to ride with them (many cyclists ride too hard during the cool-down anyway). At work, post flyers about your targeted events to keep co-workers informed — some of them may want to volunteer for the event, or you just may find a new training partner. The more social support you get for your training and main events, the easier it is to relax and enjoy the entire process without the stress and guilt.

Tactical and Psychological Considerations
Up to this point, our discussion has been about preparing the body for the demands of the main season — now let's consider preparing the mind. Sports psychology is a whole discipline with many theories and principles, but reviewing some simple points can make a substantial impact on your training. Arnie Baker in his book Essentials of Bicycle Training and Racing offers several important points:

• Understand your reinforcers and needs — why you ride, why you race.
• Set realistic, specific goals.
• Expect over-frustration at first, or limit task difficulty.
• Familiarize yourself with pre-event, event and post-event routines.
• Set up appropriate reinforcers (family, friends, fellow athletes).
• Work on the most controllable factors — preparation and effort.
• With poor performance: learn, correct and adapt.
• Get confident.
• Achieve your goals!

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On the website there is a good series of articles on mental preparation: www.ultracycling.com/training/breathing1.html.

In your training log track qualitative data. How do you feel on and off the bike? Elements such as amount/quality of sleep, nutrition, illnesses, emotional/stress levels, and general well-being are just as important as numbers you read off of your cycling computer or heart rate monitor.

Tactical preparation can help formulate a strategy to ensure a successful ride. It is never to early to get an overview of the key event noting climb locations, gradients and lengths, locating rest stops, inquiring about sag support, identifying checkpoints and clarifying any confusion along the course. Many clubs or organizations that host events provide valuable information via web sites or cue sheets to give riders detailed course information. Tactical planning might involve training on terrain similar to a key part of the course, such as an important climb, just as professional cycling teams do on critical stages and events. Talk to (or e-mail) other riders that have ridden in previous events. Many riders are happy to discuss their experiences and offer some valuable tidbits of information that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.

Conclusion
The recurring theme in this article has been the importance of training logs and records to prepare for the upcoming main/competitive season. Basically you are writing a "training manual" for yourself that will be a tremendous resource for current and future training. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of books and articles on endurance training, but only you can figure out what works best for you — we are all unique individuals. What works for one athlete may be harmful to another — it is imperative to avoid a cookbook approach to training.

Taking into consideration your on-bike workouts, off-bike time, psychological and tactical preparation, get out there, get others involved in our wonderful sport, and have a great season. Happy riding!

References
Baker, A. (1996) Essentials of Bicycle Training and Racing. San Diego, Argo Publishing.