V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mountainpedalscoaching80903
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at trout_mic@msn.com, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
V-Club member Bill Grandi is our 51st winner of a $20 VeloWear gift certificate! His question that follows was answered by Peg Labiuk (nee Peggy Maass), a colleague of Marilyn Trout, and a certified NCCP level 3 coach with a career in international road and track racing. She is a World Championship medalist, World Record holder, U.S. Olympic Team member, former British national team coach and Kreb's Cycle co-founder (British Columbia, Canada).
"Age-Old" Recovery
Dear Coach,
With all the emphasis on Lance's mortality in this Tour, I am past finding out that my 57-year-old legs/body does not recover quite like it used to. Like, nowhere close. The terrain here is very hilly and I rode 3 days last week. I really hammered on Wednesday (but suspect I didn't eat correctly). On Thursday I rode hard even though it was cut short to 20 miles and ate a salad when done. Friday came and I was doing okay until close to the last hill (total of 10). I about cooked myself. Pride made me keep pushing but it I had been in a tour of any kind, even with my grandson, I would have been smoked. So... can you help me out? First, what can I do to recover better? What role does protein and carbs have in my recovery? How about massage (would have to be self-massage)? How can I do to maximize the greater benefit? Anything else I have forgotten to ask please feel free to address.
Bill
Dear Bill,
Sounds like you are aging right on schedule. Quad strength diminishes, cardiovascular capacity is reduced, metabolism slows, hormonal levels drop, which all affect cycling performance. Even so, older athletes are still ground breaking. It used to be people stopped training once they started a family or retired from their sport of choice. Although athletes are now training beyond their 40's, 50's, and 60's, there is little precedence to follow. Nevertheless, you can still start with following suggestions for improving recovery for any aged athlete. Make sure you are covering the basics like rehydration, stretching, and just plain resting. You provided me with additional information concerning your daily routine and the amount of sleep you get. Now I understand that some people don't need much sleep, but those extra shorts nights can certainly dig into your rejuvenation time.
You also asked specifically about eating for recovery. I'll steer you to the Velowear archives, to my previous article about Chocolate Milk as an ideal recovery drink. It has the recommended 4:1 carb to protein ratio. I have also seen 5:1 recommended. So, maybe salad isn't enough replenishment if you want to rip it up the next day. Remember that glycogen restoration is maximized in the first 20 minutes post exercise too.
You inquired about trying self-massage as a recovery aid. If you have time Bill, any recovery technique would be good to add. Another thing that people over-look is the benefit of reducing core body temperature post exercise. Get yourself into a cool water bath/shower, cooled air, or use ice as soon as you are done stretching (while muscles are warm, up to 8 minutes after a workout).
You added that you aren't training for anything in particular, but your area has very hilly training routes and I picked up on some competitive instinct. Here are few things for you to consider, Bill. Firstly, as you age and need more recovery time, perhaps you should consider a day or two of rest in between your hard rides. Anyone needs 24 hours to fully recover from aerobic workouts, more if you are going anaerobic. Secondly, beware riding "junk miles", pushing when you aren't recovered enough to get good performance. You know the type, who push all the time and always go the same speed? It seems to me like you are want good solid rides but expect that to happen day after day. Are you taking enough rest breaks - 3-10 days every 3-5 weeks? Rest breaks let your body rebuild from training stimulus and adapt to training. Exercise without enough rest leads to overtraining. So thirdly, track your training and plan
rest breaks. Fourthly, find more ways to measure your training progress than comparing to training partners. There are power meters, speedometers, and GPS devices available to help. I still like plain old timing of climbs and knowing your gear and cadence. While it's nice to get improvements, it's still a lot of work simply to maintain fitness.
So to summarize and prioritize, I'd like to see Bill do the following:
- Get more sleep
- Spread training out over a week, with at least one rest day in between hard rides, or at least a very easy spin in between to aid recovery
- Get into a routine of stretching (the 8 minutes post exercise) and glycogen replenishment (within 20 minutes) post rides and include that in your training time.
- Track your training and plan rest breaks every 3-5 weeks
- Monitor training efforts by your method of choice - heart rate, power, speed, time, gearing or combinations.
Most importantly, list what you love about cycling and keep that the priority, no matter what!
Peg
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