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What to Do When Your Race is Cancelled

In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the timing of your training for the 2020 cycling season has changed. Races are in question, stress is high, and a lot of us are wondering how to proceed with our seasons with so much being up in the air. So we decided to sit down and chat about the age old question: what should we do when our races get cancelled? How do we proceed when plans change? A lot of us are in this position, so we hope that this clears some of the worry and unknown when it comes to the next few weeks of the season.

#KeepCalmAndFtFPOn . Here are 3 training scenarios if your plans have changed per our "Timing is Everything" Podcast:

#1 your next race is in 6-10 weeks (and/or you have MORE time to train):

Keep raising your CTL (Chronic Training Load) - everybody benefits from a 'bigger base' so keep building. In other words go from 'race' back to 'base' [reverse!] . In this case we advocate a Sweet Spot Part 3 training plan approach. With a ramp rate of 3-4 TSS per week you now have the opportunity to take your CTL 12 - 16 TSS/day higher from 75 - 90 (for example) which will make a big difference in not only your endurance but also your power output.

#2 your next race is in 6-10 weeks (and you have LESS time to train):

For example, your kids are home from school and you can't ride outdoors like normal. In this case you may adopt a 'go harder to compensate for less time to train' approach to your goals from an interval training plan like the ones here.

#3 you are a cyclocross'er in the off season and don't want to go to the gym anymore [#flattenthecurve]

We advocate making your own home gym with the strength and conditioning movements we prescribe in our 10 week resistance training plan. You'll have to let go of the squat, leg press and leg curl from the plan and double down on these strength and conditioning movements and routines

I feel great and FAST Right Now:

Good (!) & congratulations! Sounds like your training is working (you've been #FtFP'ing). Here are a few things you can do to flex your muscle:

#1 measure how much faster you are with a 20 minute Field Test - not the 'funnest' so perhaps # 2 is your jam

#2 go for your favorite Strava segment for a PR - take a page out of FasCat Athlete Phil Gaimon's playbook and test yourself agains your previous best.

We hope these suggestions and podcast help - that's what we're here for: to help you go faster on the bike. Should you have anymore questions, concerns, dilemmas, obstacles, etc... reach out to your FasCat Coach, hire one or go to our athlete forum and post your question - we'd be glad to try and help!

About Frank Overton

Frank founded FasCat Coaching in 2002 and has been a full time cycling coach since 2004. His educational background includes a Masters degree in Physiology from North Carolina State University, pre-med from Hampden-Sydney College. Frank raced at a professional level on the road and mountain bike and currently competes as a "masters" level gravel and cyclocrosser. Professionally Frank comes from medical school spinal cord research and molecular biotechnology. However, to this day it is a dream come true for Frank to be able to help cyclists as a coach.

Hire Coach Frank!