BWR California Training

• Start this plan on May 13, 2024
• Prepares you for BWR NC on June 21, 2024
• Includes course-specific training

USE our BWR NC plan with our new custom plan builder!! For an even better training solution than just 6-weeks. 

This six week plan will prepare you to not only survive but thrive at the Belgian Waffle Ride North Carolina in lovely Asheville, North Carolina. 

Choose the Basic plan if you are doing the 35-mile Wanna or the 70-mile Wafer course and/or have 4-8 hours per week to train. Choose the Intermediate plan if you registered for the 70-mile Wafer or the 130ish-mile Waffle ride and have 8-12 hours a week to train. Choose Advanced if you have more than 12 hours a week to train for the Wafer or the Waffle. 

Each week centers around a long gravel simulation ride on the weekend. Progressively building up to the duration of the Belgian Waffle Ride is the core of this plan. We include tips on nutrition and hydration that you can practice on these simulation rides! 

You'll start with a field test to set your training zones. In our Optimize app, you plug in your threshold power and heart rate values, and it calculates all your training zones — including your own Sweet Spot.

This training plan instructs you on all the details to get faster: Recovery Techniques, Rest Days, Yoga, Foundations… There are instructional videos in the plan for you to follow along at home.

You’ll perform structured Sweet Spot and Tempo intervals mid-week and have the option to join group rides on the weekends (where we coach you how to Sweet Spot on the group ride). There’s also recommendations for riding longer/shorter for flexibility so you can stay on track when life throws you a curveball. 

As BWR North Carolina gets closer, you’ll bust out some spicy intervals to sharpen your knives, and then we’ll walk you through a proper taper so you are perfectly fresh and ready to go for race day.  

For a custom training solution that includes personal feedback from a professional coach — including having a personalized training plan built for you that is tailored to your ability and location — Hire a FasCat Coach! We will waive the $99 start up fee if you have previously bought a plan or subscribed to Optimize. 

This six-week periodized training plan is specific to long gravel races like USA Cycling's Gravel Nationals, Unbound Gravel, Gravel Worlds, The Mid South, and more. (We have specific training plans for each Belgian Waffle Ride event and SBT GRVL, so check those out if you are registered for BWR and/or SBT.)

Each week centers around a looooong gravel ‘simulation’ ride on Saturday. You’ll start with a field test to get your threshold power and heart rate to plug into your Optimize Training Zones calculator.

Choose the Hilly option for a course that has a lot of climbing or choose Flat for one without.

There are even tips on nutrition & hydration that you can practice on these simulation rides! Since gravel races are super hard, long events, we recommend building as big a base as you can beforehand with our Sweet Spot plans.

For a more custom training solution that includes a custom training plan design, regular coaching feedback Hire a FasCat Coach! We will waive the $99 start up fee if you have previously bought a plan.

Our Gravel In-Season Training Plan is for the athlete who's already raced one of their big gravel races and wants to train for their next gravel event later on in the season. This gravel plan focuses on helping you recover from the weekend's training and balances the mid-week structured sweet spot and tempo interval workouts. On Saturdays the Gravel simulation rides will test out your equipment, your pacing your nutrition and hydration as Coach Frank and Jackson have podcasted about.

• Prepares you to CRUSH the Tushar Crusher this upcoming July
• Includes Sweet Spot, Threshold, VO2 work, and Simulation Rides
  

Choose between a basic, intermediate or advanced plan depending on how much time you have to train, your age and ability then get to work! Consider following the Climbing Plan if you are beyond 8 weeks out! And our sweet spot plans if you want to begin your training Jan - March because this six week plan officially begins May 29, 2023!

This 6-week training plan is designed by the 2013 Amateur Winner & 13th overall finisher with a time of 4:51:12, Frank Overton, owner and founder of FasCat Coaching. Frank has applied his own training & experience from 4 years of competition plus coaching athletes for the Crusher in the Tushar and applied it to this training plan.