8-Week Race Prep Plan for Marathon MTB - Re-Usable

Written by Cody Waite, Endurance Coach, Professional Endurance Athlete and co-owner of Sessions:6 Sport Performance

The Race Prep phase prepares you to race! Your Anaerobic Power, Vo2 Max, Anaerobic Threshold and Aerobic Threshold energy systems are all addressed as your racing approaches.

My 8-week MARATHON MTB Race-Prep Plan is designed for marathon racers (40-60 miles) looking to sharpen up their race day fitness leading up to their A-priority event of the year. This is PART 3 of a 4-part annual plan, however you can jump into this phase if you have spent at least 6-8 weeks building a solid aerobic strength base prior to starting this program.

Overview:

RACE PREP PHASE:This 8 week plan is set up as 4 two week blocks, with each block focusing on a specific energy system beginning with Anaerobic Power and gradually expanding through Vo2 max, Anaerobic Threshold, and finally Aerobic Threshold. Along with the quality sessions, there are weekly endurance rides, recovery rides and strength maintenance sessions to solidify your fitness.

Following this plan is my PART 4 of 4, 2-week Race (taper) phase to get you to the start line recovered, fit, and ready to race to your fullest potential (to find it, search "Cody Waite" in TP store).

REUSABLE: You can easily reuse this plan within your racing season as you recover and rebuild between peaks for A-priority events.

Plan Details:

• Ability Level: Intermediate to Advanced (adjustable by overall volume)


• Number of Weeks: 6


• Training Days per Week: 4-7 (written for 7 days, but can be consolidated to as few as 4)


• Training Hours per Week: 7-15+ (depending on your preference of riding/aerobic volume) (depending on your preference of riding/aerobic volume)


• Equipment Needed: gym membership or strength equipment at home, HRM, power meter preferred


• INCLUDES: detailed strength training program; and bike technique drills.

More Plans in this Series:

• Phase 1: 9-week XC/Marathon Base Prep Plan


• Phase 2: 12-week XC/Marathon Base Plan


• Phase 4: 2-week XC/Marathon Race Plan


• Complete 31-week Marathon MTB Plan

Questions?

Email Cody directly with questions now or as you go: cody@sessions6.com