While recovery does not sound as glamorous as a demanding interval session, it is of equal importance to ensure optimal improvement before, during and after races or training.
Recovery Before Training or Racing
What we do before an event or session will enable us to be prepared for the race or training session. Having adequate fuel, warming up and being hydrated all have an impact on our performance.
See the Fitlab blog post on recovery before training or racing
Recovery During Training or Racing
During the ride or race, keeping up an optimal intake of fluids and food will ensure we get the maximum amount of energy in, without overdoing it and upsetting our stomach.
We also need to think about how we position ourselves in the bunch, how and when we hit the front and our position on the bike to ensure we don’t waste energy. This will be important for both this ride and the next. What we do now affects what we can do later!
See the Fitlab blog post on recovery during training or racing
Recovery After Training or Racing
This is the part of recovery most people think of when we talk about recovery. What we eat and drink, and perhaps a short spin to ensure we are ready for our next session or race. The same saying applies here also: What we do now affects what we can do later!
Fitlab blog post on recovery after training or racing
Bonus Topic: Recovery During Stage Racing
Recovery is one of the most important things to get right when riding a tour. Once you are on the start line, your training is done and we need to make the most of all that hard work. Employing the above strategies for before, during and after stages makes a big difference and making it a strict and timely routine is important. You may only have an hour or two after one stage before the next one starts, so recovering and refuelling to the best of your abilities is essential. The 15min recovery spin while drinking a high carbohydrate drink at the end of the ride and the refuelling then warming up before the next race is critical to get right. The links above have details on these.
The other aspect that is often overlooked is the technique, tactics or strategies used in the race. Positioning yourself out of the wind, not doing more work than your opposition, being efficient and saving your efforts for key times during the race are all important strategies to employ.
Have a look at our post on recovery while racing
Conclusion
How you prepare and recover from training and racing can make more than a marginal difference to that session and future races or training sessions. Fueling the muscles well, staying hydrated and maximizing recovery strategies are the best way to achieve this.
