Cyclocross training question: I’m intrigued as to why you haven’t built any rest days into the cyclocross plan. It’s always been suggested to me that I should take the Monday after races off, or only use that day to ‘spin out the legs’ a little. Would you mind giving me a suggestion or your thoughts about recovery days?

Cyclocross training plans are very different from road training plans due to the requirements of the race.

I add an Active Recovery day on possible rest days for two reasons. A properly executed Active Recovery day enables your body to recover faster than sitting on the couch without adding additional stress to the system. We call this Active Rest. You must ensure that you are adhering to the workout – it is easy to pedal too hard if you are feeling good.

Second, some athletes train 10+ hours per week during the road season. Transitioning from that volume to 8-9 hour weeks is mentally tough for them.

In your case, if your schedule makes daily rides impossible, substitute Rest on the Active Recovery days. You will notice that this will align with Mondays off philosophy.

NOTE: Running. Most cyclists are not used to running. Phase 1 (first four weeks) helps the body biomechanically adjust to running, so they run four times each week.