I am currently trying to improve my cycling fitness and speed without racing. At the weekends I am too busy to race, but, I do have a bit of time to train in the week. The problem is that it is harder to push yourself in training as much as it is in a race. I often start a time trial circuit on my own, but often find a reason not to complete it and just think ‘I’ll do some interval sessions’ instead. The only way I can really push myself is if I find some longs hills.When you are riding up hills, it seems easier to do really good interval sessions, rather than just half hearted ones. At the moment, for time trials I feel I need to be doing intervals of at least 5 or 10 minutes, so the hill needs to be pretty long. This usually involves a ride over to the Chilterns and the hills around Stadhampton and Watlington.
I think it is pretty hard to reach maximum potential unless you are racing. It is only in a race where you feel motivated to give it everything. Nevertheless, if you have sufficient motivation, you can reach still reach your potential even without racing. Often people who broke the world hour record, didn’t do much racing, but alot of intensive training specifically for the hour record.
To really reach your peak in any sport you need a lot of motivation, and I think that comes through participating in races.
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