by Alan B » Wed Jan 07, 2004 11:47 pm
i would say that if your 7-8 hrs are effective, you should be fine to race on Hillingdon (based on what i was doing last winter in training - i raced at Hilingdon in the spring).
i would say though, that if you were planning on 3 hr road races, then 7-8 hrs might not be long enough - as Dave says, the more you can put down in the winter, the better your base will be. You will actually be able to cut back on hours when you start racing as you will have built up a good foundation - speed work and intervals is not as time consuming as long steady work.
But i would point out that everyone is different, some people can get away with minimal training, some people can get fit for racing quicker than others, etc etc. I would suggest that you do what feels right, don't train so much that it becomes a chore, but don't skive either. Once you start racing you wil quickly work out how much and what intensity works for you.
When the season starts, you could race on Tues nights at Hillingdon as well as at the weekend - but treat the Tuesday as a hard training session.