Image credit: Lyndon Greeshaw
Mackenzie Coupland, part of the Cycling Development Foundation, is one of Australia’s top junior talents – finishing third in the Oceania Continental Championships women’s junior road race in April 2022.
The teenager took time out from her busy training schedule to tell us about a typical week on her bike.
Total stats for the week
Kilometres covered: 605km
Number of hours on the bike: 23.5h
Number of hours in the gym (or other training): 1h
Maximum power output: 1169w
Monday – Recovery ride
I complete a 2.5 hour recovery ride at low intensity. The goal for this ride is to recover from the previous week and save energy for bigger days in the coming days. I enjoy recovery rides as I see it more as a social ride so I get to chat with my teammates. I use my power meter to ensure I’m not going over a certain amount of watts in able to make it a recovery ride.
Tuesday – Low intensity volume
I aim for another low intensity ride for about 2.5 hours. Doing low intensity rides gives me rest and plenty in the legs for upcoming rides, so I use my power meter to make sure I am not going over my limit. I like to spend these rides in my teammate’s company, it’s good to catch up!
Wednesday – Low intensity volume
I complete a five hour low intensity ride. The goal for this ride is to gain volume at a lower intensity level. I enjoy socialising with friends but find it hard to ensure I have enough nutrition. I use my power meter to track how much power output I do throughout the ride to gather data for later improvement. I also complete a one hour gym session, aiming to strengthen and maintain cycling specific muscles. I enjoy this as it is a change in my training routine but sometimes I find it challenging as I try to push myself harder each time.
Thursday – Race day
Things ramp up today as I aim for a five hour day on the bike including racing. I rode just under two hours on the way to the race at a low intensity to conserve my energy for the race. After racing, I ride back to spin out the legs at low intensity. The race was very challenging with restricted gearing and I was up against very strong women but I still managed to finish with the bunch. I enjoy this type of racing and how it plays out and also enjoy debriefing the race with my teammates on the way home. My InfoCrank allows me to view the power data from the race to see improvement and how it affects my upcoming rides.
Friday – Recovery ride
I complete a one hour recovery ride at low intensity. I want to spend this session rolling out the legs and conserving energy for the next few days in able to improve. I enjoy the quiet roll by myself, not having to worry about pushing too hard. I use this day to recover for the training days ahead so I use the power meter data to stay under a certain amount.
Saturday – Race day
I aim for three hours riding including racing. I ride about an hour before my race at low intensity to save energy for the race. I then ride back with my teammates after the race. I have another race to come the next day, so I need to make sure there’s still something left in the legs. Having a power meter helps me push to view improvement.
Sunday – Race day
I complete a three hour ride including racing, riding for 1.5 hours to the race. The race was quite challenging against strong riders but I really enjoyed racing in the rain. I can use my InfoCrank to gather data from the previous races and compare on how this race turned out and how much power and energy I’ve used across the week.
Image credit: Pollizi
What’s your favourite thing about training?
One of my favourite things about training is seeing improvement – it’s great to be able to track this by looking at my performance data on my InfoCrank power meter.
What has been your most challenging training session?
Doing hill efforts would probably be one of the most challenging training sessions I have done, just above a hard ergo session. But just because they’re challenging, doesn’t mean it’s not rewarding!
What’s the best piece of training advice you’ve ever been given?
Recovery is key. It’s just so important to make sure you recover, whether you have been sick or have just raced or have a race the next day.
What would you say is the biggest training mistake you’ve made?
Training too hard the day before an important day or race! It’s so important to leave something in the legs for race day.
What do you use your InfoCrank power meter for and what difference does it make to your training?
I use my InfoCrank to track my improvement and help me push harder each ride to gain higher peak performances. Knowing that I can rely on the numbers that I see on my power meter means that I’m confident that I’m seeing true improvement as I train.
Find out more about the Cycling Development Foundation and InfoCrank power meter.
