can someone point me in the right direction to a guide or something that will help me set up a training schedule,etc. I really need to increase my skills and fitness as i move on up to the opens xc category next year. i am hoping to competing at a competitive level and see where I go from there.
Everyone seems to reccomed joe friels book so I suggest you get a copy.
From what I gather it's basically the goto.
It will explain periodisation, threshold training and virtually everything you need to know.
On top of that I would suggest while a Guide of recovery is good, you might also look into heart rate varribility to help asses your recovery.
I am in the same process for dh though, I am having the most trouble organizing workouts to avoid over training. Good luck.