Daily/Weekly Milage base help for aspiring CAT 5...
 

what is a good daily and weekly milage base for a rider planning to race CAT 5 starting in Feb? im in pretty good shape, and right now I currently run 15 miles a week and ride (easy spinning) about 35 miles a week which needs to pick up if I plan on racing...so as a beginner, what is a milage base that I should set a goal for taking into consideration that I am new to the sport? Thanks

From a fellow newbies perspective I would say at least 100miles/week. That's small enough to be doable in 4 rides, 3 short + a longer one.
I'm sure someone else will chime in with more advice:)

-Sean

The better measure is hours. Then it's how you spend them.

sounds good...what cadence should I focus on maintaining while logging these miles??

Exertion is what you need to focus on. Cadence helps you determine where are most efficient if you have a way to determine your efficiency. Get a heart rate meter if you don't want a power meter yet and figure out your HR zones. But a power meter is a whole other world in terms of truth in training.

I trained by HR for a few months, thought I was getting into average Cat 5 territory, then got a powertap. Then I realized I wasn't where I thought I was. But now I have power based goals and measurements instead of basing my training on perceived effort.

Just ride your bike a lot. Your first fitness plateau is so far away there is no point in spending wads of cash to get past it yet.

Aim for 6-10 hrs/week at first, then bump it up a bit. Repeat. Ride fast sometimes, ride slow sometimes. Find a good rider and ride with him, and have him give you pointers. Find some good group rides and jump in. Read botto's sticky.

What is average Cat 5 territory??

this.

all cat 5 territory is average.

i mean what are some of the standards to hang in the group? whats an average speed for 40 min in the CAT 5s? what should a person be able to maintain to at least be competitive?

depends.

Getting caught up in numbers, averages, speeds etc... won't really help you. Did you read the sticky above ? Find a local club or 2 with group rides. You'll learn more on the road in 1 or 2 rides than you will by trying to achieve a specific average speed. A ride that averages 20 mph, is not 20 mph the entire ride, it's 15 mph, then 25 mph, then 20, then 30. Racing is about intensity, recovery, timing, tactics ...

Follow the advice, then come back with specific questions.

ok, I have been on several group rides...im not that new to riding, I am going to be new to racing...with that being said, I was just trying to figure out the average speed of a CAT 5 peloton, thats all...can anyone assist?

between 19 and 26 mph. (on average)

For me, being able to hang with my Cat III friends for a while when they're riding hard but not all out. 26-28mph paceline.

This. I got into this sport from triathlon. I could grind along all day at 21-22mph and I thought I was pretty fit. A buddy convinced me to go on one of the local hammerfests. I asked what the average speed was. He said "when I get home my computer says 20 to 21."

No problem, I thought.

Problem I discovered: going from 22 to 27, then from 27 to 33, and your lungs feel like they're going to come out of your throat and you have to recover, but you have to do it at 25 with your wheel a few inches behind the guy in front of you.

Averages are practically meaningless in a race or race training ride. It's all about redlining and recovering.

As Ex said, just ride a lot. Read botto's sticky. Do group rides that challenge you and when they don't, go to the next harder one.

good point!!

I got one response about 100 miles per week, but any input as to how many hours in the saddle??

i recall a while back, somebody wrote something along the lines of, "as long as you do anything that seems like it's 'training,' you'll be improving." if you're at the level of riding 35 miles per week, anything more than that is good. ride lots, said eddy merckx. more hours, and exert yourself.

i think the short end of it , is that if yo uwant to be a bike racer, you will end up riding as much as you possibly can :)

To race with with the 5s, you don't need any particular amount of training. If you are starting from nothing, I'd start off with like 5-7 easy hours a week.

Are you married?

Most cat 5 races are in the 30-ish minute range. Sometimes shorter. You should be riding enough to be able to go hard for at least that long.

The stickie is a good reference. It really is. There is no short way around this.

I will say what I always say - You will NEVER be able to "train" hard enough to be "ready" to race before you actually race. Until then you won't even have a concept of the intensity needed. Group rides can simulate it IF they are killer groups and not just a gaggle of fast triathletes doing 20+mph training rides in the country. If they are 1-2 hour long attack fests with periods of high intensity ...then that might be close.

You will never be ready. You will never be prepared. If you can ride in a group and you're not a complete idiot then just pay your money and give it a shot. I have seen way too many people "train" for a year or more because they want to try racing only to show up, race and then go, "wow...that was nothing like I thought it would be."

ok, 5 hours if you are married, 15 if you aren't;)