Shut Up and Ride
Join Date: May 2005
Location: PA (Worst roads in existence)
Posts: 1,969
Bikes: 05 Cannondale Six 13 (Record 2008 with DT rr 1.1 rims, WI H2 Hubs and CX-ray spokes), OLMO Antares (Micx of 06 Record and Chorus), 1988 Tunturri, 1980's Fuji, 1970's Crescent (Sweeden)
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Classic: By looking at your profile "collecting Base Miles" and seeing the ECCC Cat D number on your back, you should be spending more time building base miles then doing anything close to lactate threshold… you won’t be racing till March so no use burning yourself out before Christmas.
If you are going to ride in the gym due to schedule, just work on getting a smooth spin and increasing your cadence to improve efficiency. You could also use this time to build leg muscle by doing low weight high repetitions on fitness machines.
I too race in the ECCC and work my schedule like this: I start training in mid Sept. (I take summer off) and I like to do a lot of base miles gradually increasing my miles and time in the saddle in increments of 10-15% every week. I alternate these workouts from high cadence drills in a low gear to low cadence drills in a large gear for strength.
Around Nov. I start doing more tempo rides and mix in a couple long endurance rides to get the body trained to using fat as an energy source. I usually take it easy over December and when I come back from winter break I start working in hill repeats and THEN start doing more anaerobic workouts,
But like others posted find your lactate threshold this week! Find a nice flat stretch of road or mild hill where effort is constant for a full 30 min. Start riding at a pace that is the fastest you can go for that duration of time and after 10 min. start recording your heart rate. The last 20 minutes of your average will be your lactate threshold. Don't worry about your max heart rate. Everyone is different and it fluctuates depending on your diet, stress etc. For example I can see mine anywhere from 199-207 BPM… I have a much higher heart rate then most of my teammates and I have gotten my Lactate Threshold up to 184 BPM.
Also, you may want to invest in Joe Friel’s Training Bible. I has a lot of good information on developing a training schedule as well as details on what types of intervals you should be doing.
Cheers, and maybe I will see you next season!