View Full Version : Splittng overdistance workout?
Is it considered an overdistance workout if you do half of it on a bike in the morning and the other half on foot in the evening? Say 2 hours on a bike in the morning and 1.5 hour run in the evening?
Wildwood
06-26-06, 05:06 PM
Is it considered an overdistance workout if you do half of it on a bike in the morning and the other half on foot in the evening? Say 2 hours on a bike in the morning and 1.5 hour run in the evening?
Sorry I don't know exactly what you mean by "an overdistance workout", but I have a doc I respect very much who has told me on 2 occasions that a morning and late afternoon aerobic workout are better than a single workout of the same (combined) duration. Better I guess unless you are training for an endurance event.
Overdistance meaning the one super long distance workout a week, normally your longest. But yes, I'm training for endurance, does it have to be sport specific?
Overdistance meaning the one super long distance workout a week, normally your longest. But yes, I'm training for endurance, does it have to be sport specific?
If you are training for a long ride (i.e. century or longer), doing 2 hours on the bicycle as your "super long distance" ride won't do a whole lot to make the century comfortable. Yes, you'll likely be able to ride and finish the century, but if you want to do a comfortable century, you should work up to getting 4-5 hours in the saddle at a time. That's when all the little aches and pains and difficulties with nutrition show up.
As for being sport specific ... just from my experience and what I've observed ... if you are training for a marathon, cycling a lot won't help much (I can ride 600 kms in one go, but can barely run 1 km). If you are training for a triathlon, both cycling and running are important. If you are training for a century, running will help your overall fitness and you could probably finish a century if all your training is running, but nothing beats the saddle time for becoming familiar with your equipment (bicycle, bicycle setup, etc.).
I would have guessed. What if I'm training for a century and I split bike time between morning and evening?
I would have guessed. What if I'm training for a century and I split bike time between morning and evening?It won't be as effective as doing it all on one ride. That's because in addition to the saddle-comfort and stamina training already mentioned, you're also training your energy-delivery system by taxing it to the limit. It's after the 2nd-hour in the 3-hour+ that you've depleted your glycogen supply and is forcing your body to replenish and deliver energy from ingested foods that you're training. Without that depletion and being on the verge of bonking, you won't get as much benefit.
Dangit! I'll just have to find a way to stop for a caramel latte in the middle. :D
Dangit! I'll just have to find a way to stop for a caramel latte in the middle. :D
In the middle of the century?
Here's the thing ...
When you do a 2 hour, or less, ride, you can do it on very little food. My commute last summer was 1.5 hours on a good day and longer if there was a wind. I never ate breakfast in the mornings before I went out ... I'd do the ride on a completely empty stomach and then eat a bit of something when I got there. With a ride that short, you can get away with that.
But try that on a ride longer than 2 hours, and that's when you can run into trouble.
In order to ride a comfortable century, it is a good idea to have ridden 3 hours at a time, several times, and 4 hours at a time, several times, and so on ... and each time you do a ride over 2 hours, you should be experimenting with different foods (energy bars, energy drinks, real food, etc.). That way you'll know that when you reach the 50 mile point, you might not want that caramel latte, you might want a 6" Sub from the local Subway with Coke instead. Plus you'll have some ideas which foods work best for you leading up to that 50 mile Sub, and which foods will work best for you after ..... and so on.
But if your longest ride before a century is 2 hours, there's a good chance you can finish the century, but there is also a good chance you'll run into nutrition difficulties along the way.
I've also come across this situation several times ... people who are completely comfortable on their bicycles right up to about the 2 hour point, or even slightly longer. I will take them out on a century, and everything will be just fine till about the 3 hour point. And that's when the complaining starts ... about their sitting areas, and their shoulders and backs and their feet and their hands ......
If you've ridden 3 or 4 hours a few times before your century, then you'll know if you need to make some adjustments to your bicycle to make it more comfortable. Again, you can likely finish a century if your longest ride is about 2 hours, but you might finish in pain.
You don't have to do 3 or 4 hour rides every day or even every week ... just try to get a few in before your century so you have some experience with that length of time in the saddle.
I'm gonna do a long one this weekend, maybe a couple. See how it goes. The ride I'm going on is really casual and there will be some stopping about once every hour! :)
Machka,
I will agree with you in some aspects, but I believe there are more things at work. I certainly don't have the experience that you do, but I did have some additional thoughts.
I agree with your assessments regarding bike fit, comfort, nutrition etc. It is important to iron those things out to have a successful long ride. But I am not certain that was the primary thought behind the OP question.
I do believe that 2, 2 hour rides in one day can be effective in getting a person's fitness level up to speed for a long ride. Sure in some ways a single 4 hour ride would be better, for reasons you mention. But don't discount multiple shorter rides as well.
For me personally, I would prefer some nice 4 hour rides, but they just don't happen. Wife 2 kids (one 9 weeks old) busy job etc means I don't get many 4 hour windows to myself. But I can make due with multiple shorter rides and keep my fitness level where I need to be to handle the centuries.
Hope that makes sense.
-D
Machka,
I will agree with you in some aspects, but I believe there are more things at work. I certainly don't have the experience that you do, but I did have some additional thoughts.
I agree with your assessments regarding bike fit, comfort, nutrition etc. It is important to iron those things out to have a successful long ride. But I am not certain that was the primary thought behind the OP question.
I do believe that 2, 2 hour rides in one day can be effective in getting a person's fitness level up to speed for a long ride. Sure in some ways a single 4 hour ride would be better, for reasons you mention. But don't discount multiple shorter rides as well.
For me personally, I would prefer some nice 4 hour rides, but they just don't happen. Wife 2 kids (one 9 weeks old) busy job etc means I don't get many 4 hour windows to myself. But I can make due with multiple shorter rides and keep my fitness level where I need to be to handle the centuries.
Hope that makes sense.
-D
I'm NOT discounting multiple shorter rides at all!!!! :eek: That's how I prepare for my brevets because I also don't have a lot of time for long rides.
If you read my second reply I emphasized that riders could finish centuries when their previous longest rides are only 2 hours (or even less) ... and I ended my comments with:
"You don't have to do 3 or 4 hour rides every day or even every week ... just try to get a few in before your century so you have some experience with that length of time in the saddle."
All I'm saying is that your overall comfort level on a long ride will improve if you have gotten a few longish rides in so that you can work out the nutrition and equipment bugs.
It also depends upon a particular rider's weakness and what he needs to work on. If you're just starting out and needs lots of miles for base and form, then there's no difference really between 2x2 or 1x4hr ride. A little later on, you'll need some intensity with sprint and interval and hillclimbs and 2x2 will be easier to accomplish with those workouts than 1x4hr. However, in Kuan's case, it appears he's been riding for quite a while and have done a lot of intense workouts. I bet he can do a century in about 5-hours or less. So his primary concern with doing the century is energy-delivery. In which case, doing the 1x4 is more beneficial to taxing his enery-delivery system than a 2x2.
It won't be as effective as doing it all on one ride. That's because in addition to the saddle-comfort and stamina training already mentioned, you're also training your energy-delivery system by taxing it to the limit. It's after the 2nd-hour in the 3-hour+ that you've depleted your glycogen supply and is forcing your body to replenish and deliver energy from ingested foods that you're training. Without that depletion and being on the verge of bonking, you won't get as much benefit.
Never thought of it this way Mothra but that is sure how it has worked out for me. Makes sense too.
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