Road Cycling - observations from training

A) Staying on a schedule is mind numbing and a pain in the butt

B) Going right into (especially in my case since I'm not used to intervals more than once a month or so) 4+ minute intervals without building up to it by doing 1-3 minute intervals is a bad bad plan. I started out going for bad doing nothing less than 3 mintues, but after a couple days of that I had enough. But lately I have been doing 1-2 minute drills during my commute, and I feel that I am getting more accustomed to riding at that output, and I "want" (sicko) to do longer intervals.

C) Got to buy stuff to stay motivated...hee hee.

D) Visualization helps with motivation and self-doubt.

fubar5:

Regarding Item A - Did you come up with your own training schedule or are you using one from a book or coaching service?

I am training for a MS-150 ride in September and I planned out my long weekend rides by taking the number of weeks and dividing 100 by it. Each week I increase my long ride by that amount until I do a full century in early August. I did the same for the Sunday ride which will be 50 miles.

I don't plan to do any kind of speed work until after I have a solid base of 1000 miles. I know you're planning to do the Tour De Cure - how have you been training for it?

Zack

Well, I haven't really been training for the Tour De Cure itself..I'm in the process of training for my first racing season. The Tour De Cure is only 75 miles for two days, I know I can do that. So I'm not really worried about it, plus I did well last year with way less mileage under my belt.

I've been kinda mixing things up as far as training program. I use PC coach, but it isn't quite what I'm looking for. For one, all the really cool functions are useless unless you have the high-end Polar HR moniter that downloads to your PC. So I've been looking through my old Bicycling mags, reading a few books, and recently bought an ebook from RoabikeRider.com that has been a huge help. I take all I've picked up from my research, and make up a plan for a week, making changes if I need too. About every three weeks I try to take an easy week, backing off mileage and stuff like that. I find that trying to follow a certain structure for more than two weeks max is too dull, I like to mix things up. But I'll establish before hand that I'm in the "high cadence phase" so everything will be high cadence for a couple weeks..Then I'll be in a "low-cadence huge gear phase" and all my workouts for the following weeks will follow that plan.

I've also figured out that I respond better to block training..So I setup my week plan on that too. I usually ride high mileage mon/tues/wed/ then take it easy thursday and then fri/sat/sun I do high intensity stuff.

I'd like to have a PC program that allows me to customize everything, but the program have pointers and suggestions plus maybe templates helping me with peaking, tapering, and progress graphs.

I feel ya, fubar. I'm working on a training program myself right now myself.

After the bike show, I realized how inefficient my pedal stroke was. So I re-evaluated my program and redesigned it all over again. Now, I'm back on endurance training and working on my spinning technique. I complement this with running to increase my aerobic capacity. It's disappointing to know I have to take two steps back, but a the same time, it's always better to know there is a problem early and make the corrections than find out later that there's a problem that you don't have the time to fix.

I don't have the bells and whistles on my HR monitor. I just have a continuous read monitor and an old fashioned book I picked up off a website that I write in to keep track of what I'll be doing. It's new to me- to be writing everything down with such precision, but if something works, I can replicate it, and if something doesn't work, I can kiss it goodbye or make some changes to it to improve. I can't wait to see how the next few months will shape up for me since I'm working on keeping track of everything and taking things a bit slower until I feel like I'm improved enough to move on to a higher level of training.

I like the idea of taking off a week- currently, I just take 2 days off a week- 5 days hard, 2 days easy, and one of those days off completely. I think it helps to get those 2 days off. By the time I get to my last training day, I find myself having to push to get through the training session.

What is everyone else doing?

Koffee

Just a note, found a book called Smart Cycling at Overstock.com for 8.49...I haven't bought it yet, but I'm ordering it on Tuesday. I went and found what it has in it and it looks like a lot of goodies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Why Smart Cycling?

Part One Getting Started

Chapter 1: Bicycle Frame Fit

Chapter 2: Position on the Bicycle

Chapter 3: Equipment Safety Checklist

Chapter 4: Cleaning Your Bike

Chapter 5: Gluing on a Sew-up Tire

Chapter 6: Lighten Your Bicycle

Chapter 7: Adjusting Your Rear Derailleur

Part Two Training

Chapter 8: Designing Your Training Schedule

Chapter 9: The Importance of Heart-Rate Monitoring

Chapter 10: Specific Types of Training

Part Three Stationary Training

Chapter 11: Trainer Basics and Sample Workouts

Chapter 12: The 12-Week Progressive Series

Chapter 13: Theme Workouts

Part Four Racing

Chapter 14: Racing Basics

Chapter 15: Your First Race: Stuff to Know!

Chapter 16: Technique

Chapter 17: Style

Chapter 18: Tactics

Chapter 19: Time Trialing

Part Five Cycling in Your Head

Chapter 20: Motivation

Chapter 21: Avoiding Burnout

Chapter 22: How Much Is Enough?

Chapter 23: Confidence

Chapter 24: Visualization

Chapter 25: The Optimist’s Creed

Appendix A: Training Logs

Appendix B: Health & Medical

Glossary

No criticism is intended, but I refuse to call what I do training. I set goals (like riding 140 miles a week, completing at least one century each month, continuing to increase my average speed). Still, thinking of what I do as training makes it seem less like fun and more like work.

If I'm "training" then I'll be less likely to take a ride with my wife or go slow to keep a newbie company.

Again, for those of you who are training, my hat is off.

fubar5: check half.com for the book. I found it there in brand new condition for $7.50 shipped - so I bought it :)

Koffee: How were you able to determine that your pedal stroke was inefficient?

amerpie: I started to put quotes around the word training in my post. In my current condition I wouldn't call my riding training either - it's more like preparing. When I become a lean mean cycling machine like you then I'll start some training. The success you've had losing weight and getting into better shape are an inspiration to me.

Zack

Originally posted by amerpie
No criticism is intended, but I refuse to call what I do training. I set goals (like riding 140 miles a week, completing at least one century each month, continuing to increase my average speed). Still, thinking of what I do as training makes it seem less like fun and more like work.

If I'm "training" then I'll be less likely to take a ride with my wife or go slow to keep a newbie company.

Again, for those of you who are training, my hat is off.

I think you could call that training if you wanted, but I think anytime you are trying to push for a new level in cycling it is training in a sense. But I think the word training is a bit hyped these days. I'll run into guys that are "training" but they don't have any idea what for, what they are doing, and all that blah.

I call my riding training because I have a definite goal of racing and moving up a category, I skip rides with my friends all the time to do whatever drills I need to do, and my focus/outlook for riding isn't "just have fun" anymore, it's about racing..But that is fun anyway so it all works out. But I don't just go on a ride anymore, my rides are planned and follow a structure.

Way to go on the book Zack!!

Originally posted by ZackJones
fubar5: check half.com for the book. I found it there in brand new condition for $7.50 shipped - so I bought it :)

Zack


I got it for 7.54...Arrrrgh!!!!

Zack-

I found out my pedal stroke was inefficient because I got the chance to use this product called power cranks. It's a humbling experience to get on a bike hooked up to a trainer with the power cranks attached and see that you can't even pedal round pedal strokes. I definitely favored my downstoke more than my upstroke... it was horrifying- and everyone who was standing and waiting saw it, including one of my mentors. That's when she said she'd sell it to me at a discount. (Note- I AM NOT ENDORSING OR SELLING A PRODUCT, MERELY STATING MY IMPRESSION FROM IT). If you want to see what the powercranks are, you can go to powercranks.com and take a look at it. I definitely will be getting my hands on a pair of them- probably not tomorrow or next week, but if I save up, hopefully by fall.

As far as the "training", I view training as setting goals and working towards achieving them. If you're not training, you're just working out. Training= dedication and long term and commitment. Working out is just going through the motions, no ideas, no thoughts on how to get to point B, no seriousness. There are definitely some people I meet that are NOT training- nothing wrong with that. But there are people who are out there training and they are looking for imput and advice, and they monitor their progress carefully. For me, it doesn't matter if you're slim and have 2% bodyfat, or if you're morbidly obese- just because you're physically unfit doesn't mean you're not training- it's about setting goals, looking for improvement, using biofeedback, and making progress.

I am in training, and I'm looking to drop those 25 pounds I've put on over the past year.... I don't wait until I drop the 25 before I say that I'm setting goals- I've already reached them!

No matter what you're working towards, whether it be touring, ironman, a bike race, or just dropping some weight, if you've set your goals, which is the most important aspect of the training, then you're training. Don't put it in quotes. Call it what it is and start working towards achieving your goals.

Koffee

Originally posted by fubar5
I got it for 7.54...Arrrrgh!!!!

I'm glad I bought my copy when I did :)

I haven't gotten it yet though :(

Zack

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Zack-

I found out my pedal stroke was inefficient because I got the chance to use this product called power cranks. It's a humbling experience to get on a bike hooked up to a trainer with the power cranks attached and see that you can't even pedal round pedal strokes.


Thanks for the info. It seems the powercranks web site is down but I read some information about them using the Google search engine.



As far as the "training", I view training as setting goals and working towards achieving them.


I agree. My wife and I discussed this recently when I told her that I signed up to do the MS-150 ride in September. She could not understand what motivated me to want to ride 100 miles on Saturday and 50 on Sunday. I explained to her that I set goals in order to keep my riding from becoming boring

Zack

I'm always "training"
Initially I was training my cardiovascular system to be
more efficient. Then I was training my muscles to
work more efficiently.
Then I was training to smooth out my pedal stroke
(Koffee, try rollers they do wonders for 2 things, balance
and pedal stroke).
Now I'm training to burn more fat (winter weight gain).
I'm also training for HHH in August.

See the pattern here? there is always a goal.
Thats not to say that I don't just go out to enjoy a
ride, I do, its just I've incorporated that into my
training too!.

Marty

fubar5: Thanks again for the book info. My book arrived the other day and I've been browsing through it. It looks quite interesting. I'm going to spend the rest of this year burning off the extra fat I'm carrying around and my give racing a try next year.

Best of luck to you with your training.

Zack

I'm in training again for the first time in a few years. I started last August when I got back to work here. Dropped 20 pounds between then and December; that was my goal. I put a little on since then, but the weather is improving here and my motivation is coming on at just the right time, so weight isn't a big deal.

I have a two year plan, actually, and I mostly operate on a school calendar, since that's where I work and I keep a school schedule. Between now and August, especially from June through August, it's all about miles. I'll do some speed work, but nothing major. I've been dialing in my position on the bike and discovered that my saddle was probably about 3cm too high. It's lower now, and my spin is back! I had been a grinder for the last couple of years, but started out spinning. Now, I'm pushing the 90-110 rpm range again and it's awesome. Depending on the spring winds here, I'll either keep riding 6 days a week until June when I can start riding with people again back in Oklahoma, or I'll spend a lot of time in the gym working on my aerobic base. Either way, I should be in riding shape for the first group ride in months that I'll do in June. Over the summer, I'm aiming for 200 mile weeks, which I should be able to carry over into next fall. Starting in August, I'll do some late season speed stuff and get into the gym over the winter. Then, base miles early next spring while still going to the gym. I'll taper the gym work off and ride more and we'll see what happens. It's a long term plan, but it's good to have so much to work towards. It's also realistic. I (hopefully) won't overtrain this way. I'm not trying to become a racer again in a month. It's also difficult to ride as regularly here as other places I've lived due to the weather. I lost all of last spring to winds that weren't under 25 mph for more than a couple of weeks from March through May.

Anyway, that's the big picture of my training. I'm working on specifics from week to week, depending on weather. For me, some level of flexibility is important, too. Especially since I'm basically just going for mileage for the next few months. I'll take an extra day off the bike to go do an hour or so of cardio stuff at the gym just to keep myself from getting burnt out once I start riding a lot more.

This probably belongs in T&N, but I won't tell. ;)

Fubar! How many times a week are you trying to do those 1-4 minute intervals? Dude, even LA has to recover. There are enough other aspects of training to take up the rest of the week... one day of anaerobic intervals a week is plenty.

Also, if you're rolling your own training program, there's probably no better book than The Cyclist's Training Bible, by Joe Friel.