"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - How do you perform your workouts?

Seems like a simple question but I've been all over the map with this and am still looking at options.

* First, there's route selection (challenges: one hour with few to no stops, long sustained low grade climbs, flat circuits of various lengths)

But then other issues are

* Time or distance?
* How do you store, initiate your interval, rest times?
* What happens if your timing is interrupted by a flat, dog, driver, construction, etc.?
* Stem, bar mounted or wrist mounted?
* Musical or sound sessions (heavy loud music for work interval period, soft music for rest period)?
* Are there downloadable workouts (for Garmin or other) online?
* Are there downloadable mp3 sound session workouts online?
* Is a simple stopwatch useful?

*Time. Distance doesn't take into account the dozens of variables that change every day
*HRM
*for intervals? not a big deal. I don't get my panties in a bunch if I can't do my workouts by the numbers down to the second... If no intervals, just stop the watch. It's ride time, not sit around time you want.
*stem mount
*yes on music (shut up anti music people, before you even say anything. You aint gonna change me)
*no idea
*make your own, it's more fun
*I have one on my hrm, but if you don't use heart rate I guess it could be useful...

Route: Whatever is in my bag that fits the current workout for the day. It usually takes me months to find a bunch of routes in a given area around my house, then I stick to them. Group rides are a good way to find routes. routeslip.com or bikely.com give me good ideas, too.

* Time - Distance can always change, depending on weather, how I feel, etc.
* HRM/Cycle Computer
* If I'm riding intervals, I try to choose a route that's relatively car/ped/dog/construction free. Or I go to the track.
* Bar mounted for both
* No music
* Plenty of workouts available online, but you'll have to input them yourself if you want pre-canned prompts. I'm old skool and either memorize them or use a route slip.
* No music
* Relative time is how I've always done it. Unless you're talking about repeats, then just reset your trip timer and start over.

Seems like a simple question but I've been all over the map with this and am still looking at options.

* First, there's route selection (challenges: one hour with few to no stops, long sustained low grade climbs, flat circuits of various lengths)

But then other issues are

* Time or distance?
* How do you store, initiate your interval, rest times?
* What happens if your timing is interrupted by a flat, dog, driver, construction, etc.?
* Stem, bar mounted or wrist mounted?
* Musical or sound sessions (heavy loud music for work interval period, soft music for rest period)?
* Are there downloadable workouts (for Garmin or other) online?
* Are there downloadable mp3 sound session workouts online?
* Is a simple stopwatch useful?

Time.
Garmin lets you design an entire workout which you can pause if you're interrupted.
Bar mounted. (PT and Garmin is going to be ridiculous)
Music.

I seriously need to RTFM on the Garmin!

I seriously need to RTFM on the Garmin!

Read The ******** Manual? If yes, then yes, you do. Workouts -> Select "Biking" -> "Edit" -> "New Workout -> Voila! Make a new workout.

* First, there's route selection
* Time or distance?
* How do you store, initiate your interval, rest times?
* What happens if your timing is interrupted by a flat, dog, driver, construction, etc.?
* Stem, bar mounted or wrist mounted?
* Musical or sound sessions (heavy loud music for work interval period, soft music for rest period)?
* Are there downloadable workouts (for Garmin or other) online?
* Are there downloadable mp3 sound session workouts online?
* Is a simple stopwatch useful?

Forgive me, I'm feeling cranky ...

That has to be the least useful set of questions I've seen in a long time. What part of 90x1, 2x20, 5x5, 10x1, rest until you're ready to hit it again, is hard to understand? What part needs mp3s and downloadable training plans? Do you really think that whether you put your gizmo on your stem or bars will make a fig of difference?

You go out, you do the work, you recover, you get faster.

Intervals: I have about three courses I use for intervals, and I always use them. There are specific landmarks to start my interval, and I always start them there (usually signs). Trucks, dogs, or geological events are not going to interrupt my interval. Course selection is important to make this true.

I leave my computer running on auto, I look down at the start, and hammer until I think I'm halfway, and check it. I follow through to the last second, then let up. I'm recovered by the time I get to my next landmark.

I'm a creature of habit, and this works very well for me. All that changes is that sometimes I'm solo, but usually I have training partners chasing me with varying levels of success. Two of the guys I train with will beat me 1/6 in a one-minute interval workout, so that's a good motivator right there. If I can get through a workout coming out in front on 6/6 intervals, I'm really flying.

On the solo intervals, I'm just trying to finally make it all the way to some barely unreachable landmark before I run out of time. Course repetition means that I know exactly where I should try to hit with given wind conditions.

Forgive me, I'm feeling cranky ...

That has to be the least useful set of questions I've seen in a long time. What part of 90x1, 2x20, 5x5, 10x1, rest until you're ready to hit it again, is hard to understand? What part needs mp3s and downloadable training plans? Do you really think that whether you put your gizmo on your stem or bars will make a fig of difference?

You go out, you do the work, you recover, you get faster.

Curveship might have been a little rough, but I agree with him.

Cycling is pretty simple. You ride hard, you recover. Repeat as necessary.

The bad thing about where I live is that it's damn near impossible to do a set of intervals, particularly 2x20, without being interrupted by a traffic light. I only have TWO on my interval route but one of them gets me damn near every time I'm out. And, if you're in decent shape, you're almost fully (relatively speaking) recovered by the time that minute waiting for the light is up. So, I rarely get a true 20min interval. I usually get 17 or 18 minutes, then come to a halt. After I start up again, I ALWAYS go the rest of the time balls to the wall, as hard as I can go. I blow up half the time, to be honest. I can hit my 20min wattage with ease again, but cranking it up 40 or 50w more for 2-3min is not pleasant, as the HR is down but the legs are still full of lactic acid.

To answer your question about the routes I take...this time of year, I really only do one route. With the day length decreasing every day, I prefer safety over novelty. Nice, wide two lane roads. I do a 22mile loop and an 18.5 mile loop, consecutively. The first one heads west first, then back east towards home, then I keep on going east onto the second route, and then head back, well after darkness has settled over the area.

I don't give two sh!ts about the lay of the land when doing an interval. There is no such thing as a perfectly flat or dead straight 5% mountain where I can just sit at 335 for 20 minutes, so I don't train like that either. I hit whatever roads are available to me. I train to race, and that means riding on roads that will make me change my effort with every little undulation. Sure, it might kill my "average" to push 400 up a roller and 250 back down it, but Joe Pro isn't going to take it easy on me or anyone else because I'm slightly out of my comfort range.

2x20's - Like DoK, I have a hard time finding 20 minutes of uninterrupted road @ 25+ mph. I have a big loop with tons of corners that I can use, but it's definitely a PITA.

VO2max intervals I do "en route." If I have specific 5-6x4 with 4 min rest, I have a hill I can do them on, but I usually do my VO2max during my SST on specific hills that are 3 1/2-5 minutes long.

Only time matters.

I minimize interruptions by getting out of the city away from traffic lights, but traffic itself is inevitable and I just avoid and pick back up the intensity. Depending on how bad the suffering is already I may increase intensity to "make up" for the interruption, but usually I just chalk it up and get on with the rest of the intervals.

Music.. no music.. it's all the same. Sometimes the tunes just irritate me with someone screaming in my ear. Other times, the screaming in the ear is just enough distraction to help me forget about the screaming in my lungs and legs.

>>How do you perform your workouts<<

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/she%20can%20kick,%20stretch,%20and%20kick.JPG

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7132/boratdance5vxst3.gif

I train on the bike the same as I train for everyday life

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p230/gregogarrison/481_Sisyphus.jpg

Most of my base workouts are done on X average heart rate for Y minutes. Towards the end of my base I sometimes do long intervals like 3x30 minutes at a slightly higher heart rate with a little soft pedaling in between.

For my build time I do some days like the above. I also do all kinds of intervals. Variety keeps it interesting. Climbing intervals can be spiced up by staying seated for two thirds of the climbing and going ballistic out for the last third. Pyramids (e.g. 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, and one minute) are also effective.

* What happens if your timing is interrupted by a flat, dog, driver, construction, etc.?
Accept the things you can't control

* Stem, bar mounted or wrist mounted?
Doesn't matter

* Musical or sound sessions (heavy loud music for work interval period, soft music for rest period)?
Absolutely not. You need to hear the traffic coming.

* Are there downloadable mp3 sound session workouts online?
iTunes has some

* Is a simple stopwatch useful?
Sure. But you'll still want a cyclometer to track the other stuff. So you might as well just use it.

Curveship might have been a little rough, but I agree with him.

Cycling is pretty simple. You ride hard, you recover. Repeat as necessary.

The bad thing about where I live is that it's damn near impossible to do a set of intervals, particularly 2x20, without being interrupted by a traffic light. I only have TWO on my interval route but one of them gets me damn near every time I'm out. And, if you're in decent shape, you're almost fully (relatively speaking) recovered by the time that minute waiting for the light is up. So, I rarely get a true 20min interval. I usually get 17 or 18 minutes, then come to a halt. After I start up again, I ALWAYS go the rest of the time balls to the wall, as hard as I can go. I blow up half the time, to be honest. I can hit my 20min wattage with ease again, but cranking it up 40 or 50w more for 2-3min is not pleasant, as the HR is down but the legs are still full of lactic acid.

To answer your question about the routes I take...this time of year, I really only do one route. With the day length decreasing every day, I prefer safety over novelty. Nice, wide two lane roads. I do a 22mile loop and an 18.5 mile loop, consecutively. The first one heads west first, then back east towards home, then I keep on going east onto the second route, and then head back, well after darkness has settled over the area.

I don't give two sh!ts about the lay of the land when doing an interval. There is no such thing as a perfectly flat or dead straight 5% mountain where I can just sit at 335 for 20 minutes, so I don't train like that either. I hit whatever roads are available to me. I train to race, and that means riding on roads that will make me change my effort with every little undulation. Sure, it might kill my "average" to push 400 up a roller and 250 back down it, but Joe Pro isn't going to take it easy on me or anyone else because I'm slightly out of my comfort range.

These are good points and appreciated.

To explain, I'm a beginner and focused flatlander and almost always ride the TT bike so I'm not quite geared for anything over 4%.

I've also run into problems with readability and audibility of my computers. Did it beep? Or was that the trash truck? I can't read the thing because the numbers are covered in fog droplets and it's mounted to my stem and I'm in the aerobars. If I'm at 1 minute max, I'm pretty much SOL.

These things don't stop me but having grown up on the track (running), I'm looking for greater consistency and reliability. I want a coach calling out splits and clear indicators of work versus rest. And I want this part to be easy.

For now, I've restructured to distance so that I know I can be without traffic stops for certain efforts. It won't matter what the beeps or numbers say (I'll check my PT log). I can also get realtime monitoring of my effort and recovery.

I know I should move over to time but I want a HUD (heads up display with numbers projected onto the inside of the helmet visor) and finger tip controls before that starts to look right.

I train on the bike the same as I train for everyday life

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p230/gregogarrison/481_Sisyphus.jpg


In a thong?

Thongs are for wussy. Spartans train nude.