tlc20010
11-13-07, 08:50 PM
Today, it was a glorious day with afternoon temps in the low 60’s, perfect for a little test to see how fast these 65 year old legs (except for the 3 year old left knee) could go, since speed is not normally my thing. I went out the Haines Point here in DC (right across the Potomac from National Airport), a very popular, very flat, 3.2 mile course. The real bikers do laps 30 to 35+ mph when they get a good pace line going.
But that is not for me. It was just the Buenos Aires and me on a nice day with essentially no wind. I averaged 19.3 mph for 7 laps (just over 22 miles) and kept my heart rate right at 140 for the entire time. That tells me that if I really pushed it, I could probably get the average over 20. So my question is: what is the best sort of training for an old man to do to get that last 0.7 mph? Intervals, sprints, more fast laps? What is the advice of the 50+ crowd to get my speed up?????
My goal this year was 6,200 miles (10,000 Km) just to see if I could do it. I passed that mark on Sept 24 and revised my plan to 8,500 miles—which will be a real test of how both me and the weather holds out……my average speed for the past few months is right at 16 mph. So, what's your advice?
Oh, and I averaged about 15 during the 11 mile round trip from my home to Haines Point and back--through DC traffic.
But that is not for me. It was just the Buenos Aires and me on a nice day with essentially no wind. I averaged 19.3 mph for 7 laps (just over 22 miles) and kept my heart rate right at 140 for the entire time. That tells me that if I really pushed it, I could probably get the average over 20. So my question is: what is the best sort of training for an old man to do to get that last 0.7 mph? Intervals, sprints, more fast laps? What is the advice of the 50+ crowd to get my speed up?????
My goal this year was 6,200 miles (10,000 Km) just to see if I could do it. I passed that mark on Sept 24 and revised my plan to 8,500 miles—which will be a real test of how both me and the weather holds out……my average speed for the past few months is right at 16 mph. So, what's your advice?
Oh, and I averaged about 15 during the 11 mile round trip from my home to Haines Point and back--through DC traffic.