Are my training results significant?

[apodysophilic]

I have been trying to improve my endurance and following are results of the 3 rides that I did over the last 3 weeks. I am a 41 year old male, 5'8" tall and weigh 154 lbs. Following are the results from my Garmin 305. I was wondering if the results are statistically significant. I have been eating and drinking better over the weeks. The rides were in the same general area - all with rolling hills.

Date: 4/12/2008
Total distance: 34.17 miles
Avg pace: 4:02 /mi
Avg speed: 14.9 mph
Avg heart rate: 162 bpm
Avg cadence: 74 rpm
Total ascent: 1742 ft
Total descent: 1733 ft
NOTES: On this ride, I was following a friend (but NOT drafting) and I was burned out at the end of the ride.


Date: 4/19/2008
Total distance: 42.62 miles
Avg pace: 4:08 /mi
Avg speed: 14.5 mph
Avg heart rate: 149 bpm
Avg cadence: 67 rpm
Total ascent: 3144 ft
Total descent: 3183 ft
NOTES: The course was different than the one on 4/12/2008.

Date: 4/27/2008
Total distance: 61.33 miles
Avg pace: 4:22 /mi
Avg speed: 13.7 mph
Avg heart rate: 144 bpm
Avg cadence: 71 rpm
Total ascent: 4415 ft
Total descent: 4459 ft
NOTES: The course was same most of the way as that of 4/19 but added the extra 20 miles. Earlier this week, I did one spinning class and one session on the elliptical..both for 45 min.

[chinarider]

Not enough info. I assume these were not your only rides over the time frame. Can't tell when you were rested or not as well as temp & wind. That being said, the variation doesn't seem out of whack so as to indicate something strange is going on. I take it from the tone of your post that you haven't been riding that long. Just keep at it. Consistency is your friend. I'm not talking weeks, but months & years; that's the real gauge of improvement.
Dan

[chinarider]

Your cadence seems kind of low. You might benefit from using easier gears & spinning more. Try to get average cadence into the hi 80s or 9os.

[apodysophilic]

OK...thanks for the responses guys. I was training for Lake Tahoe century. In order to bring up the avg cadence is it OK if I train on flat roads instead of hilly areas - in the beginning at least? Cuz I won't be able to keep up such a high cadence on hills.

Also, I have been riding for 4 years but never consistently or have really trained scientifically.