Training & Nutrition - Winter Training Program

Hi,
I would like some help in developing a winter training program. I would like to work on long endurance training to help out with my long rides I do in the summer. I do alot of charity rides ranging anywhere from 45-75 miles and I would like to do a century ride this year. My only problem is that I'm way too slow. What kind of training program can I put together to help me train for my long rides coming up this summer??? I already do weight training 4 days a week. I would like to follow a training program to do on my indoor trainer.

Thanks in advance:)
fmvapp

Hey fmvapp,

In a nutshell, just ride lots. If you want something in particular to help you along, one option is the Carmichael training series dvd's. Or you can download them at:

http://www.trainright.com/info.asp?uid=1265

The page actually has a good training system. It starts with determining the best heartrate to train at (you need a heartrate monitor, which is a useful tool). It then progresses to exercises that focus on pedal stroke, max power and intervals. I would focus more on the steady state and tempo workouts, as these help build your overall fitness.

These workouts will help build a good hour-long base. If you can stand it, just pedaling for a couple hours will help more with endurance. Many people just focus on the hour efforts and then have a good start when the weather improves and they ramp out the miles outdoors. If you do a lot of 1 hour workouts on the trainer, you should be able to tackle a 40 miler on the road with relative ease. Then you can start adding more miles and you should be able to handle a century early in the season. A general rule of thumb that I have heard is that you can take a mileage that you can ride at a fast clip and, if you back off the intensity, you should be able to ride double that. So if you get in lots of 50 milers, a century shouldn't kill you. :)