Recommended training for Highlander century?
07-22-07, 02:56 PM
#1
King of the Plukers
Thread Starter
Recommended training for Highlander century?
I could use some recommendations for an 8-week training program to get ready for the Highlander century. I'm a newbie, and I've completed one century. I probably learned more about what not to do on that ride than anything. 
This century is very hilly, here's the profile. 11k feet of climbing, up to 23% grades.
I have every weekday morning to ride for one to two hours, and can do one long ride on the weekends, possibly two. I also have access to an excellent gym at the ymca. I live in a very hilly area, with lots of country hills to work out on.
My current condition as a rider is that I am comfortable out to 50 miles, then the various sorenesses set in and so on. I commute every day, min 5 miles each way, and often extend the morning run to 10 or 15+ miles. Though my average speed is increasing all the time, I am not what I would call strong on hills.
What I am looking for is recommendations for using this 8 weeks wisely. I have to do this without benefit of an HRM. It's all about the hills on this ride, so I would like to focus on that. Over the next 8 weeks I woud also like to kick my average mph up quite a bit. On most days lately I'll average 16 mph and 72 cadence.
What would be a good mix of intervals, LSD, weights, hill work, etc? Should I do intervals once, twice, three times a week? How many days of hill repeats, and how do you do a hill repeats workout? Are weighted or unweighted squats a good idea? How to do intervals if I can watch cadence, but not HR?
Many thanks for any help!
This century is very hilly, here's the profile. 11k feet of climbing, up to 23% grades.I have every weekday morning to ride for one to two hours, and can do one long ride on the weekends, possibly two. I also have access to an excellent gym at the ymca. I live in a very hilly area, with lots of country hills to work out on.
My current condition as a rider is that I am comfortable out to 50 miles, then the various sorenesses set in and so on. I commute every day, min 5 miles each way, and often extend the morning run to 10 or 15+ miles. Though my average speed is increasing all the time, I am not what I would call strong on hills.
What I am looking for is recommendations for using this 8 weeks wisely. I have to do this without benefit of an HRM. It's all about the hills on this ride, so I would like to focus on that. Over the next 8 weeks I woud also like to kick my average mph up quite a bit. On most days lately I'll average 16 mph and 72 cadence.
What would be a good mix of intervals, LSD, weights, hill work, etc? Should I do intervals once, twice, three times a week? How many days of hill repeats, and how do you do a hill repeats workout? Are weighted or unweighted squats a good idea? How to do intervals if I can watch cadence, but not HR?
Many thanks for any help!
07-22-07, 06:38 PM
#2
King of the Plukers
Thread Starter
I should probably add this: I got this plan from The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling. I would start at week 3. This looks like a sound plan, except I would like to add or modify specifically for climbing.
So, how do I become a much better climber in 8 weeks?
So, how do I become a much better climber in 8 weeks?
07-23-07, 09:50 PM
#3
King of the Plukers
Thread Starter
No recommendations for slanting a training program toward this amount of climbing?
30+ views with no replies? It's not like I'm asking for sharks with laser beams attached to their heads, throw me a frickin' bone here!
30+ views with no replies? It's not like I'm asking for sharks with laser beams attached to their heads, throw me a frickin' bone here!
07-25-07, 11:00 AM
#4
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No advice here except that it seems like you have this all sorted out already. A quick websearch yesterday (I am preparing for much the same thing) gave lots of articles on preparing for a century focused on increasing mileage 5 - 10% per week for both the weekly total and the individual weekly long ride, which assumes your daily mileage is short, 15 - 20 miles, and your weekend ride is much longer. It said to stop increasing the mileage once your long ride is within 75% of the total ride length.
As for intervals, I hate the 3-2-1 method myself. But it is a really good workout. 3 minutes at a moderate spin, should start a light sweat, 2 minutes at a fast pace, still spinning quite quickly, breathing begins to be hard, then one minute as hard and fast as you can go. 5 - 10 minutes of recovery and then do it again.
As for intervals, I hate the 3-2-1 method myself. But it is a really good workout. 3 minutes at a moderate spin, should start a light sweat, 2 minutes at a fast pace, still spinning quite quickly, breathing begins to be hard, then one minute as hard and fast as you can go. 5 - 10 minutes of recovery and then do it again.
