Originally Posted by
guachinango
I have been riding for about 5 years now non-competitively. I am currently riding 6-8 hours a week mainly using interval training as my route to fitness. When I do join group rides I have no issues maintaining averages of +20mph for 40 to 60 miles. I do not own a power meter so I have no references as to wattage output.
I have recently signed up to do the Vuelta Puerto Rico in Jan. 2011. 335 miles around the island in three days. I would like to move into a serious training program now. I do enjoy riding hard so often my ego takes over and I kill myself riding with the hammerheads. Any suggestions on a training program that would allow me to ride hard and still enjoy puerto rico over those three days.
I should mention that my time is limited to a two hours of early A.M. riding time on the weekdays and 2-3 hours on one weekend day. Like many of you I have kids that I enjoy spending time with. Thank in advance for the comments and advice.
that's probably the most important realization. as you mentioned (and as we've discussed many times in the last few days), hammer rides aren't good for training and are rather dangerous, so don't do'em
get friel's book for training plans. main gist is that your fitness is periodized, so plan accordingly. get your base build up for a while (4-6 weeks of nothing past zone 2), then start building up intensity and give yourself a lower intensity week every 3-5 weeks as you see fit. i assume you have a HRM, if not, get one. spring for a PM if you can afford one, but it's not necessary. i have a teammate who's catting up to 2 but rarely uses his HRM, but then again, certain groups of people are better at listening to their body. i'm not, and i use a HRM.