Originally Posted by
ThermionicScott
I never have a plan, so whether I come into spring strong or weak is totally dependent on how favorable winter was for riding. This post from [MENTION=537095]GhostRider62[/MENTION] a year ago had me thinking that I should really work more easy trainer miles into my schedule, especially during the winter:
So.....in defense of junk rando miles.....
Interesting article referenced there:
What do you know? The "more volume, lower intensity" strategy really improved that athlete's VO2max!
That "volume > intensity" kind of matches up with my experience. My strongest year was when I was just riding a lot, with no agenda other than to accumulate a lot of climbing miles. Almost entirely easy/moderate pace rides.
That year, I managed over 1000 hours / 1.2 million feet, and:
- rode the Everest Challenge for fun and won the public race
- completed a hilly century in 5 hours
Thoughts:
- The "if you train slow, you'll be slow" common wisdom may not be so wise, after all.
- Is this "more volume, less intensity" the same as the popular "most of your time in zone 2" advice?
I think I'm just going to ride the way I feel, which ends up being mostly zones 2-3. And I'm not going to feel like I'm cheating myself.