Jandro 

Fantastic time up La Honda, damn.

MDcatV

i disagree, workouts like jandro is describing are super fun and really good sprint workouts. i used to do very similar type workouts with 3 others a few years ago. they were by far the best leadout/sprint workouts i've ever done, and were super fun. good times.

Ygduf

the best training plan is the one you'll stick to consistently.

I don't think intervals are fun, so I don't do them. If I'm looking for more z5-6-7 I will go to the front of a group ride and mix it up. If I want more 2-3, I'll sit out the sprints. If I want threshold, I'll go uphill until I run out of ground.

But it's not for everyone. If you like strict interval workouts alone, do those.

rbart4506

2hrs of endurance, might of been junk miles, but I just felt like riding tonight

mattm

true.

btw do you do the valley ride?

Ygduf

No, hardly ever. I do the Noon Ride most times, the PA morning ride rarely, and the Pen Velo tues/thursday rides, also rarely. Mostly am a noon-ride guy, with races or a Bakery-Ride/A-Ride saturday/sunday weekend if I'm not racing.

I know some of those Valley-Ride guys though. Greg Davis, Jeff Linder, many others, I'm sure.

ovoleg

vo2max intervals with the rest just riding around doing some hillwork.

Holy balls 410W for 16mins thats legit dude!

Ygduf

it's only 5w/kg. I'm big.

I don't post raw numbers for that reason. It isn't easy for y'all tiny guys to scale up to the effort my back fat requires.

Creatre

That's still super solid though. Definitely nothing to shrug off!

Ygduf

thanks, yeah.

it's "good". my best ever. My last 3 events have been 1st/1st/5th. The peak is going to end someday and I am cushioning the blow!

ericm979

"only". Like 5 w/kg is bad!

Ygduf

sigh.

It's good. Thanks!

I ride with Ken Spencer a lot and didn't even "win" the climb today. It's fast, it's great, but there are many faster and I'm pretty sure climbing isn't my strongest suit.

Anyway, thanks again. I wouldn't have posted if I wasn't happy about it.

ovoleg

I'm 168lbs aka 76kg, I'm pretty sure I would die at 410W for 16mins. Anecdotally looking at my best efforts power curve, I've only got 322W for 16mins. Thats 4.2 W/kg based on my weight.

Legit power dude for reals!!

Fat Boy

121 mile ride yesterday. Sore legs today. I felt pretty good overall. There was a 15% hill about 90 miles in that was no fun, but besides that it was all good.

Creatre

Do you have a TT bike? Most guys I know that are your size, but can still produce that kind of w/kg kill it in the flat or rolling TTs because of the raw watts. Assuming you can get semi decent aero with your size.

thechemist

I am glad this works for you! I would do this if I was a bit closer to my team or group rides. My goal this winter is to really stick to a plan with intervals but it will be solo so hoping not to burn out.

waterrockets 

Our local former nat'l elite crit champ / occasional state TT champ does a fair bit of his threshold work during group rides and training races. He just rolls to the front and pulls at a hard pace for a few minutes until people get comfortable enough that someone (another Cat 1 or pro type) comes around and takes over. He gets right back in line, recovers for a short bit, and goes straight back up there when the pace eases. Not attacking, but really freaking fast riding. So, for the Cat 3s in the pack, it's a pretty freaking hard ride.

He's also a coach, and prescribes and does intervals himself too, but you can get some checkboxes checked in a group ride...

Creatre

I do everything 99% structured solo. Just works better for me. It's a bit hard mentally sometimes, but very do-able.

I've never really enjoyed group rides for training, too much of an epeen contest around here. Even in winter.

Ygduf

I was doing well in the 5s, then 4s, and now 3s. I know it's good, I just try to ride with the strongest guys all the time so I constantly am still having my ass kicked. I'm the nail most of the time. Even that PR yesterday I was just hanging onto a wheel while having my eyeballs twisted out.


Not yet, but someday soon. If/when I upgrade to 2s I expect the little trickle of success I'm used to might dry up. If/when that happens I'm sure the effort involved in getting a TT setup rolling and acclimating to it will seem a more worthwhile diversion.

I'm pretty one-track minded. I was winning 4s races at the end of last season and was in the winning break in my first 3s race when the two guys ahead of me crashed. I went over the top and broke my clavicle and basically started base in october when I could ride again. I'm like 11k miles into the riding "year" and am doing well in the 3s. It's tough to divert attention from that when I'm seeing the payoff so clearly.

Ygduf

Me too. I'm really lucky to live where I do. There's honestly 2+ big group rides/day to choose from, more on the weekends. Whatever workout I'm looking for, I just pick the suitable ride and head out.

I just spent a week riding solo every day. Even in Hawaii I was getting bored out of my mind with no one to chat/ride with. I'm kind of intimidated by guys who only ride solo and do intervals. I figure they must be slightly crazy.

Fat Boy

I don't know anyone that thinks they're 'fun'. Especially not if they're done correctly. They are, however, effective. I'll put up with quite a bit if it puts me where I want to go in the long run.

ovoleg

I want to move back to Cali for this reason . I miss hills.

rbart4506

And then there's Canadians

Fat Boy

1/2 hour spin today. I know everyone hates stationary stuff, but I did this on rollers. I honestly don't mind them and they're good for this type of a ride. I can just go out on the back porch and zone out. My legs are getting pretty burnt. I've got a lot of miles in them over the last week and I'm gonna hit it pretty good this weekend as well. Get ready for the ouch.

jsutkeepspining

i also had an easy ride today. 1.5 hours of z1 goodness. Needed a long sleeve jersey, it's cold right now in ohio.