bcoppola

Whoo...just tried an interval routine I read on the Bicycleing Mag website: 10 min warmup, 3x3 intervals w/3min cooldown between them (yes, only a partial cooldown), then cooldown for remainder of 30 min total time.

I only managed two intervals, and I thought I was in pretty good shape after an active riding season.

Somebody, tell me it'll get better please!

Note: maybe using the fixed gear as a trainer bike isn't a good idea?

Must...shower...yes, I stretched afterwards.

jibi

It will get easier, why else do it.

Remember ,,at spinning class at the gym they use (Schwinn) Fixed machines, much better work out than being able to coast.

george

stonecrd

No, it never gets easier you just get faster (I think that is Greg Lamond quote). Intervals are about pushing yourself as you get better you push harder. It is truly the only way other than riding with a faster group to improve your performance. Riding at 25mph seems hard until you have pushed 28-30mph then 25 feels easy. It is the same with distance, after doing 100mi, 20mi is a breeze.

Little Darwin

I agree that it shouldn't get easier, since you are supposed to go at max output, but it is my understanding that your recovery time should decrease...

I'm kind of glad that I don't care about race training.

stonecrd

I do two types of intervals each week:

LT intervals = 2x 20min Zone 5a with 2x 10min Zone 2 recovery
Sprint = 6x 5min Zone 5b/c with 6x 5min Zone 2 recovery

So my weekly schedule looks like:

Sunday = distance 60+mi Zone 3 or club ride with A group 50mi
Monday = off
Tuesday = Sprint Interval
Wed = Tempo ride
Thursday = LT Interval
Friday = Temp ride
Sat = yard work

I don't race I just seem more inclined to doing structured workouts. I did this when I was running and going to the gym for weight training as well.

PaulH

Our team used to do intervals back when I was running cross country. They never get easier; you just get faster.

Paul

NOS88

Intervals are one of the few places that the maxim "No pain; no gain" actually seems to be true.

stapfam

Interval training does not get easier. If it does- you are not putting enough effort into them.

I do my intervals on the rides. Having and easy ride? Sprint the last 200 yardsup a hill. Or choose two points- telegraph poles for me- and sprint between them. Normally get sprint between two poles- rest for 2 gaps and then sprint again. At the start of my training season- I normally do 3x 200yard sprints per ride. Come the spring and I am up to 5 and every one hurts- but recovery time is better.

Garfield Cat

In a structured setting like cross country running, there is a season with competition throughout and then the conference finals and state finals. The runners go a certain distance in competition. Each runner is developing his or her own personal best times. That means pacing is important. One of the objectives of interval training is to get the runner to pace his race.

So if you're a world class marathon runner, you go 5 minute mile pace. That's 75 seconds per quarter mile. During the early part of the season, you go shorter intervals and later on the intervals are longer distances. If done correctly, intervals should get easier, not harder. If its harder, you're pushing yourself way beyond race pace.

There's a law of diminishing returns with interval workouts. Don't kid yourself in doing interval work to better your average speed indefinitely. Athletes need to know that their running career spans to their 30's for peak lifetime performance. El Guerrouj is a good example of this. Check out his workouts and you will see that his interval training is sensible and incorporated with strength and distance conditioning.

If you're already in your 50's, guess what? Just look at the Seniors world track times. I know this is a bike thing but you can get a lot of insight from running. Before you biked, you ran.

bcoppola

I should mention that I have my fixed gear on a Blackburn fluid trainer so I'm wondering if the highish gear is too much since even the warmup and cooldowns are pretty hard. Hence, wondering if I should use my road bike on the trainer instead...

...or use this as an excuse to buy a flip-flop (fixed both sides) hub w/a lower stationary training gear + "road" gear and build a new rear wheel! Ooh, ooh, new bike stuff...

stonecrd

You had a nicer coach than I had. When I was doing cross country we use to do 1/4mile intervals and the coach wanted them under 60sec. He would start with 10 and add one each time you went over 60 sec. Also when we did mile intervals the target was 5min. Then of course we had do 100 yard sprint ladders. In the winter off season they had us go for 1000 miles between CC and Track. This was in HS. My experience is that you always train harder than you compete.