derath

Is it possible?

Basically my situation is this. Without going into a detailed life situation, in a nutshell the ability for me to get away for 3+ hours for nice long rides is near impossible. I can generally swing 1-2 days of 2 hours or so, and several days of an hour max, if I am lucky. If I add indoor rollers after the kids are in bed and such I could have more time, but still maybe 60min indoors.

So are there ways of training which will help overall endurance without being able to do nice long rides on a regular basis.

FWIW I do have a metric or full organized century ride scheduled for each month through october.

I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

-D

C_Heath

Same here. Just started a New job Monday. Total miles this week is 3.

Yes 3 as in around the freaking block in my Fred clothes

NoRacer

IMHO, you need to ride at least 2/3rds of the time you plan to spend in the saddle during your rides. You need to be at a pace that you can hold for the entire century, not the pace you can hold for the 2/3rds of the time to ride a century (or metric century). During these rides, you need to practice your fueling and hydration strategy.

If you can do this, you'll have a better chance at having a good experience, otherwise, you'll probably suffer a bit by the end of the first few attempts, until those rides cause an adaptation in you to handle the time in the saddles sans pre-century training.

derath

Thanks. yea I am not worried about having a good experience on my upcoming rides. I am not new to centuries and metrics. And I have gotten my fueling and hydration down fine.

It's just that I would like to take it to the next level. Being able to do some harder centuries and get my average speed up a bit. Like I said though, the problem is I simply don't have the free time in my life right now to devote large blocks of time to LSD rides.

-D

normZurawski

IMO, the answer is no. You'll probably need to take a pass on making strides this year and do the best you can with the time you have available. Maybe next year you'll have more time.

derath

I should. This time next year my daughter will be 4 and my son 16months.

-D

derath

Ya know I was thinking about this some more. I guess one big question is, if I can fit at least one long ride in (40+ miles) a week, or at least ever other week, will that be somewhat ok? How many long distance rides a week do most people do anyhow?

-D

normZurawski

Our daughter was born on Easter this year. Your son? I presume pretty close to that. Ironically, this year I'm in better shape than ever. I'ev started to really try and maximize my efforts.

I think 1 endurance ride a week is plenty. I'm sure people here will disagree. But I subscribe to the idea that less is more sometimes. Use your weekly workouts wisely (ie, buy a book) and if you can get 1 long ride, do it. I would also suck it up and wake up at 5:00 on Saturday/Sunday and get on the bike by 5:30. That gives you 3 hours and plenty of day left. I understand that a) this is contingent on an agreeable spouse and b) it's not ideal to ride for so long with no breakfast. Assuming the first I say use the breakfast thing to your advantage and use that time to work on your bike nutrition. IMO there's always a silver lining.

donrhummy

Maybe not, but if you can get significantly faster for a distance that's equal to half your "endurance" ride's distance, then you'll see an improvement on that endurance ride, i.e. you'll be able to complete it faster with less effort. If, however, your endurance ride is based on time spent on the bike and not distance, then I don't think you can improve with less than 3/4 the time.

derath

Already working on it. I have 2 books and have been crafting a workout schedule to be as efficient as possible.


Unfortunately that is the big problem. How I used to get enough time was by getting up at 5am, well pretty much every day and going to the gym/riding before work. But this even should not be permanent. Only until everyone is back on a better schedule.


-D

normZurawski

Good deal. What books did you buy?

substructure

Totally know what you guys mean. If anyone comes up with a training plan, I'd like to see it.

derath

I started off with the Cyclists Training Bible. It is a bit more involved than I need now, but it was too late to return it. So I have been using some of the stuff from that book, but not all the racing type stuff.

The other book I got is Heart Zones Cycling. Very good so far. I have been working on workouts mostly based off this book.

Once I get things done I would be happy to share. Of course considering the time I have to ride, it is even harder to sit down and plan these out...


-D

Garfield Cat

Endurance can be achieved by cross training. If you can stand the pounding, then consider running. I don't know what the triathletes will tell you but my guess is that running wil help a lot. Try their web site at www.slowtwitch.com

ericgu

It depends on what your goals are and what your previous experience is. You can certainly make gains in overall endurance at that level - the majority of my rides this year were in the 2-3 hour range, with the exception of 3 or 4 50 milers, one century, and my goal event (a double century).

But I have a few years of experience, so I know what my pace should be on various distances, and I know what works for me for nutrition and hydration.

If your goal is to keep your endurance, you can probably do it on that amount of time by spending the majority of your time riding endurance. But you probably aren't going to hold onto your speed at the same time.

edzo

jeeze

grab one of your kids, and then do squat reps with that load in your arms
or on your shoulders. fun for both of you

30x3, x3 once a week will bust out the hardcore monkey madness in your legs

DannoXYZ 

"Endurance" is made up of several components. Depending upon what the rate-limiting-step is in your particular body, your training plan will vary. One part for beginners is muscle-fatigue. If you end up sore and cramped up on long rides, adding intervals and strength-training will allow you to go farther with less discomfort. Also using lower gearing will help spare the muscles and have them last longer before exhaustion.

The other part of endurance is energy-delivery, which is the consideration for the more developed cyclist. Training your body to utilize more fats and digest & deliver foods quickly really does require the 2-3 hour rides minimum. You need to deplete your glycogen stores close to the edge, but not bonk. Takes at least 2-hours, so it's that 3rd hour of the ride that really gives you the endurance benefits.