century training schedule question
 

So I just started the linked century training schedule, but have a quick question.
Tuesday, Friday-Sunday say Pace, while Wednesday says Brisk. What exactly is meant by this?
Any help is much appreciated.

Pace = century pace
Brisk = moderately fast pace

So if my average speed on a ride is 16, that'll be my pace and for the brisk day I need to kick it up a little?

"Pace" is supposed to be the speed or effort at which you plan on doing the ride for which you are training. You can measure this in average speed, speed on the flat, average heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), or power, depending on the measurement technology available to you. RPE or HR are the best, as speed will vary with the terrain, and the terrain on your target ride will probably be different than the terrain on your training rides.

"Brisk" means go harder than pace. Make your legs tired. OTOH, don't go all out. Don't go any harder than you can recover from in a day. The idea is that your body will adapt to the faster pace and in time your Brisk speed will become your Pace speed. You get much faster if you push yourself from time to time. And you might discover than you are dogging it on the Pace rides!

For a century, I really don't recommend trying to hit a target speed. As mentioned above, your speed will vary significantly over the course of the ride depending on terrain, winds, how tired you are, etc. I recommend that you find a cadence range that is comfortable for you and ride to that, no matter what gear it means you're riding in. Personally, I find that 70-80 is a good cadence I can sustain for long periods of time. Your own range may (probably will) vary from that.

Hmm, 70-80? I've been riding around 100 and I'm exhausted after about 15-20 miles. Apparently I'm pushing way to hard. It's really tough trying to hold back, as strange as that sounds.

So I went for a 20 mile ride this morning and kept my cadence between 80 and 90. Holy crap, I can't believe the difference. I felt like I could go another 20 miles or so.
Thanks for all of the info folks.

A heart rate monitor is a great thing for learning to pace yourself.

I've been using it to keep track of my max and average. I need to check out some info to figure out how to use it as a way to train.

$15 HRM, just got me one, used to be $100

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=23018

I trained for my first century using a HRM. It really helped out with "holding myself back" as you've indicated. I also tended to go too hard. I even put a piece of electrical tape over the speed readout on the bike computer and just used cadence and heart rate for two months. It was invaluable in learning how to pace myself.

Higher cadence is something you need to train yourself for gradually, and initially it will feel weird. If you want to get a higher cadence, read this:

http://riderx.info/blogs/riderx/arch...8-cadence.aspx

I'll have to work on those drills. Thanks.