Further and Faster in plain English (training for dummies?!)

[GrahamG]

Like some others, I'm gearing up for a busy audax season, and for me personally this will involve my first 'Super- Randonneur' series culminating in the Bryan Chapman Memorial 600 ride in May. If successful I'd like to enter Paris-Brest-Paris.

However, when it comes to advice on training etc. I tend to just lose all concentration when it gets into sports-science talk - I can't hack endless acronyms and statistics and just need a little guidance in plain English.

I've been doing the following since early November:

- A low intensity 'long' (3-4 hours) weekend ride (except through ice/snow when I did split turbo sessions)
- Three or four 1 hour higher intensity sessions throughout the week
- A 200k audax each month

I've entered 200, 300, 400 and 600 events which can only be described as 'hilly as fook' IMO. Now I'm conscious I can now ride further with less effort required and less recovery needed, but I can't ride particularly quickly yet and I'm still fairly slow in the hills therefore I've the following aims:

- Increase speed (but over longer distances)
- Get quicker on hills (I will realistically drop another half stone or so to help with this!)

I'm fairly content with the distance thing, it's adding speed to help make the distance vs. time limit more comfortable that I'm not entirely sure how to address. With March bringing the first big challenge of back to back 200k rides, one v. hilly, should I be starting to work on speed now or is that something that should just wait until the spring?

I have a heart rate monitor to keep track of effort, but for simplicity i like to just think of  Easy > Moderate > Hard > Bugger this! in terms of effort. All my riding so far has been Easy to Moderate and with some efforts spilling over into hard.

[Greenbank]

Interval training with minimal jargon:-

Alternating periods of hard work and gentle spinning. Helps build up tolerance to (some jargon) lactic acid and also raise lactic threshold.

In other words, you can tolerate pushing harder and the threshold at which it stops being sustainable is pushed higher. These two combine to allowing you to push harder for longer, giving you more time to sleep.

Effort should be constant throughout the interval, and the same for subsequent intervals in the set. This is nigh on impossible to do on the open road with just a Heart Rate Monitor as HR lags behind the body by about a minute. A power meter makes it a lot easier (since there's little/no lag) but it's still hard to maintain constant power on the open road unless you live way out in the sticks. Power meters are expensive (think £1000+).

A turbo trainer with a power meter is ideal (can be found for ~£400), or a gym bike with a reasonable accurate power output, with a bit of experimentation you can find out what power levels to do the various intervals at without visiting the vomitorium.

The ideal is that you want to finish the final interval wishing you'd never thought about doing them but having put in a constant effort over all of the intervals in the set. Failing to complete the intervals means you've tried to do too much, you're tired or overtrained, or you're coming down with a cold.

Using your levels:-

5 x 5 Intervals (5 intervals of 5 minutes each):

5 to 10 minute warm up at Easy
5 minutes at Hard (I1)
3 minutes at Easy
5 minutes at Hard (I2)
3 minutes at Easy
5 minutes at Hard (I3)
3 minutes at Easy
5 minutes at Hard (I4)
3 minutes at Easy
5 minutes at Hard (I5)
5 to 10 minute cool down at Easy

2 x 20 (2 intervals of 20 minutes each):

5 to 10 minutes at Easy (warm up)
20 minutes at Moderately Hard (I1)
Any length recovery period at Easy (usually 10 minutes)
20 minutes at Moderately Hard (I2)
5 to 10 minutes at Easy (cool down)

14 x 2 (14 intervals of 2 minutes each):
5 to 10 minutes at Easy (warm up)
2 minutes at Hard to Bugger This! (I1)
2 minutes at Easy
2 minutes at Hard to Bugger This! (I2)
2 minutes at Easy
...
2 minutes at Hard to Bugger This! (I14)
5 to 10 minutes at Easy (cool down)

There are many variations on these.

Warm ups should be at least 5 minutes long, cool downs at least 5 minutes, there's no real upper limit.

Pain is weakness leaving the body.

With a normal turbo trainer (with no power meter) pick a gear and keep a constant cadence. Check HR after 90 seconds or so. If it's too low change gears to make it harder. Too high (i.e. you can't maintain that cadence in that gear) then change down one. You're basically looking for the gears that you can keep pushing for 2, 5 and 20 minutes respectively before wishing that you could stop. Make a note of them and use them for the corresponding intervals above (two or three sessions a week depending on fitness). Obviously the shorter the interval the hard you can push for the duration of the interval.

You should find that, over time, you can repeat the same sets of intervals and your HR_max will begin to drop. When it drops enough you up the effort (up the target power by 10W or change up a gear) for the next set. Moving up too early will result in you not being able to complete the intervals at the new target power/effort. If you stick with it it'll keep going up although you'll soon run in to the law of diminishing returns.

They call this whole process: 'training'. Horrible idea.

Interval training is only part of it. I'd use it for the two or three higher intensity rides, but still doing a long weekend ride, and the 200k+ Audax each month.

P.S. It's the Bryan Chapman.

[jogler]

This is very interesting since I have just posted this

A slightly lumpy 32km on the Langster.Average speed just above Audax minimum so that will do for now.I'll get the distance up before I fret about the speed.

elsewhere on the forum.

[токамак]

That is a succinct and useful guide to interval training there, GB.

And I particularly like:

Pain is weakness leaving the body.

[Andrij]

Thanks, Greenbank.  I've been looking for just that sort of summary.
 

[GrahamG]

Thanks GB - I take it that it's best to start that sooner rather than later? Should I have any kind of 'ceiling' in mind with regards to heart rate or just ignore it?

[jogler]

With regard to heart rate.
Do not ignore it if it ceases

[mattc]

Should I have any kind of 'ceiling' in mind with regards to heart rate or just ignore it?

Aha - so you do want some "sports science talk"!

It's a slippery slope ... 

[Hot Flatus]

Proper eating during the ride is a big part of it for me. Little and often, something like a hot cross bun with banana every 40 minutes. Energy drink too, but watch out for an acid stomach.

In terms of 'training', I don't do any, but I do try and do two things whilst on audax rides. In about February, when my body has awoken, I do try and get involved in the race. What that means is pushing myself in bouts of 90% effort after a 20 minute warm up. I can only do this on audaxes as on my own I can't be arsed. The thrill of the chase is a bit of a motivator, and I guess why people who race say there is no substitute for racing as far as training goes.  I then might have longer bouts of an 80% percent effort, but if you are going to do this you absolutely have to keep eating, and caning the energy drink or you'll fall apart. It is good to try and keep up with a stronger rider.

The other thing I do is look for back to back moderately hilly 200s in march when I've got some stamina and strength back. This really seems to work wonders with stamina and the ability to keep a bit of a decent pace up, but it is hard work at the time.

These things work for me, but each
To their own.  I'm quite motivated to put in the work in February and march because when the longer rides appear in May I don't end up being one of those poor bastards who has to gruel through the entire night on  a 400 or a 600.  In all honesty, if I had to do that I would probably find another hobby  

I'm sure there will be plenty of excellent advice from others more experienced than me, but good luck with it.

[GrahamG]

Should I have any kind of 'ceiling' in mind with regards to heart rate or just ignore it?

Aha - so you do want some "sports science talk"!

It's a slippery slope ... 

What can I say - I ignored it totally to keep up with you on that Tewkesbury ride and ached like buggery the next day as a result!

[Chris S]

Do some exercises to tone up your core muscles - front and back.

A strong, stable core enables you to push harder through the legs. It also helps you to maintain good form for longer when sitting on the bike. Remember - long distance cycling is as much about long durations of time doing the same thing, as it is about distance.

Someone linked to the Royal Marines website elsewhere - and that contains excellent short videos on core exercises.

Here are some that I do:

Push Ups - try the 100 push up challenge.
Sit Ups - try the 200 sit up challenge (badly named - should be "crunches" really).
Planks and Half Planks
Swiss ball crunches

If you google these exercises, you'll find lots of How To videos.

[GrahamG]

Chris - that's a good point, I had started a core stability class but have since cancelled gym membership as I just wasn't using it enough. I do have 'Yoga for Cyclists' though to unwind from all of this

[Alouicious]

Given the amount of time allowed to complete Audax rides, my primary training concern is to keep a steady cadence in a lowish gear for a long time; up a gradient.

I took Simon's advice in AUK's handbook which suggested "err to low gearing. You do not need racing gears".

So, I've fitted a top of 77" and a low of 23". I will slowly wind the bike up a 20% at 3 mph for only 280 Watts, about the same power as my 10 minute max, but how many 20% hills are there that are 1/2 mile long?

In my uninformed years, I struggled up 20% hills on a 35" gear, which was damned silly, temporarily knackered me and I paid for the stupidity toward the end of the ride.

These days, with my low ration cluster, I don't fear hills.

[Greenbank]

So, I've fitted a top of 77" and a low of 23". I will slowly wind the bike up a 20% at 3 mph for only 280 Watts, about the same power as my 10 minute max, but how many 20% hills are there that are 1/2 mile long?

Ride the Elenith.

[vorsprung]

Interval training with minimal jargon:-

Interval training with even less jargon

Find a hill that takes a few minutes to climb.  Ride out to it, taking at least 15 minutes to do so for a warm up.

Climb the hill repeatedly.   Time your ascents.

As for the level of effort on the climb try and give it your all on each attempt.  Pace yourself so the effort over the entire hill is constant.  The fastest ascent of your set will probably be the 2nd one

Between each attempt ride briskly.  Briskly in this context means fast as you can without starting to breathe through your mouth instead of your nose.  Ideally do this for a little longer than you are on the hill.

Keep doing the hill repeats for as long as possible or until your time up the hill drops by 20%

After doing this, the next day do not do any training.  Riding at a steady pace is fine.

If you have the time, do this hill climbing exercise twice a week
As the weeks go on, your time up the hill should improve
After 5 or 6 weeks, take a rest from all training for a week.  Riding at a steady pace is fine but don't push it during your rest week

[vorsprung]

So, I've fitted a top of 77" and a low of 23". I will slowly wind the bike up a 20% at 3 mph for only 280 Watts, about the same power as my 10 minute max, but how many 20% hills are there that are 1/2 mile long?

Ride the Elenith.

To be fair, on the mountain road to Tregaron there are several hills with 20% sections but I don't think that any of these go on for 1/2 a mile.
My perspective is if you are only doing 3mph you may as well walk

[Jacomus]

Do some exercises to tone up your core muscles - front and back.

A strong, stable core enables you to push harder through the legs. It also helps you to maintain good form for longer when sitting on the bike. Remember - long distance cycling is as much about long durations of time doing the same thing, as it is about distance.

Someone linked to the Royal Marines website elsewhere - and that contains excellent short videos on core exercises.

Here are some that I do:

Push Ups - try the 100 push up challenge.
Sit Ups - try the 200 sit up challenge (badly named - should be "crunches" really).
Planks and Half Planks
Swiss ball crunches

If you google these exercises, you'll find lots of How To videos.

Aye, that were me - I've just started that training plan.

Royal Marines Home

[Greenbank]

So, I've fitted a top of 77" and a low of 23". I will slowly wind the bike up a 20% at 3 mph for only 280 Watts, about the same power as my 10 minute max, but how many 20% hills are there that are 1/2 mile long?

Ride the Elenith.

To be fair, on the mountain road to Tregaron there are several hills with 20% sections but I don't think that any of these go on for 1/2 a mile.
My perspective is if you are only doing 3mph you may as well walk

My point was that it is not as simple as previous best peak power up a big hill.

It's unlikely that a rider can push out their 10 minute max for a total of 20 minutes or so (for the 3 hills on the mountain road) in the space of 45 minutes (so there are some periods of rest going downhill) with 100km in their legs already (that includes some unflat terrain leading up to it such as the road out of Pont-Rhyd-Y-Groes and the forest road leading up to the start of the DS).

[GrahamG]

So, I've fitted a top of 77" and a low of 23". I will slowly wind the bike up a 20% at 3 mph for only 280 Watts, about the same power as my 10 minute max, but how many 20% hills are there that are 1/2 mile long?

Ride the Elenith.

...typical. I'm entered for that

No fear, I have a 30" gear which in my newer svelte form is fine for just about anything I don't want to walk up.

[GrahamG]

Oh, and thanks to everyone for contributions, it's much appreciated. The 'training' I was following was based too much on gently easing in to a 'racing season' and looking forward was getting a bit to race oriented for comfort.

I think I'll throw in one of the shorter interval sessions a week until the end of january then add in another with the longer periods from Feb. Along side the core strength marine fitness type shiz.

[GrahamG]

This article is pretty good....

Endurance Cycling: Five Mistakes to Avoid

[GrahamG]

Actually, the Endurance Cycling website has some really good information. Have printed off a few of their pages along with the suggested intervals. Only problem now is that I've a niggling right knee which has been giving a tiny hint of discomfort since my first 200 of the season back in November (over-did it not having done any significant distance for a while) and I suspect the only way to rid is to take a week or so off the bike. Really don't want to do that though.

[Alouicious]

Went on the ergometer last night.
Did random intervals between 150 and 350 W for an hour. Averaged 205 W.

Then did five minutes at 280 W at 50 rpm. Feel fine. That's 3.5 mph on a 23" gear. That's faster than walking.

[MSeries]

Just hang on to faster wheels for as long as you can.


ride lots


ride hills lots


The above worked for me YMMV

(You did ask for 'training for dummies', not scientific but sufficient for audaxes)

[GrahamG]

Superb

I will add though that I now understand the whole 'junk miles' mantra since getting a heart rate monitor - it's so easy just to end up pootling if the road is flat or heading down.