Hitting the barrier - how to get past?

[Adam]

Although I've hit a metal barrier before, the one I run into now isn't so easy to deal with.

For every day riding at a reasonable pace, say up to an average of 15 - 16 mph, I can keep going all day - or night  , but I've found if I do something stupid like a sportive, and go at a faster pace, by around 60 - 70 miles I just feel a complete lack of energy, despite being well hydrated on isotonic drinks, and consuming loads of calories.

Is it just I'm pushing my body too much or is it something which simply takes time to be able to go further for longer?

[Greenbank]

Is it just I'm pushing my body too much or is it something which simply takes time to be able to go further for longer?

If you carry on without doing any specific training for going faster than you'll probably not get much faster, but your stamina and endurance (for going even longer distances at current speed) will increase.

To go longer *and* faster you need to start doing some proper training, including (amongst other things) vomit inducing intervals (and hill repeats) to help extend your lactic acid tolerance and also your pain threshold. You'll also need to work out how to measure your performance to avoid over-training.

Do you have a turbo trainer? Do you want to spend a thousand on a PowerTap hub to allow you to measure power to more accurately plot your progress and more precisely target your training? Or do you want to do it less effectively but a lot cheaper?

[Adam]

To go longer *and* faster you need to start doing some proper training, including (amongst other things) vomit inducing intervals (and hill repeats) to help extend your lactic acid tolerance and also your pain threshold. You'll also need to work out how to measure your performance to avoid over-training.

I was hoping there would be a magic answer to avoid that sort of pain!

Do you have a turbo trainer? Do you want to spend a thousand on a PowerTap hub to allow you to measure power to more accurately plot your progress and more precisely target your training? Or do you want to do it less effectively but a lot cheaper?

No, No & yes!

So I guess the old sayings are true then - no pain, no gain and practice makes perfect.  Perhaps I have become too reliant on the granny gear on my triple?

Well, the new bike is a compact so that should force me into the pain threshold area!

[Palinurus]

Here's some things to try.

Hill repeats. Find a hill that takes four or more minutes to climb, preferably one that isn't ball-breakingly steep (tip: don't use Bison hill). I often use this one:



Warm up. Go up it at a steady hard effort. Descend, have a breather, repeat. Start with, say, three or four repeats (tip: don't go too hard on the first one!)

Find a 5-10 mile loop with all left turns and no traffic control. Ride to it to warm up, ride it as hard as you can- aim for a steady, sustainable effort rather than accelerations followed by recovery. Ride easy for a few minutes, repeat. Ride home easy. Time yourself on the loops (this is where you find out whether it's working).

Have a look at stuff on the net about interval training or buy a training manual.

Enter a TT? I didn't think I'd take to it but I do quite a few of them now, mostly club events.

The best tip I ever got on here was to take up Cyclocross. I'm pretty sure it makes me faster, it's definitely fun.

You'll probably make quite a bit of progress just by mixing up your riding a bit. Instead of 60 miles at 16 mph try doing some of those miles a bit faster. Try riding two lots of five miles out at a faster pace towards the end of the ride.

[drossall]

Although I've hit a metal barrier before, the one I run into now isn't so easy to deal with.

 

I'm tempted to suggest improving your steering

I sympathise - at lower speeds, I can do 90 miles in a relaxed day and then struggle to do similar distances in an Audax. What's more, years ago I rode rather further, so it's not a straightforward matter of the distance.

I think the temptation may just be to push a bit too hard, too early.

[GruB]

Hill repeats !!  That was going to be my suggestion.  I don't repeat them per se but on my commute I use the hills to do some good workouts.  I also ensure I am well and truly warmed up before I do anything strenuous.
Another aspect of a good sportive that I struggled with was the surges in power.  I found it really tiring to keep speeding up and then slow down.  The changes in rhythm were disastrous to me.  So now I do them in my commute.  I put the power down at any old time for say 30 revolutions and then drop back for 15 then up again for 20 and so on.  I don't keep it regimented as it is not like that in a sprortive.  I mix it up and keep it going for say 3 minutes.  I do this a couple of times a week.
I think the trick is to take yourself out of your comfort zone of riding in your normal rhythm.  Stand up more.  When standing up concentrate on picking up your pedals. Work out when the difference between up and down comes in.  Of course I have a lot more advantage to play on my commute as I have the distance and very quiet roads to mess about with.

[Rapples]

If you want to try a 10m TT Tuesday nights 7.00 pm quiet roads, (although a bit lumpy)

Gmaps Pedometer

Run by Hitchin Nomads, just enter at the start.

Hitchin Nomads Cycling Club - Racing

[drossall]

Oh yes, you'd be welcome at our Tuesday events - good friendly atmosphere, whatever time you do. However, tonight and the next few alternate weeks are 25s - check the list to which Rapples linked. They start in a slightly different place - I'll post details if you're interested.

Also on 13 July there's the time trial and barbeque at Guilden Morden (how's that for healthy racing!) - but we'd like to know you're coming for that if you want a burger with your name on it

[nmcgann]

....Is it just I'm pushing my body too much or is it something which simply takes time to be able to go further for longer?

As others have said, you need to start pushing yourself harder over shorter durations. At this point short intervals (e.g. 2-5min) aren't going to give as much benefit as 90min-2h sessions of moderate continuous effort (zone 3 or "tempo") plus some shorter harder threshold sessions (zone 4, e.g. the often discussed 2x20 sessions).

Once you have done a decent volume of this kind of training you will find that the longer rides are using a smaller percentage of your capability so you can go faster and end up less wrecked.

Neil

[Chris S]

Mmm... 2x20s. A whole 40 minutes of pain and acid reflux.

I really enjoy them (afterwards) myself - but a full on 2x20 during the week is incompatible with an audax the following weekend; it just takes too much out of me and does more harm than good.

[vorsprung]

I'm sure the sort of stuff that people are suggesting will work
But be aware that it could take a couple of months to train your body up to another level

[nuttycyclist]

I don't train at all, I just ride.

But having said that, after doing some extremely hilly OpenStreetMap surveying on a fixed wheel I was amazed at the improvement to my performance.  I'd just been grinding up and down the slopes at a pretty low speed - but then both on the way home, as well as riding later that week, just flew up all the hills.

[Greenbank]

Doing the Bryan Chapman on fixed has had a profound (positive) impact on my hill climbing ability.

I can't recommend it as part of a regular training regime though.

[inc]

For every day riding at a reasonable pace, say up to an average of 15 - 16 mph, I can keep going all day - or night  , but I've found if I do something stupid like a sportive, and go at a faster pace, by around 60 - 70 miles I just feel a complete lack of energy,

The answer is simple, how did you develop the ability to ride all day at 15-16mph, by doing it, slowly building up distance and speed, and that is all you have to do to improve your speed now. No vomit inducing intervals or expensive gismo's needed. Since you can't ride > 60miles at a fast pace then break the distance down to one you can ride at a fast pace. Longer duration at a faster pace will give the quickest results but breaking it down in to shorter bits allows you to recover then go again at the faster pace. Quality is more important than quantity. The concept is simple but putting a programme together is a bit more involved. The first problem you will encounter is quantifying your effort there are three ways normally used , perception, how hard it feels, a hrm  or a power meter, they all have their place but I would say a hrm is good enough for most people. Training is all about overload and adaption and a hrm can give a lot of feedback on how your body is coping, including signs of overtraining. I think it is worth spending a bit of time researching training and developing your own programme, if you have the time all the information you need  is available on the net but you could consider using a coach where you get an assessment of your current fitness and a programme tailored for you. Dr Auriel Forrester I think is based in Luton , or used to be   Scientific Cycle and Triathlon coaching | Dr Auriel Forrester | UK distributor for SRM power systems

[drossall]

I don't train at all, I just ride.

Oh good, I thought I was the only one. I've always thought of training as cheating

Well, maybe not quite, but you get the idea from cycling magazines these days that you can't take part in the sport unless you train 20 hours a week, eat a strict planned diet and have a fully-equipped gym at home.

[Greenbank]

I've never bothered doing any specific training, like others I just ride.

However, I'm now starting to do a couple of hours of targeted training per week (tricky as I don't have a turbo, nor is my 1st floor flat suitable for one), but our office gym has an exercise bike with a Watt-meter, and I've been pushing myself on the hills round Richmond Park in order to introduce my legs to more pain than I'd normally choose to.

Sacrificing a couple of lunchtimes a week, or pushing that bit harder on a "training" ride in order to be a couple of kph faster sounds like a worthwhile investment to me.

I don't need to, I'm often close to being out of time on an Audax but it's never been a problem so far, even long hilly ones in shit weather. Being 2kph faster may not sound like much but it gives me an extra 2 hours on a 600km Audax. Even if I ride at the same speed as do now I'll feel less knackered on the way round and spend less time relaxing/recovering/resting at controls and finish earlier.

So, no, you don't need to. But there are obvious benefits to doing it.

[Adam]

Inspiring stuff. 

I'll be honest, I've never been one to honk on the pedals - I just sit & spin away on the granny gear.   I'll keep it simple by getting up off the saddle a bit more & pushing myself, but I'll see about investing in a HRM.

[Palinurus]

I have a turbo but rarely use it. I don't use an HRM or powermeter, I like to keep my cycling simple and cheap.

[Chris S]

My average speeds are about 2-3km/hr faster this year. I put this fair and squarely down to the 100 Push Up Challenge and other general core-tone work I did last winter.