Competative Season Question for Mike

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Permalink Reply by Mike Llerandi on April 20, 2009 at 11:13am

Hey John,

A significant amount of bike work during the week is structured, and as such it might make the most sense to do this on the trainer -- that way you could control the intensity level a lot more consistently.

As you point out, taking these out on the open road presents its challenges, not only in terms of terrain, but also traffic, stop signs/lights, etc.

So, the optimal mix that I've found over the years is indoor rides during the week with longer outdoor rides on the weekends.

Hope that helps -- thanks,

Mike

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Permalink Reply by Mark Dabrowski on April 21, 2009 at 4:53pm

John - a good question indeed. As the weather gets nicer and the days longer, I'm also tempted to get out more. In fact, last year I did. I really want to improve the bike too so this time around I'm taking Mike's advice and sticking to the trainer longer (or at least until it gets really warm). Besides controlling the intensity better I like the fact that I can just jump on and off the trainer w/o all the hassles of proper attire, worrying about darkness etc.

At least I've convinced myself of that anyway ;)

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Permalink Reply by Kim Pollock on May 19, 2009 at 8:34pm

John, you bring up an excellent point that I have been wondering! While I am on the bike, indoor or outside, I am having a hard time getting my HR up to 84-92% without completely burning out my legs as I need to put it on a high tension, which means my cadence is extremely low. If my cadence is 90-95 then my HR is too low (70%). In this case, is it better to mimic hill climbing with a high tension and get my HR closer to 85% (while trying not to burn my legs out) or a higher cadence with a lower HR? Make sense? I think I experience this more after a tough workout the day before and my legs are fatigued.

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by jake on May 25, 2009 at 7:08pm

Mike, I appreciate the suggestion of riding the trainer for the higher intensity (in my case) tuesdays time trial high heart rate days.
But, I'm sure I'm no alone when i say that riding indoors on a 50 to 80 degree day with the sun shining is not going to work for me. I just can't get motivated unless i can get outside. Which do you recommend, hill repeats or just try to push harder on the flats? Any suggestions will be most appreciated (also thanks for the workout and everything Program has been difficult but extremely rewarding (or at least after the race i'll be saying that). thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Llerandi on May 25, 2009 at 8:12pm

I mean mostly during the week, especially when you can schedule this for before work or after its almost dark...I don't like riding in traffic around here (Northern NJ), but sometimes at night it works -- but I've had much more success riding intervals indoors in a controlled setting.

Hope that helps clear things up...

-Mike

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Permalink Reply by John Broderick on May 25, 2009 at 9:47pm

hey, well i started this thread so i'll speak up again....

personally, i go to work at 12noon. i can get out and bike anytime before then. everyone has different schedules, but if it is 70 degrees and sunny at 9:30am, there's no damn way i'm putting my bike on the trainer.
i have found a route that's working for me.... basically 2 "moderate" climbs that each take me about 10 minutes. i ride up stonetown road in ringwood, and then recover while i head up to east shore road (up to greenwood lake). i hammer those 2 sections, getting my HR up close to where it should be, all while getting the feel of the road, wind in my face, and hearing the stream go by next to me.
if i need more high HR work than that, i can generally elevate it on the way home, although it's mostly downhill, because of the previous 2 efforts.

i'm not a professional, i don't get paid for this, and i will never win a race. but i'm having damn fun working hard this year, and i'm really hoping that it pays off with a great finish time at lake placid!

any thoughts? i feel this was a good compromise between true hill workouts and flat TTs.

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Permalink Reply by Clinton Mawkes on December 14, 2009 at 7:02pm

I'm a couple of weeks into the early competitive season of the program and am working towards the Taupo, NZ IM in March.

What I have found effective as the weather heats up here in the Southern Hemisphere is to do the warm up and the drills on the trainer before heading out on the road for the main sets and warm-down as the evening light fades. Fortunately I have about 40km of almost uninterrupted waterfront to ride which is great for TTs and simulating race conditions.

Thats just my two cents on another way to break up the work-outs and keep them interesting and enjoyable.

Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Llerandi on December 15, 2009 at 6:43am

Great idea, Clinton, thanks for passing that along!

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