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Intermediate Bike Training News |  |
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Greetings, The obvious thing to start with is mentioning the excessive heat. While it is more comfortable to ride in the early morning or evening, remember that most cycling events will have you out in the hottest part of the day. So, while I wouldn't recommend regular training in the afternoon, you need to do some training in the heat of day to work on your hydration management. The Nike 10//2 training enters its 7th week. The group continues to grow and everyone is doing great. Now if we only knew the course... This week's main subject is about training intensity. On every ride there is talk in the group about how riding with people faster than you is the best way to train or how you need to do intervals. I am going to discuss the problem with listening to tidbits of training information. A lot of you have not met me in person so here is a brief summary of my approach to cycling. I am not a former racer or a wannabe racer. My interest and expertise is in long-distance cycling physiology and the training of people who have only 2-3 days to ride. Directly or indirectly through USA Cycling, I have the ability to ask anyone in the international cycling community for advice. So when someone tells me that they do this or that for training I try to research all the way down to the cellular level. The Midlife Cycling training program has consistently trained people to ride out to 60 or 100 miles regardless of their initial abilities and even after listening to their friend's/spouse's advice... Two great rides this weekend. Nike 10//2 training on Saturday and a century ride out of the Northglenn PNR on Sunday. See the RMCC website for details. Have a great week.  Rick Russon
OK, so is that VO2 max intervals, sprint intervals, hill power intervals, or others? Is that to push up lactate threshold, build lactate tolerance, develop the ATP-PCr system or glycolytic system? Should you do a 1:4, 1:2, or 1:1 interval:rest cycle? How many per session? How many sessions per week? A lot of cyclists don't make things this complex. They just ride hard when they feel like it or when their friends push them. Of course, the results can vary unpredictably from incredible improvement in speed, incredible improvement in climbing power, moderate improvement, mediocre improvement, no improvement, micro-tears/soreness, tendonitis, or severe injury. So go ahead and spin the wheel of fitness or... Ironically, while people argue with me about intervals they fail to realize that the Midlife Cycling program calls for interval training in months 6, 7, and 8 as lactate threshold training, power building, and speed building months. And, while they complain about my slow 18 mph speed on flats they don't notice that I'm often doing 18 mph over rollers and hills that slow them down to 10-12 mph. Yes, intervals are an essential part of any training season but here is how to do them right:
1. Build a solid aerobic foundation of hundreds if not
thousands of miles. Finally, keep your training in perspective. How many intervals does your spouse and you need to pound out to prepare for that cycling tour of Italy? Remember, we are trying to build the endurance to ride 60 miles per day for multiple days over any type of terrain we encounter. That takes an amazing oxidative phosphorylative system that interval training doesn't even stimulate.
Well this week begins week 7 of the Nike 10//2 training for the LIVESTRONG Challenge. All of our regular riders have made great progress in this short time and are responding strongly to just about anything that I can throw at them. Last weekend we rode up Lookout Mountain again, then continued on to the Genesee overpass of I-70, then even further up to the top of Genesee Park. After all that climbing, and in spite of the outrageous heat, the pack raced back down Mt Vernon Canyon at top speed. They all looked strong as we returned through Golden. However, the heat hit all of us a couple miles from Sloan's Lake and it was good to end the ride. Congratulations to everyone who has participated in this program and thanks again to Nike for giving us this opportunity.
Rocky Mountain Cycling Club has some of the best riders in the nation. I've ridden with Carol Chaffee for 30-45 minutes before she took off and finished a 100 mile ride 2 hours before me. Can't say I got a lot out of the session. A friend of mine rode with her husband and is now out for the rest of the year with severe tendonitis. Can't say she got a lot out of that. I've been riding with novice cyclists from 25- 45 miles instead of my normal 85-100 miles. My speed, cadence, and tolerance to heat has actually improved. My point is that it doesn't really matter if you ride with people better, the same, or less capable than you. It is how well you ride together that matters. If a better rider takes you out, knows what your body can tolerate, pushes you a little, and gives you adequate recovery time then you will learn a lot from them. If they take off and tell you to just hang on for as long as you can then the usual result is possible injury, definite soreness, a demoralizing ride, and probably a decreased desire to get back on the bike and do that again. When riding with slower riders I work on pedaling technique. It is a great time to focus on smooth pedaling in circles and increasing my cadence. If it is a group of slow riders then I get in my sprint intervals by riding back and forth between group members.
Any cycling can help or hurt you. Know exactly what you are trying to accomplish on a ride. Understand how you are stimulating your body and the specific adaptations that you expect to see. If you don't know how to do this then hire a coach. And, when all else fails, slow down and work on building endurance.
The long awaited "Getting Started" audio training program is almost complete. This CD covers the same information about bikes, accessories, clothing, safety, riding technique, training methods, off-bike exercises, and emotional support that I present in the live "Getting Started" seminars and as training tidbits elsewhere. The best thing about this format is that you can listen to it in the car or while working around the house. You can listen to each section repeatedly until you understand all of it and you can refer back to the program as a refresher from time to time. The official release date is scheduled for August 1st I'm hoping to build that same Harry Potter type ambiance where people line up in my driveway July 31st waiting to get their hands on a copy of the CD at midnight. Order now so I can get a better count of the initial CD duplication amount I have to place.
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