Originally Posted by
Metallifan33
Hi All,
I'm just getting into doing some longer rides (between 2 and 3 hrs for me) and have just gotten into reading about FTP, pacing, etc (which is a good thing, because until recently, I just went as hard as I could for as long as I could).
Now that I've learned about FTP/FTHR, I've started experimenting with zone 2 rides. They just seem so slow (mostly because I'm, in fact, slow).
My question is, when you legends plan a 3 or 4 hour ride, how do you decide what pace you're going to go with? Do you just do zone 2 for all longer rides, or do you adjust... e.g. 75% for a 2 hr ride, 60% for a 3 hr ride, 55% for a 4 hr ride? (or some system that's similar)?
Or do you just ride by feel (so slowing down around hr 3 if you misjudged it etc.)
Thanks!
It all depends what your goal is. A long ride for me is either an opportunity to enjoy being out on the bike, usually with other people, in which case I don't even look at the computer, or endurance training. In the second case, Z2 is my baseline and I try hard to stay there. What you don't want to do, from the training standpoint, is to spend time at the pace of most casual riders, somewhere in Z3-low 4 territory, i.e., what I do when I'm not looking at the computer. Rather, current doctrine is to polarize your training between aerobic (Z2) and high intensities (high Z4 and above), in the form of intervals.
The key to monitoring a Z2 ride is to control the power and watch the heart rate creep upward, which it inevitably will. That's how you know you're developing training stress and getting stronger. Heat and dehydration also bump HR, but they may also contribute to the training effect, for aught I know. Z2 can feel very easy on the road because you are constantly catching what I call micro-rests and varying your output. To really find out what it's about, try ≥ two hours at Z2 on a smart trainer in erg mode.
Remember, though, this is a recipe for getting fast, not necessarily enjoying yourself on the bike. I will say, however, that Z2 gets a lot faster and more enjoyable after a bunch of training.