I really appreciate the insightful comments already offered, which have helped me think through what I’d like to get out of my training. I’ll address questions from @burnthesheep below.
Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
1. Why do you choose to do those workouts? If you cannot explain why, you need to set some desired outcomes (goals) first. Your later statements are the broadest smattering of cycling events pretty much possible. From the shortest events with the most demand for anaerobic and sprint power to the longest audax events requiring at very efficient fat burning body. You need to be OK with sucking and suffering through either the crit/road race OR the audax and specializing in something. Jacks of all trades are masters of none. For bike racing lookup "specificity". You need it to do well.
You’re exactly right. My realization of the fact that I have no focus is part of my reason for the original questions. If some experienced riders had commented something like, “any training you do will benefit you in some way across multiple events,” I’d resolve to just step up my efforts a bit, with no major changes. A professional coach could probably look at my fitness level and abilities and make some recommendations, not just for a specific training plan, but for what kind of race format might fit me. Like probably 90% of riders, I started out just riding for fun. After many years I’ve come to realize I’m okay at it. Not a podium contender, but not a total scrub either. I have a mild competitive streak, so I want to try my hand at some races. I’ve done a hill climb once and several long relays. So with that background and looking at what kinds of rides I enjoy, I’m stumbling into it.
Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
2. This statement is contradictory: "Typically 20 to 30 miles with most of the ride at tempo pace (approaching but not quite reaching anaerobic level, output near my FTP for ~1 hour)". Most of the ride isn't at tempo if your output is near ftp for ~1 hour out of 20 to 30 miles. On the other hand, tempo isn't "output near my ftp" either. Tempo is something you could do for several hours. Is it tempo, or threshold? Lookup the % output ranges for those online then decide which way the ride actually takes place.
I appreciate your correction. I had a misunderstanding about tempo training, in terms of the effort and duration it involves. I thought tempo is around 85-90% HR, or right below the cusp between aerobic and anaerobic. I believe a good athlete can sustain this for an hour, but no way for two or three hours. In other words, I thought tempo means training at FTP for about an hour. I really need to remember to put on a HR monitor (chest strap) before my rides. I always remember it when I ride indoors, and when I’m running, my watch uses wrist based HR. But my bike computer of course has no way of measuring it directly. I *think* I know what Zone 2, Zone 3, and Zone 4 feel like, but seeing the numbers before me (during and after a workout) would be much more accurate.
Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
3. Nothing wrong with an effort or two on an "endurance ride" so long as the fun doesn't end up causing detriment to the goal of accumulating lots of time in Z2 for these rides. If it causes you to drop into really low Z2 or Z1 to makeup for the fun of going over then need to dial it back and dial up the discipline.
I think you’re saying that if I ride at such an easy pace as to hardly elevate my HR above resting level, no matter the distance, that’s not really helping me. It’s recreation, not training. Likewise, I should watch out to not push too high an effort during the endurance rides. I’ll take closer note of my HR during longer rides and if necessary step it up half a notch so my time isn’t wasted, while being sure not to over-do it.
Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
4. I played the "run sometimes" game for a while. Honestly, run volume doesn't work well like that. Running requires very regular, frequent, lower intensity focus to both make gains and to also not have the training stress from those irregular runs cannibalizing your bike fitness. Duathaletes and triathletes run very frequently. Most abide by the 80/20 rule of one-in-5 workouts has intensity and of the total time (time in intensity zone PLUS rest between sets time) you get 90/10 per week at intensity. You're not running enough if you care about running and you're running too much if you really care about cycling. A lot of the cyclists as pros you see ticking off 16min 5k's are former elite collegiate runners turned cyclists. Ignore that noise.
Biking is really my focus, or at least I want it to be. I’ve long believed that biking and running can complement each other, so didn’t think I’m taking away anything when I go out for a run instead of a ride. My running involves sixteen 5k races each year (I’m in a cross country club that does one race per week for two months each spring and fall), a mile challenge with some friends once per month, and an Air Force PT test once per year, plus some prep runs once or twice a week for a few months leading up to it. That sounds like a lot, but it’s really only 35 to 40 runs per year, less than once per week on average. I’m not trying to justify the time I spend running or insist that it isn’t taking away from my bike training. I’m just telling you what my approach has been in the past.
Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
The best advice I can give you is that you need to choose what you really care about. Do you care about the crit/road race? Do you care about audax? Do you care about multisport? Fondos? Then from there, research the training plans that are specific to those events.
Choose crit/road racing: 80/20 plan with your intensity focus on the specificity of those needing a good repeatable VO2 engine and a sprint.
Choose audax: put in a LOT of zone 1 fat burning miles per week
Choose multisport: research a sprint or olympic distance duathlon training plan and pretty much just follow it. You'll run at least 4x a week and ride 3x or so a week. Meaning, you will run and ride the same day a few times either separate times of day or in the same workout.
Thinking through it the past week or two, I’ve decided next year I want to focus on Lotoja. It claims to be the longest single day bike race in the U.S. It’s about 205 miles and something like 10,000 feet of climbing. One can enter it in competitive category or cyclosportive, which is sort of like a short audax. I would do the latter and have it as my goal to simply finish. I have friends I could train with who know what they’re doing and finish it in about 11 hours. For safety reasons, the organizers set a cutoff at 12 hours (to get riders in before dark). I’ve done every leg of the course at least once, when riding on a two man relay team two separate years, so I’m familiar with the terrain and conditions I’ll be facing. I’ve just never ridden more than 150-ish miles in one day. I’m sure if I proceed with this objective, I can tailor my training accordingly. I’ll still run from time to time and might enter a shorter road race or two, but will not make these my priorities.
Audax or randonneuring sound like fun, but I don’t have the time to put in big miles every week for training. I might enjoy crit racing, but I doubt I’d be good at it; I’m not at that level of intensity. At any rate, in a couple weeks I’ll try some racing. My first crit is on a Wednesday, a 27 mile road race is Thursday, I’ll take a day to rest on Friday, and then I’ll run a 5k on Saturday. All this will be with a bunch of other guys over 50 years old. In other words, there are only masters categories for the entire week’s events. It’s called the Huntsman World Senior Games, and at 52, I’ll probably be one of the younger guys there. Maybe I’ll learn a few things from this experience, but in any case I plan to soon start training for the Lotoja.
Last edited by Broctoon; 09-22-22 at 06:46 PM.