Etape - making the very best use of time and data available
IanTrcp
Posts: 761
Busy guy with limited time available for (winter) training seeks advice on what to concentrate on for the next few months....
41 years old, did the Etape last year (just) and looking to do better this time round. Lots of hours working + young family = not much time for training. So I need to get the most of every session.
As far as outdoor riding goes, at present I can organise time for a 3 or 4 hour ride one day at the weekend, but no more. When it gets lighter (say April onwards) I can commute 30 miles each way by bike. This is obviously great - 'free' training time in family terms. 2 or 3 days of this plus a decent weekend ride equates to a 200 mile+ week, so loads of training. Will also manage to squeeze in 5 or 6 longer rides (say 100 miles minimum) either through sportives or some specific days off. I also have a turbo, but low boredom threshold means 60mins is my max!
Haven't done a lot so far this winter, so original training "plan" had me ticking over / base building until April, with a couple of turbo sessions weekly plus a weekend 3-4 hr ride.
On Friday I did the physiological test thing, establishing that my power at LT is 235w. Assuming that this is the same measure as FTP (can anyone confirm that?) this is higher than I expected as my FTP was about 260w last summer, suggesting I've only lost about 10% [feels like much more!].
I also established that my AT occurs at 64% of my VO2max (HR=164bpm), so better than when I last tested in Jan 2007 when it was closer to 50% of VO2max and arrived at just 146bpm. I'm burning fat for longer also.
Anyway, my question is about the sort of sessions I should be looking to do on the turbo during the dark nights of winter. Should I be looking to spend a couple of months "base building" with steady tempo rides in zones 3 & 4, or would it make more sense to crack on right now with 2X20's etc which I have found painful but good before in terms of raising FTP?
There seem to be two broadly defined schools of thought:
School "A" - you need to build a base. You need 1,000 steady miles in your legs before you start raising intensity etc. Train slow to ride fast. Without a base you'll only be fit at the top end. You need to train your body to burn fat not carbs.
School "One" - no such thing as base training. Riding slowly is only good training for riding slowly. Raising your FTP is where it's at, and the physiological adaptations required to do this can come very directly from 2x20's and other carefully measured high-intensity sessions.
So, if I'm an adherent of school A I should use my evening turbo sessions for steady tempo rides in zones 3 & 4 for the next few months before ramping up the intensity later. If school One is my choice, I should crack on right now with the 2x20's...
Your thoughts?
41 years old, did the Etape last year (just) and looking to do better this time round. Lots of hours working + young family = not much time for training. So I need to get the most of every session.
As far as outdoor riding goes, at present I can organise time for a 3 or 4 hour ride one day at the weekend, but no more. When it gets lighter (say April onwards) I can commute 30 miles each way by bike. This is obviously great - 'free' training time in family terms. 2 or 3 days of this plus a decent weekend ride equates to a 200 mile+ week, so loads of training. Will also manage to squeeze in 5 or 6 longer rides (say 100 miles minimum) either through sportives or some specific days off. I also have a turbo, but low boredom threshold means 60mins is my max!
Haven't done a lot so far this winter, so original training "plan" had me ticking over / base building until April, with a couple of turbo sessions weekly plus a weekend 3-4 hr ride.
On Friday I did the physiological test thing, establishing that my power at LT is 235w. Assuming that this is the same measure as FTP (can anyone confirm that?) this is higher than I expected as my FTP was about 260w last summer, suggesting I've only lost about 10% [feels like much more!].
I also established that my AT occurs at 64% of my VO2max (HR=164bpm), so better than when I last tested in Jan 2007 when it was closer to 50% of VO2max and arrived at just 146bpm. I'm burning fat for longer also.
Anyway, my question is about the sort of sessions I should be looking to do on the turbo during the dark nights of winter. Should I be looking to spend a couple of months "base building" with steady tempo rides in zones 3 & 4, or would it make more sense to crack on right now with 2X20's etc which I have found painful but good before in terms of raising FTP?
There seem to be two broadly defined schools of thought:
School "A" - you need to build a base. You need 1,000 steady miles in your legs before you start raising intensity etc. Train slow to ride fast. Without a base you'll only be fit at the top end. You need to train your body to burn fat not carbs.
School "One" - no such thing as base training. Riding slowly is only good training for riding slowly. Raising your FTP is where it's at, and the physiological adaptations required to do this can come very directly from 2x20's and other carefully measured high-intensity sessions.
So, if I'm an adherent of school A I should use my evening turbo sessions for steady tempo rides in zones 3 & 4 for the next few months before ramping up the intensity later. If school One is my choice, I should crack on right now with the 2x20's...
Your thoughts?
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Comments
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If you've got the time (15hrs+) long steadish conversation paced miles will certainly serve you very well in terms of fitness requirements for the Etape.
If however your training hours are in the 4-8hr region you're going to have to do things differently - 2 x 20's; 60-120 min sweet spot rides/fast friendly rides are gonna be your main meals. Topped off with some 3-8min VO2max efforts with a month to go and squeeze in as many sportivs or longs rides as you can.
Golden Rule - Don't waste time. If you've got less than 60mins training time available, and you can comfortably hold a sustained conversation you're probably riding too slowly0 -
Ditto advice above. If already done an etape and limited time you should have an OK base so of the options school "One" is probably in order especially on turbo.
I wouldn't advise getting too involved in worrying about fat burning/carb burning, %s of VO2 etc. Or FTP for that matter (unless you have a powermeter). All that stuff is useful but only if you have got the means to test repeatedly.
I would rather stick to something you can measure progress by easily. The commute would be pretty good if its one where you can ride constantly without stops you could aim to set and improve a PB.
Other advise would be try doing a few time trials. 10 mile ones are excellent training/progresses indicators and 25 mile ones pretty much perfect for preparing for long climbs like Ventoux.Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
Why would anyone want to do base work on a turbo, a waste of time. You can do some really useful work on a turbo in under 60 minutes but as mentioned above it has to be done at a level that hurts i.e. no talking possible.0
