TT Training Goal

markos1963

Ok so not wanting to hijack any other threads I was hoping to get some suggestions from some of you guys on how to train for next year.

Goals:Short term get my 10TT time down from 25'29" to a low 24'
Long term to crack the hour for a 25TT(not ridden one yet!)

Me: 47yo
4 years riding experience
About 10kg overweight but losing it steadily(currently 85kg)
Max heart rate recorded 181bpm(measured as crossed line at my last TT, puking up shortly after!!)

Current Training: 1x weekly club ride 80-90 miles, mixed riding with medium group
1x 2x20 session in TT position on road
1x Fastish 30 mile road ride over mixed terrain at 19-20mph av
1x 20-25 mile recovery ride at easy pace
+ any racing, crits or TT etc
Would appreciate any sensible tips

joeyhalloran

one thing I have tried of this winter is 'big gear riding', progressively going from 1 to 2 hours in as big a gear as I can mange (effectively strength training). The other thing I would suggest is putting in some shorter intervals closer to the timetrials, 5x5 mins or around that length seem to be popular, these need to be done at 'harder than 10' pace to get the best from them.

Also, what does the "fastish 30 mile road ride" actually add I wonder, doesn't seem very specific...not sure about this one, it may be good for the TTs, may be bad.

markos1963

JoeyHalloran wrote:

Also, what does the "fastish 30 mile road ride" actually add I wonder, doesn't seem very specific...not sure about this one, it may be good for the TTs, may be bad.

This is the sort of thing I'm looking at, I tend to use this ride to improve my road riding skills and to mix in a few intervals so I have some speed for crits and other rides. I'm wondering is it of any use, should I use the time differently?

Interested in this 'big gear' thing. A girl in our club does this on club runs and she's nearly a minute quicker than me on a 10 now when we used to have a similar time.

Bronzie

Am I reading it correctly that you only train on your TT bike once a week?

markos1963

Bronzie wrote:

Am I reading it correctly that you only train on your TT bike once a week?[/quote

I haven't even got a TT bike! :oops:
Just put on an adjustable stem, clip ons and move seat forward on rails to a better position. Hope to get a more TT specific bike next season

Bronzie

OK, well I'd be looking to spend a fair bit of time in your TT position each week if that's your primary goal for the season.

markos1963

Bronzie wrote:

OK, well I'd be looking to spend a fair bit of time in your TT position each week if that's your primary goal for the season.

So ride my non group rides in the TT position?

joeyhalloran

bingo, whenever you can, you are racing in that position so you need muscles that have adapted to that position.

SBezza

I would do all TT specific training in the TT position, and would try and do rides in HR zones. For a recovery ride, no point doing more than 1 hour.

I would also add some Vo2Max Intervals, 5 or 6 mins, and possibly 4 -6 reps. But these I would do about 6 weeks from your first event.

I would also do the 2 x 20 minute session on a turbo, far more likely to be in the right zone for the full 20 mins, without any worries of traffic, and junctions, etc, breaking that effort up. It looks as though you only do 3 sessions a week, I would up that to perhaps 5 training sessions, perhaps include another couple of hour long tempo rides, or perhaps longer.

Obviously each training week might be slightly different depending on what you have planned for that week, I rarely have 2 weeks the same training wise.

As for big ring training, I only normally use my small chainring during a recovery ride, or very steep hill, all other riding is in the big chainring. Just ride as big a gear as you can manage whilst pedalling at a decent cadence.

hopper1

I hate to say it, but if you really want to improve, then you need to ride Sundays on your own, at 'your' pace. It should be a steady, single paced ride, not up and down as you chase then ease, etc...
I wouln't put too much emphasis on big gear riding, all specific riding will improve your strength.

markos1963

Thanks SBezza some really good points there. Don't think I can do the turbo side of things, not enough room in the house for one, but my 2x20 course is pretty good with little to interupt me. Certainly think I can up my session to 5 a week as I have daylight hours free to me through most of the year so will add more tempo rides to start with and then add the intervals later on.

Got your PM Hopper1, thanks for that.
Sunday club ride is fairly even paced and I rarely go into zone3 as I wear a HR monitor and keep to the slower groups. Interesting conflicts about big ring riding. I have problems turning over big gears for long and even on a TT I tend to spin along which I think is limiting my top end.