Training plan

tofu21

Hello,

After a dismal 2010 due to reasons that I wont bore you with, I'm starting to get back in the saddle again. Over the past month or so I've been doing 50K+ rides without dieing and some interval training on the turbo which is great.

I'm now starting to think about upping my game so I can improve my fitness for the endurance events I've got planned.

I'm trying to put together a realistic plan that I can stick too and not overly optimistic and go of track or end up damaging myself which I have done in the past.

This is the sort of plan I'm thinking about for an average week.

Monday Balance and stretching on the Wii fit (looking like a berk)
Tuesday either 2 hour MTB ride or long steady turbo session
Wednesday upto 1 hour Interval training on the turbo
Thursday upto 1 Interval training on the turbo
Friday rest day
Saturday 3 hour steady ride at 75% max heart rate properly road bike
Sunday 3 - 4 hour MTB ride

How does that sound as a starter for 10?

rock_hopper

Tofu, looks like a good, solid, simple plan to build some endurance and speed. I would maybe swap Tuesday and Wednesday around so you don't have 2 back-to-back interval sessions. From what I've read a block of training is effective for 8-12 weeks, so maybe change it a bit after that, add some intensity on one of your weekend rides. What events are you aiming for?

tofu21

Hi, good idea about swapping around Tuesday and Wednesday. I try to ride with a club on Tuesday nights but when I'm not doing that I'll swap them about.

The current plans are:

10th April Hell of the North (100k)
31st April - May 1st Enduro 6 (solo)
17th-19th June Mountain Mayhem (solo)
2-3rd July Chain reaction cycles MTB Marathon Mashbrook (75k)
6-7th August Sleepless in the Saddle (solo)
17-18th September Chain reaction cycles MTB Marathon Ruthin (100k)

I did MM solo last year and was really impressed with how I did. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet but it was the only event that I did sucuesfully last year and managed to do 10 laps. Not that impressive compared to others but I'm still very happy with it.

I'm planning on a couple of 100k rides in the month running up to Hell of the North just to make sure I'm on track.

I didn'y know apout the 8-12 week thing. I'll keep that in mind.

rock_hopper

Looks like a good endurance race plan spread out over the year. I like endurance events myself as apposed to xc, have you done any of the No Fuss 10 hour events in Scotland? The courses are simply awesome and the events have a great relaxed atmosphere. 2 x 24 hour solo's in 1 year

ollie51

Drop an interval training session for now; your training for endurance events get a session at 80-85% of your maximum bpm to increase aerobic speed; then close to the even time add in that interval session if needs be.