Training AND commuting?

richrock

I've been recently encouraged by my progress in pace and distance on the bike, and would like to aim to ride competitively. I'm researching a training programme, but have the complication that I determined to ride to work for the rest of the year at least. I do enjoy it, get to work awake, alert and ready to face the day - I don't really want to change that.

So, my aim is to compete in something (time-trial, open entry race or something - any thoughts?) and to continue commuting. Anybody have experience of doing this or any pointers to websites/guides?

Thanks

danowat

I commute 35 miles a day, 4 days a week, and also compete in at least 2 TT's a week.

Its not that easy to combine the two, infact, I started getting coached as I found it tough to plan it out myself, but the key is to use all your commutes as training rides, in short, adding intervals / sprints / tempo stuff into your commutes, and also planning in recovery rides aswell (means leaving home earlier) or added some distance on either way to do long(er) rides aswell.

richrock

Slightly longer than me then!!! My commute is only 7 miles each way, and where I live there are two routes to home, unfortunately both measure the same distance....

I do aim to do a double length ride at the weekend, and give myself a rest day. Thanks for the advice, I'll start adding some sprints/intervals (I usually ride tempo but don't vary much) and see how that goes. It's just a case of improving performance at the moment.

What's a typical time for a TT? I have thought about trying 10mile. Last time I rode a bike, I got to a 57min 25mile - shattered for about 4 days after though!!!

danowat

57min for a 25 is very good, I've only done one 25, that was about a month ago, and I did 1:00:53, so you already have a few mins on me!!.

My pb for 10 is 24:07, but I have only been TT'ing since late last year, my first 10 time was 28:21 back in September.

Chip \'oyler

I do all my training before work. When I set up with my coach I told him that I had up to 2 hours in the morning before work available for training. So he's fitted in a great programme in this time. I either combine it as my ride into work or on the shorter interval sessions I do them then go home, get a shower then drive into work. But I do have the luxury of only living 5 miles from work.

petemadoc

Surely commuting is one of the best ways to train! You can't make excuses not to do it and the Mrs can't moan that you're off out on the bike again. The only problem with sprinting to work is arriving like a sweaty chimp.

Luckily I have showers at work

amaferanga

A 7 mile each way commute really shouldn't get in the way of training. I have a similar commute (which I extend on the way home most days up to about 40 miles with various interval sessions) and its almost completely irrelevant to my training and training stress.

verloren

I think the more structured your training aims to be, the harder it is to fit it into your commute. So if you're at the level of "today I'll take it easy, tomorrow I'll attack the hills" then I think it's fine. But if you're doing 4 x 3 minutes at AT (or whatever) that gets rather tricky when you have traffic lights and inconveniently placed hills. If your commute is short then I imagine you can fit the structured training in first, and use the actual commute as an easy recovery. As mine takes over an hour each way that's not really an option

danowat

Its almost perfect free training, I say almost perfect, doing a 2 x 20 on the way into work means getting into work pretty blitzed!!