Getting the best out of my time.

Benjamin Hall

I am very fortunate to be in an employment/studying situation which means that as of next week until roughly October I have all the time i want to train (apart from the odd week here or there when I have big essays and things).

I am only a 4th cat (1 race under my belt), but I love riding my bike and would like to be able to look back on this year and say I couldnt have tried any harder.

What I would like is some help with is how best to manage my training schedule. Having had look at the race calendar ive picked the road races that I'd like to ride, one or two a month until July when I hope to race the Ras de Cymru and or the Etape de le defonce. I will probably race some of the castle combe crits as well as a few more winter series events.

I am 23, 178cm and at race weight probably 67/68 kilos (maybe less if i really worked at it, but I dont really see the point), currently 71 after a christmas and a winter of reduced training. Min heart rate is 41, max is around 120. My strength is climbing (I know everyone thinks that), my big weakness is power on the flat and general top end speed. I My right leg is weaker than my left due to a stupid accident involving a skateboard and a cattlegrid...

I ride with a club on saturday morning (70), a faster group ride on a wednesday morning (70) and in the summer a fast chaingang on a tuesday night (40ish miles). I struggled with the chaingang at first but eventually managed to make it round a few times at the end of last summer. I think i could have made it round a lot more often if i'd ridden more intelligently and been better at sitting tight on a wheel. I also tend to do two other rides of varying distances depending on where im riding but between 40-60 miles.

So that is me...what now. I would love a coach but just cant afford one (probably because i'm riding my bike too much instead of going to work..) I don't have a power meter, I do have a HR monitor.

I will need to taper back up to riding 5 times a week but i'm ready and willing.

So any suggestions as to where to go from here.


I dont take myself very seriously, I want to enjoy riding my bike, not turn pro. I do however need a bit of discipline...

I only put up heart rate and things because someone may be able to make a suggestion from that kind of basic data. I am not Bhima!

If you are interested I have recently started writing a blog on my cycling, cycling in general, my love of the sport etc etc. It's in my sig, please feel free to check it out and comment.

Thanks in advance for any help.


Ben

Pseudonym

ben - you might get more replies in the training forum...but I'm a bit suprised that your max HR is only 120 - are you sure that's right..??

Benjamin Hall

oops, 220. I did think about putting it in there but it is a very quiet forum.

peejay78

quality over quantity; get out regularly; build slowly; then layer the intensity on top when you're coming up to the races you have targetted. have some clear goals in this respect, events you are focused on. if i had as much time as you i'd be riding 1 or 2 races a week, at least, not 1 or 2 a month.

if hills are your strength then aim for hilly courses, and yes they hurt, that's the nature of the beast. i'm 186 cm and my race weight is around 67kg. you might want to think about the significance of power to weight ratios on hilly courses and the kind of gains you can make by losing a bit extra, rather than not bother. if you're going to road race then you need to work on your jump and short - 3 minute - bursts so you can make the break or make it stick, or bridge the gap.

maybe try some hilly time trials early season to get your fitness up.

other than that stick with the Bristol RC - ask brian o kelly and others what works for them.

Jim C

agree with quality over quantity - theres a lot of long rides in there
chain gang is good
think about a shorter ride, with some efforts - theres loads of intervlas plans out ther - do them on the road, rather than the turbo if you wish
getting that 'jump' - accleration and speed of thought is what you should be aiming for. Its not just a case of more and more miles

SBezza

If you really are serious about spending the extra time training, get a coach, or at least some proper coaching advice. To do well in longer road races, you need the quantity, but this doesn't have to be at the expense of quality (not sure why people say one or the other). You need to ensure your diet is spot on, and that you can rest alot. You can easily mix quantity and quality within a training plan, and you can do quality quantity as well if you do it properly.

There is alot of coaching advice freely available on the web, and knowing your MaxHR at least you can work out what training zones should be. It is up to you, or your coach to plan a training plan around your goals, select a couple of A races, and then use any other race as purely training/experience, and build up to the A races.

Train for the specifics of your race discipline, so get use to sprinting out of corners, racing up hills (and then continuing over the top, no point stopping at the top). If your flat terrain power is lacking, try building up threshold power, this will help with climbing and riding hard on flat terrain.

You will get a huge mix of advice on here, based on what others do in their own training, try and find a coach you can have a friendly word with, there might even be one in your club that can help offer you advice free of charge.

Zoomer37

If you have enough time for recovery I can't see anything wrong with doing at least 1 full gas ride a week to simulate race effort. If you need to improve power n speed then that route the chaingang go's is perfect. Did it myself on Saturday and Sunday morning

Pross

I'll leave others who are better qualified to give you the training advice but with regards to racing in the Ras and Etape I assume you know you will need to enter as part of a 4 person team? Also, the Ras fills up very quickly so you may not get in. You probably knew all that but I wouldn't want anyone training to target a race and then not getting into it. If you want to do the Ras work hard on your climbing!

amaferanga

I'd recommend doing some kind of mid-week series and then racing most weekends. You won't really get anywhere with a couple of races a month especially as the season progresses - you need race fitness and racing is (unsurprisingly) the best way to get that.

Is there a TLI series anywhere near you? That's what a lot of the folk around here do - a bit less competitive, a chance to try things and great training.

Benjamin Hall

peejay78 wrote:

quality over quantity; get out regularly; build slowly; then layer the intensity on top when you're coming up to the races you have targetted. have some clear goals in this respect, events you are focused on. if i had as much time as you i'd be riding 1 or 2 races a week, at least, not 1 or 2 a month.

if hills are your strength then aim for hilly courses, and yes they hurt, that's the nature of the beast. i'm 186 cm and my race weight is around 67kg. you might want to think about the significance of power to weight ratios on hilly courses and the kind of gains you can make by losing a bit extra, rather than not bother. if you're going to road race then you need to work on your jump and short - 3 minute - bursts so you can make the break or make it stick, or bridge the gap.

maybe try some hilly time trials early season to get your fitness up.

other than that stick with the Bristol RC - ask brian o kelly and others what works for them.

All good advice, cheers. When I say racing one or twice a month, that means longer road races. (I'm limited by working weekends and not being a driver). I will try and get to as many of the castle combe (Thursday nights?) series as possible. Realistically that will be around 6 races a month all in.

Regards to the weight, I just don't know what I can get down to. I said 67-8 kilos because thats what i was hitting at the end of last summer, lots of riding but no actual racing. It might transpire that I can lose more than i thought.

I'l definitely stick with Bristol RC, they are a great bunch of guys (Who are god at giving advice, you just feel like a bit of a knob asking 'how do i make my bike go faster' in a cafe on saturday morning). Plus, we have by far the best looking kit in the city

Pross wrote:

I assume you know you will need to enter as part of a 4 person team? Also, the Ras fills up very quickly so you may not get in. If you want to do the Ras work hard on your climbing!

Trying to sort out a team at the moment.

When it comes to climbing specific training, am i best doing repeats or putting big climbs into long rides. I'm guessing the answer is both? I'm in Pontypridd wednesday and Thursday, there is some tasty climbing a bit further down the valley!


Cheers guys

trickydisco

). Plus, we have by far the best looking kit in the city

pahh! i don't think so. I think you'll find we have the best kit

Pross

If in Ponty take the road up past the golf club. Not done it myself but Oldwelshman reckons it's steep!

Benjamin Hall

There are some really nasty steep one along that valley. Its nicer to head over to the Bwlch or Rhigos though, good long climbs and fast descents. The Bwlch is great because there are three roads to the top so you can do hill repeats with a bit of variety.