Endurance training in less than an hour
MartAstur
Posts: 122
I have recently started riding and whilst I manage to get out regularly I can never seem to spare more than 1 hour.
Two young kids, a non cycling wife and work demands makes it almost impossible to put in any long runs. I know the only real way to build up endurance is to go on longer runs but my question is 'will the fact that there are some pretty steep hills on the courses I do help me to build up endurance?'
Two young kids, a non cycling wife and work demands makes it almost impossible to put in any long runs. I know the only real way to build up endurance is to go on longer runs but my question is 'will the fact that there are some pretty steep hills on the courses I do help me to build up endurance?'
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My view is that you can definitely make the hour count more by doing hills or interval training, etc., so keep at it...but, as you say, there is no short cut to real endurance fitness.
When I broke my collarbone last year I spent 2 months on the turbo, which I found impossible to do for more than about an hour (for various reasons, not least the pain in my arm and not being able to get out of the saddle to stretch my legs and give my butt a break). I did mainly interval training (Sufferfest) for 3-4 times a week with some recovery rides too. After two months I could go back out on the road and found that I had managed to keep a large chunk of my end of season fitness and climbing ability (roughly) but my overall speed had dropped by about 3mph and getting back up to the 50-100+ mile rides at (my) race pace (that I was comfortably doing just prior to my injury) took about a month of hard work (mixed with patience so as to not overdo it, which is usually my main fault in recovery work).
The danger you face is that regularly going all out for an hour will make you very good... at going all out for an hour. Hence, when a longer ride becomes possible you may find that you want to blast it for the first hour...but then have to keep going and after 2 hours you legs could fall off (or least go very weak) and your butt will be moaning like hell.
Why not try and compromise with your partner, say "I fancy doing a 2 hour ride on Saturday starting at 7.30 so you have a lie in and then I will look after the children when I get back so that you can go into town shopping"?? I am lucky in that my wife is from a cycling mad household so they give me a hard time if I am not out on my bike
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MartAstur wrote:I have recently started riding and whilst I manage to get out regularly I can never seem to spare more than 1 hour.
Seriously, what do you do with the other 23 hours a day :?:0 -
Thanks @Barrzy257 The book looks like it could be very useful-
Looks like I married the wrong women
Thanks for the post @Bobbinogs. I thought I had it all planned out when the wife signed the kids up for swimming classes on the Sunday but my boy got an ear infection and now can't swim for 6 months so I have to look after him. However, I managed to convince my wife today to take the kids to Golf lessons on Saturday mornings so as from next week I should finally be able to go on long runs once a week.
@ShutupLegs As for the other 23 hours, I sleep for 6 of them. I have my own business so work at least 10 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. I have to take the kids to judo classes twice a week and the girl dance classes twice a week. I have to look after the kids when the wife goes jogging 5 times a week plus every night I bath the kids and put them to bed. I also get them ready in the mornings and take them to school so early sessions are out of the question as well. To be honest I don't know how I manage to fit in the one hour a day for cycling.:/0 -
MartAstur wrote:Thanks @Barrzy257 The book looks like it could be very useful-
Looks like I married the wrong women Thanks for the post @Bobbinogs. I thought I had it all planned out when the wife signed the kids up for swimming classes on the Sunday but my boy got an ear infection and now can't swim for 6 months so I have to look after him. However, I managed to convince my wife today to take the kids to Golf lessons on Saturday mornings so as from next week I should finally be able to go on long runs once a week.
@ShutupLegs As for the other 23 hours, I sleep for 6 of them. I have my own business so work at least 10 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. I have to take the kids to judo classes twice a week and the girl dance classes twice a week. I have to look after the kids when the wife goes jogging 5 times a week plus every night I bath the kids and put them to bed. I also get them ready in the mornings and take them to school so early sessions are out of the question as well. To be honest I don't know how I manage to fit in the one hour a day for cycling.:/
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The question is, how are you letting your wife get away with going running 5 times a week? lol
Well I was thinking this myself but she soon pointed out that she only goes for 30 to 40 minutes so she was actually the one being unfairly treated as I get 45 minutes to an hour. She obviously forgot about the 10 minutes she takes to warm up, the 10 minutes she warmes down and the 30 minutes she takes having a nice relaxing bubble bath afterwards, while I look after the kids. I did point out that it takes me 30 minutes just to warm up on the bike but she said I should go for a 5 minute jog before cycling so that I would be warmed up before I started.
Any good amo you can come up with would be much appreciated, although I have a feeling the battle is lost
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When I was young, weekends were about going out with my mates, climbing trees, shooting animals, riding our bikes around somerset and playing football until it was so dark we couldn't play anymore and had to go home. For some reason, modern life seems to dictate that the role of a parent is to spend all weekend ferrying our kids from some event to another. I have deliberately set the boundaries for my two girls. Hence, I am more than happy to take one to her horse riding on Saturday (just as soon as I get back from my very early 3 hour training ride), my wife takes the other one to drama...but on Sunday we both refuse to do any of that stuff. Hence, on alternate Sunday mornings I often go out with one of the local clubs for a long ride or do an audax/sportive, etc., my wife on her Sundays goes out for a ride or goes to the local car boot. The afternoons we all spend together doing something, or doing nothing together. We all get to do stuff.
Why not look at the balance in your life? Sit down with your wife and kids and say "Something has to change to keep everyone happy so let's change the calendar so we all get some 'me' time and we all get some family time". That's my ten bob's worth Good luck. 0 -
So true @Bobbinogs, I remember never being in but out with my mates getting up to no good. Kids now days can't leave the house without an armed escort. .
It now looks like I will have up to 3 hours on Saturday mornings (due to my daughter starting golf lessons with my boy. up til now I have had to look after her) so at least I will get one long ride in a week . Going to take my boy with me now in the car (pissing down with rain and the daughter and wife at swimming classes) to check out the run I will do next week as I am worried about some of the climbes and whether I will make it there and back.
I think my wife will get more flexible once she realises how serious I am about cycling. She probably thought it was just a fad at first.
My boy loves riding and can't wait to get his new bike (with gears) at Christmas but he is only 8 so I will have to wait a few years before he can join me on training runs but at least we can go for recreational rides on Sunday mornings - weather permitting.
Can't wait do do the long run next weekend. I'll let you know if I survive :?0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:Why not look at the balance in your life? Sit down with your wife and kids and say "Something has to change to keep everyone happy so let's change the calendar so we all get some 'me' time and we all get some family time". That's my ten bob's worth Good luck.
Wise words.Purveyor of "up"0 -
Well I have finally been able to ride more than my usual 45 minutes and doing so kind of answered my own question. There is no real alternative to endurance training other than doing longer runs.
Since getting on the bike again my legs have not ached at all but for the first time on Satueday I could actually feel a slight (not at all painful, actually quite pleasant) ache in the tops of my legs. I didn't over do it and only did a 33km hilly run but the extra miles obviously got some muscles working that had previously been taking it easy. I had planned on a longer ride but when I drove the course the week before I realised i might not be able to make it back :? (6km climb).
The ride was great and I felt I had a lot more miles left in my legs so will up the run to 50km next Saturday and during the week concentrate on doing some hill work.0 -
MartAstur wrote:Thanks @Barrzy257 The book looks like it could be very useful-
Looks like I married the wrong women Thanks for the post @Bobbinogs. I thought I had it all planned out when the wife signed the kids up for swimming classes on the Sunday but my boy got an ear infection and now can't swim for 6 months so I have to look after him. However, I managed to convince my wife today to take the kids to Golf lessons on Saturday mornings so as from next week I should finally be able to go on long runs once a week.
@ShutupLegs As for the other 23 hours, I sleep for 6 of them. I have my own business so work at least 10 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. I have to take the kids to judo classes twice a week and the girl dance classes twice a week. I have to look after the kids when the wife goes jogging 5 times a week plus every night I bath the kids and put them to bed. I also get them ready in the mornings and take them to school so early sessions are out of the question as well. To be honest I don't know how I manage to fit in the one hour a day for cycling.:/
Sp sort out some time management, get ready for a ride put the bike on the rack or whatever means you have of traansporting it, drop girl of at dance clasee go for ride whilst she is dancing, do the same for the Judo classes immediately you now have 4 more sessions per week, as for 10 hour days thats most of us anyway, and your relationship seems a little one sided unless your wife is the primary bread winner, you get the kids off to school every morning and you have to bath them and get them to bed every night. As some else has said get it shared out a little more evenly0 -
Well I'm getting there and with a bit of jiggery pokery I should be able to get some longer runs in now. To be honest it's only because the wife goes running 5 times a week that it's difficult for me to get more than 1 complete hour. Now she takes the boy to Judo and the girl to Dance and goes running but that leaves me looking after the other one. Problem is she runs for 30 mins where I want at least one hour uninterrupted. However, I now have 3 hours on Saturday and have changed the time table of my workers so that they start earlier and finish earlier which now gives me 1.5hours to go for a ride before the calsses start. I think like this it should work out fine for now well except for the fact she is off to Geneva to work for a few days which puts pay to any planned rides for this week. Still she earns a packet so shouldn't complain too much as she's the one that will have to pay for the 3000€ sportif bike I want for my Birthday 0
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I might suggest, your wife, based on the scant info, appears to be a smart capable individual; gently explain to her that you don't wish to turn into an egg - stained Man United away kit wearing baldy headed lard arse, and ask how she might be able to schedule your life so that you can fit in 100 miles a week to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle.
Give it a week after she says she understands and says "let's talk about it after Geneva", then order the shirt...
Still no change after wearing your Rooney shirt for a trip to your daughters dance studio?
Go to stage 2:
Try get yourselves together in Tescos, head directly to the Alcohol section, balance a box of stella on your shoulder and grab a king size pack of smokey bacon crinkle cuts. Next, head to the Newspaper stand, collect the "Sun" and then re-find the wife.
At a distance, shout "LOVE!" (stella stil balanced on shoulder, waving paper and crisps in other hand)
I'll wait over there babe! - point at the checkouts.
She won't know exactly what you said due to the distance away you are and all that, but that's a good thing.
Go through the checkout, pick up a mars bar....
Just after the checkouts, there are a few seats specifically designed for men on the same road that you're on, plonk yourself down, eat half way into the mars, sit the crate of stella next to you, and be reading the paper when she finds you.
You won't need stage 3, I'm sure, but if this all fails, we'll get to that.0 -
Haha Thanks @Melter love the plans!
However, I am worried that this may lead her to think I will be on the sofa the whole time which she will see as an opportunity to take up yet another sport and leave me alone with the kids for even longer.
I think we may need a stage 3 0 -
Stage 3 or "Black Hawk Down" is THE last resort. Order the shirt, drink the beer etc.
No one wants to be dropping a sniper with just 4 clips into that heat without giving stage 2 a chance...
NB: no one, traditionally, is getting shot in stage 30 -
could you stick cheap rollers and bike in boot when you take kids to their classes?0
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Haha ... well I was hoping to avoid the use of military helicopters but a man's got to do what a man's got to do
Turbo Trainer is on the Christmas list for use during kids classes I could also do with a Bulldozer to get rid of some of the damn hills around here. 0
