Which area needs the most work?

ziglar

Just done the London the Reading this morning in 2hrs 27mins. Did 10 miles to get there + 40 miles on ride at an average of just under 16mph. 55 yrs old, 75kg, total cycling < 500 miles since starting Aug 2012 (illness, work commitments, etc). Longest ride before today was 33 miles with only 3 other rides > 20 miles.

I was really knackered on any uphill section and crawled the last few miles at about 12-13mph. Average gradient was 1.4% with maximum 12.4% (walked up that).

Average ascent 11mph (7.2 miles), average descent 19.3mph (6.8 miles), average flat 17mph (26 miles). I have a Powertap (not used today) and my average for 1hr is 180W.

Does this data help pinpoint any specific area that I can work on? Ascents, for one, were a real problem.

Any help greatly appreciated.

lc1981

If you've done less than 500 miles since August, I'd just try to get more miles in before trying to pinpoint anything more specific.

imposter2.0

lc1981 wrote:

If you've done less than 500 miles since August, I'd just try to get more miles in before trying to pinpoint anything more specific.

^^ this.

ric/rstsport

regular, consistent training. you don't need to go nuts doing hours everyday, but regular work maybe 3 or 4 times a week. in all training programmes, the most important aspect is consistency. with such a low mileage since august you can't really expect anymore than what you did/what happened. i hope it was enjoyable (apart from maybe the last bit) and it motivates you to become a more regular exerciser.

ric

ziglar

could decent progress be made on say 2 evenings @ 25 miles each plus Sat and Sun @ 35 miles each? I find recovery a bit of a problem (knocking on a bit) so need a day off quite often or would I need to do more miles?

ric/rstsport

ziglar wrote:

could decent progress be made on say 2 evenings @ 25 miles each plus Sat and Sun @ 35 miles each? I find recovery a bit of a problem (knocking on a bit) so need a day off quite often or would I need to do more miles?

quite possibly. but also bear in mind that you may not need to be smashing it in all 4 sessions such that you can't ride for another day?

imposter2.0

ziglar wrote:

could decent progress be made on say 2 evenings @ 25 miles each plus Sat and Sun @ 35 miles each? I find recovery a bit of a problem (knocking on a bit) so need a day off quite often or would I need to do more miles?

the fitter you get, the better you will recover...

ziglar

how do you measure 'smashing it' - my max HR is 170 but I averaged 151 over the entire ride (80-90% 16miles, 90-100% 23miles). My heart & lungs seemed OK it was just no power in my legs on the inclines.

ric/rstsport

you'd really measure it with a power meter (which i think you said you had, but didn't use). i'd also hazard a guess that your max is actually higher (but you perhaps haven't measured your HRmax correctly). either way i think with a reworking of your training and being more consistent you can make significant gains to your fitness. other than ride more, train less hard (which is somewhat relative) it's a bit difficult to say what you need to do exactly. a forum doesn't really provide the opportunity for that (because you really need to know quite a bit more). feel free to give us a shout.

cheers
ric

Setarkos

"Ride lots" - Eddy Merckx :P

ric/rstsport

+1