Training full-time

IShaggy

Watching froomie crash out of the tour I've decided to take up Team Sky's offer and join their development squad. So start training full-time and see if i can make a living out of cycling.....

Ooh, I've just woken from a lovely dream.

I'm over the hill - 43 - and missed the bus, only discovering endurance sports 8 years ago. I did triathlons, then gave up swimming and did duathlons, and then finally saw the light and gave up running to concentrate on cycling. I've been doing this long enough to know that i have no talent. But i do have some heart and don't mind training hard.

I'm between jobs at the moment and so have the opportunity to train full-time. But really don't know the best approach to training full-time.

Whilst working my training has typically been as follows -
Mon - 2x20 min commute at recovery pace
Tue - 2x20 min steady commute + 40 min power intervals on turbo
Wed - 20 min steady commute + 2 hr steady/tempo
Thu - 20 min steady commute + 2 hr steady
Fri - 2x20 min commute at recovery pace
Sat - 2.25 hr steady/tempo/power
Sun - 3 hr hills

I've probably been doing the above for too long as I've plateaud and haven't seen any improvements for a while.

So i need to change things, and being off work gives me the opportunity to do so. So some advice would be welcome on how i should structure my training given that i have all the time in the world, but I'm not as young as i used to be?

imposter2.0

And the crucial bit which everyone seems to miss......what do you want to achieve with your training? Presume you are racing, or TTing?

IShaggy

Imposter wrote:

And the crucial bit which everyone seems to miss......what do you want to achieve with your training?

Good question. My primary goal is to improve my ftp. Currently at 3.8, but really want to be above 4w/kg. I will eventually be moving to the Bristol area, and i intend to do a variety of racing when there - road, mtb xc, and cx. I appreciate that the key to success in racing is as much about the ability to deal with peak power and sprints as it is about threshold, but its my ftp that concerns me most at the moment.

JayKosta

Just slowly increase the amount of time and intensity. But be especially aware of attempting to 'train' before being adequately rested & recovered.
Forcing yourself to train without enough rest will just dig you deeper into a hole.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

jgsi

There are plenty of 'training' opportunities and plans out there... but the main advice I'd give you is to enjoy whatever you do. I reckon I am whole lot better at training than at racing...but hey getting mullered by the usual suspects in races week in and week out is part of the enjoyment as well... at certain stages in life it is about proving to yourself that you can still actually do it... and by that you are in a pretty exclusive % of the the population already... your non cycling peers (and we are still talking the vast majority despite the hyped up BritishBikeBoom) just cannot comprehend why you do it.

IShaggy

madasahattersley wrote:

Training full time is not a dream. The only people who really are capable of being pro are those who already are. It's too hard for everyone else.

Jus' sayin

I was thinking something similar. How much stress can my body cope with given my abundance of years and lack of talent? I guess, as Jay advises, it may be a case of slowly increasing the stress and see what happens.

One thing that I think may make a difference is that, having been commuting, there hasn't been much scope for rest. My commute has been short, but still meant hardly any time off the bike.

IShaggy

JGSI wrote:

.. your non cycling peers (and we are still talking the vast majority despite the hyped up BritishBikeBoom) just cannot comprehend why you do it.

I can't comprehend it either. Makes no sense why I put myself through pain day-in-day-out. Maybe a bit of needing to prove myself and a bit of needing to beat myself up. Maybe just addicted to exercise and riding fast. Maybe it's about 'being' a cyclist, a need to be part of a community. I've heard it said that there are 2 types of endurance athletes - those who are running away from something, and those who are trying to prove something. TBH, I think there's a bit of both in most of us.

DeVlaeminck

If you want to race all those disciplines then skills are what you need as much as anything. You may already have these but I know from my one and only cyclocross race if you aren't experienced you'll have your arse felt by people you can ride away from on the road.

I'd get in some good training groups/rides which are fun and then work some structure around them.

OfficerDigby

Do soem epic rides 5-6-7 hours.

So some club runs.

Do some long Audaxs/Sportives.


See how the enjoyment is and how the recovery is.

If you sign as pro I want 10% for this advice. ;-).

IShaggy

DeVlaeminck wrote:

If you want to race all those disciplines then skills are what you need as much as anything. You may already have these but I know from my one and only cyclocross race if you aren't experienced you'll have your ars* felt by people you can ride away from on the road.

Yes, i know this only too well recently having a big off and busting up my ribs when trying to keep up downhill with some mtb buddies. They of course went off and told all their mates that its true what they say about roadies having no bike handling skills.

IShaggy

OfficerDigby wrote:

Do soem epic rides 5-6-7 hours.

So some club runs.

Do some long Audaxs/Sportives.


See how the enjoyment is and how the recovery is.

If you sign as pro I want 10% for this advice. ;-).

If i turn pro you can have 100% I think the lottery has better odds!

neilo23

10 years ago (when I was 30) I was "lucky" enough to be unemployed and have the time to train full-time. I also lived on the German-Austrian border back then which is an absolute cyclist's paradise. 6 days a week I was out in the hills for between 3 and 6 hours. I already knew at 17 I would never become a pro so I just enjoyed my rides. My only goal was to become better at climbing. Racing and time-trialling were of no interest to me. To keep things interesting I would mix up my routes and training: long, steady endurance rides, hill repeats, shorter intensive flat days, really hilly days, plus pre-breakfast 1 hour kick-start sessions and a longer ride in the afternoon a couple of times a week. It was like a dream come true for a keen cyclist and I wish I had the time to do it now. Assuming you have all the kit it doesn't cost anything (apart from occasional repairs). Enjoy it while you can and good luck with the job hunting.

Monty Dog

Find a club / ride with a group it will push you harder than anything you'd do on your own. Give yourself plenty of recovery time too. After a full winter you should cope well with racing. At 43 you're no way over the hill and no reason why you can't be dishing it out to 20 year olds.

danridesbikes

http://www.hunterallenpowerblog.com/201 ... level.html

fcukwit

some good stuff on the site above - I struggle to translate power meter percentages (200%of FTP for instance) into perceived effort for those of us without a power meter however. Which makes training with these sort of plans difficult.

BrandonA

Monty Dog wrote:

Find a club / ride with a group it will push you harder than anything you'd do on your own.

Or simply learn to push yourself harder on solo rides.