Doing more miles but getting slower - advice?
sam1176uk
Posts: 524
Hello,
This winter i have done a fair amount of extra miles on the bike compared to the last two winters, however now that i am getting out on the good bike in dry weather, my times over my favourite routes are actually slower - just wondered if anyone had some advice.
I have some suspicions as to the reasons, hopefully someone can confirm/rule out:
- Doing between 400-500 miles per month, compared to 200-300 last winter.
- Riding at night this winter, as opposed to Sufferfest turbo sessions (potential power loss?)
- Been riding different bikes more this year (Single speed, CX) - the carbon bike wasn't used from Nov - March
- Have fitted some aero wheels on my carbon bike, and i live in a hilly area - not sure if this is slowing me down?!
- I'm 38yrs old, is age catching up with me!
- Around 2-3lbs heavier than last year (muscle
)
In general i am eating much better this year as well, and also doing some core work.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
This winter i have done a fair amount of extra miles on the bike compared to the last two winters, however now that i am getting out on the good bike in dry weather, my times over my favourite routes are actually slower - just wondered if anyone had some advice.
I have some suspicions as to the reasons, hopefully someone can confirm/rule out:
- Doing between 400-500 miles per month, compared to 200-300 last winter.
- Riding at night this winter, as opposed to Sufferfest turbo sessions (potential power loss?)
- Been riding different bikes more this year (Single speed, CX) - the carbon bike wasn't used from Nov - March
- Have fitted some aero wheels on my carbon bike, and i live in a hilly area - not sure if this is slowing me down?!
- I'm 38yrs old, is age catching up with me!
- Around 2-3lbs heavier than last year (muscle
)In general i am eating much better this year as well, and also doing some core work.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
0
Comments
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no speed work = no speed. Sufferfest are generally quite high intensity sessions, which is what seems to be missing from your current line-up..0
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Nothing to worry about: you general shape is probably better now. That is the best start for the outdoor season. Now you need to work on speed/power, and you will notice you will getting much faster than in the past.0
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I feel in better shape in general, and my night rides are at quite a high intensity, i just got fed up with the turbo trainer!
Best way to work on speed/power? Interval training i assume...0 -
Perhaps you've trained your fast twitch muscles well, time to get out and build the slow twitch strength up0
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Sounds like youve spent the winter building your base - as others have said - you need to work on your speed.
Go back to the sufferfests - a couple of those a week should reap rewards.0 -
More to it than "just doing speed work" how many days a week are you riding? How hard are you going on those days? Are you eating well? Are you hydrated? Are you sleeping properly?
Maybe the fact you've been on single speed and got so used to it that going back to gears is taking time to adjust
I could go on I.e work/life balance, you may just need to recover more-my old coach taught me that recovery is some of the best training you can do.
As others have said,you have a good base of miles to build on-what do you need the speed for? Time trials? Road racing or just to be able to ride a bike fast?
Test yourself by find a fairly flat piece of road and ride as fast as you can,time it and log it then re test yourself in a few weeks. Use different gears-big gears not always the fastest.0
