Intervals without turbo

Bozabyka

I dont have access to a turbo at present.
All training needs to be done on the road for time being.
I want to improve my speed over ten miles currently takes about 30 minutes on a bumpy sporting course.
What is the best interval length, I am thinking of 2 x 15 at the highest speed I can manage to maintain.
How can I achieve a 2 x 15 interval when I am riding down hills?
Its not flat round here.
Any advice please?

jrich

It's not about speed when training it's about exertion. So your best bet would be to get hold of a heart rate monitor. You would then work out your threshold heart rate by observing your maximum and also what HR you average during a 10 mile TT and estimating threshold from that. You would then ride the intervals at threshold heart rate for best effect. Start with 15 mins then go to 2x20 and then 3x20 in the future or 2x30.

There must be stretch of reasonably flat road somewhere near by? Or just rolling? Alternatively do you have a 15 minute hill? Or a flatish bit of road that leads into a 10 min hill so that you start the interval 5 mins from the bottom and then continue up the hill for 10 mins? That could work too but a HR monitor will be needed to make sure you dont go too hard on the hills.

Bozabyka

Thanks
Will interval training on hills make me faster on the flat?

imposter2.0

Bozabyka wrote:

Thanks
Will interval training on hills make me faster on the flat?

Not necessarily, although any intensive exercise could improve your fitness, depending on what level you are at now. But if you want to get faster on the flat, it makes sense to train on the flat...

jgsi

A 5 -10 minute stretch of road with 2 to 3 % gradient that you can repeat makes ideal interval training, if it is traffic free and obstacle free. You can make quite a number of differing interval intensities and timings out of it... from semi comfortable threshold to gut wrenching vomit inducers... and it will make you quicker on the flat.

cougie

I'd start much shorter than your 15 min intervals.
You could do say 5 mins and go harder. Recover. Repeat. If you do 15 mins you won't be going as hard and you'll only be doing a couple of intervals.

Bozabyka

Sounds great got a few ideas now.
How do I know how long the intervals should be?

webboo

Find a half mile stretch of road with a 2 % or so gradient. From just rolling sat in the saddle build up to as fast you can go and hold it for the half mile. steady back to the start and repeat till you are going 10% slower than the first interval. Another day do them going up the slope. you can experiment by doing 50 x 15, 50 x 14, 50 x 14 and so on.
Or 20secs hard 40 sec easy x 5, 5 minutes easy and repeat

markhewitt1978

Bozabyka wrote:

Sounds great got a few ideas now.
How do I know how long the intervals should be?

A lot depends on what you're trying to do, a lot of people say doing 2 x 10 minutes is pretty good, and for the likes of a 10 mile TT I guess it would be. But probably not so good if you're working on spring pacing. A lot depends on how much road you have at consistent grade.