As the end of Jan approaches, so begins a new phase in the training experiment. Up to now, I suppose you could loosely call my training block strength based. Now, it is time to start ramping the effort up. I will continue to build my bike functional threshold power by alternating short and long reps on the turbo. Long reps are at 275W and short reps at 310W. I was running off this session, which is quite hard to do! That said, the run efforts were at a decent pace. I may still run off the bike but reduce the intensity because I will start track sessions with the local athletics club. These run sessions are hard and comprise more reps than I was doing off the bike. My conditioning sessions will change from using progressively heavier weights for squats to employing single leg squats and core work (but maintaining the tabata intervals or hill simulations). The club long ride will remain but I will have more scope to ride as I feel – if I am strong, I will go for a hard ride; if I am weak, the ride will become an easy spin. The cross country races that I was doing on Wednesdays will cease because I would rather focus on the track work.
Overall, the routine commencing in Feb is as follows:
Sun: Long club bike ride
Mon: Swim. Easy long(ish) run. Conditioning.
Tues: Turbo bike intervals with steady run or strides off the bike
Wed: Swim. Easy recover spin.
Thurs: Easy spin. Run track session
Fri: Swim. Easy recovery spin. Conditioning.
Sat: Rest or easy swim drill session.
The change of routine should do me good – hopefully, it will stimulate some new adaptation! I will follow this basic outline until April. With 3 duathlons planned as training races and the local bike time trial commencing, April is when the intensity really ramps up to hit May in good condition.
I hope that we get some decent weather this summer, especially when we race the Dambuster in June! If I can bag splits near to 24 min swim, 1:06 bike and 36 min run, I hope to grab a pb on the Rutland course – a sub 2:10 would be fantastic for me!
My first bike TT is set to be 15 Feb!! EEK! I have entered the Ely Hardriders 25 mile TT. This event is held deep in the flat but very windy Fenlands. The weather is traditionally pants; hence the ‘hardriders’ tag. The other year riders were abandoning after a few miles! I am not one to be put off by weather but I am bothered about riding in icy conditions. The course is quite technical in places and ice would make the course stupidly dangerous. It is not really worth shooting for a specific time but past results show that if you ride under 1:10 you are doing well (unless your name is Michael Hutchinson). That sort of tells a tale really! I have a pb of 1:00:07 for 25 miles so let’s see what the weather does!
Overall, the routine commencing in Feb is as follows:
Sun: Long club bike ride
Mon: Swim. Easy long(ish) run. Conditioning.
Tues: Turbo bike intervals with steady run or strides off the bike
Wed: Swim. Easy recover spin.
Thurs: Easy spin. Run track session
Fri: Swim. Easy recovery spin. Conditioning.
Sat: Rest or easy swim drill session.
The change of routine should do me good – hopefully, it will stimulate some new adaptation! I will follow this basic outline until April. With 3 duathlons planned as training races and the local bike time trial commencing, April is when the intensity really ramps up to hit May in good condition.
I hope that we get some decent weather this summer, especially when we race the Dambuster in June! If I can bag splits near to 24 min swim, 1:06 bike and 36 min run, I hope to grab a pb on the Rutland course – a sub 2:10 would be fantastic for me!
My first bike TT is set to be 15 Feb!! EEK! I have entered the Ely Hardriders 25 mile TT. This event is held deep in the flat but very windy Fenlands. The weather is traditionally pants; hence the ‘hardriders’ tag. The other year riders were abandoning after a few miles! I am not one to be put off by weather but I am bothered about riding in icy conditions. The course is quite technical in places and ice would make the course stupidly dangerous. It is not really worth shooting for a specific time but past results show that if you ride under 1:10 you are doing well (unless your name is Michael Hutchinson). That sort of tells a tale really! I have a pb of 1:00:07 for 25 miles so let’s see what the weather does!
The pic above is of St Ives CC Chairman, John batchelor, looking to be enjoying a cold and wet fenland day at the Ely hardriders!
2 comments:
I'll be at the Squires and Spires if only to watch you write of more expensive equiptment with the use of stationary riders.
Great event if anyone fancies joining the hard knocks crew.
LOL! I don't think I can make the S&S this year, which is a shame. Sags still thinks the course is flat and fast as he was having "a bit of a lie down" when the going got tough last year.
Interesting schedule there Sags - with all those hard effort sessions might there be a need for more recovery?
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