Jack the Junk Miles. . . Tame the Turbo

I had my first ride out on the open road on Friday evening. It was wet, windy and not too nice really. Recently all my training has been on the turbo, so I was itching to get out. As I had to go to Cambridge, I thought I would ride there and back. It’s not too far at about 20 miles on the back roads. I have been doing some measured turbo stuff lately; mostly by heart rate and cadence. So, I thought that I would monitor my heart rate on the outdoor ride. I was on my single speed bike so I was expecting a somewhat erratic heart rate. To cut a long story short, my average heart rate for the entire ride was 102! The max was 142. What the. . . !! There were times when I thought I was riding quite hard. Obviously, I wasn’t!

This is where I am feeling more and more that measured progression on the bike has to come from turbo training. My recent sessions have been aimed at hitting my aerobic ‘sweet spot’ ie, it hurts a little bit, but providing I fuel correctly, I should be able to maintain the pace for a considerable time. The idea is that I raise my aerobic threshold. This, of course, is based on knowing your max heart rate.

Anyway, biking outdoors is dangerous



Here is an example of one of the longer turbo sessions I have completed:

BIKE 1:45
WARM UP
15:00 easy spin -- use a gearing pyramid to gradually build to 75%
-- 5:00 in easy gear, 4:00 in next harder gear, then 3:00, 2:00, & 1:00
DRILLS
3 x 4:30 Variable Gearing Set w/30 sec recovery after each
-- each repeat should be
3 x (40 sec in medium gear - 20 sec in easiest gear - 30 sec in hardest gear)
MAIN SET -- BIG TARGET!
This target set is meant to be performed in an aerobic state, which means that you need to be disciplined and hold your HR intensity at or below 75% throughout the set. It is optimal to be able to measure the distance that you are riding in order to record your time for this test.
2 x 8.4 miles @75% w/3:00 @60% intensity in between
-- make sure that you keep your HR under control for both repeats, and record both times (and average HR, if possible) for future reference.
COOL DOWN to 1:45 total, gradually bringing your HR
back under 60% by the end

As time goes by through the winter, I aim to spend more and more time in this 75% zone. This approach is very different to the system used last winter. I spent the winter of 2008 trying to up my threshold power. . . And failed (though I didn’t bike too badly come the summer)! This winter I hope to brake out of an increased aerobic threshold and move into some power threshold work ready for the race season.