Wednesday, May 9, 2012

My Training Approach

I got to thinking that I have not discussed my approach to getting ready for the big event. So, without further ado...

It's not rocket science and my execution is not perfect. But that is the point. You want to keep it simple and be flexible in how you do the training. You need some goals, a plan and a way of tracking progress. You also should try to make it fun ('easy' days are a sneaky way to insert some fun in your plan - but still have some benefit). There are many simple training plans on the web - just put into the Google-izer some search terms and you'll find more than a few. There are plans for half centuries, metric centuries and centuries. There are plans for multi-day events as well, but can be a bit harder to find.

Since my final events are usually centuries, I use those types of plans. All plans contain the same approach usually - steady weekly increases in mileage, time in the saddle, all to build endurance. Century plans can be 8-10 weeks from start to finish and look like this:

Century Training Plan
WeekLength of Long RideTotal Miles/Week
12555
23065
33573
44081
54590
65099
757110
865122
95075
10Century RideYeah!

Each week is a progression, to build miles. Since I am doing a multi-day ride and am motivated by fear in my training - I have added a few tasty training morsels to the typical weekly plan:

Tuesdays: Hill work
Thursday: Intervals

The hill work days involve going out and riding a bunch of hills. If its uphill, I ride the frickin' thing. I usually shoot for 20-40 miles and 1500 to 4000 feet of climbing. I also mash the bajeezebahs out of the pedals so I really build some strength and endurance. Each week adds more miles and elevation.

The interval days are usually on my indoor trainer and are a combination of steady state, over/unders and power intervals. I am using some intervals from the book The Time Crunched Cyclist by Chris Carmichael. Google training intervals and you'll find a ton of info too.

BOTH tasty morsels are quite brutal - but, I seem to get a lot out of them.

So, in summary, my weeks look like this:

Sunday: Light ride or off (recovery from the weekly long ride on Sat)
Monday: Easy ride (and I do mean EASY - just kick back and take your time)
Tuesdays: Hill work
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Intervals
Friday: Off
Saturday: Long ride

I use an Excel sheet to track my training. I record all manner of data but minimally you want to keep track of your weekly progress and if you are hitting your mile targets. I also like to record my elevation gain for a ride and I use this as something to sit back and go, 'damn, I rode that many feet of gain!'.

Some books I have read that may be helpful:

The Cyclist's Training Bible: A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Road Cyclist

The Time-Crunched Cyclist: Fit, Fast, and Powerful in 6 Hours a Week

Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance 

 

But- these can be quite complicated so, keep it easy. I'll take bits and pieces from a book and use them in my training. I am by no means very good at coming up with a perfect training plan and many books out there are geared to the aspiring road racer. I have found that if its too complex, you'll simply not do it. Training can take a lot of time and commitment - best to keep it simple.



No comments:

Post a Comment