Viewing 6 posts - 41 through 46 (of 46 total)
  • Training tips for TD / Tour Aotearoa for mere mortals
  • flanagaj
    Free Member

    I think if you’re feeling jaded from your commute then are you going to bed early enough and then leaving earlier? Your body needs to rest and you can slow down a bit on your commute. Is it 30 miles each way? That’s a lot. Perhaps take a mid week rest day if you can. The commute is good base fitness. Mines a nice distance at 12 miles each way so I can afford to go at a quick pace but a bigger distance then I’d definitely slow down. It shouldn’t impact your job.

    My advice would be to focus training on big distance rides. The most you’ll find are a few 200 km audaxes at the moment and you’d need to travel to get to the start which could be a hassle. So use this time in the evening to plan a route from your front door. Maybe start with a flat’ish 80 miler and then another adding an extra 30 miles up to say 150. Any power training helps with hauling baggage up hills but it’s mainly pacing that’s important and knowing how to ride over large distances. Tomorrow evening get on Ride with GPS and plan your route for an early Saturday start and keep the route interesting. It’s an adventure you’ll be taking yourself on.

    I’d say 7 hours sleep is what I am currently getting. Commute is 30 miles each way (only do it 2 -3 times a week) and don’t find it too bad to be honest.

    When I commute I take a full pannier with work clothes/ lunch … Planning on carrying the other pannier as well with 5kg of sand inside.

    The commute is great as it has purpose and I do find long rides at the weekend boring as it is potentially hours and hours plodding along at an average speed (for me anyway) of 12 – 13mph. I suppose that there is not getting away from that though. However, saying that I know it’s no pain no gain and I need to do those long rides so I’ll get one planned for Sunday. I have a decent 80 miler that I do in the summer that will be a good ride.

    whitestone
    Free Member

    Getting long distance riding across multiple days takes a while to get right, it took me over a year, as you need to properly recover from one long ride before you do another one. If you want to ride long distances then there’s no way round the fact that you need to ride long distances in training.

    As others have said it needs to be at a pace that your body is going to accept, generally referred to as “zone 2” but generally it’s the pace at which you can comfortably hold a conversation. This falls into the general category of “looking after yourself” which most consider to be just looking after the contact points and eating/drinking correctly but if you red line your engine then all that’s pointless.

    So, yes, base miles are boring but if you want to do the TD or TA then you’ve got to do them. Focus on how your body is behaving/reacting not the riding itself and the miles won’t seem so bad. Remember that those who are successful at long distance events aren’t just those who can manage their bodies but also their mental state, their cup is always half full as it were.

    Once you’ve got the base miles in then you can start to work on things like quicker recovery (which should be a side effect of the training) and less time wasted in faffing at food stops and sleeping.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    [Disclaimer] I’m better read than practised at training!! [/disclaimer]

    Would like to get up to 20 hours/week if possible, but don’t want to overcook it and end up burnt out

    make sure you are having rest weeks. there’s two ways to do that:
    1 keep the training time the same and drop the intensity
    2 keep the intensity but drop the time

    1 i hard to do when your mostly doing z2 training.

    Are you doing some interval work too? 9 weeks out i’d be thinking about doing some speed work.

    EDIT:

    less time wasted in faffing at food stops and sleeping.

    audax can be great practice for this.

    flanagaj
    Free Member

    On reflection I am going to have a rest week next week. Planning on stopping the commuting and will instead add in 2 1.5hr turbo sessions where I can do some Z3 / z4 sessions.

    In the past I have done back to back +80 mile days, but feel I still have a lot to learn regarding doing it right. I have let the on the bike nutrition slip and need to get back into the habit of remembering that when fuelling on the bike you are fuelling for the days ahead as well.

    Audaxes always impress me, especially, the 400km and 600km.

    Being realistic, I think with 9 weeks to go I cannot expect miracles and need to just accept that back to back rides of 7 – 8 hours is all I am going to be able to work up to prior to the trip. Concerned that pushing too much will just end in fatigue and be detrimental to the trip.

    I suspect the feeling “too little too late” is something that many cyclists feel prior to a trip / event.

    jameso
    Full Member

    Being realistic, I think with 9 weeks to go I cannot expect miracles and need to just accept that back to back rides of 7 – 8 hours is all I am going to be able to work up to prior to the trip. Concerned that pushing too much will just end in fatigue and be detrimental to the trip.

    I suspect the feeling “too little too late” is something that many cyclists feel prior to a trip / event.
    Wise thoughts that I’d agree with. Some short but very HI turbo sessions 1x a week will help tune up whatever base fitness you have now, the rest is about not overdoing it in panic-training.
    Not sure how long the event needs to be for this point to count but Matt Lee has said there’s no point starting the TDR in peak form, it’s too long for that, instead turn up fresh and rested and race yourself into form a week or so in. Some truth to it I think, that 5-6 day adaptation stage ‘turbo diesel’ effect is something you can rely on if you have experience of it and don’t blow yourself out in the first 4 days.

    flanagaj
    Free Member

    turn up fresh and rested and race yourself into form a week or so in

    Yes. That is my main aim and I must remember to taper my training off massively at the end of Jan. I have allowed 30 days cycling, so go steady for the first week.

    don’t blow yourself out in the first 4 days

    This is key and I have done this before myself and I suspect a great many others also. Once you blow yourself out from hitting it far too hard for the first few days, I reckon it is game over. I have read some real horror stories of people training for the TD where they did 6 hour rides before and then smash out 12 hour + days for the first few days only to retire from fatigue, knee issues, saddle sores ….

Viewing 6 posts - 41 through 46 (of 46 total)

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