Training for non events
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Training for non events
Postby Ignoto » Wed Oct 02, 2013 5:01 pm
So, is it possible to train for the general purpose of going faster? So far in my short year long uptake of cycling I've been using specific Segments in Brisbane to see how I'm fairing (along with the difference in my HR) ie Mt Cootha, Mt Gravatt and various longer sprint sections ie the Corso.
All the reading I've done has been based on training for an event ie Friel's holy bible etc. But I've tried to take some of the key messages out of these books/articles of ensuring I do;
A Vo2 session (ie 3 x (5 40/20's)
A "FTP" session" (I plan on incorporating this into my "hill" day and will just do 3-4 repeats of a particular climb at around 88-92% of my max hr)
3-4 other rides with varying intensity and length mostly with a group of riders.
From what I've sat down and down, it should be about 300km of cycling a week, with two days of recovery and a third with an extended commute home. I plan on mimicking an event every 8-12 weeks where I'd taper off for a week and re-try those specific segments.
Is this something I could possibly follow for say 6-12 months and if I decide on racing I'd be ready to go?
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Parker » Wed Oct 02, 2013 5:18 pm
If the above is correct then why would you do the below...Ignoto wrote:I'm not that interested in racing just yet nor do I plan on doing any form of event where I train for something specifically, taper and then "race it".
Ignoto wrote: All the reading I've done has been based on training for an event ie Friel's holy bible etc. But I've tried to take some of the key messages out of these books/articles of ensuring I do;
A Vo2 session (ie 3 x (5 40/20's)
A "FTP" session" (I plan on incorporating this into my "hill" day and will just do 3-4 repeats of a particular climb at around 88-92% of my max hr)
3-4 other rides with varying intensity and length mostly with a group of riders.
From what I've sat down and down, it should be about 300km of cycling a week, with two days of recovery and a third with an extended commute home. I plan on mimicking an event every 8-12 weeks where I'd taper off for a week and re-try those specific segments.
Is this something I could possibly follow for say 6-12 months and if I decide on racing I'd be ready to go?
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Ignoto » Wed Oct 02, 2013 6:26 pm
In a way I guess you could count it as an "event". But without doing the later, how do you measure how and if you're improving?Parker wrote: If the above is correct then why would you do the below...
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Xplora » Wed Oct 02, 2013 11:45 pm
You will struggle mentally to put in the effort to maximise your improvements if you don't have a finite endpoint to the plan using Friel's periodisation method. I did a ton of riding earlier in the year, built a better engine, but I just don't quite feel I am "there" yet. Fact is, I will NEVER get there without a particular goal and an ability to stop training. KOMs are great, but they can be taken away. I smashed one tonight, but that's got maybe a week MAX before Kz Mal tries to take it back. Then what? Even working towards times can be counterproductive, given how hard the wind has been.
Set a goal, and build a plan to achieve it. Your intervals might not be the best way to achieve those goals. If it's general fitness, stay in HR zone 2 and ride as far as you can.
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Ignoto » Thu Oct 03, 2013 8:27 am
Maybe I shouldn't have used "non events", I guess in my mind I see the testing that I would do ie racing the clock isn't an event compared to a race. So I was planning on following the build, peak and rest phases Friel talks about. Basically, I see it as doing a club 20km ITT without having a club sanctioned race, and it's merely racing your previous ghost.Xplora wrote:This is why he focuses on events, because you use that event to build a baseline fitness level within a certain time, then go through the build and peak phase, and most importantly enter a genuine transition where you can sit back and relax, and reflect on that achievement.
The elements isn't something I've considered, but for my own benefit I'd record it and see if I was X amount off the PB.Xplora wrote:Then what? Even working towards times can be counterproductive, given how hard the wind has been.
I guess I should say, training for non-competitors in my title instead of events. So instead of setting a goal for a 32 minute 20km ITT, I've got a 10 minute goal on a specific climb or a 20 minute goal to go on a long uninterrupted segment. I was thinking that the training you would do for club racing would be interchangeable for other equivalent events?
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Xplora » Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:30 am
My goal has been to be first back to the coffee shop on the Saturday ride, and be in the first group back when the big boys are pushing - this is easily a big goal for me a year ago. Learning to pace myself and willingly going to failure has helped get there. But intervals? Doesn't quite make sense.
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Ignoto » Thu Oct 03, 2013 11:05 am
I unfortunately do a majority of my riding solo and and only group rides with a handful of people who don't have the time to ride as much and drop off quicker (I am trying to find more groups in Brisbane who live around me and do rides outside of the loop around the river).Xplora wrote: My goal has been to be first back to the coffee shop on the Saturday ride, and be in the first group back when the big boys are pushing - this is easily a big goal for me a year ago. Learning to pace myself and willingly going to failure has helped get there. But intervals? Doesn't quite make sense.
So, by adopting some kind of regimented "training plan" I can be somewhat self sufficient and work towards something tangible and measurable.
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Xplora » Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:06 pm
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Re: Training for non events
Postby lobstermash » Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:54 pm
Something I've found very helpful is mixing up the bikes I ride. I ride my singlespeed on most Fridays and in wet weather, and find it encourages me to use cadence as much as gears to achieve speed on the roadie. I also find I rarely reach for the next easiest gear on my roadie after riding it, but put more power down instead. I also try and ride retro one day a week (usually 'retro Ruesdays'). There's a very different feel and shift strategy with retro roadies, as well as being a couple of kilos heavier. The contrast between riding a retro roadie (even really nice ones) and a modern one makes me appreciate both more - the retro bike for being so smooth and simple, and the modern bike for lightness, indexed shifting and the feeling of connection with the road.
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Re: Training for non events
Postby Xplora » Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:07 pm
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Re: Training for non events
Postby lobstermash » Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:17 pm
Retro is super cheap if you do it right and pick the right bike. That said, I spent a few days doing up my retro ride, even though it only cost me about $50 all up. But sometimes you can pick up an almost pristine decent retro for next to nothing (with a little luck and charismaXplora wrote: Retro is cool but I am poor and impatient. Lol
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Re: Training for non events
Postby you cannot be sirrus » Thu Oct 03, 2013 3:30 pm
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Re: Training for non events
Postby kb » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:25 am
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