Preparation for hard training

[orphic]

First up I'll add a disclaimer: I'm a newb. My hopes/ambitions are high and I'm trying to learn the ropes as well as I can, so please forgive my lack of knowledge and possibly silly questions. Also what I term as hard training at the moment is probably a recovery ride for most of you

At the moment I'm aiming to train around 6 days a week (but a couple of those rides are slow recovery rides) where one day is hard training with a group of people, the rest is on my own. I want to be to perform really well when I'm training with the group. What I'm wondering is if there is anything in regards to nutrition the night/morning before the ride and training the previous day that I should be doing to ensure I am able to push myself to my maximum.

At the moment I have a normal dinner (low GI, balance of carbs/protein/fat) the evening before and around 30 minutes before the ride I have a coffee (with soy milk) and one piece of toast with jam. I don't eat or drink anything except for water during the ride as it's only just over 1 hour. I take it pretty easy the day before and do around 30 slow km's. I seem to lose energy around 40 mins into the ride and get dropped, with my legs feeling like they're really lacking in strength. Am I doing something wrong or is this just a newbie problem that will improve over time?

[RobRollin]

Well I would suggest having a talk to Alex Simmons and RST training programs if you are really serious about training properly. The RST training program has helped me a lot with power and strength, endurance etc.

Different rides such as long rides, short rides etc will require different nutrition. If the ride is below 1 hour I get away without intaking any food. Whenerver I ride for 1 hour or more I always try and consume 1 bottle of water during the ride. During a 1 hr plus ride you need to replace calories you are burning to keep muscle glycogen stores up. During the ride - start eating regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks . After the ride try and drink a sports drink to replace glycogen muscle stores which will help with muscle soreness.

For a long ride, 2 hrs plus, I tend to build up for a week prior with carbohydrate intake, 4 days out 600 grams of carbohydrate per day, 4 hours prior 300gm carbohydrate meal and sports drink. I won't eat within 2 hour prior.

Usually with a proper carbohydrate/protein normal diet you body has enough calories stored to last up to 2 hours before it looks for other sources of energy.

Again all depends on how far your taking your training, diet and how your feeling yourself. Good luck!!

[JV911]

one piece of toast with jam...I seem to lose energy around 40 mins into the ride and get dropped

just answered your own question!

as my grandmother says, "you must eeeat"

[DanielS]

Hey orphic,

Can you post up what you would be doing in a typical week (duration, intensity each day)? How long have you been riding regularly for?

Its probable that you just aren't fit enough at the moment, so with time, you will be able to hang on to the group for longer. It may also be due to lack of experience riding in a group and following wheels - being able to draft effectively saves a lot of energy

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Its probable that you just aren't fit enough at the moment,

On the basis of what I read in the OP, I'd agree with that.

Fortunately, it can be fixed through good training.

Apart from eating something 1-2 hours beforehand (not always easy for early morning rides), make sure you eat immediately afterwards. That will help increase the glycogen storage capacity of your muscles.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Well I would suggest having a talk to Alex Simmons and RST training programs if you are really serious about training properly. The RST training program has helped me a lot with power and strength, endurance etc.

Thanks for that. Sounds like it's going well
Scary what happens when you dose the efforts sensibly, and with consistency

[orphic]

I haven't been riding for long at all - see my original post. It sounds to me from the excellent advice you have all offered that I need to continue to train and possible try to eat a little bit more before my ride. Perhaps something I need to experiment with.

I was thinking that by posting up my situation, if I was doing something horribly and obviously wrong it would be spotted by one of you - so I guess I'm not, which is nice to know I'll keep on putting in the km's and see how it goes. Might look into seeing a dietician or something in the future to ensure I'm putting in the right stuff, although I do generally eat a very healthy diet.

Reassurance is sometimes the best motivator Thank you one and all.

[USM TOM]

Well I would suggest having a talk to Alex Simmons and RST training programs if you are really serious about training properly. The RST training program has helped me a lot with power and strength, endurance etc.

Thanks for that. Sounds like it's going well
Scary what happens when you dose the efforts sensibly, and with consistency

for your training plans do you need a power meter or anything like that???

[Alex Simmons/RST]

for your training plans do you need a power meter or anything like that???

For most people, a heart rate monitor is sufficient to give a guide to the general intensity of effort, however you can still ride to a plan without one, by using the ride descriptions (which are provided) to guide how hard you go on that day. HRMs can be had pretty cheaply now days, depending on the features you go for.

We also have plans for power meter users too (and of course training with power is somewhat more objective in terms of intensity).

See here for details:
http://rst-training.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... plans.html

[USM TOM]

bookmarked the page
cheers

i already have a heart rate monitor but never use it.

do you match the workouts to the locations of people as there no hills any where near me

[Alex Simmons/RST]

bookmarked the page
cheers

i already have a heart rate monitor but never use it.

do you match the workouts to the locations of people as there no hills any where near me

the tailoring is to your fitness level, goal(s) and time availability to train. I don't specify the terrain (I specify the intensity) but if I have "hills" marked down, then it can be real hills or hard efforts on the flat/trainer for whatever length of time is suggested in the plan. The alternatives are shown in the notes for that day's ride.

[USM TOM]

cool bananas

i will seriously look into this when i get my back sorted out as i have been riding for a year or so and would like to start training properly for local club racing.

[Ant.]

My prep for hard training: reading Alex's blog, realising ahead of time that my excuses I'd talk/think about post-training, explaining why I cracked during my intervals, are incredibly pitiful

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Well just to wind you up, here's my week so far.....

Sat: 2:45 (~ 30-min or so of that is junk), so really 2:00+ of solid endurance with 3 x 5-min efforts at a bit over FTP. IF 0.84

Sun: 2:30 endurance ride. IF 0.77

Tue: 1:45 on the ergobike.
After a warmup, did the Hour of Power workout (1 hour base load at ~90% of FTP with a 15-second hard surge every 3-min), then followed that with another 30-min of heavy tempo. IF 0.94

Wed: 1:30 ride to the park, steady with 4 x flat sprints. IF 0.73

Thu: 1:30 on the ergobike.
30-min of endurance then 2x20-min efforts at 98% and 102% of FTP respectively. IF 0.9


Yep, can't wait for the hard work to start