More structure is the plan for this winter. I have had two winters now since I started riding more and I definetly love my adventures but I am generally lazy and just pootle away. Then I ride with others and I am basically slow. I'll never be fast, too heavy and no natural talent, but it would be nice to be faster. As I know that I won't give up the just riding and I will always want to commute by bike a dedicated training schedule is out. I don't have the motivation to just do certain sessions, not jump on my bike and ride for 3 hours because the weather is nice or a friend wants to meet for cake. So I am going to try my own method. I am going to continue riding and come the summer going on adventures but I am going to plan some key sessions for each week. These are sessions that are more useful to me than the usual ride to work ride home in which I just pootle along. The plan is to plan four sessions a week. Two running and two biking. This week the plan is/was:
Run 1: 30mins
Run 2: 1 hour
Bike 1: Hill repeats
Bike 2: Cross race
The plan is that there will be a shorter intensity session for each running and biking and then a longer one of each. Hence they will be labelled: R, LR, B, LB. I think it is important to plan a long bike as although I do a fair amount of riding and the hours add up each week since I have been working again there are less continuous long rides. I have been recording all my days mileage as one ride. So for example a 35mile ride might actually have been 15miles in the morning , 10miles at lunch, 10miles home. I am going to split rides now, I didn't originally as I didn't want to have done loads and loads of road rides, but I think it is more honest. Or do you think I should still record as one ride?
The plan is that most of the time this long ride will probably be road and I will take a long way to/from work but once a month I will head out on a long mountain bike ride.
I'm hoping that I can get faster for kielder next year, the first race I have entered of a few events I'm hoping to do. But I really want to improve my time for this. I was really happy with now I did but I think I can go faster. Nutrition will be another thing to look at for this!
I also think I will have to publish weekly plans on the blog so people can nag me into doing the sessions!
we'll nag each other and become champions :)
ReplyDeletethink you're right about being more focused if you want to improve speed. you could ride forever if needed, you've got bags of endurance :)
I think another key session for me needs to be an off-road ride each week. Otherwise I end up walking everything technical when I next ride.
ReplyDeletei've noticed that with no daylight riding by 'skills' have vanished. head games...
ReplyDeleteI've gone back to spin classes and am already noticing the difference (not that I'm exactly starting from peak fitness). I know spinning in the gym is not in the spirit of things, but during the week I find that I've only got energy for 30 and 45 min exercise bouts - I can give it some wellie and walk away feeling virtuous!
ReplyDeleteSo will you be adding intervals into your commute rides?
I'm not sure about my commuting being anything other than commuting. Think it is safer that way. When I used to ride across a country road it would have been a possibility but now not really!
ReplyDeleteSpinning would be good, but trying to spend no money at the moment - oh and failing!