Training Rides

If you are not yet fluent in the hows and whys of training, I highly recommend you stop scouring the internet and Slowtwitch for the facts, and order Dr. Phil Skiba's excellent book, Scientific Training for Triathletes. It's not a training guide, per se, but rather an accurate and thoughtful summary of what training does to the body, and how different types of training affect performance adaptations. It is a collection of "first principles" that every endurance athlete needs to understand, even if they work with a coach.

This short volume cuts to the chase and gives you all the basics. You still have to figure out how to use it, but figuring that out is a lot easier once you understand how your body works.

My bike (and run and swim) training plan will be my attempt to use these first principles to my best advantage. I am a "volume-limited" triathlete. I do not choose to maximize my potential since I have a good understanding of the time commitment involved, and I only have so much time I'm willing to budget to this activity.

I'll be riding 3 times per week; about 90 minutes twice during the week; up to 3-4 hours on Sundays. Given that time budget, what is the best way to use the time? Firstly, it is certainly going to do me no good to go out and spend all 6-7 hours of my weekly riding doing "low heart rate" or "steady" efforts. The training stimulus is too low. There is nothing wrong with the Gordo Byrn/Mark Allen-approved approach of long, easy/steady efforts. It's just that, in order for that effort level to pay off, you have to do many more hours than I will do.

So, my weekday efforts will be at 90-95% of P60. A typical ride will consist of 15 minutes easy effort to get to the part of my route where I can put my head down, then at least 60 minutes of good hard riding. I call these ABP rides -- Always Be Pushing. The training stimulus is high -- building metabolic fitness for higher power output (specifically, raising power at lactate threshold to a higher percentage of VO2max). Since the rides are relatively short, recovery is quick and I can do these rides a couple of days apart.

Sunday rides will be longer and will target my power output capacity and my endurance/stamina. There is no substitute for long hours in the saddle if you have to race long hours. The run leg of a half IM is like doing the second half of a marathon...so you have to train for a marathon. Likewise, since the bike stage of a half IM needs to be finished with your legs still fresh, you need to train for a 112 mile ride in order to pull off a good 56 mile ride. My Sunday efforts will not be easy -- but they won't be hard either. More on the order of 75-80% of P60.

With that approach in mind, I am happy with my first Sunday ride. 2.5 hours at 150 watts (NP). I finished feeling good and have recovered nicely this morning. I'll push the duration of that ride out to 3.5 hours next Sunday, and going forward. In late July and in August, I'll push out to 5 hours a few times. Power output will follow my fitness level -- hopefully upwards. These long rides need to be in the 165 watt range in order for me to meet my goals at Tahoe.