Post your monthly Training Plan

[Bill Gates]

Well finally looks like we've got some decent temperatures coming along so that I can do some decent training on the road. We must have had about 2 months of ice or snow or minus temperatures. During this time I know many riders have ventured out in some very bad conditions. Some have been fortunate, but others have come off and got injured or suffered illness as a result.

If you're healthy then now's the time to capitalise on all that pent up enthusiasm. I've been getting on with doing extra gym work and LT training but definitely lack the fitness I had in October. My weight has gone up and down (recently back up ).

So what now?

I'm concentrating on building up the hours riding at endurance pace >75% MHR for the next 4 weeks. Aim to ride 8 hours a week initially and build up to 10/12 hours by the end of February. Total hours aimed for = 40.

 

[Bill Gates]

Don't all rush at once.

Watch this space for 1st March- I can't wait.

 

[montage]

Annoyingly, I'm not at the stage where I can follow mine from last years yet. It is just a case of doing as much as I can cope with, not wanting to aggrevate injuries n all that.
I'll get back on this one

 

[Globalti]

My training plan:

Avoid shopping trips by being annoying when in the shops. Get out on the bike instead.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

My training plan:

Avoid shopping trips by being annoying when in the shops. Get out on the bike instead.

I'm in!

 

[Brahan]

To be honest I don't know the first thing about a training plan other than I need to get some long runs under my belt before I hit the hard intervals.

I'm getting about 2.5 - 3 hrs riding per day Monday to Friday, sometimes I'll chuck a bit of steady going on the turbo, then a longer run on Sat or Sun or failing that, if the weather is terrible then I'll do up to 3 hrs on the turbo.

Everyting I do is on feel as I haven't sorted out my Max HR so I don't know if I'm doing anything right to be frank. I have a 24 mile hilly 2up in April so can anyone recommend when a good time to start my intervals would be?

 

[Bill Gates]

To be honest I don't know the first thing about a training plan other than I need to get some long runs under my belt before I hit the hard intervals.

I'm getting about 2.5 - 3 hrs riding per day Monday to Friday, sometimes I'll chuck a bit of steady going on the turbo, then a longer run on Sat or Sun or failing that, if the weather is terrible then I'll do up to 3 hrs on the turbo.

Everyting I do is on feel as I haven't sorted out my Max HR so I don't know if I'm doing anything right to be frank. I have a 24 mile hilly 2up in April so can anyone recommend when a good time to start my intervals would be?

Good question.

Your training should be tailored to get you to peak performance at the time you most want to have it. But is that necessarily a 24 mile Hilly TT in April? or as that is your first event do you want that race to be a stepping stone along the way to another event or events later on in the year?

My guess is the latter.

My target races are probably the same as yours, and I'll be getting the hours in on the bike for the next 4 weeks. Maybe throw in some hard efforts of 10 minutes or so during some of the rides and one tempo ride a week on a Saturday when the club riders are on the same roads as me in their groups.

In the first two weeks of March if all goes to plan then I'll do more of the same, and then the last 2 weeks start to do long intervals 2 x weekly on the road or the turbo and reduce the mileage and intensity of the other rides. I plan to start racing in April but won't do any VO2max intervals until then, and use the races as my fast training rides.

By then I'll have finished the gym work to concentrate on the bike training, building up through May to June and then just tick over in the week with easy rides and 1 x short interval session midweek so as to maintain sharpness and keep energy for peak performance at the weekend.

You can use RPE to guage effort or power if you can afford it. Using HR is a reasonable measure if you allow for cardiac drift and as you say know what your MHR is to work out the training zones. You can do this yourself but you need to plan for it which involves resting up a couple of days before you want to go for it.

Warm up for 10-15 minutes and then ride out to a stretch of road that is a long drag and then increase the effort every couple of minutes until you feel that you're up to your limit and then sprint. That should give you a reading that is MHR.

 

[Brahan]

Thanks for that BG.

No, I suppose I don't want to be peaking in April...

I've been looking at powermeters but really can't justify the cost to be honest so I'll need to stick to the HR and how I feel.

 

[Bill Gates]

Watch this space for 1st March- I can't wait.

So much for best laid plans. February went the same way as January so no further forward and probably lost some more fitness, and weight gone up instead of down. March can't be as bad can it?

My March training plan is the same as what I hoped to do in February: -

I'm concentrating on building up the hours riding at endurance pace >75% MHR for the next 4 weeks. Aim to ride 8 hours a week initially and build up to 10/12 hours by the end of March. Total hours aimed for = 40.

 

[Riverman]

I don't like to work to targets as I find my life begins to revolve around them. Too many more important things in life that I find easy to neglect if I make targets. The only exception is work.

It's fair enough if you're training for some event though.

 

[Brahan]

This month's training will be more of the same. Daily commutes 20 to 30+ miles, I'm going to do one set of 2x20 per week on the turbo and the club runs are still going strong on the Sunday.

I'm doing more and more of my commutes in the small ring and I'm not thrashing myself quite so hard.

 

[andyhunter]

currently doing 84 miles each training session (mon, fri, sun) but as racing season started only mon and fri if not racing on sat and sun if not racing on sun

 

[Brahan]

Just entered 2 TTs over the same weekend - a 10 on Saturday afternoon and a 25 on the Sunday morning. 20th and 21st of this month. Both of them are hilly and I ain't too good on the hills....

 

[Shady]

Mixed bag of training for me which normally works out like so :

Monday - (late shift) - Halfway Walk to work and back (3.5 miles round trip)

Tuesday - (early shift) - Cycle to work and back (10 mile round trip)

Wednesday - Day Off

Thursday - (early shift) - Cycle to work and back (10 mile round trip)

Friday - (late shift) - Halfway Walk to work and back (3.5 miles round trip)

Saturday - Walk around the estate with the kids (2/3 miles)

Sunday - Jog / Run around the estate (3 miles approx).


REPEAT !!!

Been doing this since mid Feb - lost a few pounds in weight but think some is balanced out by muscle increase in my legs - that's the theory !! Cutting about 500 cals a day also as well as the exercise.



Shady

 

[Brahan]

Just entered 2 TTs over the same weekend - a 10 on Saturday afternoon and a 25 on the Sunday morning. 20th and 21st of this month. Both of them are hilly and I ain't too good on the hills....

Well I finished 9th on the 10 and 6th on the 25. Still no intervals as yet on the turbo, infact I've not touched it for ages. I'm still commuting 25-30 miles per day in all conditions and occasionaly putting in some hard efforts on the way home. No science behind it but it seems to leave me feeling energised and full of beans for the next day.

Got another 2up this weekend so need to keep my legs fresh.

Still got a big (non aero) belly.