Training plan

[lanternerouge]

Hi folks

Anyone know where I can get a simple, free training plan for sportives? Maybe aiming at 70/100 miles?

Having said that, I did the Cheshire Cat medium route (76 miles and hills) t'other week and got round. But I didn't get up all the hills without walking! I finished reasonably strongly until being goosed for the last 5 miles or so. Just feel like I need some direction so I can get better - my current tactic is to, er, go for a ride now and then....

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Here you go!

 

[lanternerouge]

Cool! Thanks

 

[lanternerouge]

That should be v useful JTW, think I will start in the middle somewhere. When it stops sleeting

I always feel like I should be riding further than these plans suggest - guess I should stick to it though

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

I always feel like I should be riding further than these plans suggest - guess I should stick to it though

A good point; it's natural to assume you should be doing more and risk over-training: exercise, diet and rest are all equally important.

Good luck!

 

[amaferanga]

That plan looks to be for someone starting at nothing. If you can already ride 76 hilly miles then you don't need to start off with 5mile and 15mile rides! I don't really think much of that plan actually - recommending a 5 mile ride at endurance pace is a bit daft.

I don't think you need a plan really, beyond gradually increasing the distance of your long ride at the weekend and doing some 1-2 hour more intense rides through the week. You'll get a lot of benefit from doing what's know as sweet spot training (SST) where you basically go out for an hour or two and ride as hard as you can sustain. You don't want to go out too hard and limp home, but you should be pretty knackered after the ride. The idea is to ride at a bit below your threshold such that you get most of the adaptions, but less overall fatigue. A few weeks of doing 2 or 3 of these rides a week and you should see an improvement in your speed over these rides and over your longer rides. The mistake a lot of people make is just riding at the same pace no matter what the distance. They then wonder why they're not getting faster....

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Yes it is for a complete beginner: I think you'll struggle to find "a simple, free training plan for sportives" designed for someone who has ridden, with some difficulty, seventy-six miles.

Of course, as LR notes, you don't have to start at the beginning.

Having read the original request I was under the, obviously mistaken, impression that LR was looking to improve his endurance, not speed.

 

[lanternerouge]

Both would be fine JTW! Exactly, I'm just looking for something I can adapt/start half way through