So, how do you train?

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There's already been a thread about how much people train, but I'm curious to see how you train: What sorts of stuff at different parts of the year, what sorts of intervals, stuff like that. IT'd also help if you included your level.

ME!
Cat 4 (upgrading to 3 soon. Hopefully!)
Currently I'm doing about two lactate threshold sessions a week 3x14, 2x20, as well as one or two vo2max session a week (6x4, 5x5, etc). I usually do two or three hard weeks followed by one easier week where I do one hard session maybe. In addition to this I usually do one long session 3.5-4 hours. Also a tempo session or two, plus some recovery. As I get closer to the season I'll replace one of the vo2 or thresholds with anaerobic intervals. My favorite sets of these include: 30 seconds on/30 offx5 with 4 sets and 5 minutes between sets, or just 1x1's until I fall over........... Anyway, I'm curious to see what others are doing. I've taken the anti-base philosphy, due to the nice weather, early season races, and some of the stuff on the training forum of this site.

Most of my training at this point is base miles (around 50 miles per week) but I'm going to start doing some interval training when the weather gets warmer.

Just base mileage (kilomatreage just doesn't sound the same). Im just mainly working on endurance and the aerobic system by doing long distance training at 70% max Heart rate. I do Fartlek training once or twice a week (Fartlek training works on your Sprinting, hill climbing and endurance)...thats pretty much it.... :p

Im gonna do more V02 max stuff later in the year. So far my plan is to continue base intill i feel confortable rideing at race pace.

Only two weeks till the first big race of the season, so this past week and next week I've added some shorter, harder intervals. Yesterday looked like this:
Two Sessions
Session 1: 75 minutes.
Warm up, 6 Intervals of a minute and a half each. I started the interval, shifting up every fifteen seconds, until the final fifteen where I sprinted to 95 percent of max heart rate. 4.5 minutes between intervals.
Session 2: 2 more 1.5's with short recovery plus 4 3's with 2 min. Recovery. also 75 minutes.
This stuff hurts! This was after a day of threshold work as well.

I do criterium training. Which involves going round a short cicuit with lots of corners as fast as you can for an hour.

I do endurance training for long rides, 50 - 80miles.

I get in on average 170-200miles per week.

I'm on school holidays at the moment so this is a bit different to normal. Last week as follows:

Monday:180k that included 40k of solid climbing in 50k wit the rest pretty bumpy
Tuesday:casual 50k recovery
Wednesday:10k warmup, 4k timetrial, 6k recovery, 4k time trial, 6k recovery. Meet bunch and do 50-60k.
Thursday:2 loops of a circuit containing a roughly 20% hill. 3 small efforts each lap. Meet bunch and do 50k with them.
Friday:ergo 15min casual, 5x10 sec sprints, 2 min recovery in between, 10 min cool down.
saturday:casual 70k
Sunday: 80k race plus roughly 20 of warm up/cool down.

Roughly 550k plus ergo.

I'm in a bit of a going through the motions period at the moment. No real specific hard stuff and not really base, just mid season maintenance. Nationals are three months away so I'll start doing some big k's soon probably followed by strength endurance and then a bit of motorpacing to finish off.

I'm currently a grade in state level seniors (cat1?) and got a second place in the race I had on sunday. That said the fields a bit weaker this year as Karl is over in the USA racing for Endeavour, Jamo and Josh are in france, Matty is with the Aus under 21 team and big Naths gone to belgium. Basically the big 5 have all gone and cat 1 is currently a cat1/2 mix at the moment.

There's already been a thread about how much people train, but I'm curious to see how you train: What sorts of stuff at different parts of the year, what sorts of intervals, stuff like that. IT'd also help if you included your level.

ME!
Cat 4 (upgrading to 3 soon. Hopefully!)
Currently I'm doing about two lactate threshold sessions a week 3x14, 2x20, as well as one or two vo2max session a week (6x4, 5x5, etc). I usually do two or three hard weeks followed by one easier week where I do one hard session maybe. In addition to this I usually do one long session 3.5-4 hours. Also a tempo session or two, plus some recovery. As I get closer to the season I'll replace one of the vo2 or thresholds with anaerobic intervals. My favorite sets of these include: 30 seconds on/30 offx5 with 4 sets and 5 minutes between sets, or just 1x1's until I fall over........... Anyway, I'm curious to see what others are doing. I've taken the anti-base philosphy, due to the nice weather, early season races, and some of the stuff on the training forum of this site.Heh about 5 hours a week because final exams in school..hoping for better times at university..:rolleyes:

wow you guys are pretty hardcore, all i do is run and use the excercise bike.

i follow a combination of The Cyclists Bible and The Ultimate Ride. I like Friel's structure in terms of making a yearly plan. but i like carmichael's workouts better. Friel's audience seems to be cat 1,2,3 or higher where carmichael is for cat 4,5 or lower.
anyway, i believe in training like someone who is a catagory higher than the catagory they really are. i am a cat 5, but i train like a cat 3 or 4.
i am aiming to get in 500-550 cycling training hours and another 50 or so in off the bike training; like walking or swimming. right now i am planning on peaking in september. i average 12-14 hours of riding a weeks. i am in the "Preparation/Build 1" mesocycle now. and i do 3 weeks of serious training with the 4th week of lower hours and less intensity.
currently, i am working on building my power. i did a practice crit this last weekend and made the DNF list. i got dropped and could not get back in the pack. clearly i wasnt pushing as hard as i wanted, but at least i found out that my anaerobic system is in good shape! i averaged 95% max heart rate for 20 striaght minutes. i made a desperate attempt to get into the pack again and peaked at 98% max, but it was too late.

for 25 mile solo training sessions what do you people do for time? today i just did 1 hour and 11 minutes, but i think i might of went farther because i was keeping up with cars in a 25 mph area...and NOONE goes the speed limit here, for some of the areas, and my spedometer was recording 22, but w/e. if i do a ride with a group (haven't ever done one yet, i just do solo) how much time should i expect to cut off. and also, for a 14 year old, is that a good time?, but right now i have a race coming up soon, a 22 mile, so i'm doing 25, and trying to sprint the last five of that to get used to that distance

for 25 mile solo training sessions what do you people do for time? today i just did 1 hour and 11 minutes, but i think i might of went farther because i was keeping up with cars in a 25 mph area...and NOONE goes the speed limit here, for some of the areas, and my spedometer was recording 22, but w/e. if i do a ride with a group (haven't ever done one yet, i just do solo) how much time should i expect to cut off. and also, for a 14 year old, is that a good time?, but right now i have a race coming up soon, a 22 mile, so i'm doing 25, and trying to sprint the last five of that to get used to that distance
Yeah it'd be good to have someone else check the route for distance, my speedometer measured 20 mph in a race yesterday while everyone else's that I finished with had over 23. Gotta have that checked. Anywhere in the 1 hour range is good for a 25 mile tt, especially on a standard road bike. But just going out and hammering 25 miles isn't ideal training, interval training works better, check out the training forum for ideas.

Ussually 5x3min x 2 Intervals and Hill riding to my AT during the week. Then I will

do six to eight hours of group rides on saturday and sunday (i average 180 miles a week)
I am comfortable at
25-27 MPH (in a group) and pushing it at 29-32 MPH. on solo rides I usually average 17-19 MPH on an easy day and 20-22 MPH on a hard day

That`s big average. How many miles do you do when you have 20-22 mph and what`s the route like?

Are you sure you don't mean KPH, cause that is flying!



Ussually 5x3min x 2 Intervals and Hill riding to my AT during the week. Then I will

do six to eight hours of group rides on saturday and sunday (i average 180 miles a week)
I am comfortable at
25-27 MPH (in a group) and pushing it at 29-32 MPH. on solo rides I usually average 17-19 MPH on an easy day and 20-22 MPH on a hard day

Yes, even pros don`t train with that big averages! At least all the time not.

Unless you are secretly Mr Armstrong.........

Unless you are secretly Mr Armstrong.........
Maybe he's talking about his interval sessions since he said "hard day." And if it were flat that would definitely be in the range for an interval session.

Last week I got one of my best training weeks ever. Not only was it high volume (for me, some of you ride more than this regularly it seems) but i also did a lot of intervals.

Monday: 2.5 hours with 2x20's at threshold, 5 minutes rest.
Tuesday: 2 hour mtb ride
Wednesday: 4.5 hour, 80 something mile ride. Mostly easy but did a long section towards the end at 26+mph to get it over quicker, I was super hungry.
Thursday: 1 hour recovery ride
Friday: 3 hour ride with 5x4 vo2max intervals, 4 minutes rest in between.
Saturday: 1 hour easy recovery
Sunday: 3 hour ride with 6x4 vo2max intervals plus 5 sets of 5 sprints up roughly 15 second steep hill, alternating sitting and standing.

Good going mate....