Kilometer training

[tarczan]

I'm an older rider who is looking for a method to gauge my progress, and I thought a standing start kilo on a set course would be a good method to do so. It would also help me keep up my interest and provide motivation to beat my best time. Anyone have any insight on this and what times would be considered good?

 

[CdnRider]

A standing 1k? sounds like you're interested in some track riding? Nothing wrong with having a base 1k time and trying to better it every time out.

However, if you're interested in getting fit. You're probably better off upping that 1k to something like 10k. I would recommend trying for 20-30min range and seeing what distance you can attain within a set time. That time range will benefit you're cardio immensely. After some time raise the bar and so on.....

For the record. My standing 1k time as a jr was 1min24s. I'm pretty sure i can kill that time now....20yrs later?!?!

 

[Umvelo]

I too am an older rider and I recently got back in to shape after a knee replacement surgery. I picked a course of a length I thought I could handle. It had flat parts and hills. On my first rides I focused on just making it back to the barn. On the next ride I would use a higher gear than I used previously, the next time I did the course faster, progressively making it faster and harder. I found it was easy to gauge my progress, because I noticed the difference in my stamina, my speed, my recovery time after and exertion ability etc, every time I went over the course. I lost 50 pounds and I feel great.

 

[choffman]

I would agree that a kilo is too short to adequately show your true progress. I would go with a 10k or 20k course to determine your progress. Start by getting a bunch of base miles, then gradually hit some harder then harder gears. As Summer time hits, you should be comfortable with intensity.

Train into shape, rest into fitness.

 

[fergie]

I'm an older rider who is looking for a method to gauge my progress, and I thought a standing start kilo on a set course would be a good method to do so. It would also help me keep up my interest and provide motivation to beat my best time. Anyone have any insight on this and what times would be considered good?

A 1000m test would give you an indication of your anaerobic capacity. Handy if your goal was track racing in shorter distance events. Also useful when sharpening up for endurance events close to race day. But the majority of cycling is aerobic and if you have cycling related fitness goals a broader range of measure may be better.

TrainingPeaks software has a performance profile that shows your power to weight for 5sec, 60sec, 5min and 60min and can give you an overview of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. While power is the best metric you can still do things like time your self over a short course (60sec ish), 3.5km course (5min ish) and a 35km course (60min ish) for the 5sec power you could look at peak speed in a short effort.