There are a bunch of training plans, and a bunch of theories underlying each training plan. Rather than tell you which plan I think is best (because I don't know), I'll just tell you what I've been doing and my results thus far. I do not have a coach. I used to race pretty seriously in the 1970s, and at that time rode 300 miles/week with a strong group of fellow racers + a race basically every weekend from April to September. My training schedule was very succinct: keep up with my riding buddies because it wasn't much fun to ride back solo. My racing tactics were equally succinct: keep up with my training buddies because one of them was likely to win the race. After a long layoff (due to life), I got back on my bike on 3/20 this year. I rode 2 hrs x 7 days/wk for two months at ~75%MHR, which wasn't very fast. I didn't have a PM initially, but I estimate my power was ~120w. I bought a PT SL in May. After 2 months, I began doing intervals twice a week (Tues/Thurs) based on Andy Coggan's training zone schema http://www.peakscoachinggroup.com/PowerTrainingChapter.pdf. I use Andy's training schema because (1) I think he's really smart; (2) he's a legimate guru in exercise physiology; (3) he's a competitive cyclist; and (4) his schema is incorporated seamlessly in the CyclingPeaks software which I think is the best available for PM users. My week consists of 2-3 hr group rides on Sat/Sun at ~200w average pace with 5-10 min surges to 300w; 2-2.5 hr "recovery" rides on Mon/Wed/Fri at ~200w (although I think I may begin riding these at ~150w because that's more of a true recovery pace for me); L5/L6 intervals on Tues and L4 intervals on Thurs. The duration of the intervals is largely driven by how long I can hold the pace (2-5 min for L5/L6; 10-20 min for L4). The duration of the recoveries is driven by how quickly I think I can go again. The total number of intervals is driven by how much time I have available, after a 20-30 min warmup and a 15-20 minute cooldown. I'd estimate my 40K MP has gone from ~150w to ~275w, but it may be higher than 275w now (I haven't done a 40K TT yet). My weight has gone from 212 to 175 and my body fat % has gone from 28% to 19%. I don't plan to race again until next Spring, by which time I know I'll need to be ~5w/KG to be competitive. I may get a coach in a month or two, but I feel as though I need to at least get my 40K MP over 300w so I don't feel like a poser. You've got what you need with your PM and HR monitor. Have fun. Hope this was helpful.odb said:
