M
Morgan Fletcher
Guest
I am 34. I used to race road, mountain and track ten years ago. I was a strong local rider. Raced
cat 3 on the road and track, raced expert on my mountain bike. Probably would have done better on
the track as I'm built for it and good at time trials and sprints, but I only raced track my last
season. Had almost enough points for cat 2 on the road when I had a bad break, (femur) lost
motivation and stopped racing. Raced four seasons. I'm 6'2", have "heavy bones". Weighed 179lbs at
my lightest after doing five weeks of 450-mile weeks, usually raced at 185lbs. Won Patterson Pass
Road Race as a cat 4 (broke away on the climb) so I can climb OK for a big guy when fit.
I haven't raced in ten years, and I've been off the bike for the most part for six years, been busy
being a father in that time frame.
Now I'm riding again. I was 275lbs last summer, I'm 240lbs now, been riding for six months. For the
last two or three months I've been doing one big "fat burner" ride of five-plus hours Sundays, and
using my commute to get three 38-mile round trips (about three hours total riding time over hilly
terrain) during the week. Sometimes I extend one of my commutes to 50-60 miles mid-week. I'm also
trying to get in a shorter Saturday ride, but that's my wife's day to ride. By fat-burner I mean
long, steady distance. I don't wear a heart rate monitor, but it's a decent tempo that my faster
friends are comfortable with, a mix of big and small-chainring work over hilly terrain. Lately the
rides have been in the 80-100 mile range. I use powerbars, cytomax and lots of hydration to get as
many miles in as possible. I am feeling good after my rides and I still see progress in terms of
speed, recovery and endurance each week. I don't feel overtrained, but the weight is coming off
slowly. My weight has held steady at around 245lbs for a while, I guess while I was gaining muscle
and losing fat. Now it's started to drop again.
I'm trying to leave each meal a little hungry, cut out fats and eat more vegetables and less red
meat, drinking a lot more water too. Modifying my diet has been much harder than getting the miles.
I don't do any gym work, just ride.
I did my first race in ten years this past weekend, a team (2) time trial on an out-and-back course,
with a friend who's stronger than me as a partner. Did OK, but not great. (caught our minute men and
their minute men, didn't get caught but managed just mid-field in the masters 70+ category) I could
tell from that one race just how out of shape I still am. All my riding has been fairly
low-intensity lately. This time trial was the first high-intensity riding I've done since I got back
on the bike.
I know that if I could get another 30-40lbs off I'd feel ready to do some masters racing. My goal is
just to get fit enough to do local training rides, enjoy hammering on the bike, hurt my friends and
be competitive in road races at some level.
Read some racing training books (Matheny, Doughty, Boryzewicz, etc.) a long time ago, know some of
the basics of training already. Don't belong to a club or a team, just do local rides and ride with
friends. I am guessing that it might take all summer to lose the weight and get near fit. My wife
and I both work and we have two little kids, so riding time has to fit into our schedules.
Sorry for the long post. Do you have training advice for me?
Morgan
cat 3 on the road and track, raced expert on my mountain bike. Probably would have done better on
the track as I'm built for it and good at time trials and sprints, but I only raced track my last
season. Had almost enough points for cat 2 on the road when I had a bad break, (femur) lost
motivation and stopped racing. Raced four seasons. I'm 6'2", have "heavy bones". Weighed 179lbs at
my lightest after doing five weeks of 450-mile weeks, usually raced at 185lbs. Won Patterson Pass
Road Race as a cat 4 (broke away on the climb) so I can climb OK for a big guy when fit.
I haven't raced in ten years, and I've been off the bike for the most part for six years, been busy
being a father in that time frame.
Now I'm riding again. I was 275lbs last summer, I'm 240lbs now, been riding for six months. For the
last two or three months I've been doing one big "fat burner" ride of five-plus hours Sundays, and
using my commute to get three 38-mile round trips (about three hours total riding time over hilly
terrain) during the week. Sometimes I extend one of my commutes to 50-60 miles mid-week. I'm also
trying to get in a shorter Saturday ride, but that's my wife's day to ride. By fat-burner I mean
long, steady distance. I don't wear a heart rate monitor, but it's a decent tempo that my faster
friends are comfortable with, a mix of big and small-chainring work over hilly terrain. Lately the
rides have been in the 80-100 mile range. I use powerbars, cytomax and lots of hydration to get as
many miles in as possible. I am feeling good after my rides and I still see progress in terms of
speed, recovery and endurance each week. I don't feel overtrained, but the weight is coming off
slowly. My weight has held steady at around 245lbs for a while, I guess while I was gaining muscle
and losing fat. Now it's started to drop again.
I'm trying to leave each meal a little hungry, cut out fats and eat more vegetables and less red
meat, drinking a lot more water too. Modifying my diet has been much harder than getting the miles.
I don't do any gym work, just ride.
I did my first race in ten years this past weekend, a team (2) time trial on an out-and-back course,
with a friend who's stronger than me as a partner. Did OK, but not great. (caught our minute men and
their minute men, didn't get caught but managed just mid-field in the masters 70+ category) I could
tell from that one race just how out of shape I still am. All my riding has been fairly
low-intensity lately. This time trial was the first high-intensity riding I've done since I got back
on the bike.
I know that if I could get another 30-40lbs off I'd feel ready to do some masters racing. My goal is
just to get fit enough to do local training rides, enjoy hammering on the bike, hurt my friends and
be competitive in road races at some level.
Read some racing training books (Matheny, Doughty, Boryzewicz, etc.) a long time ago, know some of
the basics of training already. Don't belong to a club or a team, just do local rides and ride with
friends. I am guessing that it might take all summer to lose the weight and get near fit. My wife
and I both work and we have two little kids, so riding time has to fit into our schedules.
Sorry for the long post. Do you have training advice for me?
Morgan