Weekly Increases in Mileage

[xiaochou]

Hey all,
Just wanted to hear from the great pool of experience here.....
I'm planning for my first real road ride (ever) at the end of May. I've been doing about 110 miles or so per week but I'm looking to step this up a notch....maybe 10% per week.
My question is this: Where do you recommend this "stepping up" take place: on a daily basis...on my weekend rides....a mixture?
Just curious. I'm planning on doing a weekly mountain ride with some hills b/c the ride in May will have about 5500 feet of climbing in its 50 miles or so. Once the weather straightens out this Spring I should be able to get some vertical mileage in... As for now, I'm averaging about 20 mph on my circuit here...I'm guessing I'd like to be up another 2-3 mph by May. ??
Anyway...and thoughts?

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Hey all,
Just wanted to hear from the great pool of experience here.....
I'm planning for my first real road ride (ever) at the end of May. I've been doing about 110 miles or so per week but I'm looking to step this up a notch....maybe 10% per week.
My question is this: Where do you recommend this "stepping up" take place: on a daily basis...on my weekend rides....a mixture?
Just curious. I'm planning on doing a weekly mountain ride with some hills b/c the ride in May will have about 5500 feet of climbing in its 50 miles or so. Once the weather straightens out this Spring I should be able to get some vertical mileage in... As for now, I'm averaging about 20 mph on my circuit here...I'm guessing I'd like to be up another 2-3 mph by May. ??
Anyway...and thoughts?

A 10% increase in mileage is the standard textbook rule. It will depend on your current fitness levels though. If you're in pretty good shape at present it may not be too steep of an increase. If youre averaging 20 MPH then you will more than likely be able to handle it.

Last year I increased my longest weekly ride by 10% up to a point but I didn't have the fitness level to maintain that percentage increase on a weekly basis. 10% of 2 hours is only a 12 minute increase, which didn't seem too bad. However, 10% of 3.5 hours is a 21 minute increase. That's when I had to adjust my schedule to be a little less ambitious. This year seems to be going a little better.

 

[BanditManDan]

For me the biggest factor is time. I increase my ride distance based on how much time I have to spend doing it. I would love to quit my job and cycle all week but since those pro teams arn't beating down my door to offer me a full time job I guess I'll stick to my regular job and schedule.

 

[xiaochou]

A 10% increase in mileage is the standard textbook rule. It will depend on your current fitness levels though. If you're in pretty good shape at present it may not be too steep of an increase. If youre averaging 20 MPH then you will more than likely be able to handle it.

Last year I increased my longest weekly ride by 10% up to a point but I didn't have the fitness level to maintain that percentage increase on a weekly basis. 10% of 2 hours is only a 12 minute increase, which didn't seem too bad. However, 10% of 3.5 hours is a 21 minute increase. That's when I had to adjust my schedule to be a little less ambitious. This year seems to be going a little better.

I did the same to my longest ride so far which is only about 32 miles. I tried increasing it by 11 miles or so, keeping my faster pace, and ended up hitting the proverbial wall. This, coupled with the fact that I did not eat properly the two days before, resulted in a near bonking incident. I've recuperated, but won't try it again for a few weeks and not without some fuel to get it done!!

 

[tanggoman]

...I would love to quit my job and cycle all week...

Same here!

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I did the same to my longest ride so far which is only about 32 miles. I tried increasing it by 11 miles or so, keeping my faster pace, and ended up hitting the proverbial wall. This, coupled with the fact that I did not eat properly the two days before, resulted in a near bonking incident. I've recuperated, but won't try it again for a few weeks and not without some fuel to get it done!!

32 miles to 43 miles is quite a jump. It is ~30% not 10%. Huge difference.

 

[shane74]

I would recommend increasing 10% per week. So if you did a 32 mile ride today, aim to do a 35 mile ride next week. However once you start to increase you Miles past a certain distance you will need to plan food for your ride.

Your body will store enough calories to ride for 1.5-3hrs (depending on fitness, diet, etc) Once you start riding over this length of time you will need to consider how you replenish these calories, this will using include sports drinks, energy bars, etc.

 

[xiaochou]

I knew the jump was a bit large, but decided to try it anyway and paid the price. I suppose my question is answered...my 10% should probably be on a daily level...not trying to squeeze it in over a weekend or one day.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[EvilGoodGuy]

Perhaps I am naive, I haven't been seriously cycling more than 3months (I think) but I don't see a problem jumping up like you planned. I went from no cycling (novice) to a long cycle of 75 - 85km. I ride around 250km per week. It might be my running background that permitted such a jump but I haven't seen any ill effects. I dropped my running mileage in half, and started at 200km per week for cycling. I'll hold that for now and build my running mileage back to normal. Then I plan to build cycling to 400km per week by June. I guess I am risking overtraining in the long run....hmm... But I've tracked my heart rate and it's normal (42ish).