Cycle Training?

Question

Hi All,
In three months I am entering my first significant time trial event. My training at the moment is
a daily commute of 20miles a day and doing basic leg excercises in the gym three times a week.
I was hoping some of you yahooers may have some tips on gym/outdoor activities to help improve my fitness.
The time trial will be over 118 miles.

ok
a lot of you are questioning the length of the ride. It's simply a fact and I am asking only for your responses on ways to approach the training. The answers I have received are good but 118 miles is the distance and I want to do it in araound 6-7 hours.

Answer 1

A 118 mile time trial?? That seems really, really far for a time trial. You are definitely going to have to bump up your daily miles. A 20 mile commute is fine, but you need quality saddle time. The best way to compete in cycling is to train on the bike. The only time I am ever hit the gym is during "off season".

This plan helped me race my first 100+ miles race. I've adapted it a little to suit your 3 month goal, but you can adjust it accordingly.

Every Monday: Easy Pace
Tuesday: Brisk (your Time Trial pace)
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Hills / Intervals
Friday Easy Pace
Saturday: Long Distance
Sunday: Rest / Easy Recovery Ride (5-15 miles easy pace)

Week 1: 22 miles daily / 65 weekend ride
Week 2: 24 miles daily / 70 weekend ride
Week 3: 26 / 75
Week 4: 28 / 80
Week 5: 30/60
Week 6: 35/65
Week 7: 40/70
Week 8: 45/75
Week 9: 50/80
Week 10: 40/85
Week 11: 30/90
Week 12: 20 miles during the first half of the week, and only 10 the two days leading up to the race

If you flip Sat/Sun for your long distance ride, make sure you always have your Rest Day or your easy Recovery Ride on the day immediately following! Recovery is so, so important when training for endurance events.

Good luck!

Answer 2

For that kind of distance you need to get some miles in your legs there is no substitute, but as the other chap has already mentioned recovery is important too. Eddy Mercx never missed a single day on the bike (until the 1975 Tour when he was very ill) even on tour rest days.
You must cocentrate on cardio vascular stuff so do plenty of interval training and hills. My first 100 mile timetrial was ok but my shoulders and arms ached like mad for the last 15 miles or so. I did weight training 3 times a week over winter for the whole body and kept the reps high.This helped my upper body strength for the hills where you don't realise how much you use your arms too.

There is another area of preparation you should think about for long distance events such as 100 miles or 12 hour races.apart from the training logistics are important.Check your bike is in tip top condition and make sure you have the most comfortable clothing.What gearing will you use? Don't expect to be able to turn massive 10 mile TT gears for 6 hours - your legs will blow.Remember an event like this is as much in the mind as in the legs.You are bound to go through a bad patch but be prepared for this and wait till you get a second wind.Think about what you are going to eat.You will need a slow release of energy after the first hour or so.Make it something you like as at the time you may not have much of an appetite.Get someone to help you at the event.They can offer up food and give you timechecks and moral support.Also study the course.I know marshalls will be there but you need to know what to expect and when.

I am sure you will really enjoy it, never give up, good luck!

Answer 3

I would work on improving my distance once or twice a week. You need more that 20 miles. So go for 30, then 40, then 50, and so on till you get to about a 80 miles. That should give you a feeling of0 how it would be to do the 118 you aim for.

Other days work on intervals and some hills for power.
Do some gym work out for your abs, back, shoulders, and arms. You will need a firm upper body for such a long time trail. You do not want to bulk or get very heavy, for those are added pounds on the bicycle, but you will benefit from toning up.

As obvious, train your mind. A lot of distance trails are often as much a mind test as a physical one. Motivate yourself, set goals, be sure you are prepare, take a mile at a time, etc.
Plan your effort accordingly to the time trail terrain. (hills, wind, etc.).

Closing in on Big Day watch your nutrition. I am sure you know what to do; high quality carbohydrates, proteins, hydration. (Also have a eating plan for the journey itself).

Do not forget to get plenty of rest during training.

Enjoy!!!!

Answer 4

1. ditch the gym. spend those hours on the bike.
2. get the long miles in on the weekend - more for the "knowing what to expect" than for training effect, but you'll get some training too. Experiment with food and drink, different guys have dramatically different things that work for them.
3. During the week, do speed work. Yes, intervals. Big ring work. Racer stuff. 30 second max efforts with recover then repeat. 4 minute TT's. 15 minute tempo's. Learn to stay relaxed and focused while bleeding from your eyeballs.
4. spend lots of time in the drops or on your aero bars. get comfortable there so you can stay there for 6 hours.
5. learn to stretch on the bike while moving. rest stops chew up time rapidly... it's better to cruise slow for a few minutes.

Answer 5

You really need to be getting out on some long rides at the weekend, preferably building up to as many hours as you are expecting the time trial to be, keep it at a gentle pace to build up stamina (and your butt). You can use your commuting for a bit of faster workout but not every day. Also try add a bit on to your ride home twice a week. Good luck, it would be nice to know how you do.

Answer 6

yes the work you do in the gym is quite good but i'd advise u to give it up coming close to the event. the best program would be......each month:
1st week:hard training, 3-4 days a week
long intervals,race and time trial specific efforts.
2nd week: repeat above process but with more max speed sprints
3rd week: reduce all hours by 30 percent and do 1 speed specific session and 1 tt specific session.
4th week: rest week mostly training for recovery i.e below 50% of your max heart rate. then repeat the whole process for the next month and so forth.
p.s aim for your recovery week to be the week before the time trial. .............jack

Answer 7

Cycling at that level will require much more all round fitness. So, Cardio-vasculur work in the gym is a good idea. Jogging will help with your stamina, swimming will help develop unused muscles which you will benefit from and i'd recommend a bit of light weight training to build up your upper body strength a little too. It's certainly not good just to concentrate on improving power in your legs - it's your arms, shoulders and back which will need strengthening too .... a good instructor should be able to set up a programme for you at your gym.

Answer 8

What kind of time trial is 118 miles? I would use a regular bike instead of a TT bike for something that long.