Week 4 of my Endurance Phase is the first week of my second mesocycle (click here for a detailed description of macrocyles, mesocycles and microcycles).  My two weekly endurance rides are slightly longer during this mesocycle (1.75 hours) and I continue to do two Power Burst workouts each week.  I was only able to ride outside once this week due to our cold Michigan weather.  Here are the actual workouts compared with the plan for the week of November 2 to November 8, 2009 (click here to download my plan for the Endurance Phase).  The scheduled workouts included Steady Spinning and Power Bursts.  I replaced Saturday’s Power Burst session with a Zone 3 Tempo workout outdoors.

Week of 11/2/09	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Goal	1.75 SS	1.00 PB	OFF	1.75 HCS	OFF	1.00 PB	OFF	5.5
Actual	1.75 SS:I	1.00 PB	OFF	1.75 SS:I	OFF	1.25 Tempo	OFF	5.75

 

Overall, I had another good week.  I was very strong for all four rides.  My aerobic endurance is getting better.  So is my muscular endurance since I can spin bigger gears now than I could a month ago.  I rode a hilly course in fairly big gears for Saturday’s Tempo ride.  I also performed two ‘off-the-bike’ strength training workouts.  This week’s schedule is the same only it has warmed up here so I should be able to get outside for a few workouts.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

NEXT POST – November 19, 2009

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase – Week 5

Greetings, I have a very quick tip for you today.  It is short, sweet and simple, and can go a long way toward helping you improve your cycling performance while avoiding overtraining.  It’s called the 10% rule and it simply states that you should never increase training volume (either distance or time) by more than 10% on a weekly, monthly or annual basis.  For example, if you are currently riding 70 miles a week and want to work your way up to 100, you should ride 77 miles the first week, 85 the second week, 93 the third week and 102 miles the fourth week.  Keep in mind that these are maximum amounts.  It would behoove many cyclists to reduce those amounts slightly and take five or six weeks to work up to 100 miles.  Likewise, if you ride 3,000 miles in 2009 and want to increase your volume in 2010, you should ride a maximum of 3,300 miles.  By following the 10% rule, you can ensure you improve your performance while decreasing the risk of excessive fatigue or injury due to overtraining.

NEXT POST – November 9, 2009

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase - Week 4

Week 3 of my Endurance Phase is a recovery week.  The week began with two hard workouts and finished with two easy recovery rides.  Fortunately, I was able to ride outdoors early in the week and once again, rode my Trek 7300 hybrid over terrain with lots of rolling hills.  The two recovery rides were performed indoors on my Trek Madone 5.2 and Lemond Rennes Time Trial bikes.  Here are the actual workouts compared with the plan for the week of October 26 to November 1, 2009 (click here to download my plan for the Endurance Phase).  The scheduled workouts included Steady Spinning, Power Bursts and Active Recovery.  I replaced the Power Burst session with a Hill Ride for Tuesday’s workout. 

Week of 10/26/09	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Goal	1.75 SS	1.0 PB	OFF	0.75 AR	OFF	0.75 AR	OFF	4.25
Actual	2.25 SS	1.25 HR	OFF	0.5 AR	OFF	0.75 AR	OFF	4.75

 

Overall, I had another good week.  I was very strong for the two hard rides.  Tuesday’s ride was on very hilly terrain.  I was not fully recovered by Thursday and had tired legs, but felt much better for Saturday’s ride on my time trial bike.  This week I begin my next mesocycle (click here for a detailed description of macrocycles, mesocycles and microcyles).  I’ll let you know how it goes!

NEXT POST – November 5, 2009

Cycling Performance Tip #2

Greetings, I am starting a new TIPS series designed to help you improve your cycling performance.  Whether you are a serious competitor with a desire to compete at a national level or a cycling enthusiast who just wants to hang on during local group rides, you will find some extremely useful tips over the next few months.  Keep in mind that not every tip will apply to every cyclist.  Some of these tips may include activities that you are already doing.  However, many of them will be new and will provide a significant boost to your training program.  

My first tip for you is “Follow the 75% Rule”, which states that during a given training week, at least 75% of your miles (or time) should be at or below 75% of your maximum heart rate.  In other words, at least three-fourths of your weekly training should take place in Zones 1 and 2 (click here for more information on the Training Zones).  That’s right, most of your cycling should consist of easy recovery and endurance building rides.  So how will you get faster?  That’s the other part of the 75% rule.  10% of your weekly mileage should be in Zone 5 (90 to 100% of maximum heart rate).   In other words, it should consist of really, really intense riding.  The other 15% will vary depending on your training phase and goals, but will often include some training in Zone 4.  This is what allows cyclists to modify their physiology.  A relatively small amount of very high intensity work combined with lots of endurance and recovery.  

This approach will help you avoid the biggest mistake made by serious cyclists.  I call it the Zone 3 Syndrome.  This happens to cyclists that spend too much time riding at a moderate intensity (i.e., Training Zone 3).  At this level, they are riding too hard to promote recovery and not hard enough to facilitate the physiological change needed for significant performance improvement.  I never ceased to be amazed at the number of cyclists who make this mistake.  You feel like you are working pretty hard (and you are – sort of), but you’re just not working hard enough to modify your physiology in ways that will make you faster.  For that, you need Zone 4 (80 to 90% of maximum heart rate) and Zone 5 workouts, and they require a significant amount of time for recovery.

NEXT POST – November 2, 2009

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase - Week 3

Greetings, I had another good training week.  What made it so good is that it finally warmed up here in Southeast Michigan and I was able to ride outside for two of my workouts (Tuesday and Thursday).   I performed my outdoor rides on my Trek 7300 hybrid (my slowest, least expensive and favorite bike) over terrain with lots of rolling hills.  The two indoor rides were performed on my Trek Madone 5.2.  Here are the actual workouts compared with the plan for the week of October 19-25, 2009 (click here to download my plan for the Endurance Phase).  You’ll notice the goal workouts are the same as last week (SS = Steady Spinning; PB = Power Bursts; HCS = High Cadence Spinning).  

Week of 10/19/09	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Goal	1.5 SS	1.0 PB	OFF	1.5 HCS	OFF	1.0 PB	OFF	5.0
Actual	1.5 SS:I	1.25 PB	OFF	2.0 SS	OFF	1.0 PB	OFF	5.75

 

I had very good workouts.  Once again, I felt strong for all four rides and had no problems completing the sessions.  In fact, I can already feel the results from my Power Burst workouts.  I am able to pedal larger gears more easily.  My cadence for the long indoor ride was consistently 90 to 100 RPM after warm-up (it was lower for the 2.0 hour outdoor ride).  For both Power Burst (PB) workouts, I completed 10 x 15 seconds PB with a gear combination of 53×13.   Once again, I completed two strength training workouts.  

This week (Week 3) is my first recovery week.  However, I perform my longest ride of this mesocycle (the 21-day training blocks in my Endurance phase) on Monday and another Power Burst workout on Tuesday.  The rest of the week consists of short Active Recovery rides.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

NEXT POST – October 29, 2009

Cycling Performance Tip #1

As promised, I will be keeping a weekly online training log so you can observe how effectively (or ineffectively) I maintain the periodized training program I developed for myself for the 2010 racing season (click here to download my plan for the Endurance Phase).  Here are the actual workouts compared with the weekly plan (week of October 12-18, 2009).  Please note that all four cycling sessions were performed with my road bike (a Trek Madone 5.2) on an indoor trainer because it is really cold here in Southeast Michigan! (SS = Steady Spinning; PB = Power Bursts; HCS = High Cadence Spinning):

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Plan	1.5 SS	1.0 PB	OFF	1.5 HCS	OFF	1.0 PB	OFF	5.0 Hours
Actual	1.5 SS	1.0 PB	OFF	1.5 HCS	OFF	1.0 PB	OFF	5.0 Hours

 

I had a very good first week.  I felt strong for all four rides and had no problems completing the workouts.  My cadence for the longer rides was consistently 90 to 100 RPM after warm-up.  For both Power Burst (PB) workouts, I completed 10 x 15 seconds PB with a gear combination of 53×13 (the 2nd biggest/hardest gear on the bike).   I also completed two strength training workouts with 8 to 10 exercises primarily focusing on my core (abdominal, side oblique and lower back muscles) and upper body.  This is particularly important for cyclists since a strong core is vital for long days in the saddle.  This week’s training schedule is identical in terms of workouts and time.  However, I will focus on increasing gearing while maintaining cadence in spots to ramp up the intensity.  I think this is necessary because my heart rate for Monday’s ride was Zone 1 and it was barely Zone 2 for Thursday’s ride.  I need to push a little harder.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

NEXT POST – October 26, 2009

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase - Week 2