Training ... the next level
Posted On Sunday, May 18, 2008 at at 7:22 AM by MTB ManMy training plan on the bike this year has pretty much followed the user's manual that came with my heart rate monitor. The plan included therein was put together by Sally Edwards of www.heartzones.com fame. This is a beginner's program and, consistent with my philosophy of "be less than you can be", I considered myself a beginner for the sake of this program (and I AM!) with the exception that I additionally am doing progressively longer rides on the weekends, increasing my mileage by 5 miles per week. Last weekend's ride was 50 miles.
At this point in Sally Edward's heart rate training program, I am in the intermediate segment and able to do 60 minutes in heart zone 3 (70-79%MHR). The next phase is the advanced and consists of a series of intervals as follows: 3 sets of 10 minutes in the "health" zone (50-69%MHR), 5 minutes in the "fitness" zone (70-79%) and 5 minutes in the "performance" zone (80-100%).
I am also looking ahead to doing more varied and focused workouts as described in Edward's and Reed's The Heart Rate Monitor Book For Outdoor and Indoor Cyclists.
Today's Ride
Not sure what to do about today's ride. The weather forecast calls for beautiful weather this AM then light rain and possible thunderstorms this afternoon. My options are, in order of preference, ride with my friend Charles on some ride of his choice or do a 55 mile ride on my usual route out the Mohawk-Hudson trail. I'm also concerned about the rear wheel on my Raleigh road bike. After my ride home from work last Friday, when wiping the bike down I noticed that the rear wheel had a little wobble and seemed to be rubbing the brake pad at a certain point in it's revolution. Of course I could just adjust the brake out a bit but I am worried about how bad the wheel is. I really don't want to spend money on a new wheel or truing and I'm not confident to tinker with it myself (I might make it worse) but with my half and 3/4 centuries coming up I certainly want the bike to be ridable. I'll take a look at it today after church. I'll at least want to adjust the brakes before riding. I have this problem with my Ross mountain bike too. I noticed the rear wheel wobble yesterday and it's even hitting the left chainstay! Oh the trials and tribulations of the cyclist!
I've only recently started training with my HR zones. What an eye-opener. I should have been doing it all along. Instead, I've been spending too much of my ride time in zones 3-5, burning myself up on every ride. And I wasn't seeing any increase in efficiency in my HR. Legs that could kill any climb, if only my heart could support them. Good luck with your training. It sounds like you're following a good plan.
Yeah, thanks. Plus the HRM tells me when to take it easy so I don't get hurt! ;-)