Training In General:

Yesterday I waxed rhapsodic about the approach of Spring.  I couldn’t help it.  It’s been a tough Winter for everyone.  Since the beginning of October, I’m down about 150 hours of outside riding.  It shows.

We have a shiny new bicycle club.  One of the fun features on the club website http://www.southsidecycling.com/   is the “Milage Tracker.”  Folks are posting their weekly milage.  We have a bit of an informal pool going about when the club will pass an aggregate 50,000 miles logged.  Fun stuff.

There’s lots more going on in the club.  We need this organization.  So go check it out.  Log on.  Join.  Post your rides and mileages.  And for heaven’s sakes, please pay your dues.

Now to training.  One of the reasons I mentioned the club’s milage tracker is to speak to that from a training standpoint.

Cyclists and runners tend to get hung up on miles.  The problem is, your heart and lungs don’t know what a mile is.  Not all miles are equal.  For instance, rare though it is, imagine a nice day and a relatively flat ride with a good strong tail wind.  Ten miles under those conditions could be a half hour of fairly easy, low effort riding.  On the other hand, ten miles of approach and mountain climbing, on a gusty windy day, could be an hour and twenty minutes of serious effort.

“Thunder is good.  Thunder is impressive.  But it’s lightning that gets the work done.”  Mark Twain.  Similarly, miles are good and impressive, but it’s time and effort focused in specific training zones, that accomplish the fitness goals.

What is important, is not how far we ride, but rather the duration and the quality of effort.  Time, and adherence to specific training goals will result in far better rewards, than merely slavish accumulation of mileage.  And it can provide a lot more enjoyment too.

For specific instance:  At this time of year it is beginning to be possible to get outside for extended periods of time.  Sure it may be only once or twice a week, but it is possible.  On the other hand, we can’t predict when those times will occur, and the days are still short, with lots of inclement weather around.  How do we make the most of this?

Continue to do very focused, specific, indoor work.  This is where you do the interval training to build strength and endurance.  But when possible, go outside and do some long, slow riding.  This is the fabled “base building.”  It is a base work that yields the best increases in speed and power later on.

Remember, start where you are.  None of us are in the shape that we were last summer.  It’s necessary to build back to that.  It’s best done gradually.  So, just as inn prolonged climbs, sit back and enjoy the ride.