A cycling log
- Thread starter One More Solo
- Start date
Quite a while since I've updated this thread, but I've still been training and probably harder than ever. I figured this is a good opportunity to post up what went well this year along with some goals for next year and think about how to work toward them.
Things that went well:
-Picking up points most weeks in the faster group at track league
-Winning my first ever race on the track (woop)
-Improving my 10 mile PB from 25:38 to 23:00 and winning the club handicap competition
-Doing my first ever 25 mile TT and improving my PB over the season from 1:06:xx to 1:00:03.
Goals for next year:
-Go sub-22 minutes on the local 10 mile course and have a crack at winning the club scratch competition
-As close to 20 minutes as possible on a fast 10 mile course (stretch target)
-Go under the hour for a 25 on the local course (58 mins stretch target)
-Ride a fast 25 course and see how I fare
-As a result of the above (hopefully) enter the national 10 and 25
-Enter the individual pursuit at track nationals and not come last
-Enter the national hill climb
Power goals:
-300w for a 10 mile TT
-Do >400w for 3 minutes (this would help me attain my goal times in hill climbs at the end of next year provided I don't put on loads of weight or face crazy headwinds)
Focus over the next couple of months will be lots of tempo riding at 80-90% of FTP (which is currently 275w) to build CTL and base fitness quickly. I'll introduce the TT bike back into the equation soon and do at least one session a week on that to ensure my training is specific (either a 2x20 on the turbo or tempo session outside if weather is good). On top of that I'll be riding track or doing some intervals at least once a week to keep the anaerobic element ticking over.
I'm currently building towards a CTL of 50 which seems sustainable given my current schedule. I'll maintain this and increase specificity over winter then build towards the start of the season. Given I will typically be racing shorter events, I don't see the need for a massive training load when focusing on intensity will be more beneficial once I have the base.
Things that went well:
-Picking up points most weeks in the faster group at track league
-Winning my first ever race on the track (woop)
-Improving my 10 mile PB from 25:38 to 23:00 and winning the club handicap competition
-Doing my first ever 25 mile TT and improving my PB over the season from 1:06:xx to 1:00:03.
Goals for next year:
-Go sub-22 minutes on the local 10 mile course and have a crack at winning the club scratch competition
-As close to 20 minutes as possible on a fast 10 mile course (stretch target)
-Go under the hour for a 25 on the local course (58 mins stretch target)
-Ride a fast 25 course and see how I fare
-As a result of the above (hopefully) enter the national 10 and 25
-Enter the individual pursuit at track nationals and not come last
-Enter the national hill climb
Power goals:
-300w for a 10 mile TT
-Do >400w for 3 minutes (this would help me attain my goal times in hill climbs at the end of next year provided I don't put on loads of weight or face crazy headwinds)
Focus over the next couple of months will be lots of tempo riding at 80-90% of FTP (which is currently 275w) to build CTL and base fitness quickly. I'll introduce the TT bike back into the equation soon and do at least one session a week on that to ensure my training is specific (either a 2x20 on the turbo or tempo session outside if weather is good). On top of that I'll be riding track or doing some intervals at least once a week to keep the anaerobic element ticking over.
I'm currently building towards a CTL of 50 which seems sustainable given my current schedule. I'll maintain this and increase specificity over winter then build towards the start of the season. Given I will typically be racing shorter events, I don't see the need for a massive training load when focusing on intensity will be more beneficial once I have the base.
One of the issues with training with power is that the power you can produce varies massively depending on what you're doing:
-Most riders find they produce less power on the turbo due to different muscle recruitment patterns and the different inertial load of a trainer (you have much less help through the dead spot of the pedal stroke).
-Most riders find they produce less power in aero positions, whether that's on the drops or on aerobars
-Most riders can produce more power riding uphill (http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/09/climbing-and-time-trialling-how-power-outputs-are-affected/)
As I'm primarily interested in time trialling next season, I'm going to do all my turbo rides on the TT bike in position. To facilitate better tracking of this, I've done an FTP test on the TT bike on the turbo to establish what my FTP is in this scenario. That will help me more accurately track the training load I'm building, as doing it based on my road bike FTP would make it artificially low.
TLDR: not all FTPs are equal
I did an FTP test on Saturday which established my FTP as 252w, and followed that up with 2x20mins at my new FTP last night which was hard but achievable. First interval was spot on, second interval was 2w under overall. This session isn't that fun but it's very specific to the demands of a 10 mile TT so I'll be doing it (or similar sessions) pretty regularly over the next few months.
I want to add in some harder intervals to improve my ability to put out more power on the TT bike but they will be more frequent after Christmas, no need to overdo it now.
-Most riders find they produce less power on the turbo due to different muscle recruitment patterns and the different inertial load of a trainer (you have much less help through the dead spot of the pedal stroke).
-Most riders find they produce less power in aero positions, whether that's on the drops or on aerobars
-Most riders can produce more power riding uphill (http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/09/climbing-and-time-trialling-how-power-outputs-are-affected/)
As I'm primarily interested in time trialling next season, I'm going to do all my turbo rides on the TT bike in position. To facilitate better tracking of this, I've done an FTP test on the TT bike on the turbo to establish what my FTP is in this scenario. That will help me more accurately track the training load I'm building, as doing it based on my road bike FTP would make it artificially low.
TLDR: not all FTPs are equal
I did an FTP test on Saturday which established my FTP as 252w, and followed that up with 2x20mins at my new FTP last night which was hard but achievable. First interval was spot on, second interval was 2w under overall. This session isn't that fun but it's very specific to the demands of a 10 mile TT so I'll be doing it (or similar sessions) pretty regularly over the next few months.
I want to add in some harder intervals to improve my ability to put out more power on the TT bike but they will be more frequent after Christmas, no need to overdo it now.