Training plans for Winter?

Eden

Bummer. I'd say treat it as an earned rest. Its good to take some real time off every once in a while and you may even come back with your legs at least feeling stronger. Its just a shame that you had to be forced to take the time off because of an injury. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Eden

So I've formulated my winter plan
if I can get outdoors during the week I probably will, but it rains a lot and gets dark here pretty early these days, so I'll most likely be inside.

M- moderate spinning on the indoor trainer 1 - 1.5 hrs
T- power intervals (goal to work up to being able to complete the DVD - power intervals + steady state - by the start of next season)
W - moderate/mild (depends on how I feel) spinning on the indoor trainer 45min - 1.5 hrs
Th-steady state intervals (goal to add power intervals to this day by beginning of next season)
F - Rest Day
Sa -group ride or base miles (60-80 miles) or x-country ski, or long trainer ride
Su -group ride or base miles (60-80 miles) or x-country ski, or long trainer ride

Any comments or suggestions for making this better would be more than welcome

wackydeirdre

Thanks Eden! It ended up not to be as bad as I had anticipated. I did spend 5 days in bed more or less but am up and around now. Probably more because I can't stand being in bed any longer than anything else. My back still hurts some and I'm stil walking a bit funny but really missed being on my bike. I decided to take a short, slow ride around the block a couple of times today as I hadn't noticed much improvement in a day or so to see if some exercise might help. It didn't help but didn't hurt either. I guess rest will be the only thing to cure it. I can't see how rest would make you stronger. Wouldn't it more likely cause your muscles to atrophy a bit? Thanks for your concern.

__________________
"Everyone we meet, everything we see, every hurdle that comes our way happens for a reason.
It's up to us to figure out what it is then what to do about it." - John Soules (Rest in peace dear friend "Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand")

wackydeirdre

Sounds like a plan. Sorry you are getting so much rain. We are having another warm spell here on Long Island I love the warm weather but we are supposed to get rain for a couple of days. Hope it doesn't get cold after that.

__________________
"Everyone we meet, everything we see, every hurdle that comes our way happens for a reason.
It's up to us to figure out what it is then what to do about it." - John Soules (Rest in peace dear friend "Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand")

Eden

It may sound counter intuitive but, rest is just as important as training. You can actually overtrain and end up slower/weaker the more you try. For some reason cyclists are particularly prone to overtraining so taking 1 or 2 weeks off from time to time isn't necessarily a bad thing for us.

a nice explanation http://www.cptips.com/ovrtrng.htm

wackydeirdre

Thank you for your very informative answer as usual. According to the article I may well have been over training. My back going out was probably my body's way of telling me to relax a bit. At least it wasn't too bad and I was on my feet in less than a week this time. I know the signs to look for now and will remain aware of them. My daughter had been telling me for about 2 weeks prior to my back going out that I was unusually irritable and wanted to know what was wrong with me. Excercise normally puts me in an excellent mood. I was just figuring it was the change in schedule from the kids going back to school. That may well have been a big part of it as I had not yet settled into a proper sleep schedule. I really couldn't believe it though, the first day my back was out and I was in bed for a full day I slept the entire day. I don't remember the last time I did that. Thanks again Eden!

__________________
"Everyone we meet, everything we see, every hurdle that comes our way happens for a reason.
It's up to us to figure out what it is then what to do about it." - John Soules (Rest in peace dear friend "Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand")

ptlwp

I am going to put a new union suit on under my clothes, (not for borrowing from spouses) get a microfiber get up at K-Mart and hope for the best.

__________________
"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke

TrekCyclerChic

Well we've been having some weirdly wamr weather for this late in the year, but at least I'm trying to take advantage of it running. I'm ashamed to say it's been a while since I've been on my bike.

But it's about time to pull out my trainer. I'm probably going to do a similar, but somewhat relaxed, training schedule as last year. Starting right after my winter break from school I started riding for 1-2 hours on my fluid trainer in my dorm 3-4 times a week. I try to go 20-30 mins on and 5-10 mins off then repeat. I also mix this with weight lifting and the stairmaster at the gym. By mid spring last year I was riding about 200 to 350 miles a week. My goal this year is to be averaging 175 miles a week by spring break. Maybe a little less since I want to gain miles running too.

__________________
Diana

http://playsinmud.blogspot.com

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO - What a Ride!

Eden

I've changed the plans a bit since I first posted. My big change was joining a team (yeah me! Team Group Health www.teamgrouphealth.com) and I've cut out the intervals for now - the team encourages mostly zone3, zone2 riding right now. I'm thinking that I'll probably start the intervals back up in February? since racing starts up in March. I still get in a lot of trainer riding in the evenings (.5 to 2 hours/ night 4 nights/week) and now I have group rides on the weekends.

I remember Rochester -I'm an RIT alumnus (1995) and I recall what the weather can be like out there - get outside while you still can . Actually, my husband and I developed a love of cross country skiing at Mendon Ponds, so we used to get out even in the winter, but it is kind of nice to be able to bike year round here even if it is kind of wet - we moved to Seattle after college.

wackydeirdre

Hi Eden,
Long time since we corresponded. I finally picked up a trainer. 1 up USA. I was about to get a Kurt Kinetic when someone on the forum recommended it to me. I checked it out and decided it would be my best option as all bikes will fit on it, it's not too bad changing from bike to bike and I can't afford a new trainer every couple years so I spent a little extra and got this one. It has a lifetime guarantee and they provided me with 2 additional cups so my 10 yr old boys can go on also. My girls also use it but so far they have been using it with my bike on it even though they don't have cleats. If they begin to show real interest I'll bring their bikes in and put them on. Myself, I've been riding every night between 1/2 and an hr. Somehow there arent enough hours in a day to get good rides in during winter. I play music and close my eyes to envision a nice trail I might like to ride to break up the boredom. Somehow though I just don't feel like I get as good a workout as I used to during summer. I switch the gears around to make it tougher then easier as I would on the road and never allow my cadance to fall below 85 but it's still not the same. One thing I find is I drink lots of additional water and perspire way more than I do outdoors on a hot/humid day in summer even though my basement is freezing and I'm wearing shorts. The trainer doesn't provide hills and, of course dodging cars, etc. I'm not a maniac on the road or anything it's just full of surprises, thats all. I need to get back to Pilates which I really dislike but they do tighten up my body more than simply cycling alone. Any tips you can provide for training will be greatly appreciated.
It must be really nice having a hubbie as into cycling as yourself! Somehow People don't really seem to get it unless they themselves cycle. My really good friends support me no matter what. Still, as much as they appear excited for me I don't get the impression they understand. Has this also been your experience? I've learned to just keep it to myself and ride.
Nice for you you were able to find a team to cycle with during winter. I don't want to risk another asthma attack but would definetly enjoy meeting with a group once a week simply to shoot the breeze and pick up some training tips, etc. I have been as yet unable to locate any in my area. I'll check into your team and see if they have a branch on Long Island. Take care Eden! Talk to you soon! ~Deirdre

__________________
"Everyone we meet, everything we see, every hurdle that comes our way happens for a reason.
It's up to us to figure out what it is then what to do about it." - John Soules (Rest in peace dear friend "Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand")

Eden

Hey! I was beginning to wonder what happened to you!
Yeah, trainer riding just isn't like riding on the road no matter how entertaining you try to make it. if you can put a fan yourself while you ride you'll feel better and you won't drip so much. It feels a bit chilly at first, but it really helps a lot. If you really feel you aren't getting a good work out you could try doing some intervals. There is a lot of debate around how to train at this time of the year - long steady relatively slow riding is the recommendation of most right now, but really in the end its a personal thing and some people just aren't motivated enough by long slow rides. It also depends on what you want to do next year. People racing have to worry about being too strong, too soon and burning out before the end of the season, but if you are riding for fitness that's not so much a concern.
Intervals work best if you have a heart rate monitor, but the basic premise is that you pick an amount of time and number of intervals that you want to do. (The DVD that I have has you do 3, 5 minute intervals with 5 min of rest in between each interval, but I know people have lots of combinations) For 5 minutes you ride as hard as you can and still maintain a fairly small heart rate range- for me I can hold onto 189-192 for 5min, but it has everything to do with your personal max heart rate, so those aren't numbers to shoot for! I'm sure you could do this without a heart rate monitor, you just wouldn't be able to be as methodical about it. Another web site I was just looking at said you can use "Perceived Exertion"- You should maintain a feeling of strength through the six intervals. They should get harder, but you should feel able to complete each one strongly.
Doing this will really kick your butt and make you stronger! It took me about 4 times with the DVD to actually make it through all 3 intervals (if you can't maintain your target heart rate the DVD says to stop and cool down).
I'd love to tell you we have branches of the team, but we're strictly local. The great thing is that women's racing is really gaining popularity out here. I am one of over 40 new members on the team this year with a total roster of over 90! Racing starts in March so I hope I'm ready!
Good to hear from you again!
Eden

ptlwp

We have had a ridiculous amount of warm weather here; 70 degrees in New Jersey at this time of year is unprecedented.....

What global warming?

What greenhouse effect?

What ozone layer?


Duh, for a president? Yes.

__________________
"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke

wackydeirdre

Hey Eden!
Thanks for your quick reply! It was really nice to hear from you again also!
Thanks for the advice about the fan, along with keeping perspiration to a minimum the breeze may hopefully make me feel at least a little more like I'm on the road. I have been riding in short intervals and have been trying to keep the breaks shorter, more like gliding. When I ride for longer intervals then actually come to a full stop to rest the fun goes from it completely and I don't want riding to ever be a chore. I'd end up giving up and getting fat again and don't even want to think in that direction. I'd like to get into racing myself but after my recouperating form two injuries which, ironically were non cycling related I lost about 1 1/2 month on the bike and am getting back into shape all over again. I just don't feel or look as good as I did during summer when I actually could see clear cut muscle definition. It's coming along but too slowly for me.
Sorry I havent been on the forum in such a while, I've been trying to get into a little bit of business (I won't say what, I'm the kind that doesnt say they have a fish on their line until it's on the beach or boat. I just say I'm going fishing.) Anyhow, I've been fairly busy plotting things with my business partner. Also, the winter doesn't even seem to provide enough time for a decent ride with helping the kids with homework, getting dinner ready early and all else I have to do, the days go by so quickly. I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner! How depressing. Sorry, I've never been a big fan of the jolly old man, he puts a serious dent in my purse and this year I'm really broke! Well, HO HO! and happy shopping Eden! Best wishes to your hubbie! Talk to you soon! ~ Deirdre

__________________
"Everyone we meet, everything we see, every hurdle that comes our way happens for a reason.
It's up to us to figure out what it is then what to do about it." - John Soules (Rest in peace dear friend "Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand")

Eden

I know what you mean about Christmas. I don't have any kids and I'm not religious so it really just seems like going through the motions these days. And stores push it so much and so soon (October! at some stores) that I'm just tired of it after too long.
When you do your intervals don't stop in the "rest" period between intervals-it really could be called a "slow down" period. Keep pedaling, but pedal easy, shift down and spin to keep your muscles moving, keep the lactic acid clearing out, but let your heart rate come down. I can see how stopping and starting could be discouraging. If I stopped cold after an interval my legs would feel like lead trying to start up again.