[road]

Wondering if there’s anyone else out there like me who like to train hard but never actually compete against anyone other than themselves?

When I say compete, I mean I might try and beat my previous best on a hill in strava or go longer than I’ve gone before.

I’ve never really followed a structured training plan until recently which has opened my eyes as it includes easy weeks, highlighting the fact that I probably go too hard too often, which explains why I ended up with patellar tendinitis, which is largely sorted now after a few months of physio.

Do you structure your riding or just do whatever you feel like at the time or…?

Topic

[Anonymous]

Good shout about time

Good shout about time trialling, also hill climbing in winter looks fun.

Didn’t mention in original post but recently bought a power meter after thinking why would I need one for years, it has highlighted exactly what you mention about my ‘normal’ pace being not slow/hard enough.

[PRSboy]

Its great when you can feel

Its great when you can feel the improvements… good idea on the ‘cloverleaf’ loops, in the current climate.  I have a similar one, involving 4 possible ascents of the same hill, but all very different in character.

[kil0ran]

I’ve been switching between

I’ve been switching between longer flat rides and shorter hilly ones. I have four 10 – 20 mile routes on rotation and if I’m feeling good I can combine two routes for a longer ride, or all 4 for a cloverleaf. Helps with the desire to keep close to home in the current restrictions and lets me bail if I need to. Riding at least 5 times a week at the moment and noticing improvements on each ride, I’m getting back to how I was 3 years ago.

[PRSboy]

Absolutely.  I love to give

Absolutely.  I love to give myself a good workout on the bike, for two reasons; I love the buzz of travelling quickly on the bike, and I can cover more ground in a given time.  It is important though to build in some easier rides, as I know from experience the body does tire of being worked hard, to the point that rides stop being enjoyable.  I’ve been lucky enough to have not picked up any strain-related injuries from cycling.

I would also say that one needs to be wary about spending too much time at a rate that is not hard enough to get effective improvement, but too hard to recover.  Better to do some short sessions at high intensity/intervals, but others at a gentler endurance pace.  Overall, this seemed to give me better results.

I can recommend time trialling as being a good step into competition, when conditions allow.  You don’t need a fancy TT rig, there is a lot to be said for just getting on with it on a road bike, as I always have.  I will always remember my first 40kmh 10 mile, couldn’t get close to that now! 

[Richard_pics]

Just cycle to enjoy it. If

Just cycle to enjoy it. If you’re not enjoying it, dont do it! Simples.

[Bigmarlow]

Me!!

Me!!

i tend to find I push myself to hard 90% of the time and never really go out on a steady ride. Not until recently after buying a garmin 530 and after rides it was telling me I was over doing it! Plus my heart rate was always high. 
 

Now I mix my rides up, some steady long rides and then some rides where I will push hard and aim for a higher average speed over an hour or a certain mileage. Normally around 20-30 miles 

[Author]

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