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 2015-02-16 9:00 AM |
 1660     , Kronobergs lan |  Subject: BikingHi BT. Quick background. Am on my 2nd season of training but I don't race much. Only once last year and planning on 2 races this year. Plus a 10k or 2 that I will use as training. The races I am doing are a modified sprint ( only 400m swim, the rest is spring distances). I am quite ok with my swimming and running times (ie I can't see much room for improvement, not this season anyway) but I feel that I could do much better on the bike. Doing the 20k in just under an hour seems painfully slow to me. It's the sport I feel I can improve the most ( my coach, before I stopped working with him) thought I should be able to do it in 50 or less. Question is, how? Intervals? Long rides? A combination of both? |
| 2015-02-16 9:34 AM in reply to: Guest |
| 467 , Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Biking If you can give us some info on your running times, like how fast for 5K I think we can give a better idea of how much you can improve your biking. |
| 2015-02-16 9:44 AM in reply to: #5093620 |
Member 622 Franklin, TN | Subject: RE: Biking There's lots of ways to get fast but just riding more is the most important...and not at a leisurely pace. Riding with folks faster than you helps. If you ride a regular loop try to beat your best time when you ride it again. Riding fast is not easy...there's a lot of effort involved even though you're sitting down.  |
| 2015-02-16 11:11 AM in reply to: MikeD1 |
| 1660 , Kronobergs lan | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by MikeD1 If you can give us some info on your running times, like how fast for 5K I think we can give a better idea of how much you can improve your biking. About 30 minutes for 5k |
| 2015-02-16 11:12 AM in reply to: JoelO |
| 1660 , Kronobergs lan | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by JoelO There's lots of ways to get fast but just riding more is the most important...and not at a leisurely pace. Riding with folks faster than you helps. If you ride a regular loop try to beat your best time when you ride it again. Riding fast is not easy...there's a lot of effort involved even though you're sitting down. Ok, so longer rides at a sustained pace? Thanks |
| 2015-02-16 11:42 AM in reply to: Guest |
Pro 6582 Melbourne FL Gold member | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by Rollergirl Hi BT. Quick background. Am on my 2nd season of training but I don't race much. Only once last year and planning on 2 races this year. Plus a 10k or 2 that I will use as training. The races I am doing are a modified sprint ( only 400m swim, the rest is spring distances). I am quite ok with my swimming and running times (ie I can't see much room for improvement, not this season anyway) but I feel that I could do much better on the bike. Doing the 20k in just under an hour seems painfully slow to me. It's the sport I feel I can improve the most ( my coach, before I stopped working with him) thought I should be able to do it in 50 or less. Question is, how? Intervals? Long rides? A combination of both? My biking really took off once I bought a bike trainer (Kurt Kinetic Fluid) and started using Virtual Power (VP) as my training metric. I shoot for 2-3 workouts per week for 50 to 90 minutes depending on the type of workout and also an outdoor ride whenever possible. Beginner Triathlete has a decent bike training program that is about 16 weeks long that progress you through 3 phases (workout types) and you are very likely to gain 10-20% in power. I went from doing ~20.5mph in 15 mile sprint races to ~23mph in 1 year doing the program twice. VP using software/online program (e.g. MaximumTrainer or TrainerRoad) requires a PC/iPad, ANT+/BT rear wheel speed pickup and ANT+/BT USB dongle. I also have the BT program setup in a spreadsheet for when I was using a non-ANT+ speedometer that was on my rear wheel, this enabled me to use speed on the speedo which the spreadsheet correlated for me. |
| 2015-02-16 11:58 AM in reply to: Rollergirl |
| 467 , Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by Rollergirl Originally posted by MikeD1 If you can give us some info on your running times, like how fast for 5K I think we can give a better idea of how much you can improve your biking. About 30 minutes for 5k I did my first tri in many years last June. The bike was just about 30K long and I did about 55 min, my 5K run was 29:34, not too much different than yours. It was 2 weeks before 60th B-day. So yes, I think you can go a lot faster on the bike. Lots of good advice already given, but I would say to mix it up. Don't try to go all out right away, but build up to stronger efforts. If 20K is the longest you'll be racing, I'd probably work up to about 30K long ride, mostly easy but throw some efforts in on any hills etc. I'd also come up with a ride of around 20K with maybe the first 5K pretty easy with a couple of 30 second efforts to warm up well. Then push it pretty hard for the middle 10K and then cool down over the last 5 K. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll improve as you learn to push it! Also, make sure the bike is setup properly for you, especially the seat height. |
| 2015-02-16 12:52 PM in reply to: Guest |
| Master 10208 Northern IL | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by Rollergirl Hi BT. Quick background. Am on my 2nd season of training but I don't race much. Only once last year and planning on 2 races this year. Plus a 10k or 2 that I will use as training. The races I am doing are a modified sprint ( only 400m swim, the rest is spring distances). I am quite ok with my swimming and running times (ie I can't see much room for improvement, not this season anyway) but I feel that I could do much better on the bike. Doing the 20k in just under an hour seems painfully slow to me. It's the sport I feel I can improve the most ( my coach, before I stopped working with him) thought I should be able to do it in 50 or less. Question is, how? Intervals? Long rides? A combination of both? For a period of time before the race, you'll want to really emphasize the bike training. Ride hard a couple times a week, every week in that period. Intervals are a good way to do that, and there are various types. Trainer Road was mentioned and has loads of interval workouts and a way to help quantify the effort. Riding more helps too. Whether you do it as longer rides or riding more often is not a big deal. Just so long as you are still able to do the hard workouts as such. I think somewhere in here mentioned trying to be more balanced in training amounts leading into the raced. |
| 2015-02-16 12:53 PM in reply to: MikeD1 |
| Regular 152 | Subject: RE: Biking Can I go even more basic? What are you riding and did you get fit for the bike? |
| 2015-02-16 12:59 PM in reply to: gbswan |
| Master 10208 Northern IL | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by gbswan Can I go even more basic? What are you riding and did you get fit for the bike? Even though the engine is the dominant factor it is good to think about this too. I sue wouldn't have the same expectations on the mountain bike as the tri bike. |
| 2015-02-16 1:23 PM in reply to: brigby1 |
| 1660 , Kronobergs lan | Subject: RE: Biking Thanks for all the replies. Originally posted by brigby1 Originally posted by gbswan Can I go even more basic? What are you riding and did you get fit for the bike? Even though the engine is the dominant factor it is good to think about this too. I sue wouldn't have the same expectations on the mountain bike as the tri bike. Good point! Well, It is true that I am not riding a tribike not even a racer. I ride a hybrid (which I think might too big for me.) And at the moment I ride it on icy roads. So when Spring comes and I get to ride on nice roads, with smooth tyres, it will be better. I still think there is room for improvement riding that bike though. Not prepared to invest in a proper bike until I am sure I want to do this for at least a few years. |
| 2015-04-12 3:52 AM in reply to: Rollergirl |
| 1660 , Kronobergs lan | Subject: RE: Biking I still have the same bike but yesterday I rode 20k in 48 minutes and a total of 34k in 90 minutes, which is 2,6k/ hour better than usual over 30k and even better over 20k (which is my distance) So I AM making progress! Very happy with that, although I don't know how it happened! So I have decided to keep my hybrid for this season and buy a second hand racer off a colleague when she is ready to sell it at the end of the season. I am going to "pimp my ride" though, to try and make the most of it. So what can I do you think? -slick tires ( I have slick) - clip pedals and shoes (I have cages) Will these 2 things make a difference you think? What else can I do? i will ask my bike shop of course, but I would like your opinion. |
| 2015-04-12 4:53 AM in reply to: Rollergirl |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: Biking Probably the best investment would be a trainer. Most of them can fit a hybrid, at least if you swap out for road tires. That will allow you to ride in any weather and do really hard workouts without having to worry about sliding around on ice, weather, traffic, etc. As others have said, if you want to spend more $ getting some kind of device that would give you virtual power would be even better as you can use that to structure workouts. Personally I don't--very limited choice and high prices here and can't be bothered with all this ant and dongle stuff as yet. I just use RPE (effort) and heart rate for trainer workouts. They usually end in me nearly falling off the bike so I trust they are hard enough! I'm still not a top-notch biker (I think I really lack any natural talent for it, beyond maybe a good cardio engine and the ability to ride in aero comfortably for a long time), but have improved steadily. At some point, you might want to buy speed (tri bike or road bike) but it doesn't need to be right away. |
| 2015-04-12 4:57 AM in reply to: Hot Runner |
| 87 | Subject: RE: Biking I bought a trainer in the middle of last year and would sit on it for, at the start, 30 minutes, now it's usually 45-60 minutes. I would just read a book or tablet, and just pedal. I believe this helped me, trainers teach you good pedalling technique (you can't stop, or it stops). Since I started up my training for the season just finished, I would mix intervals in. Started with stuff like, 5x3 mins hard, now it's more like 2 x 8 mins hard (TT simulation) followed by 3 minutes of 60RPM but big gear, then a rest. I would buy a trainer, and ride more! |
| 2015-04-12 5:19 AM in reply to: engima |
| 1660 , Kronobergs lan | Subject: RE: Biking Ummm, a trainer... Not sure is what I want right now. Spring is here, no ice on the roads, I'd rather train outside. Then in the Fall I will,be buying a road bike off my colleague. I would like to know what i can do to make the most of my actual bike now. (Then I will probably look into a trainer for the winter on my "new" road bike) |
| 2015-04-12 5:22 AM in reply to: 0 |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: Biking Ugh. I can't stand the trainer without a structured workout. Sometimes I do the first hour of a longer ride indoors at a moderate effort while watching a video (I sweat WAY too much to read on the trainer without destroying the book or device) but it really drags. What I find the trainer best for is really working my butt off for interval workouts of 45-90 minutes. In most cases, those workouts simply wouldn't be doable outside for safety reasons. For longer, less intense stuff, I really prefer to be outside, even in my less than thrilling training situation (basically, endless 4-mile loops of an export processing zone). Sorry--our posts overlapped. Must be daytime in Europe, too. As for your existing bike, slick tires and clip pedals will probably make it marginally faster. Beyond that, I'd wait until you got your road bike. At that point, if you can get a good fit with them, aerobars can make a big difference in speed, especially in windy conditions. Not sure I'd put them on a hybrid, though. Edited by Hot Runner 2015-04-12 5:26 AM |
| 2015-04-12 5:54 AM in reply to: Rollergirl |
| 87 | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by Rollergirl Ummm, a trainer... Not sure is what I want right now. Spring is here, no ice on the roads, I'd rather train outside. Then in the Fall I will,be buying a road bike off my colleague. I would like to know what i can do to make the most of my actual bike now. (Then I will probably look into a trainer for the winter on my "new" road bike) Oops, sorry then! I still use my trainer now at least once a week, usually twice, because it is very convenient and good 'bang for your buck' even though the weather is good! In the case of your hybrid, slick tyres, some clip in shoes and ride it plenty I think! |
| 2015-04-12 2:03 PM in reply to: Guest |
Veteran 740 The Woodlands, TX | Subject: RE: Biking Don't over think things. If you're struggling to make 20k in under an hour....just ride more. Ride hard sometimes, but get on your bike and ride! Think about riding in term of running. You should have a mix of effort levels. It's okay to have a "walking" level of effort on some rides, but your biggest speed gains will come from making sure most of your rides are done at a "jogging" level, with a few "sprints" thrown in when you can manage them. If you want to race fast, you have to ride fast (at least part of the time) in training. |
| 2015-04-13 12:04 AM in reply to: g_shotts |
Master 3888 Overland Park, KS | Subject: RE: Biking Originally posted by g_shotts Don't over think things. If you're struggling to make 20k in under an hour....just ride more. Ride hard sometimes, but get on your bike and ride! Think about riding in term of running. You should have a mix of effort levels. It's okay to have a "walking" level of effort on some rides, but your biggest speed gains will come from making sure most of your rides are done at a "jogging" level, with a few "sprints" thrown in when you can manage them. If you want to race fast, you have to ride fast (at least part of the time) in training. x2, just try to ride 3x/week. Don't be afraid to go hard. You can always "limp" home from a hard ride if you have to. After hard rides where your legs feel like toast, make sure and get some protein in you within 45 minutes to help you recover for the next day etc. Work your way up to at least 2x your race distance. If you can confidently go 40K at a good pace just think of what race day will feel like |
| 2015-04-13 12:10 AM in reply to: reecealan |
| 1660 , Kronobergs lan | Subject: RE: Biking Alright, more biking it is then! Thanks ! |
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