Short term Training Advice

p

Hey guys, first time poster round these parts!

Just wondering if anyone has any training advice for me. I'm doing a cycling trip in about 4 weeks (mizen head to malin head) and trying to get up to scratch as much as possible. I did a similarly big cycle last summer but haven't done much lately and left it a bit late to start training.

Last year I just went out and built up the miles cycling to Howth, Glendalough etc... without any specific regimen other than just slowly increasing the distances I cycled, so I assume a more structured approach may be better.

Here's my rough current plan:

• Generally get on the bike as much as possible, and do an 80-100k at least once a week, and one shorter run.
• Go to 1 or 2 spin classes in the gym.
• 1 or 2 other sessions in the gym including short cycles (2 x 20 mins) and light weight training to increase leg strength. (I found the hills to be killer on the trip last year)

Any advice or tips? I want to make the most of the little time I have.

Thanks

blorg

Personally I would skip the gym altogether and just work on the bike. If the hills killed you last time, start cycling up some of them now! How long will you take to cycle Mizen to Malin- what sort of daily distances are you talking about?

smithslist

if i was you, ill just go out on the bike, no gym at all, its seems to me that you are trying to cram alot in within a short space of time (4 wks), and its even less time because you have to rest well before your trip.

so just bike it, get the distances and hills into your legs.

p

Hey guys - thanks for the replies!

I guess the reasoning behind the gym is that a) I'm already going and b) If I figured that if I only have room for a 40 minute cycle it's better to go to the gym where I can do one with higher intensity and more resistance than I could if I went for a normal cycle. I live in the city centre, so it's probably 30 minutes till I'd get to some decent hills, and I don't always have time for a 4 hour cycle.

I guess I'll revise the plan to see if I can get more shorter sessions in the evenings. I live near Harold's Cross, anyone got any suggested routes from there that would get some good hills in? Usual routes I'd take are Howth, Glendalough or Maynooth, but would be nice to have a few more hilly runs.


The trip itself will take 6-7 days, averaging about 100-120k a day. Broadly speaking, the route will look something like this, bottom to top, but we'll be catch a bit more of Kerry I think.

Looking forward to it, and hopefully I can get my fitness up as good as possible in the short timeframe.

cantalach

If you are hitting the gym, and I can see the logic from a time point of view, don't overdo it on the weights. Some coaches would question the benefit of weight work at all for cyclists, arguing that cycling is primarily an aerobically bound sport and that excessive leg muscle mass just increases your 'fuel' requirements and weighs you down on the hills. Others would say that a small amount of specifically targeted weight work can help prevent injury. This latter group would also say however that weight work is better undertaken during the off season and not going into summer. Go back through the Form & Fitness archives on cyclingnews.com and you'll find lots written on the topic by people that know a heck of a lot more about it than I do.

A far more productive use of gym time in my opinion would be doing intervals on a stationary bike or a spin bike. Or instead of the gym, why not do a 1500m swim once a week. You can easily fit that into a one hour slot. Again, cross-training like this gets a mixed reaction from coaches. But one of the lads I cycle with has been doing a massive amount of swimming of late and reckons it has done wonders for his aerobic capacity. It really shows too, because he's been first man up every hill so far this year. Or maybe I just need to lose half a stone...

blorg

6-7 days with 100-120km a day is testing but perfectly manageable if you are in a good general state of fitness- hopefully you are cycling unloaded, with your gear in a support vehicle?

I did a lot of swimming last year and I did feel a benefit in the breathing. Obviously it's something you have to concentrate on and do rhythmically in swimming, and it helped up hills. The other thing it was very useful for, particularly over long cycles, was a massive reduction in arm fatigue.

But at this point I would focus on the cycling; with any given block of time you are likely to get more out of the bike than in the pool.

From Harold's Cross you can go straight out through Terenure, Rathfarnham and up Stocking Lane into the mountains. It's literally 15 minutes until the start of the climbing.

I'd try to make more time for cycling though, especially with the longer evenings; I'm somewhat sceptical of people who "don't have the time." I don't do it regularly but have done 100km+ after work and 75km _before_ work (makes for an early start mind and am I not generally an early riser ;-) Try to find the time over the next few weeks and it will repay you- I'd taper off and take it easy a week before the start though.

EDIT: Another thing I do is go for a 18-25km hilly ride almost every lunchtime- this works well for me as I work in Sandyford although it may be less practical if you are in the city centre (I only have a handful of traffic lights at the start and end of the loop.)

FrankGrimes

blorg wrote: »

EDIT: Another thing I do is go for a 18-25km hilly ride almost every lunchtime- this works well for me as I work in Sandyford although it may be less practical if you are in the city centre (I only have a handful of traffic lights at the start and end of the loop.)

Hey blorg - I work in Sandyford and would be interested to hear what route you take at lunchtime especially if it has some decent hills built in to make it a good workout.

blorg

Here's a selection- overwhelmingly most common I do the loop by Johnny Foxes. Last year I used do two loops around by Eniskerry - one taking the left just at the petrol station on the fork and back around by the Old Conna Golf Club, the second taking the Bray road out of Eniskerry and back across the N11 and through Bray. But these were both a bit on the long side for lunch and also pretty flat.

Johnny Foxes Loop, 17km, ~225m climbing


Eniskerry and back, 24km, ~155m climbing (very gentle)


Cruagh Road/viewpoint, 28.5km, ~350m climbing (takes in the "boards time trial challenge ;-) )

p

Thanks for the replies folks, I'll bear it all in mind. Think I'll try take some shorter trips out during the weekdays as much as possible.

The weights I were doing were fairly light, so won't have a huge impact, so I'll just cut down on them and focus on the cycling.

Think I'll stick with the spin classes since they're brilliant at getting up the heart rate and force me to push myself much harder than I would be able to just myself. Some of those runs up to Johnny Foxes etc.. look nice.

Regarding support vehicle. Sadly it'll just be us, panniered up, but that's half the fun of it


Thanks everyone!

blorg

p wrote: »

Think I'll stick with the spin classes since they're brilliant at getting up the heart rate and force me to push myself much harder than I would be able to just myself. Some of those runs up to Johnny Foxes etc.. look nice.

That is true, it can be difficult to push yourself on the flat- that's what hills are for! I can see the benefit of spin classes in this context though. Just bear in mind for what you are doing you are primarily looking for long-distance endurance which is going to be built up through more miles and slow and steady (the spinning will still be of great benefit, you just need the longer cycles too.)

Regarding support vehicle. Sadly it'll just be us, panniered up, but that's half the fun of it

TBH it's a long daily distance for a loaded tour- are you doing it "credit card" style, staying in B&Bs? I'd advise so- pack as light as possible and don't bring anything you absolutely don't need. I did Dublin-Cork last weekend (100km Thursday evening + 190km on the Friday) but also brought enough stuff for the rest of the long weekend down there; pannier was under 4 kg. The second day was very tough from around the 100-120km mark, I imagine 6-7 days loaded like that would be difficult even for someone with more experience than you have. Do you have an option to spread it out a bit more- is it an organised thing or just the two of you?

Retrovertigo

Blorg: Just out of curiousity, are any of those loops practical for someone with a bog standard mountain bike? Cycle frequently myself but strictly casual and looking for something to do in the evenings.

TinyExplosions

Retrovertigo wrote: »

Blorg: Just out of curiousity, are any of those loops practical for someone with a bog standard mountain bike? Cycle frequently myself but strictly casual and looking for something to do in the evenings.

You can do all of them on a bog std mountain bike -it may be a lil harder, but is doable for sure

p

Thanks for the replies.

The schedule is fixed at this stage. There's about 6 of us doing it and time off work's been booked. I'm not too worried about doing it, just trying to prepare as much as possible for it. I'll get there in the end either way. Last year cycled 800k across Spain over 9 days cycling with 15lb panniers, so I've learned my lesson about weight from that.

Sure, I'll give it a whirl and do the best I can. We're all amateurs anyways, so it's not a time trial.

Thanks!

blorg

Retrovertigo wrote: »

Blorg: Just out of curiousity, are any of those loops practical for someone with a bog standard mountain bike? Cycle frequently myself but strictly casual and looking for something to do in the evenings.

Yes, absolutely, I have done them myself on my bog standard Dawes Discovery hybrid when my road bike has been in for repair. If anything the climbs may even be a bit easier due to the lower gearing. You'd just take them a bit slower than on a road bike, that's all.

Retrovertigo

Cheers lads! Excellent news. Spent a few hours looking for something online when I should just have checked here first.