Training Log 3 Peaks Training schedule

[dusty_nz]

I am doing the 2013 3 peaks event over east. Nominal biking background with a number of 100km mtb races and the 5 Dams road event over the last 12 months.

40 years of age and currently spend 50% on the road and 50% on the dirt. 4 yo daughter and great partner I need to keep onside at the same time.

Previous training has involved playing versus the mechanics. This time I plan to see what can be done with serious effort.

I tend to be a strong rider, eg sprints with good lung capacity. Downsides are a larger that ideal build with a good weight around 90kg, around 16% fat.

The aim over the next 4 months is to get my weekly mileage up and get my riding weight down to 80kg. 2 laps of octopussy in 10 hours is the aim. http://app.strava.com/rides/17993471

Phase 1. Getting the body used to riding 6 times a week, Also get a cycle of intense and recovery rides going. Also to stop stravesting and getting so many KOM's and aim for long distance endurance versus the punch.

I completed riding 6 days last week. 5 days commutes and 3 training rides (11 rides total, 147km). All kept small until the body gets used to it. Also mixing MTB with road.

Hopefully this week comfortable breaking 200km and then start to embrace multiple 60+ km rides. Current fitness is good for 200+ km single ride events but not back to back. I am pretty sure I could finish it at the moment but nothing exciting about the time.

Also the backside of getting a good 3 peaks time is the following years MTB events should be a breeze.

Interested to hear what other people are doing. Any other Perth riders?

Feel free to follow me and how I improve.
http://app.strava.com/athletes/206016

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[dusty_nz]

Well. Progress so far.
2nd 6 day riding week in.

Very sore. Been aiming for 1 hours riding total for 6 days in a row. Either smaller rides or single bigger rides.

First noticable is legs are sore. Not recovering between rides.

However have been extending my self a little more than intended so have 3 more days this week. Two relaxing commutes and a MTB ride on Saturday.

 

[Cuthbert]

Hey Dusty,

Nice one for giving the 3 peaks a go. I'm also going to give it a crack and training proper starts next week.

I'm also planning to ride 6 days a week, but given I've never really done any fitness training not sure how the body will cope with that load. Will see how it goes.....

Main training regime will involve long ride on a Sunday, and will continually push the distance out until doing 200 km without suffering too much. Will also be doing an 80-100 km ride at high intensity mid week, a hill climbing session on a local road (repeats on a 1.2 km long hill, average grade about 7%), another hill simulation on a trainer and another 'recovery' type ride thrown in somewhere. Might take a month or so to get this load up though without too much cumulative fatigue.

Also aim to get out of Sydney for a riding weekend every month or so to test the form on longer, steeper slopes.

And another thing I need to do is practise descending................ it may seem weird coming from someone who's raced DH for 10 years but I find road bikes plain scary...

 

[dusty_nz]

Finished another week of 6 rides. Sore and have caught a cold from my daughter who brought it home but still managed the hours in the saddle.
Missed my MTB ride this morning due to feel crap but did an easy road ride this aft.

156km overall for this week. Might not seem like much and regularly push single rides of this distance but the everyday takes its toll. Body does not like the lack of recovery.

Noticed today that whilst I can still push a reasonable speed on the flats but on the hills my legs die really quick. Well under 1/2 of what I had a few weeks ago and I was picking up KOM's on some major Perth hill sprints.

MTBing will be were I get my hill climbing from. More drag than a road bike and generally more resistance riding.

I have managed to find some guys who head out for MTB nite rides on Tuesdays. Throw in a early morning 60km on Wed and another MTB ride on Sat will be the main part of my training. Aiming to hit regular 100+km MTB rides.

Basically the same routine as Cuthbert however secretly aiming for an under 10 hour jersey but do realize its a massive target.

Starting to hit the Muscle eze pretty hard as well as L-Glutamine for recovery. Diet is lots of salads. Not ramping the protein until later as have heaps of muscle and need to trim down a bit for the ride.

 

[quiggs]

Great to see you are having a good crack at it! If you find the legs aren't coping there is some things I recommend to my patients (I'm a myotherapist) STRETCHING you will be amazed about how much better this mythology that is stretching will help your body in both recovery times and on bike performance. Aim for at least 5-10mins after each ride. If that's not feasible try to do 3sessions per week of a solid 30-40mins, I personally find this easiest at night after my 2 1/2yo has gone to bed. The regular massage will also help, at least once a month.

Second thing to change or add is eat good foods once riding. E.g sustagen is a great source of carbs proteins and vitamins and minerals to aid with recovery.

It sometimes easy to get lost in the actual riding and forget about the little things post exercise that help with the actual riding.

Hope this helps
Quiggs

 

[dusty_nz]

Great to see you are having a good crack at it! If you find the legs aren't coping there is some things I recommend to my patients (I'm a myotherapist) STRETCHING you will be amazed about how much better this mythology that is stretching will help your body in both recovery times and on bike performance. Aim for at least 5-10mins after each ride. If that's not feasible try to do 3sessions per week of a solid 30-40mins, I personally find this easiest at night after my 2 1/2yo has gone to bed. The regular massage will also help, at least once a month.

Second thing to change or add is eat good foods once riding. E.g sustagen is a great source of carbs proteins and vitamins and minerals to aid with recovery.

It sometimes easy to get lost in the actual riding and forget about the little things post exercise that help with the actual riding.

Hope this helps
Quiggs

Thanks Quiggs, Do you have an example of some stretches?

Ended up having a few days recovery, Been at is for almost 3 weeks and the ramp up was a little steep, started to get the first signs of over training. Managed to pull in over 10 KOM's thou.
Signs included
Tired in the evenings
Waking early
Cravings for sugar in the aft
Constant sore muscles
Massive drop in power, endurance was okay. Eg I could still hold decent speeds on the flat but legs choked very quickly on hill sprints.
General fatigue and lethargy

I did read somewhere that a reasonable goal is a 10% increase in performance / capacity every 3 week??

Doing a road trip this weekend with some mates MTBing and playing on some DH tracks. Not a DHer so XC bikes but will be fun and great to challenge ourselves.

 

[dusty_nz]

Struggling to recover from training.

Hard work keeping awake after 8pm, Then waking at 4pm

Low energy on rides, Power is there thou.

Have swapped to riding bigger k's every second day and the alternate is a rest day.

Advice?

 

[mtb101]

Struggling to recover from training.

Hard work keeping awake after 8pm, Then waking at 4pm

Low energy on rides, Power is there thou.

Have swapped to riding bigger k's every second day and the alternate is a rest day.

Advice?

sounds like you're pushing through fatigue in your training, not good - go back to basics listen to your body, I would be either resting or simply riding in recovery mode 'until' your body is right again. it's better to be a bit under prepared than over prepared.

 

[wilddemon]

Struggling to recover from training.

Hard work keeping awake after 8pm, Then waking at 4pm

Low energy on rides, Power is there thou.

Have swapped to riding bigger k's every second day and the alternate is a rest day.

Advice?

Having seen your rides on Strava I think I can accurately answer this. Slow down. Your longest rides are only 60 odd kays and you are still logging PRs. Try to get into a sustainable rhythm. Just my 2c. Good luck.

 

[dusty_nz]

sounds like you're pushing through fatigue in your training, not good - go back to basics listen to your body, I would be either resting or simply riding in recovery mode 'until' your body is right again. it's better to be a bit under prepared than over prepared.

Still riding but letting people pass me and not fighting, Finding that hard. Also just sitting at the back of the pack and picking my own pace. Keeping my HR low on rides. Down to the 140's where normally I can push high 170's for over an hour and peak at over 195

Have booked a medical for monday and will get the following tests done

• Blood tests to check for anemia, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and possible infection
• Kidney function tests
• Liver function tests
• Thyroid function tests
• Urinalysis

At this stage I will rest next week with a few easy, slow short rides and one longer slow ride?
Following week I push push the K's.

Then on the 13th heading to NZ for a few weeks. Will take the bike and ride.

 

[dusty_nz]

Having seen your rides on Strava I think I can accurately answer this. Slow down. Your longest rides are only 60 odd kays and you are still logging PRs. Try to get into a sustainable rhythm. Just my 2c. Good luck.

Yeah, Generally very relaxed ride but there were a few segment rankings I had to clean up.

No problems on the power but the endurance needs a lot of effort

 

[pharmaboy]

Still riding but letting people pass me and not fighting, Finding that hard. Also just sitting at the back of the pack and picking my own pace. Keeping my HR low on rides. Down to the 140's where normally I can push high 170's for over an hour and peak at over 195

so well under FTP - are you monitoring your resting HR in the morning? usual training advice on the AIS factsheets is if your RHR is >10bpm higher on a day, then you need a rest day - the hard/easy regime is simple, but if you arent recovering from your hard day, then your easy day just lengthens recovery.

keep a log of your am waking HR - that pattern can tell you when to train and how to train - training while still reovering is a waste, and may also be retrograde

 

[dusty_nz]

so well under FTP - are you monitoring your resting HR in the morning? usual training advice on the AIS factsheets is if your RHR is >10bpm higher on a day, then you need a rest day - the hard/easy regime is simple, but if you arent recovering from your hard day, then your easy day just lengthens recovery.

keep a log of your am waking HR - that pattern can tell you when to train and how to train - training while still reovering is a waste, and may also be retrograde

Assume take HR whilst still in bed.

Eg

1. Open eyes
2. Roll over
3. Fart
4. Take HR

Current HR is 53 whilst sitting here at the computer. lunch time.

 

[pharmaboy]

yes after waking and before strenuous exercise in the morning

keep a log, you should notice different RHR depending on how long since you stressed the heart - after 2 days of no training, and no significant alcohol the night before, you should get a good idea of your RHR.

Its the difference between that rested RHR and one when you have trained the day before that counts- as they say, you dont get fitness during training - its the rest that creates the fitness.

Having said all that - if you are working way down in endurance mode cardiovascular wise, the i would guess that overtraining that you are concerned with is muscle related and not cardiovascular - soreness is different. The AIS is about the best site around for this kind of stuff

unless your resting is 40, then 53 mid afternoon doesnt imply overtraining - but if you keep track , you may find it correlates nicely with your bad days - which will give you info for days not to train on.

edit no 2 - on your recovery days, it may be wise not to record using strava - it is very hard to take it easy at times even though your training plan says to

 

[dusty_nz]

yes after waking and before strenuous exercise in the morning

keep a log, you should notice different RHR depending on how long since you stressed the heart - after 2 days of no training, and no significant alcohol the night before, you should get a good idea of your RHR.

Its the difference between that rested RHR and one when you have trained the day before that counts- as they say, you dont get fitness during training - its the rest that creates the fitness.

Having said all that - if you are working way down in endurance mode cardiovascular wise, the i would guess that overtraining that you are concerned with is muscle related and not cardiovascular - soreness is different. The AIS is about the best site around for this kind of stuff

unless your resting is 40, then 53 mid afternoon doesnt imply overtraining - but if you keep track , you may find it correlates nicely with your bad days - which will give you info for days not to train on.

edit no 2 - on your recovery days, it may be wise not to record using strava - it is very hard to take it easy at times even though your training plan says to

Yeah. Working hard on no 2.

As far as fatigue goes, Exhausted at work and home. Bed by 8pm. Sugar and coffee at work (Not normal). Poor sleep, Pass out for 4 hours then waking at 2am and fitfull till 5 when I give up and get out of bed. Also mental concentration is shot in the evenings.

Stopped drinking alcohol a while ago. Occasional 1/2 glass but thats it.
Well balanced diet, minimal processed foods or fast food. Lots of salads etc. Hot beef salads etc. Also believe in fats, carbs etc in balance.

Resting heart rate I regulaly see 40-47.

 

[dusty_nz]

Just on the side.

Have engaged Chris Beeck for a bike fit and training/coashing advice.

 

[pharmaboy]

Yeah. Working hard on no 2.

As far as fatigue goes, Exhausted at work and home. Bed by 8pm. Sugar and coffee at work (Not normal). Poor sleep, Pass out for 4 hours then waking at 2am and fitfull till 5 when I give up and get out of bed. Also mental concentration is shot in the evenings.

Stopped drinking alcohol a while ago. Occasional 1/2 glass but thats it.
Well balanced diet, minimal processed foods or fast food. Lots of salads etc. Hot beef salads etc. Also believe in fats, carbs etc in balance.

Resting heart rate I regulaly see 40-47.

Coffee could be a problem for your sleep, so is going to bed at 8pm - your body clock is expecting sleep after a period of low light - but caffeine needs to be restricted to 300mg a day tops, also depends if you are fast or slow metabolizer of caffeine. from what you write, 4 cups of instant coffee stopping at around 2pm for a fast metabolizer causes early evening tiredness, and going to sleep too early - so wakeup middle of night.

Search out sleep hygiene and read plenty - you'll figure out if thats the problem or not.

But truly, you write overtraining, but i read poor sleep patterns as the cause - i am not however a professional - investigate it yourself, you are doing everything well, but sleeping like shit.

 

[wilddemon]

Yeah. Working hard on no 2....

That could also be a problem

 

[dusty_nz]

Good motivator.

Have 763 km to do before the end of the year to make 5000km

 

[Brownster]

I found when I upped my rides from 150km to 300km weeks it hurt. The early suggestion of slowing down and getting some good base training in is what you need.
After a month of more km the body became use to it and now its just the norm. Make sure you are getting in plenty of hills as well.

Goodluck with the ride. A few of my riding buddies have registered for this next year. Im looking a 2014 as MTB'ing in Rotorua for a week the week before.