Advice Requested - Get Faster

[dohearne]

I know everyone is different and each of us have limits, but I would like to get advice and personal experiences from contributors to this forum. Please bear with me as I relate my background. I am soon to be 55 and "average" physically. I ran for many years with my best consistent 10K times in the 41-42 minute range on a average of 20-25 miles/week running. I have transitioned to biking in the past few years with close to 3000 miles last season (VT has a short season) and will probably finish this season at 4500 miles. I biked on a Bianchi touring bike last year and on a Legend ST this year. Using the TFCE as a comparison, my century time has improved by 1 mph this year to 17.2 mph. I can do a century averaging close to 90 rpm on cadence and 145-150 bpm, which I consider to be my sub-LT. This suggests that I do not have the ability to generate much power but aerobic capacity.

Now for my questions:
Does anyone have a similar profile who improved to close to a 20 mph century (which the Jerk says we all can do)?
What do(did) people do to improve?
How many seasons will it take to get to 20 mph?

My present thinking is to focus on weights this winter, especially squats and to focus on tempo intervals and high cadence (>100 rpm) intervals next year after I come back into biking shape.

[Bill Bove]

Don't over do it in the weight room, my old coach, Butch Martin used to ask "How strong do you have to be to hold onto a set of handelbars?" Charmicheal Training Systems is not very expensive, I'd look into doing something like that. Cross train, x-c ski, snowshoe, run, ride a mountain bike when you can and rollers when you can't. AND DON'T BE JAN!! Do multiple reps of pushing yourself away from the dinner table. When spring does come, do what Eddy says, ride lots. Ride before work, ride to work, ride after work, ride with a faster group to tax yourself, ride with a slower group to rest yourself, ride, ride, ride.

[dohearne]

AND DON'T BE JAN!! Do multiple reps of pushing yourself away from the dinner table.

Your point on weight is well taken. What I did not mention is most of my improvement since Spring 2003 I attribute to weight loss first and more miles second. Spring 2003 I was at 185 lbs.+ and today I am at 165 lbs. My lowest weight in the last 20 years was 157 lbs when I trained for and completed a marathon. I know that another 5-10 lbs weight loss will be helpful but I don't think it gets me where I want to be.

[JohnS]

You seem to be in great shape right now. Was your century a solo or were you in a paceline. I think the Jerk was veerrry optimistic about "anyone" being able to do a 20mph century.

[jerk]

training is less than useless unless it is approached in a systematic way. you can't just "ride lots" unless you are eddy which you (and the jerk) clearly are not. the secret is to train towards peaks and not to overtrain. interval work and vo2max training will enable you to achieve your goal within a season. mileage is often more about quality than quantity. you know who's book is excellent if you don't want to hire a coach? davis phinney's "training for cycling". his programs are simple and effective and not dated at all. dohearne...you can average 20mph for a century. make it a goal and systematically train for it.

[dohearne]

. Was your century a solo or were you in a paceline. century.

JohnS, I have a riding friend that did the latest century with me and we worked together a little, although I paced the majority of the time. We also occasionally joined in with 1 or 2 other riders, but no organized pace lines. As you note, I do feel like I'm in good shape. I just want to get stronger.

[Larry]

DH,

Please be very careful doing squats. Focus on correct technique, low weights with high reps if you go this route.
You can achieve alot by doing leg presses (seated) also.
Also, focus on muscle tone, and try not to bulk up.

Most of all. spend more time on a bike or spin classes, rather than weights.

[Tom]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a little hilly around Ludlow. If you rode the one that I see markers for when I go up to Hartland to see the family, I'm thinking that there's a few grades in there.

I think you can do it in a year or so. I just 'rode lots' (for me) and came real close to pulling it off this June. Of course, being in a nine person group where the other eight people were from the CBRC didn't hurt.

The people that say to get systematic are right. It's hard to rest correctly if you're not following a plan, and it's best to know what parts of your riding need to be improved more than others. You also need to have targets to hit in the training so you know on the day of the event that you can nail it.

If you don't do it already, review not only the quantity but the quality of what you eat. I am only in my early forties, but I am finding that I can't just eat anything and do well like I could in the old days. Pizza and Ballantine Ale used to be my training diet and I did pretty well with it. Sadly, no more.

[spiderman]

came when i bought a backpack for my boston terrier.
she loves to kayak with me and was always
more than a bit upset when we would leave her alone for rides.
so when i saw the backpack in the minneapolis airport
i knew i needed to get one and try it.
she loves it!
she literally climbs in the pack herself.
she weighs 16-20 pounds.
the first few rides with her really wore me out
but then it became very easy to ride with her.
now when i go on my own...
everything seems stronger, faster and easier...
...that and believing i have super spidey strength
go a long ways...
how's that for unconventional...?

[Andreu]

Do what Sr. Jerk suggests and avoid weights.
I know this is in the face of what alot of people subscribe to here but I have trained with two professional cyclists and several elite riders here in Europe and none of them systematically use weights - they ride to get fit and quality over quantity is the trick (A mistake I make year after year!).
When I say systematically I mean using weights as part of a year round programme.....the guys I know just don't do that...they may dip in and dip out of the weights room in winter like soom guys may go and ski during the winter months more to break the monotony and give them something to do while the weather is s***e.

Using weights may work for some professionals or track riders who need "fine tuning", but for most mortals who work, have kids etc the time is best spent on the bike (even the dreaded rollers). My twopenneth worth.

Another good book is Cyclists training bible (which does have a weights section which I ignore) but advocates peaks in the season which I try to do - miserably.
A

[Rob Mitchell]

I am also a recent convert from marathon running.
If you remember in marathons, the only way to get a better time was to do hill-running, or to run interval repeats. That raises your VO2 Max (which Lactic Acid threshold is a measure of).

What follows is a bunch of physiology mumbo-jumbo I wrote for some friends of mine -if it bores you, skip it with my apology.
VO2 Max is the sum of all of the aerobic machinery in your legs and cardiovascular system; including the caliber of arteries/capillaries/veins which supply and drain the muscular beds, the molecular magic inside the muscle cells and the heart pumpin' it all. In this case the "infrastructure" is as important as the muscles. The higher a VO2 Max, the faster and more powerful a muscle can repeatedly contract while still in aerobic respiration.

Weight lifting is typically a ANaerobic exercise. In anaerobic exercise all of that beautiful aerobic machinery (the Krebs cycle for you biochemistry nerds) is short circuited to yield a small fraction of energy per unit of fuel, but it is able to do it without oxygen. In other words it gives you a burst of power that is faster than your body's ability to supply oxygen. Instead of using oxygen as the final receptacle of an electron (making H2O) another molecule gets the electron which makes an acid (lactic acid). This molecular inefficiency is good for the shot-put, weight lifters, sprinters, etc, but not endurance athletes. It leaves you huffing & puffing in "oxygen debt" as your body attempts to get rid of the lactic acid byproduct of the molecular short cut (oxygen takes the electron off the lactate and makes water). Lactic acid build up in muscles also decreases muscle efficiency.

Weight lifting for the endurance athlete must therefore not focus on "bulk" of muscles, but on high reps, and on balancing the muscles around joints.

The VO2 max is raised when the body is repeatedly brought CLOSE to or just over the threshold and then recovers WHILE STILL UNDERGOING AEROBIC EXERCISE. In running this is done by alternating fast and slow intervals, or by running hills.

Sorry for this long-winded exposition. I would conclude by concurring with what the others have said. I know physiology, but most people on this site know more about bikes and biking than I. Any training which increases your VO2 Max will increase your average speed. Lots of riding, spinning, and cardiovascular workouts sound right as long as there are periods that come close to your VO2 Max.

[Climb01742]

a counter point to the no weightroom advocates: sport specific training (riding to ride, running to run) re-enforces existing muscle imbalances. strength training, done intelligently and with appropriate guidance, can help iron out imbalances. muscle imbalances lead to many, many injuries.

[Rob Mitchell]

Good point, Climb.

[dohearne]

I appreciate all the comments I have received so far. Let me be honest - I hate weights but every training book I have encourages lifting: Lance's book with Carmichael, Friels' book on "Biking Past 50", Burke's book on "Serious Cycling". I do not intend to over do it, but I do believe I need more power that will only come through a combination of weights and training to push bigger gears for longer periods of time (i.e. more power). The Jerk's advice on being more systematic and focused on quality miles seems right as I easily fall into worrying only about the number of miles for the week-month-year. I am surprised that no one has talked about form. When I look at speed calculators on the web the 2 variables with the most impact are power and riding in the drops. I have transitioned this year from 90% on the hoods to 50+% in the drops.

[Climb01742]

another thing you'll hate -- we all do -- is working on your core. all strength begins there. i probably hate core work more than you hate weights. but some things are inescapable. :crap:

[dohearne]

Last month I requested advice from "average" riders who aspired to a 20 mph average century. The Jerk replied with some advice and a postive statement of encouragement. I still doubted his belief that any rider can do a 20 mph century. But...I just did the Seagull Century in Salisbury, MD this last weekend at 19.4 mph. Now, admittedly this particular century is not very challenging, but I was taken by surprise how my summer of concentrated riding paid off. The goal now seems much more doable. Thanks for the encouragement Jerk.

[Kevin]

DH,

Nice job.

Kevin