The Healing Cycle

HEALING CYCLE RIDE LINKS

Training

To help you in preparing for The Healing Cycle Ride below is some information to guide you in your training and nutrition.

Written by Ian MacLean, www.imfit.ca

Generally speaking there are two goals for people who take on a century (100km) or Gran Fondo (160km) ride.

The first is just to finish, happy, smiling, taking pleasure in the simple completion of the journey. The second is to finish fast. Time is of the essence, average speed is monitored, and a time goal is the focus. These two goals require slightly different approaches to training, and we will focus on the former here, as it is generally the first-time century rider who needs the most guidance.

Training to Finish:

To finish your first century ride, the primary focus should be on simple volume. Building the body's tolerance to the time and distance you will be in the saddle is of utmost importance. Average speed takes a back seat for the first-time century participant. Over a period of weeks, you will want to be slowly, but steadily, adding time to your rides, gradually reaching a point where you can spend 4-5 hours in the saddle in relative comfort.
A basic 4 day/week training plan would go something like this.
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: Flat road spin, low heart rate, high cadence, for 1 hour
Wednesday: Ride through rolling terrain, small hills, moderate heart rate for 1 hour
Thursday: OFF
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Flat road spin, moderate heart rate, high cadence, for an hour and 15 minutes.
Sunday: Long Slow Distance Ride, through hilly terrain, low heart rate, spinning a high cadence over hills, for an hour and 30 minutes.

Each week, add 10-15% to the duration of each ride until you have reached a maximum time of roughly 4-5 hours for your long rides on Sunday.

It is important to ride over a variety of terrain; flat roads to allow the body to recover, rolling terrain to build power, and long hilly rides to simulate the conditions you will experience on the event route.

You will notice that there is no mention of specific heart rates. Heart rate training zones are very specific to each individual, so the only discussion we can have in this generic guide is ranges. Ideally, you should have a good idea of what your Anaerobic Threshold (AT) is, and base your training zones on that number. Low heart rate would be in the 65-75% of AT range. Moderate heart rate would be 75-85% of AT. High heart rate would be 85-95% of AT. Very high would be 95-105% of AT.

For those who don't know what Anaerobic Threshold is, essentially it is the point at which your body is no longer creating energy with the presence of oxygen. It is also the point at which levels of lactic acid are accumulating in your muscles at a faster rate than your body can clear them. In layman's terms, it's when you start to feel that "burn" in your muscles. Once you have reached your threshold, if you continue to maintain that level of exertion, you have a very finite amount of energy production left in your system. At some point, your body will shut down and will no longer be able to sustain the level of effort you are requesting of it. This is known as the "Bonk", or hitting the wall.

Training at percentages of your AT allows you to build up your ability to produce energy with the presence of oxygen, also known as aerobic exercise, and it will also help to increase the amount of time you can spend at or above your AT.

Determining where your Anaerobic Threshold occurs is best done in a lab through a full Breath Gas Analysis, but a field test can be done to find an estimate. For most cyclists, a 20km time trial done at maximal effort will do the trick. Your average heart rate over the 20km's will be a fairly good approximation of where your AT is.

A century ride is what is considered an endurance event, and endurance events should always be performed at an aerobic level. You don't want to flirt with your AT over a 100km ride, as each time you approach that point, you are running the risk of hitting the wall, and not finishing the event. Maximal aerobic fitness should be the training goal, and the simple plan above will help you to get there.

Adapting to a More Modest 50km or 25km Goal:

The same basic essentials apply, no matter what distance you are training for. A steady progression from week to week is necessary to avoid a plateau in fitness. A focus on proper rest and recovery to allow the body time to grow and rebuild is also a must.

The only difference from a 50km training plan and a 100km training plan is the amount of time you spend on the bike.

For the beginner, a starting point of 20-30 minutes for your first three to four rides is a good start. As with the 100km plan, add about 5-10% to your weekly mileage each week, until you are comfortable being in the saddle for about 2.5-3 hours. Most cyclists of an average fitness level should be able to complete 50km in roughly that time. The same importance should be placed on riding over a variety of terrain, rolling, hilly, flat, for the reasons laid out in the 100km plan.

For guidance as to heart rate training, refer to the appropriate section in the 100km training plan. The same basic premise applies, regardless of the distance you will be riding.