how long have you been riding?

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Link to my photography
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Ask lschmidt.

somebody told our group last week that you just have to go faster, easy . his example was on your 90 minute to 120 min ride you should just be fried from your effort and wanting to call your "mommy" to come get you because you got nothing left.

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ken
trying to act like a runner

Its my third year. Ive definitely improved just by the nature of finally being able to consistently train.

If you ride to the point of needing your mommy can you run safely and effectively the next day? I never know how much to blow it out on the bike or even the run in my training seeing as you still need your legs for other activities...

Eddy Mercyx once said it best when asked how to get better on the bike=- "ride lots."

So once again we find ourselves back at more is more!

As with swimming and running, "more is more" is only the beginning. How many of your 150 a week are at LT, AT or some other form of interval? Do you ever do hill workouts, one legged drills or fixed gear riding? In order to go faster, you need to train faster.

What is your expectation of how fast you feel you should be?

I was kinda joking- and certainly aint no expert- but to improve you gotta suffer, cant just go out and tool around at the same pace.
Gotta ride up and down hills, gotta do intervals, gotta feel the burn

What's the over/under on when Frank will reply with "Power Cranks"?

My bet is 9:30 AM Pacific.

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''The enemy isn't conservatism. The enemy isn't liberalism. The enemy is bulls**t.''

—Lars-Erik Nelson

As Ricky Bobby said- if you aint first your last!!!

How fast- I'd like to be up around 20 for half's one day...but its more like I feel stuck- I mean my first race ever (sprint) i averaged 14.5 for less than 20miles...so I've certainly progressed...but still- just want to break the rut i'm in...

Ya just need more time in the saddle to get there. Maybe enter some cat 5 time trials with the local roadies if there are any being held in your area.

Proper biking is about misery.
If you arent miserable then you are touring.

Three things helped me go from 16-17 mph in my first sprint (Sept. 2005) to 21.5 mph in my most recent HIM (Oct. 2006):

1. Ride more. There's no substitute for getting out there. Ride longer, ride more often, put in the miles.
2. Lose weight. When I started out my first season in 2005, I weighed 260 lbs. Even at 6' 4", that's pretty heavy. At the HIM last October, I was down to 195 lbs. That's 65 fewer pounds to carry up and down the hills. It really wasn't that hard to lose a good amount of weight from riding more and changing my diet just a bit. Less sugar, fewer calories, smaller meals 5-6 times a day instead of 3 huge meals. Drink LOTS of water daily to flush the system. I lost the first 45 lbs in only about four months.
3. Vary your workouts. Don't just always ride as hard as you can. There is definitely a benefit to riding hard, but mix in some easy aerobic rides, intervals, hill repeats, etc. Easy rides promote fat burning (see No. 2 above) and allow you to recover from hard exertion on previous days. Hill repeats help strengthen your legs. Intervals help you build up your cardiovascular engine. Mixing these in and incorporating them into your workout schedule will help you see greater gains than just hammering every time you ride.

Other things can help, too. Like others have said, one-leg drills, intervals, etc. are good workouts to incorporate into your workout. Another thing is to find a group ride that pushes your limits. Ride with them once a week to gauge your progress. I've been doing that with a local ride since I started training. Train through the winter. Make yourself get out and ride on cold days even when you don't want to; and/or do some spinning classes 2-3 times a week in the winter. Or, get some rollers and work on pedaling form. All of this will help. Just don't overdo it. If you need rest, skip a workout, go easy, or cut it short. Injury and illness will set you back, so be smart about training.

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''The enemy isn't conservatism. The enemy isn't liberalism. The enemy is bulls**t.''

—Lars-Erik Nelson

If you keep averaging 150 miles a week and do nothing else, I think you'll get there - that's a lot of mileage for an Oly. In reality, as described above, you could dramatically cut your mileage and make each workout specific (tempo ride, LT work, hills, long ride w/ tempo thrown in) and see results. Personally I've found weight training improves my cycling, but you'd want to start that in the off season.

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http://trigalwins.blogspot.com

...the only thing.

More is not more. Use a power meter and construct varied, periodised training. This year I have and seen massive improvements due to more accurate sessions and more carefully created recovery.

Indeed. Did I say it wasn't? Time trialing is about as miserable an exercise as there is.

Thanks everyone!!!

Mixing it up, more mileage, (not much more weight for me to lose or I'll waste away!), and more time in the saddle...check.

I don't ride more than 36 miles each week but I can average 22 for a sprint tri. I think the secret for me is that my two weekly rides of 16 and 20 miles are all out efforts for me and I try not to draft. Last night I averaged 22.5 on a 16-mile ride with my tri friend, Randy. Kicked his sorry ass. So, my advice is fast, shorter rides.

C'mon everyone, you know the *real* answer: spend more money on gear! Buy a $6000 bike, $2000 race wheels (the rear has to be a disc), and a $200 aero helmet. This will get you to maybe 19mph, BUT you'll be so afraid of being embarassed to ride slow with so much bling, you'll go train an extra hundred miles a week, and THAT will get you over 20.

I dont think that would work for a half ironman distance though- but i have pushed on shorter rides and break the 20 barrier- im more wondering about the 56 or 60 mile ride barrier.

Nugget, at 150 miles a week that's more than many triathletes training for half-irons log. I don't often tell people to reduce mileage, but you're riding a lot and it doesn't seem to be working for you. (Or maybe you just started riding that much recently and haven't yet seen the benefits). Knock the mileage down to 100 a week and keep your workouts structured. Maybe you just aren't recoverying sufficiently.

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http://trigalwins.blogspot.com

...the only thing.

I just got to 150 in the last month- i dont feel exhausted or anything but i'll try and structure my workouts more- now its really just going out and riding...

  I'm not saying to switch exclusively to fast, shorter rides, just mix a few in. It can't make you slower.
I'll send my tri training partner, Randy, over there to motivate you. I hate losing to that guy. You wouldn't like it either.