Hey everyone, I would like a little advice if someone wouldn't mind. I am signed up for IMKY in October and I'm officially starting to get worried about my speed on the bike. My last IM was about 10 years ago and I had a fairly decent bike split for me (5:24:38), and before that my splits have been in the 5:40-5:45 range, depending on the terrain. Since that time I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail a couple of years ago and I lost a lot of weight and I assume quite a bit of muscle mass. The weight is back up, but not the muscle apparently. I have been riding quite a bit since then (about 75-100 miles/week) and specific IM training for the past couple of months, but I'm having a heck of a time getting my speed back up. I'm only averaging about 17.5-18.0 mph for my long rides and I'm starting to get worried. The endurance is there, but not the speed. I've been trying to be patient and trust the training (I'm doing one of Matt Fitzgerald's training programs I got on-line) but I'm nowhere near where I think I should be right now. I'm not the biggest gear-head as far as watt meters and stuff, but I did a ftp test on a Peloton bike and I'm only holding 180 watts (I'm 142 pounds). Any advice on the type of training I should be doing over the next 3.5 months to help get my speed back? Thanks and sorry about the long question!
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Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [Gville]
[ In reply to ]
Pretty hard to get much faster on 75 miles per week, probably get some good results if you went to 200+. It is an ironman ride after all. And if you are comfortable with riding with others, do so, and do it often, and ride in the hills or mountains once a week at least...
Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [Gville]
[ In reply to ]
Out of curiosity, was your training back then the same as it is now? And was it “starting back up again from scratch” as it sounds from this post
I train 120-150/ week ... but in 5-6 rides. If I’m not riding 4+ / week I’m not getting stronger
What’s your training look like?
I train 120-150/ week ... but in 5-6 rides. If I’m not riding 4+ / week I’m not getting stronger
What’s your training look like?
Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [Gville]
[ In reply to ]
As the others have implied, my first thought when I read your post was "75-100 miles a week is not quite a lot, it's virtually nothing."
Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [rmt]
[ In reply to ]
Yep. For IM if you want a 5:30 split about 150 miles per week are adequate. 2x25 miles FTP work. And a 100 miler on the weekend.
Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [Dilbert]
[ In reply to ]
"...do it often, and ride in the hills or mountains once a week at least..." "For IM if you want a 5:30 split about 150 miles per week are adequate. 2x25 miles FTP work. And a 100 miler on the weekend."
"I train 120-150/ week ... but in 5-6 rides. If I’m not riding 4+ / week I’m not getting stronger"
Sounds like my marching orders are crystal clear - ride a lot more! Thanks gents - that's the plan! I'll let you know how it goes!
"I train 120-150/ week ... but in 5-6 rides. If I’m not riding 4+ / week I’m not getting stronger"
Sounds like my marching orders are crystal clear - ride a lot more! Thanks gents - that's the plan! I'll let you know how it goes!
Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [Gville]
[ In reply to ]
Before my 2001 A.T. thruhike, I was mountainbiking quite a bit, but was overweight. I lost 40+ pounds during my hike, and was of course "super fit" when I finished. So it was a huge shock to me that my first mountainbike ride after I got back was *terrible*. I could throw on a backpack and hike up and down mountains all day, but was totally gassed on mountainbike trails that were easy to me 7 months previously, when I was heavier.
Turns out that fitness is kindda specific. Who knew? The good news is that my mtb fitness came back. My A.T. hike did give me a nice aerobic base, and I was lean.
As others have said: 75-100 miles per week isn't much by cycling standards. How much were you riding when you did a 5:24 IM bike leg? If you were doing that on less than 75-100 miles per week, I'm very impressed!
-Mark Rebuck, http://www.markrebuck.com/
Turns out that fitness is kindda specific. Who knew? The good news is that my mtb fitness came back. My A.T. hike did give me a nice aerobic base, and I was lean.
As others have said: 75-100 miles per week isn't much by cycling standards. How much were you riding when you did a 5:24 IM bike leg? If you were doing that on less than 75-100 miles per week, I'm very impressed!
-Mark Rebuck, http://www.markrebuck.com/
Re: Lost Power After Hiking the AT [MarkRebuck]
[ In reply to ]
"As others have said: 75-100 miles per week isn't much by cycling standards. How much were you riding when you did a 5:24 IM bike leg? If you were doing that on less than 75-100 miles per week, I'm very impressed!"
I don't know exactly how many miles I was riding back then, but it was a lot - I bike commuted just about every day from Falls Church to downtown DC (about 18 miles each way) and I would ride most weekends out to Sugarloaf mountian (about a 100 miles) with my bike team. And the bike commutes on the W&OD trail always seemed to break out into impromptu bike races! So, yeah, I was basically doing what everyone's advising me to do now. I see that a lot better now. I live in Ohio now though, so I will just have to adapt. It's doable.
I don't know exactly how many miles I was riding back then, but it was a lot - I bike commuted just about every day from Falls Church to downtown DC (about 18 miles each way) and I would ride most weekends out to Sugarloaf mountian (about a 100 miles) with my bike team. And the bike commutes on the W&OD trail always seemed to break out into impromptu bike races! So, yeah, I was basically doing what everyone's advising me to do now. I see that a lot better now. I live in Ohio now though, so I will just have to adapt. It's doable.
it's an aerobic sport... you don't need muscle to do that.
Just look at Team Sky
Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting
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Just look at Team Sky
Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting
“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”