I think you're going to get a very varied response on this subject but here's my two cents (with the ususal disclaimer that I'm not a coach, blah, blah blah).

Being that your new to triathlon and biking, I would concentrate on your base right now with at least two weekly rides of an hour or so (with some pedaling technique drills) and one longer weekend ride all staying aerobic (breathing easy). After a couple of weeks, I would start to ride courses with some mild hills to build up some leg strength.

The year is young and there's plenty of time for intervals. Just my opinion.

You won't like my answer. It depends. (insert usual caveats here, i'm not a coach, but I've been coached in swimming and cycling for many years, and have designed programs for a few friends)

Based on what you say above, I'm guessing that you've put somewhere between 1200 and 1500 kms on the bike over the last 3 months. Sounds like a good start to me. Are the 2.5 hour rides easy for you to get through, or are your legs in agony after a low-intensity ride of that length? Also, the lesser impact of cycling means that you normally don't need as much time to build tendon strength as in running (accomplished during base miles).

I've seen a couple of the Spinervals videos, but I'm not familiar with that particular one. There are intervals and then there are intervals. If I were in your position (I'm not, I haven't done that many miles yet this season) I would do the following.

1) Continue base miles until 2 - 3 hour rides are no problem to get through, then.

2) Start working on intervals 1-2 times per week. Initially do long intervals of moderate intensity, and as strength builds start working shorter, higher intensity. You are more likely to pull a muscle or something in the short, sharp stuff than the longer intervals, so proceed gradually. No need to do maximal effort, 30 second intervals for tris however. Work these into longer rides as well, to break things up a bit.

3) Continually evaluate where you are. At this point in your cycling, you should see improvements come very rapidly as your coordination improves. Try to ingrain good habits (spin smaller gears, pedal circles, minimize upper body movement, all the usual stuff). Perfect practice makes perfect. As soon as you cannot maintain good technique any longer, stop the session and ride home easy.

4) If you haven't been properly fitted to your bike, consider getting that done as well.

Hope that helps. Some other folks out there will of course have completely different opinions than mine. Ride on.

:)

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

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2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Kevin,

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I rode for 2 hours last night. I just rode easy while watching TV, rather than doing a hard Spinerval video.

Zeke

Yeah, I have about 1300 km on my bike. The 2.5 hour rides are fairly easy. Being in Minnesota, the last two long rides have been on the trainer. So it's more of an issue with being bored, than being hard. Sounds like I should at least try to incorporate one of the shorter (45-60 minutes) Spinerval videos per week, keeping a steady tempo and not going all out.

Thanks,

Zeke

Minnesota. My condolences.

Just to make everyone jealous, I'm in Bermuda. This week it's been unbelievably cold though, the temperature dropped below 50.

Its a heck of a lot better than when I lived in Waterloo Ontario.

J.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly