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Pathetic cycling interval speed
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Is my top end cycling speed as totally pathetic as I think it is?

I can hold 19 plus mph for over three hours at a moderate HR. I can hold 20 plus mph for an hour and it is no big deal. I can hold 21 plus mph for an hour but it is hard work.

When I go to do 1.25 mile hard/1.25 miles easy intervals, I can not even hold 23 mph average speed during the work interval. Is not being able to kick my speed up 10% for a three plus minute sprint as pathetic as it seems?

I know power goes up as the cube of speed, so a 10% increase would require about 30% more power output, but this interval speed still seems absurd to me.

Old and fat in FL,
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Re: Pathetic cycling interval speed [ajfranke] [ In reply to ]
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I assume this is totally flat since this is Florida. Wind plays a big factor so to be scientific you would need to do a loop. If you want to calculate power us analyticcycling.com.


Instead of doing intervals by distance, try doing them by time. A common interval is 20 work/ 5-8 rest, repeat or 8 work/3 rest, repeat until you can't do at the target speed.

Also, instead of jumping to 23 which you can't sustain, go to some speed higher than 21mph you can sustain for the duration of the work intervals.
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