I read Slowman’s winter months training article and it was great but it seemed a bit unrealistic for all but the pros and the select few who have all kinds of time to train or a spouse that loves to train too. For all of you that have that kind of time and flexibility to do what he says, more power to ya.
But… for the rest of us mere mortals, what are you doing this winter with your bike training? Slowman says, “Pile in the miles. Go for it. Do a President’s Day ride. Get a couple of your buddies and go for three days over that weekend, 80 or 100 miles each day.” Then he says “You’ll want to do these three- or four-day bike jaunts once every couple of months, by the way, and one way to get this into your schedule is to take your vacation days one at a time, like a Friday every other month or so.”
Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to be able to train like Slowman says but there is NO WAY I’m getting away for 3 or 4 days every couple of months. I can’t even get away for 3 hours on a Saturday morning sometimes with work, marriage and kids. I can imagine there are at least a few of us out there who fall into this category.
So assuming you’re NOT doing an IM this year but a few HIMs and a few OLYs, what are you doing with your bike training this time of year? For me, I’m trying to get in 1 longer ride of 2-3 hours once per week and then get on my trainer 2-3 times per week to get the most efficient workouts I can. The trainer workouts are mostly big gear intervals at this point for strength. I’m hoping to do a couple of 4-5 hour rides in Feb and March and April to be ready for Wildflower in May.
See you at the races.
No, this is NOT the way to podium at your next 70.3 race but that ain’t in the cards for me anyway. Some pursue Crossfit and other multi-sport training, work on swim skills, whatever. I believe in remaining active and not getting too freakin’ fat, but the offseason recharges mental batteries as well as physical ones, and before I know it tri season comes around again. Just get out and play, dammit!