There are few pleasures in life as great as to achieve a goal, to accomplish something that doesn’t come easily. Great lessons are taught through this activity; we learn that it is our determination and not our doubt that defines our limits. We learn that through studied discipline we can cultivate the skills required to work incrementally towards becoming what we want to be.
This is true for our personal, social and professional lives – and any other aspect that I may have left off. But to achieve our goals is usually a rather complicated mess; it requires introspection, it often requires reliance upon others to do their part or at least not interfere with you doing yours, and it is usually rife with hard choices of long-lasting and difficult to understand consequences.
In its most basic form, Cycling provides us a path to discovery in a less complicated model than do our actual lives. We train our bodies, we become more healthy. We become more healthy, we train more. We become stronger, we go faster. We derive more pleasure from our efforts. We experience reward for sacrifice. We associate progress with the pain of an effort. We enjoy Cycling more. We ride more. We become healthier still. We become stronger still. We go even faster. We suffer more. We associate more pain with a greater sense of achievement. And though it all, we discover it that unlike every other walk of life, in Sport we are islands: what we find here is only what we have brought with us.
Eventually, exercising will become training. The activity becomes richer with the application of the discipline that comes with this rebadging. Exercise is something you do regularly but without structure. With training comes a study of your body and how it responds to stimulus. Long rides have a different effect on the body than do short ones. Successive hard efforts have another effect, as do longer and shorter periods off the bike.
Training Properly requires discipline and patience. It means you don’t just throw your leg over your machine and pedal off to ride along tree-lined boulevards. Training Properly means having a plan for each day. It means heading for the hills one day, and the plains another. It means controlling yourself and not trying to set your best time up the local climb because you feel good that day. Training Properly means restraining yourself on a group ride and not joining in on the town line sprints if your plan doesn’t call for it. Training Properly means leaving for a ride despite the rain falling from the heavens and the loved ones whom you leave at home.
Training Properly comes down you and you alone; much can be learned from books and coaches, but the path is yours to walk. The discovery is yours to experience and to shape into what you are seeking. There are, however, some basics to keep in mind. Also keep in mind I’m not a “Sports Doctor”, “Physiotherapist”, or “Smart”. And never take medical or sporting advice from Some Guy On the Internet.
Be patient. Have discipline. Train Properly. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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Frank - I'm still curious how long that most recent solo 200km ride in the rain took. Damn, that's really far to do solo, but I know you enjoy riding solo as well.
grumbledook - Yup, cross riding is a GREAT addition to the life of any Velominatus. I've only been at it a year but it's great for a few reasons - if you only have one hour you can still ride your arse off, have a ton of fun, and get some good work into your legs & lungs. I also love it because sometimes I can only get out at rush hour. Trying to do a training ride while dealing with amped up/zoned out cubicle zombies fucking sucks. I can get to some trails where I can ride for an hour or two & to reach them I never have to touch busy roads. And, an hour of road riding might not be fun - warming up/cooling down can take up 2/3s of the ride. Not with cross riding!
I have to admit that I've refused to ever do intervals until a few months back when I was training for my final cross race of the season. I don't road race & try to balance riding/training so I've refused until then. They weren't fun, but they made the race seem much easier. And, I placed pretty highly.
Anyway, I think that this article & discussion highlight that everyone, even in the smaller community of the Velominati, ride for different reasons. What some of us want out of cycling is different than what others want. But, we are all united by a passion for the sport, the lifestyle, the health benefits, and the bikes & equipment. I find it depressing when a guy wants to talk PowerMeter numbers but doesn't notice the dude who just rolled past on an awesome Merckx. Ugh.
Mikael Liddy - Ha, cycling, food, and adult beverages! I like all three as well. I've severely cut back on that third one because I was spending too much time doing it. Now it makes it even more fun when I can drink with mates after cycling or soccer, instead of doing it out of habit. And, it's also amazing how much better my cycling training has been going without that drag on my form.
@frank
Let's stay focused. But let's not get carried away!
@snoov
While I'm not going to argue about the apparent benefits, let's be serious. How much fun is that program? I'd say zero. Give me a nice couple of hours on a spring day in the Kettle Moraine and I'm a happy camper.
@SuperFed
Looking at your rides recently, I don't think you'll have any problem killing the 160k. I agree with Calmante; have a bit of fun! Stick to the plan you have, but if you're flying up a hill, maybe move one cog down and try to kick it over the top just a wee bit faster.
@scaler911
Awesome link, thanks for sharing. Makes me feel a bit better about all the time I spent on the trainer during the winter, doing 1 minute and five minute intervals.
@grumbledook, @frank
I got TTCC this spring and found it helpful in understanding the science and the compromises of higher intensity training. I'm not the biggest Carmichael fan, nevertheless I've found it useful. The basic point is that if you only have about 6 hrs a week to train you're better off focusing on intensity. You won't have the time to train for super endurance for longer competitive events but you can still train for shorter races or less intense longer events. Your peak will also be
shorter, so you need to plan ahead if you are targeting a specific goal.
I haven't bothered following a specific training plan in the book or sorting out my target heartrates with a field test; I've adapted it by riding rollers with sufferfest videos that are somewhat analogous to the workouts in the book during the week, and getting out on the roads on the weekends. I ride on feel and rate of perceived exertion. When I'm on the road I ride as hard (or not) as I feel like. It may not be perfect, but it works for my life and I'm faster and stronger because of it. The point of which, for me, is more fun when I'm out on the roads. As is often the case especially if you're in the velominatus paterfamilias sitch as @The Oracle describes the best can be the enemy of the good.
@brett
+2
@wiscot, @snoov
Those sound like Tabata intervals -- you do 20 seconds as absolutely hard as you can, rest 10 seconds, repeat. I tried them once; after four reps I was about ready to throw up.
@Nate
Not these ones he was recovering until his breathing was under control, about 5 mins. It was for general fitness, not training for anything in particular.
@wiscot
Absolutely, getting out on the bike kills may birds with one stone so to speak. It's cathartic in a psychological sense, it's fun, it's fresh air, it's out of the city, it's fun, the views are spectacular, it's spending time with the mates, it's getting some time alone, it's good for collecting sun rays and manufacturing vitamin D, it's fun, it's thrilling, it's challenging, it's easy, it's fun, it's hard, it's still fun it's LVV.
@mcsqueak
Sure, Here's the link to the article that was written by Kirk; http://biketechreview.com/performance/supply/47-base-a-new-definition