daveryanwyoming said:So you can go hard with the front group for a bit over an hour and then you have back off the pace?
Sounds like you're not pacing yourself very well and running up close to your FTP for the first part of the ride and then running out of steam. Definitely eat more while actually on the bike, not just before the ride but also dole out your efforts a bit more conservatively so that you don't spend it all in the first part of the ride.
In terms of training, how long have you been training regularly, how regularly do you train and what does that training consist of? You may simply need more time on the bike or more consecutive months of steady regular training but it's hard to guess without knowing what you've been doing and how long you've been doing it.
FWIW, the physiology that allows you to go with the front group for the first hour or climb sustained climbs with the leaders is the same basic physiology that leads to greater endurance. IOW, raising your FTP and or VO2 Max helps you both go faster and go longer. So the fact that you can ride up front for a substantial period (more than an hour by the sounds of it) says good things about your fitness relative to your riding partners. Perhaps some longer solo Tempo rides in training might 'fill the right' of your power curve a bit but if you're up front for an hour and then drop way off the pace I'd start by focusing on pacing, feeding and hydrating while on the bike, and doling out your efforts more carefully.
Good luck,
-Dave
I've thought about that too about putting out too much effort in the beginning and then not having any reserve for later on in the ride, but the weird thing is that while I do those hill climbs and hold the pace line out front, I usually feel a little over the comfort zone (Zone 4 maybe of MHR?)... meaning that I don't feel like I'm putting out too much effort but enough to make myself fast. I usually don't eat on the longer rides but I do carry 2 GU packs with me and take one roughly every hour.
I started riding this season in around March for maybe 2 times a week since it was a bit colder out then April maybe 3 times a week and May - present... I would say about 4 times a week. My training is pretty standard... I just go out and ride and as much as I try to stay in the Zone 3 area, I think I usually end up in the Zone 4 and sometimes Zone 5 area. I think I should have put more base miles in at the beginning of the season before putting out more effort on these rides. When I have a good structured schedule going, which has only been maybe in the past 2 or 3 weeks, I usually ride:
Day 1 = Ride Zone 4 for approx 22 - 25 miles after work
Day 2 = Ride Zone 4 for approx 22 - 25 miles after work
Day 3 = Rest Day or easy spinning (Zone 1)
Day 4 = Hill Climbing Intervals (approx 2 min x 5 with 7-10 min rest in between). Longest hill in my area is only 0.25 miles long.
Day 5 = Rest Day or easy spinning
Day 6 = Long ride with group (where I usually run out of steam after about 1.5 - 2 hours)
Day 7 = Rest Day and no easy spinning
Before this structured training, I was usually just riding however long I felt in the Zone 4 area, which I know isn't good but riding in Zone 3 is hard cause I feel like I'm not getting any type of workout.
