So, I started working with heart rate monitor in December and am kinda just floundering around a little. Want to hear opinions from other folks to see what they think.
I did a max HR test on the rollers, (I'm 32 yrs old, 190 lbs) ramping up slowly until I was pumping as hard as I could (prolly not great for the resistance unit, but... well that's replaceable :P). I determined max HR to be 185. (in a month of doing some pretty decent hills and all outs, I've never gotten over that even though I've tried, so I think it's a solid number). Once a week or so, I do an all out 63km ride, out and back. During one of these, I followed the "instructions" in all the books I've read (40km TT pace - inner 20 minutes avg HR) and believed my LTH to be around 168. Upon further evaluation and recommendations, I did one on the rollers, and found I ended with just around 175. Looking at Friel's Training Bible, that would put Zone 5b above my max HR, so I figure LTH is probably in the middle there somewhere. 170-172.
I picked up Sally Edwards "The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Cyclists" and have been flipping through the routines in there to find some that would fit me. I'm primarily a medium distance rider. I do around 250km per week with one century a month, and on a normal day my "all out" 63k ride avgs between 32-34kph. (that's ride time, as there are no significant stops that would impact overall speed). I normally do that distance/speed right at the 166bpm mark (last 4 of those avged, 167, 161, 165, and 166 - in that order) - just below LTH (start to finish, includes warmup time of about 1-2 minutes, but not cool down time.)
I find that I cycle primarily in low zone 4 range almost ALL the time. But the lower end of zone 4 for me I can sustain almost indefinitely I think. I really have to force myself to not go into zone 4 on any given ride. My training goal is to get to around the 35-38kph avg speed on my 63k ride. I have additional distance goals each month/quarter/year, but I could do those just by getting on the bike, and not really working for it. I'm not racing competitively, but am wondering if I should bother getting more focused in my training for the sake of it or not.
I'm looking at most of these routines in the book I got and other HR training routines, and they primarily work zone 3. Very few go into zone 4, and if they do, they rarely stay there any length of time. Am I just under the wrong paradigm that I have to "feel" worked, to "be" worked? I've seen folks talk about LTH training more than the typical "sport zones" training, but haven't seen any books that focus on that. Is there a way to make these routines I have fit that?
I grew up as a runner, and only picked up serious road cycling last summer - though I've "road biked" commuted for about 5 years on my old Giant mountain bike prior to that. I just want to get some focus to my training that breaks up the monotony on the rides.
Thoughts?
VW
PS - My ride (won't necessarily call it a training calendar) calendar can be seen here: biking.nomadvw.orgbiking.nomadvw.orgOpen ↗