short trainings

frenk said:

Hi all,
life as student finished for me some days ago, I started a full-time job which makes training a bit more difficult.
I work from 9am to 6pm, which means that I can train either early in the morning before 8.15 or in the evenig after 6.45.

The duration allowed by sunlight is about the same, so I prefer to train in the morning as in the evening I am usually tired (mostly mentally).

The problems I have are 2: first, I usually have about 1h15, maybe in some weeks longer days will allow for 1h30-2h, but sure not more (I have to sleep too!).
Second, from my home I really can only climb. I mean I can go up about as long as I want, with maybe 2 km of flats --and then down.

What I am trying to figure out is if in such short sessions I will be able to do something useful. I am also not sure that the all up or down terrain is the best thing, I used to do quite a bit of flat intervals or tempo and it doesnt feel the same.

This year I have a solid base done in more normal conditions, but now that races starts I don t want to ruin all the work I did in the winter.
The races I train for are usually rather short, usually around 70-80 km, many of them are won or lost on climbs but several are flat and fast. There are also some uphill TTs and some longer events with big mountains (granfondo) but those are usually not a big problem as the pace is a bit slower and I can go rather well.

Has anybody experienced similar constraints? Any suggestions are welcome.

TIA and good rides (spring is there! 😄 )

Francesco

We coach many people who have these time constraints (including myself -- weekdays i often can't do more than 90 - 120 minutes). If you go short, then, you'll want to ride harder (and additionally this will make you fitter anyway).

As to the terrain that you have available to you, it sounds perfect. Great for practising your climbing ability, and presumably you can do longer rides at the weekend with more mixed terrain, or you could do some rides on an indoor trainer during the week to simulate flat roads.

Training at a good tempo (we call this zone 3 on the flat, and harder on the climbs) for up to 90-mins is a great fitness builder, see http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=powerstern

If you're unsure how to lay your training out or want some guidance, give us a shout about our coaching or training plans

Ric

I had similar difficulties and I had this quick fix routine that consisted of a single circuit, the focal point of which was a hellish climb. The first part of the run would be a piece of cake on the flat till I hit the huge hill and gave it everything. When I wasn't so fit, I'd be forced to lean on my bike for 4 or 5 minutes at the top of the hill, puffing and gasping in air before continuing.
As I got fitter, I was able to pile on even more intensity by immediately shifting into a bigger gear at the top of the hill and going ever harder (keeping a fixed point on the speedo and resisting a drop in speed at all costs).
I recall going up this hill standing up all the way and big coach of tourists behind and , wow, I could hear the bus struggling to get up as well and people int he bus maybe fuguring I was crazy.
The result of all of this was a pretty brutal session over one solid hour. I don't think it was much good for endurance cycling but, if nothing else, it did open up my lungs and build some real power in my legs.
Really I had no other option.

welcome to the real world 🙄.

i go for the early morning, 5:30 AM or as early as its light. there is a joy of riding as the sun rises, the birds chirp, the rabbits run, and the air is fresh and clean.

what you will be missing is not so much the flats as longer endurance rides. that is what the weekends are for. as a friend said to me, dedication to training is getting up at 6 AM on a Sunday to ride 50 miles -- with a hangover.

frenk said:

Hi all,
life as student finished for me some days ago, I started a full-time job which makes training a bit more difficult.
I work from 9am to 6pm, which means that I can train either early in the morning before 8.15 or in the evenig after 6.45.

The duration allowed by sunlight is about the same, so I prefer to train in the morning as in the evening I am usually tired (mostly mentally).

The problems I have are 2: first, I usually have about 1h15, maybe in some weeks longer days will allow for 1h30-2h, but sure not more (I have to sleep too!).
Second, from my home I really can only climb. I mean I can go up about as long as I want, with maybe 2 km of flats --and then down.

What I am trying to figure out is if in such short sessions I will be able to do something useful. I am also not sure that the all up or down terrain is the best thing, I used to do quite a bit of flat intervals or tempo and it doesnt feel the same.

This year I have a solid base done in more normal conditions, but now that races starts I don t want to ruin all the work I did in the winter.
The races I train for are usually rather short, usually around 70-80 km, many of them are won or lost on climbs but several are flat and fast. There are also some uphill TTs and some longer events with big mountains (granfondo) but those are usually not a big problem as the pace is a bit slower and I can go rather well.

Has anybody experienced similar constraints? Any suggestions are welcome.

TIA and good rides (spring is there! 😄 )

Francesco