Ready to Train?

If you are the typical road rider and you ended your season in September or October and you have been riding the last six to eight weeks without any structure (ie, riding just for fun, not that training isn't fun), you can use December to start your training for the 2011 season. If you've been riding 'cross events this fall, you still need to take some time away from the intense rides even if its just three to four weeks. For those ready to make the most of December here's where I'd start and why.

The months of December, January and February are the most important in the training calendar. The road season will start up in March and while peak form is not needed or even necessarily desired at that time we don't want to simply 'race into shape'. I can't think of anything more miserable than struggling through the first four to six weeks of racing as you build fitness. Its better to build your strength and endurance over the next several months and then fine tune during the season and then properly peak for key events.

Some of the athletes I'm coaching will be working on Tempo efforts this December. The Tempo effort is beneficial for a number of reasons. These will allow for better utilization of fuel during races, increase your ability to handle the more intense efforts that will come in January and February and beyond, allow you to develop better power at moderate intensities, increase your ability to store muscle glycogen, improve your ability to use fat as an energy source, increase the mitochondria in your muscles, and improve your aerobic efficiency. That's a lot of benefits for one type of interval!

So what is the Tempo effort? Lets first start with a cadence of around 75-85 which may be a little lower than the pace we use normally. Lets also stay in the saddle even when climbing. If you're using heart rate (HR), you should be in the 75-84% of max HR range (zone 3) or 85-95% of your threshold HR. If you're using power, you should be around 80-85% of threshold power. By 'threshold' I mean the HR or power that you can hold for one hour.

I'd recommend that you start with Tempo's two days per week. They can be separated by one day or for more fun do them on consecutive days. The duration and number of efforts should build over the month. For example you could start with 2x8 minutes and 2x10 minutes in week on followed by 2x12 minutes and 2x14 in week two. The options are endless but you could, and should, eventually be working on 4x15 minute efforts. It wouldn't be usual to do 60 to 90 minutes non-stop in late winter or early spring. At this point the idea is to build for three weeks and then recover for a week. Your level of fitness would determine the frequency, duration and intensity.

Whether you're riding indoors or out and whether your riding crits, road races, time trials, or 'cross, the Tempo effort should be a big part of your training.