Training question

Amprodude · 21-12-2014 11:17pm #1

Quick question, can going hard on a turbo for an 1 hour on Friday and doing a 150km endurance spin on Sat followed by another spin on a Sunday affect performance?

Today I was cycling for about 60km out of my 130km endurance spin and then I approached a hill and was going fine up it and then suddenly three cyclists overtook me up the hill. Hills are my strongest point in cycling so I tried to hold there wheel but suddenly there was one surge followed by another and I was dead and buried and I completely lost them and my legs gave up to the cause. I had a bike that weighs 11kg and there are cheap heavy wheels on it at the moment, but that group that overtook looked like semi pros or A1/A2 racers but I cant be sure, they had decent carbon fibre bikes and one of them was a female and I was very impressed by them. Again they might be just individuals who dont race I dont know but they looked like good racers. I have alot of cycling done since September. I am clocking up 300km a week between interval training with videos and long endurance spins Saturday and Sundays, so I thought there should be no way they could get away that easy without me hanging on to them. I was going well on the bike and am at my fittest phase ever and finished with A2s on last few sportives but this totally destroyed my confidence today and to be fired out the back like that wasnt good and now makes me wonder am I doing the wrong training for A4 racing? When am I going to peak or am I burned out? Am I looking too much into it?

Advice appreciated.

Cee-Jay-Cee · 21-12-2014 11:47pm

You had 60km done, they may only have done 10km and had fresh legs and like you said they could have been semi pro/A1 or A2 racers. I wouldn't beat myself up about it too much.

You should be able to tell by your average speed and segment speeds if your down much on previous times??

wirelessdude01 · 21-12-2014 11:52pm

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

You had 60km done, they may only have done 10km and had fresh legs and like you said they could have been semi pro/A1 or A2 racers. I wouldn't beat myself up about it too much.

You should be able to tell by your average speed and segment speeds if your down much on previous times??

You previous times on that hill should be your pointer. When the A1/2 lads in our club stick down some power on the hills I wouldn't expect to be able to stay with them. It is all relative to what your capable of and also what the others are capable of as well. As Cee has said maybe they hadn't been out the Saturday. To be honest I wouldn't really worry about it. Training really is a personal thing. I know myself at the moment there has been a few Saturdays where at the end of our group spin I'm gone out the back with nothing left in the legs but now isn't the time to be flying is it. Trust your own body.

Amprodude · 22-12-2014 1:09am

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

You previous times on that hill should be your pointer. When the A1/2 lads in our club stick down some power on the hills I wouldn't expect to be able to stay with them. It is all relative to what your capable of and also what the others are capable of as well. As Cee has said maybe they hadn't been out the Saturday. To be honest I wouldn't really worry about it. Training really is a personal thing. I know myself at the moment there has been a few Saturdays where at the end of our group spin I'm gone out the back with nothing left in the legs but now isn't the time to be flying is it. Trust your own body.

I personally did struggle on today's spin I had to cycle solo for 10km into a terrible headwind and looking at strava I was a good bit slower than my personal best up there previously but my best up that hill was set with an aero bike that weighs 7.5kg and not 11kg. My legs were sore by the end of the 130km spin today. Those cyclists who overtook me looked in good form cycling wise for late December.

12 element · 22-12-2014 1:50am

Maybe you could try : http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/ to see if any of them were using strava?

12 sprocket · 22-12-2014 7:34am

Amprodude wrote: »

Quick question, can going hard on a turbo for an 1 hour on Friday and doing a 150km endurance spin on Sat followed by another spin on a Sunday affect performance?

Today I was cycling for about 60km out of my 130km endurance spin and then I approached a hill and was going fine up it and then suddenly three cyclists overtook me up the hill. Hills are my strongest point in cycling so I tried to hold there wheel but suddenly there was one surge followed by another and I was dead and buried and I completely lost them and my legs gave up to the cause. I had a bike that weighs 11kg and there are cheap heavy wheels on it at the moment, but that group that overtook looked like semi pros or A1/A2 racers but I cant be sure, they had decent carbon fibre bikes and one of them was a female and I was very impressed by them. Again they might be just individuals who dont race I dont know but they looked like good racers. I have alot of cycling done since September. I am clocking up 300km a week between interval training with videos and long endurance spins Saturday and Sundays, so I thought there should be no way they could get away that easy without me hanging on to them. I was going well on the bike and am at my fittest phase ever and finished with A2s on last few sportives but this totally destroyed my confidence today and to be fired out the back like that wasnt good and now makes me wonder am I doing the wrong training for A4 racing? When am I going to peak or am I burned out? Am I looking too much into it?

Advice appreciated.

you asked a simple, but very important question in your first line, and the answer is yes!

J Madone · 22-12-2014 11:10am

12 sprocket wrote: »

you asked a simple, but very important question in your first line, and the answer is yes!

You cant be flying all the time, there are no medals for going well this time of year.
you should have shouted you were doing a zone 1 recovery ride!

pprendeville · 22-12-2014 11:15am

I wouldn't let it destroy your confidence. Rome wasn't built in a day. Have you been racing or just doing sportive up to this point?

Koobcam · 22-12-2014 12:59pm

Probably a bit early in the training cycle to be flying up the hills. Other factors might also affect how you feel on a given day-maybe you need to get a bit more sleep to help with recovery for example, or maybe throw in some easier weeks to allow yourself to recover.

Caroline_ie · 22-12-2014 1:07pm

No one should be attacking hills in December.
Once the racing season starts, is when you can start chasing random attacking cyclists. Not now.
Also, as a cyclist, you will be overtaken by hundred more people. What they look like is irrelevant.

jinkypolly · 22-12-2014 3:05pm

Don't compare yourself to other cyclists, there will always be cyclists better than you. Concentrate on improving yourself and stick to intensities that you can handle not what others are doing.

Ole Rodrigo · 22-12-2014 3:07pm

Getting passed on a hill always feels like getting dropped.

Amprodude · 22-12-2014 6:36pm

pprendeville wrote: »

I wouldn't let it destroy your confidence. Rome wasn't built in a day. Have you been racing or just doing sportive up to this point?

2014 was my first year racing. I did 5 A4 races this year and have 4 points. Did 1 league race and got 1point.

Trying to improve for next season and have a goal to get up to A3.

pprendeville · 22-12-2014 7:23pm

Well shur there you go. Those riders could have been a higher grade and seasoned racers. No need to take much notice of it.

daragh_ · 22-12-2014 7:46pm

I got beaten by a 13 year old on the Poggio yesterday.

My kids thought this was hilarious.

Raam · 22-12-2014 8:43pm

daragh_ wrote: »

I got beaten by a 13 year old on the Poggio yesterday.

My kids thought this was hilarious.

I hope it wasn't a girl. That would be embarrassing.

iwillhtfu · 22-12-2014 8:46pm

Caroline_ie wrote: »

No one should be attacking hills in December.

Winter miles Summer smiles

daragh_ · 22-12-2014 11:17pm

Raam wrote: »

I hope it wasn't a girl. That would be embarrassing.

He was wearing a Kanturk Jersey. Make of that what you will.

colm_gti · 22-12-2014 11:34pm

daragh_ wrote: »

I got beaten by a 13 year old on the Poggio yesterday.

My kids thought this was hilarious.

We all got beaten by him, he was eager to drop us from Laragh...

gary29428 · 15-01-2015 2:31pm

Apologies for hijacked the thread but at least my question is training based. I've come back to cycling after many many....many years, my last road race was when I was 19yrs old....I'm now 42. Anyway, just interested now in general fitness and sportive riding. I am doing some training at the moment on the turbo trainer as I can't get out during the week and I was wondering is it still all about the miles in the legs this time of year, I remember as a junior rider our club coach would lock out our front deraileurs to stop us using the big ring during the winter. It was just about cadence and miles....what do people think nowadays.

lismore7 · 15-01-2015 3:02pm

12 sprocket wrote: »

you asked a simple, but very important question in your first line, and the answer is yes!

+1 to Sprocket.
1 hour belting it out goodo on a turbo, next day 150k endurance spin and the next day anther good spin....
With no rest day inbetween, muscles stretched and drained friom the day before and no opportunity for the body to re-cooperate fully much of the carbs lost, I think you did pretty well just to climb the hills, let alone keep up with A1 or A2 cyclists....
Me thinks you might be asking too much of yourself?

Training question

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