7 weeks to improve 20km time?

narwog81

Hi guys, long time lurker here,question is in the title, how can i improve my 20km time in just under 2 months?

did my first sprint triathlon last weekend(athlone) and got around the course in 39mins. it was very windy and i didnt push it all the way as i was saving something for the run so i definitely feel i can go faster.

i've entered another race at the end of august and would be hoping to knock 2/3 mins off this time by then, is this realistic?

was thinking 2 sessions a week, one 50-60km steady pace and one intervals with a race pace 20km thrown in every 2 weeks, how does this sound?

im 23, not cycling that long but my general fitness is reasonably good.

any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

mloc123

best return in a short time... probably sweet spot training. 2x20min, 1x60min, 2x45min blocks.. are you using a HRM?

narwog81

mloc123 wrote: »

best return in a short time... probably sweet spot training. 2x20min, 1x60min, 2x45min blocks.. are you using a HRM?

thanks for the reply, dont have a HRM yet, all my spare cash just went on a wetsuit! might get the lidl one next week tho to tide me over....

i aiming to consistently maintain a 22mph pace, without a HRM would i do the timed blocks at that pace?

IM0

If your looking for triathlon advice, why not ask there
they will be use to balancing the running and biking fitness [for race purposes]

basically train faster than you race, and for much shorter distances.

mloc123

narwog81 wrote: »

thanks for the reply, dont have a HRM yet, all my spare cash just went on a wetsuit! might get the lidl one next week tho to tide me over....

i aiming to consistently maintain a 22mph pace, without a HRM would i do the timed blocks at that pace?

I would base the intervals on percieved effort then maybe, they should be hard and they should hurt but should be sustainable. Pace them, don't go out too hard and fade. Without a power meter or HRM its quite hard to structure training... its also too late to see any big improvements.

Beasty

If you're keeping a 22mph pace you should do 20km in under 34 minutes

Lumen

I would just do 30 mins as fast as you can three times a week, with 30-40 mins structured warm up and at least 30 mins gentle warm down.

Add in a few days of doing something else every couple of weeks to recover properly.

If you get achy/tired and can't do the intensity, rest more.

Chartsengrafs

me@ucd wrote: »

If your looking for triathlon advice, why not ask there
they will be use to balancing the running and biking fitness [for race purposes]

basically train faster than you race, and for much shorter distances.

Who knows..maybe because they felt a cycling forum was a good place to ask a cycling question. The mind boggles...

niceonetom

OP - are you using a road bike or a TT bike?

7 weeks is not a lot of time to increase your power (though improvements could be made there in that time) but speed is also a function of drag. Have you given your position much thought?

shaungil

As above work on position and cycling fast for 30 mins a few times a week. Also do the course the race is on if you can, hammering around a corner cos you know the route will save time.

Would agree however that the ART forum might be better suited as cyclists would say hammer the crap out of it on a big gear but won't leave you much for the run. There is a balance to be struck.

TBH I've seen a lot of these alleged cyclist on this forum taking far too much interest in multisport in the last few months and it disturbs me:eek:

narwog81

thanks for all the replies.

i have a road bike, a Lapierre Audacio, i'll look at getting it fitted properly, i have the option of borrowing a TT bike but think ill stick to what ive been training on.

I know its not a lot of time and i probably wont see much improvement, just wanted some pointers on how to structure my remaining sessions rather than just going out and trying to do 20km as fast as i can every time, i know intervals work well for running so was thinking the same would apply!

its on in the phoneix park and thats where im training so ill know the route, as for the "hammer it in a big gear" question the advice is to go to a low gear and up the cadence for the last km so prepare the legs for the run so should be ok if i do that.

anywya sure we'll see how it goes, ill check back in and let ye know if i improve at all if anyone is interested, cheers:D

Beasty

shaungil wrote: »

TBH I've seen a lot of these alleged cyclist on this forum taking far too much interest in multisport in the last few months and it disturbs me:eek:

Says the man setting his sights on becoming the Tri King of Skerries:rolleyes:

blorg

narwog81 wrote: »

i have a road bike, a Lapierre Audacio, i'll look at getting it fitted properly, i have the option of borrowing a TT bike but think ill stick to what ive been training on.

I am presuming you don't have tri bars. If not, get them, and then work on your position. You should see dramatic gains essentially for free.

In the equipment stakes a secondhand pointy hat is also beneficial; I picked one up for €50.

Both a lot cheaper than a TT bike.

Apart from that train. But the above two things will be very helpful, the bars the most so.