early morning training.

spoke2cun

Do many of you do this? What time do you get up? What breakfast? How far do you go? What bike? Do you use lights?

Alfreado

Apparently Wiggo is a big fan of this. Double espresso and off ya go.

Isn't there a fairly handy junior who trains at 5.30/6am kinda time? Read it on sticky bottle a while ago

krissovo

I often head out for up to 30k at 6 am, just a coffee (strong) and a banana in my pocket if I get hunger pangs. Apparently it's great for the weight loss I am after

shaka

Keep telling myself ill start this this year, nearly march and still haven't started

trasver

Yup....usually on the bike at 4.45am or doing spinning class at 5.30am. For some reason I can't train later in the day but the earlier the better for whatever reason.

No breakfast at all, will bring a banana with me but rarely eat it...scrambled eggs with grated cheese when I get back tastes amazing!!

Just started with a 3 times a week group ride doing 50-60km starting at 4am...lights definitely needed!

Note I live in Cape Town so can do this as its warm(ish) at that time...I'm sure my attitude will change when we move back to Ireland!!!

godtabh

i'm on the bike most mornings at 5:10 doing 45km before the wife has to go to work

Seweryn

spoke2cun wrote: »

Do many of you do this? What time do you get up? What breakfast? How far do you go? What bike? Do you use lights?

No training, but early cycling.
Up at 6:35.
Usually porridge for breakfast or a banana.
Leave home around 7 o'clock, cycle 27km to work on a road bike.
Sure, I use lights.
Same return spin in the evening, sometimes extended a bit.

smacl

godtabh wrote: »

i'm on the bike most mornings at 5:10 doing 45km before the wife has to go to work

I did this for much of last summer at first light. Must get into the habit of some early mornings in the dark this spring as I'm usually up early enough.

Carpenter

Seweryn wrote: »

No training, but early cycling.
Up at 6:35.
Usually porridge for breakfast or a banana.
Leave home around 7 o'clock, cycle 27km to work on a road bike.
Sure, I use lights.
Same return spin in the evening, sometimes extended a bit.

54x5=270 270x50=13.500k holy god :D:D

godtabh

smacl wrote: »

I did this for much of last summer at first light. Must get into the habit of some early mornings in the dark this spring as I'm usually up early enough.

The brighter days make it easier.

Its been hard since christmas. Bad weather, strong winds really take it out of you and you can struggle for consistency. When the clocks go forward it should get a lot easier

maloner

Just started back into it this week. If I leave at 7.30 I can get a 30km loop in and be back and changed ready to leave again at about 8.45/8.50. Usually just get up (get a quick coffee if I've time) and go, with breakfast when I get back.

I've a few options for what I do on that 30km as well. I go around the general strawberry beds area so hill repeats or tempo work are all options. If I leave at 7, I can get a few reps of Cruagh road in.

Pablo Rubio

Get out at 6.00am myself a few days a week. 2 hrs before work. Lucky to have shower facilities and the fact I'm on to fairly quiet roads within 2 minutes of the house .Use Cateye Nano lights. A small bite to eat before leaving and just water in the bottle.Look forward to my bowl of porridge in work.
Then and hour and quarter on way home.Best way for me to fit in cycling with kids etc...
Rest day on Monday and drive in(look forward to that.)

godtabh

In relation to eating before you go out I'd normally have a 100 calorie cereal bar. I've been reading lately that Sky encourage their rides to go out early on an empty stomach. I would have thought this would be bad but seems a few people here do that. What are your opinions on training before breakfast?

RockWerchter

Get up at 6 leave at half 6 three to five times a week depending on what training i'm doing, do 50-60km on my track bike, which is still in winter mode (brakes and mudguard). Four eggs and an apple for breakfast in college, usually eat nothing on the bike only drink water, and a shower in college. Find it works well, leaves the evening free.

Crimsonforce

i feel ashamed reading this

godtabh

Crimsonforce wrote: »

i feel ashamed reading this

I felt ashamed when I woke up at 7 this morning but then I heard the wind outside and the shame went!

Inspector Coptoor

I'm up at 6:15 and on the bike at 6:30 but it's just my 10km cycle into work.
Get into work & do 30-40 mins weights/go for a swim before showering and getting the porridge in.

Same 10km home in the evenings.

May start going for longer flubs in the mornings

Paco Rodriguez

In my hayday id get up at 06;30 have a bowl of porridge...go to shop and buy a panini and banana and a ceareal bar and bring them on my cycle.

Id eat half the panini after an hour....then an hour later the other half. The banana and bar id eat towards the end if i was hungry.

thekooman

i did a 45 minute sufferfest this morning. it leaves the evening free and you feel great on the way to work realising you've done it.

during last summer i got up some mornings and did an hour spin before getting ready for work... you get some looks from people you know passing by on their way to work but you feel all the better.

smacl

thekooman wrote: »

i did a 45 minute sufferfest this morning. it leaves the evening free and you feel great on the way to work realising you've done it.

I've been doing a turbo session most evenings, but I'm starting to get itchy for the roads. Even with the VR and good tunes, I find there's a limit to the amount of love I can muster for the turbo.

mossym

smacl wrote: »

there's a limit to the amount of love I can muster for the turbo.

been thinking of early morning spins for this very reason, starting to get cabin fever from the turbo, especially the 2.5 hour ones the last few weekends

XtotheZ

used to train early mornings on rollers. 6:30 generally with a coffee but ive stopped because I dont feel I can get the max out of myself that early and I just get up at 7 and do core work instead. I still do recovery in the early morning when I have too with no food. Just to get a few grams of fat out

Hmmzis

I'm up at 6:30, drop off the kid in the creche and then I have about an hour or so to do my training. I eat porridge after the training, before I might have a banana but that has become less often than it used to. Haven't noticed any difference with the banana before or without it, I guess for an hour it shouldn't matter anyway.

Muckers

Yer all either mad or extremely dedicated to your bikes.

krissovo

Muckers wrote: »

Yer all either mad or extremely dedicated to your bikes.

Or have families

spoke2cun

Thanks for the replies folks. I must say that you are all very committed and dedicated. I keep telling myself that I'll start early morning training soon but I keep coming up with excuses that allows me to lie on until 8 o clock or so!

Raam

I tried an early morning turbo session once, 6.30 or so. It was a threshold session. Threw up my coffee mid interval. I don't do them in the morning any more.

doozerie

I've not done rides of any significant intensity without breakfast but I have done a couple of 4hr+ rides without breakfast and without eating on the bike and found them surprisingly manageable, despite being low on (visible) fat stores. I'm not sure I'd fancy an intense workout of much over an hour fasted but I reckon that an hour or less would be fine. It's important to get food into you immediately after though, and after a long ride the day can suddenly seem very short for the amount of calories you should theoretically by piling into yourself.

There are obviously a variety of reasons why you might choose to ride without food, but a pleasant side benefit is that you can literally fall out of bed and straight on to your bike if you wish, which helps to get the most (training benefit) out of limited training time. In the past I'd have to get up 1 to 1.5 hours before heading out on the bike, just to have time to cook and eat my breakfast, but on days of fasted rides I can set the alarm for 15mins before I'm due to head out (in theory anyway, in practice I still manage to faff away an hour or so somehow before leaving for the ride). In fact, it's generally a good idea too to head out as soon after getting up as you can, if riding fasted, before your body starts to think about food and starts reminding you that it's used to having something to eat first thing.

spoke2cun

Anyone for a 7am start in Letterkenny tomorrow morning?

Rambling Man

spoke2cun wrote: »

Anyone for a 7am start in Letterkenny tomorrow morning?

I'd say you might not even get the post man for that one.

spoke2cun

I was only wondering. Can't get out at any other time this weekend.

godtabh

Muckers wrote: »

Yer all either mad or extremely dedicated to your bikes.

Depends on the morning and conditions

godtabh

krissovo wrote: »

Or have families

That's the reason I am out so early. And work. And college.

bikermartin

im normally up at 5 am and would be on road for 6am latest. Ive got out 3 times this week which has been great. It is easier when hopefully the weather is getting better. It leaves the rest of the day that reasons not to go don't need to be made :rolleyes: