Are shorter /faster rides better training.

[Banjo]

With the weather etc I have being doing shorter rides than i was in the summer,generally in the 10 to 20 mile range rather than about double that as i was doing in summer.

Surprisingly I am feeling fitter and have noticed that I am going up hills (we have some good ones here) more agressively than before.

I ride the bike everyday for short commute ,shopping etc etc and go for a leisure ride about 4 times a week.

Is this normal and how will it affect me when I do get the chance for a longer ride in the 60 miles plus bracket?

 

[jimboalee]

If you ALWAYS go on slow rides and not take your heart rate beyond 65% max, your CardioVascular system will adapt to this level of intensity and no more.

Shorter, more exhaustive rides where a sustained HR is over 75%, will force your CV system to adapt to a higher level of demand.

Return to the slow rides for a fortnight and your CV system will deteriorate back to the state it was for the lower demand.


Moral. Go on a 'shorter, harder ride regularly.

 

[lukesdad]

Or.......longer harder rides regularly

 

[Bill Gates]

If you are training for racing then you should embrace all intensities of training. If you are cycling for fitness but not racing then you only have to concentrate as high as the average intensity of exercise. For the most part, however, tourist and recreational cyclists need to train only at the light and low intensities of exercise.

The weather conditions tend to dictate what I do. If the conditions are not too awful then I will go out training for a couple of hours or so. If it's bad then it's a shorter sharper effort. If it's really bad then I get the turbo out for a LT or VO2max training session. However I would like to race next year, otherwise I wouldn't bother too much about VO2 max training.

Maximium Efforts lasting: -

Max efforts : 20/25 seconds sprints flat out (VO2max)
Sub Max : 25 seconds - 3 minutes (VO2max)
High Intensity - 2 - 4 minutes (VO2max)
Average Intensity 4 - 30 minutes (VO2max/LT)
Light Intensity +30 minutes (LT 80/90% MHR)
Low Intensity 65-85% MHR indefinite duration (endurance)

The reasoning is that if you do an hour at a fast hard effort then you can go for 2/3 hours at a reduced moderate pace.

 

[Banjo]

definitely wont be racing Im riding purely for pleasure with the added bonus of getting fitter at the same time. Encouraging to know that I can still achieve that on shorter rides dodging out inbetween gales and rainstorms lately.

 

[jimboalee]

Say, for instance you go out and ride a 25 miler in one shot and it takes two hours.

You find a website which estimates your power for 12.5 mph as 80 Watts.

You decide you will have a go at riding half the distance, but at a higher intensity of 160 Watts (Double).
What speed should you aim to average?

It's about 43 minutes at 17.5 mph average.

Then you decide to ride a 50 miler.
You know you won't be able to ride it at 17.5 mph average. Maybe not 12.5 if a 25 miler was your previous limit.
What average speed should I aim for?

The target is going to be about 4:30 to 4:35 at 11mph.

Then you decide to ride a century.

10 hours at 10 mph average!

You ride the ton easily and when you return to the 25 milers, you find you can finish them in 1:45. That's 14 ¼ mph !!

Your reference point on the curve has improved.

Time for another go at that 12.5 mile ride. You should be aiming at 19 mph now.

 

[SilverSurfer]

I just ride when I can these days, or use the spinning bike. But then I'm not training, just maintaining.