Off Season

[charco]

On the 25th of October is was the Braveheart ride. The weather was ridiculous, heavy winds and rain. Saw Mark Cavendish but the rest of the ride was terrible. I learnt a valuable lesson though: Never use those puncture proof tyres, its racing style tyres or nothing. Better to risk a puncture and fix it than fight with the rubbish aerodynamics of a bad tyre. That was the last ride of my "racing season", that might be glorifying my year a bit but I need to get accustomed to training in seasons.

I've bought some tights and im about to recieve my indoor tyre so i should be set for the worst of the winter very soon. My winter plan is this:

Wk1               Wk2               Wk3               Wk4               Wk5          Wk6            Wk7              Wk8
Mo                            Off                        -                -                      -                     -                 -                   -                    -

Tue                          40                        44             48                  48                  53              58                64               64

Wed                          1hr easy            -                -                      -                    -                 -                    -                  -

Thurs                       30                       40             44                   44                 48             50                 50               50

Fri                             1hr easy            -                -                       -                    -                  -                    -                  -

Sat                          40                           44          48                   48                 53             58                 64                64

Sun                       Football/Running

My winter goals are these

1) to increase the distance I can comfortably ride

2) to build an aerobic base by covering around 1000 miles at around 140-160bpm (not very scientific but it should be ok for a first year)

3) to cross train and core train to increase enthusiasm and limit injuries

I've allowed a little extra in my program knowing full well I wont complete every mile, I have some winter workouts for days when I am stuck indoors on the turbo.

Indoor Riding - 1-3x 15 minute intervals at 170-175bpm or 1hr (2x30mins) at 153-163bpm

These higher intensity sessions can replace a longer ride and will help my time trial training. After the 8 weeks I will add intervals and stuff and there will be an 8 week plan which incorporates higher intensities while maintaining my aerobic riding.