Here in Minnesota we're seeing some light at the end of what has been a very long winter "tunnel" of cold and snow.  The snow largely melted last week and our cycling group was able to get out to do some hill climbs last Thursday.  Our first big event is the Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride (named before the famous "ironman" triathlons existed) on April 27th.  My coach posted some good advice for early season event preparation, and I thought I'd excerpt it here for those of you thinking about cycling in the spring as a fun way to build up your fitness...

It’s been a long, cold and snowy winter but…

Mar 17, 2014 | Coach Bob

It’s been a long, cold and snowy winter but it looks like we’ve FINALLY turned the corner and that spring is indeed going to arrive this year!  With spring here we’re now starting to think about the MN Ironman and “how the heck am I going to prepare for it?”

...

With the ride only a handful of weeks away, let’s talk about preparation.   There are really no shortcuts to being prepared, so the most important point I can make is to:  “Get Out And Ride!”

Get out and ride if it’s cold or if it’s windy.  Get out and ride if your legs are tired or if your bike might get a little bit dirty.  And most importantly, get out and RIDE HILLS.

I like to think of it this way:  The ride WILL happen on April 27.  And the roads (and especially the hills) of the event do not care what training we have or have not done.  The event does not care what the weather is like that day or the days leading up to it.  The event does not care about the conditions of our bikes or our clothing.  It doesn’t care if we’re eating or drinking properly.

The roads and the hills are there, waiting for us.

So it’s up to EACH OF US to be prepared.  So let’s talk about training.

We should complete at least 3 key rides per week (up to a max of 6).  The 3 key rides include:

• 1 hill ride.   Riding hills offers the absolute best “bang for your training buck” so ride hills hard and ride them often.   Riding hills is a great way to build leg and lung strength, as well as mental toughness.  Fighting gravity is hard and practicing this skill at least once a week will help prepare you for the hills on the [event] course.
• 1 interval ride.   There are an infinite number of possibilities here, with no “one size fits all” workout.   You know your personal level and what you can handle.  If you’re a beginner or if your fitness level leaves something to be desired, a series of 1 minute intense intervals (6 – 12 or more) is a great starting point.  Ride these intervals “as hard as you can,” then take a 2 minute easy spin recovery between each.  If you’re a more advanced, 3 or more intervals of 3-6 minutes each at a high heart rate/power level (2 minute recovery intervals) is a good starting point.  The key is to challenge yourself and your comfort zone, and your fitness will follow.  
• 1 long ride.  The long ride is the most important ride of the week.  Having the ability to spend time in the saddle is crucial to having a good long-event ride.  Here again there are an infinite number of possibilities as to the definition of “long ride,” and it’s different for nearly everyone, depending on fitness level, the longest ride done recently, the Ironman ride distance chosen, etc.

You can use these “rules of thumb” as a place to start:

• Century (100 miles):  Get at least 1 ride of up to 4 hours.  This should be 2 weeks or more prior to the event.
• The shorter rides:  Ride the full distance at least once, and this should also be 2 weeks or more prior to the event.

If you ride 3 times per week, the above key rides are the ones to focus on.  If you ride 4, 5 or 6 days per week, [the extra rides] should all be fairly easy, aerobic level rides.  Be fresh and rested for the 3 “key” rides and be sure these are high quality rides.  Any other rides are “bonus” and should primarily focus on merely getting time in the saddle.

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Hope that helps!

Here's my personal workout plan for a typical week leading up to the season start... 

Monday:  Resistance & Core training... Bench & Military Press, Rows, Lunges, Squats, Planks

Tuesday: On Bike - High Intensity Intervals - 1.25 hours

Wednesday: Recovery ride: 1 hour at endurance pace

Thursday: On Bike: 1 - 1.5 Hours of Hill Climbs - 6 times up a 1.25 mile hill (takes me 6m30s to climb the hill and 3-4m to descend and come around again...

Friday: Day off

Saturday: Long-Ride 4-6 hours

Sunday: Recovery Ride - 1 hour at endurance pace

Question: On your Thursday, what is the grade or elevation change of the hill climb?  (Wondering how it compares to my local options)

It averages around 5% for the 1.25 miles, but it varies from 2% - 8% along the way... definitely not super steep, but it's good for an "interval" style workout - long enough that you can't just attack it without running out of gas.   We don't have really long hills here.  I actually prefer the hills out in the southwest where you can grind away at 3-6% for 25 miles - that just suits my style better.  We cycle in SE Wisconsin a lot and they have a lot of nasty 18% jobs... I hate those. 

Thanks for sharing. We still have a tiny bit of snow left up in the northern part of the state, but it's almost all gone. It really has been a long, awful winter this year. Yuck! It was never mild. It was just really cold and really snowy :(

I plan to start biking to work at the beginning of April. I also am going to start training soon for some 20-30 miles rides hopefully leading up to a 60 mile ride from Park Rapids to Walker and back on the Heartland Trail.  In the past I've done 20 mile rides easily, but it's been a while.

Biking has always been my exercise/activity of choice and I really wish I lived in a climate that I could bike year round. There are people who do it, but I'm not sure I can do it. I am a big baby when it comes to the cold even though I've lived in it my whole life.

I'm noodling on starting a blog regarding training indoors... I have a very cool setup that works great, and I'm thinking of starting a series on "bike tech" on how to set up an indoor training setup that will get one through the winter... and also tech for outside (lots of computer/electronics choices)...

T

I like the idea of training all winter. My brother, who lives in Shakopee is a big into fitness, especially biking, and does the Square Lake Triathlon every year along with other smaller events. Anyway, he has a contraption in his garage that he puts his actual bike on to ride it in place. 

If you do start a blog make sure and post a link to it.

I love my Wahoo Kickr... connects with hard-core videos to give a great simulation of a riding experience...

Great information!!!  As the rain is now slowing down here in Seattle, I am looking forward to cycling outside.  I've been doing the Spin Classes at the gym.  The class is 1 hour. I plan on doing my first group ride the 3rd week of April.  The Tulip Pedal, the shortest distance is 25 miles, which is what I am planning on doing.  It's all flat. 

What advise do you have for a first timer?

Thanks,

Cheryl

My advice is to have fun!  Since you're used to sitting on the bike for an hour, doing 2 hours or so shouldn't be a major issue. Try to get outside and ride some hills that will be similar to what the course will look like. I just peeked at the route, and it looks like there's one hill on Summers Drive that you might want to go try and see how it feels...  It's about 3/4 of a mile long, at the 13.3 mile point on the ride, so you might be a little tired, but if you go ride it a few times you'll know what to expect.

You can see the route and hill profile here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/374832841 

I think making sure you do good interval training on the spin bike will help with your cardiovascular fitness.  I'm always surprised by how different it feels outside than on a training bike... some things are much harder, some are much easier.  And it's definitely more fun outside, especially in a group.

At 25 miles I don't think I'd worry too much about nutrition or hydration - just normal common sense stuff.  When you start doing longer rides that last 3-8 hours the VSG may have some impact on one's ability to get calories in.  But for 25 miles you should be fine with what you normally eat.

Have fun!

Thanks for the feedback.  I had no idea I could get the route and profile. That is so cool.     I never thought about the nutritional part but I will keep that in mind when I get to longer rides.  The good news is I almost fit into the bike pants I bought.  My butt will be happy about that.  I plan on getting some outdoor rides in before the big ride.  We have lots of hills in my area so I will be able to train a bit for that. :)

 I have set a major goal for my 1 year.  I am going to do the Tour de Blast up Mt. St. Helens!  It's supposed to be a great ride with lots of challenge!