Back to basics 2

Training for the Witches Curse

Only two weeks to prepare for this event so I was wondering which way to train.

I asked myself, should I take the scientific route and get into checking my current heart rate zones power outputs and so on? I could devise a schedule to bring me to the event in the best shape possible. But the answer was no! In two weeks I'd just about establish where I am at now and start to prepare a plan to improve.

So the answer is take the training back to basics. Riding the bike when you can and when you can't get on in indoor trainer. Tonight its cold outside but a nice warm 4 degrees in the shed so turbo training it was - first time since.... since.... since a very long time ago. I remember using the turbo to prepare to spend a week climbing really big hills in Spain but that was 12 years ago.

Riding on Feel

The most old fashioned bit of the training is the method of gauging the effort - I'm using something we used to use 30 years ago - we call it riding on feel. It worked then and I reckon it still works now.
So how does back to basics work?

I've got to be able to ride up lots of hills so when out on the bike I'm riding up lots of hills. I've got to be able to build a bit of stamina and enable my legs to recover while riding so I have to work quite hard, relax a bit and work hard again.

Of course "feel" is built up over time and there are special indicators you can use to know just how hard you are actually working, that's a bit scientific really. For example if you are doing sprint intervals and you intend doing eight of them you know you were going a tiny fraction too hard if you threw up after only six or seven, a bit too easy is you still had balance, coordination and speech after eight. Do it a few times and you develop the necessary feel so that you only throw up after eight and so that the balance, coordination and speech only go as you make your eighth final lunge.