Missed the century.....settled for the metric century

[Allie1DukeFn]

Participated in the Lance Armstrong Foundation LiveStrong Challenge in Philly this past weekend. I really wanted to do the full century, but just couldn't make it - I had to give in after the metric century. The route took us through some really rough road construction - and it just triggered a full blown migraine I had been fighting all week. I made it 20 miles after that but that was it. DH did 70. I was pretty disappointed with myself - but it gives me a goal for next year's event. Plus I figure it was better than sitting on my couch watching football......and the important thing is all the money we helped raise - $2.6 million in Philly alone! Plus considering this time last year I was terrified I wouldn't complete a 25 mile ride - 60ish is pretty good.

By the way for the self named "big girls" on the list - there was a woman that probably had about 100 lbs on me - and she kicked my *** all over the place! :D She certainly wasn't speeding up the hills - but she was doing them! I had to stop and walk for several of them. She really was amazing!

My question is this. Hills continue to kick my a&%. I am riding a Trek WSD 1500. My DH cut hills out of our training ride the last month because he said the route was going to be pretty flat and it was important to get used to that and to work on our speed. The ride was ~not~ flat! On the way home I said about how cutting the hills out probably wasn't a good idea. He said that he disagreed that the problem is that I have no power in my legs (that is true) and that the best way to improve that is to continue to ride flats, but to really push myself to improve my speed which will then help me on the hills. Doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't the best way to improve on the hills and increase the stength in my legs be to ride more hills?

He also has me confused about shifting on the hills. He originally told me that I should start shifting down when it started getting hard to pedal because you shouldn't shift on the hill because you can damage your bike. After this ride he told me that I'm killing myself because I slow down to shift and I lose my momentum going up the hill - and I can shift going up the hill I just have to back off the pressure when I pedal.

I wish I could get a trainer! Taking direction from your DH isn't the easiest thing in the world!

[7rider]

I would say to able to climb, you should climb. Practice makes perfect, they say.

From Bicycling Magazine's "Fly up Hills" by Selene Yeager
See:
http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-41-14758-1,00.html
for the whole thing.

"Find Your Power Position

To pull maximum air into your lungs, keep your back straight and your chest open. Position your hands on the brake hoods and relax your arms so your elbows sit wider than your hips. If you're short, slide back on the saddle to generate more force through the top of the pedal stroke and to encourage your heel to drop through the bottom of the stroke. If you're tall, slide forward, positioning your hips so they come close to lining up with the bottom bracket to generate maximum muscle force.

When you have to stand, click into the next larger gear and stand when one foot reaches the top of the pedal stroke (2 o'clock) to minimize momentum loss. "Avoid leaning forward as you stand, which tosses the bike backward in reaction," advises Applegate. "Stand with your butt over the saddle and keep your weight centered over the bottom bracket." You should feel like you're running on the pedals, allowing the bike to rock gently, but not excessively, from side to side."

[DebW]

He also has me confused about shifting on the hills. He originally told me that I should start shifting down when it started getting hard to pedal because you shouldn't shift on the hill because you can damage your bike. After this ride he told me that I'm killing myself because I slow down to shift and I lose my momentum going up the hill - and I can shift going up the hill I just have to back off the pressure when I pedal.

I wish I could get a trainer! Taking direction from your DH isn't the easiest thing in the world!

Downshift when you can no longer maintain your desired cadence, but not so early that you lose momentum before you need to. You can shift on a hill, but you can't shift with lots of pressure on the pedals. So, keep up your momentum but soft pedal (back off the pressure) for a revolution as you shift. Sometimes you need a couple extra-hard pedal strokes just before the shift to maintain momentum. It might take some practice. The slower your pedal speed before the shift, the trickier it becomes. So try not to let your cadence fall below about 70-80.

[mary9761]

The only way I have gotten any better on hills is by doing them. When I first started riding with the club (well at least attending the ride and riding solo as I'm not fast enough yet to keep up with the roadies on the Navigator) I couldn't do the hills. I now not only can do the hills, I'm actually stronger and a bit faster. Use your grannies if you need to and definitely gear down BEFORE you can't pedal any more.

[Geonz]

I got better at hills by going harder on the flats... because that's pretty much all we have here. (Mostly I practiced charging into headwinds, and charging up the overpasses and a few little upgrades.) So, it can be done.
If your issue is strength (as opposed to technique) then yea, go harder wehrever; but sounds like shifting technique (and maybe other stuff too) is an issue, so I'd be lookin' for hills.

[latelatebloomer]

Hey, thanks for the power salute to we Athenas!!

In my short experience, riding with the DH always gives me a less-than experience. If you don't compare yourself to him, are you riding "within yourself" and are you seeing some gradual improvement? I ride with my DH a lot, and I know he doesn't mean to, but I often get a "if only you'd try just a little harder" vibe, and man oh man, he cannot POSSIBLY know how hard this woman is working out there! And too, since we are both training, there's never a point at which I will "catch up." Someone here posted a piece about the importance of training with other women, and I would like to do that more, myself - just haven't found the right riders yet.

Are you doing a core workout? That's really helping me.

Good for you for giving the Livestrong your best shot. You pushed through a migraine for 20 miles? That's heart!

[Cassandra_Cain]

Sorry you didn't make the full century but a metric is nothing to sneeze at by any stretch. Plus you have something to work for and a goal is never a bad thing.

About hills...

I think there is a big difference in doing well in hill-climbing vs. flat riding. Riding fast in the flats is all about how much power you can produce as well as aerodynamics. These are by far the two most important factors, nothing else I think is even close.

For hill climbing the name of the game is power-2-weight. It isn't raw power, but how much you have as compared to your body weight. Aerodynamics are largely a non-factor.

To be better at climbing I think, well, obvious as it sounds, you have to do hills. Three components specifically are to be looked at: a) force - how hard you can consistently push down on the pedals, b) leg speed - how fast you can turn the pedals, and c) economy - how efficient your pedal stroke is which becomes a very big thing in hill climbing.

If I were you, I would definitely include hill climbing in my training/rides. Also I would do some higher intensity work, say +/- 5-10 beats of your Lactate Threshold HR. Do these once a week, say 3 intervals, of about 8-12 minutes each, with perhaps 4-8 minutes of rest between them. When you are doing them, try to pedal a big enough gear that your cadence is about 60-80. In time, your body will overcompensate to this stress and your strength will grow accordingly.

More info here: http://ultrafit.com/library/Bike/#7-Climbing.doc and http://ultrafit.com/library/Bike/climbing.htm

Bets wishes on doing that century and becoming a climbing queen :)

[Red Haired Girl]

Hi Cassie,

You're a hill monster! But your advice, as usual, is spot on. Thank you.

Lara aka "The Flat Land Monster"

[spindizzy]

There is nothing wrong with a metric century..did one last weekend and I was tired and mildly unfocused by the end. It was very hilly and very hard work! Good for you! You'll set your goals to finish the next one!

I echo the comments before me..to do hills ya gotta do hills. It's not only physical work, but it is also important mentally. That is where some of the greatest battles are fought!

As for advice from the DH... My DH is a physio and pretty fit..thinks he knows all there is to know about training..poo-pood my trainer/coach. That is until I improved my run time greatly from my first du to the 2nd! I let him give me advice on core work. And he's my healer...but the guy that tells me how to train is my coach. I never would have pushed myself that hard; I feel accountable to him and myself. And I remain injury free. (except for a hamstring pull due to hockey...ya, us Canucks and our hockey...:) )