Training Help!

Hi there, I have begun training for a ride called the Trek Across Maine, it's 3 days, 180 miles. I am taking RPM classes right now since there is still 2 feet of snow here :)
My question is: While I am giving 150%, I mean pushing and working as hard as I can on the bike, my legs are at their max before my heartrate and breathing is fatigued...I literally push my legs until I feel as though they can not bike any harder and yes, I am out of breath and sweating a ton, but I know my heartrate is not at it's max and I know my lungs are not at their max either?!
What am I doing wrong? I have just bought a pair of clipless shoes to work with this week in the hopes that perhaps my form is off and also the outsides of my feet were feeling numb after an hour of biking.

Also, any tips anyone has would be very helpful ;)

Hmmm. Well, I'm not expert. But my thought would be that you're pushing too hard a gear with a slower cadence. Maybe work on riding in a smaller gear and work on increasing your cadence. That would get your heart going and you'd be working aerobically instead of using your leg muscles. On a group ride, my cadence is consistently between 198 and 210. If that helps.

But as I said . . . I'm no expert.

Breezer, did you really mean to say 198-210 for cadence?

A good cadence for most riding is between 80 and 100 rpm. I usually ride around 90 rpm or so (unless I'm going uphill in which case it's way lower). Shift gears up or down as needed to maintain a good cadence.

Also, if you're out of breath, then I would think your breathing is at its max.

And what are you basing your max heartrate on?

I'm not actually outside yet, I use the RPM bikes provided in the classes so there is no shifting, only adjusting the resistance. I am only basing my heartrate on what I have experienced in different training situations, I know it is not very scientific but I can tell when it is pounding in my throat and it is really racing vs. a raised, but not max target rate. I agree, if I'm out of breath that should be the max but my legs are worn out before that point where you are gasping for air and the only reason I am trying to get to that point is that I'm trying to get as in shape as I can! I have about 20 pounds to lose and I have to "learn" how to bike the best that I can for this trek :)

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Originally Posted by ny biker

Breezer, did you really mean to say 198-210 for cadence?

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Woooops! I think you're right. 98 to 110. Sorry.
That would be something though, to get my legs spinning that fast. Wonder if I could win a tour with a cadence like that.

Lol Breezer you worried me for a second there! Here I was so proud that I had been sustaining 94 yesterday at the gym, and there you are doing 210! haha.

If I went spinning, I would not go all the way to maxing out my heart rate. At least not all the time. I overdid that the winter after my first season of cycling and it wore me out to the point that I got heart palpitations (or exacerbated the PVCs I already had).

When I once went to a training seminar, the coach there suggested power intervals where you do a low cadence (he suggested 30-40 rpm but I believe this is bad for my knees, so I chose about 60 rpm) at a resistance that brings your heart rate to about 10 below lactate threshold (for me, that's 160 bpm). Alternate that with high cadence recovery intervals.
That kind of interval would get my legs nicely tired and I'd feel the lactate build up before getting really out there on breathing and heart rate.
He suggested this would increase my power output without wearing me out, as would happen if I pushed to max for close to an hour.

so my advice is, don't push it that much. It would be better to exercise longer (2h spin class) but only at or below lactate threshold.


re: numb feet.
Do you mean your feet were numb in the new clipless shoes? Perhaps they are too narrow or you pulled them too tight. Maybe you'll get used to it, maybe you'll have to take them back to the store.

my feet were going numb in the regular toe clips so I decided to order the dlipless, haven't tried them yet though, I'm a little nervouse, any tips on learning how to ride clipless? I did by the tension adjustable shimano clipless pedals that I will be adjusting when I put them on the bike, I have read a few horror stories though of people falling over? I am pretty clumsy os I am envisioning myslef falling int oa ditch!!:D

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Originally Posted by dreaztrek

my feet were going numb in the regular toe clips so I decided to order the clipless, haven't tried them yet though, I'm a little nervouse, any tips on learning how to ride clipless? I did buy the tension adjustable shimano clipless pedals that I will be adjusting when I put them on the bike, I have read a few horror stories though of people falling over?

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I see then the numbness is probably from soft soles, cycling shoes have stiff soles for that reason.

As written elsewhere, I have never fallen on a road bike with clipless pedals, not when I first borrowed a friend's 15 years ago, not since I started riding 4 yrs ago. I did take a splat last year on my new MTB when I was doing something silly.

You have plenty of time now to practice getting in and out indoors, so you'll have that down once you get out on the road.

Once you go out, try clipping in and out a couple times when you are holding on to something (to check the tension), then just try it. Start with one foot clipped and just take off. If you don't hit the pedal right, stay on the pedal with the foot unclipped and spin lightly (to avoid slipping off), and try again while riding on, just don't panic.

My advice would be to get a heart rate monitor. You can get affordable ones, $40.00, you don't need anything super fancy!

Going by feel is great, once you know what you are feeling, but if you are just going by feel without having actual numbers to compare to- you have no idea what you are doing!

There is a good chance that you are working a lot harder then you think you are, or you do just need to lower your resistance. You can only push a big load for so long before your muscles fatigue.

I advice getting a HRM so you can actually see what you are doing and when, and monitoring your resistance and trying to keep a higher cadence.