Distance Climbing Help

[Veronica]

Were you eating and drinking enough on your ride yesterday?

Can you control your heart rate during a climb to keep yourself from spiking? I can set my HRM to beep if my HR gets too high or too low on a ride. When it's too high, I control it by either down shifting if I can or slowing my cadence slightly and breathing evenly.

V.

[Starfish]

Were you eating and drinking enough on your ride yesterday? Can you control your heart rate during a climb to keep yourself from spiking?
V.

1) Eating enough is always a challenge on early morning starts. I ate about 1000 calories spread out over the ride...starting about 1.5 hrs before the ride (when I woke up). Accelerade, banana, bagel & PB, Power Bar, yogurt. Got up at 6am, on the road by 7:15. I am on an afternoon/evening work schedule, so don't get to sleep until midnight or 1am, usually. Getting up too early to eat gets brutal.

2) I do use my HRM & zones...I can keep myself from spiking up to about 11% climbs. When the hills are shorter (1/8-1/4 mile) but go into 14-16%, I really can't, yet. Even in granny with slow cadence, my HR soars. It comes down nice and fast, but it gets way up there.

[maillotpois]

some rides turn out to be harder than they "should" be. often it's impossible to know why. V's questions about food and HR are on point.

I think you will have more endurance/recovery zone stuff during the week as your weekend rides get harder. but don't forget to try a day or 2 in there of harder interval training. I think that's what I've been missing and I paid for it yesterday.

that Carmichael plan sounds good. you can never go wrong with a base building week thrown in. and I think you have plenty of time to try it out.

[Starfish]

don't forget to try a day or 2 in there of harder interval training. I think that's what I've been missing and I paid for it yesterday.

I've been wondering if I'm just trying to do too much. Improve my climbing, my speed, and my endurance, all at once.

The more I read on these forums, and when I ride around other people, I am realizing that I am a seriously slow rider. Sometimes I wonder if I am biting off bigger goals than I can chew right now.

But, I am NOT giving up on this Shasta goal. Even if I can't finish, I'll have a fun ride and learn more about what I can do.

[maillotpois]

It is tough to try to improve climbing speed, endurance and overall speed all at once (as you noticed I'm struggling with this a bit myself!). It's all a big balance. I find that my speed only really increases when I am riding with people who are faster than I am, which I haven't been enough this year. Climbing speed and endurance I can work on by myself, but overall speed I really need to push myself by riding above my level.

And while maybe you won't be as fast as some, I truly believe that everyone can work on speed and get faster - or at the very least become more comfortable riding the pace that suits them, if that makes sense. So don't give up on working on it!

[Geonz]

Yep, what MP said!

I can also give you a more moderate picture of what we were doing prior to my work/illness issue.

An example of one 'cycle':
wk 1: 65 miles, 4500 ft climbing
wk 2: 55 miles, 5500 ft climbing - this was tougher than it looks because those climbs were much steeper than our normal terrain in order to get to 5500 ft in only 55 miles
wk 3: 85 miles rolling terrain (probably 2500 feet overall)
wk 4: 75 miles, 6000 climbing

After doing this just once, I noticed that wk 4 was MUCH easier for me than week 1 was, on the same general terrain. There could have been other conditions that made it seem easier, but I do recall that many of the climbs we had done in wk 1 that were repeated in wk 4 (we did both rides in the same county) were 'flatter' to us. I also know that after completing some of the climbs of wk 2, everything seemed easier in comparison (though that was definitely a mental benefit).

Week 5 was to be another shorter, steeper route, but that's when I got slammed with work....

Oh, and two other benefits to training like this are 1) that you can get to total fatigue in a shorter distance on some of those weeks like wk 2, so they are a bit easier to fit into the rest of life's schedule. And 2) if you have to travel to get to the bigger hills/climbs, you don't have to do that travel every weekend.

Okay, I"m confused. In week one you ride 65 miles? Or is that every day? (I'm justcurious. Hills are a little hard to find here, as are long distance events...)

[Starfish]

Climbing speed and endurance I can work on by myself, but overall speed I really need to push myself by riding above my level.

You know, I am really tired. I looked back at my log, as well as the events of the past couple months, and I see that I have good reason. Of course the personal stuff, but also, I have been building volume and climbing for 5 weeks in a row now. I am going to take about 6 total regeneration days now and start that endurance block with low climbing for 10 days. After recovering from that, I'll do a long climbing ride to see where I am.

I had been thinking to keep up these spinning rides to help with speed, because they are so hard for me...but I don't know if I can do that intensity plus really push my climbing volume too? I guess I'll find out.

Sure do appreciate all the encouragement and wisdom. Thanks!!!

[GLC1968]

Okay, I"m confused. In week one you ride 65 miles? Or is that every day? (I'm justcurious. Hills are a little hard to find here, as are long distance events...)

That 65 miles was one weekend ride. The schedule I posted was only my weekend long rides. I also ride during the week at least a couple of times (more, if I'm commuting) and do some other activities. If schedule permits, I also try to do a ride on the opposing weekend day either as a recovery ride or as some other type of training (usually a short ride).