Prepare to race
Train your body to cope with longer distances
WORKOUT 1 AEROBIC ENDURANCE BUILDER
BENEFITS This 2-3hr endurance ride will feel hard as you push yourself but it’s well worth it as it will help you sustain a stronger pace for longer during your century ride. “It’ll be helpful early on in your century training, but also to complement those longer 4hr training rides you’ll be doing later on,” says Paterson.
NUTRITION Make sure you take on 60g of carbs and one 500ml bidon of water per hour.
WARM-UP Start with 20mins of easy riding to gradually elevate your heart rate and warm up your muscles.
MAIN SET
Your aim here is to maintain a strong average speed – slightly higher than your normal training pace – for 2-3hrs, whatever terrain you encounter. “The key is to select a varied route with undulations, fast flats, climbs and descents to provide that all-important training stimulus,” explains Paterson. “Aim for 5-10% above your endurance training power; 5-15bpm higher than your usual average heart rate during training; or, if you’re going on feel, it’s just about noticing that little extra effort. This medium-length ride might feel more fatiguing than longer rides, where you’ll be more conservative with your pacing, but that’s what’ll pump up your average pace.”
COOL-DOWN Finish with 10mins of easy riding.
WORKOUT 2 ENDURANCE SWEET SPOT
BENEFITS “Although the efforts in this short, sharp workout are higher than you’ll sustain on your century ride, they’ll increase your ability to work closer to your topend pace, which means you’ll feel less fatigued when you ride hard on the day,” explains Paterson. “This session will ensure you can make bigger efforts on hills or flats, without suffering later on in your ride. And at only 45mins it’s a great midweek session.”
“Select a varied route with undulations, fast flats, climb sand descents to provide a training stimulus”
“This short, sharp workout will ensure you can make bigger efforts on hills or flats on the day”
NUTRITION 500ml bidon of water.
WARM-UP Start with a 10min gentle ramp through the gears at 45-75% FTP (easy spinning, growing progressively harder).
MAIN SET
BLOCK 1 Start with 3 x 3min efforts at @ 85% FTP (breathing deeply, so it’s hard to say more than one word at a time), then 1min @ 75% FTP (you can speak a few words). Recover for 2mins at @ 55% FTP (easy spinning).
BLOCK 2 Now do 3 x 2min efforts @ 90% FTP (really attacking, like gasping up a steep climb) and 2mins @ 80% FTP (still breathing deeply and hard to say a few words). You’re pushing a bit harder than Block 1. Recover for 2mins at @ 55% FTP (easy spinning).
COOL-DOWN Finish with 4 mins @40-60% FTP (easy spinning).