Goals, events, and training

Training
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I, like many people, use events to aid my training motivation and discipline.

In 2020 my goal was for one event every 4-6 weeks, but that didn’t happen. I had signed up for a sportive in the end of March, but am now told that’s likely canceled.

Of course I always like time on the bike, and enjoy the process of getting stronger however in a season with very few ‘goal events’ I’m interested in how you all have shifted the motivation for training.

TLDR, what are your non-event goals.

Sorry if I’m late to the boat on this one, I’m new to TR and the forum :slight_smile:

Tim

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I’m missing the CX season, but training in hope of some TTs in the spring - am not a regular Tester, so that’s a new challenge for me. If the events don’t come off, I’ll just ride some local courses by myself to see what times I can turn in. Next summer I’d also like to have a go at a sub 5-hour 100 miler.

I also have a couple of local Strava segments (1-3 minute hills) where I stand a chance of making the overall top 10…which isn’t bad considering I’m closer to 50 than 40.

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I’m also generally pretty motivated by the training process anyway - and apart from hard power metrics I like the feeling of just being able to cruise further and faster when I’m out riding.

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Thanks, yeah I like the feeling of progressing etc. For me it’s more about ensuring consistency!

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Thanks @jb0980 , I’ll have a read through.

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I have a handful of 20 minute-ish strava climbs nearby that I like to do several times a year as performance benchmarks. Also a few big local routes, mostly just training to survive them motivates! 5 hour century is on my list for the yea as well. For events that are canceled Ive tried to create a similar event or even ride the same route on the same date. You may be able to get a friend, spouse, or friends spouse to sag along the course or at least set up a water stop for one of your own DIY events.

Many people are talking about consistency and I think they are right. The best events are the ones that make you want to ride or train. If creating a route with a few new roads to explore of RidewithGPS motivates you to get out on cold weekend, then perfect!

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Thanks @TwoWheels , that’s interesting. I did think about doing the sportive route, but it would involve driving to the start, and that’s not really allowed/ reccomended. Perhaps I’ll look at some local routes I could do on the day instead, and make a day of it.

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My main motivation in 2019 was my club’s Saturday group ride and our Wednesday night race simulation training ride. Plus, I was doing a fondo or two per year and was looking forward to doing some out of town gravel events.

In 2020 I’ve shifted to maintaining fitness and using cycling as stress relief. My son is in virtual school, it’s been cold, and I can hardly ride outside right now. I really look forward to going down to my pain cave every day for an hour or two, watching some Netflix, and destressing.

I’m hoping most of us will get vaccinated soon, group rides will resume, events will happen, and life will settle down this summer.

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Last summer I signed up for a virtual century ride. I received a map and just rode the route on my own. It was a charity event.

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I’m making sure I have personal goals for every training block logged into TrainingPeaks, as I’m in the same boat as you.

For example for January training block, my goals were:

  • Dry January - no alcohol
  • hit 220 - 230 watts average on targeted climbs for 3 rides - rides were on the weekend. 1st ride: 2x20 , 2nd ride 3x15, and 3rd ride 1x30
  • Specific training zones to not injure / irritate knee - I have a history of knee problems, and having training interrupted by flare-ups
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@AlphaDogCycling Thanks that’s useful. Perhaps i need to mix in some more varied goals as well.

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