This had nothing to do with elevation, more about traffic patterns. I live in a city of slightly over 1.1 million and the crux is getting out of heavy traffic. That time I ventured into unknown territory, following a suggested Strava route. Once I got out of the city, it was great. But that took a lot longer than I would have liked. Even with optimal route planning, traffic and traffic lights can easily add 30 minutes to a 2-hour ride. Just thinking about it makes total sense: it is not unusual to wait about 2–3 minutes at a traffic light. And when I want to turn right, I usually have to wait two traffic lights (since I am required to take two lefts on a multilane road).
The other problem with outside ‘endurance’ rides, is you never really spend enough time in any given zone to drive any kind of adaptations, at least for me. the IF might work out to .68-.7 but it’s almost impossible to stick to actually putting out 68-70 of ftp. climbs that force you into tempo and threshold, descents that you can’t pedal, traffic.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a long day on the bike, but they are definitely not the only way to build the endurance to go long. They are much more useful IMO for testing fueling and comfort.
Key point emphasized.
There is also a discussion to be had re: how you are executing those rides, but that is a different thread. IME, these are the easiest rides to maintain zone discipline.
I don’t think anyone is saying that.
For sure, All I was pointing out is that you don’t need to do a 6+ hour ride every week. I’ve had great success with super long SS workouts. They’re worth seeing if they work for you too.
1 Like
I don’t think that’s true: yes, it is harder to stick to power targets and most people, including yours truly, go too hard. But it is not true that you don’t get the adaptations that you want, especially if you keep heart rate low. When doing Z2 rides, especially mellow Z2 rides, I find it much easier to pace by heart rate. I set myself a heart rate target (e. g. I don’t want to exceed 130 bpm for easy Z2 or 140 bpm for more difficult Z2 rides). And, of course, I avoid hard accelerations. But apart from that, you get the right adaptations as your cardiovascular system is only doing endurance duty.
And I didn’t say that. Indoor rides give you more bang for your buck. But I think most people do not/cannot spend more than 3 hours in one piece on the trainer. At least in my case that has nothing to do with physical fitness, but since I move less while on a trainer, comfort drops after 2:30 hours and it gets very, very boring.
I see outdoor rides as complementing indoor rides. There are things you cannot practice on the trainer, things like pacing. Part of that is that even on a long day, in many situations you should prioritize momentum over slavishly sticking to a power zone. Learn how your body feels and learn to feed yourself over a 5±hour ride. Plus, I find it emotionally much more satisfying, because I cannot be disturbed by my kids or so when I am out and about. I can soak in the scenery and relax.
Yes, most of us have.
However, the OP has a very specific goal event. For such a long race, I’d follow the instructions in the weekly workout descriptions and replace the Sunday sweet spot ride with a Z2 ride. You simply emphasize a different energy system and get slightly different adaptations.
They are one arrow in the quiver….the key is knowing what arrow to pull out when.
No one is saying that it is all one method (long rides) vs. another (shorter, more intense rides)
2 Likes
I base all my (low and medium) aerobic sessions on work (kJ), not time. 3000 kJ of base work is 3000 kJ of base work, irrespective of where I do it. Yes, there is more coasting outside but pros routinely interrupt their base rides with coffee stops. And these are often long. Does not seem to hamper their development.
And on 2h vs 4/5/6 hours. No, this is never the same. Angiogenesis, e.g. skeletal capillarisation, is largely dependent on the frictional force of blood applied to the luminal side of the blood vessel (shear stress). This is a mechanical signal, duration trumps intenstiy here. You already get a very strong signal at low intensities. And duration is the stronger factor here (when we consider duration x intensity), it’s simply the number of crank revolutions. This is why we see very strong correlations between volume of training and skeletal muscle caplillarisation, one of the key adaptions to endurance training.
4 Likes
For long events, I’ve been using plan builder for low volume 3-workouts a week (during the week), then trying to squeeze in at least one long ride over the weekend that’s not included in the plan. As the event nears, I’ll try for one long ride and a medium ride on the weekends and build durations every week. That gives me five rides a week and a good mix of outdoor volume and TR intensity.
I think it would be a great enhancement if there was an Ultra event type to use when plugging your A races into plan builder. Especially with all of the longer gravel races out there, I’m guessing that selection would be used more and more.
7 Likes
For me with the ultra gravel distance events I need time on the bike on the weekends. I’m not doing 6 hour rides every weekend but as I get closer to the event I do some fairly long rides on the weekends. Sometimes splitting a long ride over 2 days. Say 5 hours Saturday and 5 hours Sunday. For those really long rides I’m not really looking at holding a particular power. I need time in the saddle. I figure out equipment, nutrition. I try to do some crappy weather rides. Maybe others can train strictly on the trainer but not me.
2 Likes