Recovery day. In my old stomping grounds for the night. No training.
This week I begin a 4 week phase focused on developing my upper aerobic zone and building strength on the bike. Running will still be very slow.
By the end of the phase, I should be able to comfortably stay within 250-280 watts for 2+ straight hours at 65-75rpms. The low cadence builds strength by adding on the bike resistance. The rides are still aerobic. My heart rate ranges from 151-154bpm. The rest of the rides are capped at 156, though I rarely get close to that.
I did this phase before IMFL in '07 (on much lower volume) and had a breakthrough on the bike. I got sick last year and missed it leading up to the race. Despite being much stronger and in much better biking shape in '08, I averaged similar watts both years. I think missing the phase, amongst other things, played a role. I've decided to incorporate these rides throughout this year (I've been doing them for 1 hour so far), rather than waiting until the Ironman build. However, because of the higher intensity of the rides, it will be important to throw in more recovery.
2 comments:
How does riding at low cadence add resistance. Effort is a function of watts not cadence to the extent that these two variables are independent. Therefore, what difference does it make if you ride 260 watts at 65 rpm or 260 watts at 85 rpms.
In order to produce the watts, you need to apply force to the pedals. You can either generate 260 watts by pushing the pedals 75 rpms or generate 260watts by pushing 85 rpms (or any other amount of revolutions per minute). The lower the cadence is, however, the more force the muscles must generate per revolution to maintain a certain power output (e.g. 260w).
The same concept applies to lifting weights. Suppose you want to lift a total of 200 lbs. You can either lift 100 lbs 2 times, or you can lift 20 lbs 10 times. You need to apply more force for lift in the latter example, and thus your muscles will tire quicker.
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