TRAINING HINTS FOR MARCH
Don’t expect to be as fit now as you were at your peak last year – there’s plenty of time yet to get fit before July!
Practice
While many people will have been training for some time now, others will just be emerging from hibernation. If you are in the latter category, you need to start fairly gently, building up the miles in stages.
March is a good time of year to build basic endurance, to practice peloton riding, descending and bike handling. It is useful to get the feel of your bike first by putting it through its paces in a safe area such as a large area of tarmac before you try to hone your skills on twisty mountain roads, or riding in large pelotons! Trying a few extreme maneuvers such as tight turns etc in safety improves confidence – find out where the limits are in relative safety!
Frequency
As mentioned in the February training hints, frequency of training is an important factor. According to the sports science manuals, you need to train at least twice a week to improve your fitness.
Weekends:
At this time of year training may consist of a fairly leisurely 50 mile ride at the weekend with friends to a tea shop or pub and back, with a couple of hills thrown in for good measure. Or if you are training alone, you may want to head off at a comfortable speed round an interesting 50 mile circuit, with a couple of nice descents. Riding by feel rather than by the speedo is probably better at this time of year.Evenings:
Most of us are not too keen to do miles in the dark when it is cold or rainy, so the turbo trainer or the gym make good alternatives. If you have access to a heart rate monitor (HRM) this is helpful, though it is not wise to train too near your maximum heart rate for too long! Most HRMs have a manual giving suggested training levels. I have found the power meters attached to the training machines in the gym to be useful for gauging training intensities. Be warned though – the same intensity may register 200W on one machine and 350W on the machine next to it, even though the machines are of the same type and apparently in good condition!Commuting:
Cycle commuting is an excellent training opportunity. As it tends to be over a fixed distance, the time taken gives a useful measure of fitness. Obviously this needs tempering with common sense so that you don’t arrive at work too exhausted! For some people, commuting is almost their only training opportunity, in which case an occasional extended ride may be possible when the weather and commitments permit. People have had excellent results simply by commuting 11 miles each way to work, and augmenting this with 3-5 hour rides on alternate Sundays, or else with sessions in the gym.Intensity
The intensity of your training rides should be quite low at this time of year, as you build up endurance. You need to recover between training sessions if you are to get fitter rather than become exhausted. If you are training many times a week, the intensity may need to be lower to allow for recovery before the next session. If you have symptoms of over-training you may need a few days break from training.
Targets
Targets are very useful for concentrating the mind. Orienting your training towards a charity ride or Audax is extremely useful. For example a 100Km Audax in March and a 200km Audax in May would pace your training nicely ready for the big challenge.
If you are one of the few people already in the 100 mile league this year, maybe it is time to start concentrating on speed over fixed distances.
Training Camps and Cycling Holidays
If you are lucky enough to be able to go on a training camp in Mallorca or elsewhere, your fitness should benefit considerably. Or if you have holiday companions who cycle but are more sedate in their style, you may be able to sneak off for a really long mountainous ride for a day, for example to try out part of the route of one of the great cycle races such as the Vuelta d’Italia. On a family holiday it may still be possible to hire a bike for a day and head for the mountains.
Obviously training needs to be kept in balance with more important commitments though!
Monitoring
The obvious thing to monitor at this time of year is distance, gradually increasing the lengths of your rides. At this time of year, a flat fairly leisurely 45 mile ride should not be too great difficulty, though a very hilly 45 miles may be quite tiring. A 60 mile ride, if not yet attainable, should not be too far away. You may want to increase your distance each week, or maybe increase the length of your longest ride (though this will not always be possible).
If you are monitoring your fitness in the gym it is useful to monitor your heart rate and wattage. If possible use the same machine each week if you are measuring wattage, as machines vary a lot.
As you get fitter, you will find that your wattage will increase for a given heart rate.
It is also interesting to record your average speed over a given distance, if only to prove that you are able to improve it later!
Finally, enjoy your rides, get fit and don’t over do it (too much!)