- Jul 31, 2009
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I'm preparing for my first century in about 2 months. I'm not worried about the distance but I would like to improve my average speed over that distance. I'm currently riding between 100 and 150 miles a week, but my training is sporadic and without any real direction. With work and family I can basically count on 1 long ride a week (between 3 and 5 hours to ride), one short ride (2 hours), riding to work (45 mins each way) a couple times a week, and 1 to 1 1/2 hours on the trainer at night a couple times a week. I don't have a heart rate monitor or a power meter, just a basic speed/cadence cycling computer and my own perceived effort. I generally ride at a steady pace where I'm breathing heavy yet could have a conversation, but do often go into the red on steep hills. Over relatively flat ground I average about 17.5 mph, and about 16 mph over rolling hills. If it matters I'm 31 years old, 5'10", and 175lbs.
How can I best make use of my time over the next 7 weeks to improve my average speed? What would be realistic gains from doing better training over this amount of time?
How can I best make use of my time over the next 7 weeks to improve my average speed? What would be realistic gains from doing better training over this amount of time?