Training by Numbers

As I sit here getting ready for the first training session in my plan the thought enters my mind that I should try and track the improvements I make. As mentioned before, I love a good chart and that means collecting data. I also believe that heart rate training zones are an important part of any plan and that means heart rate data.

First up is to calculate my minimum and maximum heart rate. The minimum is a fairly simple task, taking my heart rate before I get out of bed in the morning. I can keep doing this and keep a rolling average. At the moment it sits at around 52 bpm. Calculating the max heart rate is a little more complex though.

There are lots of formulae floating around the Internet, from the very simple 220 - Age through to the more complex 210 - (Age/2) - (0.05 * Weight (lb)). Here is a quick summary of my scores:

Calculation	MHR
Simple Age Based	184.0
BikeRadar	187.2
Miller	186.4
Londeree	180.7
Jackson	182.8
Whyte	182.2
Combined	181.4

This gives me an average of around 183, so lets use this number. Knowing the max and the min I can now start to work out the training zones, and again it gets complex. A fairly rough guide is to use 10% wide zones, so 60% to 70% is the weight loss and endurance zone. 70% to 80% is the cardio zone. However, British Cycling use a more complex zone setup (from Bike Radar):

Zone 1 (60-65% of maximum heart rate): For long, easy rides, to improve the combustion and storage of fats.
Zone 2 (65-75% of MHR): The basic base training zone. Longish rides of medium stress.
Zone 3 (75-82% of MHR): For development of aerobic capacity and endurance with moderate volume at very controlled intensity.
Zone 4 (82-89% of MHR): For simulating pace when tapering for a race.
Zone 5 (89-94% of MHR): For raising anaerobic threshold. Good sessions for 10- and 25-mile time-trials.
Zone 6 (94-100% of MHR): For high-intensity interval training to increase maximum power and speed 

Plugging in all of the numbers then gives me a very rough guide to my training zones

Zone	HR min	HR max
Z1	110	119
Z2	119	138
Z3	138	150
Z4	150	163
Z5	163	173
Z6	173	184

I know from experience that keeping it below 120 bpm on the bike is a pretty easy ride so this feels about right. With these zones in place I can now think about applying them to my training, at least in the early days while I get a feel for them, and for that I need a heart rate monitor.

I already own an ANT+ HRM so this would be the obvious choice, except Strava doesn't support ANT+ on Android ( I know, how stupid, but check the forums and feel the anger of the ANT fans). I also have an Endomondo Pro license, but as this is different to the subscription based Premium license I don't get so many nice features. I also find Endomondo tends to wander off track leading to inaccurate results.

I've looked at various Garmin devices but they would all put a serious dent in the £1000 budget so I'm going to have to come up with some combination of monitoring. If you see somebody rolling past with two phones, a cycle computer and a calculator it is probably me. Don't try to stop me, I'll be in the zone.

The Training Plan

Any fan of Red Dwarf will remember the scene where Rimmer makes a revision timetable that takes so long to create that he loses revision time. He then has to re-write the plan, taking up more time, leading to another re-write and so on and so on. Eventually he is left with no time to revise and a very pretty revision chart.

This is me when it comes to cycle training.

I love all of the conflicting information around training approaches. Do you get a power meter or go on feel? How do you calculate your maximum heart rate? How do you best gain endurance, speed, climbing ability? I could spend hours researching all of this and walk away without a single decision being made; but with a warm feeling of having done "something".

Then add on my recent addiction to GCN and their YouTube Channel where I can spend hours "learning" really useful information like the Top 10 Things Not To Wear When Cycling and it is a miracle that I came up with any plan at all. But here it is in all of it's glory.

The mighty training plan v1.0

This was created from a mixture of a Brevet Sportive Training Plan, my experience from going from couch to 10km runner, a lot of fingers in the air and fitting in with existing commitments. It has three main themes:

1. Periodicity - The plan features four week blocks where the effort increases and then reduces in the last week, This allows your body to recover
2. Escalation/Recovery - The times and distances slowly build with each four week block before winding down before the event to preserve energy
3. Variation - The plan mixes endurance, technical and easy rides and is supplemented with cross training (football) and core/flexibility sessions

Of course, just like Rimmer, I'm almost certain parts of this plan are going to go out of the window when reality hits. The second week is interrupted with a holiday and there is snow in the forecast. But, with only 20 weeks until the Coast 2 Coast there is nothing for it now but to get on my bike and start riding.

Pushing Too Hard

One of the many rules around training is the idea that you should only increase your mileage by 10% each session. The idea is that you give your body a small challenge, it adapts during recovery and then at the next session you push it a little bit more. I applied this quite happily when building up to my first 10km running race so I knew it would work again on the bike.

I was putting in plenty of 20 mile rides to get used to the bike and iron out any problems with the equipment. These included some hills, some training in Zone 2, some social rides, it was all going rather well. When Ben popped up with an 80 mile ride in the Cotswolds in 18 days time I quickly started to work out how I could ramp up to that distance.

Sticking to the 10% rule it would take 15 rides to increase my distance from 20 to 80 miles. There was no way I was going to achieve that as a casual cyclist so I wimped out, found a shortcut, and agreed to come along for 60 miles instead. This should still take 11 rides, but with only two weekends spare I would have to push it a little.

So the next weekend I headed out with another friend, Tim (also taking part in the C2C) for a bit of a training run. I should have known I was in trouble when I arrived at Tim's garage to see it full of bikes, including a Time Trial bike. Turns out Tim was quite a keen cyclist and the following 37 miles were a great exercise in how to sit on somebody's wheel. An average of 16.3mph had me gasping.

Hoping to do things at my own pace I headed out again the next weekend for my first 50 mile ride solo. With no wheel to hang on to and several punctures this turned into four and a half hours of grind, more than double the previous weekends time. I finished exhausted, barely able to turn the pedals, though I did overtake somebody pushing a shopper up a steep hill.

Now I was out of time and the big weekend had arrived. Having already done 50+ miles solo I was happy with doing 60 miles in company. The pace was a little slow as we set off but soon the miles were rolling by. You can read a full description here. We reached the pub in good time and this was where I was due to split off after lunch to take my shortcut. But we all know what happened after a beer and a bit of bravado.

I ended up completing the full 87 miles (yes, 7 miles longer than planned), again crawling into the finish in a complete state. Did I complete my challenge? Yes, and I am pleased I did, but I cannot recommend escalating your distance this quickly. At the time it wasn't a fun experience and I am probably quite lucky that I didn't injure myself.

Next time: The training plan