Training Tips
By Jim Rutberg

I met Harry Havnoonian, Dennis Tate, and everyone at HH Racing Group after walking into their bike shop with a flat tire at age 15. I mentioned I wanted to be a bike racer, and was immediately given Jimmy Alvord’s phone number. During the 10 years that followed, Jimmy taught me the racing skills to earn my way onto the US National Cycling Team, and Harry always made sure I was racing on cutting-edge bikes. I went on to be a coach and writer for Carmichael Training Systems, where I had the privilege of co-authoring the “The Ultimate Ride” with Chris Carmichael in 2003. As you prepare for the upcoming Bike4Sight Ride, and the rest of your cycling season, I hope to provide advice and guidance to help you have your most successful season yet.

The best way to ensure an enjoyable and productive cycling season is to start it off with some training that targets your pedaling technique and aerobic engine. The concept is pretty simple: the more work you can do with your aerobic system, the less you need to rely on that inefficient, smoke-belching, self-limiting anaerobic system for energy.

In order to boost the power of your aerobic engine, you need to make sure your training intensity targets that energy system. You don’t always need computers and technology to tell when your intensity is too high, just listen to your breathing. When you are primarily using your aerobic system for energy, your breathing will be rapid, but controlled. When you start relying more heavily on your anaerobic system for energy, your breathing will go from rapid, but controlled, to uncontrollable panting. Test it out the next time you’re climbing a hill: ride at a pace you can sustain while breathing with a steady, fast rhythm. Then increase your intensity gradually until you reach the point where you have the irrepressible urge to pant; you just went from riding aerobically to riding anaerobically.

Who cares, you ask, if you’re riding aerobically or anaerobically? What difference does it make? Honestly, it probably won’t matter at the beginning of your ride, but it certainly will later on. Your aerobic engine is more fuel-efficient than your anaerobic system, meaning you can ride longer without running low on fuel. The anaerobic system can burn through your limited carbohydrate fuel stores up to five times faster than your aerobic system will. This is important when you’re training for an event like the Bike4Sight Ride because you want to do more than just finish; you want to enjoy the ride from beginning to end. Relying on your aerobic engine for the majority of your energy is the best way to make sure you enjoy the last 30 minutes of your ride as much as you enjoyed the first 30.

As the weather in the tri-state area improves and the days get longer, your training should focus on developing your aerobic engine. This may mean resisting the urge to ride at full throttle for a while. Instead, focus on riding in easier gears than you might be used to for a while. Increasing your cadence stresses your aerobic system and helps you develop a more efficient pedal stroke. Try adding some FastPedal™ intervals to your rides. These are five- to eight-minute intervals that are done in a small gear and with a high cadence. Your goal is to maintain as high a pedal speed as possible during the intervals without bouncing in the saddle. For experienced cyclists, this can mean pedaling at 110-120 rpm, while less experienced riders may perform these intervals at 90-110 rpm. To determine your cadence, count the number of times your right pedal goes around in ten seconds, then multiply by six (15 strokes in 10 seconds equates to 90rpm, 20 equates to 120 rpm). Aim to perform three to four of these intervals, taking five to eight minutes of easy-spinning recovery between them, two or three times a week during the end of February and the first few weeks of March. You can even do FastPedal™ intervals during group rides. Simply shift into a lower gear so you have to pedal faster to keep up.

After a few weeks of using a high cadence to train your aerobic engine, it will be time to shift into Tempo™ workouts, which use a lower cadence and bigger gears to increase the amount of power your aerobic engine produces. More on that in the next article...

Jim Rutberg is a coach and writer for Carmichael Training Systems (CTS). For more information on CTS or to learn about personal coaching programs, please visit www.trainright.com.
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