Riding Faster with Intervals
July 14, 2009 1:16 pm
Anne and I went for a 4.5 mile run this morning. She was going to have lunch with a friend so there was no time for cycling together today. I thought it would be a good day for some interval training. The weather is getting warm and I knew that it would be in the high 90′s today. so I did not want to wait too long. Around 11:00 am, I headed out on my single bike for the loop I have done before. I did not have aerobars on the bike right now and did not want to bother to put them on just for this speedwork since I need to have them off for the race next month.
The good thing about doing speed work on the same course is you can compare your times between days. Since cycling speed is greatly affected by the wind, I have a loop course with each of the four intervals after I make a right turn so the wind should average out. I felt I did very well today, even though I did a speed workout two days ago running. I was able to get my heart rate up to a high level during each of the four 7 minute intervals, averaging around 165, with a maximum heart rate of around 172. With interval training you want to push your heart rate well above your lactate threshold. The recovery portion is such that you get your heart rate back down before the next interval.
This chart shows my heart rate and speed. The course is not completely flat so you get some varations in speed during each 7 minute interval, but the total climb is only 400 feet for the whole loop. Notice how the heart rate goes up quickly at the start of each interval and stays in the red zone and how I slow down enough for the rest portion to get my heart rate down below 130. Click on the graph to view enlarge.
I record the data on my Polar heart rate monitor so I can compare each workout with the same course on other days. Even though I was no using aerobars today (which would account for another 1 mph) I did well compared with prior workouts, especially getting my heart rate up high, which I find hard to do on a flat stretch.
Cycling Interval Training |
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Flat Loop Hecker Pass, Watsonville Road, Santa Terres.
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7 minute fast, then 3.5 minutes easy
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Lap
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Time
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Dist
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MPH
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Max HR
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Avg HR
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| 7/14/09 | No Aerobars | ||||
| 1 | 7:01 | 2.537 | 21.7 | 168 | 161 |
| 2 | 7:00 | 2.555 | 21.9 | 174 | 166 |
| 3 | 6:58 | 2.548 | 21.9 | 173 | 166 |
| 4 | 7:00 | 2.728 | 23.3 | 171 | 165 |
| Total | 27:59 | 10.368 | 22.2 | 172 | 165 |
| 2/23/2009 | |||||
| 1 | 7:01 | 2.117 | 18.1 | ||
| 2 | 7:01 | 2.328 | 19.9 | ||
| 3 | 6:26 | 2.583 | 24.1 | ||
| 4 | 7:31 | 2.734 | 21.8 | ||
| Total | 27:59 | 9.762 | 20.9 | ||
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4/4/2008
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1
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7:01
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2.507
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21.4
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162
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155
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2
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7:00
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2.449
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21.0
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159
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153
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3
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7:00
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2.406
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20.6
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156
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151
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4
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6:44
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3.011
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26.8
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153
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150
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| Total | 27:45 | 10.373 | 22.4 | 155 | 152 |
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3/13/08
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1
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7:01
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2.277
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19.5
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161
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155
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2
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7:02
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2.528
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21.6
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159
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154
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3
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6:46
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2.361
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20.9
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158
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152
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4
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7:02
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2.733
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23.3
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158
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151
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| Total | 27:51 | 9.899 | 21.4 | 159 | 153 |
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