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Fitness thread - Q1/12


Soulboy
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  • 2 weeks later...

Fitness question. Running 3 miles twice a week and getting quicker. I'm just under the 8 min/mile average for the 3 miles. What is the next best thing to do? I'm running in the week as its easy but it's for really getting me quicker on the mtb. So to improve my Sunday bike fitness (22 miles) what should I now do with the running. Run at a quicker pace, for longer or intervals? Ta

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Fitness question. Running 3 miles twice a week and getting quicker. I'm just under the 8 min/mile average for the 3 miles. What is the next best thing to do? I'm running in the week as its easy but it's for really getting me quicker on the mtb. So to improve my Sunday bike fitness (22 miles) what should I now do with the running. Run at a quicker pace, for longer or intervals? Ta

Missed this.

Intervals - so sprint for 1 minute, then normal pace for 3 minutes (NOT walking), sprint for 1 minute, normal pace for 3 and so on.

As you get proficient at this, reduce the amount of time at normal pace, so you'll ultimately be doing 1 minute sprint, 1 minute normal etc +++

Have you got many hills around you?

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Maybe a third of a mile, possibly a bit more.

My hill workout:

Two miles at a slow pace to warm up

From the bottom of the hill, run up at faster than comfortable pace for about two minutes to a landmark

Run back down to the start point at slow pace in order to recover

Repeat x4 trying to match or better the previous ascent time each repetition

Finish off with a slow mile

You'll want to increase your reps each time and bring your ascent time down until you're pushing up the hill each time, but still improving on the last.

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Well did the interval training tonight. 5 min warm up, 1 minute fast run, 3 minute slow run. Did this 6 times with a 5 minute cool down. Worked out 3.2 miles. Obviously more physical than the normal run but ok. Surprising how much you can push yourself for a short period of time. Going to do this for a few more runs and see if I can improve slowly.

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  • 2 months later...

Hard run yesterday - 50 mins of hills with the old HR peaking at 93% (as worked out by my HRM). Seeing the HR moving up was kind of motivational - put a bit more work in towards the end of the 4min hill repeats to see how high I could get it; was almost sick at the top and one lady remarked it was more fun walking the hill!

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I'm struggling a little at the moment - 5 minutes on the treadmill at 5.5mph, with a fairly gentle incline, has my heart rate at 160bpm, at which point I have to back off.

Technically, I shouldn't be able to reach 160+ bpm, as the beta blockers should stop it... it's becoming a real frustration now.

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  • 1 month later...

Did a 5.5 mile run today. Was bloody hard going into a head wind but very satisfying after. It was the longest run I've done and my calves are a bit sore. It's a lovely run by the river and nature reserve. Didn't time it but will do next time. Quite proud!

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Good work - always nice when there is something interesting to look at while running so in the lighter months I use the Thames tow paths quite a lot.

I did 80k on the bike yesterday. Went with the middle-fast group who set off like scalded cats and after about 5k I was hanging on for dear life. They left me to battle round the route on my tod after a while (I didn't mind) but the return was into wind for the 30k or so back! Got in and lay on the floor for about 10 minutes which also gave my feet time to defrost!

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Did a mtb ride last Sunday that was only 15 miles but felt sick after. It was the hardest ride I've ever done. Mud, water, wind, rain = PAIN! The guys on road bikes come past us on our road sections and boy do they fly. Like to have a go to see how hard it is, I'd be rubbish but would love to try a carbon road bike for weight comparison. 80k on the road, how long? 15 miles off road was 2 hours 15.

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Not entirely sure - I was out for three hours but that included a slow ride to the start point and back (maybe 5 miles) , plus a bit of waiting around to organise smaller groups 20 mins in.

I've a carbon Specialised which is pretty light but then of course I get on it plus weighing it down with a litre of fluid (1kg) and a small saddle bag with patches, levers, spare tube, cash, keys and phone in it.

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Luke, for comparison I was on a solo ride on my 7kg of loveliness for 85k yesterday, with a headwind for a fair chunk and 'moving time' was just over 3 hours.

A charity sportive back in September saw me fall in with a reasonably speedy group and do bang on 80k in 2:42, with ~3,300ft of climbing (thanks Garmin/Strava...)

And I am by no stretch of the imagination as quick as a lot of guys out there...

I got back into cycling on an MTB, but am much more road oriented now. Went for a blast on some local byways on New Years Day - was not nice wading through foot deep mud for large stretches. Will probably stick to days out to trail centres with a few mates for off-road excursions.

Signed up for the Ronde van Vlaanderen sportive in Belgium on Easter weekend. Will do 'mid-distance' 140k on Saturday and then watch the pros do 240k properly on the Sunday.

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I hate riding 12 inches off the bloke's wheel in front - not really being able to see what is going on and relying on their hand signals to tell me of impending surface problems. I don't tend to ride in a group in the rain - I'm not a pro and nor are they so to me that's just asking for trouble!

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Had a nice lady running in front of me last weekend during the Canterbury 10. Thankfully she wasn't slow so I didn't have to overtake her. Helped me get a new PB :grin:

Yesterday had a nice run out to the seaside. That's what I love about Canterbury and Kent in general, run for five minutes and you hit fields and country paths +++

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