Feedback Requested on Draft of 2hr Ride

[SpinningInPrescott]

Hi!

I'm creating a 2hr profile for a ride next month and would love some feedback on it as I've never done one.

The concept is a to break the class up into two parts:

1. Interval Ride 55 min including 7 min warmup
2. Race Day Ride 65 min including 8 min cool down

I plan on coaching the race day section and another instructor will do the interval ride...just to mix things up a bit.

Questions:

1. Should we let people sign up for each segment separately?

2. How do you transition between the two sessions without a pregnant pause?

Any other tips & experiences are welcome!

The song list is in progress...

Thanks a bunch!

PS

You'll see a couple of different formats of the profile attached:

MDI - the is a Microsoft Document Imaging File...if you have MS Office, you can view this and print it out in high-res. If you don't have MS Office and want to view and print it out in high-res, then install this free viewer: http://www.tucows.com/preview/503893


XLS - this is the original Excel file. If you have Excel, then you can edit or print this out in high-res. To see the Spinning symbols show up, you'll need the spinning.ttf font.

You can get the font here: www.investinprescott.com/spinningtunes/spinning.ttf

Right click on the link above and save this file in your c:\windows\fonts directory.

PDF - this is kind of grainy because I have to use Winfax to get a PDF file as printing them directly from Excel does not work because of a conflict with the Spinning.ttf font...but it is ledgible

[Pink]

Patrick, without looking at the exact profiles, here's the first thoughts that come to mind, which may or may not apply.

Why not try to make the ride blend as a continuous ride -- and not break it up into Ride A & Ride B? The beauty of having so much time is the ability to slowly bring your riders along. I'd have a longer warm-up and gradually build in intensity while being mindful that you don't want to use them up too quickly. I would think of the enitre thing as a big interval ride, with peaks & valley (so to speak). As you make your way to the end of the last hour, you could steadily build the intensity and have them attack the last 10-15 minutes with all they've got left. The trick is making sure that they have something left so that they end feeling strong & accomplished.

Maybe this is how you have it planned already. My disclosure: I am not good at reading other's profiles and translating them, my brain just doesn't work that way.

[SpinningInPrescott]

Hi Pink and thanks very much for the feedback. I was leaning toward one ride and you've confirmed that for me.

I really want to do ADH as a whole without any recoveries as the riders do it on the Tour...

What about the 1st part of the ride being a 70 min Interval session and the last part 42 race minutes at race day pace. Am I expecting too much?

I want to have a real challenge for the top riders.

Thanks again, Pink!

:) PS

[Pink]

You know your riders and what they can handle, plus they can always adjust if they need to.

I think it would be fine to keep them on a hill the whole time (remembering Josh's Mt. Everest ride), just vary the intensity. Think of real climbs -- they vary, they level out, they get steeper, there's switchbacks, there's times to attack and times to bide your time & reserve your strength. So I'd vary it up the first 3/4th of the ride and then rip 'em the last part...end is near, the race is on, time to get serious!

With that said, I would build in a recovery before the end. Feed zone or something....

[amybatt]

My only real comment is if you stick with the race/interval format, can your students really handle that? (If it's race day as MDA describes it, that's a lot to ask my population to do an interval ride and then have 45 min at 80%+.)

Are sprints in race day ok with no recovery after them? I thought it was a 1:3 work:recovery ratio but maybe that's out the window with RDEZ? I honestly might kill my people if I did a sprint into a climb like that.... :o

I like the ideas forming here with Pink better, but again, I don't know your people and you do!

I'm more curious about your music selection, so be sure to post back what you decide on.

[SpinningInPrescott]

Thanks, Amybatt, for your feedback and ideas.

When I do sprints I currently do recovery at 60 RPM on a climb and then go back to the sprint after that, I don't really allow them to do a real recovery...(unless they really need it), but then after a sprint session I usually do program in some recovery time.

Regarding whether or not they can handle the intensity...perhaps I'm looking at my own fitness level too much...I run marathons and think nothing of maintaining 80% plus for 4 hours.

So given this excellent feedback, I'll probably build in some recoveries to the 1st 14 hairpins and then make the last 7 a full out effort to the top...14 minutes or so...

Newly named: Interval Ride with Race to the Finish

Thanks again and I'll definitely post the music and final version of the ride when it is done.

Thanks again!

:) PS

[cfoam4me]

Newly named: Interval Ride with Race to the Finish
Great advice and an excellent rename! It lets your riders know they will be doing efforts with varying intensities, as well as recoveries but it also lets them know they need to "save" a bit for a strong finish! :D

[Cheeze]

I havn't looked at your profiles either - but I am concerned about an IEZ (most on these forums are high intensity) prior to a RDEZ. I question if your folks have the high-end endurance to handle IEZ into RDEZ. Just my opinion.

I would keep the RDEZ for the second hour. My first hour would be a 50 minute warm-up for the RDEZ. I would not advertise it as "the warm-up" but the goal of hour #1 would be a gradual consistant warm-up to have your folks ready to go at RDEZ intensity at the start of hour #2. I don't know about you guys but my legs start to feel good after about 30 minutes of riding. The guys on the TDF warm up for at least an hour prior.

The first hour could be 5-10 minutes to slowly roll the legs up to a comfortable flat road training intensity 65%MHRish. Then some aerobic cadence loading and aerobic resistance loading increasing the intensity to 70-75%MHR. Recovery. Then maybe a couple of longer rolling hills increasing in intensity to 80-85%MHR with a 30-60 second pop over 85%MHR on the final roller. Recovery. Follow that with maybe a five minute tempo ride at/around their starting RDEZ HR intensity. Then 3-5 minutes on at comfortable flat road intensity of around 65%MHR (recovery) before ramping up during the final minutes of hour #1 to their starting RDEZ HR so they can roll down the chute into hour #2 with their motor running.

Just My Slice Of Cheeze

[SpinningInPrescott]

Thanks for the detailed input, Cheeze!

Just curious...why not look at the profile? Is it because it's an attachment? I notice that very few folks open the attached files on threads compared to how many view them...

Thanks again! This forum seems to have about 6x more input that the other one...

:) PS

[Cheeze]

Time Time Time is not on my side ................

[AC]

Why put the class into 2 halves. It might make a nice flow to build gradually for 10-15 minutes....drop back a little for 2 minutes...then into a 40 minute Race Day profile. If you use Race Day as the concept of an all out effort for the 40 minutes...or "Let's go as hard as we can for 40 minutes", which will not be as hard as you can go for :30-2:00. Then cruise for 10-12 minutes into an interval finish. Peaks...recoveries.

Or finish with one long steady climb that finishes the ride with a cresendo summit. You can extend it out for 30 minutes if you allow the riders to build every 2-3 minutes.

The main difference with doing extended rides is to use the extra time to extend efforts and extend positions, which is how I structure extended rides. Long climbs...long periods in flats.