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Improving Your Training
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Road Racing Preparation by Lara Ruthven and Tom Ruthven
We made three purchases that we feel are helpful in reaching our training goals. The first was a training diary. We have used a training diary for years. The training diary has space for recording sleep, stress, weight, time, miles, heart rate and other important daily information. We also enter our cycling data into the computer program excel to get a graphical view of our annual training. One of our most important entries we record in our diary has included heart rate (HR). We use a heart rate monitor to measure our ride intensity but until now had to remember the values. This leads to our second purchase, which is a computer down load capable heart rate monitor. We will now be able to record specific values for individual intervals like max HR, average HR, speed, and cadence. We will use the monitor to improve our high intensity training. Our third purchase was new tires and tubes. Nothing stops a great training ride faster than a blown tire. We maintain our tires and tubes by checking for glass every other ride, rotating front to back after 600 miles, and replacing tubes frequently with plenty of baby powder. We hope our training preparation helps you prepare for lots of good roads ahead.
Training Zones For Cyclists (designed for all levels)
| Zone | Personal Intensity Rate | Exertion Level |
| A | 60-65% | Easy riding, recovery |
| B | 65-75% | Training, endurance |
| C | 75-85% | Aerobic |
| D | 85-90% | Threshold, racing |
| E | above 95% | Maximum intensity, the final sprint |
Weekday Training Schedule
Target goal: 10% better performance, 100% better motivation.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Zone A | Zone C | Zone B | Zone D | Zone A |
| 1 hr. Spin | 1 1/2 hr. | 2 hr. | 45 min. | 30 min. |
| 21+ gear | Intervals | Fast pace | Sprint 2 min. | Spin on |
| Flats | Hills | Flats/Hills | 3 min. Spin between |
Rollers |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Zone A | Zone C | Zone B | Zone D | Zone A |
| 1 hr. Easy | 1 1/2 hr. | 1 hr. | 30-45 min. | 30-45 min. |
| Recovery | Power | Fast pace | Sprint 3 min. | Spin on |
| Flats | Intervals/Hills | Flats/Hills | 3 min. Spin between |
Rollers |
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D | Zone A |
| Easy 2 hr. Ride | 1 1/2 hr. Intervals | 1 1/2 hr. Fast pace | Spin 45 min. Fast pace | 30 min. Swim |
| (**) Choose your terrain this week. | ||||
Weekend Training Schedule
(Choose your day to rest race or train. Pick one day for each.)
| Saturday | Sunday |
| Choose rest day. Non-rest day. | Choose rest day. Non-rest day. |
| Zone E (if racing) | Zone E (if racing) |
| Zone C 3 hr. ride | Zone C 3 hr. ride |
| Flats/Hills | Flats/Hills |
| Saturday | Sunday |
| Choose rest day. Non-rest day. | Choose rest day. Non-rest day. |
| Zone E (if racing) | Zone E (if racing) |
| Zone B 3 hr. Moderate paced ride. | Zone B 3 hr. Moderate paced ride. |
| Flats/Hills | Flats/Hills |
| Saturday | Sunday |
| Choose rest day. Non-rest day. | Choose rest day. Non-rest day. |
| Zone E (if racing) | Zone E (if racing) |
| Zone C 3 1/2 hr. ride | Zone C 3 1/2 hr. ride |
| (**) Choose your terrain this week. | |