April 20, 2009
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Training for the climbs:

I know you all have been waiting to hear how I am training for the 20 minute climbs in the Rev 3 Tri Half iron bike course. Here is what I have been doing once per week, on the trainer: I put my front wheel on a block, about 4 inches higher than the rear wheel. This puts your body and muscles in the right position for a climb. It makes a bit of difference in muscle movement.

Then, I play the Spinervals Uphill Grind DVD. I follow Coach Troy through that workout. About 10 minutes into it, he does a 4×5 minute climbing simulation that goes like this:

  • 4 minutes where Coach Troy is telling you what (hard) gear to use, and whether to sit or stand.
  • 1 minute of high cadence at an easier gear to simulate a descent.
  • 1 minute easy spin for recovery.
  • Repeat above 4 times.

So … 4×6 minutes = 26 minutes.

HOWEVER – I change this to make it HARDER: during the 1 min high cadence and 1 minute rest, I go into big ring on the front, and 15 (or middle) on the back, and keep pushing hard. This gives 25 minutes of hard work (~Zone 3) On the very last repeat, I do the high cadence and the rest. Then I rewind and repeat this workout AGAIN! When I am done with repeating the climbing simulations, then I finish the rest of the Spinervals workout.

I try to stay in Zone 3 the whole time, which is about 155 bpm for me. These simulations feel just like I am out on the road, climbing Mt. Sinai, except for 25 minutes instead of 5 minutes!

I might try repeating the climbing simulations 3x next time, and will keep doing this workout once a week until my taper begins. It’s both FUN and HARD at the same time.

This is what I wrote in my BT blog two weeks ago, when I first tried this idea out…

Did uphill grind. Paused it right before the hill climbs, and did my plan’s 5×3:00 Z5 sets. I can’t get my HR to Z5 intervals on the bike. Felt hard anyway, tho. After that, I continued Uphill grind, but did the 4×5:00 climbs without the rest, making it a 24 min climb. Fun, fun!

HR data for intervals:
167,162,163,158,157

HR data for 24 min climb:
147 avg/155 end

I took this picture on my long bike ride this weekend. I rode 60 miles through four counties: Orange, Durham, Chatham and Alamance. This picture is a nice little hill on Mandale Road in Alamance County. I love climbing! Right after this hill, a dog always chases me. He sounds real mean, but always gives up after a minute.
hills.jpg