Sorry to keep butting in these threads - but I love this stuff and can't resist spewing my bs! a lot of stress at work these days- so typing is therapeutic.
Earlier in the thread I was one talking about riding in hammerfest and such- and someone mentioned that could be disheartnening. -thats a good point. The point was to use spirited group rides as a fun short ride to get the heart rate up in an unpredictable way. You want to suffer- yet be able to catch up at the regouping points. Something 'slightly' above your level, but not 'crushingly' above your level. It could be the "a" group, or the "b" group, or "c" group- whatever pushes you but doesn't totally drop you. If you have group triathlete ride in your neck of the woods- which to me are totally oxymoronic (since it's an individual sport)
, but what the heck... they are good because they have the longest steady pulls of the bunch for getting a sustainable zone.
The whole point is that in 4 weeks, you aren't going to gain too much ground, so the whole idea is a series of strategic pushes (whatever works for you) and a lot of resting to make the most of what you got. A good point of trainers is- and you've probably heard this already- is you don't get stronger when you ride, you get stronger when you rest. I made a dumb mistake before a state-wide ride from college to home (during college- I really hated the bus) of riding hard and hard and hard, and then the big ride. There was no rest. Stupid when I look back on it.
When I typed up my usual garbaaaggge this am- I was thinking in terms of each ride isolating something different. A comfortable glycogen/fat long distance pace, a comfortable fat burning long distance pace, a short ride to make the legs burn and build muscle strength, and a short cardio ride to improve cardio, in the backdrop of the longer rides experimenting with eating and such to find out what works for you.
Ride day of course staying strategically low in the hr zone- like another poster mentioned, to not outburn your ability to take in energy. The intense workout efforts are to raise your ceiling slightly- so your "easy" efforts have more cushion between easy and all out effort.
Also in these rides- trying to make things calorically neutral, with a strong emphasis on replenishing nutrients quickly after a ride. I always like endurox, but a lot of people would just drink a coke right after riding to keep the muscle glycogen up. It really makes a difference in recovery.
As for rest stops- I always try to keep them short and as NASCAR pitstop like as possible. Get out of your rythmm and it can be hard to get back in again. Especially late in the ride.
Also- funny comment above about partying the night before. My favorite MTB has a "rock star award"- given to the person who puts in a heroic all night partying performance, who then miraculously follows up the next day with a strong riding perfomance.
Every ride should have one!
