I've had to stop riding with friends because they are now pushing the rides longer and longer and I just can't muster the effort most of the time...or, if I do, I seriously pay for it.
Ok...so since I've asked such a complex question, let me give what I know.
-I've been riding road since 2012, can muster 30-40 miles well, can seriously-struggle to 50 or a 100K and have peaked out at 75 miles...which almost killed me.
-I normally ride 2500-3000 miles/year. Summer is often a 20mi/20mi/30-40mi/10mi week for me (this would be a perfect week). Two 20mi sessions M-F, "long" on Sat, short "recovery" on Sunday. Again, I can go longer than 40mi...but it is a miserable experience for me to do so.
-37 year old male, 170lbs, max HR in the 190's (this is a possible key point).
-I eat well on rides, stay hydrated, I know this is important. When I ride, I do not consume caffeine.
I stated riding with a Garmin 500 and HR monitor last summer and I think I'm beginning to see what my problem is...the problem is, I do not know how to fix it as nothing seems to be working.
I believe my heart rate may be the issue.
No matter what I do...I seem to spend all of my time in Z3...no matter what. My average is almost always in the very high 150's, low 160's.
I did a nice, 37 mile ride a few weeks back. 15.6mph pace (which is unremarkable at best), 2:22:54 time...average HR 153 with 1:32:50 of the ride being in Z3.
Another, 50mi ride was again, a very lackluster 15.2mph pace, 3:19:42 time, HR average of 156 and 2: 17:22 in Z3.
Now...I am a good climber and for a mortal, a pretty explosive sprinter...but the endurance is simply not there. We have a local Strava segment that is a 1mi climb. I'm currently 8th out of 300'ish riders. Of the top 10...the highest average HR up that hill is 175. I'm sitting at 190.
For the heck of it...I strapped on my HR monitor for a family ride. At rest, I was sitting at 99bpm. Within 1 min (actually, less than 1 min), my HR went to 159bpm and that was riding along with my 6 year old at 12mph on a comfort bike.
I'm guessing my HR being in Z3 so much is quite possibly the reason why I cannot do long rides at this point. On the other hand, perhaps I'm wrong. Haw many of you will do a Z3 100K? is this common?
I just can't buy that I'll have to ride my first century at 10mph just to keep my HR in a sustainable zone...
Ok...so since I've asked such a complex question, let me give what I know.
-I've been riding road since 2012, can muster 30-40 miles well, can seriously-struggle to 50 or a 100K and have peaked out at 75 miles...which almost killed me.
-I normally ride 2500-3000 miles/year. Summer is often a 20mi/20mi/30-40mi/10mi week for me (this would be a perfect week). Two 20mi sessions M-F, "long" on Sat, short "recovery" on Sunday. Again, I can go longer than 40mi...but it is a miserable experience for me to do so.
-37 year old male, 170lbs, max HR in the 190's (this is a possible key point).
-I eat well on rides, stay hydrated, I know this is important. When I ride, I do not consume caffeine.
I stated riding with a Garmin 500 and HR monitor last summer and I think I'm beginning to see what my problem is...the problem is, I do not know how to fix it as nothing seems to be working.
I believe my heart rate may be the issue.
No matter what I do...I seem to spend all of my time in Z3...no matter what. My average is almost always in the very high 150's, low 160's.
I did a nice, 37 mile ride a few weeks back. 15.6mph pace (which is unremarkable at best), 2:22:54 time...average HR 153 with 1:32:50 of the ride being in Z3.
Another, 50mi ride was again, a very lackluster 15.2mph pace, 3:19:42 time, HR average of 156 and 2: 17:22 in Z3.
Now...I am a good climber and for a mortal, a pretty explosive sprinter...but the endurance is simply not there. We have a local Strava segment that is a 1mi climb. I'm currently 8th out of 300'ish riders. Of the top 10...the highest average HR up that hill is 175. I'm sitting at 190.
For the heck of it...I strapped on my HR monitor for a family ride. At rest, I was sitting at 99bpm. Within 1 min (actually, less than 1 min), my HR went to 159bpm and that was riding along with my 6 year old at 12mph on a comfort bike.
I'm guessing my HR being in Z3 so much is quite possibly the reason why I cannot do long rides at this point. On the other hand, perhaps I'm wrong. Haw many of you will do a Z3 100K? is this common?
I just can't buy that I'll have to ride my first century at 10mph just to keep my HR in a sustainable zone...