Sandro Posted October 21, 2012 Share I'm putting it out there because maybe someone has had a similar experience... I'm in a position right now where my training is the same as it has been and I'm actually riding a much better bike than before. In fact I trained almost right through winter which I've never done before. I've been cycling (road) for about 8 years now and lately my times are significantly slower (like 20 to 30 minutes on a 100km ride)... The only real factors that have changed are: - I'm riding a different bike now (better though)- I stopped smoking in January- I'm riding with compact cranks now (reluctantly) I had the bike set up at a reputable shop but is it possible that the set up is not right? Could this make such a big difference in my performance? As far as compact cranks are concerned, I believe gearing is still pretty similar, no? I've never been a top rider, make no mistake but at least I used to be able to hold my own (like 2:47 for 94.7 as opposed to yesterday's Jacaranda which took me 4:15!) Anyway any suggestions would be most welcome at this stage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agteros Posted October 21, 2012 Share Few questions:What type of training do you do?At what intensity levels do you train?How many years ago was the 2:47 94.7?Was your average HR higher than normal during the race yesterday? Because I'm curious:What type of cadence do you ride at? (can you give split for this on the standard vs compact crank?)On the compact crank, do you ride more in the big or small chain ring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agteros Posted October 21, 2012 Share Compact as in 50/34? + what ratios at back? 11/12 to 21/23/25? Octavian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoboLuke Posted October 21, 2012 Share are you really slower? some races are so full now that one looses time behind other riders. rather compare against a set and known training route? Are you tapering off the last weeks or overtraing to the end? Are you doing enough LSDs or just gunning it? RockCoach 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Low Posted October 21, 2012 Share I'm putting it out there because maybe someone has had a similar experience... I'm in a position right now where my training is the same as it has been and I'm actually riding a much better bike than before. In fact I trained almost right through winter which I've never done before. I've been cycling (road) for about 8 years now and lately my times are significantly slower (like 20 to 30 minutes on a 100km ride)... The only real factors that have changed are: - I'm riding a different bike now (better though)- I stopped smoking in January- I'm riding with compact cranks now (reluctantly) I had the bike set up at a reputable shop but is it possible that the set up is not right? Could this make such a big difference in my performance? As far as compact cranks are concerned, I believe gearing is still pretty similar, no? I've never been a top rider, make no mistake but at least I used to be able to hold my own (like 2:47 for 94.7 as opposed to yesterday's Jacaranda which took me 4:15!) Anyway any suggestions would be most welcome at this stage...Those 100km races are all about intensity, If your training is not geared to that, then you can be slower esp if you train by yourself. Having mates / a group to ride with makes a big difference, so has anything there changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMartin Posted October 21, 2012 Share That's a big change! I ride about your pace for the 94 doing 2:45 last year and yesterday did what I thought was a disappointing 3:19 for the Jacaranda. Why I say all that is it can't really be the conditions yesterday so we can eliminate that. Unless you changed to a MTB we can discount that as well So not the bike and not the conditions. Have you put on much weight? Are you feeling physically well? Any odd changes in diet as in vegan or low carb perhaps? Have you had any illness? Is your HR going up under intensity as expected? It's a real puzzle for sure. Such a big drop in speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bianchisti Posted October 21, 2012 Share How often did you get that close to the 2:47? Was there something special about the group that day? Sometimes it all depends on the group you find yourself in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted October 21, 2012 Share Read what Joe Friel writes about the ageing athlete. Can be useful. www.joefrielsblog.com Sandro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agteros Posted October 21, 2012 Share I took the liberty to do a bit of digging:Your average speeds over time (worked as an annual percentage of peak year - 2008) -sure race selections, etc will have an effect but with the large number events, patterns do start to appear 2004: 77.7%2005: 87.3%2006: 90.9%2007: 85.8%2008: 100.0%2009: 94.3%2010: 82.7%2011: 68.2%2012: 86.8% Question: What changed after 2008? Edited October 21, 2012 by robox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Posted October 21, 2012 Share I took the liberty to do a bit of digging:Your average speeds over time (worked as an annual percentage of peak year - 2008) -sure race selections, etc will have an effect but with the large number events, patterns do start to appear 2004: 77.7%2005: 87.3%2006: 90.9%2007: 85.8%2008: 100.0%2009: 94.3%2010: 82.7%2011: 68.2%2012: 86.8% Question: What changed after 2008? 2008 was a good year for most people at the race. If I recall correctly it was the first year without the Boundry road section and the route was only 90km. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agteros Posted October 21, 2012 Share 2008 was a good year for most people at the race. If I recall correctly it was the first year without the Boundry road section and the route was only 90km.Adding some more detail His 94.7 went 'south' each year 34(2008) to 29.7 to 26.1 to 22.8 km/h (based on 'official' distances!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SingleTrack Posted October 21, 2012 Share Ok so you've mentioned that you managed to train through the winter for the first time. This could also be the cause as this could have led to you being over trained. Do you do any base training each year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandro Posted October 21, 2012 Share Thanks guys, seems you've given me some homework to do... Carpet's right, 2008 was a very quick 94.7. In fact it was only 91 km's I think, so probably safer to say my time would have been around 3:00... Current cassette with compact is 12/25 which is what I used to ride with 39/53. My average HR yesterday was 146. Truth be told I have never trained that much, always averaged 100 to 180km per week made of 75 to 120 on a weekend and two smaller rides or spinning sessions during the week so safe to say I don't think I've ever overtrained. Thanks for working out time percentages, in saying that 2010 94.7 was a disaster, I punctured twice and ended up making a fun ride out if it. I didn't ride at all during 2011 after that 94.7 and ended up entering the 2011 one at the last minute, my bike only landed a few days before so that was an exact year without training and the beginning of training again. I don't normally train on my own, no. My weight has always fluctuated between 77 and 80kgs and I'm 6'1 so definitely not overweight. I suppose I'm just getting older now and need to train harder just to try and keep up with what I used to do? Not having set goals as far as training is concerned is probably also a problem but these things seem to be so damn technical. Else I need to start smoking again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongoose! Posted October 21, 2012 Share how old are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandro Posted October 21, 2012 Share how old are you?37 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agteros Posted October 21, 2012 Share Thanks guys, seems you've given me some homework to do... Carpet's right, 2008 was a very quick 94.7. In fact it was only 91 km's I think, so probably safer to say my time would have been around 3:00... Current cassette with compact is 12/25 which is what I used to ride with 39/53. My average HR yesterday was 146. Truth be told I have never trained that much, always averaged 100 to 180km per week made of 75 to 120 on a weekend and two smaller rides or spinning sessions during the week so safe to say I don't think I've ever overtrained. Thanks for working out time percentages, in saying that 2010 94.7 was a disaster, I punctured twice and ended up making a fun ride out if it. I didn't ride at all during 2011 after that 94.7 and ended up entering the 2011 one at the last minute, my bike only landed a few days before so that was an exact year without training and the beginning of training again. I don't normally train on my own, no. My weight has always fluctuated between 77 and 80kgs and I'm 6'1 so definitely not overweight. I suppose I'm just getting older now and need to train harder just to try and keep up with what I used to do? Not having set goals as far as training is concerned is probably also a problem but these things seem to be so damn technical. Else I need to start smoking again If you stopped smoking recently your body might still be adapting as that in itself will put your body under stress. W.r.t. getting older... Our bodies need more time to recover, so remember to leave enough time to rest between rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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