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Heart Rate zone for commuting?

I have a commute of 10 or 18 miles to work and want to use this as base training but I wonder if the distance/time is long enough? My understanding is I should look to do long rides in the lower HR zones to build a solid base. Does this theory still work if I only cycle for up to an hour?

I have plans to do some different drills on some days but I can’t see me being able to do drills every journey.

Cheers

Scott

Comments

  • bennybenny Posts: 1,314
    my commute is 2x10 miles. Doing drills is good.

    Other options: Do some extra miles on the way.

    Put your running gear in place at home in the morning, do T2 and brick training ( my favourite!!)[8D]
  • BARNYBARNY Posts: 157
    Go easy in the morinnig 65-70%



    Cane it back.



    Good work!
  • Commuting is a great way of training. Try a longer ride at least once a week if possible. Otherwise your body will be very fit and conditioned.....but for your commute mileage only as your body will get used to that distance only.



    I generally trickle in to work (7-10 miles depending on weather) then try to go hard on way back. I have few nice little climbs and a nice flat stretch going in both directions so can be as hard or as easy as i like. The on a saturday or sunday do a longer ride. Throw in the odd social group ride, go to a relatives/friends and maybe cycle around their neck of the woods (thats my favorite thing at the moment.)
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    Used to have a 38-mile commute. I'd take the bike to work on the train 3 days a week, then ride home. In good weather I would swap one of the train journeys in for the bike and commute both ways. Bloody hell I miss that - been made redundant now [:@]



    In that distance there's time for a bit of everything... some high gear easy stuff, some going bonkers, some nasty hills (and even some hill repeats if I was feeling ambitious!).



    The guy who sat next to me used to clock up 120+ miles each week commuting, despite only living 6 miles from the office. He'd get up early and take the long way in, doing about 20-25 miles on his slick tyred mtb.



    As for heart rate, if you can make a decent session out of it then do whatever your training plan says, or whatever is appropriate for the time of the year. Obviously it would be unwise to go utterly bonkers having just had your breakfast and with a day of work ahead of you... on the days I rode in I'd stick to my small chainring only and keep it pretty easy but it is hard to avoid some very high heart rates on the big hills. Going home... well, why wouldn't you want to get home as quickly as possible? [:D]
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Depends how hot and bother you want to be when you arrive at work...



    go easy on the way in... but you don't have to go directly there.. you can set off a bit earlier and go a longer way round!



    If traffic conditions aren't too bad, then do something a bit harder on the way home (commuting to me implies being surrounded by a load of motorists on auto pilot who will not see you, or if they do, think you are a stationary object, so the faster you go the even more invisible you are. If you are trying hard you also lose some of the awareness of what is going on around you!)



    Get home, shed the bike, then go for a run!
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