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IMUK 70.3 bike leg speed improvement

Hey guys, I know this is probably the same ol question as everyone asks but I just want a few more opinions, do you all think it's possible for me to take my average speed from 16mph to 19/20mph by June over 56 miles?, if so, HOW???

So far I have been doing turbo sessions between 1 and 3 hours just keeping my heart rate between 60% and 80% and also trying to get out on the mountain bike a bit, also everytime I get a spare hour or so I just sit on the turbo trainer and just going easy, I'm already a fairly strong runner so have cut back onthat a little to focus on the bike,I did half ironman this year with fairly minimal training and did the bike leg in 3 hours 50 mins and really wanna get that down to 3 hours or less if poss

any help you can give me would be brill

cheers guys

Comments

  • jacjac Posts: 452
    A basic principle of one long ride, one shorter faster ride (like a TT) and one high intensity intervals sessions a week should help.
    Get your longer ride up well past the 56mile mark. Something around 80 miles (but build up to it!) Then look to increase the speed you cover that distance in. Its primary aim though is to improve your aerobic endurance.
    Your TTs are all about sustained, controlled effort. If you have a target time you can work out target pace.
    The intervals will improve top end speed and help you deal with pain and recover.
  • danny_sdanny_s Posts: 235
    For that course, which is constant climb then descend, it isn't so much about what you can sustain on a flat for 1 or 3 hours. That would be great for something even partially flat. You're going to need to practice climbs. Steep, hard, blinding climbs.

    I'm doing a similar thing that you are, having done the 70.3 in 3:29 this year, I wanted to get to 2:55 for next year. For the next three months, I'm working hard on my 1-5 minute power. Sprint intervals on the trainer. Try and hold x speed for 1 minute, 30 second recovery, repeat 20x. I don't spend a lot of time just getting "steady miles" in, because riding for 3 hours at a steady pace just seems like something to do when you're working on building volume in April and May. Speed as a base for spring time endurance is my plan this off season.
  • Hey! I see that u did the IMUK 70.3 already. I'm looking for a new bike and just wanted to ask- for this course specifically, did you use a tri or a road bike? What would you opt for if you were to buy a bike for this competition only? I lean to buying a tri bike, but I know that road bikes are better for such hilly courses as this race.
    Thanks.
  • What about the plebs?
  • I'm not a pro, why do you say that? In fact it will be my first 70.3... So, tri bike or road? I think I'll buy the tri, even if it's not recommended for this course, cause I intend to use it for the next years and I don't afford two bikes..
  • vetboyvetboy Posts: 21
    I did the UK 70.3 last year on my 10 year old second hand Trek road bike, and flew on past a lot of flash tri bikes. I reckon that unless you are a very strong rider, the road bike set-up is the go.

    The other thing I felt helped my race was riding the course several times. There's a few of the hills that are short enough to really attack and get over quickly, while other hills need respect and spinning out early on.

    Good luck with it - it's a great fun course.
  • pippip Posts: 170
    All i can suggest is to get out on your bike as much as poss.Idid an olympic in sept and averaged 35kph on a fairly undulating coarse.However due to a serious back problem i`ve not been able to do any cycling since.But now the back is healed (after copious visits to physio)so i went for a spin today (weds) and did 52 kilometrs and only managed an average of 27 kph.But i`m confident that after a few hard rides i`ll be back to where i was before.Best of luck mate
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