Date Day Mileage Time Minutes Daily / Hours Weekly
| 4/29/13 | Mon | 8 | 59 |
| 5/1/13 | Wed | 6.1 | 47 |
| 5/2/13 | Thu | 17.74 | 150 |
| 5/3/13 | Fri | 0 | 0 |
| 5/4/13 | Sat | 7.76 | 66 |
| 5/5/13 | Sun | 0 | 0 |
| 5/6/13 | Mon | 13.03 | 98 |
| 5/7/13 | Tue | 0.0 | 0 |
| 5/8/13 | Wed | 9.86 | 74 |
| 5/9/13 | Thu | 17.32 | 120 |
| 5/10/13 | Fri | 0 | 0 |
| 5/11/13 | Sat | 0 | 0 |
| 5/12/13 | Sun | 0 | 0 |
| 5/13/13 | Mon | 12.74 | 87 |
| 5/14/13 | Tue | 15.1 | 107 |
| 5/15/13 | Wed | 0 | 0 |
| 5/16/13 | Thu | 0 | 0 |
| 5/17/13 | Fri | 12.22 | |
| 5/18/13 | Sat | 19.07 | 135 |
| 5/19/13 | Sun | 0 | 0 |
| 5/20/13 | Mon | 22.72 | 171 |
| 5/21/13 | Tue | 0 | 0 |
| 5/22/13 | Wed | 0 | 0 |
| 5/23/13 | Thu | 0 | 0 |
| 5/24/13 | Fri | 13.15 | 98 |
| 5/25/13 | Sat | 19.11 | 147 |
| 5/26/13 | Sun | 10.18 | 83 |
A training program is supposed to increase mileage, time and intensity by smaller increments, generally 10-15% is a rule of thumb and as you can see the chart indicates much higher jumps in all areas. Had I not had a base to work from this would be a recipe for disaster. Having ridden consistently for the last two and a half years has provided that base. But I also listened to my body, pushed myself for sure but coupled it with rest, days off and fairly decent nutrition. While I seldom if ever diet in the traditional sense I do try to make more healthy choices when training and my habit is to prepare fresh whole foods and processed foods are scant (but not non-existent) in my daily menu. Home cooked meals generally consist of a lean protein, starch and two side vegetables. I do indulge in pizza, ice cream and such, but sporadically and if I'm training this hard I don't feel the least bit guilty for occasional treats. The current week I am in is being titled "Recovery Week" by me and my mileage and time out on the bike is shaping up like this so far;
Date Day Mileage Time Minutes Daily / Hours Weekly
| 5/27/13 | Mon | 0 | 0 |
| 5/28/13 | Tue | 4.78 | 36 |
| 5/29/13 | Wed | 6.9 | 53 |
| 5/30/13 | Thu | 6.73 | 49 |
| 5/31/13 | Fri | ||
| 6/1/13 | Sat | ||
| 6/2/13 | Sun |
These shorter rides lack much of the intensity and I'm doing them on quite flat grades with no real hill work except for the natural inclines around town, most are pretty small. I'm taking easy pedals at moderate speeds. We are heading into a very hot week so far with temps in the 85-90 F range and stormy weather so my rides are in the later evening or early morning like today. I come home without any feeling of fatigue and generally feeling like I could have gone twice as far or more, but this is how I am pacing myself. I do expect to have one ride at least of 15-20 miles this week and if I'm guessing correctly I will be feeling pretty strong during and after that ride. The pattern I've notices is that if I push really hard, back off for a bit I really build up my strength and endurance. I've varied the rides with gravel roads with hills which are tough and high intensity and with flat paved rail trails so in some sense I am doing interval training, or at least my version of it! Whatever you call this, it is working magic on my health, endurance and fitness level. Following this somewhat haphazard program has resulted in a high level of feeling fit and my body composition is changing.
I've tracked my mileage since I started riding again in July of 2010 when I bought a bike, my excel sheets contain many notes, places I ride and how my body feels. Sooooo, I'm kind of a nut for data, tracking and stats, what can I say?
Miles of smiles to all!
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