If, like me, you signed up for an early 2013 Ironman, you’ll probably find yourself faced with the choice of braving the cold outdoor winter, or stuck indoors on a trainer for hours on end.
Last year I was hit by a car a month before Ironman Coeur d’Alene, breaking my ribs. Unable to run or swim, riding on an indoor trainer was the only option available to me. The silver lining in all this, is that I learned a few tricks that help to make long indoor sessions more bearable. Here are two of my most-used workouts:
Descending from 60
This first one has really helped me to get a lot of volume during the lead up to IMCdA despite having broken ribs. I did this workout about 3 times a week, sometimes back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. It’s a much easier way to pass 4 hours on a bike: This long ride is usually done as a steady or lower steady (zone 2) effort. Break the ride up into descending intervals of 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5 minutes. After each interval you are allowed to get off the bike for a few mins, stretch, eat something, go to the toilet etc. Since each interval is shorter than the one before, mentally it feels like it’s getting easier. Before you know it, you’re at the end and hey presto! 4 hours done!
Guilt food incentive intervals
This is another one from my spell of broken ribs. Since my total volume was less (no running or swimming), I had to really watch my diet to avoid weight gain. That meant less justification for the naughty foods, but I used that to incentivize myself to complete my workouts. Let’s use one of my favourite foods as the example – I love pizza! So I’d take a delicious pizza and cut it into 6 slices. I’d then get on my bike and ride for an hour. Then the intervals starts. Ride for 30 mins, then you are allowed to stop and eat a slice. Get back on the bike, ride another 30. Another slice. and so on, so forth. A 6 slice pizza + the first hours gets you 4 hours on the bike! You can also add bonus foods for hitting predetermined wattage targets, like 2 scoops of ice cream if I include 2 x 15 mins @ tempo effort.
The other benefit to me personally, is that I now do these often, instead of riding out on the road. That’s a reduced chance of being involved in a crash or hit by a car. I probably only ride outside once a week these days, making the odds of an accident a lot less.
For those that try these out – good luck and happy training!
Thanks for the tips Rob, did you ever try watching the Sufferfest.com videos? More engaging than the garage wall, but perhaps still less motivating than pizza and ice cream….. Sorry to hear about your accident, good to read no lasting damage. Nice bike btw!
Hi Dave – good to hear from you. I’ve heard good things about the sufferfest videos – but yet to try them. I think they can be pretty intense – maybe good for shorter sessions? I do listen to the IM Talk podcasts sometimes – that takes up a good 1.5 hours. For low intensity I can sometimes even get emails done, typing is tough but I’ve been thinking about getting Dragon dictate for that – should make things more productive by helping me get through my hundreds of unread emails!
I like the food incentive intervals– might have to write those into the official TF training plans (warm up: 10 minutes; ride 20 min steady, 1 slice pizza, 10 min tempo, ice cream cone, 30 steady, bag of chips)
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I know this is an old piece but I am just now reading it. Sure wish I had seen this before I started training for IM Texas, which is now only 17 days away. Or any of my prior IMs. LOL But these tips will serve me well when I start prepping for UMFL.
I sure could use you in the future.
haha – it’s not too late! 4 hours on the trainer 10 days out could be a good one!