Trainer Riding

Originally uploaded by scottkmcmillan

Tis the season. The pacific Northwest got a blast of snow over the weekend. It got quite chilly here and we must have got 2 to 4 inches of the white stuff.

I had a mellow weekend as I was reducing my volume after 3 solid “up” weeks. However, I still had a 3 hour ride to do and it was not going to happen outdoors in the -5 to -10 degree weather. It was my 3rd trainer ride this year so I have been really fortunate to make it all the way to December with very little trainer time.

For many people, a lot of trainer rides is simply how it goes. If you live anywhere North of South, then you really have no choice. I have been fortunate to live in Portland (OR) for six years so we could ride outside 90% of the time. Sarah and I would end up on the trainer at nights since we were not into winter “night riding”. That being said, I have had my share of trainer training.

I started triathlon training in Calgary (AB) so from October to April (sometimes May) we were on our trainer’s 100% of the time. Back then, I did not do Ironman’s, but, I did start doing some Half Ironman’s so I got my share of it. I decided to do Ironman Canada in 2000. So that meant starting my Ironman training while I was at school in Minnesota. Nothing like doing 4-5 hour base training rides on a trainer.

At Ironman AZ 2006, Sarah took 2nd in her age group. Like I mentioned above, she did a number of trainer rides indoors during the week. They were usually 2-3 hour rides and she would do her long ride outside (nasty winter too that year) on the weekend. It was a significant part of her plan that worked and let her ride 5:26 that day (much faster than ever before). Who did she come 2nd too? Just some lady from Minnesota who did almost all of her rides indoors!
Look, the first few trainer rides are tough (tough mentally). However, if you have a goal and you are determined to reach that goal then you do the work to get there no matter what it takes. Build up gradually and entertain yourself as best you can.

So for some people it is a fact of life. For others they cringe at the thought of training on trainer’s. Here are some things to make trainer life a bit easier:

1. KNOWING IT WORKS
Riding a trainer is great for steady aerobic training. There is no coasting and you have constant resistance throughout your pedal stroke.

2. Great Place for Intervals
You can safely do your intervals on a trainer. You do not have to worry about cars. You do not have to stop at lights. You can just put your head down and go hard.

3. Mix it up
Short rides, long rides, hard rides, easy rides. No matter what type of riding you are doing, you can mix your workouts up and still stay in your training zones. The only exception I would make are the active recovery rides. Those should just be continuous light spinning. On your other rides, do sets in the low, mid and high ranges of your training zone, add some short pickups, do some single leg spinning, ride at low, medium and high cadences, stand/sit/aero bar sets. There are a lot of options.

4. Measure
Treat yourself like a lab rat. What do you have problems with when racing? Do you know how much you should drink? How much you should eat? Log what you are doing on the trainer, what is working and what is not working. Now is a great time to experiment so that when you get close to races you have it all dialled in.

5. Learn to Daydream
Get in the zone. Solve the problems in the world today. It is a good opportunity to chill out. Problems chilling out? Then that is a pretty good sign you priorities are out of whack or that you have some problems (or issues) somewhere in your life that should be dealt with so that they don’t keep hold you back any more.

Those are a few thoughts on how to entertain yourself with just your trainer (and a brick wall). Of course, good TV, a few movies, I’ll even read at the start of some workouts are other ways to be excited.

The other option is to start young. Then you do not know any different. Christian’s son is already training to beat his dad in the future.

—Scott