I was awakened tonight by the sound of rolling thunder – natures announcement that Spring has well and truly arrived. For many of us, it means the days of forced indoor training sessions are coming to an end as we once again are able to ride and run outdoors. It got me thinking of some training tips we should be mindful of as we move from primarily indoor training or training in cold weather to training outdoors in rising temperatures and humidity that our bodies may no longer be accustomed to.
Update Thresholds
As we get outdoors with fewer layers we may need to update our thresholds – both cycling power/heart rate and running pace/heart rate. Moving our training outdoors introduces a number of factors that can cause our thresholds to shift – temperature, humidity, wind, variable terrain to name only a few. By all means, enjoy the freedom of nicer weather and make your training more effective by resetting your training zones with updated thresholds.
Know Your Limits
You likely have friends or teammates that are as anxious as you to get outdoors for a ride or a run. As you join them, it’s fine to push your boundaries, but be aware of your current limits. If the longest ride you’ve done in the last 4-months is a 2-hour trainer ride, don’t plan your first outdoor ride as a 100-mile 5-6 hour group ride. Reintroduce and build your rides commensurate with your recent training volume. If your longest ride in recent months has been 2-hours, you can likely handle a 3-hour ride.
Your run volume build should be conservative. That 20-mile long run you’ve done doesn’t count if it was done 5-months ago. Your first outdoor long runs should be close to your recent indoor long runs. After you’ve completed a couple of outdoor runs, begin to increase your volume by no more than 10% per week. A more conservative approach increases volume by 10% every other week. Remember you can’t train or race if you are sick or injured. A cautious approach to building run volume will help avoid injury. Make sure you aren’t running with someone who is much faster than you. Running with someone slightly faster is fine however pushing yourself to a higher pace or heart rate zone will take you out of your optimal training zone, can negatively impact future training sessions and early in the season can dramatically increase the risk of injury.
Looking Ahead
While our bodies are amazing, the weather may often warm and change faster than we can adapt. As spring turns to summer, temperature and humidity can rise day-to-day and on occasion may dramatically change over just a few hours. At the same time, we’ll be increasing our training volume and possibly start adding intensity. As the days continue to warm we’ll have a great opportunity to adapt our bodies for warm weather races. However, those conditions can be a recipe for dehydration. Right now is the best time to revisit and begin to use your nutrition and hydration plan.
Enjoy the sun on your back and the wind in your face as you get outdoors after the cold short days of winter!
