IM bike session 1: 20/10's

IM bike session 1: 20/10
20/ 10’s is a valuable session that can be done 1-2 times PW all year round. I like to include this session as a mid week ride.
Stage 1: 2hr ride
Complete 20min at IMpace with a 10min recovery. If your goal is to ride a 5hr bike split then your goal for this session is to be able to do 4 x 20min efforts at IM heart rate averaging 36kph. Keep doing this session on a weekly basis until you can achieve that goal. Once you can achieve 4 x20 min at IMpace and heart rate you are then ready to move onto stage 2.
In theory you should be able to successfully reach the end of stage 1 after 6-8 weeks of base training. The goal of stage 1 is to find the strength, endurance and speed required to obtain your goal IM bike split and hr. If you are unable to reach the end of stage 1 after 6-8 weeks you may want to reassess your goals.
Stage 2: Making it easy
Now that your body has adapted to riding at your goal IMpace and goal IM heart rate you are ready to do one of two things depending on the time you have available. It’s important now to hit the body with some new stimulus in order for it to grow and adapt further. Option 1 is to increase this ride to around 3-4 hrs. If you have the time available to ride for 3-4 hrs during the week then go for it. Your main set will now increase from 4-20 min efforts to 6-8 min efforts. Once again the goal is to develop your aerobic endurance over a longer period of time and still maintain the same goal IMpace and hr. Option 2 is to change the stimulus within the main set. That is make the terrain more difficult or to use a bigger gear. In this option I would start with the last 20 minute effort in one gear bigger then race gear and work your way back each week to the first 20 minute effort. Once again both options will overload your bodies systems and therefore produce the necessary adaptations required to ride to a 5hr bike split. Stage 2 should be achieved by the end of base 3 training. Once you have achieved those goals of being able to ride at IMpace and hr you are then ready to enter stage 3.
Stage 3: Consolidation
In stage 3 you will be at the start of your build phase. This weekly session now becomes a Breakthrough session (BT). What you do now during this phase is increase your intensity by reducing your recovery and inserting periods of HIM efforts. The first step is to gradually reduce your recovery between the 20 minute efforts by inserting short periods of HIM work at the end of each 20 minute effort.
Start off with doing 2-3 min at HIM with a 7-8 minute recovery before commencing your next 20 minute IMpace effort. Each week increase your HIM effort until you are doing 20 minutes at IMpace/5 minutes at HIM pace with a 5 minute recovery. You can continue with this session right up to your taper period.
Doing 20/10’s each week is a valuable session that can be used at any time of the year. It allows you to develop the endurance, strength and speed required to achieve your goals on the day. It also teaches your body to make riding comfortable at your goal pace. Remember use the 20/10’s wisely. That is, its not your goal to ride faster, but more importantly ride better at the speed you want.

fluro