Sam's Hills v Intervals

salbrecht

Hi Coach,

I live in the mountains of So Cal.  Pretty much all of my riding and lots of my running involves hills....sometimes a lot of them.  I am doing IM Lake Tahoe in September, so that is a good thing.

My question is, how should I adjust my intervals or overall ride time if I am hitting the hills?  For example, my 4-hour ride yesterday called for some Z2, and a lot of Z1.  With the hills, even going easy I was in Z3 and some Z4.  Should I reduce the overall ride time, keep it the same, or something else?  

On my short rides I am hitting the higher zones, but often the amount of time in higher HR zones does not match the prescribed workout exactly.  If I am getting the right amount of time in Z3 or 4 in a ride, am I getting the benefit, or is it critical to do 16 minutes, rest, and 16 minutes (as an example)?

Thanks,

Sam Albrecht

Coach Patrick

Sam - it's hard to manage HR on such terrain... Heart rate is a fantastic tool, but it doesn't allow you to really dialing your training zones in that kind of terrain. I would really rely on your internal sense of perceived exertion; in other words I want you to focus on working at the level you feel is appropriate and you confirm it with your heart rate. In other words, I would never have to hammer up the hill and coasting down the other side. A huge part of your ability to be successful in Tahoe will involve you knowing how to ride hills at the right effort and more importantly, how to ride down the other side of them.