Rest Days.
They are the hardest. Harder than repeat hill climbs. Harder than all out sprints. Harder than a century ride. Resting when the weather is sunny and warm is difficult. I donāt mind taking a day off when it is raining or cold, but when the weather is nice, Iād rather be cycling.
This time of year, I have to force myself to rest. I know I must. I know that rest is as important as working out. I know that if I donāt rest, my workouts will suffer. I know that without sufficient rest, I am more prone to injury. I know that as I age, it is even more important. I know that full recovery takes longer now. As carefully as I manage my sleep and diet, I must still rest. I am careful to get 8-10 hours of sleep a night. At Camp PedalWORKS, I go to bed when the sun sets, and rise when it comes up the next morning. And, my meal plans include a 4-1 ratio of carbohydrates to proteins, proportions recommended by many coaches.
So, at least once a week (sometimes more frequently), I take a day off. No cycling. No gym workouts. A day to putter, do household chores, food shop, clean and tune the bike, and these days, sit in the sun.
When I was younger, it didnāt seem to matter as much. I recovered more easily. Or, thought did. I was invincible. I also suffered a number of injuries that I still suffer from today. I wonder why š¤
So, today is a rest day. I drove to the dump to discard some āhazardous materialsā, old paint cans, and met up with a local cycling legend for coffee. Like me, he is a āseniorā, and organizes weekly, Sunday morning group rides in the lake region ranging from 30-100 km. I have decided to join them for the summer while Iām at Camp PedalWORKS to help prepare for the 2017 Whistler Gran Fondo, meet other road cyclists in the area, and learn new cycling routes.
Last week, I discovered a gym that I didnāt know existed. And today, I discovered a cycling group, some of who are also training for the 2017 Whistler Gran Fondo.
It is a small world.
PedalWORKS 
Great advice for us “older”cyclists, I now know through bitter experience I need at least 2 days recovery between hard rides.
I should do more slow recovery rides,but find them almost impossible to do,I just can’t seem to do slow rides..as my school reports used to say I ,”must try harder”š
That’s the hard part. I am on this polarized routine – 80% in zone 1 and 20% in zone 4 every week. This helps with recovery but takes a concerted effort.
I can bring up my heart rate zones on my garmin edge 520,what a great piece of kit it is too.
So I have no excuse for not trying the polerized training routine,the middle ring/high cadence also seems worth giving a go,although around 50% of my normal rides have 5-7% hills, some of which for me anyway, mean using 34/28 (smallest rear cog)gears at a slower cadence of around 60rpm.
When I get passed by younger fitter cyclists they all seem to spinning like mad at 95rpm,doing 20mph+ if onlyš
This is what I’m working on now – keeping my cadence between 90-100 rpm even when climbing if possible. I ride with compact setups with 13-28 cassette. I go just as fast but with less effort.
Eye opener to me too. Thank you for sharing. I just entered the 40s, but yes, I think there is a long way to learn! š
I’m still learning and I’m a lot older than you. If I only knew what I know now when I was your age š