Indoor Training

Training has been just about an exclusively indoor activity just lately.

The recent cold snap has resulted in icy roads and paths which I just don’t do anymore. I used to cycle in sub-zero temperatures but a spate of crashes on the untreated country lanes rocked my confidence on a bike so much it took a full two years to fully regain. I’d rather not chance it these days and if there’s any chance of ice on the roads then I hit the turbo.

Same goes for running. Aside from weekends, the only real opportunities I get to run are in the dark and even with my head-torch on it’s hard to spot patches of ice, therefore much of my mid-week running has been done on a treadmill.

Turbo cycles and treadmill running have their pros and cons – by far the biggest con for me is boredom. Pedalling or running on the same spot for more than a couple of minutes is incredibly dull. External entertainment is essential for me to get through longer sessions with any semblance of sanity remaining.

I have a Tacx iMagic, so have the option of Virtual Reality rides and other multimedia options. I use these sometimes but most of my training is quite specific so I mainly use the Catalyst option which basically gives you the functionality and stats that a good gym bike offers.

One constant companion is music. Sometimes I use my mp3 player, sometimes I listen to my DAB radio. All variety is good. On the DAB radio, I rarely listen to the same channel twice in a row.

For sessions under 90 minutes, I usually take my Kindle along for the ride. Tri-bars with a towel over them make a great platform. For rides over 90 minutes I will sometimes hook up my laptop and either watch a movie or time my ride to coincide with a sports event I want to watch online. This really does help pass the time.

My turbo trainer is in my (unheated) garage and it’s been so cold that the last three rides have been done wearing overshoes and gloves! I really suffer in my extremities in the cold, it’s not enough to stop me riding outdoors when not icy but it is nice to finish a winter ride without the painful foot de-thawing process!

The only sessions on the turbo that I don’t use any other stimuli other than music for are the hurty ones that require 100% focus and effort. These tend to be short in duration and hard in intensity and I’m usually in too much pain to get bored. Strangely, these are my favourite turbo sessions.

As for running on a treadmill, there’s not a heck of a lot to keep your mind from going numb other than music. The machines at the gym I go to have TV monitors but I find the usual TV programmes that show between 5:30-7:30pm way more dull than running on a treadmill so nothing to be gained there. Instead I play mind games with myself, count strides to make sure my cadence is nice and high, watch myself in the mirrored glass to make sure my head is steady and my form is good.

Treadmills are good for set-pace interval workouts and also measured time trials. I don’t have a track nearby that I can use for these sorts of workouts so the treadmill provides me with a standard platform to test and measure my progress on from month to month.

Saying that, I’m gagging to get outdoors again and this weekend is looking good!!

TTFN!