You can always set your heart on that special, long ride: a century … or Tour de Cure … maybe Bike MS.

For most of us, this will mean training up; and one way to train is by heart rate zone. How do we set the appropriate zones?

First, we need to know what our maximum heat rate is. The old \”220 minus your age\” to determine what your maximum heart rate should be, has been called into question, and even called \”useless\”; but I\’ve done a VO2 max test with HIIT Lab. This test determines your maximum heart rate; and from there, you can work out your zones.

I use a 5-zone system from Get Fast!. (See p. 231). The lowest, Zone 1, is easy/recovery; and for a long, casual ride, Zone 2 is aerobic endurance/cruising. Zone 3 is steady/tempo. Zone 4 is brisk; and Zone 5 is all-out, full-gas effort. Now that we\’ve determined our heart rate zones, how do we train for the big ride?

For quite a while I\’ve had the idea of riding another 100-miler of my own teasing the edges of my brain; and I always wonder how best to get ready. Century training plans abound; but the problem with them is that, like this one, the mileages to be ridden during the week are more than I can manage. I can\’t ride fast enough to do them in the time that I have; and that makes it hard to prepare. Riding 100 miles in one day without adequate training is not a good idea!

So don\’t set your heart on riding a century before you\’re properly prepared. It\’s a good thing I didn\’t set my heart on it, because I\’m for sure not ready!