I read up on some articles by older cyclists, including Ned Overland and they say the same thing. I have come to the conclusion based on by readings and my current experience that I am best served with shorter far more intense workouts. This allows me to gain strength and recover faster for the next ride. Back in 2012 and 2013 I did a lot of long rides with a less than race pace speeds. Only during races did I ever get my heart rate up to my Zone 5 range.
This year, I have done only 5 outdoor rides up to this point, where as this time last year I think I easily had 20+ outdoor rides. Its fine because the outdoor rides I have done really were leg burners. January 3rd, was the first and almost the last winter ride. It was almost 60 miles with cold winds and very hard efforts on the second half of the ride. This ride along with sick kids resulted in me getting the flu. For the next week after getting sick, I had trouble recovering, so I had essentially taken a week off. The first workout after barely recovering was a moderate workout and then the following was a power test at BK Labs. Actually it was only an attempt at a power test as I could not finish. I decided that I did not want to risk getting sick again so I continued to primarily spin indoors. It took some getting used to. Yes I do have a CycleOps Indoor Cycle (IC400pro), and I have been using it on-and-off for over a year now, but never at the level or intensity that I do now. Spinning indoors and really working up a sweat takes some "getting used to". But I did get into a groove, and doing on line races and routes did help some.
As I got used to the indoor cycle with the lack of real outdoor airflow, I really was able to focus on efforts. I kept most of my workouts at 60 minutes or less, but almost all of the workouts at Zone 3 - Zone 4 or Zone 4 - Zone 5 ranges. It seems to be working though. The last outdoor ride was over 3 hours and I felt that even the last 30 minutes of the ride that I still had significant power for a few sprints. I also did a 3 hour spin Sunday (March 6th) and the last 3 minutes I was able to hold 540 watts for most of the end sprint. So while endurance is important, its really power that I needed to gain and I think I have made some improvements there.
There is a book called "The Time Crunched Cyclist" and it also mentions getting the most out of less cycling time. While my time may not be as "crunched" lately as it was last year at this time the concepts still apply.
Other good reads: "Fast After 50"
This summer I will continue this model and this will naturally include more single track / trail rides.
Past Races.
