Training with a heart monitor

Here's info on training with a heart monitor; recommendations from my brother...

do a lot of long riding at 70 - 75% of your max heart rate.

do "Tempo" rides at 85%+ MHR. start with 20 minutes, build up to 45-60 minutes. for these, if you are in shape, you will be going about 20 MPH on the flats i'm guessing.

do intervals at lactate threshold (fastest sustainable pace, around 90% MHR). this is a very hard pace where you are just starting to breath hard - but not too much. start with 3x10 minutes, then 3x12. you could peak out at 3x15 if you want (hard). these should feel very hard but lactic acid feeling should not be building up in your legs -- but you should be right on the edge of that.

you can also do 2 to 3 minute intervals almost as hard as you can, with 2-3 minutes rest, then repeat 6-9 times. this is insanely hard, skip this step unless you want to race some :-) on these you have lots of acidosis in the legs wanting to slow you down, your legs would hurt a lot.

don't add all these at once. do a couple weeks with the tempos building up, then build up the threshold workouts instead of tempo. when you go on to the next one just throw in a little occasional maintenance of the last one. i would say do two, or 3 max, hard sessions a week. the rest do your "base miles" at 70-75% MHR.

keep in mind too that if you are tired from a workout your heart rate might be depressed and throw off all the #s.