Preparing For A Century

[Bethany1]

Been thinking about this for some time but haven't felt motivated until I got an email today about a company that sponsors a 500 mile one..5 days 500 miles. I did their quarter century ride last year and had a great time despite feeling defeated in my personal goals.

I would have 6 months to get ready. The most I've done is a 30 mile 3 hour trip. Given I average 10-12 mph I'm talking a 10-12 hour day. Is that a relatively normal time?

Biggest issues I face are health related. I have asthma and some mental health issues. Hydration is an issue because I sweat so profusely. 10 minutes in and I'm soaked completely through. With it being in June, I worry about not being hydrated and dealing with sweat dripping into my eyes the entire day.

One thing I learned from the ride last year is I need some bibs. Having elastic gouge into your waist made the ride feel like it lasted forever. How do you size bibs especially as I run 18-20 in regular clothes. I also worry about wind and high temps. The ride last year was around 100 degrees and head winds. 1/2 way in I was so exhausted that I barely made it back.

I plan on taking my cross bike as 12 hours on a fat bike probably wouldn't be as fun. I wish I had someone to train and go with me, but at this point in time I don't have anyone.

Even if I bailed out at some point during the ride, at least I'd have something accomplished. I figure if I pay the entry fee now the ride would be real.

Right now it's cold..how do you train inside on a trainer?

Thanks for any help or advice

[Blueberry]

Training on a trainer can work great! I'm doing a lot of it lately (I use Spinervals, but which DVD's or whether to just watch movies is a hot topic - you can search the forums for more details). Actually this article (http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/06/indoor-bicycle-training.aspx#axzz2qQ5XCG00) just hit my twitter feed today. You can definitely get in a great workout! You do have to start working on longer weekend rides, but for now it can be good to build base.

I hope others will chime in too - but it sounds like a great goal!

[Crankin]

First, assess what you can do to deal with the health issues. Are you on an asthma controller, not just a rescue inhaler? It might be time to visit or revisit your asthma plan. How did your mental health issues affect your ride last year? You might want to think about how you could change that; half the thing about finishing a ride like that is mental. If you are giving yourself negative messages about your riding, you can work on that with cognitive work, meditation, and affirmations. But, those things are called a practice, because, well, you have to practice them.
There are lots of training plans out there, and you probably could start with a plan using your trainer. But, there is no substitute for TITS... time in the saddle. Get some cold weather gear and get outside as soon as you can (March?). Part of planning for any long ride is evaluating your hydration and nutrition. Maybe you need to be hydrating more efficiently all of the time, not just on rides. It makes a huge difference. Experiment with different sports drinks and food. At those temperatures, it would be hard for a lot of people to survive. Read, read, read, and read more.
10-12 hours is a long time to be in the saddle. If you are OK with it, then it's fine. But, if it's a supported ride, find out if there is support for that length of time. You could always shoot for a metric century (62 miles) or a 50 miler.

[Helene2013]

I registered this past December for a 135km ride in June 2014 (don't know what bubble hit part of my brain but it's paid for now...and I have to go. hihi). The most I did on a road bike were 2 rides of 50km each, and some may remember the issues I've had with my Pink Lady.

Totally out of shape due to a knee injury, and an elbow (opposite side) that took me out of the "activity mode" for 9 months. And I'm not a bike person at all but no longer allowed to run or high impact knee activities (although I tend to cheat a bit but not long). Physiotherapist said the best activities were to be cycling or swimming. Swimming is harder around here due to shorter summer time and lack of "pool" time availabilities. So I bought a carbon road bike (hubby is already in a cycling club and is used to 100km rides on weekend) and just dove in head first. Not the brightest idea but it is what is is and it's me. :) One life to live and I tend to push my limits. At 50, I have no more time to waste thinking the ifs and buts. haha

BUT!!! now that I have registered for that challenge, I have to do something to be ready. It gave me 6 months to get back in shape, and not risk injuries to occur again. So I hired a kinesiotherapist which is also a physiotherapist. She built me a back-in-shape plan targeted for that "race". She is a also into triathlon so knows about how to turn me into a "winner". At $85 per session it is not cheap. But it is efficient and brings on the results I needed. Luckily, my employer/group insurance pays most of it (although taxable benefit).

I'm into my week 2 of serious training. And I can already see improvement (and so does she). She is coaching me and makes me gain confidence into my training. It won't be easy. Some training days I can tell you it "hurts". But it is a good "hurt". hihi

So maybe you could try to get someone like this to build you a real plan. There is nothing more challenging/rewarding for me to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I was talking to her on the phone today about some things and she said 135km is a huge challenge. Specially being done in a very hilly city (for those who've been to Quebec City will know what I'm talking about). She is working a lot on getting my muscle mass worked up, etc.

I am not a fan of group training and schedules classes. I like to do on my own time. I have no issue motivating myself at all doing all my training in the basement. But I must admit I am fully equiped to succeed and keep it fun. I have my Kinetic Rock and roll trainer, the treadmill, my exercices tools (bands, balls, weights). I have a huge sound system that could make a club jealous hihi, iPod loaded with gym motivating songs, a huge flat screen tv with DVD (or youtube) videos of road bike training. I took the steps and tools to turn my challenge into a success. At least this is my goal. A lot of it is in your mental part. And trainer said she will keep my training fun and make me learn to like my bike and get away from treadmill. She is right. I spent 30 minutes yesterday doing bike intervas (and it was hard) and I did not see the 30 minute period go by. Used to hate even 5-10 minutes on trainer. What a change!

I can't wait to hit the roads, which is not before May for us, even then as the roads will be still full of debris from the winter. So it will probaby leave me only with 3-4 weeks max of possible real road testing before THE day.

Good luck.

[ny biker]

First, assess what you can do to deal with the health issues. Are you on an asthma controller, not just a rescue inhaler? It might be time to visit or revisit your asthma plan. How did your mental health issues affect your ride last year? You might want to think about how you could change that; half the thing about finishing a ride like that is mental. If you are giving yourself negative messages about your riding, you can work on that with cognitive work, meditation, and affirmations. But, those things are called a practice, because, well, you have to practice them.
There are lots of training plans out there, and you probably could start with a plan using your trainer. But, there is no substitute for TITS... time in the saddle. Get some cold weather gear and get outside as soon as you can (March?). Part of planning for any long ride is evaluating your hydration and nutrition. Maybe you need to be hydrating more efficiently all of the time, not just on rides. It makes a huge difference. Experiment with different sports drinks and food. At those temperatures, it would be hard for a lot of people to survive. Read, read, read, and read more.
10-12 hours is a long time to be in the saddle. If you are OK with it, then it's fine. But, if it's a supported ride, find out if there is support for that length of time. You could always shoot for a metric century (62 miles) or a 50 miler.

+1 to all of this.

Did you register for one century or for 500 miles in 5 days? There's a big difference.

10-12 hours is a long time to be doing a bike ride. It certainly can be done, but (assuming the course is open that long -- as Crankin said, you'll want to find about that) you would be one of the last people to finish. So you'll need to be okay with that. I did the Livestrong Ride in Philadelphia 5 times, and every time I saw the same team of guys doing the full century at a relatively slow pace. They knew they would be among the last to cross the finish line that day, but they didn't mind.

[Owlie]

Is your asthma controlled beyond a rescue inhaler?

You can try various things like sweat bands and stuff to keep the sweat out of your eyes.

Learn to make friends with your trainer. The key, I think, is to mix it up. Also get a large fan to keep you cool (you heat up fast on a trainer!) and put a small towel over the headset to keep sweat out of it. :) I'll do ladders one day, intervals another, and just plain old grinding on another. I have TV for the grinding, and I use music for the intervals and ladders.

[Bethany1]

Thanks for the help!

You can sign up for all 5 days..do 500 miles or pick 100, 200, 300..etc. Not about to do anymore than 100. There is another century..Heat Stroke 100 in August near Omaha I think. It sounded like there was help until everyone was done. The Heat Stroke had different routes depending on the mileage you wanted to do.

I have both a fat bike and a cross bike. I put the cross up on my trainer and use my fat bike when I get outside. I logged 778 miles last year..most I've ever done. Strava Altitude challenges really helped last year for hill climbing. Going through snow and now mud makes for a workout on a fattie for sure. Riding on a trainer sucks but so does the cold.

The mental aspect will be hard since my attention span is about nothing..wait was that a bird?..kind of thing. Dealing with anxiety issues doesn't help but cycling has helped since you have to get out. I mostly ride rural but dogs are starting to be a problem out here as last trip I got chased until I stopped, prayed the dog was nice and gave him a friendly greeting. He started wagging his tail and I started walking slowly down the road talking to him hoping he'd head back home. Thankfully his owner heard his barking and called him back. There isn't any help if you get chased by a dog on a rural road..even the UPS guy figured that out over Christmas when he had 2 large dogs chasing his truck down the road. I was grateful I had stopped at the top of the hill instead of going down or it would have been me.

If I do this, do you plan your miles/time around a specific mileage route you've made in your area? I don't know the route this sponsor has..I think it was to be announced..but it will be around Lincoln, NE. I know the area since I ride up there when I can.

I just know I need something to look forward to this summer. My sister and I made tentative plans to do the Quarter Century Ride. She lives in MN so this would be fun to do if she can get down here.

Other thing I need to improve on is core strength regardless of whether or not I go for the century. I'll talk to my doc about my lungs. There's not point in doing any kind of distance if I can't get enough air to do it.

[ny biker]

FWIW, I have asthma which is triggered by riding up steep hills, but with daily medication and regular training I rarely have a problem with it. For me the key is to slow down my cadence on the hills. It means I will never be fast, but slow+breathing is better than fast+not breathing any day of the week.

For the mental aspect, music works for me. I was struggling up the hills on my second Livestrong ride when a song popped into my head. (It was the Foo Fighters' "All My Life.") Having that tune stuck in my head really helped me finish the ride. So now anytime I start to struggle while riding I will think of a good up-tempo song, and if I'm alone I will even sing it out loud.

Good luck!!

[Bethany1]

Did some thinking. June is probably too soon so planning on the August one. I realized I had a book from Selene Yeager that had a training plan. Is her plan better/worse than any of the others out there? She gives intervals for each planned ride that day..10 minutes of this..20 minutes of that so that would keep my ADHD span working.

Today's ride was a hard ride for one hour. I put my phone timer on 30 minutes and headed out. I figured hills, 35 degrees and 15-20mph headwind on a fat bike would be considered hard. After 30 minutes, headed back home via another route. Actually having the timer really helped so I was't wandering around passing the time wondering where to go. My cross bike is on a trainer so any fast interval training can be done there if needed as I have a computer w/cadence sensor.

I'm stronger than I thought. Strava really helped out last year on exploring your area and hills. I've seen some gorgeous views of my area while exploring the rural roads and found some favorite places to ride.

So..do I need a heart rate monitor? Anything that works with Strava or another phone app?

[Crankin]

I am not a fan of a heart rate monitor. Of course, you may like it. In fact, I don't like data at all, except for mileage, cadence, average speed. I judge my work using RPE, but I've been exercising a long time, so I know when I am going to blow up and when I am not working hard enough. And remember, heart rate ranges vary widely. My heart rate has always been higher than others when I am exerting myself, but my resting HR is low. I am not out of shape, it's always been like this.
You'll be fine. August is doable.

[Skippyak]

I love my HR and bike data. I love my Garmin. You can find plenty of century training plans, but for sure if it is August, just work at your time in the saddle until you start a real program. As well as doing intervals etc have at least one long ride a week (1 hours is a short ride), HR is highly individual. check out Freil (google, )and set your HR zones according to his LT test, I have a teen friend whose HR is crazy high when she rides with me and I am 3 times her age and I have a higher working HR than some of my friends but a lower resting HR. I have not been a lifelong athlete and I expect I have to pay for the years I smoked and was fat and sedentary.

[nuliajuk]

I've just discovered that the MS bike tour that I'm signed up for is minimum 135k, optional 155, so close to a century. Fortunately, it's in mid-August, so I've got 8 months to train.
Heart rate monitors can be great if you know your zones. There are several different methods for determining them. I'm not sure which one was used to find mine, two winters ago when I signed on for a progressive spin class put on by a local cycling club, but I hope they haven't changed much in two years. The idea of the class was to do our training in 18 week cycles where we spent 6 weeks in the zone2-3 range, 6 weeks where we added in more and more zone 4 intervals, then 6 in which we continued with zone 4 intervals and threw in some all-out sprints in zone 5. Probably more complicated than most people need to go for recreational riding.

[ny biker]

I haven't used a heart rate monitor in years. HRM data is interesting but not really useful for me. I never bother to try to stay in a particular zone.

I go more by perceived exertion, and sometimes I set a goal for average speed for a ride. Usually I do that when I'm by myself and riding a route that I am very familiar with, so I know what my average would typically be for it.

Something I read a few years ago that I thought made a lot of sense -- if you're keeping a training log, note your mood along with the usual information like average speed, cadence, distance etc. If you're finding that you're consistently not happy, it's a sign that you're overtraining. (It could also be a sign that you just really do not enjoy doing very long bike rides, which was the case for me. I'd much rather do a 65-mile ride and be happy than a 100-mile ride that leaves me feeling like I have to force myself to keep pedaling.)

Another thing about mood and overtraining -- make sure your training plan includes easy days and or days off. Otherwise you will burn out.

[Bethany1]

Thanks for the advice bout writing down your moods. I deal with some mental health issues so that's really important. Right now long rides are weather dependent but will get them in when the weather is good. My sister is interested in doing this as well. Even if it's long distance, having her help will be great.

[Crankin]

NY Biker said exactly what I feel. For me, heart rate data is irrelevant. And while it would be interesting to have a lactate threshold test, and all that, I'm not racing. RPE (perceived exertion) is fine for me, especially since I *know* and can almost predict to the number what my HR is and what zone I am in. If you are new, the data might be useful, to learn how your body works. Intervals are the key to any training plan and hills, lots of them.
The mood thing is key. I often want to go on a hard ride and then get in a bad mood when I am doing it. Usually, it's because I feel like I am not keeping up with the goals I have set for myself, others are riding better than me (if I'm with others) and I get pissed! The stars all have to align for me. I am pretty good at suffering, but if my mood is off a lot, I scale back and do a lot of short rides, or "errand" rides. You need to find out which combination of ride types works for you, as well as log your mood. Of course, once I am done, I feel great and I forget about the suffering!

[Bethany1]

Went through some of my books and searched online for some information I wanted and it was really overwhelming. Finally figured out some stuff in layman terms and it has really helped the past couple of days in determining where I am physically and where to start. I get the heart rate zone thing but hadn't really paid attention to it. I'm supposed to have HOW much water while riding and during the day?? You lose HOW much water while you ride?? That's an epic fail on my part. No wonder I'm sick after rides. Drink more water.

So yesterday was a test day to see if I could tell different heart rate zones. You can really tell what zone you are in going by your breathing, heart rate and correlation to speed. Huge revelation. No need for a monitor..I got it. Been drinking more water..has really helped and not sick after yesterday's indoor ride.

My hubby at first said no to the century. He didn't want me passed out on a long ride and no way for him to come get me. I did find a friend who is doing the same ride in August and I told him they have trucks that can carry my dead body back to the car if needed so he relented. While we can't train together, he knows she'll be there. My mom is convinced I'll get raped and left by the side of the road while training. Sigh. I'm sure it's possible but so far I've been fine.

Thanks for the support as everyone else has been skeptical or saying I can't do it. This is about me and finding my way this summer. I need this.

[shootingstar]

If you have 6 months to prepare, that's lots of time to prepare.

Simply ride often and make it several times per wk. Try to extend your distance at least on weekends. Yes, try good times to drink water, eat some food, etc. Same for clothing for different conditions. Stay safe, alert, etc.

Above all: Don't overthink this to prepare for this. Just get onto the bike and ride to enjoy as part of your training as you ride longer/abit faster.

Really....don't overthink it. Otherwise the mental barriers will be the biggest barrier of all for you.

[ny biker]

If you have 6 months to prepare, that's lots of time to prepare.

Simply ride often and make it several times per wk. Try to extend your distance at least on weekends. Yes, try good times to drink water, eat some food, etc. Same for clothing for different conditions. Stay safe, alert, etc.

Above all: Don't overthink this to prepare for this. Just get onto the bike and ride to enjoy as part of your training as you ride longer/abit faster.

Really....don't overthink it. Otherwise the mental barriers will be the biggest barrier of all for you.


+1 to this.

Bear in mind that a lot of stuff you read about preparing for a century is written by and for people with different goals. It can get very complicated, but it doesn't have to be.

I work with a personal trainer, and he came up with a training plan for me when I first wanted to do a century. I might still have it -- I will look. I generally only ride twice per week, since I also do strength training a couple of days a week. In general, the training plan included a short ride mid-week and a longer one on the weekend. The weekend ride got progressively longer as the training period went on, with the longest ride being 80-90m miles (I think). There were a few weekends where I did shorter rides on both Saturday and Sunday rather than a long ride on one of those days.

I didn't worry about heart rate zones or anything like that. I did work on figuring out types and amounts of foods and beverages for before, during and after rides. I generally can't eat solid food during rides on hot days, so I tried different gels until I found a brand and flavors that I like.

In general I try to drink one water bottle per hour. If I get to a rest stop and have not met that target, I will drink extra while I'm stopped in order to catch up. I've also learned that I need to make sure I get enough sodium on hot days. For me that usually means a gel with extra electrolytes. Many of my friends just eat potato chips or drink V8 juice during rest stops.

I highly recommend Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook if you need any help with food and drink. The 5th edition was recently released.

I also recommend getting a Road ID (www.roadid.com), for your family's peace of mind.

And let us know whenever you have any questions or just need support. Hang in there!!

[pll]

I will add a couple of random thoughts:

A good part of the challenge of doing 500 miles over 5 days are the long rides on consecutive days. If you go for something like that, make sure to ramp up your training so that you have long efforts on consecutive days. One needs to learn how to withhold energy on the first day to have something left in subsequent days. Also, you may wake up on day 2 and feel it is impossible to walk, much less ride. However, after a few miles on the bike, you will get back into the rhythm.
In long trainer sessions you may consider changing shorts midway. There is a lot less air circulation, fans and all.
As ny_biker mentioned above, figuring out what to eat and drink is another art. Some people find drinking their calories is easier than eating them and they use some calorie-dense drinks, for some others, including myself, it does not work. So, you need to experiment. I know people who do IronMan tris work on getting used to consuming the things offered during those particular events.
You mentioned you would do the ride on your cross bike, so perhaps investing in the right type of tire is something to think about (assuming you have knobby tires, and the ride would be on paved roads, slicks or file threads would do better than a tire with more grip for mud)


And, if you and your sister or a friends can get away, try to do a cycling camp. In my life, I've attended only one, a very affordable one (google Alabama Cycling Camp; there are a couple of videos in youtube) and it was great. Rode every day for 7 days, it was a great base for me last year. And, in February, going from Chicago, it felt like a luxurious vacation. In my group, all drove there, one from as far as Toronto.