Maintaining/training for another century?

[natheless]

Hi all,

I am about to ride my first century this weekend. I've worked pretty hard all summer getting ready and I think I am, despite never having quite enough time to ride quite as much as most of the training plans I found online wanted me to... (my maximum was 150 miles/week.)

Anyway, I am considering doing a second century ride in about 5 weeks, and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on maintaining fitness, ie., do I need to keep working as hard as I have been, or can I afford to relax a little bit?

What I was thinking of doing is riding about 20-25 miles T, Th and Saturday, and then a 50-60 mile ride on Sunday, from now until the 2nd century in Mid-October. Does that sound reasonable?

Any thoughts or input would be much appreciated!

be well.../julia

[Dogmama]

It depends...

A lot depends on your age, fitness level, years on the bike, etc. Also, stress plays a huge role in recovery as does nutrition and sleep.

Without knowing anything about you, I'd say that you probably want to spend the next week doing recovery rides - short distances, moderate pace. I'd ratchet it up a bit until approximately 10 days before your next century, then go back down to shorter, more moderate rides.

[RoadRaven]

Just keep riding...
minimum 3-4 times a week...
have at least 1 rest day a week
ride some of your rides at recovery pace (slower than you need to)
do some interval training (like short sprints inside a training ride)
if the course you are aiming to ride is hilly, do some hill reps once a week

Keep riding... for the distance and the terrain your goal ride is...

Keep on.... riding

Oh, and have fun doing it... thats the most important bit...

Look forward to hearing more about your rides

[Trek420]

What they both sed. Also rest and nutrition's so important.

Let's see how you do on your first century, how you feel. I bet you'll do GREAT!

[bikerchick68]

I rode my first century this Feb, the second 4 weeks later and have done 5 total this year with another in 2 weeks (Lighthouse Century)...

between centuries I have continued my normal training... for me that's 3-4 days a week with one day a 40.4 mile commute to work (2000ft climbing) and 2 days of maybe 16 miles (the light is fading fast at night now so the rides are getting shorter! ) and the weekends 30-60 miles depending on how much time I have...

half the battle is mental, the knowledge that you CAN ride a century... I took the 3rd one for granted as the first 2 seemed so easy... and got my butt kicked! I went out the night before, didn't get enough sleep and had a glass of wine... aaaaaaaack! sleep, hydration and fueling are critical... I learned my lesson... no partying the night before a century... even if it WAS my birthday!

[bcipam]

My thought is if you maintain a certain fitness level, you can do a century with extra training or riding, although if it's a difficult century, with alot of climbing, you should be tackling hills as part of your weekly riding.

During the Spring and Summer and into the fall, I ride 3 - 4 times a week. I no longer train for centuries. I agree it's a mental thing. I know I can do 100 miles or so, so I just go do it. I pace myself accordenly, use the sag stops properly and just git r done! That doesn't mean ever century will be easy. There is this whole thing with peaking on performance etc. I peaked for a century in August and did one this month, and felt aweful. I did it, but not as easily. I am doing a very hilly century in October so I've decided to start doing alot of hill work so my body gets use to grinding long distances up hills. Because it's getting harder to ride after work, I'm going back into Spin Class. Every little bit helps.