HELP!!! Training for a HUGE ride

[green]

Hi, ladies!

I've been hanging around here for a while, but this is my first post. I'm currently stuck in a very bad situation. I'm on a cycling team, and we're doing a HUGE charity ride this summer.

I'm a beginner (as in, I hadn't even been on a road bike before joining this team), and so are many other people on the team, but I injured my knee a while ago, which put me behind in training BIG TIME.

My knee is doing much better now, but I'm still supposed to only gradually work my way up to harder rides, i.e. hills.

So I went on a training ride with my team recently. It was supposed to be 62 miles, and there were sustained winds at 20 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph...yay. I felt like snail compared to the rest of my team! And this weekend, they're going on a challenging hilly ride.

To make things even better, we're having a test in a couple of week where we'll have to ride 100 miles within 12 hours, and there are going to be hills for sure...

What can I do? Does anyone have any advice (and some encouragement would be nice also...)?

When I go up hills, I'm normally panting madly, and it seems hard even when I'm on my lowest gear! But I am determined (and maybe a little bit desperate...) to make the ride this summer.

[Trek420]

Train the best you can. Don't risk permanent damage to the knee by trying to catch the group.

Remember these are rides not races. You may need to find another group that rides your pace like a local club novice ride, doing short flat rides. If you're starting to do base miles now with a goal ride what when?? and your teammates are prepared to do the BIG ride and basically doing test rides you'll need to find a way to ride your ride and train your pace.

Ride the miles you can do at the pace you can, then ride your ride. With good time management at rest stops, riding within yourself you'll see them cheer you every day at the end.

Try to catch them at this point and your riding days are over, done, you'll never ride again.

Worse yet, people trying to extend themselves too far, trying to catch a group they feel they should ride with, trying to beat a perceived goal time on a charity ride do what's called stoopid sh)t and end up being a danger to themselves and others. This is your ride this year, you started late, injured your knee and instead of cross training like swimming which would have put you in great aerobic shape and protected the knee did not train, now you're behind the goal.

But that's ok, Ride your ride, ride easy, think of it as the start of base mile training for NEXT YEAR.

Next year you'll ride with your team, this year your base miles start right now.

Remember the real fun is at the back of the pack.

Trek - California AIDS Ride 4 crew, ALC 3, 4, 6 rider, ALC 5 Training ride leader - 420

[Naomi]

Are you using clipless pedals? They make a huge difference because you can pull up as well as push down.

Don't kill yourself trying to go too fast, this is supposed to be fun.

[Biciclista]

Maybe you will not be ready in time for this ride. It's not worth it to hurt yourself permanently just so you can reach a goal set by someone else.
Knees are fragile creatures and need to be taken care of. healing takes time. a 100 mile ride with hills (or a 60 mile ride with hills) might not be what your knee should be exposed to until it is ready . there's always next year.
Lance Armstrong isn't riding this week, he's hurt. So are you.

[ItchyBits]

You need a plan with training goals. Not sure who your team leader/coach is but I am pretty sure I would not 100 mile test someone who is new on the bike and has knee issues. Because of your newness and knee problem you need to increase time on the bike gradually and get in some moderately paced long base miles. Is it a requirement to train with the team? I would think seriously about skipping their rides and doing your own ride as dictated by your training goals which seems to be a long ride ... century? If your ride is in late summer - with consistency you can do it. If you don't want to shell out for a coach the LAF site has training plans for things like centuries. TrainingPeaks.com has good info too. I would share your training plan with your Dr to make sure it is okay and see if you can add in strength training too.

[Trek420]

You need a plan with training goals. Not sure who your team leader/coach is but I am pretty sure I would not 100 mile test someone who is new on the bike and has knee issues.

What she says

I really question the "race" idea. Yes, there's a time component to endurance rides, if you're too slow you're swept.

But it should not be a race.

And if you train with a team they should be aware of your injury and find a sweep and/or other riders your pace to ride with you. I don't know what team or event you are on but that does not sound caring and supportive to me.

[kfergos]

Maybe you will not be ready in time for this ride. It's not worth it to hurt yourself permanently just so you can reach a goal set by someone else.
Knees are fragile creatures and need to be taken care of. healing takes time. a 100 mile ride with hills (or a 60 mile ride with hills) might not be what your knee should be exposed to until it is ready . there's always next year.

I second this. If you are a brand-new rider, don't expect to be able to go out and pound out a 62- or 100-mile ride with hills, wind, the whole bit, let alone at a dazzling pace. (Also as a side note: On those long rides, eat before you're hungry! Drink before you're thirsty! I'm sure you've heard it before, but it's really true.)

Here's my knee-related long-distance experience, which I hope will give you some food for thought: I'm mostly a commuter, but last year I started expanding into longer weekend rides, and last May I did my first century: The King's Tour of the Quabbin, a ride with 7,000 feet of climbing. I trained for it and rode it alone, making a point of going MY pace and taking as long as I needed. Even so, by mile 75 my knees (which have been bad since I ran cross country in high school, but hadn't given me trouble since I got fitted on my bike) were really, really hurting. By the time I finished, my knees ached when I was sitting still, let alone walking or riding. I did three other long rides that season, and every time by mile 60 my knees had started hurting regardless of liberal doses of ibuprofen and ice.

And get this: My knees haven't completely stopped hurting since, even though all winter I only rode 13 miles at a stretch. I switched from a double to a triple and lowered the gearing on my cassette as well; I conscientiously spin, especially on hills; I take ibuprofen before and ice after; I go at my pace and don't kill myself to get there fast. But my knees still twinge and require babying, and who knows if that will ever go away.

The moral of this long story is not to hurt yourself to achieve a goal that is too big for you starting off at zero. A "huge ride" such as the one you're describing, especially with what sounds like a pretty killer training regimen, might just be too ambitious of a goal for a first-time rider. Don't burn yourself out by trying to keep up or do too many miles too soon, and especially take care of the knees.

[green]

Are you using clipless pedals? They make a huge difference because you can pull up as well as push down.

Don't kill yourself trying to go too fast, this is supposed to be fun.

Yes, we do have clipless pedals, and they do help so much.

And if you train with a team they should be aware of your injury and find a sweep and/or other riders your pace to ride with you. I don't know what team or event you are on but that does not sound caring and supportive to me.

We are actually split up into groups based on experience. I can keep up with the group I'm in right now, but it's just that whenever we hit those hills, I slow right down (like 6 mph slow...).

Thanks for all the advice and support!

One more question: My therapist said that it might be easier on my knee if I got a third chainring. Right now, our bike has a compact 50/34T. Would a third really make a whole lot of a difference?

[Biciclista]

did you really say "Our bike?"

yes, a 3rd chainring would help, or different gears anyway. But in the end, it's still your knee that is having to bear your weight up the hill, I don't care HOW big that chainring is.

A lot of people change chain rings to help them climb. See your LBS for that one.

[green]

did you really say "Our bike?"

Haha, yes, I just realized I did. I was just referring to me along with the rest of my team, since we all have the same bikes.

I'm impressed you can do 6mph. Sometimes all I can manage is 2 mph. I have had people passing by wonder how I could keep my balance going that slow.

But seriously, please listen to your body and PT. It takes building up endurance to spin up the hills. Please don't push yourself so hard that you kill your knees. I have a couple of friends who have had to have knee surgery already, and they're not even 35 yet. While they have resumed some of their activities, they regret not taking better care of their knees to start with.

Good luck, Green! Just do your best. You have already accomplished so much. I didn't do half of what you have already done my first year, but it was more than I had ever done previously, so I'm still very proud of what I was able to do then. You should be proud of what you've done too. I'll be cheering you on and looking forward to hear your stories about your future accomplishments.

Welcome to TE BTW!

~sgtiger

Thank you for the encouragement and welcome!

And, actually, I have gone about 3 mph up steep inclines. I seem to do a little better on hills, though.

Forgive me if I missed it, but what is the distance and elevation gain of your "HUGE" ride? Also, when is the ride?

It's a charity ride for cancer from Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. I know that sounds , but all of the past teams have made it, including people who had never been on road bikes before. There's two routes, and I'm doing the one that would go through the Rockies. I've heard that the Sierra/Coastal route has more steep uphills than Rockies does, though.

Our bike has a Shimano 10-Speed Cassette, 11-25T. I have no idea what that means...

And from what our fitness directors have been saying, they are thinking about having a 10-hour time limit on the century test. And it'll be through the Texas hill country.

The ride doesn't start until June 6th, which is kind of weird, since we're having the century test this early when we still technically have more than a month left before we leave. And it's also a little weird to have a hilly century test when the first weeks on the actual ride are pretty flat according to past riders... But I guess they just want us to be prepared.

I went on a hilly 23-mile ride the other day, and I was feeling fine. Just a little sore in the shoulders and back.

[Trek420]

whenever we hit those hills, I slow right down (like 6 mph slow...).

6 mph is not slow up a hill, depending on the hill. Some hills "we"* are happy to stay upright and not fall over backwards

*we being me and my tapeworm

[Karma007]

6 mph is not slow up a hill, depending on the hill. Some hills "we"* are happy to stay upright and not fall over backwards

*we being me and my tapeworm

+1. And sometimes a rider I know (okay, me) has had to get off the bike mid hill which stinks trying to restart, but if ya gotta, ya gotta...

[alpinerabbit]

Try to catch them at this point and your riding days are over, done, you'll never ride again.

Texas to Alaska - honestly ??!

I would suggest you seriously re-think this.

[papaver]

Texas to Alaska - honestly ??!

I would suggest you seriously re-think this.

+1

I really don't think this is a good idea if you are a beginner. You can do more harm than good.

[crazycanuck]

Hey, hang on a minute...Why shouldn't the OP do the ride? If it's well thought out & if the team trains properly it could be a great ride. Even if the OP gets half way then she's accomplished something. Not only accomplished something but LEARNT something about long distance cycling as well.

I could be crazy....I'll go back to eating my strange quinoa...