I've committed to my first century!

[GLC1968]

It's official. I signed up yesterday...100 miles...12 weeks from this Saturday!

I only started riding late last July, but I don't doubt I'll be ready. I rode the MS Tour in our area last September (110 miles in two days), so I feel like this is easily within my abilities. I'm more than a bit nervous about the potential heat in August, though. Plus, it's just a little nerve-wracking to make it official!

I'm off to put together a good training plan...any helpful hints?

[Blueberry]

I'll be looking for the training schedule comments too. I've not taken the step of signing up yet (new job, etc).

Which century is it?? I'm in Durham, NC - so I'm wondering whether it's one of the ones I'm considering. It's not Bikefest is it?

Good to see someone else from the area

[Trekhawk]

Great stuff. Dont forget to post a ride report when its all over.

Happy training.

[Geonz]

Hmmm... my tip... listen more to your body than any numbers. Ya, follow a plan (tho' I never did, just tried to go a little further and a little harder as I could, and I rode with all the club rides all the time 'cause my job or lack thereof allowed me), but pay attention to what effort feels like and where your person level of "I can ride all day like this" is. It will be different depending on heat and wind and whatever. And learn what things "sneak up" on you so you can pay attention to them (for me it's having enough salt/gatorade/bananas so I don't get crampy).

[GLC1968]

CA - it is indeed BikeFest! Will you be there?

Trekhawk - I'll definitely post a recap!

Geonz - Great tips...thanks!

[bikerchick68]

GLC... congrats on signing up and committing to a century! I'm sure you'll be fine...

my best pieces of advice are:

1. ride your own ride. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement in the beginning and go out hard with faster people... and then be hurting and trying to recover 30 miles in... better I have found to go your pace and stick to it... this will leave you with gas in the tank at the end so you can enjoy going out to dinner after with friends before collapsing in bed!

2. utilize EVERY SAG stop... even if you just eat a quartered orange or 1 fig newton... and use the restroom... I skipped the SAG at mile 73 in Solvang last year... mile 80 found me pulled off behind a shrub peeing while people rode by sorta snickering and asking if I was "OK"... hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do... and I had to pee! I never miss a SAG stop now.

have fun... looking forward to hearing about it...

[Bike Goddess]

I would suggest that you gradually build up to riding in the heat. This will acclimate you to riding such a long distance in those conditions.

I also recommend that you work up to riding a metric century (62.5 miles approx) in the next month. By doing this distance and training for heat, you will find out #1- how your body feels on the bike for a long distance #2- what you need to eat and drink to keep hydrated and energized.

Re food and liquid- I'd experiment with different kinds of sports drinks besides Gatorade to see which one agrees with you the best. Also, get some electrolytes (E-Caps) Hammer Nutrition-www.e-caps.com. These will help you in the heat. Hydration is a major factor when riding in heat and humidity. Some of us did a ride last weekend (see California thread - Mines Road Recap)in 95 degree weather. I took the E-caps and lots of liquids and managed to get through it without cramps. Jelly Belly has sports beans that you might want to try also. (I take both with me on all of my rides)

Another factor is clothing- for a century ride, you'll probably want gel chamois shorts made for women. You can pick those up at most bike stores- Performance Bikes has great gel shorts, for example. And...... be sure to have some chamois butter. That's a life saver on long, hot rides!

The more metrics you can get in the better!!!! Once a week will really build your endurance.

Hope this helps!

[GLC1968]

Wow...thanks for all the support and advice everyone! What a great place this is!! I have to say...I've only ever ridden with guys (except for the random women on the group training rides last summer) and while its fun to ride with the boys...I've learned SOO MUCH reading this forum! Who new that some of my 'issues' were common to women?! It's hard when all my biking friends are guys.

Anyway, thanks for the hints! I'll definitely be hitting all the stops...something that the guys I ride with aren't always that into. Stupid boys!

I've got good shorts and gear, and if I can acclimate to the heat, I should be fine. I'll definitely look into electrolyte tabs or beans...that should be a big help. My very first ride with the guys at work was in 105 degree heat (and it's quite hilly here) and I bonked...big time. I learned a lot on that ride.

I don't know much about this route yet, but I can't imagine that it's any hillier than the 110 I did this past year (because it's further east and away from the mountains)...but weather will definitely be a factor.

SadieKate - before picking up cycing, I was in an intense training mode (mostly to lose weight). I was running and using Cathe cardio videos and I got to the point where I could no longer get my HR to 85%....no matter how hard I tried. Then my feet gave out from all the impact and I needed a new challenge. On my first ride, I was pushing 85% on the uphills and it felt fan-freaking-tastic...I'd found a new challenge! I'm not quite in *that* good shape right now, but I'm not far off. When I did the 110, I was wiped out that evening, but two days later was back on the bike. My legs were fine, my butt was fine...but my upper body felt beaten up! I know now it was bike fit and I'm working on improving that right now. Oh, I also had foot trouble, but at the time, I was sill using MTN shoes...now I've got road ones and my feet don't bother me at all anymore.

I miss counted how long we have to train... it's acutally 14 weeks. For the next 13 weeks, this is our weekend ride plan:
1: 40 (tomorrow)
2: 45
3: mountaing biking (camping)
4: 45
5: 50
6: 50
7: 55
8: 55
9: 60
10: 60
11: 65
12: 75
13: 65
14: 100!

During the week, we (my husband and I) plan on 1 spin class, 1 fast lunch ride, and either 1 commute or 1 evening ride (depending on schedule/weather). I will also continue with other cardio training and weight training...

Does this sound decent? Are there other things we should add in during the week? Do the weekend distances look good? Some of those will be group/supported rides...and some will be on our own. Our last three weekend rides were about 35 miles and I felt fine afterward...should we increase the distance faster that I have outlined here?

Am I overthinking this too much? I tend to do that!

Thanks again!

[bikerchick68]

you distance plan looks good... since you're riding with men mostly I want to point out one thing that I learned a couple years ago... and that is that men and women absolutely store glycogen in the liver differently...

what this means is that men can carb-load quite successfully... and the majority of women can't. This is important because to NOT BONK it is critical that you take on more carbs than the men DURING a ride... I'm not suggesting that you gorge, but I am suggesting that you eat something at every sag... and I personally have found that riding with Cytomax (or whatever sports drink) helps me tremendously... it's only 100 calories per bottle but taking on that little bit of carbs and electorlytes regularly thru-out the ride is absolutely noticeable in my ride performance...

often, men will skip the SAG stops because they have carbloaded the night prior but in my opinion, women should not, unless they have food with them and are eating it on the bike... I take on a little carbs every hour for any distance ride... and then I feel great afterwards!

definitely experiment and see what works for you... but don't let the boys badger you into not stopping... I do not bother carb loading the night prior to a distance ride... I just have complex carbs that AM and then take on a little bit every hour...

[Blueberry]

The cool thing about BikeFest is that it's HUGE (at least for NC rides...)! It will hit its rider limit. So...there will be lots of people of the non-testosterone variety, if you prefer.

Very interesting - I had no idea men and women were different in that way. Perhaps that's why I'm wanting food on a 20+ mile ride, and DH is fine without.

Hmmmm....another excuse to eat sport beans

not that I needed one

[Jo-n-NY]

Wishing you lots of luck. You have a very good plan and I think you will be very well prepared for the ride. I am riding my first century on Sunday. I will post how I made out. As of now, I am super excited and so mentally ready.

~ JoAnn

[GLC1968]

Wow, Jo...how did it go?

(look, I'm a poet! )

[GLC1968]

Bikerchick - thanks for the info on the difference between men and women...that makes a lot of sense!

And to whomever recommended SportBeans...I LOVE YOU! I took a couple of packs on our ride on Saturday and they rocked! WAY better than Powerade (which I like better than Gatorade)! Plus, DH hates all chewey things like that...so I didn't have to share!

We did 42 miles on Saturday in tough winds. It was doublely frustrating because on the legs where the wind should have been at our back, we were in woodsy areas where the wind wasn't a big deal. On the legs were the wind was in our faces (or about to blow me off my bike from the side) we were in farmland areas and it sucked! Actually, it was a gorgeous day, wind notwithstanding... And I kicked butt. In fact, the next day (yesterday) I wasn't even sore (except for the butt) and DH was moaning all day. Rock on!

We are selecting a couple of metric centruries to throw into our schedule...so it's subject to change based on scheduling!

[Bike Goddess]

GLC- Glad to hear the Sports Beans worked! (If I recall, it was Ms Sadie Kate who first recommended them to me last year so she really deserves the credit!!!!)

That nasty wind will make you STRONG! I know, I know, who likes being buffeted around, it's not fun. BUT winds are like hills- they require you to work hard.

42 miles- good.

If your butt is hurting after 42 miles that might be a sign of potential problems as you ride longer distances. You might try raising your seat about 1cm and see how that goes. Mark the spot where you started from so you can keep track. (you can always go back) Your body doesn't like big changes, but incremental ones are fine. I've had to adjust my seat height several times to get it perfect for long distance riding. Good to get these issues solved now!

Also, drink lots afterwards. I'm even into drinking chocolate milk as it appears to work as well as recovery drinks. AND, don't forget to stretch those quads and hamstrings as well as your back!!!!!