" If you're really determined, anything's possible...Trek420 just completed a 500+ ride in 7 days. She did almost 4 centuries in one week, and I don't think she had ever done more than a metric before! That's one determined cyclist!"

I'm not determined, I'm stuborn! there's a difference ;-)

Tell everyone you're going to do it, much harder to sag ;-) When the going got tough I hate to get all mushy and personal on y'all but I thought of those I'd lost, I thought of the people my sponsors had lost, I thought of my Dad who we lost to prostate cancer this year.

I think it's day 4 I got to the top of the Evil Twins and I'm catching my breath pretending I need a drink but really I'm whooped, a rider rolls up behind me and stopped, a tiny timer on his watch goes off and he stops to take the drugs that keep him alive. Sort of puts things in perspective. Here i am sucking on Gatorade, he's managing a complex drug regimine. This positive pedler and I shared many a mile on the ride, I'm slow but steady, he's fast but goes in spurts, sometimes we were the same pace. He said "I'm all about spurts of strength, when I'm feeling strong I go, when i need a break, I take it" Good rule for any century rider.

But thanks for the compliment, yes, I'd never done more than a metric (except for the one I got lost, ended up being 85 miles, another story) I didn't complete all 585 miles of the ride, but I "done good"

You're supposed to be able to do a back to back century or metric and then you're ready for the ALC. I never did, my longest training ride was the Cinderella, a women-only metric I did (where were all you TE members?)

I followed the 10% rule. I started in October when I registered but I'd already been training for another sport so had a rolling head start. I also had rest weeks, 10% more each week but then every 3 weeks take a rest week.

You don't get stronger training harder, you get stronger recovering from training harder. Take rest days, crosstrain.

Spin classes rock! I did 2-3 of those a week then long rides on weekends but my long ride was still only 30+ miles.

The week before the ride was a total rest week, I didn't stand if I could avoid it, it felt odd but resting, hydrating, good diet helped. My legs were fresh and the first two days (85+ miles day 1, Century day 2) I felt fine. Bonked day 3...but after that you get stronger each day!

It's a work in progress but I'm starting to put together tales of the ride and "what I learned training for it" on my homepage

http://home.pacbell.net/dita_rae