The 4 hour barrier

[Wahine]

So, I'm training for IM. And I'm supposed to be riding up to 5 hours, hopefully 6 hours within the next few weeks. I've been trying to push up to this time for a while but I seem to have this barrier at 4 hours. Some days it's mental, some days it's physical. This weekend, I just did not want to ride any longer due to the heat.

I'm doing most of my riding alone, so it's hard to keep up the motivation on the long rides.

Does anyone else run into this problem and how did you "break though"?

Happy riding.

[rapid cycler]

So, I'm training for IM. And I'm supposed to be riding up to 5 hours, hopefully 6 hours within the next few weeks. I've been trying to push up to this time for a while but I seem to have this barrier at 4 hours. Some days it's mental, some days it's physical. This weekend, I just did not want to ride any longer due to the heat.

I'm doing most of my riding alone, so it's hard to keep up the motivation on the long rides.

Does anyone else run into this problem and how did you "break though"?

Happy riding.

Hey, I've met that barrier!

Prolly too obvious, but are you fueling yourself generously enough? If you have the luxury of getting off the bike (given your training regimen), nothing picks me up better than a Jamba Juice protein berry pizazz (with an extra protein boost, just for kicks).

[Wahine]

I'm pretty sure I'm eating enough but I may have to throw in more variety. I'm going to try to figure out a way to find a destination where I can have a milkshake or similar halfway to give me motivation and variety. It's a good suggestion. The tough part is that the only route I've thought of thus far is really hilly and might make me more grumpy.

Thanks for the suggestion. Something to think about further.

[rapid cycler]

You mean not everyone lives where there are Jamba Juice franchises every five blocks?

[SR500]

My DH swears by Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem for longer rides. It's a great product.

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HN...%26%20Recovery

[limewave]

What's a Jamba Juice?

[solobiker]

Jamba Juice is this awesome place where one can get just about any variety of smoothie imaginable. They are so good. My DH and I usually share one or we get 2 different kinds and split them.

[CR400]

I hate to say it but the only way to get passed it is to push through it. At 4 hours you are somewhere between 60 and 70 miles. Which is about the point that it seems people get bored and want to quit. It is a point on centuries you start to wonder if you are going to make it. get to that 90 mile mark and it will get easier.

[rij73]

How about your electrolytes? My husband was recently able to double his time on the bike by supplementing with Clif sports drink and Clif Shots gel or Clif Shot Bloks. I know there are other brands of electrolyte replacement, but Clif is all-natural and vegan, so it's what suits us. He says it makes a huge difference in keeping his energy up...

[Starfish]

Wahine, I'm no uber-athlete, but a couple of things have helped me push farther than I feel like it in the past year or two...

1) I have a loop route that makes it very hard to turn back...sort of that once I get to a certain point, it is easier to keep going and commit to the mileage than to turn back.

2) There is a 70 mile out and back I do that is somewhat boring, but smack in the middle (at the turn around point) is a lovely body of water and a view. When I feel like turning back, I have had the experience of my lunch break at the pretty view pulling me along...

3) On Sunday, I knew I needed to do a long climb, but I was feeling tired and mentally dull. So, I had my brother help me ferry my car to the top so I wouldn't have to do the tiring/dicey descent. Part way up the mountain, I realized I had to keep going...my car was parked at the summit!! Maybe you could park your car somewhere about a 6 hour ride away and just ride to your car!

4) A couple weeks ago I did a 70 mile ride (which for me is about 5.5 hours because I'm slow), and I was feeling tired. But, it was an organized ride, so I just wasn't about to let myself quit. Maybe you need to sign up for some ride just to have the event to make yourself go farther?

5) Finally, I find that I am sometimes more accountable to others than I am to myself when I'm tired. Do you have someone you can tell you are going to do a 6 hour ride, and let them know you'll report back to them at the end of the day? (hint...TE members are great for this!!)

Just some of my thoughts! You can do it...you are mentally tough.

[Mr. Bloom]

My DH swears by Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem for longer rides. It's a great product.

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HN...%26%20Recovery

makbike has a friend who absolutely swears by Perpetuem. I'm ordering based solely on his rave reviews.

[Jiffer]

Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice. My only other thought is how you are eating the day before trying a long ride? You should be loading your body with the right foods. I'm not an expert on this, but DH is big on eating certain kinds of carbs and avoiding certain foods. Blames his friend's trouble getting through a bike race with what he ate the night before. You should do some research on it. Different things seem to work well for some people and not others, so keep that in mind. I, for one, would think a milkshake would not be the best choice to fuel your body efficiently, but research it and find out. I guess my point is, don't randomly choose something to eat when you really need the best fuel you can give your body to keep on keepin' on! Be purposeful with what you choose.

Good luck!

[Jo-n-NY]

How about your electrolytes? My husband was recently able to double his time on the bike by supplementing with Clif sports drink and Clif Shots gel or Clif Shot Bloks. I know there are other brands of electrolyte replacement, but Clif is all-natural and vegan, so it's what suits us. He says it makes a huge difference in keeping his energy up...

I think you are right about the (in my case) the Cliff Shot Bloks. I rode a 50 mile ride with my brother on Sunday. He hadn't been on a bike in a year and a half. As he thought would happen his legs were giving out at mile 35 and his mph went down to 10. At mile 40 I told him to pop some bloks. He was then riding ahead of me. He thought it was in his head that the the ride was ending, I say it was the bloks.

~ JoAnn

[Geonz]

A little bit of caffeine - tea in the water bottle - propels me right on through those hours. (What's IM?)

[Wahine]

A little bit of caffeine - tea in the water bottle - propels me right on through those hours. (What's IM?)

IM = Ironman, the ride is 112 miles, 180 km.

Thanks everyone. I am going to look into some nutrition alternatives. Think I'll start with the clif bloks. Diet is pretty good but I may need to look into it a little more.

CR 400 - You're right to do just have to push through. I have already done a very challenging, hilly 80 miler as part of an organized ride this spring. So I know I can ride longer. The problem is making myself stick to it mentally.

Part of the problem I'm having is that it is so hilly here I tend to over estimate how long it will take me to do a loop, (because I think I should be a lot slower in the hills). So I set out to do 70 miles and it takes me less time than I planned, I finish the loop and now I have to make myself add an out and back to add time. Not only that, the out and back is likely to be hilly and it could be really hot. That's what happened this weekend.

As for organized rides, I love them and I really do well on rides like this. But funds are very short right now and I have to be really careful about spending so....

Definitely no Jamba Juice in the area. I'd be lucky to find an espresso bar along my routes. I am definitely in rural USA.

I love the suggestion about ferrying my car some place so I *have* to go and get it.

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate your input. It helps a lot. Makes me think things through differently.