Training for a century

[Lise]

Thanks for the advice, Jiffer. When I was single and riding a lot more (and tormenting/entertaining my TE friends with my match.com sagas...), I could pretty easily do 40 mile rides. I have a much lighter bike now than when I did the metric. And there are very few hills in north eastern Illinois. So all that's in my favor. Now it's just a matter of finding the time. I don't know if John will want to train with me--if he does, it will be easier because it will be "us" time. Except when I ride, I want to RIDE, not stop for ice cream, etc. We shall see. Maybe we'll get him a new (used) road bike, and he'll discover the joy of speed, too.

[Veronica]

Convert him! It's so much more fun to ride with your honey. At least I think so. That's part of why I quit doing double centuries and started doing tris. It's way less training time and Thom's much more willing to ride anything shorter than a 200K.

And there's nothing wrong with stopping for the occasional ice cream.

Veronica

[Geonz]

Thanks for the advice, Jiffer. When I was single and riding a lot more (and tormenting/entertaining my TE friends with my match.com sagas...), I could pretty easily do 40 mile rides. I have a much lighter bike now than when I did the metric. And there are very few hills in north eastern Illinois. So all that's in my favor. Now it's just a matter of finding the time. I don't know if John will want to train with me--if he does, it will be easier because it will be "us" time. Except when I ride, I want to RIDE, not stop for ice cream, etc. We shall see. Maybe we'll get him a new (used) road bike, and he'll discover the joy of speed, too.

HI! Welcome back!!! Hppy Sprng!!!

Sneak the man out on terms that won't rattle his ego (even if he/you don't *think* it matters), like riding for ice cream... because some riding is better than none. There are WAYS to make an easy ride a training ride, too.

Think you've gotten the basics and that's really all that matters. How did you feel the day after the metric? If you were totally toasted and took two-three days to recover, then the century will need more underneath it to work... but if it wasn't that dramatic, then do the Same Basic Stuff with oh, 10% more push and then pace yourself at the Century and things'll be peechy.

Mainly RIDE ... and get your butt used to being in a seat for longer stretches. (Oh, and wear the right bra, too. I did 3 hours of riding yesterday and have interesting chafings...) Hoping we'll be hearing more...

[Lise]

We do love to ride together. John's got a big heavy Trek with what I call a "Barca lounger" saddle. He's 6'3", and if he had a faster bike, he'd totally smoke me. I think he'd be up for more distance, though. We decided not to do the Bike the Drive (where they close Lake Shore Drive in Chicago so a billion people can ride it. You can do a 7.5, 15, or 30 mile ride). It's $40 a person, and I can't see paying $80 to go for a nice bike ride when money's tight. But maybe we'll go for a nice long ride that day, anyway, and I'll start to introduce the idea of a century. With ice cream stops, of course.

And I hear you about the bra. I hate it when I occasionally make the mistake of wearing a regular bra. And how about that chamois cream? This early in the season, I am reapplying at every stop!

[SadieKate]

Good heavens. Give us warning next time, eh?

These sudden appearances . . . . .

PS - I love how happy you sound!

[maillotpois]

PS - I love how happy you sound!

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

[Lise]

SK! You on Facebook? Befriend me and you can see a jillion pix of John and me in Rome from 2 yr ago. (Can it have been two years already...) And don't miss the picture of our 12 year old Tibetan Terrier, Mr. Spock, in full pirate regalia, when he won the Howl-o-ween Pet Parade Grand Prize last fall. I'm glad to be back with you guys. Uh, ladies. whatever.

[SadieKate]

SK! You on Facebook?

Oh my gosh, no. Another blackhole of distraction in addition to this and my knitting fora? No way else to vicarously share your trip to Rome?

[Lise]

Oh my gosh, no. Another blackhole of distraction in addition to this and my knitting fora? No way else to vicarously share your trip to Rome?

Hmmmm...I can try to PM you with a few pix. Definitely not the whole album, it would never load! I'm off to give it a shot...