Quote Originally Posted by Espresso View Post
Don't get discouraged! I only started training for a century the last week in January and I'm already up to 65 miles. Since everything I've read says you only need to have done 70 miles or so as a long ride before a century, I'm practically done with the necessary training.
Be careful with this, how our bodies handle mileage base building is highly individual. Last summer I thought I had plenty of time to build to a century - I had over 4 months in which to do it. I had also just learned how to ride a bike (key point, that). I followed the "guidelines", and was fine until I hit that 70 mile barrier. I started "training" when I could do 20 mile rides.

Ultimately I wound up with a series of over-use injuries that took me completely off the bike for something like 4 months and I was unable to ride in the event I had worked so hard to train for. Granted, if I hadn't been so stubborn it would not have been so bad - perhaps. I will note that I felt fine, until I wasn't...

The point I am making is to listen to your body. Some people can build very quickly and stay there without any trouble, for others it takes longer to do so safely. There is a huge difference between a 70 mile and a 100 mile ride - just remember that. There ARE plateaus when you are building your base and for many of us there is a significant one at 70-75 miles (for me it was 35 and 70 miles). The critical thing is to listen to your body and pay close attention to it, I've learned the hard way that is the most important thing you can do. We have to learn when to know that we need to keep pushing, and when to rest.

Your age, fitness and other things all combine in endurance cycling - and the additional stress of preparing for a marathon just raises things to another level.