Training for ACL5

[liksani]

Haha, I swear I eat a ton. So that's not why I struggle up the hills.

[Trek420]

liksani "Haha, I swear I eat a ton. So that's not why I struggle up the hills. "

it's all fuel

[ACG]

I was wondering how many miles/hours you are training at this point? I'm trying to ride almost everyday much as I can, but sometimes feel exhausted by Saturday, which is one of the 2 days I can put in a lot of miles. I am thinking I should not be riding 7 days a week. What do you think?

[Nanci]

How long is the ride, when is it, and what is your comfortable long distance right now?

Nanci

[Bike Goddess]

ACG- Coming from experience, You are riding too much, my dear!!!!!!!! You can do this ride on 5 days a week. Given we are in the middle of March, I'd say you should be doing a long ride on say Saturday followed by a recovery ride on Sunday. What is the longest ride you are doing right now and what distances are you doing during the week? Are you doing any of the AIDS training rides?

I successfully completed this ride last year, so I'm happy to give you suggestions,(see what I said at the beginning of this thread) but we need more info!

[ACG]

I can only ride in the a.m. and because it is dark at 5 and cold. I ride on a trainer for one hour. I start off in an easy gear working towards harder gears, then spend 5 minutes on easy gears. I've only been able to go to the gym once a week for weight training. Every other week (wednesday) I'm skipping work and riding 35-45, hilly routes. Saturdays wind up being 50-60 (with lots of hills), Sundays wind up being 35-45. Trying to ride a century a month somewhere in all this too.

I think I'm not eating correctly either, but have recently made some changes that seem to help. Have missed some of the ALC training rides. But that is cuz the group I'm with seems to care more about the social aspects of fundraising that the training. I keep saying -balance ladies.

Now that I've reached my goal, I may cut back on the group fundraising. Maybe not the nicest thing to do. But maybe I should spend a few more days at the gym? Less on the trainer?

[Trek420]

what Bike Goddess sez, to say she "successfully completed this ride last year" is an understatement. It's a ride not a race but BG was one of the first ones in each day.

If you're doing the rough equivelant of back to back metric centuries now, you are doing fine!! If the ride started tomorrow, you could do this.

Listen to your body, get enough rest, nutrition, do some things for range of motion, yoga, stretching.

Nanci, the ride is 7 days, 585 miles and in June.

[Nanci]

So less than 100 miles a day. If it were me, I'd probably be doing something like a long ride Saturday, working up to the 60-80 range, and about half that Sunday, rest Monday, short 15-30's on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, (maybe one day a week of springing/speed work) rest Friday. I would gradually increase my Saturday long ride up to 115-125, if possible (I know that's a long day riding) just because it feels so good to have extra gas in the tank, so to speak. But only do that really long distance a couple times, with maybe three weeks in between. Then I wouldn't do that much of a taper, because like Tour de France, or anything, you don't want your body to get out of daily-riding mode, but I would cut back the long ride the weekend before to something like 60 or even 40.

Nanci