Centuries

[Waverly]

I have been riding for about two years now, thanks to a lovely trip to Key West and borrowing a friend’s bike to ride around the island. My question or concern is that I am a wimp. I really like this site and I read the board a lot. You gals are awesome! The longest ride I have been on is a metric century. I am very fond of BRAG here in GA and try to participate in their events every year. I would LOVE to ride a century, but I was just about dead after the metric century I did. I just don't know if I could hang. What did yall do before your first bigger ride? I participated in a spin training class earlier this year just to work out all the cobwebs from this winter, but I haven't actually ridden much more than about ten miles from my house in the past month or so. Weather and what not have been keeping me elsewhere. I live in North GA where it is a bit hilly. Any info would help!

Thanks,

Jessica

[FreshNewbie]

Hi Waverly, just like you i am planning to complete a century this year. Although, I never did more than 35 miles last year. I did spinning classes few times a week since last sept., so i would really like to see the replies to your thread, and what TE girls did when trained for centuries. Good luck in everything!

[Veronica]

There are three things that can drive you off your bike.

Comfort is the first one. Nothing really should be sore after a long ride, except your legs. Bike fit is everything.

Energy, you need to fuel yourself. Eat before you're hungry. Drink before you're thirsty. You also need to pace yourself, keep your HR at a sustainable place.

Leg Strength, this when you get off your bike and want to fall over. The answer here is to get on your bike and ride.

I have a training schedule posted in my Devil Mountain Dummy - December post down in the California section and I talk more specifically about my training in the other Devil Mountain Dummy posts. I think that what I am doing would help anyone move up to their next level.

There are lots of websites out there with suggestions on training for a century. Try a Google search and see what you come up with.

Good luck!

Veronica

[kaybee]

Just wanted to say hi Jessica, since you're in northeast Georgia and I'm in the northwest corner. I know what you mean about the hills!

KB

[maillotpois]

Build up your mileage gradually - add 5 - 10 miles a week. Maybe you felt dead after your metric century you did, but do a few more 50 mile rides, and then a 60, then a 70, and then 60 won't seem so bad. Plan one long rider per week and 3 days or so of intervals or recovery riding in between.

If you pick the event you want to do, then make yourself a training calendar working backward from the century ride. If your long ride about 2 weeks before a century is at least 80 miles, you should be able to do the century without too much trouble. So work your way back from that.

Remember to pace yourself - ride your long rides at a pace you feel you could sustain for 100 miles.

And like Veronica said, be sure to eat and drink! Lots of riders (including me) use sports drinks instead of water for extra energy.

[Waverly]

Last summer we were riding upwards of 40 miles on Sundays and then 10 - 20 through out the week. I am wondering if it is all mental with me, meaning I don't think I can do it but I really can. And like I said you really have to pick your rides around here because you hit these wicked hills and they wipe me out. Do yall use the edible gel during your rides? Does that help?

Jessica

P.S. Hi Kaybee! I don’t know about you but I am a bit stuck on the hills. Not that I am a good climber but we roe BRAG in south GA this year and I was dying for a hill I could cruise down and rest on!

[maillotpois]

Do yall use the edible gel during your rides? Does that help?

For longer rides, gels work great - I will use a flask and take a bit at a time to keep the intake coming in consistently. For the Solvang double, I used 3 gel flasks. I also ate 2 Noah's "power bagel" (bagel bricks with fruit and nuts) and that was about all I had, other than energy drink.

Gels can sometimes spike up your blood sugar a bit - which is great to get a quick recovery from a "bonky" feeling. For long-term energy, you need to keep the gel coming in consistently and supplement with "real" food.

[Nanci]

http://gainesvillecyclingclub.org/gcf/index.html

Leave those hills behind! We have two Centuries here in Gainesville, Florida in October- back to back, but of course you don't have to do both. Or you can do the easier Century Saturday, (no hills) and a small part of the other one Sunday! They have _excellent_ food and SAG support.

The first one, Santa Fe Century was my first Century ever, last October. I trained up to 92 miles, but only because the trail I trained on was 46 miles one way. I think you could get by with training up to 80.

Don't be discouraged about the metric Century wiping you out! That is normal for the first time you do your longest distance ever. You should have seen me when I did 200k. I thought, oh, that's only 24 miles further than a Century- an hour and a half at the most...But it was super windy that day, and the hills were bad, and my legs were like JELLO when I got off my bike. I didn't think I could drive home. I didn't want to even pack up my bike. I felt like asking a kid in the car next to me if he would pack up my stuff for $5! I was so disappointed in my performance. But then- three weeks later, I did a 300k ride, and it was so much easier! I was amazed!! That's how your body builds endurance- you stress it, you rest, and it's ready to go further!

My general training schedule is a long ride Saturday. Increase your distance for your long ride 5-10 miles per week. Sunday ride half the distance of the Saturday ride. Two or three weekdays ride 1-2 hours per evening- even as short as 45 minutes is ok for one ride. The next Saturday, increase 5-10 miles again! I had a _very_ difficult time when I increased my distance in the 50-70 mile range, then it got easy.

Running out of nutritional energy is easy to do if you're not paying strict attention to how many calories you take in per hour. One of the first signs is mental fatigue, and feeling like you just can't go on. A gel or bar can really perk you up, in 10-15 minutes, when you hit this point, as well as just getting off the bike and sitting in the shade for a few minutes. It's better not to let that happen, though, but be aware that even if it does, all hope is not lost- you can recover from it if you recognize it quickly.

My first Century was really a big deal to me. I did another one a month later, and it was 104 miles, and that seemed _so much further_!! But then I did some long training rides, in the 80 mile range, and did that 200k in January, and then a Century and a 115 mile exploration ride the weeks after that, and suddenly that distance of about 100 miles seemed relatively easy- still a _long_ way, but I was not exhausted afterwards like I used to be, and was eager to ride again the next day.

You _are_ right, a lot of it _is_ mental. But I think that if you do everything you can to adequately prepare- have a good training base, have a good bike fit so it isn't hurting you, have your nutritional plan in place, know the route, have the proper clothing for the conditions- then your brain won't be able to find some little thing to use as an excuse for quitting.

Good luck!

Nanci

[SadieKate]

I set up a simple training plan on a spreadsheet like these.
http://marylandlung.org/x2/file/e00d...8af0923de0.pdf

Other good info is all over the ‘net.
http://www.auburncentury.com/training.html
http://www.teamestrogen.com/articles/asa_century.asp
http://www.ultracycling.com/training/century.html
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?stor...tury_challenge
http://www.geocities.com/ne_century_rides/training.html

Some people use gel. Others use energy bars like Clif and Luna bars. Cytomax, Gatorade or Endurolytes pills for electrolyte replacement. Others prefer regular food and pack a good old PBJ sammich. Use this training time to get you eating and drinking figured out because it is definitely one of the challenges. MP's comment about sugar spikes with gels is important to know. I am very sensitive to sugar spikes and once I eat a gel have to commit to start eating something every 20 mins or have a sugar crash.

Mix up your training plan with flat and hilly terrain. Vary your intensity. If your goal century is a flat ride, train your butt with lots of long flat miles. If it is a hilly century, train your legs with longer hill climbs on your long ride days.

[Waverly]

Thanks so much for all the info. I live in a hilly area and I think that is part of my mental stress over a century. We have a local converted railroad about 1hr and half from me which is pretty flat. I think I will hold my very own Silver Comet Century for myself. The terrain is not as demanding as around home. Once I accomplish that I may try one local. Oh I have another question about eating. I find that I can't really eat anything substantial when I am riding maybe crackers or something but anything heavier makes me feel bad. So many rides around here are all about the lunch stop - - - are you all able to eat a big lunch and then continue riding for 10+ miles?

Jessica

[Nanci]

Jessica, you'd better investigate gels or bars or something- crackers arent going to keep you going. At a "real" Century, hopefully, if well-organized, they will have SAG stops every 20 miles or so, with fruit, sandwiches, candy, pretzels, everything you could want. Eat whatever your body tells you, in a comfortable amount. Or maybe a teeny bit more than comfortable. I definitely wouldn't say a "big" lunch.

Nanci

[Robbin_G]

Thanks so much for all the info. I live in a hilly area and I think that is part of my mental stress over a century. We have a local converted railroad about 1hr and half from me which is pretty flat. I think I will hold my very own Silver Comet Century for myself. The terrain is not as demanding as around home. Once I accomplish that I may try one local. Oh I have another question about eating. I find that I can't really eat anything substantial when I am riding maybe crackers or something but anything heavier makes me feel bad. So many rides around here are all about the lunch stop - - - are you all able to eat a big lunch and then continue riding for 10+ miles?

Jessica

I certainly do. But there is a difference between big and heavy. Go for veggies and some carbs, not a cheeseburger.

[Geonz]

A general guideline - but know thyself, of course! - is that you can go three times as far on a supported, "big day" race as you can ride comfortably a few times a week. Some people do a longer ride once a week to gradually build up closer to the big one - depends more on your schedule, prob'ly. Since I commute and then do club rides, I've got enough "regular" miles to do a century when I want to - of course, knowing how to pace yourself, and staying fed and watered, is also important. IMO it's just as important to have a comfy bike :-) And remember, for every uphill, you get to coast...