Lotoja 2013

[kacie tri-ing]

Awesome! Sounds like fun!

I do plenty of very long distance stuff :-)

Most of us would say that back to back riding is important. You don't really need to do a 150 mile ride in preparation for a 200 mile ride. I do think doing back to back 100's (sat/sun) work well in preparation.

Elevation change is a tough one--hill repeats, hard gear intervals on the trainer, drive somewhere to ride real hills one time.

Work on some of your deep-in nutrition. I like coffee/chocolate covered coffee beans, rice krispy treats, etc.

Feel free to ask anything else!

[TigerMom]

Kerplunk....that's me falling on the floor in awe! I was tired after a relatively flat century (2900 feet elevation)

We can't wait to hear about your ride!

[cycle3]

Hey! I got into LoToJa too! This is my first time doing a ride this long and I'm nervous, but every year I wish that I had done it so I finally took the dive. Good luck, and I'd love to hear what kind of training plan you have. My main concern is nutrition....

[smilingcat]

I'll check with my BIL. I think he did the race with his squad. I know he has completed a similar ride from somewhere near Logan Ut and finished at Jacksonhole Wyoming. So that will be a similar ride. I think he was a strong cat 2 rider at that time.

If nothing else, I'll get his ride report and will let you know. Yes do several 12-14 hour rides. And do maintain a 200mi/wk training. Minimum of 8 hour ride on each weekend. Have to get your body used to riding 80-100 mile ride every week!! I've completed several 100+ mile timed rides. At some point in your ride, you are going to feel like DNF'ing and can't ride anymore, so be prepared with the mental games. When that happens, you may not like it but drop your speed and recouperate physically and mentally. And conserve your energy on downhill and recover. Spin going downhill so your muscle doesn't cramp up. And do be careful on the winding road.

[kacie tri-ing]

I'll check with my BIL. I think he did the race with his squad. I know he has completed a similar ride from somewhere near Logan Ut and finished at Jacksonhole Wyoming. So that will be a similar ride. I think he was a strong cat 2 rider at that time.

If nothing else, I'll get his ride report and will let you know. Yes do several 12-14 hour rides. And do maintain a 200mi/wk training. Minimum of 8 hour ride on each weekend. Have to get your body used to riding 80-100 mile ride every week!! I've completed several 100+ mile timed rides. At some point in your ride, you are going to feel like DNF'ing and can't ride anymore, so be prepared with the mental games. When that happens, you may not like it but drop your speed and recouperate physically and mentally. And conserve your energy on downhill and recover. Spin going downhill so your muscle doesn't cramp up. And do be careful on the winding road.

I knew people would have different advice, which is good! You will need to figure out what works for you. How much training do you need to feel good about a century? What kind of speed are you aiming for? Will you have people to ride with, and thus to work with, or will you be nose to the wind on your own?

I personally can't imagine doing a 14 hour ride in preparation for a 200 mile ride (that's what this is, right?). I have a 12 hour ride this weekend, but I am training for 2-person RAAM, which is much much longer. You might do 1-8 hour ride, but you don't need too much. You do want to go into your ride healthy, and not nursing any injuries, so you should pay real attention to recovery along the way.

I think that back to back centuries is plenty.

I would also through in that training your back/neck by good strength training is very very helpful. That is what gets tired on me first--but you can work on that .

[Skippyak]

13 hours is a pretty decent lotoja time, right, so why would you not want some training rides of a similar length? I would love to do this ride but I always think this needs to be a group thing and I can never find anyone who will do it LOL. Blokes a plenty full of bravado but they don't get in, i hear that women apply and women get in, so I have procrastinated. I remember talking to a woman who was doing 150 a week training and I thought that was really light, I often do that and I am training for nothing. Maybe next year. Quite a few girls from the shop ride I do did it last year but they didn't finish as a group. Are you who are in, riding alone? Citizen cat? Do you find co riders between now and the ride?

[kacie tri-ing]

As with most ultra endurance events, you don't need to train for the amount of time you are going to do in your actual race, because the recovery time is similar to the recovery time of the actual event (which in turn gets in the way of your training). For example, most marathoners only do 20 mile runs in preparation for a 26.2 mile run. During your taper, your body makes the physiological adjustments to prepare you for the additional mileage. Lots of people over-train and end up sick, injured, or burned out before your actual event. Each time you dig deeper, you will require more recovery time. As your events get longer, the risks of "simulating" the race increase (tendinitis, adrenal fatigue, etc.). Not trying to sound like a know it all! Just trying to share my experiences--I have been pretty successful with the long stuff, and have also made some pretty HUGE mistakes myself--just trying to pass along the wisdom from those mistakes!

Pedal Wrench has ridden long, and so has Susan. There are quite a few others who have as well--keep reaching out to the others who have been there.

The ultramarathon cycling association has a LOT of great information and articles about training and racing beyond the century. http://www.ultracycling.com/sections/articles/


Adventure Corps also has some great articles as well: http://www.adventurecorps.com/way/index.html#ttcycling

I am jealous! That ride looks great!