100 mile mntn bike race--who's done one?

[Anelia]

If you're fit and ready to rock this event, ride the first hour to two hours at a solid to near XC race pace, then settle into a sustainable high-endurance / low-tempo pace for the balance of your race. Ride w/in yourself. Be present on the trail and constantly attentive to eating, spinning, riding the trail. It's a fun day.

Yes, I found this at a marathon. It was only 60 km but still it took me 4 hours to finish it. So the first hour I rode really competitive but then I had to slow down a bit. Still, when I noticed that a faster on the downhill competitor came behind me, I had to push harder on the uphills not to let her gain advance on the downhill. It was interesting that I found motivation and power to push harder, facing competition. Changing gears quickly and forseeing the terrain when passing river beds and small springs helped me a lot then. On the final kilometers on a flat land I was not burnt and I had the power to sprint. It was an interesting race and I'm proud that I didn't give up.

[Anelia]

A teaser for my challenge in April

[limewave]

Anelia . . . how is your training coming along???

I have come up with the bare-bones of a training schedule. Which only has me riding 2 days a week. Scary, I know. But that is all my current schedule will allow.

1st ride: 90 min/intervals (done indoor on the trainer, very controlled)
2nd ride: Build from 30-50 miles on trail or gravel road up to 5 weeks before. 2.5 weeks pre/race--pre-ride entire course. No rides longer than 30 miles after that.
3x a week strength train
2x a week, run
1x a week yoga

we will see how it all works out!!!!

[SAMbike]

I've done a couple 100's and in addition to properly training your body for pounding away the miles, I think the other, almost equally important, thing to figure out and "train" for is your food and drink consumption pacing. So I'd say practice this too! On long rides think about what you can continue to eat, what's working, what's not etc etc. Hope this is helpful - and good luck!

[Aggie_Ama]

What I found over marathon season and my 80+ mile race in January is I would have trained long rides on my mountain bike, even if it was long road rides. Most of my long rides for endurance were road rides, I would do some longer mountain bike rides but usually only 20 +/- miles. I found the mountain bike position is different on my sit bones and back, I was really sore there after a race. So this year I will probably put slicks on my mountain bike and ride it on the road to train. Can't wait to hear about your race, I have a 100 miler on my list of "must-do" but it is a few years off.

[Anelia]

Anelia . . . how is your training coming along???

I have come up with the bare-bones of a training schedule. Which only has me riding 2 days a week. Scary, I know. But that is all my current schedule will allow.

1st ride: 90 min/intervals (done indoor on the trainer, very controlled)
2nd ride: Build from 30-50 miles on trail or gravel road up to 5 weeks before. 2.5 weeks pre/race--pre-ride entire course. No rides longer than 30 miles after that.
3x a week strength train
2x a week, run
1x a week yoga

we will see how it all works out!!!!

Hi there. Sorry for the late post but I didn't see the thread developing. Limewave, did you made this schedule by yourself or a coach recommended it? I would recommend you to ride more instead of doing weights or running or yoga. At least this is what I was advised to do: focus on riding. Everything else is a waste of energy and time.
So now I ride 7 out of 8 days. I aim at 6 out of 7 days but I don't want to miss a nice day out and I ride more. I do shorter rides during the weekdays: 1-2 or even 3 hours, as much as time permitted. I do intervals or/and strength training on the bike. On the weekends I do longer rides. On Sunday I had 6+ hours on the bike: most of it on road but still the miles and time on the bike count. At the beginning of April I think about 200 km Randonneuring on the bike as I did last year. It takes me about 8 hours to finish since I don't have a roadie. I wish I could ride more off road but I don't have company who can endure that much (6-8 hours)
Also I have to get used to my racing bike. It is very rigid and my butt is always sore after longer rides.

[Anelia]

I've done a couple 100's and in addition to properly training your body for pounding away the miles, I think the other, almost equally important, thing to figure out and "train" for is your food and drink consumption pacing. So I'd say practice this too! On long rides think about what you can continue to eat, what's working, what's not etc etc. Hope this is helpful - and good luck!

Sambike, thank you very much for this reminder. This is something every experienced rider knows about BUT we sometimes make stupid mistakes overlooking thing that are "by default".
I suggest that we make a list of important things which we should not forget. I'm in with:
1. butt cream
2. electrolytes
3. to be added later

[limewave]

The schedule is from a coach. They work with endurance athletes (cyclists, triathletes, ultra-marathoners), some of the best in the midwest. But, their training routine does go against the grain. Their philosophy is less than more. It is tough to follow because it goes against what everyone else is doing.

But here's the thing, I can't train more. My schedule and my commitments don't allow for it. I talked to them about this the possibility of doing the 100 mile event thinking that it was something I would have to put off for a few years, but they convinced me it was possible!

The strength training is designed to develop muscle endurance specific to mountain biking. I do think it is beneficial. I've been doing some of it already.

So . . . I'm going for it! I do agree that fuel/nutrition is going to be a challenge and something I'm going to have to practice.

Butt cream is a definite MUST! In fact, I had a race last weekend and we didn't have cream because my 2yo son had gotten into it and smeared it all over himself and the windows! It was a mess.

I went to three different stores in the wee hours before the race and, fortunately, the last one carried Bag Balm. Phew!

Must haves:
1) Butt Cream
2) Electrolytes
3) Extra water
4) Bananas (otherwise I get cramps)
5) Extra clothes
6) Chain tool

[Anelia]

Oh, you already raced Cool! How was it?
My first race is on 8th of April, the next is on the 22nd and the big one is on 28th, followed by another one 60 km just on the next day So I have to save my energy not only to finish the first day but also to have some more for the second day. I know it is going to be tough and that's why I train hard now.
limewave, when is your long race? Do they have a website of the race?

[Wahine]

Their philosophy is less than more. It is tough to follow because it goes against what everyone else is doing.

This is not actually true. There is really good research out there to support the less is more philosophy and a lot of people are starting to do it. Unless you are a professional athlete with infinite time to train, it's usually better to focus on less, but better quality and throwing in sport specific weight training. The yoga is also important, mostly from an injury prevention/muscle balance stand point.

[Anelia]

Hi there, endurance racers!
Today I did a major rehearsal for my race at the end of April. I wanted to check my pacing, nutrition, water consumption or any other issues I might have on a longer race. I rode alone, offroad, I did two circuits of our local race track. My computer stopped working at 72nd km (low battery) but the statistics is about 85 km, 6 hours and 5 minutes, about 14km/h, 2000 m climbing. I did no longer breaks than to pee (once) or to wait for a passing car when I crossed a road. My average pulse was 138 which is not bad for a training but on the race I expect it to be higher.
What I rode today is 2/3 of the distance for the race. Do you think I should ride the whole distance 120 km offroad or the equal hours on road next week?
I did ok with pacing, nutrition and water, I did not bonk. Only my hamstrings hurt a lot but I rode through the pain. My butt was perfect, I am so glad about it
And one more thing to add to the must have list is CHAIN OIL.

[limewave]

I NEED to get in a long ride this week. My plan is to ride 20 miles from my house to some singletracks trails. Do an 11-mile loop on the trail system and then ride 20 miles home. I'm nervous about it. I wish I had someone to ride with!

My guess is it will take 1:20 to do 20 miles, another 1:10-1:15 on the trail and then another 1:20 home for a total of almost 4 hours of riding

This will be my first chance to test nutrition for something over 2 hours.

[Catrin]

No advice, the longest I've been on the bike since my whiplash injury in October was 90 minutes and that was on the road. I do, however, want to wish you good luck and have fun while training!

I found that, for me, when riding longer than two hours was to have liquid nutrition in the form of Accelerade and something like a broken up Cliff bar or two and some shot blocs ready for me to consume. That was for very long road rides though, mountain biking uses more energy...

[Anelia]

limewave, it's good to have company for the longer rides but if there's nobody, we have a saying in Bulgarian: "The only soldier is still a soldier". So, don't worry about it and hit the road and trails. Two weekends ago I did a 6-hour ride only on trails alone, too.
This weekend I did a looong ride on road. It was a 130-mile brevet and it took me about 10 hours and 8 of them were on the saddle. Here I am . I did them on my bike with 1,9" tires. There was a strong head wind in the last 50 miles but we had to get back anyway. The last 5 miles I had issues with my gears and I was really upset because I had a XC race on Sunday and I didn't know what the problem was. Happily, my husband found out a crooked part in my chain and removed it. So I was ready for the Sunday's race.
On Sunday I was OK. The race was XCO and it was only 5 miles. I sprinted them in less than 30 min. I am happy with my training this week.

[limewave]

Anelia, you will be my new inspiration. 6 hours alone on the trail--I'm impressed! I need to get over it and get out there as well.

I'm building up to the long trail-only rides. Right now I'm doing about 1/2 on the road and 1/2 on the trail. In two weeks I'll be doing a 50-60 mile completely on single track. Fortunately, DH is coming along for the day

Last night someone from the club came up to me and was a little sarcastic and undermining, saying something along the lines of "oh, you're doing that 100 mile race, huh. Well, let's just all hope that you're able to accomplish something I wasn't." Little does he know, he just sealed the deal for me. I don't respond to nay-sayers. I'll be finishing this race now no matter what the cost