First Century

[anneimall]

I'm doing my first century in a month and don't really know what to expect. Does anyone have any suggestions, food, clothes, training, anything to help ease the fear? I just want to make sure I dress right, bring the right stuff with me, and am as prepared as possible ...

My husband had to leave last week on a family emergency and I'm taking care of my son 24/7 so my training regimen has gone out the window. It looks like it could be a couple of weeks before I can really ride again, so I'm planning on just doing my best and hoping to finish. If I don't, at least I will have stood up.

[SouthernBelle]

Hard for anyone to advise without knowing where the ride is or how well it will be SAGged?

Do you have access to a trainer?

[Blueberry]

Would help to know where (or generally what weather), what the terrain is like, what support there is (i.e. rest stops) and whether there's sag support.

If it's flat, and you've been training and are generally in good shape, it will be easier. What is your longest ride to date?

[tulip]

I'm doing my first century in April...and I have GOT to get myself on my bike more than I am. I've done 80 miles at a time, but not the full 100.

Here's my plan for the next two months:

spinning (1 hour) 2x week
bike rides 3 times during the week for 1.5-2 hours each time out
weekend bike ride of 3 hours (increasing to 4 by the the beginning of April)
another weekend bike ride of one hour easy recovery
pilates 3x week and yoga 2x per week (I do pilates in the morning and yoga in the evenings on alternate days)

During the ride, I'm going to take it slow at first. I'll drink every 15 minutes and munch on something every 30 minutes (powerbar or banana). I'll stop at all the sags and eat and drink, but not for too long and not too much.

I will focus on time and not distance or speed. On my longer rides, it has helped to focus on the drink-every-15-minutes. If it's hot, I find myself drinking alot more than that.

[indysteel]

I'm doing my first century in April...and I have GOT to get myself on my bike more than I am. I've done 80 miles at a time, but not the full 100.

Here's my plan for the next two months:

spinning (1 hour) 2x week
bike rides 3 times during the week for 1.5-2 hours each time out
weekend bike ride of 3 hours (increasing to 4 by the the beginning of April)
another weekend bike ride of one hour easy recovery
pilates 3x week and yoga 2x per week (I do pilates in the morning and yoga in the evenings on alternate days)

During the ride, I'm going to take it slow at first. I'll drink every 15 minutes and munch on something every 30 minutes (powerbar or banana). I'll stop at all the sags and eat and drink, but not for too long and not too much.

I will focus on time and not distance or speed. On my longer rides, it has helped to focus on the drink-every-15-minutes. If it's hot, I find myself drinking alot more than that.

Tulip, if I could offer a few thoughts--unsoliticed. Your workout schedule is really intense--even to me, and I workout quite a bit, too. I'd suggest building in a bit more rest and recovery--in the very least in the week or two leading up to your century. Also, I would do long rides--if your schedule permits--on both Saturday and Sunday. Doing back to back long rides, at least in my experience and opinion, will help you build the endurance needed to do a century more comfortably. Assuming you do that, then use Monday or Tuesday to do an easy recovery ride. Also, I would try to do squeeze in at least one ride in the 70-75 mile range 2 to 3 weeks before your century. Finally, I would suggest drinking more frequently than every 15 minutes, even if it's not particularly hot.

And I'll share this for what it's worth: When I did my first century, I stopped at every SAG (I think there 6 or 7 of them). Usually not for long, but long enough. It was a hilly century, and I regretted stopping so frequently. My legs would get rock hard and it would take the first 5 to 10 miles after the stop to get loose again. On my next long ride, the SAGs were less frequent, and I actually felt a lot better. Just something to think about.

Good luck!

[tulip]

Thanks, Indy! I can do that; in fact, it'll work better with my schedule. I have my calendar out and am marking up the weeks to come...I do drink more than every 15 minutes anyways on long rides. On shorter rides, for some reason, I forget to drink, though.

I'll report back.

[PscyclePath]

One good trick is to break it into sections... don't think of yourself as riding 100 miles in one lick, but do four 25-mile legs, or five 20-milers, real close together with a break at the rest stops in between. Pacing yourself is important. If you go out a little slower than you intended, you can always pick up the pace toward the end of the ride depending on how you feel.

You can generally ride about twice your longest distance on guts and determination alone. You'll be sore afterwards, but you'll have that hundred on the record books to ease your pain ;-)

Use group dynamics... find a group of friends, or make allies out on the road who are riding the same pace as you, and work together. Where there's a wheel to follow, there's a way! Remember that when drafting, you're saving almost a third of your energy, so either bring friends or make friends on the road, and suck wheel shamelessly. You'll make those friends a lot more easily if you're willing to share the work. Swap short pulls, and all of you will find it easier.

Time in the saddle is the best preparation, but if your training program isn't quite what we planned, we can always get by with a little help from friends. Find friends, and ride together. The miles will fly by, and you'll have a lot more fun that way.

Tom

[tulip]

I'll be riding with a seasoned century-rider, who is also a very good friend. I'm not intimidated by it, since I'm quite comfortable on my bike and I've done long rides before, including tours of several weeks.

Thanks for all the advice. I do need to get on my bike more than I have been. One drawback of working from home is that I no longer have my hour commute twice a day (of course, I COULD just go out for a bike ride, but something about a commute made it easier to get out).

[anneimall]

It's the Solvang century ... could be anywhere from 40-80 degrees in the beginning of March. 5,000 total elevation gain. My longest ride to date is about 50 miles, but just about every ride I've done (I started road riding in July) has been 40-50 miles. I haven't been able to ride outside all winter, but have a trainer, although it's not getting the use I was hoping (although I do ski a lot). I live at 8,000 feet, so I'm hoping the high altitude training will help get me through. I'm planning on getting outside for a 75 mile or so ride in a week. And, I just got the spinervals tough love dvd in the mail yesterday, although when I'm home alone my son likes to play with my bike when I'm riding it so its been tough making the time.

Tom, thanks for the words of encouragement ... I'm hoping that I can just gut through this and see how far I get. I'll be riding alone, but I will try to take your advice and make some friends.

[Starfish]

And, know yourself. I did my first century alone, and did not join groups. Same with my first real climbing century last summer. And, this summer for my hardest ride yet, I will also go alone. I like to do hard efforts alone so that I can really tune into how I feel and not get swept along with anyone else's pace or psychology, and not feel that I need to take care of anyone else, either. Listen to your own intuition about yourself and how you operate best.

[anneimall]

Thanks Starfish. That is good advice and I will follow it.

[maillotpois]

That is a great first century - relatively flat and well supported. You will have a great time!