Training for a Century
Options
rileysowner
Posts: 8,124 Member
I have been playing with the idea of cycling 100 miles on my 50th birthday in mid-July. My off season indoor training was not as extensive as I would have liked, but my endurance, now that the weather is more conducive to cycling outdoors, is improving fairly rapidly. I have basically 12 weeks to get ready, so does anyone know of a good plan for training. I have found a couple, but am always looking for more. At this point I am simply working in increasing my endurance. There will be a week in late May where I will have no bike available to me until I return on Friday from a conference, other than that, I should have lots of training time. Any suggestions on what I can do for that week to keep up conditioning. I an thinking an endurance ride Sunday and Friday with some sort of bodyweight strength and conditioning workouts in the Monday to Thursday stretch. BTW, I hate running, so that would be out.
0
Replies
-
I would recommend getting the book Richards Cycling for Fitness. Loads of down to earth advice and usable adaptive plans. There are many plans out there which will get you to your century but this book is so much more, opening up the sport in a friendly informative style which is also a great read. Cheap as chips to boot. I had a copy, lent it to a friend and had to buy another because it is so useful.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richards-Cycling-Fitness-John-Schubert/dp/0946609799/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Good luck with the training and enjoy the century.
Tom.0 -
Most plans have you increasing your mileage each week with one increasingly longer ride per week. Anything that builds your base will work.
I found these online that might be helpful:
https://powerbar.com/sites/default/files/powerbar_trainingplan_bmc.pdf
https://kurtkinetic.com/blog/posts/century-training-plan/
athleticmindedtraveler.com/blog/century-bike-rides-training-tips-for-beginners
I was planning to do a century ride this year before shoulder surgery set me back a bit.
Good luck and have fun!
0 -
Thanks for the link and the book recommendation. My biggest difficulty will be that there are two weeks were I will be away from home and not have access to my bike for at least part of the week. The one I will be away from Monday to Thursday, back either really late Thursday night or mid-morning to noon Friday. The other runs Thursday to Tuesday. Thankfully after that second meeting I have month left to train. I just need to find ways to keep my training level up.0
-
rileysowner wrote: »Thanks for the link and the book recommendation. My biggest difficulty will be that there are two weeks were I will be away from home and not have access to my bike for at least part of the week. The one I will be away from Monday to Thursday, back either really late Thursday night or mid-morning to noon Friday. The other runs Thursday to Tuesday. Thankfully after that second meeting I have month left to train. I just need to find ways to keep my training level up.
Consider a gym or exercise room while away? Some gyms will offer a cheap one+ day pass for out of towners. Anything to get the legs spinning. Even a recumbent. If your conditioning is good, you'll be fine. If not, stay in a group and pray for a tailwind.0 -
rileysowner wrote: »Thanks for the link and the book recommendation. My biggest difficulty will be that there are two weeks were I will be away from home and not have access to my bike for at least part of the week. The one I will be away from Monday to Thursday, back either really late Thursday night or mid-morning to noon Friday. The other runs Thursday to Tuesday. Thankfully after that second meeting I have month left to train. I just need to find ways to keep my training level up.
Consider a gym or exercise room while away? Some gyms will offer a cheap one+ day pass for out of towners. Anything to get the legs spinning. Even a recumbent. If your conditioning is good, you'll be fine. If not, stay in a group and pray for a tailwind.
I am not sure what will be available, but I will have a look around to see if I can find access to something.0 -
I liked the British Heart Foundation intermediate plan when I trained for a 113 event.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/training-zone/cycling-training-zone/cycling-training-schedule
Couldn't stick to it verbatim due to work and other commitments but used the general principles.
At the moment I'm doing a three week plan (!) which is more like two hard weeks training and one week taper off before the event. I did train well indoors over the winter though.0 -
Here's an 8 week plan to prepare for a century if you have a Garmin.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/explore/training-plan0 -
Thanks for the additional information. I slacked off on my indoor cycling in the winter although I got in some. Usually I keep my cardiovascular endurance up with cross country skiing, but we had so little snow that there was not much opportunity to do that. It is difficult to say where I am right now. I seem to be doing ok for hour to hour and a quarter rides and still being able to be active outside of that. I am heading out for a longer ride today, aiming for about two hours covering hopefully 20 plus miles. I am not sure how much my speed will decrease as I go longer. It is a quiet day in terms of wind and a little chilly, so that should help. I just need to fit it into my work schedule.0
-
I am in the middle of training for a century ride or (Gran Fondo) . Week 4 of a 8 week program. I found the program on Strava and it is free for Strava users. Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) it has been fairly easy too follow so far,Strava send's you emails with your work out programs daily and weekly and It's a caned program so nobody is monitoring it. The prorgram is for beginners and so far I've been riding 3 Day's a week with a long ride on the weekend. If you don't know who Carmichael is he he helped train Lance Armstrong. You can Google CTS and probably find them that way I am sure the customize programs for riders for a fee also.0
-
I am in the middle of training for a century ride or (Gran Fondo) . Week 4 of a 8 week program. I found the program on Strava and it is free for Strava users. Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) it has been fairly easy too follow so far,Strava send's you emails with your work out programs daily and weekly and It's a caned program so nobody is monitoring it. The prorgram is for beginners and so far I've been riding 3 Day's a week with a long ride on the weekend. If you don't know who Carmichael is he he helped train Lance Armstrong. You can Google CTS and probably find them that way I am sure the customize programs for riders for a fee also.
So far I am following the program linked above at Powerbar.com It seems to be working well. I do modify things now and then, like I was supposed to do a ride yesterday, but did not sleep well the night before so I took a rest day and did the ride today which was supposed to be a rest day. It was really windy, but even with my speed being slower than I like when going into the wind, my legs felt good and my energy levels and heart rate average and recovery improved compared to a week back doing the same route.
For me the goal of doing a century is not a time thing it is simply getting it done. At times I wonder if I have picked too lofty of a goal, but then I remind myself I am only in week two of 12 weeks. By the end of those 12 weeks I will likely find the idea of doing the whole century far less intimidating. Time will tell I guess.
0 -
I am in the middle of training for a century ride or (Gran Fondo) .
Training Tips for Your First Gran Fondo (TrainingPeaks)0 -
Training tip #1: train. I was training for a century and Feb. & March went well according to plan. April was two weddings, week long conference and only 65 miles all month. The century killed me today. But, at 53, to not train well and still finish is an accomplishment.0
-
Training tip #1: train. I was training for a century and Feb. & March went well according to plan. April was two weddings, week long conference and only 65 miles all month. The century killed me today. But, at 53, to not train well and still finish is an accomplishment.
I figure the thing of biggest importance is time in the saddle. I figure when I am away from home, if I can't find a bike to spend time on I will have to do other conditioning training like bodyweight intervals to at least keep my overall conditioning up.0 -
I have a century on June 11 and I haven't been on my bike in over 3 weeks (illness, weather, etc). I'm sure it will be fine. I'm stubborn as hell and hate to quit.1
-
denversillygoose wrote: »I have a century on June 11 and I haven't been on my bike in over 3 weeks (illness, weather, etc). I'm sure it will be fine. I'm stubborn as hell and hate to quit.
I managed mine OK on only two weeks full training, last 20 miles were hard but mostly due to a horrible headwind but as you say....
....gets you through.I'm stubborn as hell and hate to quit.
Two weeks to a 127 mile/205km Audax for me and again training has been a bit abbreviated and disrupted.0 -
If I had been doing more work on the trainer during the winter I would feel more confident. Training is going well, although for most of the next week, baring finding access to something I can ride on, I will not be doing any training after tomorrow. Since time is not the issue, just finishing, I am pretty sure I can finish. At this point my big stumbling block is getting used to the hours on the bike. Did 3 hours today and man was I sore even with the padded riding shorts. I know that it will pass, and comparing how things felt when I started 4 weeks back after only an hour in the first few days, it was really not comparable. The other issue is a muscle in my lower back that I have occasional issues with becoming knotted up. I put some Deep Blue muscle rub on it before my ride today and that helped reduce but not eliminate the knot. I think some trips to a registered massage therapist along with continuing the core training should help long run. Maybe the rest from Monday to Friday will let it loosen up a bit.0
-
congratulations. I am currently getting back into road cycling and also went out for 3hrs yesterday. I would not worry too much about the 'perfect plan'- the most important thing about training for a century - is that you know a bit what you are doing - and tweak your plan accordingly.
1) Consistency, consistency, consistency - that is the key to building up the stamina for the century - regardless of the plan!
2) Specific training - long rides on weekends building up to 2/3 of total distance = minimum 110 km / metric century. building up by 10%-20% per week.
3) check out the course of your century - they can be VERY different - any hills, mountains, cross-wind sections - add specific training to your weekly training regime, ie. one session hills-reps (Similiar to those that you will encounter)
4) General muscular endurance - a couple of 'sweet spot' sessions - ie. building up intervals at Upper Zone 3
5) The rest should be endurance (zone 2) - if you need to cut back, throw out the unspecific endurance session, but do not compromise on your three key workouts (hills, muscular endurance, long ride)
6) Depending on the number of weeks you have to prepare, I would say that you need to invest a minimum average of 8 hrs pw. (ie. five training sessions Tu-hills, Wed, easy, Thu Intervall Muscular endurance, Sat: long ride, sun: 'afterburner'
7) Include a rest week (cutting back to 4hrs) every two/three weeks and - most importantly - TAPER OFF one week before the race - NO last week heavy training!
That's just my 2 cents! Good luck! I am sure that you will do it - if you are up to 3hrs already. Very impressive!
Good luck!
0 -
denvers--enjoy the ride. I road a century two weeks ago without much training. The 50-70 miles were the worst with a head wind. Then, yesterday, I rode 42 miles with about 1/2 a stronger head wind. I felt worse yesterday than I did two weeks ago. Part of that might have been water and eating. On the century, I made sure I drank a water bottle every 10 miles and ate after every 20 miles or so. Drank only 1 1/2 water yesterday and only ate one homemade energy bar on the ride.0
-
With hydration and fuelling I've found that an electrolyte based water bottle and a meat based bread roll or something equally substantial every two hours does just fine and that's over a 13 hour 200 miler ride, something sweet for a sugar boost can also help.
Everyone is different so find a formulae that works well for you.
I'm not overly keen on these energy bars or gels.0 -
I find it mildly strange to think about the whole "training plan" to go and ride 100 miles. If you're a regular cyclist, and you go out for rides of say 3 hours at a typical pace of around 17mph riding solo, you'll be good for riding a hundred miles - if you can ride 50 miles at 17mph, you'll be fine (backside wear and tear nowithstanding) riding 100 miles at an average of 12-14mph. Okay, that's maybe 8 hours worth of saddle time, but it's relatively low-intensity... anyone with a manual job manages to work for 8 hour days, 5 days a week - it's not a superhuman effort, just a result of conditioning.
That's obviously more for a "just ride 100 miles" (as the OP was talking about) - obviously, if you're entering a "Gran Fondo", "Sportif" or other "Event" where there's timings, preset routes, (usually) stupidly hilly parcours or other terrain difficulties, then it's a little different, and that's where the "training" courses above come into their own.
Perhaps I've got a slightly skewed attitiude when it comes to riding longer distances - my first foray into that kind of thing was at 14, as a keen newbie junior club cyclist (who'd ridden to school, and 30-40 miles regularly, but never "silly distances") - when we had a day off school for the general elections (school was used as polling station, so closed for the day). 2 Friends and myself decided we'd go "to the seaside" for the day...
here's a "route plan" as it's easier to show than describe...
https://www.strava.com/routes/5191846 - 232km and 1400m of ascent. Not bad for a bairn...
Things went well - under 3.5 hours for the outward leg, 65 miles or so - then we stopped at the Cafe at the Seaside, and realised we'd had a 10-15mph tailwind all the way. Oh Dear (other, more accurate, but not particularly forum friendly expressions were uttered!) So, After out fish and chips and a couple of pint mugs of coffee, we set off back home. 4 hours later, we were around 30 miles from home, and one of us was completely "cooked" - none of the three of us had parents who owned a car (or telephone for that matter) so "calling for a lift" wasn't an option. So, the 2 of us who were still okay, took turns in pushing the third Guy along... Yes, physically pushing him - as in "Flat of the hand on the small of the back, and ride for half a mile like that" That's why there's a silly loop at the end of the route - we had to take him to the door, he'd have never made it home alone...
Eventually got home after 10.5 hours of riding, pretty much shattered, yes, but mainly just ravenous. So, I inhaled the contents of the Fridge and Larder, had a bath and an early night. Following day, back to school, fit and well, bi stiff and creakey, but I still rode 8 miles to school, did a couple of hours of "games lessons" in the afternoon - playing Rugby Union - and rode home that evening. I did miss the "friday club chaingang" i'll admit. Saturday, I was back out as normal, and sunday I rode with the Club for something like 70 miles.
It sort of set me on a course though - I always enjoyed longer events when I used to compete - my favourite event was the 100mile TT, though I did also do some of the 12 and 24 hour TT's as well, along with the odd Audax Brevet up to 600km... That's a long time (and a couple of rather major crashes / injuries / health issues) ago, and these days I generally go out for up to 4 hours or so - which is getting on for as long as I can stand my own company these days, and also about as long as I can tolerate modern levels of traffic - there's a hell of a lot more traffic on the road than 30+ years ago... and most of it has not and never will ride a bike, so doesn't give a damn about us...
Ultimately, I always maintain that really, riding any proper "distance" is more in the head than the legs. If you think you can do it, you'll do it.
0
