How would you train between centuries?

amandaeve

I am a couple of big 2-day bike rides later this summer:

Day 1: 105 miles
Day 2: 58 miles
Day 3-11: –this is where I need help!-
Day 12: 105 miles
Day 13: 82 miles

I’m confident in my training up until day 1. And it’s not unusual for me to do a couple of centuries a summer, but they are usually a few months apart. What would you do between these big rides?

AZWildcatnNC

Personally, I'd swim in those dates between rides. Swimming woukd keep things low impact but maintain cardiovascular stamina. Maybe some light runs - between 3-5 miles if you like running. I'd also foam roll to work the kinks out between rides also.

Good luck on your rides!

Djproulx

I guess my suggestions would depend on a couple factors, 1) How much pure recovery would you typically expect if you didn't have another big ride coming up in 9 days and 2) Are both the long ride pairs equal in importance and/or difficulty? In other words, are you just riding them to complete successfully, or do you have time goals to hit?

Without knowing the answers to my questions above, here's a thought: Assuming you'd need some recovery, I might take Day 3 as a rest day, then on Day 4 do a light spin (maybe 30 minutes in HR Zone 1, High cadence, low watts) to spin out any residual fatigue in your legs from the two long rides. After that, I'd treat Days 5-11 as a taper week, doing what ever routine you normally do on the week before a long ride. The suggestions made by @AZWildcat make sense to me as well: Foam roll, maybe some yoga or other light duty stuff. You're not going to lose your fitness in a week if you've been training for this distance previously, so I'd focus on getting as much recovery as I needed to have fresh legs on Day 12.

TavistockToad

one for you @sijomial :bigsmile:

jjpptt2

Really hard to say without knowing how taxing those schedules rides will be for you. 100 slow, flat miles is very different than 100 hilly/racy miles.

I'd probably do something like this...

On day...

1. 105 miles
2. 58 miles
3. rest
4. recovery (easy spin, walk, whatever just to get/stay loose)
5. rest
6. easy ride... both distance and effort
7. rest
8. moderate ride, moderate distance at moderate effort
9. rest or easy ride... both distance and effort
10. easy ride... both distance and effort
11. rest
12. 105 miles
13. 58 miles

But the whole thing would be entirely subjective to how I was feeling on any given day.

sijomial

It's really very personal - depends on your usual volume, fitness level, recovery rates etc etc.
For some people a Century is pretty routine (not for me!).
I only do a few Century rides so they are a bit special so perhaps there's some similarities?

Day 3 I would stay off the bike as I would be saddle sore, that would be an upper body and core training session. Active recovery for my legs but no real cardio.
Day 4 I would be back in my normal exercise routine of strength and cycling on alternate days. Probably a low to moderate intensity ride (around 35 miles perhaps), I would expect my leg muscles to be a little under par but to feel better after pumping some blood through them.
Day 5 Strength training.
Day 6 More intense ride - the intensity would either come from distance, speed or hills depending on what aspects I'm working on and what the next event is. (If I'm tackling 15 - 20% hills in the next event then I would be training on them too.)
Day 7 Starting to look ahead to the next event. Cutting out caffeine, supplementing with beetroot shots. Back to the gym for strength training. No leg work in the gym but will stretch.
Day 8 Moderate intensity ride.
Day 9 Strength
Day 10 Too close to do an intense ride so low to moderate distance/speed/elevation.
Day 11 An easy but active day but would probably be back in the gym for upper body as normal but not going hard at the weights - maybe messing around with accessory lifts rather than my normal heavy compound lifts to avoid fatigue.
Day 12: 105 miles (Back on caffeine - I'm a low responder so have to come from very low to high to get any effect.)
Day 13: 82 miles

Good luck!

amandaeve

Wow, this is all great advice! I like the idea of focusing on recovery. @jjpptt2- your suggestion fits with my work schedule, so I'll probably match that pretty closely. @sijomial good idea on the caffeine. I'm sensitive to it, but really enjoy the boost after going off of it. Your post brings up the other thing I'm trying to figure out. I plan to take a 1-month "vacation hold" at the gym preceding these rides, thinking that I'll be spending so much time riding I won't have the time or energy for the gym. But, the gym does compliment my riding, so maybe it would be best for me to keep going. Still not sure on that one.