Training for 200 mile/2 day event, advice needed

funkycamper

I'm thinking of doing the Seattle to Portland event next summer which is 200 miles over 2 days, with a planned stop half-way for the night. While I enjoy cycling, I really don't do it all that often due to time constraints and, well, now it's winter, LOL. I do bike a bit in the summer but not for long distances and rarely any hills. I just started seriously exercising in August to increase my strength and endurance. I am currently doing the following workouts:
* heavy weights, 2x/week
* something similar to Cross-Fit, 2x/week, during which time I usually spend about 10-15 minutes doing HIIT on the exercise bike
* Spin class, 1x/week
* C25k (training to increase my running in order to do a 5k), 2x/week.
* Yoga, 1-2/week for flexibility
* Lap-swimming, 1x/week

I want to get overall fit without necessarily specializing in any one type of sport. And I may want to do a triathlon so that's another reason for the cross-training. Anyway....my goal is to complete my first 5k in February and then, after that, to just do a short weekly training run to keep me in 5k shape.

So, basically, this means that, starting in February, I will be able to add in more biking. I figure I should be in good enough shape by then to do two shorter training rides during the week with progressively longer training runs one day on the weekend. Depending on how I feel, I might either do the longer training ride on the same day I do one of my Cross-fit style training sessions (Saturday) or, if that's too much, I might cut out that Cross-fit-style session and just concentrate on my longer training ride that day. I would like to keep Sundays off for my rest day.

Does this sound reasonable? Or am I in danger of over-training? And do any of you know of any good training programs for a 200-mile/2-day cycling event that I might want to follow?

This event is not a race, by the way. I just want to be able to enjoy and complete it. Thanks in advance for any tips you can give me.

broadsword7

I'm thinking of doing the Seattle to Portland event next summer which is 200 miles over 2 days, with a planned stop half-way for the night. While I enjoy cycling, I really don't do it all that often due to time constraints and, well, now it's winter,...

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...Does this sound reasonable? Or am I in danger of over-training? And do any of you know of any good training programs for a 200-mile/2-day cycling event that I might want to follow?

This event is not a race, by the way. I just want to be able to enjoy and complete it. Thanks in advance for any tips you can give me.

Hiya. You have an ambitious overall fitness training schedule, and I am certainly not an expert, but if you can do all that and not hurt yourself I think you could more or less take on the world. As for prepping for the STP specifically, it is a supported ride, meaning that every 25 miles or so there will be a rest and refuel stop, so not too much worry there as you can pedal within a comfort level and get what you need at the stops. And I would definitely get what I needed at every stop. But I really think you'd be mindful to actually get some decent road miles in prior to doing any century, especially back to back centuries, SAGged or not.

Here are some basic tips I would follow for training for a century:

* Find and join a local cycling group at least a few months before the planned ride, and ride with them. I am a strong believer in this. Even though I often ride alone, the time spent riding with group members has been invaluable to me.

* Build up to it. Focus on getting in at least two days of riding during the week, ride both weekend days, and make one weekend day a long ride. There is a website with a table showing a proposed ten week training schedule for a century here:

http://bicycling.about.com/od/trainingandfitness/a/century.htm

* Know your bike. Somebody can be an athlete, strong as all get out, but if they are not experienced and prepared to handle a bike, out on a road, in traffic, and with other riders about, they can be putting themselves and others at risk. So know your bike, ride it, get used to how you handle it, become one with it, and love it.

* Hydrate and fuel. If you don't do this, you will bonk on rides of any significant distance. On a SAG ride (a supported ride like the STP), this is not too much of an issue, but even then, for goodness sake take bottles and some bars with you. And by bottles, I mean more than just water. Consider adding a power drink mixture to one of them. I learned this the hard way last year when I suffered heat exhaustion on a 70 mile ride in high heat conditions, even though I was hydrating like crazy with water, water alone wasn't enough.

* Ride on some hills. I mean, you gotta learn to love the hills. Get a thrill out of beating them down mercilessly. Okay, this isn't a necessity. But trust me, if you learn to be a hill beater, you will feel great!

Take care, have fun, be safe, and keep the rubber side down!

johnwhitent

I agree with all that broadsword says, and I would emphasize that to do back to back centuries there is no substitute for saddle time. I am in favor of all of the cross training but at some point cycling is going to have to take preeminence at least until the goal ride is done. This shouldn’t be a problem within your overall goals as I find that my activities fluctuate to some degree with the seasons anyway. I road bike more in the spring and summer and mountain bike in the fall and winter while running throughout the year and doing more strength training in the cold months. I’m not great at any one thing but I feel that the generalist approach is healthiest in the long run; it’s all good! But as stated, a lot of saddle time is needed for endurance rides. My entire body has to adapt differently to long rides versus shorter ones. I can do two hour road rides easily but four/five hours really wears on me (butt, back, neck, hands and arms.) I love your generalist approach to exercise and that provides a good foundation of fitness for anything. I have no doubt that you can do this if you choose to up the cycling intensity for a time, good luck!

uboom

I'm a member of Rusa.org and anyone who does this events, all will tell you. Saddle time!!!! You need to ride long so, your body adjusts to that level of effort over time.

amiller7x7

If you were in Seattle, then for a first time rider I would suggest you consider investing in the Cascade Training Series (CTS) (http://shop.cascade.org/content/events/cascade-training-series-schedule) where they do a series of progressive rides leading to the STP and include training on riding with large groups of people (there are nearly 10K riders on STP!), fixing flats, etc. However, you can certainly do the STP without the CTS program, however, as many people do each year and using the training info below, you can prepare for the STP from anywhere.

The 2012 Seminar book has not been published but you can find the 2011 Ride Guide book is on-line as of today at http://shop.cascade.org/sites/default/files/Seminar-book_2011.pdf If you go to pages 7, 8, & 9, they list a recommended set of training ride distances by week in preparation for the STP. You will want to look at the two day rider recommendations if I understand your goals correctly. If you do these rides then you are pretty much guaranteed to be able to physically do the STP. These training recommendations have been tested over the years by new riders.

The ride is well supported along the way and they do have quite a few motorcycle riders cruising the course looking for people who need assistance. The ride itself is fairly flat (circa 2000-2500 feet elevation over 200 miles!) although there are a couple of places where first time riders will commonly want to disagree about the definition of "flat"! (Rollers near Vader, WA come to mind).

The STP is a fun ride, a Pacific Northwest signature event (and a rite of passage?), and a major accomplishment of which you can be proud! (By the way it does seem to sell out now days, so you may need to decide reasonably early in 2012 if you want to do this or not.) Best wishes on your riding and planning!

funkycamper

Thanks for all the responses. Very helpful. I have downloaded the training schedule which begins around Valentine's Day, which is around the time I'll be doing my first 5k race. If I find I have to give up running to squeeze in more time and energy for riding, that will be fine. I'm also prepared to diminish, but not totally eliminate, my other types of exercise if I find that the STP training is too much on top of the other stuff.

Unfortunately, there is no cycling club anywhere near me. The closest is a bit over an hour away. It's a bit too far to get very active with them but I have considered joining up to do some of their weekend rides as they do longer group rides on both Saturday and Sunday. I realize this would be good practice and I'm sure I'll also get some good tips from them. I'll probably wait until spring to join up with them as their weekend rides tend to be about 30-35 miles at a higher speed than I can steadily maintain at this time so I'm going to need to work up to be able to participate with them at that level. I also plan to do the 65-mile Flying Loop that Cascade Bicycle Club does in June as they say if you can do that, you can do STP over two days. I think they say that because Flying Loop has more steep hills?

As for hills. I live on a hill so adding training to "beat the hill mercifully" ala Broadsword7 will definitely be a part of my training. At this time, I can't even begin to ride my bike up the fairly steep hill to my home. Now, when I ride, I cheat by hauling the bike down/back-up the hill in our pickup but, when I start training in earnest, I'll start attacking the hill and riding down/back-up. Although I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing a LOT of walking/pushing the bike back up the hill instead of riding for quite awhile before I finally beat the hill.

Again, thanks so much for the tips and the encouragement. When I get into my training for this event, I'm sure I'll be back here more often with questions and just to give you all updates.

ETA: I do have the registration start date marked on my calendar so I can get my registration in ASAP so I don't miss out. I am also toying with the idea of doing a ride for charity (my local Habitat for Humanity) so that will really make me be committed to completing this as, if I get donations, there's no way that I can back out, LOL.

funkycamper

Hey! the STP website also has a great training schedule/ log. I.'d suggest going by that as best as possible saddle time counts for soooo much!

Thanks, I've been looking at. Trying to figure out how to follow it while still getting in my other exercising without over-training. And, of course, finding the time for it all. But, by February, I'll be in better shape than I am now so it will probably be easier than I think it will be. Fingers crossed, LOL.