My First Century

ButterSlinky77

Well, this is the year...my first century is planned for 12th May and I'm looking forward to it very much.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wiggle-super-series-jurassic-beast-sportive-epic/

I've researched training plans online and found something that seems reasonable, but have twweeked it slightly.

The only thing I'm struggling with is what to do in that last week before the century. Do I keep the work rate up, back off totally or try to find a happy medium? I don't want to lose my fittness altogether but at the same time I don't want to turn up to the ride with tired legs.

Advice please. Thanks.

Gapwedge01

You won't lose any cardio fitness if you taper the week of the Century. I usually don't even ride 2 days before and only light riding earlier in the week. Eat well that week also. Best of luck!

ButterSlinky77

Thanks.

In my plan I have halved my milage from the last week of training and plan on only doing easy rides with two days of rest before the event.

I can refine it as I go along, but I've only been cycling for a year, so it is all new to me.

getoal

Taper off last week just easy rides to stay loose. Drink lots of water. Get some rest you won't sleep the night before. Use all the rest stops eat and drink at every stop. You will burn more than you can take in. Good luck.

Cyclink

Performance = fitness + rest. You don't want to completely rest the last week because that will mess with you; take it very easy that week and get just a few easy rides in.

A century is a long day on the bike. You will probably be on the bike for 6 hours or more and burn at least 4000 calories. Make sure you have really nice bike shorts for that day and eat as much as you can. In the training time before that, find out what foods and drinks your body will tolerate while riding.

funkycamper

Great advice so far. I would add that you should really make sure your nutrition is well dialed-in for several days before the ride. This is a time when it might be OK to eat some extra calories. Especially protein for your muscles and carbs for glycogen storage. I also find that on rides of 70+ miles that I will often get cramps in my quads so I really up eating more bananas and such.

Also, while it's good advice to eat and drink at the rest stops, you also need to do what works best for you. I found out the hard way that I do best eating numerous very small snacks throughout the ride instead of eating a larger amount at any one time. For example, if they give out fruit and a sandwich at a rest stop, I'm better to eat just half the sandwich then, then maybe the fruit after about 7-8 miles, then the rest of the sandwich after another 7-8 miles. It makes for more frequent stops but they're short stops and I do better. When I eat more at any one time, my energy sags. I'm guessing that too much energy is going to digestion?

I actually find I do best to get most of my calories during the ride from protein drinks, chocolate milk, and things like Powerade, Gatorade, etc., keeping the food to just a few bites here and there. Nibbling on nuts, cheese, maybe a banana, and a few random bites of things like protein bars. At the end of the ride, that's when I really eat.

Of course, you need to experiment with this during your training rides to get an idea of whether you can handle more real food or not. Once you find what works best for you, that's what you should do during the ride itself.

Best wishes and enjoy. You'll have a blast!