Hi - I mountain bike and road bike communte and recently signed up for my first time century! (Goldilocks ride in UT) It's 4 weeks away now and I have been training but missed a few (many) of my weekday train rides. So far the longest was a 51 mile weekend ride - it still hurts a little haha.

Any advice on the following would be appreciated:

1) Other upper body / core workouts at the gym that would help or just be a good routine?

2) It is supported but I really need my own snacks on me - I really avoid processed stuff.....suggestions?? (was thinking pb & j in a small tortilla?)

3) What is a good time goal for the first timer? On the flats without much wind I can avg close to 20mph for about 20-25mi. This has ~2400 overall elev gain.

Any other advice?? Thanks

Hi Gaia

Wow - good for you signing up for a century ride, in 4 weeks time too - impressive!!

For training, why don't you join a few of us who are doing a fun Grand Tour Challenge, starting with the Giro d'Italia challenge - you basically ride and log your miles using GPS and as a team of 9 we aim to ride collectively the distance of the pro riders that day

See here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/964334-mfp-grand-tour-cycling-challenge-discussion-signup-thread

I also do kettlebells, well I did and now need to get back into it - really helps with all over body strength - especially the squats and lunges!!

As for snacks, I usually take cereal bar(s) with nuts in, banana, PB on brown bread sandwich cut into quarters - and my secret weapon, Jelly Babies!!! I don't take to those energy gels and fancy stuff very well. Jam sandwich is meant to be good too, but I don't like jam!

Good luck with it - and keep us informed of your progress - I'm interested as I've only ever done a metric century - the extra 30+ miles for the imperial century still feels a bit out of my reach as yet!

Fran

It's taken me a little time to offer advice since the ride is so close. You say that you have Century in Four Weeks but in reality you only have Three weeks of training left.

Week 1 - Try a 50 mile ride, weekly total should be at least 150 miles.
Week 2 - Try a 62 mile ride, weekly total should be at least 200 miles.
Week 3 - Try a 75 mile ride, weekly total should be around 200 miles.
Week 4 - Take it easy (no long rides or hard rides), weekly total around 100 miles. Try not to pedal the day before the Century and eat a high carb diet and don't forget to include your electrolytes when eating (don't worry about sodium content being too high).

I don't know what type of base mileage you have done so I've got no way to judge fitness for speed. The first century I did, I did with a 14mph average speed and the first supported Century I squeezed out a 17mph average speed. Estimate your expected Century average speed from your 75 mile training ride.

My point being, when you get in a group of people you will find that it is really really easy to pedal too hard at the start of the Century and then you'll suffer the last half.

Do you know your Lactate Threshold? If so, make sure that in the first 50 miles that you stay below LT and don't try to keep up with pacelines that drive your LT up too much.

Pacelines, do you have any experience riding in a paceline? If you can find a paceline that is moving a pace you like then you'll have a much improved chance of finishing the ride due to the effect of drafting.

There is more, such as bananas and grapes are good natural cycling foods. However, I prefer Hammer products since I have learned that Hammer's products agree with my stomach and provide me the right balance of fuel.

If you have time and the inclination; pick up a copy of "...Long Distance Cycling" by Ed Pavelka. This is the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Long-Distance-Cycling-Confidence/dp/1579541992 and you can get it used for as little as $2 + shipping.

Hi there - in general LT occurs around 85% of max HR.

Information overload yet?

From Ride With GPS: http://blog.ridewithgps.com/blog/2013/03/12/Getting-Ready-For-A-Century/