Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Stamina and Endurance

Hello Fellow Clydesdales....47yr old big guy....and i fluctuate between 210 and 225 depending on season and schedule. I generally get to ride 6-7 days a week spring through mid fall, and weight drops to about 210. However, although i'm a slow rider (14-18 average), I can't seem to build enough endurance to ride more than 35 miles (about two hours) at a time (generally I ride straight through, no stops). Any help to build my endurance to ride longer and further? I'm not looking to increase speed as much as I am to increase the time of the ride.

Hello Fellow Clydesdales....47yr old big guy....and i fluctuate between 210 and 225 depending on season and schedule. I generally get to ride 6-7 days a week spring through mid fall, and weight drops to about 210. However, although i'm a slow rider (14-18 average), I can't seem to build enough endurance to ride more than 35 miles (about two hours) at a time (generally I ride straight through, no stops). Any help to build my endurance to ride longer and further? I'm not looking to increase speed as much as I am to increase the time of the ride.
What are you doing for inride nutrition. On a 2 hr ride, you are likely depleting your glycogen stores and need a couple of hundred calories to regenerate!

What are you doing for inride nutrition. On a 2 hr ride, you are likely depleting your glycogen stores and need a couple of hundred calories to regenerate!

thanks tom
i generally only drink a watered down solution of 1 part fruit juice/9 parts water. i'll be sure to down a cliff bar before the ride, and stop during to replenish.

I second what Tom said. I usually go through one 24oz waterbottle per hour (filled with sports drink.) For rides over 1.5 hours, I bring a snack of some sort. Wheat thins are great, or fig newton bars, etc. I recently bought a box of those Gel Shots, and tried my first one on my last ride. The ride was under 2 hours, but I really just wanted to try the shot. I thought it worked well to keep my energy level up.

You'll notice on organized rides they usually have rest stops along the way with food. The MS150 I will be riding in April claims to have 8 rest stops per day, about 8-12 miles apart.

Also, make sure you are not starting too fast on your ride. If you are pushing yourself your first 30 minutes and basically going as fast as you can, you are not going to be able to sustain that pace for very long. Drop down one MPH or two, which may feel like you are not pushing yourself very hard, but you are certain to be able to ride longer at such a pace.

thanks tom
i generally only drink a watered down solution of 1 part fruit juice/9 parts water. i'll be sure to down a cliff bar before the ride, and stop during to replenish.
Actually, more benefit from the Clif bar at the 1 hr point and stay with the liquid you are using and a second clif at the 2 hr and you'll be ready for another hour. You need to take in about 200-250 calories an hour out on a distance ride to keep going! Sounds counterintuitive but if you are burning 400-500 cal an hr, you are still at a net deficit. you are just supporting Glycogen for the muscles to burn and that's it......staying in a high energy metabolism and the deficit is burned from fat reserves.:D :D :D :D

You probably should be able to get by without supplemental calories for more than 2 hours... your body stores somewhere over 3000 calories in glycogen stores, AFAIK.

Eating carbs might make you feel more peppy in that third hour, but is it actually required?? I can understand it if you are trying to beat a personal best or whatnot, but if you are trying to drop weight it would seem like a good idea to skip as much eating as possible on regular training rides. Just a thought.

I think this is a training issue more than a nutrition issue.

Push harder and vary your riding.

Do you do interval training? it is the best way to build up speed and endurance. (Whether or not you want speed, it will increase with training.)

How often do you ride balls to the wall?

There are some great resources out there for how to train. The Road thread has some real knowledgeable folks and the search function will probbaly give you more info than you want.

You might also look for a club around you. A c-level ride (? -- beginners ride) may help. I find having others around sometimes really pushes me to ride harder.

(edit: Coach always had us do wind sprints for increasing endurance. Long runs were for conditioning.)

[QUOTE=superslomo]You probably should be able to get by without supplemental calories for more than 2 hours... your body stores somewhere over 3000 calories in glycogen stores, AFAIK.

Eating carbs might make you feel more peppy in that third hour, but is it actually required?? I can understand it if you are trying to beat a personal best or whatnot, but if you are trying to drop weight it would seem like a good idea to skip as much eating as possible on regular training rides. Just a thought.QUOTE]

I'm not trying to lose the weight...it seems to come off naturally when I ride. I enjoy riding at a slower pace as I noted, I just want to keep my energy level up to ride for an additional hour or so. I'll try refueling and take note of the results.

You probably should be able to get by without supplemental calories for more than 2 hours... your body stores somewhere over 3000 calories in glycogen stores, AFAIK.

Eating carbs might make you feel more peppy in that third hour, but is it actually required?? I can understand it if you are trying to beat a personal best or whatnot, but if you are trying to drop weight it would seem like a good idea to skip as much eating as possible on regular training rides. Just a thought.

It depends on the individual, but you still need some caloric intake to take advantage of those glycogen stores when exercising for over 2 hours.

I've been doing endurance events since the 90s (marathons up until 2004, and now riding), and found that I'm pretty good for 90 minutes to two hours with nothing but water, but more than that and I'll bonk. However, with even minimal caloric intake (150-250 cals per hour) I can keep going for 6+ hours with no problem. As you point out, there's no reason to down a 1500 calorie meal per hour, but even at 17mph a person is chugging through about 700-800 kcals of glycogen per hour and an intake of 150-250 cals will keep you humming while giving you a negative balance at the end of the ride.

My personal "rule of thumb" is this - for a ride of about 30 miles or less (roughly 90 minutes, I tend to average 19-20mph when out solo), I'll just bring water. If it's going to be about 35 miles I'll bring a few bucks in case of a bonk I can hit a convenience store. If it's going to be 40-50 miles, solo, where I can set my own pace, I'll bring water and maybe a gel or two in a pocket "in case." More mileage than that or any group ride of 35 miles or more, and I'm fully loaded with sports drink and maybe a few gels.

BTW, I try to avoid gatorade in a bottle because they're now using corn syrup and I'm convinced that stuff is pure evil. Go with the powdered drinks and mix it yourself; I've become a big fan of GU2O - all complex carbs which does the body good.

How much are you riding? 6x35 per week? For 2 weeks try dialing back to 5 days a week, your body may need more recovery time.

Drop your speed by 2 mph, watch your cadence. If this fails, check with Dr to see you don't have a medical or hormone problem.

AJC:

It would be helpful to know what your typical ride schedule is in a given week. Increasing your distance should be part of a structured effort for 1 to 2 days out of the week. As someone else mentioned, other days can focus on speed work, intervals, tempo or recovery. As a guide from my experience, I typically ride 5,000 miles a year on average, most of that focused in-season (Which is way too short here in Chicago).

My 'long' ride is almost always on Sunday mornings, whether solo or on club group rides, which I often lead. During the winter months, I do trainers/rollers/structured training classes, with outdoor rides as weather permits. My longest rides in the winter months are usually no more than 2 hours. As the weather gets better, I will start adding on 5-10 miles per week to my long ride until I'm comfortable with a metric (62 mile) distance, which is my typical Sunday ride. I find that is an ideal distance as I can easily ramp up to 75 one week or given a few weeks additional mileage even do the occasional full century.

Another tip for increasing ride distance is to set a goal. Find a target invitational ride in mid spring (almost always Sundays here in the midwest) and start training for it. If the ride is a 62 miler, and your base is a 2 hour 32 mile distance, start training for the invitational 6 weeks ahead of time, adding 5 miles or so to your base long distance each week. Don't worry so much about your time as much as completing the distance. In my experience, mileage goals are a mental hurdle as much as anything else, so once you've broken a goal distance (or time), it will seem easier next time. Before you know it, a 3-4 hour ride will be the norm, and you'll be ready to tackle the next goal.

Finally, ride with a group. I regularly lead a Sunday breakfast ride for my bike club. We will usually ride 2 hours out to one of several small town cafes, stop for breakfast, then ride back on a different route. It's as much a social event as a ride, and it really takes your mind off how far you are going.