Training & Nutrition - First 40 miler...yippee

Pardon me, while I flap my arms and crow just a little bit here. I did my first 40 miler today. I had to rest a few times on the way back. I drank 40 oz of gatorade, and 40 oz of water. I weighed less when I got back than when I left. I also ate one powerbar, more to keep it from going to waste than for hunger.

My diaphram feels sore when I take a deep breath. I guess that shows where the biggest strain was. What killed me the most was having to pedal 3/4 mile past my starting point and then come back in order to have a true 40 miles logged. I really, really wanted to say that I did 40, and not 38 3/4 miles.

For those familiar, I rode from mile marker 19.38 to mile marker 0.00, at the beginning of the Silver Comet Trail, here in NW Atlanta. Well, not too bad I guess for a 39 1/2 year old fat guy. What saddens me is that even after only a month of logged cycling, my relatives are too out of shape to keep up with me on a ride, and they are all slim and trim compared to me.

I have one realtive who wants to start riding partners when she gets over back surger in about six weeks. I hope it works out. Best -

Congrats! :beer:

My longest so far is about 34 miles, a portion of it in the rain. I swear the last 2 miles was ridden standing on the pedals -- my nethers were killing me! :eek:

-Rob

Go, go, go! Keep up the good work.

Congrats!

Now it's time to start working towards that century, huh? ;)

Yeah, a century. Could I do a metric one first? :)

Ted:

Congrats. Time for a :beer: You've earned it.

As far as a centry goes try working your way up and do the full cycle. You've already done the 1/4 (25 miles) next would be the 1/2 at 50 miles, metric at 62.5 and then full at 100 miles.

I'm hoping to do my first ride on the Silver Comet this coming Friday morning. I'm looking forward to it.

Zack

Originally posted by ZackJones

I'm hoping to do my first ride on the Silver Comet this coming Friday morning. I'm looking forward to it.

Zack

Zack,
Do you know where you will be getting on the trail at? The northern most portion, in Cobb County, is all asphalt. That portion is 12.8 miles long. The rest is concrete, for a somewhat rougher ride. I did not realize how smooth asphalt was to ride on until I rode into the Cobb portion. There are a couple of nice places along the way to get refreshments and to rest. There are many, many benches along the way. Have a good trip.

Originally posted by The Terminator
Pardon me, while I flap my arms and crow just a little bit here. I did my first 40 miler today.
Attaboy!! :beer:

One of the neat things about cycling is that progress is pretty evident -- you can see results right away in terms of distance and average speed, which motivates you to do more. I checked your cycling log and it looks like you're making steady improvement -- keep up the good work and before long you'll be telling us about your first century! :D

I just did 40 miles today, and I thought about you, Terminator! I thought about cheating at some point and jumping a train for a couple of stops, but then I just laughed it off....

Celebrated at DQ with a small vanilla ice cream. Man, I haven't been to DQ since like 10th grade! It was gooooooooooood! :D

Good for you.

To me it seems like once you get 40 miles or so in, that getting to a Century is a lot easier than getting to the 40 miles the first time. Can't verify that, just seems that way!!

I didn't do 40, but did do 2 15 milers for a total of 30.

I started out early this am (6:00 am) thinking about doing 20-25, but my wife called me on the cell phone, and rather irately said, "I wanted to go biking today, also, as I told you last night!!"

So, I turned around, headed back, we loaded up the bikes, went to McDonald's for breakfast (we get the egg McMuffins for $1.00 and take the awful sausage out and throw it away). When combined with a small OJ, it is a decent starter meal.

Anyway, we went down by the Platte River and I did another 15 miles. This morning at 6 am, I saw only about 12 people on the entire ride. By the Platte River, there were 100's riding bikes - slow, fast, good , poor, young, not so young. Whenever I am in that sort of situation, I gove up all pretense about riding fast, and instead, concentrate on riding safely, which we did.

We had a great time. I could have done another 10-20 miles easily, but wife was ready to come back. Had a delightful fruit, nut and romaine salad for lunch at a local pitstop along the bike path.

DnvrFox,
Glad to hear that you had a good ride. For some reason, I have not had any appetite at all today. I just did my 14 mile daily, and I still am not hungry. I'll probably be ravenous in the morning. Best -

Originally posted by The Terminator
DnvrFox,
Glad to hear that you had a good ride. For some reason, I have not had any appetite at all today. I just did my 14 mile daily, and I still am not hungry. I'll probably be ravenous in the morning. Best -

Hey, thanks. Hope you are not getting sick.

well done Ted..... 40 miles, Heh!! . Man you are ready for that century.

All you need to do now is, cycle 50 miles away from home, then you HAVE to get home. Amazing the incentive that can be.

Originally posted by The Terminator
Zack,
Do you know where you will be getting on the trail at?


I'm starting at the very beginning Marietta and I'm not sure how far out I'm going to ride. I may try to ride the entire length or just go out for say 20 miles and then turn around and come back.

Zack