Training & Nutrition - Help: 50 mile run in 17 days

Ok this is beginner question but also a training on so if in the wrong place mods please move to proper forum.

I have singed up to do a 50 mile *ride* for charity and it really just jumped on me. Today I realized that it's in 17 days from now!!! I ride from time to time but only about 5-7 miles per ride. I'm not that bad out of shape and have a lot of heart but I need to know what the best thing to do between now and then so that I don't over kill it (or myself) but also enough so that I don't kill myself the day of the run.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

36 years old
5'11"
175 lbs

50 mile run or Ride?

Take a 25 miles ride your next time out.
Go slow.

50 mile run or Ride?

Ride, sorry.

On another forum someone posted up this:


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Today go out and ride 10 miles.

Tomorrow ride 15 miles

Friday ride 15 miles.

Saturday ride 20 miles or more.

Sunday also ride 20 miles or more.

Take either Monday or Tuesday off.

On the day you don't take off, 20 miles.

Wendesday = 25 miles.

Thursday or Friday take off. The other day 20 miles.

Saturday 30 miles or more.

Sunday 30 miles OR MORE. If you feel good, do more.

Take either Monday or Tuesday off.

On the day you don't take off, 20 miles.

Wendesday = 30 miles.

Thursday or Friday take off. The other day 30 miles.

Saturday 40 miles.

Sunday 40 miles OR MORE. If you feel good, do more up to 50 miles.

The last week take one day off plus the day off before the big ride. On the other days ride at least 20 miles or more.

Drink plenty of fluid both on and off the bike. You might get dehydrated and not even know it. For rides over 30 miles make sure to eat something during the ride and/or use sports drinks especially if you are sweating.
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My only issue is That for the next 3 weekends. The ride is Saturday the 30th.

This part looks great:
Today go out and ride 10 miles.

Tomorrow ride 15 miles

Friday ride 15 miles.

Saturday ride 20 miles or more.

Sunday also ride 20 miles or more.

Take either Monday or Tuesday off.

On the day you don't take off, 20 miles.

Wendesday = 25 miles.

Thursday or Friday take off. The other day 20 miles.

Saturday 30 miles or more.

Sunday 30 miles OR MORE. If you feel good, do more.

That brings me to the week of the race (Monday and race is that Saturday)

Should I take off Mon then ride Tues 20, Wed 30, Thurs 30 and just take off Friday and ride the charity event on Sat or should I maybe skip Wed or something??

This looks do-able for my level. Hard, but do-able. Advice?

Rest the entire day before the 50 mile ride.
Try the 25 miles on your next ride.

It ain't that hard. Just go easy.

What bike do your ride?

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m206/sn0wkrash/fuji_roubaix_sl_06_m.jpghttp://cyclespectrum.com/images/library/large/fuji_roubaix_sl_06_m.jpg

A Fuji Roubaix SL

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m206/sn0wkrash/fuji_roubaix_sl_06_m.jpghttp://cyclespectrum.com/images/library/large/fuji_roubaix_sl_06_m.jpg

A Fuji Roubaix SL

So Nice. Go ride 25 miles right now.

So Nice. Go ride 25 miles right now.

+1

50 miles isn't all that far ... it doesn't require extensive training. Even a couple 25-35 mile rides between now and then will get you through. So go do a 25 mile ride now ... it shouldn't take more than a couple hours.

That's a very steep ramp. Doable, but after that much increase in volume i would take AT LEAST 2 days off prior to the 50 miler, maybe even 3. Any riding you do in the 3 days before your event is not going to increase your level of fitness, it will just increase your level of fatigue.

Your biggest problem is going to be comfort on the bike for the amount time it is going to take. I would not ramp up the mileage as much as the poster from the other forum suggested. As little as you ride now you would probably end up pretty worn out by the ride. From now until the ride just ride as much as you can. Get to a point where you can ride long enough to reach rest stops on the ride. STop at the rest stops and enjoy the break and then get back on when you are ready. Take it slow and you'll be fine. Make sure to hydrate (1 bottle per hour) and eat properly since you aren't used to that much time in the saddle. You'll prolly spend 3+ hours in the saddle since you aren't used to this type of distance so make sure you get atleast one feed in. A cliff bar at the end of the first hour should be enough but you could do prolly another gel or 2 after depending on if you think you need it. If you don't have shorts get some.

PS don't listen to these people like Machka who say "50 miles isn't all that far"(although I agree with her suggestion that a couple of 25-35 mile rides before will be enough if you continue your normal riding habits as well)....50 miles is 10 times your current ride length. Your body isn't used to riding that long and it is going to disagree with you but probably not too bad if you take it easy. I'd like to challenge the people here who say this isn't a big undertaking to go out in 17 days and ride 10 times the length of your current longest ride and then report back about how much worse it was than your current ride.

We have all been at the point where 5-7 miles was the most we'd do in a ride but we don't all remember the vast difference a 5 mile ride is from a 50 mile ride in terms of fitness.

PS don't listen to these people like Machka who say "50 miles isn't all that far"(although I agree with her suggestion that a couple of 25-35 mile rides before will be enough if you continue your normal riding habits as well)....50 miles is 10 times your current ride length. Your body isn't used to riding that long and it is going to disagree with you but probably not too bad if you take it easy. I'd like to challenge the people here who say this isn't a big undertaking to go out in 17 days and ride 10 times the length of your current longest ride and then report back about how much worse it was than your current ride.



Hmmmm ... my 67 year old father does this pretty much every year. He doesn't ride all winter, then comes out with me, does a few warm-up rides, and then does a 100 km or more with me.

I suppose if the OP is in his 80s or 90s it might be a challenge to do 50 miles, but I didn't get the impression the OP was that old.

Anyway, my suggestion was that the OP go out and do some warm-up rides before he tackle the 50 mile ride. I'm curious to know how his 25 mile ride today went.

Machka...i'm going by the rules of the internet...if the OP says he rides from time to time he might be riding once a month 5-7 miles. I never said this was going to be an epic ride for him but I definitely think without a little thought and planning, 50 miles can turn into a tiny bit of pain for the OP. Yes he can do 50 miles....no he can't and won't do it with the lead group. It's all about perspective....You ride a whole lot longer distances than the majority of people on here. Heck my longest ride was 113 miles which is a warm up for you....however could you do that at race pace? Anyone can go out and ride 50 miles at 10mph but if he goes out and pushes it he definitely can and will suffer.

Machka...i'm going by the rules of the internet...if the OP says he rides from time to time he might be riding once a month 5-7 miles. I never said this was going to be an epic ride for him but I definitely think without a little thought and planning, 50 miles can turn into a tiny bit of pain for the OP. Yes he can do 50 miles....no he can't and won't do it with the lead group. It's all about perspective....You ride a whole lot longer distances than the majority of people on here. Heck my longest ride was 113 miles which is a warm up for you....however could you do that at race pace? Anyone can go out and ride 50 miles at 10mph but if he goes out and pushes it he definitely can and will suffer.

I don't think anyone said anything about the OP riding 50 miles at race pace! He's doing a casual charity ride ... and if he maintains about 18 km/h he will likely be near the lead group.

I have never been on a charity ride where the lead group averaged 18km/h maybe at the very least 25Km/h. If that's what you had in mind than yes 50 miles is easy but he still should expect some discomfort due to his current level of riding.

I have never been on a charity ride where the lead group averaged 18km/h maybe at the very least 25Km/h. If that's what you had in mind than yes 50 miles is easy but he still should expect some discomfort due to his current level of riding.

Well, of course that's what I had in mind ... charity rides aren't races. I've only been on one, but even at my crawling pace, I finished in the top 30 of out of about 200 riders. There were riders who were averaging about 8 km/h out there ... and I was told that was fairly typical.

Well, of course that's what I had in mind ... charity rides aren't races. I've only been on one, but even at my crawling pace, I finished in the top 30 of out of about 200 riders. There were riders who were averaging about 8 km/h out there ... and I was told that was fairly typical.

I definitely agree that a charity ride isn't a race....still it's Odd the speeds are so much slower where you are... I guess the charity rides are different around here...sure you get those the go that slow but I'd be willing to bet the top 50% of riders finish with a speed higher than 24km/h or 15mph. Hell I would have to try to ride my bike 18Km/h and doing 50 miles at that speed I'd go nuts with boredom.

Hmmmm ... my 67 year old father does this pretty much every year. He doesn't ride all winter, then comes out with me, does a few warm-up rides, and then does a 100 km or more with me.

I suppose if the OP is in his 80s or 90s it might be a challenge to do 50 miles, but I didn't get the impression the OP was that old.

Anyway, my suggestion was that the OP go out and do some warm-up rides before he tackle the 50 mile ride. I'm curious to know how his 25 mile ride today went.

He is:
36 years old
5'11"
175 lbs

Do 2.5 hours this weekend. Do 3 hours the next weekend. In between do your short rides as fast as you can. Rest 2-3 days before the long one. You'll be fine.

I'm curious to know how his 25 mile ride today went.

I couldn't do the 25 today.

Only did 12. I was doing GREAT keeping a good pace and went down to the beach (the long way about 6 miles away from my house). It started getting very WINDY!! and spitting rain. It felt like I couldn't even move no matter how much I tried. I decided that I didn't want to get caught in a storm, be far from home on the bike so I decided to turn around and come back home. Man was that a hard ride on the way back. Felt like I was in mud the whole way. I will go out tomorrow and do more (hope to make at least the 20 or 25 mark). I think I can do it at the pace I was going today. Kinda stinks because I psyched myself up to bang out at least 20, but there was no way (at my current level) I could have done that for another 8+ miles against the wind like that.

Riding is a learning experience.
I hated the winds when I first started riding.
Don't try to be fast until you get 500 miles on your legs.
Thanks for the ride report.

Discomfort may be your biggest hurdle. Take all the rest stops on the organized rides. This does two things. It breaks up the 50 miles into smaller and more manageable rides. It gives your seat a chance to cool off and regain circulation.

Only you know how your riding shorts work for you. Many if not most riders, learning the hard way, will invest good money into shorts with high density padding.