Training & Nutrition - Training for my first century..

I would like to have everyones individual advice on how to prepare for this..

My article with tips for riding a century ... aimed at new century riders. :)

http://www.machka.net/articles/century.htm

Can't add much to Machka's excellent synopsis.

I will reiterate that you want to be sure you've got your bike set up properly. A bad fit that you can take for 30-40 miles can become nasty after 60 miles.

Also, doing the long rides to prepare for a century can be as rewarding an experience as finishing the ride itself. Enjoy!

Ride lots. Machka mentions training in her link, but the bottom line is: ride lots. The general rule of thumb is that you can typically survive a ride 2 times your comfortable riding distance. This means, if you can go out and ride 50 miles without too much damage, you should be able to survive a 100 mile ride. So focus on riding at least a couple 50 milers in preperation. If you can get some longer rides in, that's all the better.

If you feel underprepared for the event, go easy. Find a pace that you can handle then watch for other riders around you. If you can find a group that is also going that speed and you can join in, you can actually spend less energy for the same speed due to the benefits of drafting. Just don't overextend yourself, take advantage of feed stops and HAVE FUN!

What Machka said,
and take a 35mm film can full of chamois creme . . .
and a spare pair of gloves with different padding placement . . .
and 2 tubes and a pump and a patch kit and some boot material . . .

I figure you can go 3 times the length of your standard long training ride, and equal to your weekly riding distance for the past 3 weeks. For a fast century, double that per week for a few weeks. Palesaint's rule is good, too.

I think frequent (daily) rides are better for toughening the butt than infrequent, longer rides.

If you smile when the going gets tough, you'll enjoy it more.

If you start cramping, eat some pretzels or chips at the next rest stop and drink more, lots more.

Shorter rests are better than longer ones unless you are really whupped.

If you smile when the going gets tough, you'll enjoy it more.



That's a good one! It's supposed to be fun, not torture.

I would like to have everyones individual advice on how to prepare for this.. A starting point for any endeavor is to give some thought on how you learn about what you may want to achieve.

Your, lame, thoughtless post, shows that you feel little need to describe your current status, or your perceived strengths. This means that anyone else attempting to advise you is giving thoughtless, worthless advice as well.

But keep it up. That's life.

Now, now, RC. Remember, only one cup of coffee before posting in the morning.

It's also possible that the posters are giving advice that is so universal, it wouldn't matter whom they were advising. And it's also possible that the OP is at the beginning, where he/she doesn't yet know what they don't know.

"Experience starts when you begin." - R.D. Culler.

Ride your bike alot,

but seriously just work up to it. I would think riding your first century in a group would be best. I did my first one solo and it wasnt near as easy as the second one I did.

My article with tips for riding a century ... aimed at new century riders. :)

http://www.machka.net/articles/century.htm


I have been looking everywhere for this info LOL!!!

I rode my first century in 2004. Before that, I rode many 50 to 75 mile journeys over the years. But, putting in that extra 25 miles really was a bear the first time....

Note: I was riding a big heavy schwinn with platform pedals while wearing a cotton t-shirt and cut-off jeans over cotton underwear. Um...obviously not your best century-riding bike nor was I wearing the proper apparel. BUt, I made it----in about 12 hours.

THese days, I'll knock down a C in about 6 hrs without any stress. I also now ride an aluminum racing bike and wear Lycos for said centuric jaunts. My advice for training is to ride, ride ride.

I have a bit of advice for the big day.

The last 20 miles is the hardest.

I tend to get cranked up for a century. It is easy to ride too fast at the beginning. Make an effort to ride at a sustainable pace. A sustainable pace will be a bit slower than you normal cruising speed for a 30 mile ride. If you feel good at 80 miles, you can always speed up.

Another thing, stop relatively frequently for a short period of time. Most organized centuries have SAG stops. Stop at these. It is good to get off of your pressure points: hands, feet and posterior.

Do not change anything for the day of the century. Do not fiddle with your seat height, wear new clothes, new shoes, nothing. Go with what you know works. You can test ride things on shorter rides.

I just read an article on Active.com that told me to consume 60-80 carbs per hour on a long ride. That seems like a lot. A Clif bar (42) and a bottle of half-strength gatorade would come up short. Using one of Machka's calculators, as a 200 pounder, I'll burn 800 calories per hour and should replace about 400-500 per hour. My Gatorade and Clif bar would also leave me short of that goal. I'm wondering if these numbers don't apply to heavier runners. It seems like I'd be doing more eating than riding.

I'm new to all this, so my longest rides have been in the 30-34 mile range and those took very close to 3 hours. My last 34 mile ride went okay but I was tired and ready to come back by the end. I had plain water and 2 cliff bars that I sipped and nibbled during the ride. Next time, I will have more food available (maybe pbj sandwiches, fig newtons etc and use one of my water bottles for a sports drink. I think if I had planned more for this last ride, I could have comfortably continued on for another 10 miles or so. Past rides that I did bring more to eat and drink typically ended because it started getting dark or I had to be somewhere later and couldn't just keep rolling along.

I just read an article on Active.com that told me to consume 60-80 carbs per hour on a long ride. That seems like a lot. A Clif bar (42) and a bottle of half-strength gatorade would come up short. Using one of Machka's calculators, as a 200 pounder, I'll burn 800 calories per hour and should replace about 400-500 per hour. My Gatorade and Clif bar would also leave me short of that goal. I'm wondering if these numbers don't apply to heavier runners. It seems like I'd be doing more eating than riding.

For something like a century, you're probably better estimating that you are burning 500-600 calories per hour. Your stomach will have trouble digesting more than about 300 calories per hour while riding, unless you're riding really, really slowly and easily (recovery pace). Aim to consume 200-300 calories per hour, and your sports drink is included in that calorie count.

If you were to stay on the bicycle longer than 6 or 7 hours (like a 300K brevet or double century or something), you might want to stop for a meal every 5-7 hours where you'd consume 500-1000 calories. If you do that, when you get going again, ride easy.

Thanks, Mackha. For the advice as well as the training program

One can ride and ride until their legs stop moving but the real key is to make sure your body can actually handle a ride. If there are injuries, they need to be identified and worked out first. Then take it easy on the mileage. Cross training may be of help to get to the century. I mention this based on personal experience. I tried twice to do a century in preparation for an Ironman. My lower right side was completely destroyed by injury so 70 miles was as far as I could go. I could not run either. I was a mess. I worked daily on the injury by stretching and lightly lifting weights. All went well then I incorporated swimming at least 5 times a week to keep my legs moving. I was able to finish my first century ride last week without any complications. I have two more coming up next month that I am looking forward to.

To everyone I thank you for all your input and words ride is this Sat! I will keep your words in mind..

Thank You!