Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Training Regimen for Triple Century?

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undisputed83
04-27-11, 09:49 PM
Is there someone that could give me an idea of what kind of training regimen I would need for a triple century? I'm going to post a link below that shows an organized regimen for a double century. The problem here is I only have until July 16th to prepare and I JUST got my bike. I've been running a lot and am up to five miles and I'm not in that bad of shape, and I'm pretty sure I can start at week six of the schedule I'm posting below.

I'm doing a double century the last week of June as a test for the triple. How much more beyond this schedule should I train for the Triple century, and what should I do for rides in those final few weeks? How much more difficult will it be to go from a double to a triple?

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/sport/a/doublecentury.htm

lonesomesteve
04-28-11, 12:15 PM
It depends a lot on how fast you hope to do the ride. Is this a multi-day ride with a sleep stop in the middle, or all in one go? Is there a time limit? If your goal is just to finish, then double century training plan is probably fine as far as fitness goes.

The big differences between a double and a triple are not really fitness issues. One difference is that while a lot of people can finish a double within the hours of daylight, a triple will require some night riding (assuming you're doing this all in one go). Also, most people can finish a double without sleep deprivation becoming an issue, whereas it may become an issue in a triple. So it's good to have some experience with night riding in a sleep deprived state. One way to train for that is to do a century ride starting at 9pm. It's a good way to make sure your lights work, you can navigate in the dark, and you can deal with being awake on a bike all night.
StephenH
04-28-11, 07:40 PM
Ride a bunch. I've got more miles in this month that I ever thought possible, and still going. And it does make a difference.
Figure out your lights. I had rechargeable lights that did okay for a 300k, but upgraded to a hub generator for a 400k, and haven't regretted it.
Figure out your nutrition for riding.
Figure out how to ride in the heat.
I was one of the slower riders in the rando group, and for me a major effort has been trying to get fast enough to ride with groups.