lbeamer387

I bought a TREK FX7.2 and started riding it APRIL1, 2009. I am 56, 6ft, 270, 40%lung capacity due to extreme Asthma. I am training for the HHH on August 29th. I went from 2.5 miles everyother day in April to 10 miles every other day in May, to 20 miles in June, to 30 miles in July, and now am at 40 miles. I am out of gas and now concerned that I can not get any further. It takes me 3 hours 15 minutes to go 40 miles. I barely make it in the door. I have blisters and sores in places that I can not see without a mirror, and extreme contortion of body parts.
I need to know how to get 2 more MPH out of my bike or my body to make the HHH 60 mile cutoff in 5 hours. I have my tires aired to max, I clean my chain, I have bike skin tight shorts, and I just bought LOOK pedals and Shimano shoes that lock me into the pedals. I have even learned not to bring the bike to a complete stop before unlocking my shoes from the pedals. That is why my left wrist and is now taped and my right elbow is skinned and swollen.
What I have not learned is how to get 14.5 MPH out of my bike instead of 12.5MPH over 3 hours.
Any ideas will be tried during this last month.
Thanks from the CLYDESDALE member.

hairnet

sounds like you need to try a new saddle or better bike shorts

Good job making advancements despite the asthma. I know someone with asthma, I don't know how bad it is though, and it really discourages him from doing anything physically demanding.

Saltybeagle

sounds like you are doing very well, as you lose weight your speed and miles will increase, 10% increase is a number that is suggested for mileage increase, speed will come with training. Training plan? Strengths evaluation? 2.5 to 40miles in 4 months.

lbeamer387

I went to my Bike store and asked about a new saddle with more padding, but instead, bought a bike fitting. I did this about 2 weeks ago. I still have time to get a new saddle and train on it, but am not sure the pain is costing me 2 mph.
The saddle will definitely help with comfort tho.

lbeamer387

I wrote my own plan. It is to do 40 miles every other day for the next 2 weeks and then go to 5o miles every other day for two weeks, and then go to Wichita Falls after few days of rest and ride the HHH.
Trouble is that after 4 months of what I consider intense bike riding, I have only lost 7 pounds. I drink a camelback of water during the ride plus 1 bottle of powerade. I eat 1 power bar at 20 miles. I drink a 5 hour energy drink before I go, and then drink another at 20 miles. I have tried the GEL packs, 6 hours energy, and 7 hour energy. 5 hour works best for me. Went to regular doctor who prescribes my blood pressure medicine 2 days ago, and my blood pressure was 127 over 101. He says I am in stroke territory. After rides, I am testing blood pressure at 110 over 107. So I dont know why I do not lose lots of weight.
Bottomline, I dont eat chocolate anymore, I only have 1 or 2 cokes a day, and am perplexed at why I dont lose 7 pound a week. I drink huge amounts of water and powerade, especially on riding days. I need 2MPH to keep from failing in my bucket list item number 2, to complete the HHH.

Mr. Beanz

Work on speed! Do long miles once or twice a week. Another two day do some intervals.

Cruise for a warm up. Then either by time (2 minutes, 1 minute whatever you can handle) go all out. Whether it be 10 mph, 15 mph, or 20 mph, go all out. Repeat effort as many times possible. Ability to go faster longer will develope. Soon your cruising speed will dramatically increase.

If you do the same effort all the time, you won't improve.

RatedZeroHero

sport drinks have just about as much suger/HFCS as soda...
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just saying...
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i just starting riding a little over a week ago your doin better than me...
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what about days off? getting enough rest?

Homeyba

Sounds like you've made great improvements so far. I suggest you stop worrying about the distance and start incorporating some speed work into your training program. Like what Beanz said. I would suggest you use distance rather than time so that you can track your progress. Try doing short intervals (1 mile) at your max speed rest for two miles then repeat 4 or five times. Do that once a week instead of your other ride. Riding in-and-of itself isn't going to make you faster. You need to focus your training a bit.

superdex

40mi (or 50mi) every other day without variation or rest is NOT how you train to go faster or farther. Three/four days a week, one day short and intense, one day medium distance tempo (80% effort), one day totally lazy (like painfully slow), one day medium effort but long distance.

And a saddle with more padding is not going to be better over the longer rides. It sounds counterintuitive, but more padding is a disaster because the padding eventually moves around and cuts off circulation.

Saddle sores speak to poor shorts/saddle interface, what are you wearing? Some folks take a liking to creams to help (I've not, but that's not bad either).

To start from zero in April of this year and get to riding 40mi every other day (that's what, 120mi a week? that's a substantial amount) is a huge amount of progress, you very well may be burnt out; you need some recovery (like a week off the bike).

What cutoff are you trying to make? The Hell's Gate cutoff? Are you shooting for the century? Wow. That's cajones.

With only a few weeks left before the ride, my (completely non-board-certified, internet lackey expertise) humble opinion is you break up the training with a couple longer rides (60ish) mixed with one or two days of short mileage but high intensity (intervals, they hurt everyone and I hate doing them too). I'd also take a few days off to let your body recover. The week before the ride shorten the miles and get some rest. The body gets stronger when it rests, not when it's hurting.

StephenH

My suggestion is just don't worry about it. Do what you can in the way of getting more fit and more comfortable. Then go out there to have fun, not to ride a 100 miles. If you make the cutoff, great, if you don't, that's good too; you'll still have something like an 80 mile ride in. If you'll check the HHH thread in the Texas forum (I assume this is the Hotter'n Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, not the Hilly Hundred whatever up north), you'll find a number of younger fit guys that are planning on doing the metric instead of the 100 miles.

The reason I suggest the above is that it's hard to tell how you're going to do on time until you get there. The HHH does have some hills in it, and if you don't train on hills, that may slow you down more than you expect. The official start is at 7:00, but it can be several minutes before you start moving. Then for the first 5 miles or so, it's so crowded you can't get up to speed. The heat is highly variable, and wasn't that bad when I went up there last year, but it could easily have been 10 degrees hotter. If you stop at each rest stop, that takes a while. And if it's especially hot, they'll shot the Hells Gate cutoff down early, I think. So you could get your speed up to X mph, and then still not make it on time due to other factors. If you're slow enough to have trouble making the cutoff, it also means you're going to be riding through the afternoon heat, so be prepared.

Something I've learned from riding longer distances is not to get in too much of a hurry at the start. I ride group rides on Saturday mornings, and wind up riding faster than my comfortable pace. The result is, I'm about done in after 25 miles. But I can slow down a bit and just ride forever. So you have a little bit of frustration in reconciling proper pace and making a deadline.

It is helpful to have done some longer rides before you jump into a 100 miler, too. There's a lot of charity rides around the DFW area, and they generally have a 100k ride that is good practice for the 100 mile ride. Check the listings at www.bicycle-stuff.com for upcoming rides.

I don't remember the layout on the HHH, but on a lot of these rides, you can set off on the longer route, then change your mind and switch to a shorter route along the way, so keep that idea in mind if you're moving too slow, getting too hot, etc.

Last year, I did the HHH, and got to Hell's Gate with about 15 minutes to spare. I'm going to try to improve on that this year, mainly by taking more fluid on the bike with me as opposed to stopping at every rest stop. Also, last year, I had problems with cramps, and plan to bring more electrolytes with me- their PowerAde seemed awfully watery.

Mr. Beanz

EEGADS! 2 energy drinks, gels, powerbar,powerade? Stuffing all that junk into my body would be enough to give me a stroke!

A bagel before the ride, some water and a powerbar should get you thru a 40 miler. Looks like you're stuffing junk into your body for nothing. I know I have trained longer than you have but I did 100 miles with 10,000 ft of climbing on a good breakfast. On the ride, 4 fig Newtons, a P&J sandwich and 2 CLiffbars. I'd say you're taking in lots of stuff for nuthin'. I wouldn't touch an energy drink if they paid me!

Mr. Beanz

BTW, the way you feel and perform on a ride isn't only what you eat on the ride. The night before and a good breakfast make a HUGE difference. If I eat a good pasta dinner, I could get up in the morning and do a 50 miler with water only, no breakfast , no powerbars.

Drink lots of water the night before, eat well, a good breakfast and you will kick butt on the ride!......60 miles? You should be fine with 2 powerbars if you eat well pre ride.

dixonge

You are ingesting massive amounts of calories from sugar. Cut the sugar in half for a week and see how that makes you feel.

Crankaddict

All those energy drinks are not helping your blood pressure. Did you happen to mention them to your Dr.? I'll bet he would not be pleased....