crich959

This coming Septemeber i'll be riding in the Livestrong Challenge here in Philadelphia. I have signed up for the 100 mile ride and this will be my first century. I'm really looking forward to and I want it to be a success. I just started looking on the internet on how to train for it. I came accross this:

CENTURY TRAINING – STRENGTH TO SPARE
WEEK MON. TUES. WED. THURS. FRI. SAT. SUN. WEEKLY
EASY* PACE* BRISK* PACE* PACE* PACE* MILEAGE
1. 10 12 14 Off 12 40 15 103
2. 10 13 15 Off 13 44 17 112
3. 10 15 15 Off 15 48 18 123
4. 11 16 19 Off 16 53 20 135
5. 12 18 20 Off 18 59 22 149
6. 13 19 23 Off 19 64 24 162
7. 14 20 25 Off 20 71 27 177
8. 16 20 27 Off 20 75 27 177
9. 17 20 30 Off 20 75 32 194
Cent Wk 19 20 30 Off 10 5 Easy Century 184
1,516

I was wondering what people think of it. It is from www.diablocyclists.com

I also realize that it isn't till September and the weather is starting to come around here in the northeast for out door cycling and would like to know what my best course of action is for the upcoming cycling season before the 10 weeks training.

Feel free to donate to my livestrong challenge campaign. Its for a great cause.
Chucks Livestrong Challenge

CardiacKid

That is the plan I used for my first century last October. The weather here in September and October was incredibly hot, so I wasn't able to follow it exactly, but I did get close.
So it isn't something that is written in stone, but it is a good guide.

VosBike

I did my first century after 9 weeks road biking with a plan very very similar to that. I just started on the second week and had no problems sticking to it. On the day of the century I felt almost overprepared, it worked excellenty. Good luck

ericgu

That's the traditional approach to doing a century - I think it's originally from bicycling magazine. It's pretty old.

My opinion is that riding 6 days a week is too much for most recreational cyclists - I don't think most people have that much time to spend, and the risk of burning out is too great.

My first century, I rode about an hour mon-wed-fri and then a longer ride on the weekend. I finished, but it was tough.

The second year, I typically rode 3 days a week, but my rides were longer and more challenging. I didn't ride more than 55 miles in a single ride before the century, but did lots of group rides. My time was a lot faster and a lot more fun.

If you can find a group in your area to do rides with, I think you can learn a lot, and get a good workout.

I would suggest two other things:

1) If you can find time to ride at least part of the course in pieces, do it. A hill that you've never climbed before is much worse than one that you've done.

2) Find time to do 3 hour rides at whatever pace you find comfortable. Don't worry if it's not very fast. Use this time to learn how to eat and drink on the bike - that is your biggest challenge. You might also try some good sports drinks to see how they work for you.

crich959

I definitly agree that 6 days a week is a bit much given my work schedule and I'd rather have a training program that is realistic for me. So I guess I should adjust this one a bit. Thanks