Originally Posted by
Bassmanbob
I'm training for a half century ride on my 50th birthday, April 24. For about two months, I had been riding up to 30 miles for my Saturday morning rides. Since then, I've been increasing my weekend ride by 10% every two weeks. This weekend was my second weekend to do 37 miles. The next two weekends will be 40.
FYI: Tuesday rides are 11-18 miles of up and down hills, Thursday rides are flat 8-11 miles and Sunday (optional) are a light, slow 5-8 miles.
Concern: During my 37 mile ride this weekend, I felt like I was in the middle of a bonk at about mile 31- 32.
4. Am I over thinking this because I am already at 37 miles, eight weeks before my half century?
I just don't want to bonk that day......Thanks in advance for your replies.
Any health issues that can impact your endurance? Drinking? Good daily hydration habits?
Those gels could be screwing with you. Try to stick with whole foods.
I think you'll see your best improvement by upping your Tuesday and Thursday rides to at least 20 and 30 respectively. What you're doing for base mileage per ride is a bit short compared to your goal. Try and get to a point where your "short" ride is 20 miles. Metabolism does interesting things once you've been out there for a bit. Maybe you're just not engaging your bodies endurance metabolism enough and training it up, just a hunch I have based on my own experience.
If you want to ride 50, work so that 35 is an easy ride.
How are you riding? Beating the hell out of yourself? What is your perceived effort?
Try to approach your rides so that at the halfway point you feel fresh and basically just limbered up. Increase your effort marginally for the last third. Don't kill yourself, or at least do so when you want too...nothing wrong with maxxing yourself out, flopping over in your saddle, hanging over your handlebars drooling and panting...there's a time & place for it.
I don't recommend bonking, but it's good to know roughly when it will happen. I mean a real bonk, what many people describe as a bonk isn't the real deal... I couldn't get up off the ground when I had mine, head was swimming every time I tried, took about 45 minutes before I felt confident enough to stand.