advice for a century
 

i am going to attempt a century ride in 11 weeks. how far do you guys ride to train. im not attempting any records etc, only to finish. i currently ride 45-50 on my long ride weekly and plan on increasing that about 5 miles a week for the next 10, week to rest, then ride. i hit a wall at 45 with major back an leg pain so hopefully can gut it out. any serious positive constructive advice would be greatly appreciated though. thanks

I rode my first century last year during RAGBRAI. My legs and lungs were fine. It sounds like yours will be too. At about the 60 mile mark I felt like I was running out of gas. I stopped at a convenience store and grabbed an energy drink and a Snickers bar. That picked me up almost immediately. I did take advantage of another stop at about the 70 mile mark to get out of the saddle and eat some real food. Nutrition and hydration are critical. That meal gave me a huge lift and I ended up flying through the last 30 miles. It was a second wind unlike any other I have ever experienced. Use chamois cream liberally. Sport Legs brand supplements seem to make a big difference to me. Ibuprofen taken prophylactically before the ride and at some point during the ride may help too. In hindsight the anxiety over it was probably the worst part.

thanks for the advice an encouragement. greatly appreciated.

Start riding 75 miles.

Drink a 16 Can Cola when you need a Boost.

If you're having "major back and leg pain" gutting it out for 50-60 miles is not an option. Sounds like you need a bike fit.

Is this going to be a self sponsored century or part of an organized event with SAG stops? If so, stop at the SAG stops to refuel up. Lots of fluids, and eat food. If not, stop at local stores for water/energy drinks and sugary snacks. I love Little Debbies myself. Probably not good for the ride, but tastes so good.

again thanks for the info. i got the bike last year at the lbs but its my first foray into real riding. they said it was the right size but i have no idea. its a organized event, with sag stops every 10-15 miles. mentally im just planning on telling myself i have to go that far to the next stop until im done. im soooo excited, an anxious. may not be able to walk after but will finish. i just a ironman book an the guy uses soda for a boost also, interesting.

Stepping up to a century is no small feat. The first one I did I didn't know if I would survive the last 20 miles and I was riding 300+ miles a week. I got kinda got lost and ended up riding 120 miles. At about mile 100 I was pacing behind a farm tractor for a few miles lol. I just couldn't go any faster. The ones I've done since then have been much easier. Sugar is your friend if you feel like you're going to bonk. My favorite thing was a Coke and a candy bar. You'll be fine but don't think your first one will be easy.

I would not take a full week of rest, a couple of days should suffice. I know that if I take a full week off I lose quite a bit of conditioning

Try to gradually bump that distance up to 60 and then one 70 miler before the century ride. If you are still experiencing "serious leg and back pain" after 45 miles, then there is no reason to think that it might disappear at the century ride. There is no shame in that. We all have our limits.
MikeOK mentioned that he got lost on his first century. So did I, and ended up doing 117. Find out what's causing your pain. That way, you'll enjoy your long rides. A fully-supported century is a lot easier than doing 100M by yourself.

I agree, a week is too long to rest. Taper down your mileage that week and take one day off.

Got lost on my first, too, but did only 111 miles.

Your pain concerns me. It could be due to bad fit, lack of conditioning (probably not), bad technique, some medical/PT problem, or something else. Why not consult an MD to rule out medical problems and, maybe, to get a PT prescription?

Pain a sign that damage may be occurring. There's no point in forcing yourself to endure it for 50 miles and perhaps lose the ability to ride again for a long time. JMO, of course.

My limiting factor on a long ride is often comfort more than biking power. A sore butt, or sore arms and shoulders. I try to shift my hand positions a lot, and I have the bars set quite high, so that the drops are another comfortable position. Shift down, and stand up for 30 seconds occasionally, too.

Work on spinning a high cadence instead of slower, higher force pedaling. My legs are fresher this way, and my lower back muscles get sore if I do a long, high effort climb.

The stops will help. Just getting off the bike for a few minutes will be good, and you might be more likely to eat enough, too. It's easy to burn 2000 or 3000 calories on a 100 mile ride -- you can't digest enough food to offset this completely as you ride. (You should try the equivalent of a set of 15 mile rest stops on your longer rides, to make sure that the extra food doesn't cause problems.)

Just don't try to keep up with a group of riders if it doesn't match your pace. It's hard for me to drop off a group, I want to push harder to keep up. That's good for a shorter ride, but not a 100 mile one. I've set my own pace, and avoided "burning matches" along the way. Try to do climbs at a fairly easy pace, and sit in the draft if you find a compatible group.

Yes listen to your body. I made the mistake of ramping my training too fast one season and ended up getting bursitis in my hip. It took years to get over that and lots of pain. It set me back for that entire season. And just think, that's just another day for the pro racers.

You've got plenty of time to get ready. You can do a century with 60 mile long rides but it won't be pretty. There nothing like suffering though the last 20 miles.

I would take it easy, be aware of any pain that develops (may be lack of conditioning, bike fit, or too much too soon riding), and experiment with what you need to eat and drink. Be leery of advice to eat too much - if you're fit and gave sufficient milage, you don't need to constantly eat.

Get several 75 mile tides in, and ideally at least one 85 at a slow and comfortable pace.

I didn't have to eat alot either, you can overdo it. It's a personal thing, some of the guys I rode with had to eat every 10 or so miles. But I definately ate if I felt a bonk coming.

One approach is to increase Saturday or Sunday long rides on a weekly basis and take an easy week every 4th week.

Week 1: 55 miles
Week 2: 65 miles
Week 3: 75 miles
Week 4: 60 miles
Week 5: 70 miles
Week 6: 80 miles
etc.

That sort of thing. The idea is to take an easy week every 4th week so that you can recover. You will likely find that you come back stronger after and easy week.


-Tim-

thanks again for all of the advice. im 46 so it takes me a little longer to recover, but will add some short rides in the last week. i like the idea of ramping it up for three weeks then back off a little on the fourth.

It sounds like you're on the right track mileage-wise. Just be sure to increase your distances slowly and steadily, your knees will thank you. Be sure you have a solid fueling strategy in place. I trained for my first century last year with full strength gatorade and had nothing but watery powerade the day of the event. It was a long day. Something else that set me back, and I still have a tendency to do so, is going to strong too early. I was averaging around 14 mph for all my distance rides and ended up doing the first 40 miles at 17 mph! The real victory is in finishing, so, be sure you're conserving energy.

I did my first century last year and it's a great sense of accomplishment. But it was tough. Before that, I had ridden plenty 50, 60 and 70 milers. So I thought.. 50 isn't bad, just doubling that shouldn't be too bad. In the words of Ron White, "And I was wrong, mister!" From mile 50 to 80 was taxing mentally, then those last 20 miles are pretty grueling physically.

The hardest part for me was overcoming leg cramps and a sore butt. I should have spun more and mashed less to minimize the cramps, and shouldn't have had improper shorts resulting in a sore butt ...which I've since corrected. The second century went much better.

I would also recommend not monitoring the number of miles as you go. Just go out and enjoy the ride. Pace yourself and don't overly stress or put emphasis on the them until you get down near the end.

Have fun with it!

Agree with those saying don't try to eek out the better half of a century with major back and knee pain. If it is bad enough to consider major at 45, just think what it is going to be like at 60, 75, etc.

If it were me, I'd see how I was doing after increasing mileage for a few weeks. If that pain still is happening at 45 miles, you have issues that need medical advice. As for the ride, if they are offered I'd just ride a shorter route.

That's going to be the hottest part of the summer, wherever you're riding. So factor in heat conditioning too.

Texas spring can veer wildly from cool to hot in a single day. Makes it tricky to acclimate properly. So I limited myself to around 10-20 miles the first really hot days this year, riding at midday. Rest awhile, then ride again later when it's cooler.

Drink plenty of water. Drink when you're not even thirsty. If you're dehydrated and overheated you may feel nauseated and lose your desire for water, which aggravates the problem. Try a hydration backpack or handlebar/stem mounted bottle cages if you're not comfortable reaching down for your water bottle in a group ride or traffic -- if you worry about wobbling off your line it may subconsciously inhibit you from drinking. Hydration backpacks solve that problem. If it's a supported ride there should be plenty of places for pit stops. I've been on an unsupported century-plus in Baja where there were no porta potties, not even a cactus to duck behind to pee. Tends to influence ones hydration choices. I didn't want to be arrested in Mexico for public indecency.

Make sure your bicycle fits you and is set up properly for you.

See also ...

http://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...g-century.html