Originally Posted by
Duncan B.
Hiya,
I've been training and racing for 10 years now, and I can tell you that taking weeks off (because you're sick or injured) starts eating into the higher-intensity ends of your fitness first and foremost. If you took 2-3 months off, you'd not only lose most/all of your Anaerobic and Threshold-level fitness (read as: hill climbing-at-speed), but you'd start losing your basic aerobic fitness. "Use it or lose it" fully applies here. If you want to do well on a 100-mile ride, even if it's non-competitive, you need to do something during those 2-3 months to preserve at least your basic aerobic conditioning.
Originally Posted by
Psychocycles
My understanding is that fitness losses are not linear and highly dependent on your physiology. However, "average" losses would probably be in the 30-40+% range, but I think you should be able to gain back that ground fairly quickly. I took 10 months off the bike to travel and within a matter of a couple months after resuming training was back to the level I was before. The important part is you gained that level of fitness before so it should be easier to get back to that same level of fitness vs gaining that fitness to begin with.
Thanks for the responses! This gives me a good idea of what to expect. I am currently on track to put in my full 8 week training block, so I hope things work out well.
It is worthy to note probably that I do commute by bicycle to work every single day at a brisk pace and hilly route, although it is only 10 minutes / 2.5 miles each way. Also bike to a friends house for dinner once a week, which is 25 minutes each way. So it is not like I absolutely sat on the couch and did nothing, I still ride my bike daily, just not great distances. Hopefully that helps retain some muscle and aerobic fitness at least.
Originally Posted by
ThermionicScott
@
maartendc, lots of century first-timers fret about "getting a good time" when they should be focused on pacing themselves and finishing. You can always do the next one faster.
That is true. I surely will be trying to pace myself the first half of the ride, going slower than I think I need to. I guess I just want to finish strong and feeling good, rather than hitting a certain time. That is what I'm really training for. Thanks for the advice.