sen2two

I have been getting ready for the Horrible Hundred ride in the Central Florida area. Although, I got a late start for this already because, well..... Life.

The ride is on Nov. 18. Which is about 3 weeks away. I haven't ridden at all in 2 weeks. Just getting over what felt like a mixture of a bad Flu and Bronchitis. Instead of medicine, I seem to go for comfort food which is off limits year round usually. So, I've gained a few pounds as well.

So.... If you were in my shoes, what kind of training regimen would you be looking at? Also, I work during the day and can only ride shorter distances Monday-Friday. But I make up for it by pulling my kid in a trailer. But these rides are only about 1 hour rides. Basically looking for workouts that can supplement for riding during the week. Then put in a 50-60 Mile ride on the weekend.

My normal workout is usually one of these 2 routines when not on the bike. Which I will do 2-3 times a week.

For 10 sets (Adds up to 100, 200, 300, 400)

10 Pull ups
20 Push Ups
30 AB Wheel
40 Squats

------------------

Run 1 Mile

For 10 sets (Not including the run, only start and finish)
10 Pull ups
20 Push Ups
30 Squats

Run 1 Mile

----------

But I am needing to focus more on leg strength and endurance for the muscle group that will benefit me on this ride.

Any tips?

clasher

If you can crank out a 50-60 mile ride without any problems you should be okay to do a century. If you've never done one before just ease up on your pace a bit and take advantage of any feed stations along way. I don't know that 3 weeks is enough to really do much with the strength training but I'd take a couple days off it before the event so you're fresh.

DrIsotope

Just don't overdo it in the upcoming weeks. I looked at the route map for the 2017 ride (the 2018 maps aren't available yet?) and 4,300ft over 100 miles isn't exactly, well... horrible. I didn't see a single climb gaining more than 200 feet, and nothing over ~7%.

As said, if you're doing 50-60 mile rides on the weekends, the century should be no problem.

pdlamb

"Last minute training" usually needs to be relaxing and taking a few days off. Since you've already been off, and have three weeks to go, you can do a few rides to try to regain your former conditioning. See how far you can ride comfortably this weekend up to 40-50 miles, and repeat next two weekends, with some shorter rides during the weeks. Nothing hard for a week before the ride. There's nothing worse than sagging in while thinking to yourself, "Maybe I shouldn't have done that hard ride Thursday..."

rando_couche

This.

unterhausen

recovery rides only for the last week. Up until then, do whatever seems to make you faster. I like to do a high intensity workout once a week.

DGoodrow

Spend some time looking for a Horrible Fifty...

unterhausen

for me, I can fake it up to 400km. Longer than that I have to be in good shape. So I wouldn't try too hard to achieve a training effect at this point

OldTryGuy

It's called Horrible Hundred because 4,000' in 100 miles IS HORRIBLE for a 100 miler in much of Florida. The killer climb is Sugarloaf Mtn. and appearing at the 80+ mile mark it is a challenge for many...

My suggestion is to save yourself for Sugarloaf and attack it like there's no tomorrow. That would be very impressive and satisfying.

ENJOY !!!

DrIsotope

Y'all should get some hills installed over there. I did 3,900ft in 28 miles on Tuesday, and that wasn't even a mountain ride. Right on target for 400,000 vertical feet this year-- and I routinely go out of my way to avoid climbing.

I mean, once the Strava challenge is done each month, what's the point of going up any more hills?

Carbonfiberboy 

What I do in that situation is do a couple long weekend rides. Why limit to 50-60 miles? Ride a couple double metrics, then taper that last week. In between just do a few moderate 1 hour rides. "Horrible" is 120'/mile.

Don't bother with exercises or running. Counterproductive at this point - waste of energy. Just ride your bike.

unterhausen

That's pretty impressive, not sure I could come up with a 30 mile route that had that much climbing. OTOH, I worked pretty hard to make the flattest 200 km route I could and only managed to get it down to 5300 feet of climbing. I have been scheming to come up with a double loop with less, but I'm not sure it would work.

jon c. 

I don't understand how the route can climb as much as it does. You don't seem to have discernible hills down there. We have hills in the panhandle and it would still be hard to plot that much climbing. Average elevation change would leave you at about 75% of that mark. The moniker is definitely accurate by my standards.

DrIsotope

My Horrible Hundred (and Eight.) What I thought would be a good idea was to ride 42 miles, proceed to climb 4,500ft in ~23 miles, then ride 43 miles home. I didn't eat enough, and the last 90 minutes or so was all above 100º. I was properly knackered.



I think the rolling, bump-filled route in Florida would be less... horrible. I mean, horrible by Florida standards, but less horrible to the blithering idiot that thought that ride was a good idea.

unterhausen

Okay, I hate to be that guy, but it's a 250 foot hill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarl...ntain_(Florida)
Aren't there overpasses over waterways taller than that? Just looked at the 2015 route, it's choppy. There are lots of hills that are similar to Sugarloaf. But call me up to whine about climbing when there are 10 miles of climbing starting at the 180 mile mark https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27206349
I will admit to whimpering when I saw that climb on the route profile.

I have ridden with some Floridians that are much better climbers than me. The place their skills fall apart is on descents.

DrIsotope

I like the Strava elevation profiles for rides in places like Florida or the Netherlands. There will be these massive, craggy peaks and valleys on the ride plot, and then when you look at the scale on the left, the bottom is at zero (sea level) and the highest point is like 120 feet.

Mine just looks like it has a big bump in the middle, but the low point is about 850ft, and the high is over 5,000ft. The gentle "rolling" section in the first 30 miles gains about 900 feet.

OldTryGuy

On a 137 miler last week I had 253' climbing that included 4 bridges over the intercoastal waterway, so a 250' rise after 80 miles with temps possibly in the upper 80°F and high humidity can be challenging when most riding done doesn't even hit the 250' for 100 miles. I agree that it really isn't HORRIBLE but it still is a challenge for us FLAT-LANDER'S.

First of 3 Six Gap rides was at age 65 and I don't consider it to be HORRIBLE with its 11,000'+ in 103 miles just very challenging.

unterhausen

Well, as a climber, the best that can be said is that I'm a good descender. There are three secrets to climbing on long distance rides: don't climb at high power, have gears low enough to keep cadence high, and eat

250 feet is long enough that exceeding FTP is going to hurt later efforts. If you are riding with people that insist on riding up longer hills at 500 watts, drop them off the front and you will probably catch them later.

Since the OP is somewhat concerned about his training, the best advice I can give is not to go too hard on the hills. It doesn't get you anywhere anyway.

Bassmanbob

This will be my third Horrible Hundred... well, my second. I didn't train enough for it two years ago and did the 38 mile option. Actually I got lost for 8 miles and did the Horrible 46! I'm glad I didn't go for the full 100; it would have been hell. Last year I appropriately trained and did the full 100 with no walking up any hills. I felt really good after that. This year I want to see how much I've improved... I hope!

It's a really fun ride with 38, 70 and 100 mile options. Do the one you are ready for and do the 100 next year if you have to. Just enjoy it.