Hammer02

Hey all...I am signed up to to do the LiveStrong challenge in August of next year....I know it's early but I want to make sure I plan appropriately.

My goal isn't to just ride the 100...that shouldn't be an issue although I hear the course is quite hilly. I want to make sure I can ride it Sub 6 hours. So finish and finish respectably.

Other than the obvious...."ride lots" answer....what would be a basic training program to prep for a sub 6 hour Century in the months prior to the actual ride?

I'd like to hear of course, from those who actually have ridden a sub 6 hour century.

umd

What's quite hilly? And yes I have.

ericm979

You know, I had to think for quite a while to figure out if I'd finished a century in under 6 hours and was thus qualified to answer. Fortunately they time the KOM series and the Heartbreak Hundred is 100 miles, and I managed to finsh that in 6th, just under 6 hours.

The book "The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling" (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-.../dp/1579541992) is
a good resource for general century (and beyond) training and riding.

Most of the century training plans like Bicycling Magazine's plan are good plans for finishing a century, but you are looking for going kinda fast too. Still, they are a start for a training plan.

I would recommend setting intermediate goals such as finishing a century, assuming you haven't done one yet. If you have, you still want to pick some events leading up to your "A" event to use for training, checking your fitness and for getting the whole century process down and figuring out your routine. The less you have to think about when it is time to eat, how fast to go, what to carry, etc, the more energy you can put into the ride and the less likely you are to make a mistake.

Machka 

1. Have you done a century before?

2. Yes, I qualify to answer the question ... out of the 139 centuries and longer distances I've done, I have done a couple 6 hour centuries.

3. Here's my century article: https://www.machka.net/century.htm

umd

Hehe, I've quite a few centuries this year. A lot of them were not "pure" or were mixed in with other things, e.g. group ride, stop at coffee shop, cruise home then go for a casual ride with my wife, so some are slower than others. But some of them were fairly fast... There are a handful in there that are under 6 hours total time (i.e. including stops), and probably half of them are under 6 hours riding time.

Anyway, to the OP, what's the longest you've ridden so far. You say you don't think 100 miles will be a problem, which leads me to think you've never done it. Most people who have not ridden that distance hit a wall around 70 miles in. Don't assume that it will be easy, it may not be if you are not used to it.

In general, the key is nutrition and pacing. If you want to do it fast, it just makes those even more important.

Jim from Boston

I do a ten week training program that I saw published in BICYCLING MAGAZINE years ago, and retrieved from the Mt. Diablo Cycling Club website, though it has been removed the last time I looked. There are two variations, called Easy Century Training, or With Strength to Spare. I do the latter one, and it is about the most time I can spare to train. Fortunately I commute, so that's where I do it by lengthening my usual 14 mile distance. I find that the schedule motivates me to do keep up, and it's very satisfying to plug the data into my Excell spreadsheet and watch the charts expand.

I don't consider myself a strong rider, but I did my best century (actually 107.5 miles because I got lost ;-) in 6:58 at about 15.4 mph, with about 40 miles in a paceline and about 60 miles solo. My modification of the plan is to make Sunday my rest day, and Saturday is my century day. This won't print on the Forum as a nice table, but I think you can figure it out:

WITH STRENGTH TO SPARE:
Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. Weekly
Easy* Pace* Brisk* Pace* Pace* Pace* Mileage
10 12 14 Off 12 40 15 103
10 13 15 Off 13 44 17 112
10 15 15 Off 15 48 18 123
11 16 19 Off 16 53 20 135
12 18 20 Off 18 59 22 149
13 19 23 Off 19 64 24 162
14 20 25 Off 20 71 27 177
16 20 27 Off 20 75 27 177
17 20 30 Off 20 75 32 194
19 20 30 Off 10 5 Easy Century 184

1,516

EASY CENTURY TRAINING:
Week Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. Weekly
Easy* Pace* Brisk* Pace* Pace* Pace* Mileage
1 6 10 12 Off 10 30 9 77
2 7 11 13 Off 11 34 10 86
3 8 13 15 Off 13 38 11 98
4 8 14 17 Off 14 42 13 108
5 9 15 19 Off 15 47 14 119
6 11 15 21 Off 15 53 16 131
7 12 15 24 Off 15 59 18 143
8 13 15 25 Off 15 65 20 153
9 15 15 25 Off 15 65 20 155
Cent Week 15 15 25 Off 10 5 Easy Century 170

1,240

Richard Cranium

"Actual training" for a Century is as simple as performing rides on roads that are much like the Century route at speeds that are much like the goal-speed set for the Century.

In other words, you should setting up some trainings rides - perhaps 34-35 miles in two hours, 50 miles in three hours, etc etc.... If and when you you can accomplish those kinds of rides, you repeat them on more difficult, perhaps hillier routes.

The more often you can accomplish these rides, the more likely you'll stand up to the 100 miler...

Good luck.

umd

Where did the OP go?

Machka 

They come ... they post ... they go.

Happens all the time up in the Long Distance forum.

Hammer02

I don't know yet....I am referring to the Livestrong Challenge in Philadelphia. If it is the same course as last year then people who rode it said it has a lot of hills with some being 20% grade. I don't know what the total elevatioin is or any specifics, they haven't even released the actual course.....so I have to speak in generalities for now.

Hammer02

No...only a metric century.

Hammer02

60-70 is the longest and yes I did hit a wall and was in better shape.

I have a decent amount of time but I want to start asap.....for the next month or two I just want to build my base back up as I was off the bike for most of the summer unfortunately.

Hammer02

I went to work, I stopped at Wal Mart to get some groceries....I caught a movie with the wife....I went lots of places.

Where'd you go?

Machka 

OK, first ... go ride a century but don't focus on speed, focus on finishing. Can you fit one in during the next few weeks?

Then, a few weeks later, go ride another century and work on smoothing out some of the difficulties you had on the previous century. But again, focus on eating and drinking properly, arranging your bicycle and gear so that its all comfortable, and stuff like that rather than speed.

Then, a few weeks later, go ride another century, and this time you can start working on speed.

Hammer02

So train...eat right...drink water.

That's your advice....I wish I'd thought of that.

I am after something a bit more structured, if such a thing even exists. If the secret is to ride lots then I guess you can't put a square peg in a round hole.

Machka 

First ... ride lots. Do the century distance a few times and get comfortable with it. Maybe even ride a couple 200K brevets to become comfortable with longer distances. And yes, eating and drinking are a very important part of riding longer distances ... you found that out when you hit the wall at 60 miles. You weren't eating right.

Once you've feel comfortable with the distance, then work on something a bit more structured.

It's the same if you were racing ... you'd do base miles for a few months and build up to the point where you can ride the distances comfortably, and then you'd work on speed.

ericm979

If your 6 hour time goal is elapsed time, you'll have to do some thinking about rest stop strategy, so you won't be wasting time at stops. One tip: look at the routes for the shorter options. Rest stops that are for the long ride only will be less crowded than stops for multiple routes.

Get in a lot of practice on short steep climbs. Bring gearing that's low enough. Keep in mind that on long rides you want to turn a slightly lower gear on climbs so your legs don't get tired too soon.

August in Philly can be pretty hot. If you do some long hot rides before the event you can acclimitize to the heat. Also, don't use your air conditioning in the car, to increase your heat exposure and acclimitization. Most modern Americans think they'll melt if they are not parked under an air conditioner at all times, forgetting that it didn't kill their grandparents.

Use the long hot rides to figure out your electrolyte needs. It's different for everyone, but anyone who has experienced it will agree that hyponatremia sucks.

umd

Well seeing as how you originally posted yesterday.... I don't think it was unreasonable to wonder if you were ever actually coming back to answer followup questions.

Anyway, where did I go? I actually did 102 miles with 9,600 feet of climbing in 6 hours

"hilly" is such a nebulous concept as to be meaningless. One person's idea of hilly is pancacke flat to another. Short punchy climbs or rollers have to be handled differently than long sustained climbs. I am more of an aerobic engine and prefer the long climbs but some people are better suited for the anaerobic-oriented power climbs. If you want to do the course fast and it is lots of rollers your training would be better to be more interval based, over threshold and recover, over and over... If they are long climbs you are better served working on increasing your threshold or your ability to suffer at/near/over threshold for longer.

That "wall" is not so much a matter of the shape you are in as much as it is about your nutrition strategy during the ride. Although the fitter you are or the more your body is acclimated, the less the nutrition matters.

Hammer02

Good advice...but I will be training all summer in the Georgia heat....I think Philly should seem tame in comparison but ya never know....they could pop a heat wave and hit triple figures too.

Hammer02

You the man...that's much better than Wal-Mart.

Yeah I know....but hilly is all I have right now. Once the course is set I can find the elevation and grade figures. I want to try and train for the worst. Any recommended reading or websites on the interval training?

I had no strategy....I didn't eat anything other than a Clif bar about 2/3 of the way through because I was rapidly wearing out.

Garfield Cat

If you want something really structured, it means a coach who knows your current abilities, your state of conditioning. Otherwise, its trial and error. The school of hard knocks.

August is a long way off, that means you can be doing some solo centuries. Just do it.

umd

That's really the key, figuring that out. Unfortunately it mostly comes with experience but you should err on the side of eating early and eating more if you don't know.

Anyway, I was finally able to download the data from my ride. A hair over 6 hours, sorry. That's what I get for waiting for people

Entire workout (164 watts):
Duration: 5:44:17 (6:03:17)
Work: 3393 kJ
TSS: 288 (intensity factor 0.708)
Norm Power: 198
VI: 1.21
Pw:HR: 0.95%
Pa:HR: -16.35%
Distance: 102.522 mi
Elevation Gain: 12279 ft
Elevation Loss: 12223 ft
Grade: 0.0 % (56 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 561 164 watts
Heart Rate: 73 xxx 149 bpm
Cadence: 1 122 84 rpm
Speed: 0 xx.x 17.9 mph
Altitude: 1123 4109 2928 ft
Crank Torque: 0 828 169 lb-in

Machka 

Aim for 250-300 calories per hour. And while you're at it, aim for about one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink per 1-1.5 hours as well.

Hammer02

What do you use to collect that kind of data?

umd

I amazed that some people can drink that much