Well I did my first timed century event at the weekend, following a long period of relatively low volume, polarised training. The longest ride I had done prior to this event was 2.5 hours and most of my training rides were in the 1-2 hour range with short doses of VO2 max efforts and a few very intense Zwift races.
So how did it go? So, so really. I felt pretty strong on the steep punchy climbs in the first half and picked up a few PRs on the steepest segments, despite carrying a few kg more weight than previous 2 years. But then I faded a bit toward the end and started cramping on the second last climb. I did manage to stretch out and recover and got over the last big climb at a reasonable pace, but well down on my previous best. Overall time was slower than my previous 2 years, by a considerable margin.
I think the lack of Z2 volume training did hurt my overall endurance, although I felt stronger than ever on the critical climbs, particularly in the first 3 hours. I have another similar century event coming up in May, where I was very strong last year, so will be interesting to see how that goes.