lungimsam

...I will be out of the country a couple weeks due to family emergency, then back for a week before the century?

Anything I should/shouldn't do over that week when I return to help my fitness for the ride?

My first century. Training has been long rides on weekends and commuting during the week over the summer.

I am not a Rando person, just a lowly 15mph commuter.

mprelaw

Hard to say. Last year, I was called out of town unexpectedly, and was off the bike from August 8th through the 19th. I was able to do a century on September 8, and didn't feel like the lay-off hurt me much, if at all.

YMMV.

10 Wheels

You will be OK.

Last June I rode with Mary on a 100 mile ride.

She only had 2 training rides with a total of 55 miles for the entire year.

karenashg

I just got this: https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Danielsons.../dp/193403097X

I really like the workouts in it, and if you can take time to do them while you're away, that would at least help you with your core strength and stamina. Nothing to be done about the loss of saddle conditioning, but maybe your back, neck, and arms wouldn't be hurting along with your butt...

znomit

Its called extreme tapering. Just watch the carb loading.

Machka 

1. What is your longest ride in the last couple months?

2. Can you keep active while you're away ... long walks? some cycling?

ThermionicScott 

Or "strategic deconditioning."

Myosmith

If you were well trained for the century before the break, a couple of weeks is no problem as long as you continue with good nutrition and stay active. In fact, taking a week of light activity prior to such an event can actually improve performance (two weeks is stretching it). I don't know where you will be going but you can always do core exercises, walk/run, stretch/yoga, etc. Look for a gym or even bike rentals near where you will be. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to make up for lost time by overtraining when you return. You want to be healed up and fresh the morning of your century, not sore and tired.

Chris516

It depends on(at least to me), whether you are doing it on your own, with a group of cyclists', and whether it is organized.

I will be doing a (metric)century on 9-22-2013. The group that organizes it yearly is https://www.backroadscentury.org They just posted the routes a couple days ago and the (metric)century has rest stops at 12.7mi., 30.7mi., 43.6mi., and 56.6mi., before finishing at 65mi.. In my opinion that is too many rest stops to make it challenging. The (full)century has stops 25.4mi., 51.2mi., 64mi., 79.4mi., 92.4mi., and finishes at 100.9mi.. They should have stuck with the 25mi. legs to make that one challenging.

JimF22003

You're allowed to skip rest stops

brianogilvie 

I expect you'll be fine, though it depends on how long your long rides have been. 60-90 miles, no problem. If they're under half the century distance, though, it might be a challenge. But not because of the 2 weeks off. When you get back, I'd do a long ride ASAP after the return, then some short (10-20 mile) rides with some speedwork in the next few days, followed by at most 5-10 mile slow rides in the day or 2 before the century.

unterhausen

my understanding (from a while ago, science may have changed) is that anything less than 2 weeks off will not change your fitness. I have proven this to myself in the past, although for me it's hard not to gain weight with two weeks off. If there are fitness changes after two weeks off, they should be slight.

RISKDR1

the break could actually be beneficial. Especially if you have the base miles that you need. Pretty much nothing that you do two weeks before the event is going to add to your fitness in a significant way. What the break will do is heal any micro tears in muscles and allow your body to build its glycogen reserves. Just don't pig out on a high fat diet or take in a lot of sugar. Make sure you do daily full body stretching. If you were a sprinter or 10 k runner it could hurt your performance on race day but for long distance I don't think so.

skol

agree - try to get in some cardio while out of town if you can. Don't over train when you get back to "catch up"..enjoy the ride, eat and drink more than you think you need and have your mind right as its a mental game as you get tired.

Rapido

Take along a jump rope, do it the way boxers do, start out by doing just 50 jumps, and add 25 jumps more every session. Progressive overload. If there are stairs available, run them two at a time and keep a record of the time. Remember, progressive overload and start well within your present capacity and gradually add more duration. This will keep you in shape indefinitely.

NewToEndurance

I know this is an old post, but I've never done a multi-century before and I'm in even more of a desperate situation hah. I'm doing a race from Massachusetts to Connecticut June 24-26. I got a really late start on my training due to an injury, so I haven't worked my way up to a double-century in the training yet (though I have done multi-day training). I'm thinking about doing a back-to-back 75 mi day this Thurs & Fri, but a little concerned about overtraining since the event is in 10 days.

Below is a new thread I started but have yet to get responses (sorry about the bold, couldn't switch it). PLEASE HELP, and thank you!!
I'm doing the Tri-State Trek from Boston to Greenwich (CT) from June 24- 26. The trek is 270 miles over 3 days, about 90 miles/day.
A few months ago, right before I was set to begin my training, I tore my bicep and had surgery. Rehab has gone well, but I've only had ~5 weeks to train on a bike (2 of those weeks on a stationary bike).
Outdoor training rides I've done so far (8 total):

May 28th - 2 hrs
May 29th - 2.5 hrs

June 2nd - 3 hrs
June 3rd - 3.5 hrs
June 4th - 3.5 hrs

June 10th - 5.5 hrs
June 11th - 4.5 hrs
June 12th - 2.5 hrs

Now, with 10 days left,I'm looking for a plan to help me get to the finish line. I'm not backing out. It's for a cause a strongly believe in. My goal is to finish the race.
Can you please offer recommendations on how you would spend these remaining training days if you were me?

Relevant background:

- former college athlete (mid 30's now)
- been active since college with various sports including soccer and basketball
- NO endurance cycling experience; NO cycling-as-a-hobby experience (transportation in college, junior high)
- I understand training recovery: diet, rest, stretching, roll out/massage, etc.

I took this Thurs and Friday off of work to support any remaining training I need to do. (Training needs to conclude next Tues; I leave for Boston -from CA- next Wed).

unterhausen

there is not a lot of training you can do in the time you have left that will help. I suggest your training should be easy to recover from. A couple of ~60 mile rides in the first of the 2 weeks should be okay. My issue with multi-day rides has always been getting up and riding on the second day. Once I get 10 miles in, there aren't any problems continuing. So your second 75 mile ride could be a 25 mile ride instead.