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Training for 100km
Has anyone got any tips or training regimes they wouldn't mind sharing for someone who is really trying to get their fitness levels to the right standards to complete a 100km race. I only really have time for 1 ride a week as I normally work 6-7 days a week. Most of my fitness comes from the gym and exercise bikes which I understand is not ideal but am willingly to take any tips...
Determination I have in abundance...
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Get some lights and go for a ride in the dark before or after work?
Ditch the bike at the gym, get a trainer for your bike and put in some sprints at home if you cant get out.
I dont think you can realistically expect not to be deep deep deep deep in the hurt box for a 100K enduro unless your doing some decent hours in the saddle that your going to be using during the race.
Don't forget that a lot of the pain that comes from spending 6-7 hours (this is the time I think you could aim for given your current position) on the bike doesn't come from the legs or cardio, a lot of your pain will come from the contact points on the bike, your ass, your hands.. then your back, neck, forearms and shoulders will all let you know how much fun your not having.. you need to get saddle time in your riding position.. the gym bike wont help you here.
Personally to finish around 6 hours, I need to be doing about 6-8 hours a week with 2-3K of climbing on the roadie, mostly commuting.. but thats just slow old me.
If I was in your position of being time poor I would just do one weekend ride of about 50-70k's on the MTB and then 4 or 5 30-40min interval sessions on my bike set up on the trainer ( these really hurt and are really really boring.. in fact the pain of thinking that I need to do them is nearly worse than actually doing them..) It will still hurt a lot but I would be able to complete the ride.
The link is my training profile from 2012. The reason I have included it is because I had a hip operation in the November of 2011 and didn't really get on the bike and do any serious training until March of 2012. I was able to complete Capital Punishment in around 6 flat and then followed that up with a fairly similar time 7 days later at dirt works. I lost a significant amount of weight in the lead up to the races and that helped a lot I had also been going to the gym pretty regulary whilst I was not on the bike as well as swimming. I think if you are fit and determined you will be ok. I have a friend of mine who would only really spend 3 hours on the bike a week and he is capable of a sub 5.30 100k. Those three hours are mostly hill reps up saddle back in Kiama and the rest of his week is spent in the gym and he has a very strict diet.
Id be looking to squeeze in a little more riding during the week if possible some night riding or commuting or evening crit races. Or failing that see if your gym has any spin spin classes that you could get to. I would then make your weekend ride as hard and as a long as possible and race as often as you can on the weekend you always push yourself harder in your racing.
Regards
http://www.strava.com/athlete/calendar/2012
The strava link doesn't work as it doesn't look at a specific profile so you just see your own calendar
I have no cpu skills So ill just do a run down
Jan
14 hrs 278kms longest ride 47ks
Feb
19 hrs 478 kms longest ride 60kms
March
18 hrs 436 kms longest ride 57 kms
April
29hrs 516 kms longest ride 100kms
Points is you can do a 6 hour marathon with limited riding under your belt
I will say, and I don't know if this makes a difference but at gym the time I spend is mostly cardio alot on stationary bike and I don't just cruise, I really push myself. If I do an hour on the bike I can make it feel harder than a lap around the dam.
I'll second spudatm in that you don't need to do huge hours of training to be able to complete a 100 respectably and without destroying yourself. You won't win it but you should be able to pitch in around 6 hrs on a few hard interval/commutes/gym sessions a week and one longer 2-3 hr ride on the weekend.
My normal ride load before a race (I won't call it training) has been 1-2 hard commutes a week (20km each way) and a 1-2 hr ride on most weekends. It's not ideal but when life gets in the way I will take what I can get. I find the commutes build up cardio and strength (treat them like intervals, strava is your friend) and the weekend ride stretches endurance out and makes a huge difference
Of course if you're looking to do faster than 6hrs it's a different story
If time is limited and cycle commuting is not an option, 2-3 spin classes a week + 2-3 hour ride mixed-pace non-stop ride on the weekend will take you a long way.
A good hard spin class is magic. It royally peeves me that with my new role and changes to the gym timetable I can't get to them any more.
Option 2 is a decent fluid trainer like a Kurt Kinetic, a BIG-arse fan, and a trip to Sufferlandria via the Sufferfest videos. Unlike other training videos that are deadly dull, these use footage from actual races to keep you motivated. They have a cult following.
http://www.thesufferfest.com/video-sufferfests/
http://vimeo.com/46138432
The quick answer to this is to just ride more - whenever you get the chance, ride.
You probably know that however.
100km is a long way, but its best (as someone else has aluded to) to think of it in time on the bike, rather than distance.
A couple of tips to make the most of your gym time: try and 'book-end' your daily sessions, so at times you are dealing with a greater cummulative fatigue. By this, I mean to try and train (for example) tues night, and then wed morning, and then weds night. Then take Thursday off completely. 3 sessions in 24hrs - but then a bigger recovery. Greater overload.
As humans, we are conditioned to think of daily sessions (the sun goes up and down etc) - but think of the sessions as blocks of work that build fatigue. Then give yourself a bit of time to get over it (24hrs+). This leads to adaptation more quickly than a 24hr / session approach.
If you have a spare 30mins one evening, get onto google and search "tabata training for cyclists" - it defys logic that such little training can bring such huge benefits....
That could be your answer.
I travel a bit with work, and sometimes have to do sessions in gyms on trainers and
Thanks for all the helpful hints. So I guess all I have to do is keep my legs spinning, push myself and make my sure I exercise in a way to make my body prepare for the pain that it will endure. I think I can make that work.