100 mile training

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stephen.rooke

Senior Member
doing a 100mile ride in september. most ive ridden so far is 65miles. i feel with good nutrition while riding i could prob do the 100 miles now. im curious to hear what training you think i should be doing.

im currently riding to work 4/5 times a week (7 miles each way) and if im on an earlier shift ill go back out and do another 20 miles or so.

on my days off i've been doing some 30-50 mile rides but with more of an emphasis on intervals and climbing. should i continue with the shorter 30mile or so rides which are more vigorous or focus on building endurance by putting in loads of miles every week.

biggest factor for me since starting has been weight but ive lost 3stone now and also got myself a lighter / faster bike. hills are definately easier now.
 

MattHB

Proud Daddy
You have a very similar story to me. I did my first 100 mile charity ride on the 1st July with very similar achievements to yourself. I did it easily, and could have probably done another 20 or so.

You could do the 100 now. A sportive though is a different story to a charity ride depending on what your goals are. I kept a 14mph average over 7hrs 16mins, which wouldnt be fast enough for a silver time.

just carry on as you are, put more 65's in and the odd 75 if you can manage it.. if not purely to test bike comfort and nutrition planning.
 

fuji-stu

Well-Known Member
I would say you need to have done a hundred mile ride or just under before hand, by building up the miles week on week so that your doing 90 to 100 miles a week or so before the event, and then do next to nothing for a week, I would prob not bother riding to work during this time and concentrate on doing some intervals or hill work once or twice a week with plenty recovery In-between, this is how I trained for the Fred whitton this year with guidance of a guy who trains people for this kind of thing and found it worked really well. I found the hardest part the tapering down the week before the event I felt like I should have been doing more
 

Edwards80

Über Member
Location
Stockport, UK
I just did my first 100 mile ride this weekend.

I've been commuting 20 miles a day most days for the last 6 months and doing fast (for me) 30-40 mile rides or more steady 60-80 mile rides at the weekend.

I ended up doing 143 miles in total on Sunday and to be honest could have carried on. I think once you get over a certain distance it just comes down to pacing yourself and eating/drinking enough.

Sounds like you will be fine :biggrin:
 

MattHB

Proud Daddy
I just did my first 100 mile ride this weekend.

I've been commuting 20 miles a day most days for the last 6 months and doing fast (for me) 30-40 mile rides or more steady 60-80 mile rides at the weekend.

I ended up doing 143 miles in total on Sunday and to be honest could have carried on. I think once you get over a certain distance it just comes down to pacing yourself and eating/drinking enough.

Sounds like you will be fine :biggrin:

Awesome :smile: :cheers:
 
U

User482

Guest
If you can ride 60-70 miles at a good pace and not be completely shattered afterwards, 100 miles shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. I don't think you need to do any training other than to get out on your bike regularly. If you're looking to bag a quick time, that's a different matter.
 

Hip Priest

Veteran
Interesting thread, as I was about to ask the same question! I fancy doing the 91 mile Northern Angel sportive in a couple of weeks, and the ride to-and-from the start should round it up to 101 miles.

In the last few weeks I've done a 70 mile and a 63 mile at a rolling average of around 15mph, without feeling too tired.

I'd not be going for a quick time, just a finish to break that 100 mile barrier.

What d'ya reckon? Anyone had any experience of completing an imperial century having only gone as far as 70 miles before?
 

Camrider

Well-Known Member
Location
Cambridge
The jump from 65 miles to 100 is not that huge. I'm fairly new to Audax rides and did my first 160k (100m) ride having previously only ridden 100k rides without any extra training and did not find the step up too great (did my 1st 200 k the week after as well), so it sounds like your current schedule will stand you in good stead, unless as has already been stated you you looking to ride it at a faster pace than you are used to.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Riding a long distance isn't as hard as people think it is! I'm not really superfit these days and am very overweight but I can go out and do hilly 100 km rides or flatter 100 mile rides without totally killing myself.

The difference between me and the people who worry about doing long rides isn't really one of fitness, but the fact that I know from experience that I can do it, know how to pace myself, and make sure that I eat and drink enough.

I took a long time to do my first 100 mile ride because I was intimidated by the idea, but when I did finally decide to do one, I stepped straight up from a longest ride of about 65 miles to the full 100 miles in one big jump.

Riding a long distance quickly - that's a whole different ballgame - you do have to be fit to do that! :thumbsup:
 

Hip Priest

Veteran
The difference between me and the people who worry about doing long rides isn't really one of fitness, but the fact that I know from experience that I can do it, know how to pace myself, and make sure that I eat and drink enough.

It's definitely a psychological thing with me.

I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and give it a go. What's a good nutrition strategy for a slowish 100 miler? 500ml of water & a bit of something to eat each hour?
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
What's a good nutrition strategy for a slowish 100 miler? 500ml of water & a bit of something to eat each hour?
That should be fine.

Obviously, it varies from individual to individual and on weather conditions etc. but I aim to drink about 500 mL an hour, more on really hot days.

I find it easier to get most of my calories in liquid form so I take my DIY energy drink rather than plain water. If a cafe stop wasn't planned, I'd probably take a few cereal bars and perhaps a bar of chocolate and buy a sandwich at a shop somewhere en route. I'll often buy a bottle of Coke at about 75 miles for a sugar/caffeine hit and also as a bit of a psychological boost if I'm flagging.

You definitely need to be comfortable on your bike for a long ride. A niggling problem can become a nightmare as the hours and miles stack up. I've done century rides where I started to develop saddle sores after 40 or 50 miles and the second halves of those rides were really unpleasant! :wacko:
 

MattHB

Proud Daddy
did my first longer distance ride for a while, 50miles, beat loads of prs on strava but legs were getting tired, probably because i havent done one for a while but should soon be able to work my way back up

http://app.strava.com/rides/13201774

If you're beating PR's at the same time as trying to push your distance you're probably not giving yourself the best chance of settling into higher mileage's. Steady was the key for me, worry about faster later.
 
U

User482

Guest
ColinJ gives good advice. As I said, the jump from say 70 to 100 miles really isn't that big a deal, in terms of fitness. It's more about pacing, nutrition and comfort. As an illustration, this year I stepped up from 110 to 143 miles as the furthest I'd ever ridden in a day. Yet because I deliberately kept my speed down for the first 70 miles, and had plenty of food and water, I was surprisingly ok at the end. I felt much worse on the 80 mile ride I did the week before, where I didn't eat enough and went off too quickly.
 

Garz

Squat Member
Location
Down
I would throw in a long ride every other weekend to top up your endurance. This can be near to the distance as long as you know you have covered this before the event. If the sportive or whatever event it may be is hilly work intervals on other days on the hills. Finding the right nutrition (tastey, agrees with your stomach) and drinks etc will be the minor things to iron out before.
 
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