Couch to 1400k

[Nebulous]

Anyone got a couch to 1400k programme?

I've been successful in getting a place on LEL, 1433 km in 5 days and am looking for any advice anyone can offer to give me some chance of completing it! I'd rather not hear, "you'll never make it." or "You should have started two years ago." I am where I am as the saying goes.

I started cycling seriously about seven years ago, but following an accident with a car I reduced my leisure cycling but still commute a short distance, with occasional fair-weather long rides. I also do a couple of sessions a week on a gym bike.

The most I have ever done was a 300k audax, the snow roads which I completed in about 15 hours.

I'm going to Gran Canaria in mid-March for a couple of weeks holiday - which now means bike hire and putting some serious miles in.

So how do you train for long-distance endurance cycling, instead of for speed or power?

 

[Dogtrousers]

No advice but I love the thread title.

Good luck!

 

[Nebulous]

You need to join a club and be riding a lot I'd say, 178 miles in a day is a lot.
If it was me I'd be trying to do at least a hundred each day at the weekend, when is it?

It's the end of July. I'm certainly intending putting in 2 long days at the weekend at some points, possibly take a Friday or Monday off and do 3, but I can't do that every weekend - that would be an occasional event. I'll probably sign up for one or more 300s and at least one 400 audax before then as well.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I'd ask the organizers of the event for a rough guide regarding how much you need to be doing. Hopefully they will be able to tell you. Its being able to sit on the bike for that long each day that will be hard.Ask on Audax UK on Facebook as well, theres alot on there who do big rides.

Ask on Audax Ecosse Facebook rather than Audax UK

 

[mjr]

So how do you train for long-distance endurance cycling, instead of for speed or power?

I'd build up the distances if I were you, but you're going to have to ramp up pretty quick. 178miles/day for 5 days is more than I've ever done (I think I about 50/day for 6 last year) but I'd start riding with groups as much as possible and then add in solo rides once I'd got a bit more experience. Scour any nearby Audaxers and open clubs for some 30s, then some 50s, then some 100ks, then some 100miles, then anything longer, plus add in a load of back-to-back solo long rides. You may end up putting a bike on cars and trains a fair bit to get to some suitable group rides early on. Look at what blogging long-distance cyclists have done, especially if they built up to it quickly. Good luck!

 

[jay clock]

This blog is a good read and has sections about his training if you ferret around https://theadventurecapitalist.wordpress.com

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Ask @Edwardoka and @Fubar hoe they are doing it.
Actually it would be very interesting if the three of you could start a thread with your training activities/nutrition/bike tweaks leading to the event

 

[Nebulous]

Ask @Edwardoka and @Fubar hoe they are doing it.
Actually it would be very interesting if the three of you could start a thread with your training activities/nutrition/bike tweaks leading to the event

Are they doing it? I didn't know that. @ajaxbay over on the LEL thread in the audax section is also in.

A training log would be good for me, but I'm not sure that it would be of much interest to others.

For example:- I normally do 2-3 gym sessions most weeks, with a mix of intervals and longer steady sessions. Since getting in on Friday I've decided to slow them down and lengthen them. So Saturday 1 hour at 180 watts. Sunday 1.5 hours at 180 watts. Monday 1 hour at 180 watts Wed 50 minutes at 180 watts plus 5 sets of 1min 130 watts and 1 min standing 270 watts .

I've no means of recording my heartrate in the gym. The bike only works with polar straps and I have garmin. The aim however would be to do longer steady sessions, maybe two hours at 180 watts and see a decreasing heart-rate as I get fitter. Maybe I need to take my garmin to the gym. Speaking of which, I'm trying to limit my purchases, but I'm not the best navigator in the world and I have a 5 year old garmin 500. I'm thinking of upgrading to a new 520. Would navigation on the 520 be good enough to find the turns / junctions? I know charging is going to be an issue, so another purchase may be 3 battery packs. One to carry and two to leave at bagdrops on the route.

Do you think that kind of information is of any interest to anyone other than me?

 

[mjr]

Do you think that kind of information is of any interest to anyone other than me?

Yes. There's plenty of people who are interested in this but can't see themselves ever doing it (or ever again). In return you'd probably get some encouragement and conflicting advice... and maybe some heckling but don't listen to it.

 

[vickster]

I'd say you simply need to ride your bike a lot... including overnight and while sleep deprived. No amount of gym work will prepare you for an endurance cycle event like this I would say. Also not sure what an HRM will do. Physical and potentially mental exhaustion are the things you'll need to prepare for. Ride rather than gym if you can. Have you got the super long training audaxes in the diary too.

Good luck

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've no means of recording my heartrate in the gym. The bike only works with polar straps and I have garmin.

Polar transmitters are relatively cheap. So if having the wrong kind of transmitter is an issue it can be rectified for about £20. You wouldn't need to buy the receiver too. (I'm just making a note about the cost. I'm entirely ignorant of training methods and their efficacy or otherwise).

You may already have read it, but there's discussion by some LEL & PBP vets on here, in this thread. (Edit. Of course you've read it. You were part of the discussion. Doh!)

 

[Nebulous]

Polar transmitters are relatively cheap. So if having the wrong kind of transmitter is an issue it can be rectified for about £20. You wouldn't need to buy the receiver too. (I'm just making a note about the cost. I'm entirely ignorant of training methods and their efficacy or otherwise).

You may already have read it, but there's discussion by some LEL & PBP vets on here, in this thread.

My Garmin stores the data and gives me graphs and keeps a record on my computer. A polar strap will give me a live reading in the gym, but wont keep any records. It would still be better than nothing though. Worth considering,thanks.

 

[mmmmartin]

Disregard all this. If you overtrain you'll be too tired to finish. LEL is several 200k rides between controls, at each control you have masses of free food and somewhere to sleep if you want to. Go to YACF where there is a whole thread on LEL. Don't worry, you have plenty of time to get ready, lots will be in your position. I'd suggest a 200k each week, with a 300k in there occasionally. You can over-worry about heart rate, losing weight, etc. When push comes to shove, you need to do 13kph on average for 1,400k. That'll mean less sleep than you normally get. It'll boil down to guts in the end. Good luck.

 

[PMarkey]

I started cycling again in 2012 and did a 100km then a 200km Audax in March-April of that year then didn't get on the bike again but decided in 2013 to do LEL so started by doing a few rides of 10-20 km and rode an Audax a month until June starting with a couple of 200km rides and then moved up to a 300km in April,. a 400km in May and a 600km in June followed by another 600 in early July which gave me a super randonneur it also allowed me to get comfortable on the bike and find out what worked and did not work nutrition wise plus what clothing I needed and what things I needed to carry on the bike . I then rode LEL and finished with no problem even though I effectively ended up riding single speed when my right hand shifter packed in 2km into the ride The main thing I failed to do was work on my speed,long steady distance is great but the faster you go the more sleep you get

Paul

 

[jay clock]

Sod all the gym work and technology. Get out on your bike in dark and unpleasant conditions. Make sure you can cycle a long way whilst navigating. Practise eating what you will be eating. Practise riding tired. Rinse and repeat

All of above said from my guesswork. Never going to be a LEL person! But doing a few Ironmans has taught me that as long as you have done a reasonable amount of physical training then it is the mental bit which is toughest.