Three Peaks Challenge
latw5
Posts: 54
Hi guys,
this is kind of off topic, but the major part of my training is done with cycling.
With a group of friends I am aiming to complete the 3 peaks challenge in early August - for anyone who doesn't know, the challenge is to walk up and down the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24hrs (including driving etc).
Anyway like i say, my fitness at the moment comes mainly from 3-4 rides a week of about 20-25 miles. I am hoping to do most of my training for this challenge on the bike, as i find it much more enjoyable to get out into the Warwickshire countryside than be stuck in a gym or running round the streets of Coventry.
On saturday as walking training we completed the ascent of Snowden 2 times, in pretty much "3 peaks pace", but my legs are hurting now and it would have been a real struggle to attempt a 3rd climb in a short space of time.
So, does anyone have any advice on the sort of distance and pace of rides i should be doing in the next couple of months? Im planning on doing around 5 rides a week, hopefully at about 25 miles each, but i dont want to get caught out come crunch time. Does anyone have any experience of how easily bike fitness translates into walking or any other types of training?
Another question that came up on the climb was the benefits of caffeine tablets or pills - something like Pro Plus. Has anyone taken these sorts of pills for an energy boost, and what sort of effects do they have? Any other suggestions for an instant energy boost when you feel like you have hit the wall?!
This is the first real fitness challenge I've put myself up for, and any advice would be really welcome.
Cheers,
Latw5
this is kind of off topic, but the major part of my training is done with cycling.
With a group of friends I am aiming to complete the 3 peaks challenge in early August - for anyone who doesn't know, the challenge is to walk up and down the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24hrs (including driving etc).
Anyway like i say, my fitness at the moment comes mainly from 3-4 rides a week of about 20-25 miles. I am hoping to do most of my training for this challenge on the bike, as i find it much more enjoyable to get out into the Warwickshire countryside than be stuck in a gym or running round the streets of Coventry.
On saturday as walking training we completed the ascent of Snowden 2 times, in pretty much "3 peaks pace", but my legs are hurting now and it would have been a real struggle to attempt a 3rd climb in a short space of time.
So, does anyone have any advice on the sort of distance and pace of rides i should be doing in the next couple of months? Im planning on doing around 5 rides a week, hopefully at about 25 miles each, but i dont want to get caught out come crunch time. Does anyone have any experience of how easily bike fitness translates into walking or any other types of training?
Another question that came up on the climb was the benefits of caffeine tablets or pills - something like Pro Plus. Has anyone taken these sorts of pills for an energy boost, and what sort of effects do they have? Any other suggestions for an instant energy boost when you feel like you have hit the wall?!
This is the first real fitness challenge I've put myself up for, and any advice would be really welcome.
Cheers,
Latw5
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Comments
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<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by latw5</i>
Hi guys,
this is kind of off topic, but the major part of my training is done with cycling.
Another question that came up on the climb was the benefits of caffeine tablets or pills - something like Pro Plus. Has anyone taken these sorts of pills for an energy boost, and what sort of effects do they have? Any other suggestions for an instant energy boost when you feel like you have hit the wall?!
This is the first real fitness challenge I've put myself up for, and any advice would be really welcome.
Cheers,
Latw5
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
You might be better off seeking advice from a fell walking/mountaineering web site/forum. I'm not sure about the tranferable aspect of your training.
As for energy boost from pro plus - it's not an energy boost. Pro - plus is a stimulant and will affect your alertness. When your energy levels are flagging you need carbohydrates for a boost e.g. jelly babies.0 -
I tried this challenge a few years ago with a mate. We did Ben Nevis in good time but made a huge navigational error on Scafell in a real peasouper. To cut a long story short, by the time we got back to the car we were so hacked off we knocked it on the head, but tbh anyone with a reasonable level of fitness can do this so I wouldn't be too worried about that aspect. Getting the navigation right is crucial.0
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Having attempted the Great Glen Way with just general fitness and the odd days walking in the bank I can say the most important thing is having boots that you know you are comfortable in. My feet were shredded after the first day and I had to sit the second day out while my blisters went down [:(]
Funnily enough one of the guys I did it with is doing the Three Peaks Challenge this year.0 -
That is a top tip from Graeme. You MUST wear your boots in before hand. I would suggest wearing them all the time. You should also get some practice hiking in.
As for Pro-Plus, it could be useful in the event that you get really tired, in the sense that you want to go to sleep. They are a stimulant and will help you a bit. Obviously eating correctly is more important.<a><img></a>0 -
For me cycling is good for STEEP hill walking, since you are pushing the leg through roughly the similar arc i.e. knees at 90 degrees to straight. This uses the quads, calves and glutes just as cycling does. It's not identical, and of course you wouldnt walk up snowdon to train for a national 25, and vice versa but I do both and they both seem to help each other.
<font size="1">Time! Time! It's always too long and there's never enough!</font id="size1">0 -
I do a fair bit of hill walking but my training comes mainly from cycling & mtn biking supplemented by the odd gym visit or game of squash. I certainly find cycling helps for hill walking fitness - indeed did the GR20 walking trail in Corsica last year on virtually only cyling fitness.
I don't find it much of a problem and find the cycling fitness transmits very well to hill walking, certainly if your typical cycling ride as plenty of hills in it.
Regarding the 3 peaks, no doubt they'll be plenty of time to recover between the 3 legs so it's not like a continous walk of the same length - say the Welsh 3000'ers.
One thing I would recommend is sorting out your footwear, heavy walking boots though probably recommended by the typical outdoor shop assitant IMHO aren't the way to go. I'd go for one of the many lightweight walking shoes on the market, I do 95% of my walking in these and you really notice the difference after a long walk.0 -
I also enjoy hillwalking and will be entering the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge for the third time next week. Cycling fitness is certainly transferable to hillwalking and is recommended as training by the organisers.
However, contrary to what many think, getting up the mountain is only half the battle. It may be more of a challenge aerobic-wise (and here your fitness on the bike will come into play) but coming down a mountain really hammers your knees and you may find the bottom of your quads can get sore and tired.
You need to get your legs used to repeatedly taking your weight as they would when walking down a steep slope - and this is where your cycling training will be of no use at all.
So while your cycling fitness will help you, there's no substitute for actually walking up and down mountains as you use different parts of your leg muscles to cycling. There's not any mountains round Coventry so the next best thing would be to walk up and down the steps of a high-rise building - it's great training.
Make sure your boots are worn-in and wear two pairs of socks (one thin and one thick) to prevent blisters.
Carry plenty of water - I use a Camelback reservoir fitted inside my rucksack - and some high-carb snacks to keep you going. Not sure about Pro-Plus tablets, they may keep you awake as they contain caffeine but they won't supply you with energy at all. Take some energy gels if you need an instant boost.
Good luck and enjoy the event. [:)]0
