Etape Training advice/reassurance

il_principe

Hi all,

Following a training slump i need some advice! Up until the start of March I had been training well and getting some good miles in, then I got dumped by the GF (for another fella) which (as you might imagine) completely knocked me for 6 . As a result I lost all motivation to train or really do anything. I've got things back together now and did 20 miles last night and 20 this morning before work. The last serious ride I did was a 63 miler in the Black Mountains, Wales. I felt pretty good then and was quite confident. To give you an idea of how I was doing before the slump here is the data for the previous 2 longish rides:

I don't have HR data for the Wales ride, but we managed 63 miles in 3:54 including a total elevation gain of 6590 feet including a climb up gospel Pass into some of the strongest headwinds I've ever encountered - this was on that very windy weekend over the 1st March.

In feb we did 67 miles in 3:56 with 4367 feet of elevation and my av HR was 143.

However I was struggling a bit over just 20 miles last night/today. Is 8 weeks long enough to get myself sorted for the Etape (I also have the Dragon ride in June). Literally all I had done between 1st March and yesterday was my daily commute (barely a 7 miles round trip). I'm 29 and was pretty fit before the slump but I'm concerned that I may have left it too late now. I'm planning a 100k ride on Sat, but any advice would be much appreciated and apologies for the essay.

Bronzie

Sorry to hear of your woman trouble - they should be printed with a health warning.

To be honest, I think the Etape is still doable for you, but you may struggle to
a) enjoy it
b) beat the broom wagons

All you can do is cram the miles in and hope for the best I think - good luck with it.

nic_77

I did my first (of 3) etape in 2004 after 1000miles of riding (from first taking up road cycling).

If you try and make the most of the nice weather and long evenings - there is no reason why you can't still get enough miles in your legs for this years event.

Once you've battled through a couple of extended weekend rides you'll feel that base fitness come rushing back!

richa

Jash,

I think you should get your training socks on and go for it. It'll be a welcome distraction and I can see no reason why you can't finish this year's Etape. The werather's good and the evening's are long so hopefully there is plenty of opportunity to get some good hours training under your belt.

Maybe you won't do as well as you might had if you'd done more training. But I bet 50% of the people on the startline will be wishing they'd trained more. I also think the broom wagon is very beatable.

Assuming that you start from the last pen at 07:20 you will have...

From Start 96.6k @ 24.6 kph
Tourmalet 23.2k @ 8.5 kph
Descent 34.0k @ 35.2 kph
Hautcam 15.4k @ 6.5 kph

The starting section looks the toughest, but there will be big groups and plenty of opportunity to draft.

Finally, I did it last year and it was a fantastic experience. Not to be missed if at all possible. I am sure you'll be glad to be out there on the bike rather than sat at home wishing you were there.

ut_och_cykla

Structure and focus - you can do it. Do some long rides at an ok pace now and again, eating and drinking. Do some shorter stuff as fast as you can in long intervals - up to 20 mins. Practice hills - either really long ones or as repeats on shorter ones. French climbs are long - get your head around 1-2 hours for the worst of them.
In the autumn (when you've got over her a bit) you will regret not giving it a shot!
http://www.etape.org.uk/ has some sound advice including a course profiel and analysis adn training tips month by month.
Good luck

Kléber

If she's a two-timer, good riddance no?

Think of all the free time you have now. You can ride when you have time, no need to compromise for time with the other half!

Go for it, enjoy the build up and look forward to the big day.

popette

Kléber wrote:

Think of all the free time you have now. You can ride when you have time, no need to compromise for time with the other half!
Go for it, enjoy the build up and look forward to the big day.

Exactly!! Yes you can do it - two months to go and lots of free time to stack up the miles.
As Ut_och_cykla says, the etape.org.uk website has some good tips. The plan I was following was similar to the mega euro sportive training plans in Cycling plus - have you got those?

Good luck - keep us posted and you're better off without her. Feels like sh!t at the time but I always find that it leads you on to something far better in the future. (God, if I was still with my ex now :x :evil: )

il_principe

Thanks all. I've just been reading the Etape thread in Sportives and am now officially cr@pping myself.

I live in central London and don't own a car which makes training problematic. I'm off for a 65 mile ride in the Surrey Hills tomorrow and will up that weekend distance by 10 miles upto 100 or so over the next few weeks. Other than that I can fit in perhaps 3 20 mile am rides but with nothing in the way of hills really (2 little bumps in Richmond Park). Also have the Dragon ride in June. On the plus side I have a bib number of 2001 which I assume is a big advantage...

ut_och_cykla

Ride hard enough on your shorter rides - the etape site suggests 150W is enough to get you round which is high 20's km/h average - in long intervals adn biggish gears this will half replicate climbing?
Mebbe

il_principe

At the moment I'm using a 50/34 11/23 combo and tend to grind up hills. I figure If I get used to that and build leg strength then I'll fit a 13/26 for the Etape the bail out gears will be a pleasant extra...

Very worried today though!

richa

jashburnham wrote:

At the moment I'm using a 50/34 11/23 combo and tend to grind up hills. I figure If I get used to that and build leg strength then I'll fit a 13/36 for the Etape the bail out gears will be a pleasant extra...

Don't change. Particularly as you feel you are not as fit as you would like. A 50-34 with a 11-23 cassette sounds ideal (I ran a bottom gear of 34/25 last year). The climbs are long and it will be great to have that extra gear.

Finally, stop worrying & start riding. It'll be worth it.

il_principe

But I'm suggesting a bottom gear of 34/26 as oppose to the 34/23 I currently have...

richa

I think I replied before you edited.

Bottom gear 34/26 would be good. (I thought you meant 36/23)

lateralus

If you're doing Richmond Park for your short rides, get in on the 3 lap challenge for some motivation: http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/foru ... &start=255

jonginge

lateralus wrote:

If you're doing Richmond Park for your short rides, get in on the 3 lap challenge for some motivation: http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/foru ... &start=255

Also, clubs in your neck of the woods like London Dynamo and Kingston Wheelers do training rides/club runs into the surrey hills at the weekends (and some mid-week rides too)

IanTrcp

ut_och_cykla wrote:

...the etape site suggests 150W is enough to get you round...
Mebbe

Where have you seen this? Could you post a link?

ut_och_cykla

http://www.etape.org.uk/
the training pages for march and april of 2007 etape contain this information inc. a link to training for hills on the flat. Sound sensible simple advice which I'm sure is relevant to lots of people

il_principe

Well I went out at the weekend and had a great 65 mile ride, felt as strong as I ever have really and had enough in the tank to really cane the last 2 miles sprinting past my training buddies on a hill and finishing a minute ahead of them in the end. Feeling somewhat reassured now!

Stats:

64.15 miles
Time: 3:32
Av speed: 18.1mph
Total Elevation gain: 3496 feet
Avg Hr: 135 bpm

Toks

jashburnham wrote:

Thanks all. I've just been reading the Etape thread in Sportives and am now officially cr@pping myself.

I live in central London and don't own a car which makes training problematic. I'm off for a 65 mile ride in the Surrey Hills tomorrow and will up that weekend distance by 10 miles upto 100 or so over the next few weeks. Other than that I can fit in perhaps 3 20 mile am rides but with nothing in the way of hills really (2 little bumps in Richmond Park). Also have the Dragon ride in June. On the plus side I have a bib number of 2001 which I assume is a big advantage...

Josh for a few years myself and a few others have used the Richmond Park 3 lap challenge as a good guage for our sportiv Etape fitness. How much do you weigh and what is your best effort for the 3 laps?
Don't get too hung up on the hill thing. Basically for etapes you need to increase your sustainable power. That can easily be done on flattsih routes with longish tempo rides and time trial efforts.

Titanium

You gotta keep working at it. Remember a col in the Pyrenees is maybe one hour (or 2 hours if you're slow) long. So no climb in Britain is going to be any good. You are better as Toks says to work your threshold on the flat.

The whole point is to have the endurance to ride for maybe 8 hours. This means you need a couple of non-stop 5 hour rides at good tempo in June. But don't think all about the miles. Work on your speed, no point in working on sprints but half hour to one hour full work outs will pay dividends.

Enjoy it, too many people on here take the Etape so seriously. I used to ride at international level and now help once a year to take some fellow Americans to the Alps or Pyrenees, kind of a working holiday. These guys are so fixated on every detail (what type of energy gel, what bar tape to use, the average speed required) that they fail to appreciate the beauty of the terrain and the human challenge involved.

jmetape

i took it way too seriously in 06. was all worked up about the details. studied the timing, had all my food packed etc.... and got caught by the broom wagon. you are exactly right, titanium when you say enjoy it. i'm going to enjoy this one. i'm going to train hard. and enjoy the training. and on the day of the event, i'm going to soak up the atmosphere (upper atmosphere, too ). if i'm the last finisher, i won't care. if i don't finish, it'll be from something out of my control--a crash, mechanical failure, etc. it won't be from lack of preparation. i said this over on the sportive forum--get outside, pedal and sweat, and see what happens.
r u going over this year, titanium? i'm going with custom getaways... and hanging around with them to ride Mont Ventoux and L'alpe Duez the week after the etape.