The Fouth Hour

Señor Pedalo

I'm in training for Act 1 of the Etape du Tour at the moment and am hitting a bit of a rut in boosting my endurance levels. Basically, I'm at a stage where I'm fine for the first 3 hours, going at a decent pace (18-19mph) on rolling terrain, but as I work into the fourth hour in the saddle my energy levels start to drop considerably.

I take plenty of fluids with me and energy bars but having done 5 or so 60+ milers over the past few weeks I don't seem to have seen the improvement I had been making in Dec-Feb from a fairly crap base fitness. I'm doing 3 training sessions a week at the moment, two 30 mile sessions in London either around Richmond Park or hill repeats in Highgate, then a long ride at the weekend. Do I need to just keep at it or is there something I need to change up?

Also, I'm a tall guy 6'3" and have had my bike fitted for me yet I seem to suffer pretty horrible pain in my back after anything more than 3+ hours. Is this just a fun part of being a lanky cyclist?

mog812

not sure if I'll get in trouble or not, but...
this looks good, and maybe just the thing you might need
http://www.highfive.co.uk/indexUK.php
and no, I am not promoting or endorsing anything (or whatever else it might be called) here, just giving info (the 2:1, one ), that I thought might be of help.

alihisgreat

It sounds like you are eating properly.. so you just need to up your endurance...

so increase the two 30s to 40s.

and add something onto the longer ride too.

Simples.

(just out of curiosity how long have you been in the two 30s/one longer ride routine?)

bigpikle

sounds like you need more long rides of 4+ hours really, or maybe just throttle back slightly on the first 3 hours so you have a little more left in tank for the longer distances. You cant really just expect to take your best 3 hour pace and keep going feeling just as strong - hold back a little and keep a steadier pace for the entire ride. Repeat regularly

cyco2

If you can take some note of your heart rate when you go on a long ride then when you go on the next one hold back by say 20 beats for most of the ride. Even on the hills. You should be using lower gears more often. It will feel strange but you will still be able to get along at a good pace and near the end you shouldn't feel so beat. I always used to ride fast and used this method for a ride through France and found not beating myself up all the time was refreshing.

Monty Dog

If you're suffering lower back pain, you probably need to continue to work on your core body strength, ride hills steadier on longer rides and don't try and 'muscle' climbs in too big a gear? Maybe 'shorten' your position slightly i.e. flip the stem or raise the stem slightly to make you slightly less bent over.

essjaydee

mog812 wrote:

not sure if I'll get in trouble or not, but...
this looks good, and maybe just the thing you might need
http://www.highfive.co.uk/indexUK.php
and no, I am not promoting or endorsing anything (or whatever else it might be called) here, just giving info (the 2:1, one ), that I thought might be of help.

Good link and I've just got a sample of their 2:1 fructose mix to try. Quite amazed at their recommendations for gel intake with fluids, both pre-event and during. I might give this a go sometime and see if it makes a difference from my usual fluid/food intake.