Well that was harder than i thought....

Adam1985

Only had my road bike a couple of weeks, since then ive done a 10 mile, 15 mile, 21 mile in which were all quite comfortable and on relatively even roads with a couple of steady hill climbs nothing that big.

Well today i thought i would try and push a bit more and set off on a 26.2 mile trip being a mix of town riding then out into the countryside where i came upon some tougher hills that got the legs screaming out. What surprised me the most was i seem to have really struggled today compared to my other rides so feeling a bit dissapointed.

Ive signed myself up for a 100 mile ride in august so i know ive got some work to do

DKay

You have some days when you just don't have the legs. Nothing like hills to show up your limitations though. You should use today as motivation to get stronger and to improve your technique.

Make sure you eat and drink properly during your ride.

Adam1985

Yeah its definately made me want to get better at it!!

I took a 750ml bottle of water and a banana which i had around halfway..

Whether its because ive been up since 5 been and worked a full day and then was straight out afterwards but i did the same when i done 21 mile..

I was averaging between 15-16mph on my other rides, todays ride was 14mph

diamonddog

Some days the legs say no, TBH on a ride of that length eating and drinking that much might not have helped. Keep getting out there and riding you have time to get the miles in for your big ride.

ai_1

It's way too early to be worrying about performance or even increasing distance. Just get out regularly and enjoy riding for a few weeks. You've got time. Better to start slowly and crank it up later than to start off to aggressively and get disillusioned. As others said you'll have bad days but also you're just getting started so you really don't have the experience to evaluate your ride yet anyway even if there was value in doing so. Also I'd suggest letting yourself adapt to riding before you start pushing yourself too hard. You've got 4 months or so. Don't panic!

Initialised

You need a training plan but for this month just try and get out for a couple of hours a day, one or two days off and a longer ride one day of the week, increasing week on week.

I largely stuck to this one while preparing for Etape Pennines (60 miles, 7762ft) last year, then ended up doing Hell of Hexham (100miles, 10577ft) a week earlier instead.

12 weeks 10-12Hrs/week training plan

They have a less intesne 6-8Hrs/week plan too.

Anonymous

Today I went out with every intention of having a big ride, I regularly do 100k, got about 15K from home and felt awful, don't know if it was the weather (2 jersey cold), the food I'd eaten or not but just couldn't do it.


Stick in, you'll get better every time=,

Doris Day

People starting riding or exercise need the water (although everyone is different). What seems like a little pootle to one person, may feel like a 'Grand Tour' to another.

Take water with you if you want. Give your body time to rest (body needs to recover) and start off at the pace/speed you are comfortable with and build on that slowly.

Tjgoodhew

As others have said - somedays it just doesnt happen. A few weeks back i was planning on going for a 40/50 miler but ended up turning for home after 15 as i was struggling so much.

There was no real reason for it. I just forgot about it and got back on the bike at the next opportunity.

ai_1

Initialised wrote:

You need a training plan but for this month just try and get out for a couple of hours a day, one or two days off and a longer ride one day of the week, increasing week on week.

I largely stuck to this one while preparing for Etape Pennines (60 miles, 7762ft) last year, then ended up doing Hell of Hexham (100miles, 10577ft) a week earlier instead.

12 weeks 10-12Hrs/week training plan

They have a less intesne 6-8Hrs/week plan too.

A couple of hours a day mosts day with one longer ride each week - to start? ....Seriously? :roll:

You're talking about 12-14 hours training a week. That might be appropriate for a competitive cyclist and would even be fairly generous for someone aiming to do an Ironman in a few months. As Sportive training - ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!!!

I'd start with 3 or 4hrs a week for the first few weeks and increase that to 5 to 7hrs. You could add a little more later if you want to but it's probably not essential.

Why would a complete beginner who has done 3 rides so far want or need to do 12-14 hours training a week for a century ride in 4 months?

Half an hour to an hour a couple of evenings a week plus something a little longer at the weekend would be a more appropriate start. Test yourself at a good proportion of the 100 mile distance a couple of times in late June or July as your weekend ride (If you can manage 70 miles in training you'll almost certainly be fine for 100 on the day).

g00se

Yup - a couple of rides midweek (I'd say an hour or two) and a longer weekend ride (start at thirty miles and increase - and try to do near to an 80 miler a couple of weeks before the century). If you can, make the midweek rides a bit of an effort (hills, faster than the weekends) or google 'interval training' and 'time constrained cyclists' if you do want more detailed plans.

Schoie81

I agree with Ai_1 - in fact, I think you're being a bit hard on yourself. You've had a road bike a couple of weeks and gone from 10miles to 26miles and thrown in some more challenging hills too and done it at 14mph average? Maybe I'm easily pleased but that doesn't sound too shabby to me! You say you struggled with the 26miles..but by the sound of it, you did complete it, you didn't have to give up, so that's a good thing? Obviously you've got a 100mile target to aim for in a few months, but its early days yet and you've done over 1/4 distance on your 4th ride.

Just keep at it, sounds to me like you're heading in the right direction.

markhewitt1978

Don't sweat it, some days you just aren't on it for whatever reason, give it a couple of days and go back out and you'll feel stronger. It's clear you're aiming for distance having signed up for 100 miles. So aim for that, keep increasing your distance and if necessary decrease your speed to do it.

Hills make a massive difference, a 30 mile ride with vertical climbs can take more out of you than a 60 mile flat ride.

Roberto di Velo

I think there's some good advice here.

As others have said, it sounds like you've made a respectable start and you really don't need to worry too much about your pace. When I've trained for similar events, I've generally tried to have a couple of short, faster rides in the week and a longer slower ride at the weekend; maybe adding 5 miles a week to the longer ride distance.

I'd also recommend that you really work to keep your pace down in the longer ride - I often find this an effort. If you're feeling fresh with a few miles to go, there's nothing to stop you giving the last few miles a bit more speed or throwing a few hill sprints into the ride. That said, I think that a lot of inexperienced riders often go too hard at hills; you need to find your own rhythm and that sometimes means just grinding away at long climbs.

Good luck with the rest of your training!

Adam1985

Thanks for the replies...

I will keep grinding it out and will be ready the time august comes..

I think getting the pace is important as you go out prob starting off too hard rather than pacing it but im always challenging myself and thinking i should be able to get up that hill a bit quicker than that and so on..

g00se

It's different days for different things. For the shorter rides, push yourself - that'll improve your performance. For the long weekend rides, it's distance and time on the bike - that'll improve your endurance.

crescent

If you are doing an event then it is important to know you can do the distance beforehand instead of sitting in the starting pen wondering if you've got 75miles in you because you've only done 50miles before, for example.
Another thing to bear in mind, though, is not to become obsessed with targets and goals. Yes, they are important if you are preparing for a specific event, but try going out without your computer or GPS every so often. It's very liberating not fretting about analysing your average speed or power output or whatever it is you are working towards. I make a point of doing at least one ride a week without any monitoring just to remind myself why I love cycling so much. It's great to have a new PB but every bit as pleasing to stop for a coffee or to take in a nice view every now and then, even talk to a few cows or sheep when you are out in the middle of nowhere. I'm not the only one who does that, am I? :oops:

kajjal

Crescent wrote:

If you are doing an event then it is important to know you can do the distance beforehand instead of sitting in the starting pen wondering if you've got 75miles in you because you've only done 50miles before, for example.
Another thing to bear in mind, though, is not to become obsessed with targets and goals. Yes, they are important if you are preparing for a specific event, but try going out without your computer or GPS every so often. It's very liberating not fretting about analysing your average speed or power output or whatever it is you are working towards. I make a point of doing at least one ride a week without any monitoring just to remind myself why I love cycling so much. It's great to have a new PB but every bit as pleasing to stop for a coffee or to take in a nice view every now and then, even talk to a few cows or sheep when you are out in the middle of nowhere. I'm not the only one who does that, am I? :oops:

And I thought it was just me

beski

As long as you aren't chatting them up

crescent

I forgot to say, if they start talking back you probably need to drink some water or maybe top up your electrolytes

Miles253

Crescent wrote:

If you are doing an event then it is important to know you can do the distance beforehand instead of sitting in the starting pen wondering if you've got 75miles in you because you've only done 50miles before, for example.
Another thing to bear in mind, though, is not to become obsessed with targets and goals. Yes, they are important if you are preparing for a specific event, but try going out without your computer or GPS every so often. It's very liberating not fretting about analysing your average speed or power output or whatever it is you are working towards. I make a point of doing at least one ride a week without any monitoring just to remind myself why I love cycling so much. It's great to have a new PB but every bit as pleasing to stop for a coffee or to take in a nice view every now and then, even talk to a few cows or sheep when you are out in the middle of nowhere. I'm not the only one who does that, am I? :oops:

I love doing this! Also with no figures to fret over, I often feel like I could go forever. Not to mention it's nice to not have to consciously remember to off the Garmin

ai_1

Crescent wrote:

If you are doing an event then it is important to know you can do the distance beforehand instead of sitting in the starting pen wondering if you've got 75miles in you because you've only done 50miles before, for example.

I don't really agree.
If you've done a large proportion of the distance in training without great difficulty you can be confident you're going to manage the full distance. In fact it's usually easier in an event because the psychological aspect changes plus you gain a lot from being able to ride in groups.

I had never cycled more than 85km before I did my first sportive (140km) and although that was possibly a little underprepared and the last 20km were a bit of a struggle it made it all the more satisfying and there was no way I was ever going to fail to finish.

Similarly when I did my first 200km sportive I'd never done more than 140km. If anything it keeps you challenged and a little nervous which can raise your game and make it more enjoyable.

The same goes for running. Almost no-one who runs their first marathon runs 26 miles in training. They might do 20.

I'm not suggesting you should just charge in unprepared and hope for the best. But if you know you're in the ballpark and you've done a large proportion of the distance in training you'll be able to pull out a big effort on the day. There's no reason to be overly concerned that you haven't already covered the complete distance before an event. That's what the event is for!

Cresent wrote:

Another thing to bear in mind, though, is not to become obsessed with targets and goals. Yes, they are important if you are preparing for a specific event, but try going out without your computer or GPS every so often. It's very liberating not fretting about analysing your average speed or power output or whatever it is you are working towards. I make a point of doing at least one ride a week without any monitoring just to remind myself why I love cycling so much. It's great to have a new PB but every bit as pleasing to stop for a coffee or to take in a nice view every now and then, even talk to a few cows or sheep when you are out in the middle of nowhere. I'm not the only one who does that, am I? :oops:

I do agree with you here!
I record all my rides but I do regular rides where I don't have any specific plan or goals. On these rides I just head out and ride the way I feel like riding and enjoy it. I don't find recording it interferes so long as I'm not bothered what the result is. If I found myself obsessing over the data I'd remove the computer for those rides as you suggest.