How much training for a century?

secretsam

An imperial century, that is. I've signed up to do one next year and wondered how to train my lardy self.

I have a turbo and usually go out for a ride on weekends. But what should I be aiming for?

slowbike

I did a hilly one on the back of 20 mile a day commute and a few longer weekend runs of up to 50 or so miles. It wasn't fast, but I survived - more than some others did!

navrig2

Depends on your starting point but you should be aiming to do some longer rides in advance. Probably targetting 60-80 mile rides on a weekly basis for a month or two in advance.

apreading

Depends how much you have done in the past, what level you are at and how hilly/hard that 100 is.

I had done 70-80 miles 5 times over the 15 months leading up to my first 100, had never ridden more than 50 in a day prior to that and found my 100 easy. It was a pretty flat 100 though, with only about 1000m of climbing, so it was a very easy 100 compared to most.

Since that century, over the next 12 months I did 6 rides of over 50 miles (quite a few of 30-40 miles though) and did another century and more - 125 miles and 1500m of climbing, still not hilly though.

So if you are at a reasonable level and can ride 100Km, I think you can probably already ride an easy 100m. But if you 100m includes alot of climbing then you probably need to train for that, almost more than for the distance.

CiB

Once you can do 60 without falling in a heap, you're there. Red wine is a good aid as it takes your mind off it, as long as you drink it before & after not during the ride.

Assuming reasonable hills, you'll probably struggle a bit at about 70 & again approaching 90, then the last few just happen. Pace it, be well fed & watered before & during and it'll be a bit more doable than you expected. Drink red though. They say it's good for stopping heart attacks & stuff.

Bobbinogs

if you have signed up to do the ride next year and are already cycling then it shouldn't be a problem. One of your biggest risks though will be injury as that can mean anything up to 2 months off riding. So, for now I would just keep doing what you are doing and enjoy cycling. At the start of the new year work out a training plan that ends with you doing a 80 mile ride about 2 weeks before your date (in other words, stick that into your plan and work back). General wisdom says to increase ride lengths by about 10% per week, although there will always be some folks who go from a 2 mile paper round to a gran fondo in the space of 2 weeks who will beg to differ.

Some of the charities (BHF, etc.) have some training plans so you could use one of them as a template, btw.

Try and mix it up, keep cycling fresh and don't make every ride a sufferance. Start working out what you need to eat and when...and what your body can/cannot do in terms of pace. Some will say keep a nice high cadence but others will rightly point to the fact that the old pros didn't bother with such technicalities and still managed great feats of cycling.

Don't fret, if you don't fancy a ride then don't do one...but don't go looking for easy excuses either. Oh, avoid icy rides like the plague.

bobmcstuff

I'd done a mix of lots of 30-50 mile rides, a fair few 70ish mile rides and a couple of 90 mile rides before I decided to go and do a century on a day off from work. It was absolutely fine - I knew I could do the distance from the 90ish mile rides as they were very hilly as well.

I wouldn't overthink it too much myself - you risk making the "100 miles" marker a much bigger deal than it actually is. As with any endurance activity, most of the challenge from riding a long way is in your head, not your legs, if you build it up to be a massive deal then it's only going to be harder.

markhewitt1978

Agreed with the above, if you can go out and do 100km (62 miles) and not be completely dead afterwards, then you're good for 100 miles.

The only real difference between 100km and 100 miles is largely the boredom aspect, as you grind out mile after mile.

apreading

My first 50 was alot harder than my first 100. Ached for a few days after that. I think Mark is right - working up to 50 miles/100km you find out if there is anything not spot on with your bike setup/technique/fitness, after that its mainly fuelling properly and not getting bored. Personally not getting bored is not a problem for me because the voices in my head keep me company, I just have to ignore the one that tells me to kill people or burn things down...!

secretsam

Thanks all

Most of the rides are around where I live - sunny Aylesbury - so involve the Chilterns, which are of course totally lacking in flat bits!

I've about to sign on the line for a new job so maybe will commute to work to help fitness - found it was a big help doing 10 miles a day 2-3 times a week in the past

StillGoing

The largest obstacle is in your head. If you can ride 60, you can ride a 100. If it's on a sportif it will be easier still if you get yourself in a pack.

secretsam

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philthy3 wrote:

The largest obstacle is in your head. If you can ride 60, you can ride a 100. If it's on a sportif it will be easier still if you get yourself in a pack.

Having done a couple of charideeee rides/sportives, I can honestly say I've never ridden in a pack - maximum one other person with me, and that was because she was struggling so much she was glad of a tow from me!

Am I the only person who finds them a bit "clique-y"???

apreading

I also find it easier riding on my own. Not saying I dont ride with and chat to other riders/groups but I work harder when there is nothing else to think about and I can just go at my own pace.

secretsam

apreading wrote:

I also find it easier riding on my own. Not saying I dont ride with and chat to other riders/groups but I work harder when there is nothing else to think about and I can just go at my own pace.

Yeah, but it's nice to have a chat now and then. And check out each other's bikes.

norvernrob

I started cycling in Feb this year and did my first century in June. Before that I'd only done one ride over 50 odd miles, a 75 miler. I averaged 17mph for the 103 miles and found it relatively easy, though I'm used to much hillier rides. There was only 3,500ft of climbing in the 103 miles, I normally do that in 40.

My weekly routine was 2 training rides on a 20 mile loop done as fast as I could, then a longer 40-50 odd mile ride on Sundays.

Kieran_Burns

I went from 100Km to 100 miles, one mate went from 44 miles (his longest) the week before to 100 miles in the same sportive. The "what the HELL am I doing???" moment hit at 70 miles in.

It's a long day in the saddle and that's what you should be preparing for, not really the miles - you just feed and water yourself as you go. You'll be fine

g00se

When is the ride?

There will be the usual magazine and online plans in the spring for summer rides. They're basically 12-15 weeks, two midweek shorter, more intense rides - and one longer weekend ride. The weekend ride starts about 20-25 miles and progressively increase by 5 miles each time, to about 80-85 miles at the end of the 12-15 weeks. The midweek rides are about 1.5->2 hours each.

rafletcher

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Agreed with the above, if you can go out and do 100km (62 miles) and not be completely dead afterwards, then you're good for 100 miles.

The only real difference between 100km and 100 miles is largely the boredom aspect, as you grind out mile after mile.

Which is why it's good to find one or two people who ride at your pace, a it of chat goes a long way to reducing boredom, and you can help and encourage each other. My first was done on a rigid MTB running 1" slicks, and took me 8 hours.

Tjgoodhew

100 miles is a massive mile stone but physically it isnt too much of a challenge for somebody that can cycle 60/70 miles

All i would say is consider pacing. 6/7 hours riding is a long time to be in the saddle so dont go too hard too early.

Anonymous

Not sure I agree with the "you will be fine if you can do 60 miles without feeling like death" comments.
To me there is a big difference between 60 and 100. Mainly the extra time in the saddle.
You need to train to do about 80 comfortably IMO. Unless you want the 100 to be unenjoyable.
Plenty of time to do that though isn't there?

IanRCarter

Carbonator wrote:

Not sure I agree with the "you will be fine if you can do 60 miles without feeling like death" comments.
To me there is a big difference between 60 and 100. Mainly the extra time in the saddle.
You need to train to do about 80 comfortably IMO. Unless you want the 100 to be unenjoyable.
Plenty of time to do that though isn't there?

I'll agree with this. If you can do 60, you can do 100 with good pacing and nutrition but it might not be comfortable. you don't need to be doing 80 every week, just get a couple of that distance in before your century and see how you feel, make sure you drink and feed properly. It's probably more of a psychological thing really, if you're doing 50-60 every weekend then the jump to 80 isn't too far and then going up to 100 is 'only 20 more than that 80 I did'. It's all personal though, some people swear by training plans, whereas I prefer doing what I want to do (More enjoyable, more likely to actually get out). Others will tell you to just go for it at a pace you are comfortable with regardless of how much training you've done.

Is there a local club you can join? There would undoubtedly be many people there who could give you good advice and may even be doing the same event so you can ride with them, or at least make you feel comfortable riding in a group.

CiB

My view was that once you can do 60 you've shown yourself that you can ride for some hours. 100 is just three hours more than 60 for most beginners. The qualifying statement in my OP made it clear that starting off well fed & watered and pacing it is important, as is taking on more fuel through the ride itself, esp at about 70 IIRC. CBA to go & check tbh.

And to to be clear about it, doing 60 didn't mean being able to scrape to the 60th mile slumped over the bars and needing to take the next 4 days off work to recuperate. It means being able to do it without falling in a heap - i.e do it and just be a bit fatigued. If you can do that the 100 is doable as long as you pace it and keep energy levels up with the right intake.

TBH if you aim for 80 as an intermediate target on the way to doing a 100 you may as well carry on for the next hour & a bit to a 100 anyway whilst you're there. That leap isn't so great. Each to their own though, as we say.

ai_1

The need to train depends hugely on what you want to do on the day. Do you want to push and do it at speed or are you happy to sit back, take it easy and just finish when you finish?
If you're not too bothered about speed then I don't think 100 miles is that tough. It's a long day in the saddle but if you can easily do half that in training you'll manage on the day.
If you plan to push yourself then you'll probably find it tough going if you haven't done some long rides in preparation. It's hard to pace and feed yourself correctly for a long event when you have no experience of doing one.
Either way, don't worry. You'll do fine. Pace yourself a little conservatively, which may mean really holding back if you're inclined to push on when you feel good. It's incredibly easy to get carried away early on when you're fresh and in amongst the crowds but you may regret it later.

When I did my first sportive I don't think I'd ever ridden more than about 70-80km. The event had two distances 80km and 140km. I planned to do the 80km and knew I'd be okay with that. On the long drive to registration my brother managed to convince me to push myself and do the longer one. Great weather (but hot!), gorgeous scenery, the buzz of an event and my inexperience resulted in my feeling great and going out too fast. I rode with my (fitter) brother initially and I was flying for the first 70km. Then I started suffering, let him go ahead and fell off the back of the small group I was riding in. Then fell off the back of another and my pace really dropped as I arrived into the hilly portion that made up the last 50km of the route. The challenge then changed from keeping a good pace to continuing moving forward on the hills. I had cramps in both quads and both calves between 100km and 120km probably due to overexerting myself early on and not drinking enough in the high temperatures. That hurt. But I started to recover a little in the last 20km and although still hurting I got to the finish. In retrospect I was actually pretty happy with my performance and in a perverse sort of way I even enjoyed the second half but I would have enjoyed it much more if I'd paced myself more conservatively and drank more.

Most of my longer training rides in summer are 60km-80km with only a handful reaching 100km in the past 3 years. However I've done 3 or 4 sportives each year with distances up to 200km and I've managed pretty well, even given my tendency to treat these as speed challenges rather than relaxing tours.

That first one taught me some important lessons though.
1. Don't try and keep up if the pace is too high
2. Drink
3. Keep an eye on your heart rate (if you use a HRM) to check you're not getting carried away and working too hard
4. If you start suffering and there's still a long way to go, slow down, eat & drink and keep going
5. Be ambitious, just not silly (IMO a 160km sportive after a maximum of 80km-100km training rides is not silly)