Training Diary: My First 24 solo!

GingerBeardMusketeer

I've posted this up on MTBR, but I thought some people here might be interested.

I'm now 12 weeks away from my first 24 hour solo and have been posting up a diary tracking my progress.

I am 42 years old, a mid- to bottom of the pack c-grade racer who's looking to complete the race rather than win it!

My weekly summaries can be found here https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/weekly-summaries/

An outline of my plan can be found here https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/whats-the-plan-part-1/

and here https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/whats-the-plan-part-2/

Links to other entries and information can be found here https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/

Please feel free to offer up any advice and/or feedback as you see fit! And come along for the ride!

craker

Good luck with that!

As a biker of similar age with young children I'm amazed that training for a proper serious event is a possibility.

iwilldoit

Good luck with your 24 hr race, I can't quite imagine ridding for 24 hours :shock:

Been reading your blog some interesting stuff, I thought I was a little mad entering a enduro and starting mtb ing at 52, but it's my challenge for my 50's two goals I want to achieve finish and enjoy it

GingerBeardMusketeer

craker wrote:

Good luck with that!

As a biker of similar age with young children I'm amazed that training for a proper serious event is a possibility.

Cheers!

The biggest thing for me is commuting to work. It gives me at least 7.5 hours on the bike a week which I otherwise wouldn't get. Even with no other riding, it gives me a base to work from. I know it's not always possible, but I highly recommend it!

The other thing (and this probably should have been number 1!) is an incredibly supportive wife!

I don't know how old your kids are, but I found I got a lot more (read "some"!) free time when my youngest hit 3. And I basically don't do anything else in my life other than work, spend time with the family and ride. I don't hit the pub, I don't go to the movies (unless it's with the family) and we rarely go out for dinner or social events. There's quite a bit of sacrificing involved. But it's a positive and healthy lifestyle!

GingerBeardMusketeer

iwilldoit wrote:

Good luck with your 24 hr race, I can't quite imagine ridding for 24 hours :shock:

Been reading your blog some interesting stuff, I thought I was a little mad entering a enduro and starting mtb ing at 52, but it's my challenge for my 50's two goals I want to achieve finish and enjoy it

Hey, the "at this age" stuff drives me mad! I broke my collar-bone at age 40 after a big stack on the MTB and I had doctors saying to me "Well, you'll have to stop riding now." At 40!?!?!?!?!

I know guys in their 60's who are smashing it on the trails. They always beat me in races (in fact they race in grades above me) and easily beat guys in their 20's. And these aren't guys with natural talent. They just work hard!

You're not mad to be doing this at age 52. You're mad not to be doing it! Well done you! Don't listen to the doubters! Surround yourself with positive people, make smart choices and ride! Everything is possible!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Here's a vid of one of the trails we have here. It's a bit shaky but you'll get the idea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOtKin-lAfE

iwilldoit

GingerBeardMusketeer wrote:

iwilldoit wrote:

Good luck with your 24 hr race, I can't quite imagine ridding for 24 hours :shock:

Been reading your blog some interesting stuff, I thought I was a little mad entering a enduro and starting mtb ing at 52, but it's my challenge for my 50's two goals I want to achieve finish and enjoy it

Hey, the "at this age" stuff drives me mad! I broke my collar-bone at age 40 after a big stack on the MTB and I had doctors saying to me "Well, you'll have to stop riding now." At 40!?!?!?!?!

I know guys in their 60's who are smashing it on the trails. They always beat me in races (in fact they race in grades above me) and easily beat guys in their 20's. And these aren't guys with natural talent. They just work hard!

You're not mad to be doing this at age 52. You're mad not to be doing it! Well done you! Don't listen to the doubters! Surround yourself with positive people, make smart choices and ride! Everything is possible!

I had a eye opener last weekend riding up a long up hill I could see someone in front of me and wanted to catch them up and ask if the had already been out, it was quite frosty and some snow about I wanted to see what the trail conditions were like, he hadn't been out but he was breathing quite heavily so I rode a long with him just making sure he was alright and we got chatting, he had done Enduro like me, he had also done trials, enduro sidecar and mx sidecar racing and was still doing the SSDT ( very impressed ) then he said for me to carry on as he had to slow down as his hart rate monitor was going to high, I asked if he was doing his training with the HRM, not really he replied " I had a heart attack last year and I'm 71 so have to be a little careful I don't over do it :shock:

GingerBeardMusketeer

iwilldoit wrote:

GingerBeardMusketeer wrote:

iwilldoit wrote:

Good luck with your 24 hr race, I can't quite imagine ridding for 24 hours :shock:

Been reading your blog some interesting stuff, I thought I was a little mad entering a enduro and starting mtb ing at 52, but it's my challenge for my 50's two goals I want to achieve finish and enjoy it

Hey, the "at this age" stuff drives me mad! I broke my collar-bone at age 40 after a big stack on the MTB and I had doctors saying to me "Well, you'll have to stop riding now." At 40!?!?!?!?!

I know guys in their 60's who are smashing it on the trails. They always beat me in races (in fact they race in grades above me) and easily beat guys in their 20's. And these aren't guys with natural talent. They just work hard!

You're not mad to be doing this at age 52. You're mad not to be doing it! Well done you! Don't listen to the doubters! Surround yourself with positive people, make smart choices and ride! Everything is possible!

I had a eye opener last weekend riding up a long up hill I could see someone in front of me and wanted to catch them up and ask if the had already been out, it was quite frosty and some snow about I wanted to see what the trail conditions were like, he hadn't been out but he was breathing quite heavily so I rode a long with him just making sure he was alright and we got chatting, he had done Enduro like me, he had also done trials, enduro sidecar and mx sidecar racing and was still doing the SSDT ( very impressed ) then he said for me to carry on as he had to slow down as his hart rate monitor was going to high, I asked if he was doing his training with the HRM, not really he replied " I had a heart attack last year and I'm 71 so have to be a little careful I don't over do it :shock:

That's impressive stuff! I love meeting guys like that. Just the fact that we rarely encounter people like that means his lifestyle is "a path less trodden", if that makes sense.

GingerBeardMusketeer

I had an interesting ride last night!

Please read the details here! https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/

As always, any feedback or comments are always welcome!

And if you have any questions you would like me to answer, please let me know!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Please follow the link below for details of the heart rate testing I have been using.

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/heart-rate-testing/

Please feel free to comment and/or offer advice!

Edit:fixed the link!

bigmitch41

The link doesn't work mate..

GingerBeardMusketeer

BigMitch41 wrote:

The link doesn't work mate..

Cheers! Should be right now! https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/heart-rate-testing/

GingerBeardMusketeer

Week 5 of my training diary is now up!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/week-5-up-the-tempo/

Thanks for reading!

GingerBeardMusketeer

I've finished week 6 of my 24 hour solo training program! I saw some real improvements this week, which is really positive after all the hard work.

Please follow the link below!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/week-6-positive-results/

GingerBeardMusketeer

Here's the video I shot yesterday at Fox Creek! Enjoy!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/new-video-ant-logic-fox-creek/

bigmitch41

Looks a tad dryer/warmer than our conditions just now

GingerBeardMusketeer

BigMitch41 wrote:

Looks a tad dryer/warmer than our conditions just now

It's been hot for the last two weeks, but Monday night I froze at the end of my long ride as the temperature dropped to 8 C and I was WAY under-dressed!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Here's a quick video from Monday nights ride. Enjoy!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpre ... bike-park/

GingerBeardMusketeer

Summary of week 7 is now up!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/week-seven-late-nights-and-early-mornings/

GingerBeardMusketeer

Here are a few details of what I eat when I'm not riding!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/off-bike-nutrition/

GingerBeardMusketeer

Week 8 of my training diary is up!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/week-8-second-rest-week-and-one-big-ride/

Things seem to be going well! Please feel free to comment, ask questions or offer advice!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Warning! Crazy driver in video!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/crazy-drivers/

GingerBeardMusketeer

Week 9 summary is up! 1800km road trip to ride the trails at Mt. Buller!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/week-9-road-trip/

njee20

So you drove 1800km to ride 40km of fireroads?! Your race is in, what, 6 weeks? I'd be worried if you're struggling after 25 miles...

GingerBeardMusketeer

njee20 wrote:

So you drove 1800km to ride 40km of fireroads?! Your race is in, what, 6 weeks? I'd be worried if you're struggling after 25 miles...

Hi There!

We ended up riding 90km with 2800m of climbing over the three days, and not of all of it was fire-roads! I actually feel really good about my condition! I made a stupid mistake and forgot electrolytes on our big ride, leading to cramping, but once my mate delivered some to me I was fine and finished strongly.

Just out of interest, what's your go-to "test piece" workout to determine your form leading into a 24-hour solo event?

Keep the feed-back coming!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Short and sweet summary of week 10!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/week-10-steady-progress/

njee20

GingerBeardMusketeer wrote:

Just out of interest, what's your go-to "test piece" workout to determine your form leading into a 24-hour solo event?

I've never done more than a 12 hour solo, and I tend to keep a good enough level of fitness that that isn't too much of a challenge to purely finish. I'd want to be comfortable doing a 100 mile off road ride this close to a 24 though.

GingerBeardMusketeer

njee20 wrote:

GingerBeardMusketeer wrote:

Just out of interest, what's your go-to "test piece" workout to determine your form leading into a 24-hour solo event?

I've never done more than a 12 hour solo, and I tend to keep a good enough level of fitness that that isn't too much of a challenge to purely finish. I'd want to be comfortable doing a 100 mile off road ride this close to a 24 though.

I'm thinking about doing a 4 hour race in a few weeks. I've got 20 hours on the bike scheduled for this week, then a rest week, then two big weeks before my two week taper. I feel like I'm going well. I guess we will find out soon!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Week 11 summary is done!

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/week-11-biggest-week-yet/

End of a BIG month of training!

GingerBeardMusketeer

Week 12 summary is up.

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/week-12-complete-rest/

My energy levels are low and I'm feeling flat. It's a good thing it's a rest week.

GingerBeardMusketeer

Week 13 is done. I ended up getting sick, missed a session (my first for the year) and then hoped I could pull it all back together. Also, I chopped some wood.

https://thegingerbeardmusketeer.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/week-13-sickness-and-health/