Training for my first 100 miles

kingrollo

MrB123 wrote:

I've heard it said that if you can do 100 miles in a week then you can do 100 miles in a single ride, and from experience there's probably some truth in that.

If you think about a week with a 50 mile ride in it and then 2 or 3 shorter rides to make up the other 50 then it doesn't sound too bad to get to that mileage.

As others have said, don't over think it. Just build up your mileages gradually and take your time on the day.

^^^^^^^^^

This - I did velo birmingham last year and the longest single ride I did was 60 miles - doing 100 miles over 2 days is a good tip.
Remember as well as fitness you will need time on the bike and coping with the discomfort fatigue etc. Also practice drinking and feeding on the bike - Food is key - keep munching flapjacks, bananas etc.

I did the Manchester 100 many years ago - it wasn't hilly at all - it was quite a long day though. Enjoy !

Vino'sGhost

Milemuncher1 wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Webboo wrote:

Or you could do a 50 mile ride with two computers and record it as one ride of 100 miles.

Boom! We have a winner

Yeah, it doesn’t work like that, but you wouldn’t know that, because you don’t actually ride enough.

Frank Wilson

Until I did my first 100 I had never cycled that far.

cld531c

Frank Wilson wrote:

Until I did my first 100 I had never cycled that far.

ThisGirlCant

Just a quick update on this:

Have managed to get out on the bike a bit more, and successfully did a hilly 40 miles on Sunday in 26 degree heat. I was worried, but I coped much better than expected.

For the first time ever, I used an electrolyte drink rather than plain water. I feel like this really did help avoid dehydration issues (I was sweating a LOT), and kept me feeling fresher for longer.

I didn't particularly get any aches or pains, and my legs felt like they could have gone much further. I'm pretty sure my bike fits me well.

I made the error of not taking any food with me, and regretted this at exactly the 30 mile mark when I felt terrible - wobbly, weak and dizzy. I assume this was low blood sugar, and I'm certain that a few biscuits or a handful of sweets at this point would have made the world of difference. So lesson learned for the big ride with regards to nutrition.

The other issue was wearing underwear. I understand that this isn't the done thing, but I only have the one pair of shorts, and don't want to have to constantly be washing them. Unfortunately because of the heat, I sweated a lot and this led to considerable chaffing and I've ended up with what looks like grazes on the erm... soft tissue. (sorry TMI!)

So last night I went out with nothing under my shorts, and although the existing sores hurt, it did feel more comfortable overall. I've also just bought another pair of cheap shorts so I can wash one/wear one.

I'm feeling a bit more positive about my ability to do the 100 miles, and have received lots of very generous donations. This is definitely motivating me!

Thanks all!

Thigh_burn

Glad to hear it's going well. A couple of things: you definitely will need food, just make sure to eat a little and often, rather than trying to play catch-up. Keeping the engine fuelled, rather running on fumes, will make things much more pleasant and you won't bonk - which is what it sounds like happened.

As for the chaffing, that's exactly the problem with underwear. I'm male, and have read about some of the specific issues that women have that men don't when it comes to saddles, pressure etc. There seems to be a lot of good stuff online. Also, try chamois cream.

kingdav

ThisGirlCant wrote:

I made the error of not taking any food with me, and regretted this at exactly the 30 mile mark when I felt terrible - wobbly, weak and dizzy. I assume this was low blood sugar, and I'm certain that a few biscuits or a handful of sweets at this point would have made the world of difference. So lesson learned for the big ride with regards to nutrition.

One of the key lessons for me was that by the time you feel hungry, it's a bit too late really. If you plan to eat little and often and do it regardless of how hungry you feel, you should hopefully keep topping yourself up as you lose the stores of energy. I found otherwise I'd get to about 80 miles and not enjoy the rest of the ride at all dragging myself on. Even if you have a gel or jellybeans or some other quick fix, once you're properly hungry it's hard to turn it around.

ThisGirlCant wrote:

The other issue was wearing underwear. I understand that this isn't the done thing, but I only have the one pair of shorts, and don't want to have to constantly be washing them. Unfortunately because of the heat, I sweated a lot and this led to considerable chaffing and I've ended up with what looks like grazes on the erm... soft tissue. (sorry TMI!)

So last night I went out with nothing under my shorts, and although the existing sores hurt, it did feel more comfortable overall. I've also just bought another pair of cheap shorts so I can wash one/wear one.

I am not a lady, but will confess that I do wear pants, I just never got used to the commando idea and it works ok for me. Cheap shorts may be a false economy, depending on what you've ended up with. Decathlon & aldi for example will do some cheap shorts with decent enough pads, ones I've had from sportsdirect though, were pants. The pad had no structure to it and they became uncomfortable. These days I tend to buy bibshorts/tights from planetx for about £20 and they work ok.

ricky_h-2

Sounds like you are well on track and now it's time to think about fuelling the longer distances (unless you want to go keto and that's a whole other subject).
There's loads written about nutrition but in a nutshell the general guidance is drink before you get thirsty and eat before you get hungry.
For me, I try and carry the food with me from the outset and make sure I have consumed it regularly through the ride. Some like electrolytes and gels, others go for water and real food. For me I like a mixture of savoury and sweet good as sugary stuff can get sickly. Plenty of time to experiment and find what works for you.
Best of luck with the rest of the training

webboo

You are not supposed to wear underwear with cycling shorts.

mamil314

kingdav wrote:

ones I've had from sportsdirect though, were pants.

Steady now! Butt good effort.

ThisGirlCant

Webboo wrote:

You are not supposed to wear underwear with cycling shorts.

Yes, I'm aware. However I couldn't face having to wash my shorts every single time I went out on my bike - hence the reason for pants. It hasn't bothered me up until I started doing longer distances in the hotter weather.

apreading

I wore underwear with bibshorts for several years. Didnt have any problems with it whatsoever. I did switch to not wearing any several years ago though, and I still have no problems with it whatsoever. Obviously the extra layer will generate more warmth though - which could be good in winter but less so in summar and could lead to more sweating.

Thigh_burn

ThisGirlCant wrote:

Webboo wrote:

You are not supposed to wear underwear with cycling shorts.

Yes, I'm aware. However I couldn't face having to wash my shorts every single time I went out on my bike - hence the reason for pants. It hasn't bothered me up until I started doing longer distances in the hotter weather.

Even with underwear on I think you really should wash them after every use. Your bum is one of three contact points with the bike, there's lots of rubbing, sweating etc even on a cool day. There's going to be a fair bit of bacteria doing its damndest to bugger things up.

stueys

I would -
- buy the time crunched cyclist book by Carmichael, it's gives you good advice on nutrition, etc, and has a nice 12 week plan you can follow. I used it years ago and found it useful to get going
- definitely buy more bibs and don't wear underwear, they aren't designed to be worn with underwear
- eat whilst you're riding, aim for around 60 grammes of carbs an hour. But once a week see if you can ride first thing in the morning with just a cup of coffee and water in the bottles. Keep intensity low and try to get out to 2 hours. That will help to get your body to become more fat adapted and depend less on carbs. If you've not done much endurance sport in your past then your body probably needs to adapt a bit

milemuncher1

Stueys wrote:

Keep intensity low and try to get out to 2 hours. That will help to get your body to become more fat adapted and depend less on carbs. If you've not done much endurance sport in your past then your body probably needs to adapt a bit

Hallelujah, someone else ‘gets it’.

keef66

I'm still unsuccessfully trying to persuade my son he should get a couple of pairs of decent bibshorts and ditch the underwear. I thought Sunday's 60 mile charity ride in the heat might change his mind, but no. You just can't help some people...

simon_e

ThisGirlCant wrote:

Webboo wrote:

You are not supposed to wear underwear with cycling shorts.

Yes, I'm aware. However I couldn't face having to wash my shorts every single time I went out on my bike - hence the reason for pants. It hasn't bothered me up until I started doing longer distances in the hotter weather.

That's exactly why you need to wash your shorts regularly. It's not a big job, you could just do a 5-minute handwash in the sink with a bit of hand soap or laundry liquid, wring them out or spin in the machine. At this time of year they will dry quickly.

Underwear will only make things worse, especially in warm weather. Good idea buying a second pair of shorts. Chamois cream may be worthwhile and I find Weleda nappy cream really helps with chafed skin and saddle sores.

40 hilly miles in these temperatures is good going. Stick at it, you'll definitely see further benefits if you persevere.

ben@31

Imposter wrote:

Webboo wrote:

Or you could do a 50 mile ride with two computers and record it as one ride of 100 miles.

Boom! We have a winner

You laugh but I've seen people on a Strava "club" do this. Their feed displays it as a group ride where the same profile has rode with a clone copy.

ben@31

I did my first metric or imperial century by accident... I got to 90 and thought I'm so close I might as well "ride around the block" to round it up to 100.

My advice is....

- Take your time and pace yourself. Take it easier.

- It takes as long as it takes. Especially this time of the year with so many hours of daylight where you've more time. Later on in the year have a set of lights so it doesn't matter what time you finish.

- Eat a little bit every 1 hour or 1.5 hours during the ride.

- I have a good high carb breakfast of porridge. Maybe a ton of pasta the night before. But this carb loading maybe a psychological placebo?

- Get everything prepared the night before. Tyres inflated, chain re-lubed, Garmin and phone 100% charged, shorts and jersey to hand. Psychologically I always feel more confident if the bike is prepared, maybe I'm not worrying about it going wrong mid ride.

- Somebody suggested getting your missus to drop you off 100 miles from home, you'd get back

But the biggest thing to remember is... if you set off early enough, You'd do a century eventually by the end of the day. Takes as long as it takes.