5 weeks to LEJoG -training advice

fatfifer
fatfifer Posts: 10
edited May 2007 in Training, fitness and health
Hi there I'm planning an End to End trip and have been training with one or two evening runs of 30ish miles and one weekend run of 50ish since the Easter weekend.
Problem is I did 57 miles on Sat then the same on Sun - no problem till I got up today(Monday) stiff as a board and definately not wanting to get on a bike. This worried me as time is running out.
Do I just try to make the time to cycle more often or should I go for longer runs or both. Any advice would be much appreciated. For what its worth I'm 51 and a regular mountain biker not really a roadie. If I've posted this in the wrong forum please feel free to move this post.

Comments

  • vernonlevy
    vernonlevy Posts: 969
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by fatfifer</i>

    Hi there I'm planning an End to End trip and have been training with one or two evening runs of 30ish miles and one weekend run of 50ish since the Easter weekend.
    Problem is I did 57 miles on Sat then the same on Sun - no problem till I got up today(Monday) stiff as a board and definately not wanting to get on a bike. This worried me as time is running out.
    Do I just try to make the time to cycle more often or should I go for longer runs or both. Any advice would be much appreciated. For what its worth I'm 51 and a regular mountain biker not really a roadie. If I've posted this in the wrong forum please feel free to move this post.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    You haven't mentioned how you are doing the ride:
    supported?
    camping?
    B&B/hostelling?
    miles per day?

    Last year I did 14 x 100km and 1 x 200km Audaxes from mid - February to mid July. I then had a fortnight off for a family holiday in Greece, came back, did one 100km Audax the day after as a shakedown trial for my freshly rebuilt Galaxy then set off the day after that for John O'Groats for a JOGLE.

    I don't think that all of the riding was necessary - the previous year I'd only done half that distance before doing LEJOG and I had an enforced fortnight off immediately before the ride because of a shoulder injury.

    Long distance touring is as much about one's state of mind as it is about fitness. If you set out with the intention of completing the ride, break it up into day sized chunks and on each day, think no further than completing that day's target. I did 60 - 70 miles per day. If you are taking your time as I did, you can spend up to 12 hours doing that distance making for a leisurely ride.

    Camping offered me more flexibility so I could go 'over distance' without the worry of cancelling/re-booking accommodation. Equally I didn't beat myself up the day I did only thirty five miles - Shap was cold wet and as miserable as it always is and it was easy to make up the deficit in the ensuing week.

    It is important that you eat well before, during and after each day's ride. Did you eat well after your Sunday ride? What sort of pace were you riding at?

    FWIW I'm 49 and weigh in at around 21 stones and am only marginally lighter than when I did LEJOG and JOGLE.

    Keep at it. You'll get there.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I would keep with a few evening rides but do some longer weekend rides. Rest on Monday and Friday. On the tour you will feel on 'a bit of a mission', it is much harder to get on your bike when you are stiff/tired at home than it is when you are already a few days into the big trip.

    It is a fabulous ride! Take a 10 min break every 10 miles. Be on your bike before 8am (get more than half of the miles done before lunch very good psychologically).

    Use chocolate milkshake or (Mars drink) drink a few times during the day or at least at the end. V good for recovery.

    Above all if you have a fast road and feel good avoid the temptation to really go quick, you will suffer 20 miles later. Restrain yourself' Slow and sready wins the race'.

    Did it last yr in 13 days using yhas and had a ball. Brilliant way to see the country. Doing it this year in 7 (hopefully!!!)

    GOOD LUCK
  • fatfifer
    fatfifer Posts: 10
    Thanks for the advice and the encouragement. I guess I just got a bit of a shock feeling so bad after only 2 back to back days. Well be doing the trip in 14 days supported by a friend with a caravan so there is a lot of flexibility. There will be two of us cycling. In training we have been averaging 12 to 13 mph but speed varies a lot. We're mountain bikers rather than roadies but have bought touring bikes for this trip. My mate has a Dawes Audax and I have a Raleigh Venture.
    On reflection I probably didn't eat very sensibly on Sunday night.Thanks again for your help.

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