Training for a Century

[stephbc]

I have a question for the experts... all of the training guides I've found online require certain days of rest, but I teach indoor cycling 3-4X per week. Do I need to switch rest days? Do I include my indoor classes as part of the training?

I've never done a century...any advice would be so greatly appreciated...

:wink:

[Patrick]

Since most instructors stay below their AT or LT while teaching, I don't see a problem with teaching 4 times a week while preparing for your first century. Generally most first timers like to get a 70 mile ride under their belt about a week before attempting their first century.

Get a calendar and mark the date of your century. Then count backwards. Do a 70 mile ride the week before, a 60 mile ride the week before that, then a 50, and so on.

During the century, stop at all of the rest stops but only for a short period. Eat moderately, drink one water bottle an hour, take some electrolytes, stretch briefly and get back on the bike before your muscles start to stiffen-up.

[Legspeed]

Ex∙pert - a combination of the Latin word 'ex', meaning a has been; and the word 'spurt' (origin unknown), meaning to leak under pressure. Expert: a has been that leaks under pressure.

Steph, what's your longest ride to date? That will determine in large part just how much you will have to train. Patrick gave some good advice, but I'm going to respectfully disagree with a few of his points.

First, teaching 4x week WILL have an impact on the training. True, most instructors stay below LT while teaching. But it's also true that many stray well above the temperate zone, leaving them in a training "no-man's land": not hard enough to induce the training effect and too hard to facilitate proper recovery. So, definitely count the classes as part of your training volume. And yes, you need rest days. There's generally lots of latitude on where you place them in your schedule, but they are extremely important. It's how you realize your performance gains. Maybe you can teach off the bike one day a week.

Most plans place the longest training ride at least two weeks before the event. It's important to taper your volume and intensity in the week before the event so you start refreshed and well rested. Guess what that means about spinstructing for that last week? Off the bike or sub it out.

As for the ride itself, I wouldn't recommend stopping at every rest stop. Generally, rest stops are spaced about 10 miles apart. I would stop at every other one for the first half of the ride and then gauge how you're feeling for the second half. I've coached a ton of cyclists through their first century and it's been my observation that those that stop early and often seem to suffer a bit more towards the end. Not sure why. I suspect, though, that a large part of it is simply mental weariness. What Mr. Berra said about baseball is appropos for cycling: "90% of cycling is mental and the other half is physical."

[spin-up]

I'm not too much a fan of letting your personal cyclingtraining interfere with teaching Spinclass. With teaching the students come first and with new students etc you cannot do an off-bike class.

I never count my teaching hours as part of the training. Cycling outdoors (training) and spinning are 2 differtent things. Keep them seperated.

Only when you don't have enough time for training you can add the spinning hours, but never let the classes become part of your training. It's not fair for the students, and cycling training is so much different than spinning. Should be.

I think Legspeed and Patrick gve some usefull advise. Indeed, stopping at restingplaces is very personal. I never use them unless when running out of water or food and than get on the bike as quickly as possible. If you get tired just slow down to lower HR for a while but keep cycling.

[Bike4ale]

All good advice so far. You can read and research all you want, but I don't think there's any textbook answer on how to complete your first century. Use the rest stops when you need to....don't when you don't. I suggest 1 water bottle per hour and 1 energy drink per hour along with solid food or gels...but don't overeat at the stops. I weigh 225 and try to intake 200-300 calories per hour on a long distance ride.

As far as training....for what it's worth...one of my regular spinners just completed his first 100-mile century 2 weeks ago along with a 50-miler the following day. All this from spinning 2-3x per week on a regular basis and his longest outdoor ride prior was only 32 miles! He does cross-train and is in very good shape.

Is teaching part of your training? I had a pretty long thread about this very topic (see Indoor Cycling, "I know class is for members....but..."). I say for distance/charity rides....yes. Training for races....no.

[madcyclist]

I agree with Spin-up. I don't count my instruction time on the bike (as little as it is) as training.

The main thing with doing a long ride (such as a century) is endurance. By endurance I mean the ability to cruise at a sustained pace for long periods of time with a break.

The thought of doing 100 miles is more freightening that it5 actually is. I wouldn't stop at every rest stop - believe it or not. Think about stopping at mile 40 (or the second rest stop) as your first stop. Once your body gets used to the constance effort it will not want to stop. Stopping and going will disrupt your rhythm and you'll end up making the ride harder than what it really is.

Add some running (on the treadmill) into your training plan too. Running is great for building cardio endurance - it makes me stronger on the bike. I don't know what condition you're in, but, just as making you rides longer and longer, try running for 15 minutes at a moderate pace and make them longer by 5 mins at a time. I try to run once or twice a week to aid my cycling.

Doing a century is a mental challenge too. So prepare your mind to settle in during your ride. Focus and enjoy the scenery as you move down the road. Don't worry about looking at your cyclocomputer - it will make you more tired (pyschological) than you really are.

Just some other pointers.
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