training advice appreciated

[newierider]

GOOD LUCK ON SUNDAY!

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aaaand finished. Started off well, but coming back from the west head lookout really knocked me around. After all those hills, I was burnt out running on fumes, even though i was drinking and snacking throughout the ride.

Had to pull over for 10min and sit (AT) the 77km mark.. felt dead, started feeling ill, but after the 10min rest, felt a little better.. then of course more hills :/.

Absolutely sore alll over. My my neck/upper back was probably the worst, gave me a headache. knees and arms all sore. Got a couple of cramps getting off the bike in a few parts.. not a good feeling.

Spent the last 30km in the easiest gear (cog 28 + small chainring),, that even felt unusually hard, even since the start (thought there was added resistance somewhere).. but managed to crawl to the top of the hills.. down hills were good, slipped into aero and even found myself rolling to the top of the next hill (with the help of riders infront )

All up, completed in just under 4:45. Made it to the cut off section (where 80/100km rider split off) in about 2:35 (9:09am).. happy with that, was my only real concern making it there in time.

Thanks to all for your advice on trainer, much appreciated

[newierider]

well done matey, sounds like you might have gone out too hard with all the excitement of the race, or possibly just bonked! i.e. not enough food and water etc.. who knows! it is a tough event, i remember it well! you did it in a great time, was that the strava ride time? or full elapsed time?

great work!

[Widget]

well done matey, sounds like you might have gone out too hard with all the excitement of the race, or possibly just bonked! i.e. not enough food and water etc.. who knows! it is a tough event, i remember it well! you did it in a great time, was that the strava ride time? or full elapsed time?

great work!

Thanks Newie , I think it was all the hills that made me bonk.. and maybe being up all night wasn't the best thing for this distance :/. Fueled up with a couple of bananas before the race and drinking a mix of 2x tablets of High Five Electrolyte drink + added sugar.
Going out I felt ok, hanging with the majority of my wave

4:44:49 was strava 'moving time', elapse time was '5:57:15', which included drink breaks, waiting on a couple of people, a flat from one of the riders, bonking etc..

[g-boaf]

well done matey, sounds like you might have gone out too hard with all the excitement of the race, or possibly just bonked! i.e. not enough food and water etc.. who knows! it is a tough event, i remember it well! you did it in a great time, was that the strava ride time? or full elapsed time?

great work!

Thanks Newie , I think it was all the hills that made me bonk.. and maybe being up all night wasn't the best thing for this distance :/. Fueled up with a couple of bananas before the race and drinking a mix of 2x tablets of High Five Electrolyte drink + added sugar.
Going out I felt ok, hanging with the majority of my wave

4:44:49 was strava 'moving time', elapse time was '5:57:15', which included drink breaks, waiting on a couple of people, a flat from one of the riders, bonking etc..

I'm pretty sure that was the wrong thing to do. If you are dead tired, you cannot ride so well. Why don't you try the ride again, but do it with a good nights sleep the evening before and see how different it feels. But it really sounds like you bonked, and maybe some better pacing, and if you do it again, perhaps some more rides that are closer to what that ride is like. The more of them you do, the easier it gets, gradually. Good work completing it.

I'm going overseas later this year, and sickness aside at the moment, I'm doing whatever I can to prepare for it, be it very long intervals at high power and hopefully when I'm not crook and the weather isn't nasty, some long hills and plenty of them. I've got plenty of time to do that and starting from a decent base already. The long intervals are simple as anything, just sit at a high power level for a very long time, rest for a bit after it, then do it again and tough it out, even though it hurts quite a lot in the last 5 minutes. And you keep doing them, it gets a bit easier. And then you get out on your bike and you start noticing the changes.

[Widget]

Hey G-boaf,

I'm usually up all night, and in bed just before sunrise. Decided not to change sleep pattern in case it interfered with the early morning ride. When I started, I was fine, not tired at all. Was only at the 70km mark +/- when I felt buggered. I did a couple of rides with no sleep (training ride and Bobbin head 52km a couple years back, felt better and more energetic for the ride *shrug*.

Doing the ride again? Yeee..no..no I don't think so lol!.. at least not without a lot more training. I'll certainly have to ride the distance more though, and I'll chuck in more hills/intervals.
What do you recommend for distance if doing those long interval type rides ?

[Derny Driver]

Scott Tinley (champion triathlete) once said that the greatest enemy of fitness is lack of sleep. Its so important. But if you have been getting regular sleep and then the night before an event you have a bad night, then you can still perform well. My best race wins were achieved after a poor nights sleep due to nerves. Many people I coach have had a bad nights sleep (or even no sleep) before a big championship and it has had no effect on performance.
But as I said, poor sleep patterns over days or weeks is another matter.

[g-boaf]

Hey G-boaf,

I'm usually up all night, and in bed just before sunrise. Decided not to change sleep pattern in case it interfered with the early morning ride. When I started, I was fine, not tired at all. Was only at the 70km mark +/- when I felt buggered. I did a couple of rides with no sleep (training ride and Bobbin head 52km a couple years back, felt better and more energetic for the ride *shrug*.

Doing the ride again? Yeee..no..no I don't think so lol!.. at least not without a lot more training. I'll certainly have to ride the distance more though, and I'll chuck in more hills/intervals.
What do you recommend for distance if doing those long interval type rides ?

Nothing special, just consistent decent kms will help you a lot. You'll just get fitter and quicker as you go. Then as you get better, start adding more hills.

Some people might be blessed with the ability to have little sleep and manage work and riding and everything else quite well, but I'm not one of them. And I do not recommend it. It's the perfect way to get run yourself down and get crook. There are other downsides too, like not being as attentive.

I can clearly understand DD's comment about nerves affecting sleep too. That's normal.

[MellerYeller]

Awesome thread for a noob to road bikes/basic training.

Newierider, you've treaded a clear path for people like me to follow in prepping for a sportive. Just under 8 months out, so there should be plenty of time to prep for this years L'etape. I'm essentially following something similar in building up the base miles at this point (@84km last ride), then going to hit the hills once I feel comfortable covering 120-130km on a single ride.

[kb]

But as I said, poor sleep patterns over days or weeks is another matter.

With a 3 month old I can verify this! It was a bit of a revelation the difference between 5 continuous hours sleep and 5 hours over 3 or 4 parts.

[newierider]

Scott Tinley (champion triathlete) once said that the greatest enemy of fitness is lack of sleep. Its so important. But if you have been getting regular sleep and then the night before an event you have a bad night, then you can still perform well. My best race wins were achieved after a poor nights sleep due to nerves. Many people I coach have had a bad nights sleep (or even no sleep) before a big championship and it has had no effect on performance.
But as I said, poor sleep patterns over days or weeks is another matter.

i am very late to this but its an interesting comment derny!.. its exactly what chris froome said at his talk the day before L'Etape!

he was saying obviously, try to get a good nights rest, but a lot of you wont due to excitement / nerves etc.. but dont stress about it as the same thing happens to the pro's, froome mentioned the night before one of his stage wins, he only got three hours sleep.

i am just about to get into a training plan for L'etape in december. 30 weeks of it, i should be better prepared this time

it was hard training with a 1yr old, but now he's approching 2 1/2 and he's a bit easier to manage. instead of having to leave the family for 4-6hrs on a sunday like last year, i have decided to take friday mornings off work (i work for myself) so i can start my long ride at 5am and start work at midday

1 week after L'Etape i am heading to see family in the uk and i'm planning to ride 300k from sheffield to london over 2 days while i still have the fitness... but we will see!

[newierider]

Awesome thread for a noob to road bikes/basic training.

Newierider, you've treaded a clear path for people like me to follow in prepping for a sportive. Just under 8 months out, so there should be plenty of time to prep for this years L'etape. I'm essentially following something similar in building up the base miles at this point (@84km last ride), then going to hit the hills once I feel comfortable covering 120-130km on a single ride.

awesome! good luck fella!

[MellerYeller]

awesome! good luck fella!

100km ride knocked off.
Only 500 odd metres of climbing over the 100km, first case of cramps in a long time at the 80 odd km mark. At current rate I should have have the base mileage done by end of June at latest!

[newierider]

hello again everyone!
so its L'Etape time again and i have unfinished business.. (crashed last year at 138k)

the training has gone pretty well, managed to knock out more 100k+ rides out than last year. admittedly though the mental game got to me more this year, about three weeks ago i just felt so bored of going out and doing these long rides! i was lacking enthusiasm and i wasnt riding very hard.

looking at strava's "fitness and freshness" there has been a steady build, not as steep as last years, i think due to riding less hills so the rides were easier. unfortunately i have been stuck for time this time around hence riding flatter faster routes but still getting the 100k+ rides in. i did test myself on one of last years hilly training rides about 2 months ago to see how i compared, and i was faster on the hills, even being heavier than last year! so im confident i will handle the terrain ok.

this sunday will be my last big ride before the event (giving me 5-6 days to recover / taper) weather prediction is hot.

so i have one question, should i...

a. go all out and push myself to my limits
b. do a long ride but add a few more hills than i have been doing.
c. dont change things up, just do one of my usual long rides that i have been doing.

thanks guys!

[g-boaf]

hello again everyone!
so its L'Etape time again and i have unfinished business.. (crashed last year at 138k)

the training has gone pretty well, managed to knock out more 100k+ rides out than last year. admittedly though the mental game got to me more this year, about three weeks ago i just felt so bored of going out and doing these long rides! i was lacking enthusiasm and i wasnt riding very hard.

looking at strava's "fitness and freshness" there has been a steady build, not as steep as last years, i think due to riding less hills so the rides were easier. unfortunately i have been stuck for time this time around hence riding flatter faster routes but still getting the 100k+ rides in. i did test myself on one of last years hilly training rides about 2 months ago to see how i compared, and i was faster on the hills, even being heavier than last year! so im confident i will handle the terrain ok.

this sunday will be my last big ride before the event (giving me 5-6 days to recover / taper) weather prediction is hot.

so i have one question, should i...

a. go all out and push myself to my limits
b. do a long ride but add a few more hills than i have been doing.
c. dont change things up, just do one of my usual long rides that i have been doing.

thanks guys!

Don't change it up, just keep doing the rides you are doing. A few days ahead of it, ease off.

I don't think I need to say much more than that, seems like you've got everything well under control.

[newierider]

hi g-boaf! great to hear from you again! cant believe it was a year ago since the first attempt at this ride! thanks for the advice, hope your training is going well.

[Derny Driver]

Errr NOT a) mate !!!

b or c
Tend to agree with gboaf in that the hills are not critical, what you need is just good fitness and some good long rides in your legs ... and you will be fine.
Good luck. Stay well clear of the wobblers this time !

[MellerYeller]

Hey Newie,

B or C mate.
My prep has been all over the place between inclement weather, work, and illness *lol*.
Last long ride was 106km 2 weeks ago and only 83 today. I'm only going to get two more rides in - one on Sunday, and another on Tuesday. Going to keep the Tuesday ride down to only 60km and then a light spinout on the trainer Wednesday night.

I'll be happy just to make it to the end.

[newierider]

Errr NOT a) mate !!!

b or c
Tend to agree with gboaf in that the hills are not critical, what you need is just good fitness and some good long rides in your legs ... and you will be fine.
Good luck. Stay well clear of the wobblers this time !

haha, yeah thanks mate! ive got a bit more experience this year, plenty of k's in the legs and a lot of bunch riding time. cant wait!