A century journey — a bicycle journey of 100 miles — is to a bicycle owner as a marathon has to a runner: a lengthy sufficient length to be a large obstacle, even though nevertheless an attainable intention for a committed athlete.
Nonetheless, preparing is essential. So how do you prepare for a century journey to enhance your overall performance? Below, you are going to understand how to put together in the weeks ahead of your 100-miler, how to put together on the working day of, and how to eat to fuel your trip.
Preparation is key with a main endurance celebration these as this.
The best gift you can give by yourself is time. Even with a superior foundation physical fitness stage, a 16-week coaching strategy is fairly acceptable.
If you lack stamina, kicking that time up to 6 months might be a great thought. Program on building endurance usually with a wide range of routines for a couple months prior to launching into a committed biking method.
To design and style a instruction program for your century ride, it’s essential to check with your self a few concerns:
Do you have the appropriate sort of bicycle?
Based on your event, you could possibly fare much better with a road bicycle (narrow tires), a hybrid bike (a mix involving street and mountain bicycle), a mountain bike (heavier than a street bike, but outfitted with a suspension technique to accommodate extra rugged terrain), or a gravel bicycle (with wider tires and a reduce center of gravity, made for much more unstable situations).
Where by is your journey taking place?
What will the temperature be like? Is there altitude? Do your study to get a fantastic notion of what to hope from the aspects on the day of your celebration, and coach accordingly. If you are education at sea stage indoors, and the journey is outdoors in the mountains, for instance, weather conditions and cardiovascular endurance will be crucial things to consider.
Get the right gear
You may possibly consider you are going to be cycling outdoor on your road bike for all of your coaching, but consider what you will do when problems do not enable you to trip exterior. Rain, snow, ice, or smoky situations may well keep you inside of. Look at investing in a nicely-proportioned stationary cycle or an indoor bicycle coach.
There are several reputable trainers available to mount your street bike to for indoor use. You can even hook up your trainer to an application this sort of as Zwift to give you an immersive virtual experience, competing with and riding with other real cyclists.
Furthermore, feel about the other equipment you may possibly need to have. Not only do you want a fantastic bicycle for the century, but you will want to make investments in some very good biking sneakers, some padded shorts, and a heart level check. Feel about storage on your bicycle for fuel, and drinking water bottle holders for hydration.
Have a repair service kit on your bicycle for mishaps on the street. Get a fantastic helmet and make a thoughtful selection about clips as opposed to cages or system pedals.
Clips can be daunting for a new bike owner, but can supply a much smoother ride. Cages, conversely, can be a bit cumbersome without the need of experience as locked in as a clip. Platforms enable any sneakers to be worn, but don’t offer you the sleek journey or safe footing of the former two.
At the time you are organized for your century, have the suitable gear, and are ready to experience, you are going to need to have to really do the work. A good training program will contain numerous factors, this sort of as a extended distance ride, velocity intervals, hill climbs, cross coaching, and some heart price education.
As soon as you are a seasoned century rider, you can use a far more individualized and subtle instruction method. For your initial shot, just having the miles in with a variety of stressors (pace, resistance, hills, and so forth) will prepare you nicely.
Right here is a primary prepare:
Nutrition is an critical element in any stamina event, and your achievements can ride (pun supposed) on your awareness to this very important ingredient. Your consumption of energy and macronutrients will differ in instruction and on race working day, and understanding just how and when to take in can make a variance.
Through teaching
Make confident you are feeding on normal healthful meals and not likely into any workout depleted of vitality. A significant meal of protein and fats can sluggish you down a little bit, but as very long as you are feeding on a assortment of foodstuff that are mostly healthful, no important preparing is necessary.
For rides or other stamina exercise routines of underneath 90 minutes, no more calories or cabohydrates are required. Fueling with water, or in excessive circumstances these kinds of as warmth, a minimal- or no-calorie electrolyte drink is ample to support the perform.
If your exercise session is around 90 minutes but underneath 2.5 hrs, you will want to choose in 30–60 grams of carbohydates just about every hour (
Maintaining the stream of carbs into the physique can help the blood stay flush with glycogen, delivering electricity for the tough do the job of driving. Skipping this stage can offer your blood and liver of glycogen, resulting in the human body to are unsuccessful in its generation of the muscular gas adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and hence causing thoughts of exhaustion and loss of electrical power (
It does not matter how tough you believe you are — when your physique lacks the chemical parts to generate work, your get the job done fails.
Experiment with what will work for you. If excessive entire body weight is a issue for you, participate in close to with the small stop of that equation (30 grams per hour) and see if you experience “the bonk”. If you discover your electricity dips even with 30 grams of carbs every hour, increase a little little bit and see if your performance enhances.
For rides of over 2.5 several hours, you need to have to choose in 60–70 grams of carbs for every hour. If that seems like a lot of taking in, select calorie-dense options so you never have to try to eat consistently.
Look for sports activities-precise possibilities (such as Hammer Nutrition’s Perpetuem), but think about sandwiches these types of as a peanut butter and jelly (55 grams of carbs) and dried fruit (10 dried apricots have 44 grams of carbs, though 6 pieces of dried mango have 60 carbs, so do your homework).
Two or a few small, salted red potatoes will also deliver around 60 carbs and can be a great crack from all the sweet food items. There is very good investigation to counsel that introducing protein into your fueling approach for workout routines in excess of 2.5 hours can also enable general performance and help in recovery (
No matter whether or not you choose to observe carb loading (which is not just a huge bowl of pasta just before bedtime the evening right before the race, but in simple fact a multi-day dietary preparing), it’s a superior strategy to hold your diet regime really bland and carb-prosperous the working day prior to your event.
You do not want to invite gastrointestinal distress into a tummy that could now be working with pre-race butterflies. Maintaining your food plan minimal in unwanted fat and fiber as perfectly as significant in carbs and electrolytes will commence your race day with a little bit of an gain.
The hours ahead of the race are vital. You want to have a carbohydrate-abundant breakfast, this sort of as a smoothie, bagel, banana or raisin bread, looking at out for just about anything that may upset the belly or gradual digestion (
This food can be eaten any where from 4 hrs to 1 hour prior to the start of the race, and can match your digestion timeline. The glycogen outlets will continue to be crammed if it is 4 hrs just before the start out of your journey, though you may possibly want an supplemental shot of carbs at the start if that is your tactic.
Retaining hydrated is also significant. Ingesting an electrolyte-abundant drink the day before and early morning of your race can operate to your edge. Several take salt tablets, but sodium is only one electolyte.
Come across a source that consists of also potassium and magnesium, substances that also work in muscle contraction. Using a extra well balanced supply can assist you keep away from muscle mass fatigue and cramping (
Through the experience
All through the century experience, you want to make certain you are having adequate carbohydrate power to not become glycogen depleted — very similar to schooling, but for race day, you may well want to err on the aspect of a little extra carbohydrates.
Assuming the journey will just take over 2.5 hours, you will will need to choose in at minimum the recommended 60–70 grams of carbohydrate for every hour, or even up to 90 grams per hour if it is tolerable for your system (
Start off your experience with an energy gel or some straightforward carb, and make sure you strike your hourly focus on to preserve your stores well prepared for your bigger efforts through the ride.
Much like making ready bodily, planning mentally will give you the ideal shot at achievements.
Be arranged. System the operate so that you can operate the system.
Know the route. The web features us untold treasures of details. You can look at the route, the terrain, the amount of turns and hills in the study course.
You can master way in progress the typical temperature of the experience site on journey day. The weeks in advance of the race you can stalk the weather forecast and plan your wardrobe.
Plan your clothing. Pack your gear. Are you touring? Plan how and when to get to the race place. Know what it will acquire to get your bicycle to your location city. Having these a lot of thoughts answered way in progress can minimize your anxiousness.
You could nevertheless have nerves — you are doing a thing big! Prepare to really feel unprepared. Know that this will take place, but know that you have done the get the job done. For most persons, finishing is the aim. Just take your stress about ending well out of the equation and aim on just ending the journey.
Get started gradual. The a lot more you above-journey in the early miles, the a lot more problems you give yourself in the remaining miles. Know what a continuous rate will glance like for you at the half, at 25 miles, and at 75 miles.
You really do not have to be ideal about it — the hill profile of the training course can mess with your head a bit if it is a highly textured experience, but tuning into that vibe of steadiness can convey you some peace.
Visualize. Image yourself on the route, primarily if you have witnessed it. But if not, go forward and envision it. See on your own using confidently and having fun with your energy.
Photograph your self driving solid uphill. Come to feel the melt away in your thighs and sense that as electric power fairly than discomfort. Commence a practice through your coaching of observing on your own confidently having on these issues and finishing your race powerful, worn out, and full of accomplishment. If you can see it in your mind’s eye, you can obtain it.
- Give you added time. Superior to be calmly bored than waste your adrenaline on trying to get to the commence.
- Pack plenty of gas. Pack a selection of solids and liquids.
- Use the gas. If you’re emotion fairly good and much more than an hour goes by, you may perhaps overlook your window to stay clear of glycogen depletion.
- Sip fluid usually. Waiting for thirst to get there can operate in opposition to you, not only for the danger of dehydration, but also if you get too thirsty and gulp also a great deal fluid, you may be preventing a sloshy tummy later in the race.
- Have a mantra. Assume of something wonderful to say about your self, like “you’re potent and confident”, or a little something fierce, like “you are dominating this course”, or some thing if not catchy to your individual brain, like “I eat hills for breakfast”. It can be whatever lights that fireplace inside of of you.
- Thoughts around subject. When you commence to listen to damaging self-converse in your thoughts, refer to your properly-practiced mantra. It can pull you out of a dark spot.
- Have pleasurable! This is a little something great you will do for your self. At the end line, you will be able to say “I rode a 100-mile bike journey.” Whilst persons might want to hear about the trials and tribulations you satisfied along the way, the story you inform will be a person of perseverance and power. You are an athlete!
Driving a century is a obstacle and accomplishment that handful of just take on, and less finish. If your head and heart are committed, you can develop a much better physique, a fulfillment in your soul, and a story you can tell for existence. Fantastic luck!