REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

A bit of training advice needed.

600 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by MightySchmoePong, Jun 30, 2009

MightySchmoePong

Discussion Starter · Jun 28, 2009

Folks,

I'm planning on doing the W101 Aug. 1st. It's the main race I'm training for this year. There's going to be a 12 hour race two weeks before (12 Hours of St. Jude) in Avalon. I'm thinking about doing this as the last bit of hardcore training before I start to ease off a little.

Is 12 hours two weeks before too much to do? I'll probably only be averaging 8-10 hours of week riding in the month beforehand and I'm afraid it will dig too deep of a hole to recover from.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Dave

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heythorp

· #2 · Jun 29, 2009

Hard to give advise without more of a background.

Do you race your local XC events?
How many years have you been riding?
How much do you ride a year?
How long do you think it will take you to do the 101?

On the surface a 12 hour race/ride 2 weeks out might be too much for the average person. However, maybe you have done a bunch of these things before and its not a big deal.

Maybe goto the 12 hour race and ride for 5-7 hours and call it quits. Good training and not pushing the limits.

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MightySchmoePong

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 29, 2009

heythorp said:
Hard to give advise without more of a background.

Do you race your local XC events?
How many years have you been riding?
How much do you ride a year?
How long do you think it will take you to do the 101?

On the surface a 12 hour race/ride 2 weeks out might be too much for the average person. However, maybe you have done a bunch of these things before and its not a big deal.

Maybe goto the 12 hour race and ride for 5-7 hours and call it quits. Good training and not pushing the limits.

I do the occasional local XC race, along w/ team 24 hour events and such. Been riding since the 80's, mountain biking since the early 90's, and I get in probably 4/5K miles of road and MTB a year.

I'm in pretty good shape, and I've done a few 100 milers before. I'm shooting for 10-11 hours for the 101. I've always done a ridiculous 2 week taper going into them that I'm pretty sure blew a lot of fitness in the past. This time I'm going to keep training at somewhat reduced volume until a few days before, and I'm just worried that a 12 hour race two weeks before will dig too deep a hole. I'd also find it difficult to only do 5-6 hours of a 12 hour event; If I signed up I'd probably be driven to do the whole 12 hours.

I'm leaning towards just doing a longish 6 hour or so ride that weekend by myself. I don't think I'll gain _that_ much doing a 12 hour race, and the possibility of screwing up my A race makes me nervous.

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heythorp

· #4 · Jun 29, 2009

MightySchmoePong said:
I do the occasional local XC race, along w/ team 24 hour events and such. Been riding since the 80's, mountain biking since the early 90's, and I get in probably 4/5K miles of road and MTB a year.

I'm in pretty good shape, and I've done a few 100 milers before. I'm shooting for 10-11 hours for the 101. I've always done a ridiculous 2 week taper going into them that I'm pretty sure blew a lot of fitness in the past. This time I'm going to keep training at somewhat reduced volume until a few days before, and I'm just worried that a 12 hour race two weeks before will dig too deep a hole. I'd also find it difficult to only do 5-6 hours of a 12 hour event; If I signed up I'd probably be driven to do the whole 12 hours.

I'm leaning towards just doing a longish 6 hour or so ride that weekend by myself. I don't think I'll gain _that_ much doing a 12 hour race, and the possibility of screwing up my A race makes me nervous.

Seems like you have plenty of experience that you can lean on to answer this question. You certainly know yourself better than anyone here.

You ride as much if not more than I do. (not that I am someone you should measure yourself against)

You have been riding a lot longer than me, by at least 10 years.

12 hours 2 weeks out is boarder line if you want your A game come the 101 (in my opinion)

No reason you cant break 10 hours if you race the 101. Sub 11 JRA won't be an issue.

I agree, you wont gain anything 2 weeks out by doing a 12 hour ride and its more probable that it can hurt you.

My last planned long ride is 2 weeks out, probably 5-7 hours on the road bike. (again, not that you should listen to what I am doing.)

My goal is sub 10, If all breaks 100% according to plan 9:30 is the ultimate goal.

Out of curiosity what other 100's have you done and what have been your times.

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MightySchmoePong

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 30, 2009

heythorp said:
Seems like you have plenty of experience that you can lean on to answer this question. You certainly know yourself better than anyone here.

You ride as much if not more than I do. (not that I am someone you should measure yourself against)

You have been riding a lot longer than me, by at least 10 years.

12 hours 2 weeks out is boarder line if you want your A game come the 101 (in my opinion)

No reason you cant break 10 hours if you race the 101. Sub 11 JRA won't be an issue.

I agree, you wont gain anything 2 weeks out by doing a 12 hour ride and its more probable that it can hurt you.

My last planned long ride is 2 weeks out, probably 5-7 hours on the road bike. (again, not that you should listen to what I am doing.)

My goal is sub 10, If all breaks 100% according to plan 9:30 is the ultimate goal.

Out of curiosity what other 100's have you done and what have been your times.

Heh, Ive done a few 100 milers, but I'm not fast! I did the SM100 a couple of times in ~12 hours. I did the Wild100 in Slatyfork once as well; that's a fun one. I DNF'ed the 101 a few years back when it was hot and humid as hell. I got behind on my eating and drinking early on and hit the first 40 miles way too hard since it was so easy. Massive full body cramps and dizziness made me bail at mile 74. I know the 101 is faster than the SM100, so I figure that along w/ much better fitness this year should put me around 10-11 hours. Or so the theory goes

It all depends on how hot it gets; I do NOT do well with heat.

I'm in much better shape for racing than I've ever been in the past, I would always taper for 2-3 weeks before a big race, but I've come to believe that this only is effective if you've really built a HUGE reserve of fitness. I think I'm going to skip the 12 hour race and just knock out a long train/road ride, and then ride enough to maintain fitness and get a bit of freshness back. I do think it would be too much for me.

Thanks for the advice and good luck on the 101. Hope the sub 10 hours works out for ya.

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