[MightySchmoePong]

I'm going to be doing the SM100 in about 7 week. I figure I have 5 more weeks to get in some solid training. I have about a half dozen "long" rides under my belt now. (I.e. 6-7 hour rides, some quite hilly) and a bunch of smaller rides, so I feel OK about my current fitness state. I want to make sure I use the next 5 weeks to really knock myself into the best shape possible before the race.

I figure my finishing time will be around 12 hours. How big should I make the remaining rides? Would it be better to do a 5 hour ride two days in a row or one 8 hour ride? Are my 6 hour rides long enough or should I try for 8 or 9?

Again, thanks in advance for any advice.

Dave

 

[cheepnis]

6 hours rides are plenty long. If you feel good about your endurance then don't knock yourself completely out on many more long rides. Save some energy to do some higher intensity riding. The SM has a lot to do with popping on a climb then recovering on the way down. It's not a steady effort so try to get used to that. Enjoy!

 

[Victor]

If you wanna train from the neck up, do longer rides; however, not at the expense of burning out or over training before your event. I am no expert on this stuff, but I have done 200 km road tours in prep for endurance MTB events (2-3 weeks out) and they served me well dealing with the suffering factor, and they also gave me confidence.

Good luck to you

 

[kosmo]

For me, 60 - 75% of the expected race time, at slightly higher than the expected race pace, works well. Again, for me, nothing over around 3 hours for 7 days b4 the event, tapering to 3 hours 5 days out, then 1.5 hours 3 days out, then soft pedaling only 2 days out. A few who seem to know of what they speak have told me that it takes at least 7 days to benefit from really hard workouts. In other words, when the race is less than 7 days away, the only thing that super hard rides can do is negatively affect your race day performance.

 

[kev0153]

The SM-100 has a couple of long climbs. If you could get some 2-3 mile climbs in you'll be better off.

 

[Motivated]

Newbie

I'm a total newbie having only done 1 100miler. What I realized in the last few weeks was that I'd better really focus on efficiency. On all my rides the last 2 weeks I tried to find that really smooth easy push that gave me good speed with minimal effort. I also made sure my bike was comfortable. I did lots of long (1/2 mile) "non-sprints" out of the saddle to be comfortable with changing my position. Dropped my seat just a bit, probably should have raised my bars but didn't. I personally think hard training takes 4-6 weeks to pay off, so if you are going to do any long rides or intervals do them sooner rather than later. Also, I wish I had mounted the tires I had selected for the race a few weeks ahead of time instead of 1 week ahead. I also wish I had 2 teeth easier gearing. My biggest cog was 30t and I would have appreciated a 32t cog, so I could stay in the middle ring (32x32) more. Also, be sure to nail your chain lube technique - a dry or dirty (from excess lube) will cost you. Also, think about what you will bring on the bike or in your jersey - pump, tube, TYLENOL 8hr, CO2, etc.

Based on your long rides I think you will easily finish under 12h. Let us know how it goes.

I'm going to be doing the SM100 in about 7 week. I figure I have 5 more weeks to get in some solid training. I have about a half dozen "long" rides under my belt now. (I.e. 6-7 hour rides, some quite hilly) and a bunch of smaller rides, so I feel OK about my current fitness state. I want to make sure I use the next 5 weeks to really knock myself into the best shape possible before the race.

I figure my finishing time will be around 12 hours. How big should I make the remaining rides? Would it be better to do a 5 hour ride two days in a row or one 8 hour ride? Are my 6 hour rides long enough or should I try for 8 or 9?

Again, thanks in advance for any advice.

Dave

 

[chidDONG]

yikes!

I'll be doing the w101 for the first time this year (also my first hundie) and have really struggled with how to train for it. Unfortunately, given my work and family constraints, my longest workouts each week tend to fall in the 3-4.5 hour range with some significant intensity built into the middle with an agressive road group ride. The rest of my rides tend to be 2hrs and less depending on what I can fit in and I rarely get in more than 10-12 hrs/week.

In the past, I have completed in two 24 hr two man teams and finished 1st and 2nd for the two and generally I do better the longer a ride/race is.seeng what you guys are talking about for hours has gotten me really worried about my prep. or lack thereof. I don't have an delusions of winning but based on my past (limited) experiences I hope to at least be competitive in the first 1/3of the field. Do you think I'm completely delusional?

 

[mud'n'sweat]

Not to hi-jack here, but I have a question which I think the answer to will help myself and the OP as it pertains to long rides training for the SM100 as well.

I have just recently started putting in similar length rides (6 1/2-7 hour range). My buddy and I have been riding the outer loop (main portion of the mountain momma) at Douthat which is about 18.5 miles per lap. I can now pull two laps fairly solidly and it is entirely single track with a 5 mile climb and a couple other decent climbs per lap. It is mainly either descending or climbing with a small amount of ridge riding thrown in the mix. What concerns me though is that the two laps took us 6.5 hours and only completed 37 miles of riding.

Since this is all single track, and no fire road or paved road thrown in, is the long time it is taking me to complete not a fair measure to judge by? I figure I need to finish the SM100 in the 12 hour mark as well and worry I will run out of time before I run out of steam....or both, lol!

Thoughts?

 

[kev0153]

I've ridden that loop at Douthat. That's a great place for training for the SM-100 since it's down the road basically and very similar terrain. The climbs are similar but you don't have the crazy switch backs like you do at Douthat.

If I had to *guess* I'd say your on track for your 12 hour goal. You can really make up a lot of time on the fireroads. Another good goal to have is to reach checkpoint 5 before 4:30. That way you don't have to put on your light. I wouldn't worry about running out of time. There really isn't a time limit (within reason). I remember guys coming in well after dark.

I think one of the things that people do is psych themselves out well before the race. If you go in thinking "I have to ride 100 miles" you've already starting digging yourself into a hole. I like to break it down into smaller chunks. The checkpoints are good milestones.

 

[Jack Burton]

Good Luck

:thumbsup: I'm no expert but will throw in the stuff I learned training for CCP 100 this year (finished < 12hrs).

If you have fleixbility I would do more high intensity rides of 3 to 5 hours and do as many as you can fit in in the next 2 weeks, dropping down to 2 or 3 rides of 2 or 3 hours at high intensity in the second to last week and tailing off in the last week. I personally got mentally and physically burnt on trying to do training rides over 8 hours.

I did more high intensity rides between 3 & 5 hours as it was easier to find 4 hours 4 or 5 days a week and was able to do those days back to back to back in the 3rd and 4th week before the race. The last big ride I did was 6 hours and 2 & 1/2 weeks before the race but on a road bike, I would have like to throw one more in 10 days out but schedule would not allow. I probably put in about 8 hours total in the second to last week and 4 the week of the race, all at pretty high intensity.

As far as the race I would read up on the course and decide what you think the worst part will be and mirror that in your last month as much as possible and as someone else said break the ride into parts mentally. Have fun!

 

[Pluto Pilot]

I'm sort of the opinion that length, while not insignificant, isn't that big a deal. Total climbing is. You're not going to blow up on a downhill or flat most likely, and if you do it's not going to be a death knell...you can fake it a bit. It you blow on a climb, you could be talking hours lost. Find out how much climbing there is and do at least that or more in preparation. If a race has 10,000 feet of climbing and the most you've ever done is 4,000 on a ride, the legs are going to have some problems finding the additional six.

 

[jeffscott]

If you can pre-ride all or parts of the course do so.