Convict 100 on 3 weeks training
- Thread starter swaz
- Start date
Make sure you don't train hard or much at all the week before. You want to do some riding in a nice recovery zone but don't do hard training the week leading up.
As others have said, monitor your heart rate and know your zones.
Hydration and nutrition through the race
fluid and carb loading prior to the event should be looked at too.
Make sure you set your bike up well, having good riding position will do wonders for fatigue later on and help limit/prevent any back pain or other issues.
Finally ride your own race, don't get caught up trying to hunt people down, chances are either;
1.They are much more experienced
2. they will burn out later and you will pass them.
As others have said, monitor your heart rate and know your zones.
Hydration and nutrition through the race
fluid and carb loading prior to the event should be looked at too.
Make sure you set your bike up well, having good riding position will do wonders for fatigue later on and help limit/prevent any back pain or other issues.
Finally ride your own race, don't get caught up trying to hunt people down, chances are either;
1.They are much more experienced
2. they will burn out later and you will pass them.
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pharmaboy
Eats Squid
And if you try without proper planning you are destined to fail (Fail to prepare, prepare to fail).
I would hardly call cramming in kms over the Easter weekend as proper planning.
Like I said before, "You could certainly finish the 100km race, of course you'll be in a world of pain" - if that's what you want, then enter and hope for the best
Cleeshoy, have you ever hung around past presentation till the seven, eight hour plus mark to see the people still finishing? Man, there are all sorts of people still coming through at that time - presumably they walked the hills and the sand etc and kept it simple.
Swaz, in 4 weeks you can do a bit - don't double your hours straight away, you'll get an injury. I would make all rides you do from this day forward over 2 hours, then rest day, 2 hr ride day etc, and see how you go for 3.5 hr on weekend .
If that goes well in the first week, step it up to 4hr on the weekend in the next week. BUT any knee soreness , substantial DOMS etc you'll have to lighten the load. Don't try and knock out a 10hr week on the back of 3 hr weeks, you will not gain from it. I think usually you can increase hours on bike by about 2 or 3 pretty comfortably .
In four weeks ramping it up you can move a fair bit forward - but you do need to stretch those thighes a bit so they get used to some tiredness, and neck and lower back muscles need to get used to it a bit
Oh and don't do Kay's , it's hours in the saddle that count.
cleeshoy
Eats Squid
I've seen a few people at the Highland Fling take 9+ hours - not having ridden the Convict 100 I can't compare the two, however from people comments, the Convict is "easier" - regardless that's a long day in the saddle, now matter how much they've tried to keep it "simple" - it's going to be sore ("it" being legs, arms, butt, etc)
I guess it also depends if swaz is just looking to finish as opposed to beating his mates/getting a PB, etc.
I still think he'll be rather undercooked. Rather then telling him "you'll be fine, etc", I am trying to give a more realistic picture so he can make a more informed decision.
I am the kind of person that would plan and train for an event like that instead of deciding at the last minute with little preparation. Thus when someone does decide last minute, my initial thoughts are "you're crazy!".
cha_cha_
Likes Dirt
Just enter, learn and repeat cycling rule 5 to yourself when it gets hard and keep going.
I got talked into entering my first bike race of any kind, actually it was most probably my first bike ride of more than about 30 kilometers at the time.. the dirtworks 100 (thats what the convict used to be called) just months after getting into mountain biking, i did it wearing my running shoes (they came in handy) on big heavy bike with downhill flats and had absolutely not a clue about hydration and nutrition.. took me more than 8 hours.. nearly died? you bet! but it changed my life
If your doing 100K+ on the road then you will be fine, it will probably hurt some, but you will have a blast.
pretty much this. if alchemist can do it on a fixie with 7-million flats and still make the time cut, you're probably fine.
endurance wise, if a 100km road ride is not completely putting you to the sword then you can step up and handle the distance. there are 2 climbs, the first you will walk (everyone does) and the second isn't that bad. other than that, there's a lot of road and a lot of firetrail. you'll be sore, but you'll make it.
tech wise, there's a few "choose-your-own-adventure" rock gardens and some descents that you can make very dangerous for yourself if you're going fast enough (big drops, baby-heads or high-speed waterbars) but if you can get yourself around a standard XC track then you should be sweet. assume the water bars are bigger than you think and you'll be sweet.
as others have said, eat right, drink enough and employ rule 5 as required. it's a great event, great atmosphere and it's as good a place as any to do your first marathon.
Antsonline
Likes Dirt
I think its a bit disappointing that you started this thread with such optimism and now you are thinking of giving the whole race a miss - largely based on feedback by people who have either never done it, or have a nervous disposition about things getting tough.
I think more people should be encouraged to do incredible things, out of the blue.
You aren't going to die. It might hurt a bit if you cramp badly, but that aint so bad.
The 50km is ok - but a bit dull. The 100km is a great event and good fun.
If you are a generally fit person, and don't start it like its an XC race then you'd be fine. That first hill doesn't really count, as barely anyone rides it! After that, if you ride just one gear slower than you think is sensible (always err on the side of caution), you'd be fine.
Get stuck in I'd say.
I think more people should be encouraged to do incredible things, out of the blue.
You aren't going to die. It might hurt a bit if you cramp badly, but that aint so bad.
The 50km is ok - but a bit dull. The 100km is a great event and good fun.
If you are a generally fit person, and don't start it like its an XC race then you'd be fine. That first hill doesn't really count, as barely anyone rides it! After that, if you ride just one gear slower than you think is sensible (always err on the side of caution), you'd be fine.
Get stuck in I'd say.
alchemist
Manly Warringah MTB Club
Fixed CX, only 1 flat, 7:25:31 17th (and not last) in SS class. It hurt lots that year. The other years it hurt lots was the 2 years I raced the 50km.
^^^^^
This.
Probably should point out I probably fit into the Podgy businessman category
softek
Likes Dirt
you can do it!!!
cleeshoy
Eats Squid
So if he collapses from a heart attack from over-exertion pr has a crash from exhaustion,you'll just say "oh well never mind"?
The OP asked a question and many people said "just do it!" without any reasoning or logic behind it (and in some cases they haven't ridden it either). As for your comment re: "nervous disposition about things getting tough", I'm going to let that go through to the keeper.
I expressed my opinion as well as the reasoning behind it to assist him in making an informed decision. In my experience people respond alot better to something when there is reasoning behind it. I am not seeing any reasoning behind saying "harden up" or "just do it", other then it being purely ego driven or the person giving that advice being completely uninformed.
Would you just turn up to a 42.2km marathon or an ironman triathlon on 3 weeks of training ? If you did, you're not brave, you're just a f*cking idiot.
There are some things where you can just jump in blind/little or no training - I don't think a 100km mountain bike race is one of them.
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softek
Likes Dirt
I see you like that one driftking, I always tell my friends, do the 100km, its better value, if you start feeling farked, just bail, most events like the OO and the wombat, you head back to the start line, no shame in bailing, at least you tried.
DRIFTKING, play it again mate, "YOU CAN DO IT"
Too much talk of the elevation graphs in here. Convict 100 is hard, but in my opinion it's also one of the most fun marathons in NSW. It's certainly a lot of fire road, but there's also plenty of terrain to keep things interesting, rocky ups, rocky downs, the river crossing, etc. Not to mention some killer views.
Anyone with a decent level of fittness should be able to finish this race. Just pace yourself and have fun, treat it like a little adventure ride or a social one and you should be fine. If you're not trained and go in trying to win, you're probably not going to finish, or you'll end up hurting yourself. I've seen a few people loose their teeth and plenty of blood on the fire road decents and the kayak bridge.
If you haven't done a 100 before, they can be hard on the body, but mostly mentally hard, it helps to have some friends around to keep each other going, especially when you hit the final big climb after the river crossing and road section which keeps making you think you've finally got through it, then you go around the next bend and start climbing again.
This year will be the first year that I have entered without my mates, so I won't have the support or anyone to share my crashes with (Like my high speed OTB superman from the rock garden last year near the random group of chinese hikers), woe to the poor random strangers that will have to listen to my crap tales while waiting to cross the river.
Most importantly, the house beer and steak sandwhich at the St Albans pub is damn good after a the day.
Hope to see you out there, do it!
Anyone with a decent level of fittness should be able to finish this race. Just pace yourself and have fun, treat it like a little adventure ride or a social one and you should be fine. If you're not trained and go in trying to win, you're probably not going to finish, or you'll end up hurting yourself. I've seen a few people loose their teeth and plenty of blood on the fire road decents and the kayak bridge.
If you haven't done a 100 before, they can be hard on the body, but mostly mentally hard, it helps to have some friends around to keep each other going, especially when you hit the final big climb after the river crossing and road section which keeps making you think you've finally got through it, then you go around the next bend and start climbing again.
This year will be the first year that I have entered without my mates, so I won't have the support or anyone to share my crashes with (Like my high speed OTB superman from the rock garden last year near the random group of chinese hikers), woe to the poor random strangers that will have to listen to my crap tales while waiting to cross the river.
Most importantly, the house beer and steak sandwhich at the St Albans pub is damn good after a the day.
Hope to see you out there, do it!
alchemist
Manly Warringah MTB Club
He's not coming off the couch, he's doing 100km a week, can do 100+km rides on the road (which except for about 15km of technical riding, this course is).
If I was running 40km a week, knew I could run 20km, I think I'd be pretty confident of running a marathon.
cleeshoy
Eats Squid
People can do 100km rides on the road without getting their HR above 100 - drafting and hiding in the bunch is pretty easy to do.
Re: swaz's current training load of 100km I guess it also depends on the "quality".
I'll give you credit for your levels of self confidence. Would be interesting to be a fly on your back as you enter the second half of that marathon.
Really? why even get off the couch then.. just watch it on the tele??
He's doing 100K+ road rides, so I'd assume that he's not going to drop dead of a heart attack at the first sign of a hill and that he'd know his limits with respect to fatigue and concentration.
I think the real risk here is that his legs will fall off and and he'd end up crawling over the finish line, a broken man, some 8+ hours after he started.. then he'd get hooked and be back next year and the year after that and then his wife or significant other will complain about all the time he spends on his bike(s) then perhaps run away with the milkman, taking his dog and leaving him all alone.
Yes your right.. don't do it dude... its just too risky.
cleeshoy
Eats Squid
I am trying to give a more balanced perspective - hardly balanced if everyone is saying "just do it" - it sounds like a mob mentality here of egging people on.
In my original post, I said You could certainly finish the 100km race, of course you'll be in a world of pain - without trying to sound like your mother, have you considered the 50km option? At the level of riding you are at, I think it's more realistic - still tough and something to aim for. More enjoyable and you get to the enjoy the beers sooner ;-)
I don't see the problem in him doing the 50km. Less suffering, more fun.
Plenty of satisfaction finishing the 50km as well as the 100km option.
In my original post, I said You could certainly finish the 100km race, of course you'll be in a world of pain - without trying to sound like your mother, have you considered the 50km option? At the level of riding you are at, I think it's more realistic - still tough and something to aim for. More enjoyable and you get to the enjoy the beers sooner ;-)
I don't see the problem in him doing the 50km. Less suffering, more fun.
Plenty of satisfaction finishing the 50km as well as the 100km option.
I think something like capital punishment the 50 is great because is still covers a lot of the fun trails. Trouble is with the convict, that the 50 is nearly all firetrail and doesn't cover much of the more remote and fun parts of the course, which I feel really make this event interesting. That said, i'm not there to compete, only to explore some trails that I otherwise wouldn't get to ride, with a bunch of other like minded people.
Certainly agree on your point regarding beer though.
My personal benchmark has been the Andersons, Oaks trail (60km, plenty of hills), if you can ride this with reasonable comfort and without walking up hills, you can can ride the convict with an acceptable level of pain.
steve job's pancreas
Likes Dirt
I dunno, these all sound like outdoor rides, away from the perfect climate controlled conditions that ensure ultimate comfort and convenience
swaz
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Seeing as I started this thread I will assume the father roll and point out that some need to pull their heads in. Honestly, just because someone has a different point of view on this doesn't mean you should gun them and put them down because of it.
I am still in two minds about it and will decide on the 19th as to whether or not I do it or not. I can make the distance. I have done more difficult things sporting wise in my life.
Just to clarify. I don't do 100k on the road at the moment.
I don't normally just enter things on a whim. Which is why I want to ever this on a whim as my first one.
I am still in two minds about it and will decide on the 19th as to whether or not I do it or not. I can make the distance. I have done more difficult things sporting wise in my life.
Just to clarify. I don't do 100k on the road at the moment.
I don't normally just enter things on a whim. Which is why I want to ever this on a whim as my first one.