Training tips while building for my first 24 solo

[Patio]

I've completed a couple of 24 hour solos. If you're planning on doing a race at the end of the year start your training plan now!

Try and have an idea of what you're trying to achieve short term with each ride, hills, endurance, skills, just turning the legs over and also a longer term, like each month. Mix it up to stop yourself getting bored. I did a lot of my training on the road, commuting to work (about twice the distance you are doing) a couple of times a week and every second or third weekend I would do a long road ride with hills. Try and get out to riding 5 or 6 days a weeks. Don't neglect the dirt riding as I found it was not my legs but my neck/shoulders/hands that gave me more bother during the race. So some serious time on the dirt is a must, 6hr or 100K races work well. Sessions on the trainer/spin bike are good for short hard fast work, when you're short of time or the weather is rubbish. Get used to your legs feeling tired and don't forget to taper down for 2 or 3 weeks to freshen up and by that time you'll almost feel guilty for not riding!

Keep a log of your training. Ride some of the same courses every now and then and compare the results. Hopefully you will see some improvement. Knowing you're improving or on track can be a very strong positive influence on your mind and instill good thoughts that you have done the training and can do the race. Mental prepartion is very important and I reckon it plays a big part in determing whether riders keep going or not in a 24hr solo. To test myself mentally I would pick a weekend night in the depth of winter and ride a loop track near home from sundown to sunup on my own to see if I could hack it. You have to learn to play mind games to stay alert or ignore that numb big toe, etc and stick to the plan. Long rides are also a good chance to test your food/drink regime. How many GU's can you stomach? When do you go for the caffeine hit?

Good luck!

 

[a-frame81]

Thanks heaps for all the responses. Keep them coming.

At this stage most of my training will need to be on a trainer with a proper ride at least once a week. To keep myself motivated I've grabbed an empty spot in a mate's team of four for the Mont. All the other guys are way faster than I am so I'm hoping to build to a level by then that I can at least hold my own and be close enough to their lap times.

I'm hoping to use this thread as a little bit of a training diary too, so feel free to prompt me if I haven't put up a training post in a while.

At the moment I've been off the bike for almost a week and have a cold developing and 3 stitches in my head from getting a mole removed but once the chest clears I'll at least be on the trainer and under way.

 

[Grandmaster Ash]

There's some great stuff here. It's hard to find much stuff out there doesn't seem to be a lot of info re 24 training/preparation on the usual mtb forums.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalklk

 

[Cúl-Báire]

Thanks heaps for all the responses. Keep them coming.

At this stage most of my training will need to be on a trainer with a proper ride at least once a week.

I’ve been doing this the past two months, reduced ridingfrom 13 hours a week to about 8 hours a week since the birth of my son. Of the8 hours probably all but 3 hours of it is done on the trainer during the weekand it has been with great success. Using the trainer allows you to do verytightly focused sessions and make the best use of time. The results for me havebeen incredible, now every time I am out on the bike I pick up a new personalbest, be it a climb, a flat road, or even just a techy piece of single track.

The biggest thing you need to watch for spending so muchtime on the trainer is “burn out”, it’s very easy to do every session “hard” onthe trainer but you need to factor in piss easy days, and even days off to aidrecovery; you also need to mix it up a bit more just so you don’t go completelybrain dead. On occasion I will do something completely different to what I hadplanned, albeit with the same intent just to mix it up.

 

[a-frame81]

So I've hit a bit of a snag

I had a mole removed a week ago that's come back as a melanoma, so I need to have a lot of tissue removed from my forehead so that they know the margins are all clear. Since I won't be able to wear a helmet I'll be on the trainer for a while. Any tips for making it not boring and mind numbing?

 

[quiggs]

I had a mole removed a week ago that's come back as a melanoma, so I need to have a lot of tissue removed from my forehead so that they know the margins are all clear. Since I won't be able to wear a helmet I'll be on the trainer for a while. Any tips for making it not boring and mind numbing?

Don't stress!
I HATE stationary trainers,therefore my advise would be to grab some beers and watch the Giro. Thats what I'm doing at present

 

[a-frame81]

I may just do that!

 

[austy]

I had a mole removed a week ago that's come back as a melanoma, so I need to have a lot of tissue removed from my forehead so that they know the margins are all clear. Since I won't be able to wear a helmet I'll be on the trainer for a while. Any tips for making it not boring and mind numbing?

I have some cycling videos, or old climbing stages of the giro/tour. You can toutube them or download or whatever. I find its fun trying to match the attacks etc. Although if you are sticking to a plan that might be hard. There are these short dvds called spinervals, they are pretty hard, but over nice and quick.
I follow the NHL (hockey) so sometimes I watch the games and spin fast when one team has the puck, slow with the other team. I cant do much longer than 40mins though before I get a bit bored.
good luck!

 

[tomcat551]

Enduro Training

Great Thread.
I would like to some day do a 24hr solo. I have bee doing the odd xc race here and there and last year decided to take on a 6 hour (G-Bomb 6 hour at Grafton) late last year. I set it as a goal mid year and had no real plan of attack. I was out riding on a regular Saturday morning ride with the local roadies, and was telling the local shop owner what my plans were and why i was out riding with them. He offered to give me a bit of a rough plan on what kind of sessions i should try and incorporate into my weekly rides.
The rough plan was ,

Monday rest

Tuesday Hill repeats
I found a hill within a 10 minute ride and would started out doing 3 repeats in a gear that was just out of comfort level but able to push while remaining seated. I would increase the reps till i got to 5 and then drop back to 3 and add an extra gear. I use strava and created a segment of the hill rep so i could keep track of my times. I also made sure the hill was not too steap as if was too hard i would find it hard to get the motivation to do the session as it may have been too hard. The hill i choose was 1.6km long, 71m in elevation and a 4% gradient. My times dropped by about a minute within a month and this was by only grinding up the hill in a tall gear.

Wednesday Easy Roll
Usually and easy ride for around an hour.

Thursday Stationary Trainer
I hated stationary trainers before i started these sessions.
10 min warm up
15 sec (all out)
3 min lite spin (rest)
x 6

Then would do
1 min around (7 out of 10)
3 min lite spin (rest)
x 4

Friday same as Wednesday
Saturday/ Sunday 2 to 3hr ride at a steady pace.

Most of my training was done on my roady.
I have young family also so training was done in the dark with 4.30am- 5am starts. I had to be home by 6am so i could start work by 7am.

I did miss sessions and usually only rode one day on the weekend.
I don't rate myself at the pointy end of the field but these sessions definitely improved my fitness. I would be going up a regular hill on the way home from a 70k undulating ride on a Saturday morning on my own and set a PB up this hill and feel pretty good.

Come race day in early November the day turned out to be a scorcher and was 40 degrees. I am bummed that i had a DNF from heat stroke. Lasted just shy of 5 hours and competed 75km,. was very disorientated and stopped as if i done another lap i think i would have past out while riding along.
I learned alot about the event and the biggest mistakes i made was that i was under prepared for the event. From my race plan to my nutrition, i didn't have these things dialled and also had not completed many km off road. I didn't even consider the temp would be like this as the week before was only late 20's. Considering the conditions i went out too hard at the start ( i didn't think this at the time).
I am going to compete in another this year to get the monkey off my back, so i am working towards this now.


I'm reading this forum to do more research on ways i can improve, get tips and advice. This is a very handy thread and hope some people can put some of there dos and don'ts.

Tom.

 

[quiggs]

Tomcat551,
I think a common mistake in the longer format is to start out way too hard and get sucked into the rhythm of those around and just roll through their transition/pit area. Especially when you are feeling great motivation is high. I think it is much better, especially for the newies to endurance is to stop eat and drink each lap. More so when it's hot or especially cold (because the body uses heaps of energy when its cold to maintain body heat).

An old marathon runners line is..
If you think you are running too fast, you probably are.
If you think you are running the right speed, you are still running too fast.
If you think you are running too slow, you are probably running the right pace.

I really believe this is just as relevant for endurance riding as well.

You need to think about pacing seriously before a race. Over 24hrs the elite guys are riding upwards of 400kms over 24hrs, that's works out to 16.6Kph over 24hrs. Doesn't seem fast?

300kms over the 24hrs is averaging 12.5Kph.

quiggs

 

[Pastavore]

Spot on quiggs.

For any endurance event (running, cycling, whatever) it helps to focus on negative splitting, ie , making sure you come home stronger than you go out. Practice it in training a few times so you get an idea of just how slow you need to go at the beginning.

I find it really helps psychologically as well when you pick up the pace and start catching people in the second half.

 

[tomcat551]

Tomcat551,
I think a common mistake in the longer format is to start out way too hard and get sucked into the rhythm of those around and just roll through their transition/pit area. Especially when you are feeling great motivation is high. I think it is much better, especially for the newies to endurance is to stop eat and drink each lap. More so when it's hot or especially cold (because the body uses heaps of energy when its cold to maintain body heat).

An old marathon runners line is..
If you think you are running too fast, you probably are.
If you think you are running the right speed, you are still running too fast.
If you think you are running too slow, you are probably running the right pace.

I really believe this is just as relevant for endurance riding as well.

You need to think about pacing seriously before a race. Over 24hrs the elite guys are riding upwards of 400kms over 24hrs, that's works out to 16.6Kph over 24hrs. Doesn't seem fast?

300kms over the 24hrs is averaging 12.5Kph.

quiggs

Great points quiggs,

I have competed in a couple of low key rides in the last couple of months that have been 3hr and 2hr and have been trying to set a pace so my lap times a consistent. The race i competed in last weekend i done the 2 hour race and lap times (4) were within a minute. In previous events there would be a difference of over six minutes from my best lap and my slowest lap.

Tom.

 

[tomcat551]

Hi there - I just noticed this post and I wrote a brief article after the Worlds in Canberra a few years ago. It's my checklist for how to approach the race. I should add that also did an average of 10-12 hours a week and had a young daughter, so it's potentially relevant. Just one perspective anyhow, and I guess my big message is the physical prep is only a small part of it. Happy to answer any specifics of course.

Brad

http://cyclingbrad.com/2010/10/10-point-plan-to-podium-at-the-worlds/

Checked out your blolg Brad,

Great info here.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[MarioM]

Curiosity on a couple of things . Do you sleep at all or keep going ? What do you do for your arms ? I have found that after 10 laps they do hurt and are felling a bit mushy . Is this a case of core strengthening ?

 

[Patio]

Muz,

No sleep, just staying awake 24 hours. I found the staying awake business one of the easier things to master in a 24 hour solo. You will feel low at some point during the night and will probably need some caffeine to get you through when you feel like chucking it in and start questioning what you're doing out there. However, when the sun comes up you'll probably find that your mood and tempo also rise. Test yourselg with an allnighter near home one weekend. Just go out with the aim of staying awake and rolling around all night with no expectations on time or distance and see what happens!

Arms, hands, neck, shoulders, back, you name some body part and it will probably hurt depending what part of the course you're on. The trick is to not get hung up on any particular pain and forget or ignore it (unless of course it's going to lead to a major injury or some catastrophic crash, etc). Try telling yourself that as soon as you can get off the bike that sharp pain in the neck or that numbness in the foot will go away in x number of hours/laps and start counting down to this time. Calculating things like this or avg speed, how many more laps you might squeeze in, etc are good ways of distracting your mind from the hurty bits! Keep your mind busy trying to remember what's coming up ahead, go left on that rock, stay high on that berm, take a drink on that straight and so on. If your aim is to just finish and your not too focused on racing allowing your mind to wander (whilst obviously being mindful your riding a bike!) you might just find you fall into that all day pace.

 

[quiggs]

Muz,
From my perspective, some things come into the calculation when doing in 12/24hr events. You need to look after yourself from the start and don't wait for the pain to set in before reacting. Relaxing through the shoulders, arms and importantly hands from the start, constantly change your hands on the bars, be relaxed on the climbs with your hands. Work out either on a rec lap or the early laps where you can drink/eat, where you have to push, where you can coast and change body position/stretch. Lots of aspects need to start from the start, yeah the first few hours resemble a XCO race but after 3-4hrs you should have found the comfortable rythm/intensity that is going to keep you going for the next 15-20hrs! Set your suspension slightly softer say 5 PSI. These are some of the basics fundementals that click in from the start for me that seem to have helped me endure 24hrs on the bike, many have learn through experience some from talking to others.

Sleep, nope, only for the weak.

hope that helps

 

[MarioM]

Thanks guys great suggestions . I guess it depends on the race and location but do the solo guys get a finish line pit area to set up or do you just set up pit anywhere ? Not sure if i fancy having to walk around cars back to the pit to get another bottle and food and head back out again .

 

[pistonbroke]

Yes you will get a spot to set up a pit area. Bring a quickshade and a table.
Are you bringing a support crew?

 

[a-frame81]

So it's been a while since I"ve posted something

I've lost a bit of motivation since I found out I had a melanoma.

So far my rides have consisted of one 12km lap of Stromlo 2 weeks ago and a short interval session on the trainer last night. Any tips for getting my mojo back?

I'm thinking of heading out next Saturday for a big ride with some people from the Berm through Namadgi National Park south of Canberra, but not sure if I'd cope with 80 odd kms and 1700 odd vertica.

 

[pistonbroke]

I've just started the Novice 10 week program from Sufferfest. The videos really have sucked me in and I'm really enjoying it. I'm at the end of week two and if all goes well I'll get the next program. It's the first time I've enjoyed using a trainer and actually done something worthwhile. It's also the first time I've done any structured training and it doesn't seem too daunting and is easy to follow.