Training for Mille Alba and LEL 2013

[Hammerman]

With the onset of Autumn I have been thinking about my achivements this year, back in march I hadn't even heard of Audax let alone cycled over 40 miles, and to date I have completed 7 in all (5x100k,1x165k and 1x200k)with another 3 entered between now and early october and some more on the cards. I'm fitter now than I've ever been and I'm pulling 50 and this got me thinking, I'd like to enter next years Mille Alba and LEL 2013 but these distances aren't anything like what I'm used to. How do I go about training for these events, I understand that I have to increase my distances, but should I go straight for a 600 or increase gradually say a 300 then 400. I was never really  into sport in my younger days,enjoyed watching the odd international rugby match and can't stand football at all so was never into training nights etc. Any help would be gratefully received
H

[tiermat]

I am in a similar situation, with the same first goal (Mille Alba next year).

Up until now I have only done social and charity rides, with the odd metric centruy thrown in for good measure.

My plan now is to jump straight to a 400 (W0tR) but not at audax pace, I will be splitting it over two days (24/25 of this month), then the next big ride is planned to be York-Cambridge-York (600k) and I will attempt to fit others in around that.

Obviously this time of year it is tricky to fit in longer rides, due to the shortening daylight and change of weather.

So, in shoet I shall watch how this thread progresses as I am in a similar boat.

[Panoramix]

Objection your honour, you need preparation not training for an audax. 

Before LEL09 I came up with the same question and was told to increase gradually the distance up to 600 and then do as many 300s as I could.  On these kind of events 300-360 is typical of your daily distance, so if you wake up in the morning and are able to think today is "just" a 300  or a 300 + a bit I can do that, you've probably cracked up long distance cycling. Doing a 400 and a 600 is important as it forces you to plan clothing, food, lights etc... Also if you can commute by bike, this is really useful as very few people can actually commit much more than a week end every 2 or 3 weeks and obviously you need short rides in between. Before LEL I had only ridden about 5 or 6 audaxes but was riding to work often.

With insight this was good advice!

Hope this is helpful!

[Chris N]

Ride regularly over the winter (100s and the occasional 200 maybe).  Don't bother riding anything longer than a 200 until March or April.  Then ride an SR - gradually increasing your distance as the weather improves will be much more constructive than going straight for a 400 or 600 now.

[jogler]

I find this very pertinent.
The thing that strikes me is that the 2009 event,which is where/when the bug bit me,seems only "yesterday" but we are now closer to the 2013 event than the the last one.Where does the time go?

I have recently enjoyed a decent run of 5x200 monthly audaxes,all done solo either as a lantern rouge or Permenant,& find the lack of copmpany is begining to erode my enthusiasm.I am begining to think that the most valuable training aid is a ride partner*.
Anyone in the ST10 postcode vicinity (midway twixt Stoke-on-Trent & Uttoxeter) fancy some ride company,say 100km rides building up to an SR & a few 300's as 2013 approaches?

*note that my pace provides FullValueforMoney time-wise

[MSeries]

Do what chris n says. I know everyone is different. In Feb 2005 I did my first 200 and in July 2005 I did LEL, in between I rode lots including my first SR Series. For longer events such as 600s and longer you need to know what you'll be like on day 2 or three or four. I always recommend doing a weekend out and back, say 170-200 km to a friends house or hotel or something then ride back the next day. Not only letting you know how it'll feel, mentally and physically it'll start to accelerate your body's recovery systems.

[Aidan]

In  Simon Doughtys book there is a suggested ride plan for building up to a 1000km ride, interestingly if you work it back from Mille Alba it starts tomorrow,and handily has a 400  fall on Easter weekend, my plan is to use this as a base to keep me riding through winter and it gives me a measure so I know I'm on target.

[EdinburghFixed]

In my experience what makes a long ride hard is just as much mental as anything else.

I didn't complete an SR series until May - just before I went to PBP - but I found the pace manageable. I'd say there is plenty of value to be had riding much shorter distances than 300km+ with the aim of building up your speed, and then a couple of big ones to give you the confidence that you can handle the mental wear and tear.

You definitely don't need to do lots of super long rides, although I'm sure if you have the stomach for it, it won't hurt...

[MSeries]

In my experience what makes a long ride hard is just as much mental as anything else.

I didn't complete an SR series until May - just before I went to PBP - but I found the pace manageable. I'd say there is plenty of value to be had riding much shorter distances than 300km+ with the aim of building up your speed, and then a couple of big ones to give you the confidence that you can handle the mental wear and tear.

You definitely don't need to do lots of super long rides, although I'm sure if you have the stomach for it, it won't hurt...

I agree except maybe for the building up your speed. People said that to me before LEL 2005, I didn't do anything special and still got round comfortably with about 10 hours to spare and about 6 hours off in three of the four nights. I think it depends on how fast you are at first and what your ambitions are. For a long ride, a plan that you can stick to is useful and 'training/preparation' helps riders form that plan. For example if you want to do the first 400km in < 24hours you need to know if you are able to do that comfortably  and not burn yourself out trying it on the day. Your 400km rides in preparation will tell you that.

[GrahamG]

Ride regularly over the winter (100s and the occasional 200 maybe).  Don't bother riding anything longer than a 200 until March or April.  Then ride an SR - gradually increasing your distance as the weather improves will be much more constructive than going straight for a 400 or 600 now.

^^ Absolutely

I had done just one 200 before this year (did SR + PBP), and was reasonably comfortable throughout despite barely touching the bike in March due to illness and wedding/honeymoon. I put it all down to religious winter base training consisting of one 3-4+ hour steady ride on a weekend and three or four slightly higher intensity 1 hour rides midweek and on the other weekend day. Once a month I did a 200k in place of the shorter weekend ride. Meant that I never struggled with actual distance (hills were another thing mind!).

[L CC]

Join your local road club and get some faster miles in.

Long distance is about keeping going and is all in your head.
If you can ride faster, you can rest and recover longer.

And, you get to ride in company and learn some road etiquette.

[vorsprung]

Can I join the chris n fan club too?

I'd say that when you are at this phase of building up to your first long event the main thing is to ride regularly.  That might mean doing a long commute most days.  Or doing 100km every weekend.  Just try and get your weekly total of miles up over the winter.

[Hammerman]

Thanks all, I've bought Simon Doughty's book and started to organise my training campaign, looks like I'm going to do a lot more events over winter than I'd thought. I'm going to do a mixture of  events,perms (this is new) and self guided routes. As far as training buddies are concerned, I have a couple mates (honest) that I cycle with occasionaly and one is in training for an Ironman next year so he is uping his cycling as well , just hope he doesn't expect me to keep up with him
Thanks
H

[GrahamG]

Some shorter sessions trying desperately to hold onto his wheel will probably be just what the doctor ordered come Feb/March time!

[Nonsteeler]

PBP this year was my first event with more than 600km. For me it was a very enjoyable and undemanding ride. Almost completely pain free, finished in less than 70h etc bla bla.

In time between November 2010 and August 2011, I tried to ride 3x a week, each time for at least 1h, ideally covering at least 100km per week in total. I reckon, I managed to stick to that regime 3 out 4 week... So yeah, riding regularly certainly helps.

Between November 2010 and August 2011, my total mileage was a bit less than 4800km, ie less than 4x the distance of PBP in 10 months - not too much then.

I believe what made PBP so easy although my low mileage was the fact that I rode nearly all my training miles and the complete qualifying SR series on a fixed gear bike. But I rode PBP on a geared bike. Hence my advice would be - train on fixed, ride with gears. Anyway riding a fixed wheel is good fun...

Regrading increasing your max distance remember the

first golden rule of cycling insanity, you can always cycle at least twice the previous greatest distance you have ever done.

One last thing that helped me a lot -  train your back to prevent a stiff neck. I did the 100 push-ups challenge in the month before PBP. It works! Stopped with the push-ups after PBP and now I can feel my back again after last night's 40k pub run...

[Hammerman]

I believe what made PBP so easy although my low mileage was the fact that I rode nearly all my training miles and the complete qualifying SR series on a fixed gear bike. But I rode PBP on a geared bike. Hence my advice would be - train on fixed, ride with gears. Anyway riding a fixed wheel is good fun...

Don't know about getting a fixed wheel, but I had an accident in the summer and my bike got damaged, so I went out and bought myself a tourer. Ok its a lot heavier (13.5kg empty) but also more comfortable, admitedly I don't get there as quick but when I do I'm not such a miseryguts moaning about bad back etc, so I thought if I stick with the tourer  on rides up to200-300km, when I get my old bike back on the road it should be even easier. 

[Nonsteeler]

Don't know about getting a fixed wheel, but I had an accident in the summer and my bike got damaged, so I went out and bought myself a tourer. Ok its a lot heavier (13.5kg empty) but also more comfortable, admitedly I don't get there as quick but when I do I'm not such a miseryguts moaning about bad back etc, so I thought if I stick with the tourer  on rides up to200-300km, when I get my old bike back on the road it should be even easier. 

Indeed, 'heavy tourer' sounds like the good training machine. Riding a heavy bike makes you fitter even faster....  Anyway don't get too fussed about the weight of your bike.  On the one hand one can ride long rides on a 'heavy' bike (IIRC my PBP bike was around 12kg - without the luggage...) on the other hand losing body weight and carrying less stuff is usually much cheaper than making an existing bike lighter.

[Karla]

Here's an article about Roy Cromack's record-breaking Mersey Roads ride in 1969.  For those that don't know, he was the first to go over 500 miles in a 24 hour TT, setting a record of 507 miles that stood for 28 years until Wilko broke it in 1997.  He says he only did two 'long' rides of 170 miles and 220 miles as part of his training, which taught him how to ride at night.  The rest of the time he stuck to shorter faster work, the same as he used for his 4000m pursuit races!

Link to source

[Millepete]

Here's another way of looking at the problem.
What's the more likely to 'break' first and prevent you from finishing the ride , you or your bike?
Assuming your bike is in good condition (new chain & cables etc.etc.) than analyse your own potential weak points and do what you can to strengthen them before the event.
General fitness is important but I've never heard of anyone failing to complete a ride because they weren't 'fit enough'.
However one aspect that is difficult to assess is not your physical condition but your mental preparation for such a challenge.
Completing a couple of long 'warm up' rides probably does as much for your confidence as it does for your physical fitness.
Hope this helps
MP