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Training for 100 to 200 Mile Endurance Rides How much an older cyclist can improve depends on the right training program! by Coach John Hughes John Hughes is the author of Anti-Aging: 12 Ways to You Can Slow the Aging Process and of the book Distance Cycling. He has written 40 articles on training, nutrition, psychology and medical issues for RoadBikeRider.com. More about Coach Hughes. John Z, a senior RoadBikeRider reader asks, “This is a general question, but first a statement. Often the physiology journals report on 12 week training periods with reports of X % improvement compared to the control group.
“About 7 years ago I completed a local century in about 9+ hours, which included off-bike time. I prepared with attempts to ride faster. I attempted this with most of my riding at "greater than race pace" and a weekly long ride of 40 - 50 miles.
“Two years ago, I rode the same century in 7.5 hours with about 20 - 30 minutes off the bike and 40 miles of drafting with 1 other rider. I prepared for this century with much more early season leisurely riding and did not participate in the mid-course time trial.
“I would really like to do a 300 K, or a double century, without being "wiped out for the rest of the summer.
“How much improvement is realistic for me, a 60 year old male; a person who only began cycling 6 -1 0 years ago, and exercising 20 years ago?
John, you are asking excellent questions. Because many RBR riders are century riders I'll answer both how to train for a century and how to train for a 300K / 200 mile ride. Scientific Studies. The subjects get paid for participating so often the participants are college students who need money. All the study really says is that if college student who is similar in age, weight, gender, general fitness, etc. to the experimental group does the ABC then on average s/he will improve about X%. From this we can extrapolate that if you are the same age, weight, gender, general fitness, etc. and if you do ABC you'll get better results than if you don't. (But this is only valid if the experiment is truly a controlled double-blind experiment - often companies claim with no actual scientific evidence that if you use their product you'll improve by X%.) Older Cyclists' Training Programs for Endurance.
You've figured out that you can improve. How much you can improve depends on a proper training program. Base training: You start by laying a base of endurance miles at a conversational pace. This base period should be a minimum of two months for a century rider and three to four months is a better base for an aspiring 300K / double century rider. The goal for the end of base training is to comfortably ride 4 - 5 hour half-century if training for a full century or a 7 - 8 hour century if training for a double century. You'll be tired after it, but within a few weeks you should be capable of doing another century. Then a roadie can start building up to a century or 300K / double century. The training goal is to complete a final long ride that is 2/3rds to 3/4ths the duration of the planned century or 300K / double century. I roughly estimate that when you double the distance then your speed will decline by at least 10%. If a rider did a half-century in 4:00 hours then the full century will take about 8:30 - 9:30 hours. Because you rode a 7:30 century you probably do a 300K on comparable terrain in about 15:30 - 17:00 hours and a double century in about 16:30 - 18:00 hours. Assume a century takes 9:00 hours. Then the longest training ride should be about 6:00 - 6:45 hours. I plan training by time because a flat century might take 8:00 hours and a hilly one 9:00 hours. Assume the 300K will take you 16:00 hours, then your longest training ride should be about 10:45 - 12:00 hours. Assume the double century will take you about 17:00 hours, then your longest training ride will be about 11:45 - 12:45. Build training: How should a rider training for a century ramp up from a 4:00 hour half- century to an 6:30 hour final training ride? How should you ramp up from your 7:30 century to 12;30 hour final training ride? You can safely:
Sample programs: Here are 11-week programs of weekend rides building to a century or a 300K / double century:
Taper: You can't get any fitter in the last two weeks building up to a long ride - you can only get tired! The purpose of the taper is to recover fully so you are fresh. Only do a couple of short rides in week 10 and the short weekend ride and then a couple of short rides the week of the century or 300K / double century. Intensity: In addition to the weekly long ride and two recovery rides do:
Doing it. Riding a first century for 8 or more hours or a first 300K or double century for 16 or more hours seems like a long time. You ride it just like you eat a good dinner: one bite at a time. That is, you just focus on riding to the next rest stop (don't forget to eat!) ... and then the next (remember to eat) ... and your done! I still remember my first century, the Cinderella, and my first double, the Davis Double. I remember how proud . . . and exhausted . . . I was at the end of each. Succeeding years I laid a bigger base and ramped up more slowly and really enjoyed the camaraderie of riding all those miles. Good luck and have fun! Anti-Aging — 12 Ways to You Can Slow the Aging Process. 106 pages for $14.99 from RoadBikeRider.com Examples of Older Cyclists Elizabeth Wicks broke the senior women’s age 65 to 69 record at Calvin’s 12-Hour Challenge in 2013 and the W70-74 record in 2014. I coached Wicks. Here is her 2013 training program. Peter Lekisch was the first 60-year-old rider to finish the solo Race Across AMerica in 2001 in 12 days 20 hours 50 minutes. I had the pleasure of coaching Peter. Here is his training program. More Information for Senior Cyclists Endurance Training and Riding 3-article bundle of 48 pages for $13.50 (10% savings) from RoadBikeRider.com
Cycling Past 50: A 4-article bundle of 98 pages for older cyclists for $15.96 ($4.00 savings) from RoadBikeRider.com. The bundle includes:
Cycling Past 60: A 2-article bundle of 47 pages for senior cyclists for just $8.98, a 10% discount from RoadBikeRider.com. The bundle includes:
Cycling Past 50, 60 and Beyond. A 3-article bundle of 100 pages for seniors for just $13.50, a 20% discount from RoadBikeRider.com. The bundle includes:
Coach Hughes other articles from RoadBikeRider.com
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