"Sherry Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:It doesn't matter what day you rest. However, I would definitely
recommend
Quoted message said:riding the day after your long ride. It should be an easier ride, but
it's
Quoted message said:better not to take the day off completely after a long ride.
It's quite possible to train for a century with only 2-3 days a week of riding - many people with
jobs don't have any other choice.
A century is more mental that physical. The 100 mile mark is more an imaginary barrier than a real
challenge, and the ability to sit in the saddle and to tolerate the weight on your arms is more
important than fitness.
I doubt there is much science or real medical information behind most training charts that
you see.
Well, I don't think it is entirely more mental than physical, but the
psychological aspects do count for a lot. I rode my first century the third week of August after
starting to ride initially on July 1st (and taking a week off at the first of August). It was the
Hotter 'n' Hell Hundred. I saw a lot of people give it up and sag back that day. At one rest stop,
they even had a flatbed truck to hold all the bicycles! They put the people in the back of pickup
trucks and the bikes on the flatbed truck.
I heard a couple of guys say "I can't take this wind any more! I just can't!" and they quit at the
80 mile point. I discovered a lot of things that day. One is that it essentially is a 50 mile ride.
If you haven't done it before, you are keyed up to making the "Hell's Gate" point before they close
it. I was so keyed up that I didn't realize Hell's Gate was at the 60 mile point, but that's
another story. Then, when I realized I had gone 10 miles farther than scheduled, it gave me a
mental lift.
Once you get past this sort of barrier, the rest of the ride is a piece of cake, physically. It's
just "10 miles to the next rest stop," get off and snack a bit and then carry on. But, here is where
the real mental part hits you. You are starting to get a little sore, a little stiff maybe, and your
butt is somewhat flattened and numb. You perhaps start talking to yourself a lot, whereas on the
first part of the ride you were talking to other people and joking, and meeting new people.
At the 80 mile point, when or if you pass someone, you feel obligated to encourage them along with
a little "keep at it---you'll make it!" or something like that. You'll see people doing the deadly
"pedal pedal pedal, coast coast coast" over and over and you'll wonder when they are going to give
up entirely. You'll see the guy sitting on the side of the road trying to patch his tire with a
buzzard circling overhead---and you offer up a prayer "Please don't let that be me!" You'll get to
the 90 mile rest stop and see 5 guys taking I.V. solutions and one guy being helped off his bike
because his leg has cramped so much he can't even stand up. These sights weigh on your resolve and
this is where you decide what you yourself are going to tolerate. You can't stand the damn head
wind, either, or the 106 degree heat. This is the moment of truth.
At the end, if your cyclocomputer is working properly, you discover the ride has really been 108
miles and you curse out loud. You ride slowly past the medical tent at the finish line and look at
all the people on the cots moaning and groaning. But, you're glad you stuck with it, because you
learned something about yourself that day.
Pat in TX
