21 Days to prepare for Hilly 110kms race. Advice welcome

On Jan 16th I'm doing a hilly (though very scenic) 110kms race.

http://www.tourderanges.co.nz/

I might have a ride on my rollers for an album length tomorrow then an early ride on Boxing day (the weather is supposed to be better and if I go out early enough there won't be Christmas traffic).

I've been doing a lot of riding all through the year - but just short stuff - training up to 50kms (weeks ago) and short races - hillclimbs (see photo) and Thursday night 25kms races.

How should I train for the race?

Thanks, Paul

 

Last night 73.3kgs
This morning 72.6
Bowel motions and a 48kms ride - 71.3 ;-)
Tonight 72.3

If I can get down to 68 (really hard word for me) I got much better up the hills

 

For a hilly ride, I've read you should train doing short climbs, then a break .
I have a hill nearby that's about a mile long, I hit it hard, turn around, recoup
going down & past the bottom about 2 miles the turn & hit it again
I do that hill 3 times, at the end of a 20 mile ride (when I could thru Summer).

Helped a lot when I come to short 1 - 2 mile hills on my rides.
Am able to power up them much better now.

 

Hill repeats - I agree they're great training but I fear them!!
I am going to have to build in more hills....and possibly repeats.

 

Same 48kms ride
After ride weight 70.6 = down 3kgs in 2 days

 

Rode into Auckland city with the shop group this morning. Did it on my Singlespeed. Apart from two nasty short steep sections the rest of the climbs were fine. Another 48kms by the time I got home.
After ride weight 70.3kgs.

Feeling I need a rest day but the weather is perfect and its going to rain in a couple of days (doesn't mean it'll stop me though) so I'll probably ride tomorrow too.

 

Rest day yesterday (and more food)

Did 63kms today. 70.7kgs when I got back.

A nice ride but 4 terrible drivers - who I got with my Fly6. I'll do Police complaints about them and rang the business that owns one of the vehicle.

 

I wished I knew how to but I don't
If you're after general Fly6 videos there are some on youtube etc.

 

31/12 33kms plod - recovery ride?

2/1 Its very windy and rainy here - sub tropical storm

I put my rain gear on, grabbed my Genius bike with Roadracer mudguards and did 27kms. Better than nothing.

 

Today same rain gear etc but I ended up being over dressed etc.

Managed to rack up 73kms
Will soon be at 100kms

 

Yesterday 82kms. Felt pretty good.
I've realised how much my quality sports drink powder helps to keep up my energy. I had basically given it up for training (being a miser) and been using a cordial - which is ok for short rides but not for long ones.

 

100.03kms!!
It wasn't easy as its windy and strangely cold for Summer.

I looked up the prep I'd done at this time last year and I'd only done a few short rides (42kms etc) and a 93 and 97 so my prep is up on that.

I'll rest tomorrow and aim for 2 more hundys on the weekend....though back to back doesn't sound that smart...or doable...

 

Hilly ride after my wife got home from work last night. Glad I dressed properly as it wasn't warm - cold wind but sunny and light. 47kms

 

You've got 'the look'.
You've got the bike.
And by God you've got the orange shoes!

I take it you're riding a veteran's class (age graded racing)? Good luck to you! You'll do just fine. The start will be the usual hard effort. Sit on the back of the pack until the action settles down, then just try and go with the flow. Stay alert and manage your energy as best you can. Through multiple rollers the emphasis will be on being recovered to go at it on the next climb. Drink often and eat a couple/three energy gels during the lull in the action.

If'n you do get dropped, try to find a couple other dropped riders to keep moving with. Let yourself be caught by riders behind or work to catch those other dropped riders in front. You'll maintain better speed in a group and suffer less than soloing in.

 

Personally I would be hitting the trainer 3 days a week and doing some intervals. In my opinion better than going out for a ride outdoors even if that ride includes hills. I'd then do 2 moderate intensity rides indoors or outdoors and one 3-4 hour ride outdoors on Sunday. That's what I'm doing for the Taranaki Cycle Challenge at the end of January (New Zealand).

Even though it's summer here in New Zealand we've had some crap weather. I've been very glad to stay inside on the trainer. Today I'll be inside on the trainer. Very windy outside where I am.

 

Tapped out another 100.17kms this morning.
Windy and raining....for the first few hours. I pulled my Genius bike with mudguards off the rack to find it had a flat rear tyre
I clipped the rear mudguard on the 'rello, put on my jacket, helmet with cover and off I went.
I only took my jacket off about 15kms from home....apparently its Summer here!

 

The big race is a week from today. Cut your mileage in half this week and cut your intervals just a bit. You need some intensity all week (just lower volume) because anaerobic fitness starts to decline in just 2-3 days whereas aerobic fitness does not tail off for about 2 weeks. No workout between now and next Saturday will make you any fitter. Hard workouts now can only make yourself fatigued and less able to stay with the pack. Freshness matters.

 

Are you competitive? I ask that because 1000 riders is a big field. It is easy to get lost in it or split from the fast guys.

The most important question is can you stay with the group that rides the 110K in 3 hours? If I could do that, I would work on my finish effort. I don't know if you can sprint with the group or if you need to go with 5-10K left and try to stay away. In any case you should test yourself early in the week to see what you are capable of and use your current abilities to determine a plan.

Good luck.

 

Hey, can't get far without the orange shoes(mitts)!
This race only has open and possibly over 50s (I'm 53). There are a lot of guys / girls faster than me in the 50 +.
Thanks for the advice.
Last year I tried to keep up with people faster than myself and overcooked it I think which ruined the last 2/3s!

I'll try to find some people who I can ride with more easily.

Thanks, Paul