Training for 100 miles...

RedTea

hi,

I've seen a couple of post about long one day cycles - 100km to 100+ miles doing the ring of kerry. Thinking of maybe trying to work up to this kind of distance, not looking at big speeds...prob average about 20 km/hr.

at the moment i do about 10 km in and out to work every day and the odd 30-40km cycle at the weekends. came across some 8-12 week training schedules to work up to 100 miles. Anyone have some comments on these.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~tourofmayo/Training%20100%20ml.htm
http://www.maccfund.org/trek100/riders/train.pdf
http://www.diablocyclists.com/RiderTips/EasyCenturyTrainingProgram.htm
http://www.carbboom.com/education/century.php

Also, anyone interested in getting together to try the longer training cycles at the weekends? I'm not into racing..and my bike isnt really built for speed..
but isnt that bad.

daymobrew

I had a similar routine to you while I was training for the Wicklow 100km cycle. I did some hill work (out to Howth and around Strawberry Beds near Lucan). It worked out fine.

crashoveroid

Great post will help alot of people

marathonic

I'd like to train for a century too.. However, none of the programs below would suit me well as I use my bike for commuting to/from work.. Basically, I've let the insurance and tax in the car lapse so that I've no choice but to cycle to/from work regardless of the weather.

I think it's about 8-10 miles each way.. What would your advice be for me? I could:

• Cycle the 8-10 mile each way Mon-Fri and only follow the Sat & Sun in the 2nd program above
• Cycle 8-10 miles each way Mon-Fri in addition to the program

I think it may be sufficient for me to cycle to/from work Mon-Fri and work on increasing my speed during those days and follow the program for Saturday and Sunday.

mloc123

daymobrew wrote:

I had a similar routine to you while I was training for the Wicklow 100km cycle. I did some hill work (out to Howth and around Strawberry Beds near Lucan). It worked out fine.

Out of interest, what is the road from Lucan to the Phoenix Park(by the strawberry beds) like to cycle on? Is traffic heavy? I'm considering it as an alternate route to cycle into work instead of the n4.

daymobrew

mloc123 wrote:

Out of interest, what is the road from Lucan to the Phoenix Park(by the strawberry beds) like to cycle on? Is traffic heavy? I'm considering it as an alternate route to cycle into work instead of the n4.

I don't commute there, but I'm sure it was mentioned on this forum as a route to avoid during commute hours (but I cannot find the thread).

marathonic wrote:

I'd like to train for a century too.. However, none of the programs below would suit me well as I use my bike for commuting to/from work..
..snip..
I think it's about 8-10 miles each way..
..snip..
I think it may be sufficient for me to cycle to/from work Mon-Fri and work on increasing my speed during those days and follow the program for Saturday and Sunday.

As you are not quite sure of your commute distance, get a computer. It will provide accurate info and some motivation (try to beat a certain average speed). I'm in a similar situation - commute during week - so I just plan to do a long cycle over the weekend i.e. just follow the programme for Saturday/Sunday. I work at home on Fridays so that is my rest day.

Covenline

They are fantastic links. Thanks very much

Capt'n Midnight

mloc123 wrote:

Out of interest, what is the road from Lucan to the Phoenix Park(by the strawberry beds) like to cycle on? Is traffic heavy? I'm considering it as an alternate route to cycle into work instead of the n4.

An alternative would be to go the back of Liffey Valley over the M50 and turn right to Ballyfermot and follow that road down to Chapelizod village. You can then cross the river to the park or use the cycle lane beside the old N4. Alternatively if you don't cross the river you can enter the other park and go along the footpath on the south side of the river to Islandbridge.

mloc123

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

An alternative would be to go the back of Liffey Valley over the M50 and turn right to Ballyfermot and follow that road down to Chapelizod village. You can then cross the river to the park or use the cycle lane beside the old N4. Alternatively if you don't cross the river you can enter the other park and go along the footpath on the south side of the river to Islandbridge.

Ah yeah, hadn't considered that. I just want to avoid the road works at the n4/m50 roundabout. I've been cut off more times while driving so I don't fancy cycling it. I'll see how it goes and report back

crosstownk

Nice links! Just got back on the bike after many years abscence. Hoping to do the Wicklow Challenge - not sure if I'll be up to it this year, but when I used to race, mountains were my thing. My main plan is just to get fit again, but it's nice to have something to work towards. So I'll train away and see how I feel as the closing date for the Wicklow Challenge approaches.

Where are you based RedTea - maybe we can hook up........

daymobrew

crosstownk wrote:

So I'll train away and see how I feel as the closing date for the Wicklow Challenge approaches

I didn't do much hill training last year and found the 100km Wicklow Challenge quite easy. Just be careful that you don't miss the event - AFAIK it consistently fills up before any closing date.

crosstownk

daymobrew wrote:

it consistently fills up before any closing date.

Thanks - I wasn't aware of that! The joys of being a novice for the second time

RedTea

I'm based in harolds cross and try to get out either sat or sun morning, but have only been doing this for about a month or so. longest cycle so far about 70km...on a flatish route averaging about 21-22km/hr..not sure how much this changes when i hit some hills. I have gone up around glencullen but some of those hills almost killed me.

saw the other thread with the 80km cycle in the mountains..
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055077465
will work my way up to something like that. Also looking at maybe doing the wicklow challenge.

crosstownk

RedTEa, I'm based in Terenure so maybe we could hook up at the weekends. I've a week or two to go to get to the 70km mark (it's been a long time!), but as soon as I have I'll let you know. I'm averaging just above the 20km/h mark but have a bit of stamina to build up before tackling any significant hills!