training for ultracycling event

robotfury said:

I would very much like to ride a 500 mile race in September 2007. I won't be competing other than against myself. I have only done a 300km thus far and know that with the right training I can get through a larger event just fine. I would like to start my winter in the right direction and come out of it following a solid plan. I just don't know how to design such a plan, other than to follow the same plan I used for ultrarunning with the back to back long rides on weekends. Could someone help me with this project or at least put me in the right direction? I am especially concerned with what I should do during the winter - heart rate training, weight training, continued base building as I don't mind riding in the snow???? Should I go with periodization? How do I build up mileage? When should I start? How should I start? Where can I find a training plan or a training plan I can model? I would appreciate any advice.

http://www.ultracycling.com/ is a fantastic resource. I would start there and branch out.

Specifically in training:
http://www.ultracycling.com/training/training.html

Actually, I have been reading ultracycling.com for information. I used it especially when preparing for my first 300km. It seems to touch on a lot, but I want to dig deeper I just don't know where. Is there an ultracycling forum out there? For example, I belong to an ultrarunning listerv and get loads of info there. I wonder if the same exists for long distance or endurance cyclists.

Thanks,

M

robotfury,

Here is a link which is geared to preparing to ride a 100 mile MTB course:
http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/training/training.php

This is a basic 16 week plan. For you, I think you need to do longer back-to-back stuff on the weekends as you lead up to the race.

For winter I would suggest lots and lots of SST. To answer your questions - and this is just me answering so of course you need to just use it as reference...

I assume you use HR and RPE, so spend time learning what L3 and L4 feels like and spend a lot of time there - there's a ton of info on these forums dealing with that. Forgive me if I'm telling you things you already know. No weight training. Base building would be covered by the SST. For an ultra event, you may want to consider 'reverse periodization', which doesn't mean anything when you boil it down. But for endurance stuff it means a preseason of L5 followed by L4 then lots and lots of L3/L2. Build up milegae in the 10% range per week, though I think many people can get away with more than that, especially IMO with an ultra running background. Start now. Start by riding your bike a lot with SST.

Hope this helps.

I am new to endurance riding. Basically I have switched over from ultrarunning due to injury. I approached my last 300km by basically riding during the week and hitting the weekends hard. I didn't follow any real plan. This link is awesome. However, as I am fairly new to cycling with a training plan in mind. I am unfamiliar with Sweet Spot training and, I am embarassed to say, don't really know much about L3 or L4. Does that refer to HR zones? See what I mean. I obviously have a lot of homework to do. Where can I read up on L training? Thanks. Again, that Merida link is awesome.

M

Read this:
http://www.midweekclub.ca/articles/coggan.pdf

If nothing else, check out pages 16 and 17. You don't need a power meter to understand a lot of the concepts. And you don't need to use HR zones. RPE will be fine, but it takes a little bit to work it all out.

Here's an article on SST:
http://pezcyclingnews.com/default.asp?pg=fullstory&id=3232

robotfury said:

I would very much like to ride a 500 mile race in September 2007. I won't be competing other than against myself. I have only done a 300km thus far and know that with the right training I can get through a larger event just fine. I would like to start my winter in the right direction and come out of it following a solid plan. I just don't know how to design such a plan, other than to follow the same plan I used for ultrarunning with the back to back long rides on weekends. Could someone help me with this project or at least put me in the right direction? I am especially concerned with what I should do during the winter - heart rate training, weight training, continued base building as I don't mind riding in the snow???? Should I go with periodization? How do I build up mileage? When should I start? How should I start? Where can I find a training plan or a training plan I can model? I would appreciate any advice.

Try:www.cyclingforums.com/t127435.html - and also try : www.ultracycling.com/training/endurance_training.html .🙂 good luck Mucher