# Question about training for a century



## RyanDe680 (Jul 25, 2010)

Is your training similar to that of a marathon, in that you never actually complete 100 miles before the ride?

In marathon training, you run 22 or 23 depending on your training program, but I am curious if in training for such a ride, do you ride 75 or 80 prior and then taper off about 2-3 weeks before?


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## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*my experience*



RyanDe680 said:


> Is your training similar to that of a marathon, in that you never actually complete 100 miles before the ride?
> 
> In marathon training, you run 22 or 23 depending on your training program, but I am curious if in training for such a ride, do you ride 75 or 80 prior and then taper off about 2-3 weeks before?


I would ride as you described, 75 to 80 and then, taper the next week THEN at the end of the same week, do the century


2 weeks tapering? Not for me


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## laffeaux (Dec 12, 2001)

There's no reason that you need to do 100 miles prior to attempting a century.

Before doing my first century (many years ago) I think that my longest ride was about 70 miles. I was comfortable doing doing 40-50 miles regularly, and I did several longer (60-70 mile rides) in the month leading up to the century.

How long are your "typical" longer rider right now? How often are you eating on these rides? How do you feel when you're done with your long ride?


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## zender (Jun 20, 2009)

If your goal is just to complete it and not set a PR, then the limiting factor is going to be time sitting on your saddle, with a few assumptions: (1) you are in reasonable cycling condition (2) the particular century doesn't have too many sections requiring sustained anaerobic efforts.

Anyway, 70-80 miles is adequate to judge how your body feels after many hours in the saddle and what kind of food you deal with best. Having a group to ride with is a huge plus.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

I'm no marathon runner. I have many cycling buddies who are, and other friends who do them, so from hear-say...I think running a marathon takes a big toll on your body...Lot of impact and probably more effort expended than a century on a bike.. So runners don't do 'training marathon distances...because the distance actually reduces your condition....

Riding a century...should not put you in a huge "hole"... if you want to test yourself...ride one...just leave a few days to a week, to recover...depending, of course, on your over all conditioning...Ridden at a recreational pace, many non-racers can easily do back to back to back centuries without too much distress.

I am not saying a century ride is easy....it is a substantial undertaking, but it shouldn't leave you totally wasted for weeks, like some of my competative marathon friends say they are after they do one.


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## makeitso (Sep 20, 2008)

In all seriousness how hard a century is depends directly upon how fast you want to ride it and how steep the climbs are. As long as you're able to sit and pedal at all for the duration you'll make it. Remember wind resistance goes up to the third power as you increase speed so if you go slower it becomes that much easier as long as you're able to pedal. Comparing someone that averages 15 mph vs someone who averages 19 mph the person who is going at 19 mph expends around 1.6x the energy even though they finish about 90-100 min sooner. Stick on someone's wheel the whole time and it becomes say ~20% easier at those speeds if you're riding with friends or people who don't mind it.

Bottom line is if you're able to feel alright on your 4-5 hour weekend rides you'll be fine. Try different foods/fuels out and see what you like since completing a century ride is generally more of a morale thing as long as you're getting out and riding a bit. That being said last year a few of my friends signed up for a century ride. They did zero training, riding or otherwise, and even though it took a while and they were sore they made it. A marathon however is a completely different animal.


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## RyanDe680 (Jul 25, 2010)

Thanks for the input everyone. 

I'm looking to get a bunch of rides in this year, a 60, 70, 75, 80 and then the century. 

I want to throw a few crits in there too... For now I feel great and have been doing a bunch of spin. I just want to go at this properly this year and not half-assed... Lucky for me, I'm outside Chicago and the majority of the area is flat. I will be doing the Napa Gran Fondo and that's a great way for me to get a good set of hills in...


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## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

saddle time....it also depends on how much climbing is involved. No reason you can't do a 4-5hr ride every weekend. 
I would say try going 100mi before the event


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## OHroadie (Jul 12, 2010)

Lots of great responses above... the best thing for your first century is to ride with other people to stay motivated. If there are rest stops, take advantage of them but make quick.

Last year my first century was at the beginning of June and only had about 200 total base miles before that. The longest ride was 60 miles up to that point. By August I did three centuries over three weekends and still doing group rides twice a week.

Depending on how hard you pushing yourself, they can turn out to be a fun way to mix up training.


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## vontress (Jul 19, 2009)

Don't forget base miles. If you do some riding daily, you will be amazed at how the mileage stacks up. If you can, try riding to work or just ride an hour 3 or 4 days a week plus your long ride.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

For my "goal" rides or races, I like to do 45% (distance and elevation gain) on back-to-back days two weeks before the event. For a century, that would be 45 miles on Saturday and 45 on Sunday two weeks before.


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## Max The Dog (Feb 28, 2009)

robwh9 said:


> For my "goal" rides or races, I like to do 45% (distance and elevation gain) on back-to-back days two weeks before the event. For a century, that would be 45 miles on Saturday and 45 on Sunday two weeks before.


Rob,

I've heard of similar training plans to what you discussed (45%/45%) Vs. (80%). How has this worked out for you in the past?


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## Cni2i (Jun 28, 2010)

laffeaux said:


> *There's no reason that you need to do 100 miles prior to attempting a century.*Before doing my first century (many years ago) I think that my longest ride was about 70 miles. I was comfortable doing doing 40-50 miles regularly, and I did several longer (60-70 mile rides) in the month leading up to the century.
> 
> How long are your "typical" longer rider right now? How often are you eating on these rides? How do you feel when you're done with your long ride?


My thoughts exactly. I never rode more than 65-70 miles/day prior to my first century. Granted, I did ride 60-80 miles a week (usually 50+ on Sundays and the other 20-30 miles on Tuesday). I work everyday of the week except on Sundays, and I get off early on Tuesdays. Hence, I didn't have a whole lot of time to do 100 mile rides. Have to spend time with the kids and wifey too  

The point is, if you ride regularly and can handle 50+ miles/day with not too much effort, a century is not that bad...unless you're talking about something centuries with over 10,000 ft of climbing.


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