# Century Training Plan?



## Super_6_3 (Aug 5, 2012)

Is there one like the countless ones you can find on marathon training? I haven't "officially" done a century but I did a pair of 100+ training rides for an Ironman. I'd like to see if I can focus more on just the riding aspect of it. If you have a link, please post it. Thanks!


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

*Here is my basic plan ...*

for long rides. Hope it helps


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## Gitit (Sep 5, 2012)

You're probably looking for something more structured, but the training plan that I've had the most success with focuses more on time in the saddle than in miles. If I'm trying to get ready for a century I ride one hour 4 to 5 days each week and 3 to 6 hours one day.

My fitness improves much faster using this method than any of the comparable miles-based training plans I've tried. After 2 or 3 months of this you'll see significant improvements no matter what level you're at currently.


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## Super_6_3 (Aug 5, 2012)

Yup. I've been searching for something more structured. There's a ride I'd like to do in 6 weeks so I don't know that it would really matter at this point. If anything, I just need to add more miles to my weekend rides.

At best, my weekly rides look like this:

Monday - hill repeats or intervals of about 1.5-2 hrs. 
Wednesday - optional fast group ride - only 50min long.
Thursday - if I skip the Wed ride, 1.5 hr easy ride focusing on various skills with the random sprints.
Saturday - 50-65 miles (moderate to hard effort depending on the ride/route)
Sunday - 30-45 miles (easy effort)

So...I think if I gradually increase the Saturday ride to a max of 5 hrs in the 6 weeks leading to the century, I should be able to ride at a relatively easy effort or a faster pace.


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## charlox5 (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm not sure centuries require the same amount of preparation as a marathon. In light of this, i don't think there is the same need for careful traning as there would be with a marathon. A good amount of saddle time would seem to be the most important aspect of preparation.


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

*yeah those long rides...*

are key. If your doing that type of training already, you should be fine for a century. Just make sure to eat and drink enough. Seems like you have a good mix of long , short, fast and slow rides. All good. Good luck in your ride. rest up good a few days before the ride.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Six weeks is plenty of time to get faster.

Since you've already done rides over a hundred miles, this is all about goals. Do you have a time you'd like to keep it under? Or is it some crazy route that's going to be challenging just to finish? On a "normal" route, you've already got this in the bag in terms of finishing without undue drama or suffering.

If you've got time for it, you could take your Saturday rides all the way up to 100 miles. And if I read you right, you're riding four days a week. Doing both Wednesday and Thursday, and maybe adding a recovery day on Friday is an option. Kinda depends on if you think you're better with one or two rest days.

If I'm being disciplined and organized about it, I'll take my long rides all the way up to six hours for a six hour race. Nice to know that that volume is easily in hand and all I have to do on the day is ride it fast.  The recommendation for speed work for something this long is tempo rides. Different training manuals will have different descriptions of what that is, but it's frequently a series of twenty minute intervals with a few minutes in between. Basically it's something you do at or a bit below threshold, so theoretically you could do it continuously, with some breaks because most people don't hate themselves enough to train as hard as they race.


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