Training Update
2015 DD2tB Recap
Have I confused tough and stupid once again? Do I enjoy long sessions of mental and physical anguish? Have I gone so far into an addiction that I no longer recognize normal? These are all questions for a certified professional to answer. Since I am not currently under the care of a psychiatrist, the answers are all irrelevant because, whether or not I'm sane, I have signed up for the 2015 Double Down to the Beach, a single day double century from Burlington, NC to New Bern, NC. That's 200 miles folks....201.32 miles to be exact based on the proposed route. To be fair, this is not uncharted territory for me as I have done a similar double century a couple years ago. Maybe that just makes me that much more crazy though.
Having done DD2tB in 2013, I have the advantage of knowing what parts of my training worked, and what parts didn't. Essentially, what I have done this year is left alone what worked, and tweaked what didn't. That makes perfect sense right? Sure it does! That should translate to a very similar ride this year without that bonk at 130 miles. refer back to my opening questions for a second...........Of course, I won't leave things quite that simple. Since I have become a much stronger and faster cyclist this year, I am planning on joining the "A Group" for this ride. For those who might not be familiar with this terminology cycling groups by speed are typically divided into A, B, and C groups. The C group has an average speed of 16+, the B group is 18+, and the A group is 20+ for this ride. My average speed in 2013 was 18.1mph which was my fastest century to date. This was largely due to the fact that it was my first endurance ride where I worked in a pace line. I was impressed with my ability to keep up with this group, and really doubted that I could go much faster. However, these days, my training centuries (solo rides) are well into 19+ mph range for an average speed and I am getting faster with each endurance ride. So I figure, why not push the envelope and shoot for the speed demons on this ride?
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| At the finish line in 2013, "Believe, Achieve" |
Training, what worked before should work now....
If it ain't broke, there should be no need to fix it, so a lot of my training has remained the same as before. In 2013, I concentrated on getting a lot of saddle time early in the year, and then progressing to logging big miles on rides as the weather started to warm up. Right before Double Down, I had ridden nearly 2,900 miles. With two more weeks of training, I have clocked around 3,600 miles so far. This is in addition to the 2,000 miles in the last few months of 2014. Those miles are very well rounded miles as well. There have been hours on the trainer doing all sorts of intervals, road rides with lots of climbing, all out time trial rides, and endurance rides at moderate paces and relatively quick paces. That was the mix in 2013, and I carried that training plan through to this year.
The difference I've seen between the two years is my speeds have improved substantially. All across the board, I have somehow manged to add approximately 2 mph to my averages. My endurance pace has improved from the mid 17's to the mid 19's, my time trialing has improved from 19's to 21 mph on three occasions. Even my climbs have improved with Caesar's Head going from 6 mph to 8 mph. Just looking at those numbers, I can tell that my fitness level is quite a bit higher leading up to this year's Double Down.
As with any other long ride, you really should work up to the distance gradually. In 2013, I had ridden a total of 11 100K routes, 2 full century routes, and 2 200K routes. This year I have only done 10 100K routes, but I've completed 5 full century routes, and 2 additional 200K routes. All of these have been faster than anything I did in 2013.
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| Cresting Caesar's Head at the 2015 Assault on the Carolinas |
I had decided that I wanted to simulate fatigue in my legs and instead of starting out fresh which I always recommend for a century ride, I had ridden all but two days the week prior, and leading up to the century, I had ridden 27 miles, followed by 54 miles. Effectively, this put me in a bad position as I was already feeling fatigued when I started the ride. While my average speed dropped to 18.9, I considered this a very good ride because I was able to maintain around the 19 mph mark for the full 105 miles. That's a pretty big deal to me, and a result in uncharted territory for me. I'll be playing around more with this for my next event ride which is a three day stage ride with progressive mileages culminating in a full century on the last day.
Something else that worked for me in 2013 was spending a great deal of time on the stationary trainer in the off season. This actually had two very specific benefits. First of all, it allowed me to operate at a specific output for a predetermined amount of time. There was no go until you get tired. If the interval was 10 minutes, you went for 10 minutes. If it was 30 minutes, that's how long you plugged along. Related to this was the concept of active recovery. I learned how to bring my heart rate back down and rest while still making headway. What this allowed me to be able to do was to stretch my breaks much further than I had been used to. In 2013, I was able to ride 50 miles without stopping because of this technique. This year, I repeated that, then made it 62 miles, and then just last month rode 70 miles without stopping for a break. While I won't need that kind of endurance for Double Down, it's very nice to know that I can do it, and won't be limping in for the rest stops every 30-40 miles.
Tweaking, what didn't work before needs to be changed
In 2013, I had the legs, I had the heart. What I didn't have was the proper fueling for a ride of this magnitude. The preride eating I think worked just fine and I plan on duplicating that again this year. However, my nutrition on the ride lacked a lot I think. I was good for the first 135 miles or so, but then bad things started to happen to me. I cramped, I couldn't eat, my legs were not as strong as they should have been...in short, I almost bonked. This was my biggest downfall in 2013. My diet was largely sugar based, and did not posses the proper range of nutrients. I also wasn't consuming enough through the ride. My staples were Power Bars, Honey Stingers, and granola bars. I was using water and Gatorade to wash it all down with. Had it not been for a sample of Hammer Perpetuem toward the end, I have my doubts that I would have actually finished.
This year I have reworked my diet on several different fronts. First of all, I have eliminated the granola bars, and reduced my dependency on Power Bars as well. The Honey Stinger cookies are gone too. My core solid diet for long rides is now built around a waffle and Nutella sandwich which has all the ingredients an endurance cyclist needs with simple carbs, fat, and a little bit of protein. It tastes really good too, and one sandwich is sufficient for a full century. Of course, I will supplement that sandwich with Toni's homemade coconut macaroons which are loaded with carbs, and not a whole lot of sugar so there is no crash when the effects wear off. Two of those are usually good for the first 50 miles or so, and then a couple for the last little bit will get me over the hump. I keep a Power Bar in my jersey pocket still just in case I need that boost in energy.
As I learned in 2013, though, I don't function very well on solid food alone. Something that I have been playing with on my more recent centuries is a liquid diet based on the Hammer Perpetuem. I've actually seen very good results with this product and it has allowed me to go 70 miles straight with no solid food. Essentially, it's a powder that is mixed in to a bottle of water and it includes plenty of carb based calories along with some fat as well. It tastes a little funny, but for some reason on a bike, it just tastes right. You mix it up based on your weight and the time you are planning on consuming it. Since it does have a limited shelf life once mixed, which is truncated in the heat, I can only bring one bottle along for my self sustained centuries. However, for Double Down, I'll be able to swap out for a fresh bottle every 30-40 miles which works out great. Since it is largely water based, I will be getting some hydration from that, and will have an additional bottle of water with me for straight hydration purposes.
What I am hoping to achieve here is having a much lower dependence on solid foods which will only be consumed at the rest stops since I am just not coordinated enough to eat and ride at the same time. I will be able to grab a bottle and drink a liquid diet while moving forward though. That should keep my fuel stores in order for the long haul so I can maintain my energy level for the duration of the ride. I'll get the solid foods for that boost every couple of hours. When it comes to electrolytes, I will still have my Gatorade, but that will be used when the calories are needed. To keep from bloating from the sugar, I will be using electrolyte tablets in my water bottles after the first rest stop.
While diet is the biggest thing I intend to work on for this year, I also have a better understanding of group riding than I did in 2013. I'm by no means a master at it because I still don't do it often (enough). However, I know how to avoid surging when I take the lead in the line, and I know that will be appreciated by the others in the pace line. I had issues with that for most of the ride in 2013, and it did cause problems. I think that once we get a pace established, I'll be able to maintain it without a problem.
What are my worries this year?
Well, my biggest worry in 2013 was whether or not I would actually complete the ride. This year, I'm not so much worried about that, although it will always be a concern. What I'm worried about is my choice to join in with the fast group. This would be a truly stellar event if I were to finish it with an average around 20 mph! It's possible, and I think I'm up for it. The catches will be the weather which is forecasted to be kind of rainy off and on through the day. This will slow me down, and I would assume everyone else. It will also make riding in a pace line difficult due to the constant spray from the wheel in front of you. That means more energy being expended while in the line. If I can't hang with the fast guys, then I will be able to drop back into the B Group, but what happens if I make the decision too late and I've blown up by the time I get absorbed by the next group? This is only an issue because I'm stubborn, and will stick with my chosen group until I just can't anymore, but by that time, I'm likely be be in pretty bad shape and not up to maintaining an 18+ pace anymore. I'll just have to really pay attention to the signals my body is putting out I guess.
I have to admit it is nice not to have to worry about the bike like I did in 2013. Back then, I was using a bike that was already a couple seasons old, and had been through quite a number of changes. I remember my rear bottle cage mount broke, and I was having all sorts of difficulties with the Zipp wheels on my last bike right before Double Down. This year, I am riding a basically new bike, but with close to 3000 miles on it already. So far, everything seems to be working well and holding together. This will allow me to worry about things that I can control, like my ability to hang with the A group.
The weather on the hand can't be controlled. If you will remember, I started off the last Double Down in a steady rain that stuck with us for the first 30 miles. The next 30 were wet roads. This year, might be similar with rain on and off for the whole day. On the lighter side though, the temperatures are looking to stay in the 70's and the wind should be coming from the Southwest. That would make for a cross wind, and not a headwind as we make the final charge to the coast. Not having a headwind would almost make it worth riding in the rain...almost.
Parting thoughts...
2013 was all about being able to say that "I did" rather than "I'm going to." This year, I can't really spin it like that. Having done it before, this ride is not there to prove anything at all. I can't even say that if I stick with the A Group it will be all that important of a ride. So, why am I doing this double century ride? This one is just for me, to prove to myself that I still have it in me at 41 years old, and that I can do it better than when I was 39. In just a couple of weeks I'll once again count myself among the ranks of the ultra endurance cyclists. This will probably be my last year doing this ride though. A century ride has now officially become, just another really long ride. I am looking forward to seeing just how the 2015 Double Down to the Beach turns out. With any luck, my new diet plan, and proven training plan will do what planned and I'll make short work of this epic ride.
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