Ride A Century Right

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Ride A Century Right
Follow the coach’s advice and ride that century right.
By Chris Carmichael

Whether you're pushing your limits to cover 100 miles or hammering to break the five-hour barrier, you'll finish fresher and faster with this simple plan (see box) and by avoiding two top century training mistakes.

Mistake: Failing to Consider Terrain My first century was dead flat, and the last one I rode was in the mountains. They're each 100 miles, but that's where the similarities end. Solutions: Fast Pedal Intervals or Climbing Repeats--during a flat century, there are few chances to rest your legs, so a smooth pedal stroke will help you save energy. On a relatively flat road, shift into an easy gear and bring your cadence to about 90 rpm. Then pedal as fast as you can without bouncing in the saddle. Maintain that cadence for five minutes. Start with four 5-minute intervals, with five minutes of easy riding between efforts. As you progress, extend the intervals and recovery to 10 minutes each.

In a hilly hundred, fatigue can set in if climbs repeatedly push you over lactate threshold. Climbing Repeats help increase your aerobic power before you reach threshold. Find a climb that's 10 or more minutes long. (If you don't have hills, ride a trainer with your front wheel propped up, or do the intervals into a stiff headwind.) The interval intensity should be an 8 on a scale of 10, or 95 to 97 percent of your time trial (max sustainable) heart rate, or 95 to 100 percent of your TT power output. Beginners should do two 6- to 8-minute intervals. Intermediates can try three 8- to 10-minute intervals; advanced riders get three 12- to 15-minute intervals. Recover between intervals with 10–15 minutes of easy spinning.

Mistake: Inability to Handle Pace Changes The ability to get into and maintain contact with a group can save you a tremendous amount of energy. When the group surges and a gap opens, you need the power to close it; when the pace picks up toward the top of a climb, you need to be able to keep up. Solution: Over Unders include periods above and below lactate threshold, so you develop the ability to ride steady, push, then ride steady again. Pedal for three minutes at 92 to 95 percent of your max sustainable heart rate (85 to 90 percent of time-trial power or an 8 on a 10 scale of exertion). Then pick up the pace for two minutes (95+ percent of time-trial HR and power). After the two minutes, back off to the initial intensity for three minutes, then surge for the final two minutes. Recovery between intervals is 15 minutes of easy spinning. Beginners should aim for two intervals; intermediate riders, three. Advanced riders can do three 12-minute intervals: 2:00 steady/2:00 harder/2:00 steady/2:00 harder/2:00 steady/2:00 harder.

Try incorporating these workouts into your plan once or twice a week in the six weeks before the big day. When my coaches and I put these workouts into the programs of our cyclists, we see dramatically improved times and happier faces at the finish line.