IdeJongh

This puppy will be on the bike for ever! Sure the cred is cool, but more for whenever I suffer at a race I just look down and remember I've conquered a lot worse.

Team-mate wasn't 100% so also did the shorty, and was actually cool just having a bit of fun! (Been very serious of late) Flattest route on the calendar I reckon! Just couldn't catch that front bunch (bleddie laaites). haha.

Thats indeed the one! He's a strong rider for an older ballie!

This is a very entertaining thread thank you, remember when I was shocked to hear that it's best to go commando!! And now look at us... Welcome dude!! Some good advice posted, where I would focus: 1. Good bibs, yes bibs, your ass will thank you later! 2. Go tubeless 3. Stop and take pics, we live in an amazing country! 4. Make room in your closet, you wont be at 98kgs for very long. 5. You laugh at people doing Epic, it will be on your bucket list soon, trust me.

We're in (again), see you kids there!

Yeah its tricky, will be my 3rd and even distances of 50-60 seem like a bit of a waste, Sabie used to be quite a tester (like the classic was this year) BUT then again the missus wants to do a stage race with me and the two day lite is not on, so the slightly more 'managable' distances for the experience might get her comfy enough to jump across to that. Different strokes I guess...

I think you and I rode together up Mamba talking about the mushroom clouds speeding passed. Must say that didnt make me feel any better when I called it a day after the 75. Was broken and too thankful to see that Spur shoppy to head back out. Well done for pushing on. Rode the 45 with Barbie and the gang yest for funsies, needed to put the joy back into it after that brutal day. Had a fun day on the bike!

Yep also in for the half on Sunday - see you kids there! Im outa here!!

Still nervous as hell, but have to get through Sabie's Ultra this weekend first. Gonna be a toughy.

Thanks guys

Not as good as you okes, but got some shots I like... Last night's sunset - And an owl was friendly enough to pop by...

Yes the mamba switchback's are quite hectic!! But going to the longer distance is all about intensity, if you keep your HR out of the red for the first half of the race and start pushing a bit more the last half you'll be surprised. I've recently started doing the Ultra's and I'm managing well, and its all down to pacing yourself, dont get caught up in the hype at the start. EDIT: And when I say "managing well" I mean completing them within cut-offs and not cramp and die along the route.

Hahaha. Wanna come in for drinks?

No those race briefings have been banned!!!!

I've marshalled in the bush and stood at the finish line waiting for gramps to finish a 6hour 30km, and you have nothing to complain about. Between the heat and the sheer boredom marshalling is HARD WORK!!!

WTF Tim, you guys trying to kill us?? Hahaha We doing Mamba on the first climb? And what are the cut-offs like for the Ultra? This route looks intense, but I dont mind the time in the saddle, but I guess your marshalls mind the time in the bush

Hey Leeann - I export the GPX files to Excel, work out the incremental distances from the lat-long coords with a projection coorection factor, then recalc the elevation as a function of the start point, and bam you just plot two graphs in Excel.

Posted this in my Epic training thread as well, but worth a mention here I reckon. To illustrate the scale of these climbs, see how they compare to the Magalies Monster ... (And well done to all the casual riders taking on the half-marathon, that climb is brutal no matter how u look at it!) Managed my Ultra finish in 8h34, thanks Tim+guys for an awesome event!

Completed the Barberton Ultra as well yesterday. Those climbs just never stopped!! But was a very awesome route! Some idea on the scale of the race - this is the Barberton route vs Magalies Monster -

Faaaaak dude thats funny!!! :lol:

Similar thread going - https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/111398-so-hows-your-epic-training-coming-along/page__fromsearch__1 Yeah the Dec holidays allowed for time on the bike without much hassle, back to work and I've struggled to keep the routine going, but did Attakwas and now doing Barberton this weekend, and motivated to finish the training up with a good February. Good luck dude, see you there!

Haha, seem familiar...

But look, this is just my way of doing it, going into ultra-marathons this year with epic on the horizon and the scale of it boggled my mind. But I approached it exactly as I explained above and I managed to finish Attakwas strong on Saturday passing at least 50 okes in the last 30kms, so the formula works for me.

But thats what the power intervals do, prep you for the harder sections during a longer ride. Apart from that, pacing yourself is the key. Gear down, granny up if you have to, dont get caught up in the hype. Pace the hills up at a solid HR and smash the last 1/3rd of the race, you'll pass all the eager beavers without a doubt.

Best training advice I received - find a non-tech road (dirt-roads, even 'heaven forbid' tar) and ride at 70-75% MaxHR constant for as long as you anticipate your marathon will last (maybe andd 10%). Do this at least once a week between your other rides. You build the endurance for the time in the saddle. When you start becoming comfortable with the time in the saddle, start adding power intervals the last 15minutes of the training session, then the last 30minutes and so on. Before you know it you can ride say 4 hours with power intervals throughout. But have one session in the week also where you dont watch HR at all, just go and ride like a kid over all the tech terrain you can find. Good for the mind and good to keep the skills sharp. Enjoy it.