Slowbee's TransKaroo Ride 2014

[Jacques Viljoen]

Fit track also give good work out programs to follow and also tracks you progress

[Jacques Viljoen]

Same idea as DaleE's one

Edited February 26, 2014 by Javi

[finallygotabike]

Well this ride is going to be interesting.

 

I have been out on the bike and managed a whole whopping 35km for two days in a row. And it hurt, mainly on my bum bones. 240km with two huge uphills in between is seeming very far away right now. The confidence has taken a bit of a dent. That's for sure

 

Since the goal is to finish, this is the way I am looking at things. 240km in 17 hours is about 14km/hr. There are 5 checkpoints, and I reckon around 10 minutes at each, so make it an even hour, that equates 240 in 16 hours. So that means an average speed of about 15km/hr. This is achievable, but that last 40 odd km from the base of the pass is all uphill, and after having done 200km, now you have to ride uphill all the way home. Some serious stressing going on here!

 

I somehow dont think it is as easy as doing 15km/hr - more like being able to sit on bike for almost 17 hours

[Slowbee]

Not sure I qualify for the "guru" label, but this is what works for me when training for endurance stuff.

 

Aerobic (long slow) rides.

2 or 3 2-3hr rides per week. As you mentioned at 65-75% of HRmax. This is really slow and sometimes boring ... more so if you try it on an IDT.

On the IDT, I alternate high and low cadence in 10 min cycles to relieve the boredom, always keeping HR in the zone.

Aim here is to build your aerobic base, it's not a strength session!!

 

Interval training

2 (no more than 2) hard interval sessions per week. These consist of 30-45min warmup, then go find a 1km hill and do 5 repeats (Suikerbossie is perfect for this). First repeat I just use to get into the groove ... HR at about 90% which means hard riding but still have legs to accelerate near the top.

Next 4 repeats are progressively faster. last one should be very close to 100% HR. puke if necessary

Warm down properly - 30min or so.

Some folk prefer a shorter hill for this, but I find that if training for races like TK, the hills are long, so best get used to longer hills.

You could do this on an IDT by cranking up the resistance, but takes more discipline than if you have a hill to climb.

If you find you're feeling over trained or exhausted, rather miss an intensity session than a slow ride session.

 

Non-bike training

2 x 1hr session per week. focus on core and upper body stuff. Long days in the saddle require more core strength than you think. Simple stuff like sit-ups, pull ups, squats, plank, yoga, push-ups, lunges, etc all work for me. Either go to the gym or do at home in your back yard.

Possible to do this on the same day as a slow ride.

 

My 'normal' cycle for all this is:

Mon - morning: gym evening: 2hr slow ride on IDT

Tue - morning: Hard interval session

Wed - evening: 2hr slow ride on IDT

Thur - morning: gym

Fri - morning: Hard interval session. or take the day off if I'm feeling tired.

Sat - easy (very easy) coffee ride with mates. 1.5hr.

Sun - long slow ride >3hrs.

 

Lastly, you will see that there is no allowance for training in the 75-90% HRmax zone. I'm of the opinion that training in that zone is a waste for endurance events. You are neither building the aerobic base efficiently, nor building strength properly. Others will disagree with this approach.

thanks for this !! great advice!

 

 

if one has the privilege of time during the day, would there be any benefit to increasing the time of each day ? so the easy days are more like 3 hours ?

 

@finalygotabike, sitting on a bike for 16hrs is not going to be a problem. Everything will be numb after 1 hour anyway.

[eddy]

 

 

I somehow dont think it is as easy as doing 15km/hr - more like being able to sit on bike for almost 17 hours

 

SlowB

 

I am NOT an endurance athlete and in 2012 also took this on to see how I would cope with the distance and time on the bike.

 

I knew I had to pace myself !

 

 

About a week before the race I went for a pysiological test to answer only one question. At what heartrate could I ride continuously as long as I fed myself properly ?

 

Once I knew that rate, I could make sure that I rode at or below it for those long stretches where you always feel you can go harder, or conversely feel as if you need to hold back more, but can infact go a bit harder.

 

When climbing out of Ceres at the start, i could pace myself properly when everyone was blasting up the first hill (i caught most of the folk that came past me).

 

 

What I found very comforting (and the race is a real mental challenge) was knowing that i was cycling "within myself" at all times and not overexerting myself.

Edited February 27, 2014 by eddy

[DaleE]

if one has the privilege of time during the day, would there be any benefit to increasing the time of each day ? so the easy days are more like 3 hours ?

 

IMHO, yes. when doing the long slow stuff, longer is better .... BUT ... make sure you keep the HR in the zone - it will tend to climb as the ride gets longer.

[DaleE]

About a week before the race I went for a pysiological test to answer only one question. At what heartrate could I ride continuously as long as I fed myself properly ?

 

Once I knew that rate, I could make sure that I rode at or below it for those long stretches where you always feel you can go harder, or conversely feel as if you need to hold back more, but can infact go a bit harder.

 

Interesting.

Can you tell us more about this test? What/how exactly did they measure and how was the "continuous ride" value calculated?

What % of your max heart rate did the value turn out to be?

[Slowbee]

One the things that I have always struggled to overcome is strength. My legs always give in. I find I am always riding slow to keep the hurt out of my legs, even though my HR is way below 65%.

 

Is this a good or bad thing ?

[eddy]

Interesting.

Can you tell us more about this test? What/how exactly did they measure and how was the "continuous ride" value calculated?

What % of your max heart rate did the value turn out to be?

 

I was purposely being vague because I can't remember the detail.

 

Gary Benecke did the test which is the standard lactate / threshold (I can't remember the detail) test which determines the HR at which you stop operating aerobically. From that he determined a HR level at which I was certain to be able to carry on indefinitely as long as I ate properly.

 

Given that my aim was completion rather than optimal performance, I suppose it was a very conservative level. As it turned out, I remained strong the whole way and after dark, for the last 40 km, I rode as hard as I could and made vey good time.

 

It worked for me.

[Rata Del Spruit]

Looks like I'm joining you, Slowbee, with even less preparation! I guess that gives me like 8 weeks to cram for training? And I'm probably going to have to do it on a DJ bike… woohoo

[Mads]

Looks like I'm joining you, Slowbee, with even less preparation! I guess that gives me like 8 weeks to cram for training? And I'm probably going to have to do it on a DJ bike… woohoo

What is a DJ bike?

[Mads]

ha ha OK saw in the competition thread. Good luck

[Skubarra]

 

My 'normal' cycle for all this is:

Mon - morning: gym evening: 2hr slow ride on IDT

Tue - morning: Hard interval session

Wed - evening: 2hr slow ride on IDT

Thur - morning: gym

Fri - morning: Hard interval session. or take the day off if I'm feeling tired.

Sat - easy (very easy) coffee ride with mates. 1.5hr.

Sun - long slow ride >3hrs.

 

 

DaleE, I'm curious why would you do 2 hard interval sessions per week, (as a noob with regards to training) I don't really see the benefit of that for an ultra-endurance event, intuitively I would think training fewer days a week but longer sessions would be more beneficial?

[DaleE]

DaleE, I'm curious why would you do 2 hard interval sessions per week, (as a noob with regards to training) I don't really see the benefit of that for an ultra-endurance event, intuitively I would think training fewer days a week but longer sessions would be more beneficial?

 

You're right, it is an endurance event ... BUT ... there are a couple of rather long hills involved My (possibly flawed) logic is to try to build muscle strength with the hill training for those long hills.

Fewer, longer rides would work I guess - and be really beneficial for getting used to long days on the saddle. This schedule works for me in terms of time available and work / family requirements.

[Skubarra]

You're right, it is an endurance event ... BUT ... there are a couple of rather long hills involved My (possibly flawed) logic is to try to build muscle strength with the hill training for those long hills.

Fewer, longer rides would work I guess - and be really beneficial for getting used to long days on the saddle. This schedule works for me in terms of time available and work / family requirements.

 

Given the route profile of the last quarter of the race I follow your logic

[Slowbee]

Well training is going ok again. I have gone back to an old flat route, mostly on tar, but sticking to the lowest heart rate possible while keeping the bike at a reasonable speed. In other words not hurting my legs. Going to keep at this for an other week - then ramp up some hill training.