Zero to 94.7 in three and a half hours. Advice needed.

[beachless]

Remember to buy some slicks they make a huge difference and try to get a few rides in where you can practice bunch riding. If you find a bunch of riders on race day going a bit faster than your desired average speed and stick to their back wheels it makes the world of difference. Its a pretty tough ride if you are not used to the distance a few years ago me and a buddy did it with only a months training and were averageing 35km/h up till half way where we hit the brick wall and the second half was slow and amusing with people throwing their bikes, arguing with themselves and one guy passing out and having a seizure. I might do it again this year but I will be much more prepared than last time. And remember to take food too like a banana and jelly babies etc so you can snack every 45min to an hour.

[r4iden]

I took up cycling in Jan 2014 and finished in 3h29, with the CC being my "goal"

 

Being very time constrained my training consisted of 3x or sometimes 2x 45 min spinning sessions a week and then a weekend outing on the bike whenever possible. I felt the spinning managed to get my cardio system in the right place by working hard in these. I ramped up the weekend km's every time I went out, eventually doing 4 or so 85+'s before the race.

 

Weight is naturally a major factor - so eating healthier is a must (managed to lose a good 15kg's)

 

In retrospect I think a cycling club would have helped by having a more fixed and sociable outing available to you, plus it teaches you some group riding skills.  

 

+1 for mtb slicks, it makes a hellova difference. Also subscribe to GCN on youtube, everything you need to know is on there.

 

Focus, work hard and good luck!

[iamgigglz]

Great replies chaps. I'm taking notes.

 

Urgh, I cant stand spinning...unless I'm doing 40kph+, then it's worthwhile.

 

Good point about the group riding. I've done plenty slow speed motorcycle rides in tight groups so I'm not too worried, but some pre-event practice would be good.

 

I managed 40km today, but the last 5 were slow & difficult. I've also taken up crossfit 3 days a week to help with cardio and generally getting into shape. I don't really want to lose weight (1.8m,75kg) but there is some flab that needs to go [emoji14]

 

Thanks for the encouragement! It's much appreciated and helps me drop a gear on those climbs...

[mecheng89]

Hi. New Year's Resolution rider here.

The resolution was one taken up by so many but maintained by precious few: To get fit again.

After 18 years of nearly zero exercise I figured just completing the 94.7 would be a good goal for this year. Considering I have such a long time to prepare, would a stretch goal of 3.5 hours be...mad on a MTB? Or doable? That's my first question.

 

If I'm feeling really strong I might do one of the MTB races too.

I picked up an 11kg hard-tail off the Hub classifieds and I'm now using the 4km stretch of Spruit that runs between my home and my office twice a day. Every Sunday morning I do about 30km: half road and half Spruit...upstream 

 

I'm handling that ok and will start adding distance, but how should I be tackling this? Push to the 100km ride then work on speed? Or keep the speed up and slowly build the distance?

Any smaller events between now & then to use as wake-up calls?

 

Unfortunately I don't get much time to ride during the week so big rides will be confined to weekends.

Right; please bathe me in your wisdom 

Join a club. Weekend rides every weekend. Spinning classes like it's coming out your ears. Watch the diet. Sleep 8 hours a night. Hills. Incorporate cross training to relief monotony. 

[HappyMartin]

What will be really cool is if you keep this thread running and keep us up to date with your progress and how you eventually do in the 94.7

[BDF]

Great replies chaps. I'm taking notes.

 

Urgh, I cant stand spinning...unless I'm doing 40kph+, then it's worthwhile.

 

Good point about the group riding. I've done plenty slow speed motorcycle rides in tight groups so I'm not too worried, but some pre-event practice would be good.

 

I managed 40km today, but the last 5 were slow & difficult. I've also taken up crossfit 3 days a week to help with cardio and generally getting into shape. I don't really want to lose weight (1.8m,75kg) but there is some flab that needs to go [emoji14]

 

Thanks for the encouragement! It's much appreciated and helps me drop a gear on those climbs...

 Aah, Crossfit - Watch out for injuries. I have phisio's that are friends and most of their new clients come from injured crossfitters... Just saying.

[iamgigglz]

 Aah, Crossfit - Watch out for injuries. I have phisio's that are friends and most of their new clients come from injured crossfitters... Just saying.

 

I hear you. Crossfit has a bad rep.

 

I'm part of a group of 5 people in a class, all of whom have around the same fitness & strength as me, which helps. The instructor has qualifications and experience in training everything from yoga to rugby and isn't into the whole "YELLATYOUTOPIKUPTHATTYREUNTILYOUVOMIT!!!" type of training. Proper technique, posture, warming up etc is what it's all about.

[26er]

Why don't you just take it easy and rather go for a sub 4?

[iamgigglz]

Why don't you just take it easy and rather go for a sub 4?

When you set goals in life do you go for the goal you can achieve by taking it easy, or the goal that takes you to a level a bit beyond?

 

I'd be happy with a sub 4hr time but I know 3.5 hours isn't impossible, so that's what I'm going for.

[CrankShaft]

Intervals and hill repeats . You can sit in the saddle and cruise for hours but if you not cranking hard at the pedals and feeling like you against a wall of air you not going to get fast. Do these interval speed sessions twice a week after a good warm up for at least half an hour then cool down . Soon you will find averaging 30kmh easy

[HappyMartin]

Three hours on a mtb is a real ask. Three and a half will be a challenge but more realistic. Lots of good advice here.

 

What won't work is not getting going early then panic training I'm the last month or two. You will need to build slowly and consistently over time. I hope you are training already.

[iamgigglz]

Three hours on a mtb is a real ask. Three and a half will be a challenge but more realistic. Lots of good advice here.

 

What won't work is not getting going early then panic training I'm the last month or two. You will need to build slowly and consistently over time. I hope you are training already.

Lol yeah, three hours is not happening.

 

I'm am indeed training already. My very short daily commute is almost always a Strava race and my weekend rides are growing by 10km each time. I'm looking to do 50km in 2 hours this Sunday.

[Gnarly]

Rather join Cadence in Bryanston over cross fit, do two classes and a tempo during the week. Then do two "long" MTB rides on the weekend.

[iamgigglz]

Rather join Cadence in Bryanston over cross fit, do two classes and a tempo during the week. Then do two "long" MTB rides on the weekend.

Will check them out. Thanks.

[iamgigglz]

Still going!

I came up with a bit of a daft target of 50km in 2 hours weekend before last. I managed 48km in 2.5 hours; I guess that's not terrible. I had a proper introduction to that climb up Witkoppen from the Spruit to Beyers Naude. Jeepers.

 

Yesterday I decided to monster some hills. I found myself tagging along with a group of road bikes who led me through Blackheath and into Northcliff. I only did 38km on the day but some serious climbs were involved. I'm figuring out how to pace myself and find a cadence that best suits the hill.

 

I'm going to go back to that 50km loop this weekend and see if I can better my time...

[EZRider]

Happy Martin is right, but 3.5 on MTB is a real challenge in your first year of cycling.

That would be within the top 15% of times.

How many here did a sub 3.5 in their first year of training on a MTB?