walkerr Posted October 20, 2016 Share What would I have done differently? Simply: not get sick. What have done different for 2017 is reduce my 'training' distances dramatically (I am a junk-mileage whore once I get started) and rather spend a lot of time collapsing into a heap doing strength training. This is more because I don't have the time to spend on the bike this time round - which is possibly a blessing - apparently this is the way it should be done. We will see. 100% agree with that. You need a few long all-day, all-night rides under your belt to get mentally attuned, test out kit and setup etc and just generally get your body used to the torture that doesn't end. Beyond that, you need to be fit and ride regularly - but it's not necessarily the hours per week which matter, the quality and objective is just as important. The physical things likely to give out (aside from getting sick, that one is a bummer!) are knees, neck, back, hands, and arms. If anything, high volume training can aggravate those - the training you need to strengthen them isn't so much on the bike, but at the gym. If you do a long ride, make it properly long and with a specific goal in mind. Aside from that, hard interval sessions and some 4 or 6 hour rides in a week will see you plenty fit enough in your cycling muscles. Worry more about getting your mind and rest of body fit enough too, which we all neglect (or I do anyway). Again - I'm not talking from perspective of a racer, just a ride-and-survive ... Getting sick though - sure - that is my greatest fear ahead of any long one. You spend months training and then some sloppy git in a restaurant with dirty hands contaminates your food or a snotty kid gives you a runny tummy, and it's all in the sh1tter - literally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted October 20, 2016 Share Mr Walker, you do big audax rides and such - what sort of gym work do you do ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkerr Posted October 20, 2016 Share Mr Walker, you do big audax rides and such - what sort of gym work do you do ? My big problem is I'm lazy at non-bike stuff - even though I know how valuable it is. One thing I started a couple of years back was a regular sports massage - least every couple of weeks. That's helped a lot, especially with my lower back. Gym (when I remember!) is usually once a week - routine is generally warm-up, some stretching, then work on hammies (stretching, dead lifts, that machine you lie on and curl the weight behind you), back muscles (lat pull downs, and machine you pull weight towards you working each arm at a time), and pecs (opening outwards against resistance), then core is just planks and situps, sometimes glute bridges. Will also sometimes throw in some squats, lunges and kettle bells - usually part of warm up at beginning. Not very inventive and quite repetitive - I had a trainer for a while, and really just repeat what he showed me. Been mixing it up with some swimming to try and loosen my shoulders lately - seem very stiff after the Argus smash, which buggered me up properly. Seems to help a bit, but I swim so badly it sometimes stuffs my knees up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkerr Posted October 20, 2016 Share BTW - nice article on knee issues on BikeRadar I saw yesterday: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/take-care-of-your-knees-part-2-17445/?utm_content=buffer334c6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Shame no one can sum up saddle/bum issues so easily. Feel your pain Slowbee - my Audax riding buddy also suffers hectically. Some days I'm almost in tears for him you can just see how excruciating it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted October 20, 2016 Share Thanks for the input Mr Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkerr Posted October 20, 2016 Share Thanks for the input Mr Walker It's all in the mind .... keep that strong and you're going to do great. Do whatever training you can and don't stress about when you can't. Whatever you have in the legs when you get there will be enough if you believe in yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Brink Posted October 20, 2016 Share We ran an article written by Gavin Horton, who trained a number of Munga monsters last year and looks after Alex Harris' fitness, in our October issue. I will try to attach it as a PDF below. I have been following the strength programme he outlines - I also hate the concept of exercise off the bike - I ride bikes because I want to ride bikes. Sit-ups in the back yard are a pain in everything. But I have to say, after five weeks of doing this stuff, and no more than an hour and a quarter a day on the bike, three times during the week, I can feel a huge difference when I ride longer. In comfort, as well as power. Shoulders, neck, back and bum all happier. This time last year I was riding 25 hours a week. I now do 10 if i am lucky - partly because I now have too much work and too many kids, and partly because I am trying to practice what I have preached for two decades: quality over quantity, and core strength rocks. It is killing me, not riding at unreasonable hours. But it seems to be working. Next progress update from Sutherland in early December. DM me if the PDF is too small, I will get mail a bigger version. DM me for Gavin's details, too, if you feel the urge. He will make you do horrible things to yourself. But for jolly good reasons. INSIGHT_TRAINING MUNGA 1016.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkerr Posted October 20, 2016 Share Great stuff - thx for sharing Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisza Posted October 20, 2016 Share We ran an article written by Gavin Horton, who trained a number of Munga monsters last year and looks after Alex Harris' fitness, in our October issue. I will try to attach it as a PDF below. I have been following the strength programme he outlines - I also hate the concept of exercise off the bike - I ride bikes because I want to ride bikes. Sit-ups in the back yard are a pain in everything. But I have to say, after five weeks of doing this stuff, and no more than an hour and a quarter a day on the bike, three times during the week, I can feel a huge difference when I ride longer. In comfort, as well as power. Shoulders, neck, back and bum all happier. This time last year I was riding 25 hours a week. I now do 10 if i am lucky - partly because I now have too much work and too many kids, and partly because I am trying to practice what I have preached for two decades: quality over quantity, and core strength rocks. It is killing me, not riding at unreasonable hours. But it seems to be working. Next progress update from Sutherland in early December. DM me if the PDF is too small, I will get mail a bigger version. DM me for Gavin's details, too, if you feel the urge. He will make you do horrible things to yourself. But for jolly good reasons. INSIGHT_TRAINING MUNGA 1016.pdfThanks for sharing. I'd argue though that FTP is power you can theoretically hold for an hour, and not for 20min. You might use a 20min testing protocol to estimate it, but its hour power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted October 20, 2016 Share Thanks Tim ! Great article. Downside is no power meter. And the time is getting less. But I will start with the gym work out tomorrow. And it will be a low impact for now. Can already feel the knee getting a bit tender as I may be overloading the riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karman de Lange Posted October 20, 2016 Share Thanks Tim ! Great article. Downside is no power meter. And the time is getting less. But I will start with the gym work out tomorrow. And it will be a low impact for now. Can already feel the knee getting a bit tender as I may be overloading the riding. If you have foam roller, use it daily, low impact and it does wonders for core muscles and your pain threshold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted October 20, 2016 Share Lekka thread to followKeep it up A member of the Slow fan clubfeel free to pile on the pressure ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted October 20, 2016 Share Mr Wahoofish.... are we on for this weekend ? You going to try your normal ride at half the heart rate ? I will try ride 130 - 140 odd km over the 4 passes on the mtn bike. thor not invited because our butts will be handed to us on a platter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted October 20, 2016 Share feel free to pile on the pressure ... No pressure ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGW Posted October 20, 2016 Share Hi there everyone I purchased a Sinewave USB Charger for the Dynamo Hub I am using on the Munga, it went missing and I bought another, it is super light at 37grams and it also has a USB splitter. It is brand new at R585,00 off the price I paid. Let me know if you are interested I am in Johannesburg. Details of the Sinewave Revolution - http://www.sinewavecycles.com/products/sinewave-revolution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave303e Posted October 21, 2016 Share I think you need to do a few all nighters and try atleast 1 48 hour stint, there is nothing to prepare you for day 2 3:30am when the sleep monsters come knocking but it's not nice experienceing it for the first time in a race situation, and when everyone is rearing to go it is very easy to over extend that first non stop stretch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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