6, 12, 24-hour events.

[Chris Snyder]

Clockwork is a good way to put it. Even if it is a short ride and all I'm taking is water I tell myself "Drinking on the xx" where xx is 15, 20, 30 depending on the weather. I like a constant steady intake and it's easier to have ingrained habits I never have to think about.

I am doing LOTOJA this year, my first double century, and this is the most common tip I get. Eat a drink consistently, but not excessively. That, and that it is more of a mind game than a leg game once you get past 100 miles.

[false_aesthetic]

This is what I'll be trying for the next few weeks.

Sushi rice made with a little more salt + I subbed in honey instead of sugar.
Add chia seeds, apple + carrot strips.
I wish I could keep the nori crisp over a few hours but maybe when I get a personal chef.

IMG_3424.jpg

[doomridesout]

I did my first double century last weekend and did pretty good on nutrition, but I got the "sloshy" feeling in my stomach toward the end. I felt like I wasn't processing the food I put in very efficiently. I'll take Toots' advice about reducing simple sugars. That feeling makes me curious to look back at all the stuff the Osmo and Skratch guys have published about fluid osmolality again.

My rule on drinking is: If I see someone drinking, I drink. If I think anything about water, I drink water. Basically take any and all prompts to take a sip, never forgo it if you think of it. More or less the same about eating-- if you think about food even without being hungry, go for a bite.

Never going anaerobic is great advice too. I got a power meter and worked my ass off on FTP in the months ahead of the ride. It helped me stay sub-threshold or in the lower threshold zone for all the climbing on the ride. I was able to hold a strong pace all the way through the end while guys I was riding with cramped and bonked and still could function the next day.

[kytyree]

While I eat a lot of apples and go through phases of eating chia seeds, I don't think I'd do well over a 24 hour event taking in fiber like that.

[Tom]

So back to this, trying to learn more from failure than success. Failed attempting to do 270 over two days. Day one was hot, 150 miles dug too deep and could not tolerate riding the next day. Two hours and done.

1: Not enough long days. I have time to ride 10-14 hours a week which I did steadily all year but all of three days over 6 hours at once. I'm thinking keep an 11 hour base average over the winter, let it fluctuate and allow 2-3 zero weeks not to count as long as they're not consecutive. Next spring start pulling back some days and lengthening others so every 2-3 weeks one is 6, then 8, then 10 hours probably topping out there with a 12 hour day or two when the days are long.

2: Work on increasing cruising speed and hill ability. Hills include nutritional discipline, I wear about 5 pounds of bad eating habits minimum. Not having to get too close to ceiling at any given time would help. Also learning to ride like that. I kept telling myself to back off and within a mile I'm pushing again.

3: Arms and upper body. At some point my arms started getting fatigued and for chrissakes they were just along for the ride.

4: Ride in the heat. Get used to it, wind kicks my butt but nothing like heat.

[false_aesthetic]

I kept telling myself to back off and within a mile I'm pushing again.

3: Arms and upper body. At some point my arms started getting fatigued and for chrissakes they were just along for the ride.

My the tiny part of my brain tends to override the smart part of my brain too. I know I should be averaging 18-20mph but when that's easy I just start ratcheting up the pace and end up hurting 2-3 hours later. I want to buy a PM to help focus my attention but I'm not sure that will be any different than looking at my speed, hr or anything else. I just need to turn that stupid part of my brain off.

As for upper body, I started thinking about this. Long, in the saddle rides sometimes leave my upper body hurting – arms, shoulders, upper back, etc. – been focusing more on building some strength there. It's not directly linked to my speed but at hour 4 or 6 I'm not thinking about the pain in my upper body as much.

As it is, my riding time (especially 6 hour rides) has been cut a lot due to working on a new business. I caved this week and pulled out the Kinetic and bought their PM. I won't be able to do 6 hours on that either but at the very least I'll be able to do some work.

At this point I don't think I'm at risk of DNF (but who admits that they are?) I'm just not going to be competitive the way I thought I would be. C'est la vie.