Training plan for a 75 mile sportive?

One of my mates is badgering me to take part in the tour of Pembrokeshire 75 mile sportive.
It’s 75 miles and quite hilly.. And he probably rides 2-3mph faster than I do.
I haven’t actually entered yet.
It’s not the distance that bothers me.. It’s the pace.
Any pointers for a rough training plan. (yeah yeah I know it’s not a race)
It’s 8 weeks away…

nothing you do now will make much difference

tell your mate to slow down a bit and ride with you, if he’s a mate he’ll do this, if he wants to keep to his pace to get a Fast Bronze time then leave him to it

nothing you do now will make much difference

Don’t say things like that. I’m doing the fred whitton in 9 weeks….

eBike ?

jam bo – Member
nothing you do now will make much difference
Don’t say things like that. I’m doing the fred whitton in 9 weeks….

find a mate that rides 2-3mph slower than you do 😉

Ride your bike between now and then, don’t do anything new or different. Just ride.

On the day – steady away + plenty of fuel & fluid.

Don’t say things like that. I’m doing the fred whitton in 9 weeks….

Can I have your place then?

I think with 8 weeks there is something you can do that will help you, even if the conditioning is only mental rather than physical.

Really I’m no expert but I do ride a lot and am training pretty hard to go under the hour this year and the work I’m doing is definitely having an effect, so there may be something to what I advise (or it might be complete baloney).

I think with the time you have though keeping it simple is a good idea.

One approach is to simply ride as often as you can and not worry too much about the total length of the ride or your speed but instead focus on getting in as many miles in a week as you can. To give you something to aim for, in week one try to do 100 miles, week two, 110 miles and then increase it each week by 10 miles so that by week seven you’re doing 170 miles. Take the week before the event off to rest.

Another approach is to worry less about total mileage and instead focus on riding as hard and fast as you can for shorter distances, say 25 to 35 miles maybe two or three times a week but maintain that total volume over the seven weeks before the event.

Both those approaches will toughen you up mentally, which is going to be 70% of the battle.

You could also combine the two over alternating weeks for variety. Strike a balance between speed/exertion (two to three times a week for up to 30 miles, total for the week around 80 miles) and distance (four times a week, 30 miles a go at least to get a total of around 120 miles).

If you can commit to that and do it, I promise you that between now and eight weeks time you will be a better rider.

Of course the hard part is going actually doing it.

nothing you do now will make much difference

Not sure I agree with this. An Olympic level coach (admittedly not cycling) told me you can get close to full fitness in 12 weeks.

OP pace is difficult, you can train and get stronger and more able to hold a higher pace but if you ride at your friends pace and not yours you risk blowing up.This is one area where a heart rate monitor can really help you in understanding what pace you can sustain.

Not sure I agree with this. An Olympic level coach (admittedly not cycling) told me you can get close to full fitness in 12 weeks.

That’s really encouraging and yet at the same time utterly soul destroying!

I guess it will depend on your starting point. It’s positive because it means there is always time to make a difference. It’s soul destroying because it simply underlines the cold hard fact that we’re all born with a certain amount of ability, beyond which no additional training will make any difference (read David Epstein’s book ‘The Sports Gene’).

I would learn to draft and sit on his wheel, which won’t work on the climbs, but at least you’ll get to the bottom of the first one slightly fresher… after that just ride round and enjoy it. And don’t trust anyone around you.

which won’t work on the climbs

You’ll get an almost negligable benefit from drafting but a much bigger mental benefit from pace setting (assuming you can match the pace without it killing you!)

maybe HRM training :)..it’s the only thing i know and do really in a rollers… have fun cloudnine

8 weeks is loads of time. I was still drinking my xmas bier 8 weeks ago but am now about 1kg lighter and getting ready for my first race on Sunday.

Ride. If you want to increase pace then ride short and hard. GO out and do 30-50miles fast. If the weather is rubbish then train indoors.

Tell your mate to slow down and/or learn to draft him.

Plan B was wheel sucking.. he’s much taller and bigger than me so will be perfect for drafting 😆

Theres one particulary large hill which will make or break me at about 35 miles in.. climb lasts about 5 freaking miles

http://www.tourofpembrokeshire.co.uk/index.php/the-route/

I can go ride some of the route as its only about 30 miles away from me

8 weeks is plenty of time to train for a short distance such as this

8 weeks is plenty of time to train for a short distance such as this

I just wasnt quite sure how best to use my time to train for it.
I usually ride once twice a week to work (10miles each way and about 1000ft climbing) and maybe a longer 20-30 mile road ride with 2000ft climbing.

Last summer / autumn i wasnt that far off his pace but seem to have lost some pace over the winter

Theres one particulary large hill which will make or break me at about 35 miles in.. climb lasts about 5 freaking miles

Well you’re right, it does look to last about five miles, but the gradient never gets over 7% and by the looks of it, the average over that distance will be maybe 4%?

That would make it a fantastic test of fitness (go as fast and hard as you can for five miles at a shallow gradient) but if you just ride it steadily it’s going to feel relatively easy.

In this country at least, shorter and steeper is always more difficult and tiring on the legs than longer and shallower. It’s different in the Alps of course because longer usually means 21km at an average of 7%!

Your man up here who is signed up to Fred Whitton is going to feel the burn a lot more. ‘The Struggle’ is aptly named. 5.4km, 400m of climbing, 8.2% average, 24% at its steepest!

Mix it up a bit. Try medium (for you) length rides at a good pace, but come back feeling you could have gone further. Hard short blasts or interval training where you get back home unsure if you want to get back on the bike ever again, then treat yourself to a nice long steady ride around your favourite roads with a coffee stop or two. Eat plenty the week before the ride with one or two short gentle paced rides. You can easily get 25 rides in before d-day which will make a huge difference. As for riding some of the route, depends whether you want it to be a surprise or not.
I must take some of my own advice, because I’m doing the Fred too, and nine weeks doesn’t sound that long now does it?
Quick edit: I don’t think the FW uses the struggle.

Just ride. Don’t worry about training zones, heart rates, power meters, anything like that. Plenty of riding, try to increase your weekend ride distances gradually and take it easy in the week before your sportive.
Practice eating/drinking/fuelling regularly whilst on the bike – try to be disciplined and eat something once an hour.
Don’t rely on the feed station – take food with you.
If you plan to use any High5/torq/SIS-type fuels, make sure you’ve tried them out and can stomach them beforehand.
Don’t get sucked into riding with groups if the pace is uncomfortable for you – relax, find your rhythm and you’ll eventually fall in with people riding at the same pace as you.
Enjoy it!

Was just taking a look at how hard that climb would be relatively to what we have in the UK and found this:

Bealach-Na-Ba[/url]

9.1km, 626m of vert, avg gradient of 7% and steepest at 20% 😯

While not ideal 8 weeks is enough time to improve you’re fitness. I’d try 3 or so hard intervals per week with at least 1 longer ride to build your endurance. Start at maybe 40 miles and increase that by 10 miles or so every week. The power intervals will help with your ability to put in a hard effort and recover quickly and the longer ride wills make sure that you can complete the distance. You say you’re happy with the distance but once you’ve ridden a few rides that far you’ll have a really good idea of what pace you can ride at.

Wheel sucking will also help a fair bit on the faster sections.

9.1km, 626m of vert, avg gradient of 7% and steepest at 20%

It’s a fun climb actaully, shallow enough at the start to ease into it with great views. It’s steep near the top at the hairpins, but something like hardknott is a lot more difficult purely due the steepness.

Don’t say things like that. I’m doing the fred whitton in 9 weeks….

I got a last minute entry for the Fred a couple of years ago. Pretty out of shape and with 3 weeks of tabata intervals I got around the whole thing and was happy enough. Didn’t walk up Hardknott and get in the way either unlike a worrying amount of people.

purely due the steepness.

That’s the thing with steep climbs. There’s no where to hide. OK if you’re racing then long and shallow will always be the ultimate test, but for recreational riders, long and shallow can be, as you say, very pleasant. Short and steep is only ever going to hurt.

I’d just wheel suck like buggery & hope for the best

Go and ride the big hill that you’re worried about, that way you’ll realise it’s do-able and won’t be building it up in your head.

Preferably ride there and back from your house to get some miles in.

Do that a two or three times over the coming weeks and as suggested mix in some shorter, faster rides.

You can make a decent improvement in eight weeks if you’re out of shape anyway IMO.

Almost forgot.. spending a week in mid wales later this month so going to ride the Abergwesyn pass and devils staircase at the end of the month..

What ratios?
53/39 & 25/11?
Or already compact?
If not, change to compact, possibly stick a 30 on the cassette..
I’d be picking up the intervals and putting some hard effort in right now. Create a simple plan of 3 hard rides a week and 2rollouts. Don’t over eat but do fuel yourself well and drink more water. Then 3-4 days before the ride don’t touch the bike. On the day keep an eye on your mate but if he’s pacing up and you can’t hack it, find someone else or another group to play with.
Enjoy the day, it really is just about you, the bike and the environment you are riding in.

Using 36/46 chainrings and 12/27 cassette..

Not really worried about the ride itself (i probably wont even decide if im going to ride it until the week before) Its a target to get my fitness back to where it was last autumn more than anything.

In that case a solid training plan will help no end.

Lots to choose from ^^ lots online and of course you are already riding so can already make informed decisions about what should work for you. But it will take effort both on the bike and off it.

GCN ( YouTube) have some great tips. Troll through them to find specific areas that concern you.

A simple 3 hard days hacking per week will pay dividends. Once you put some effort in don’t forget to do rolling rest periods I between.

Your already on a compact so unless you stick a 30 as your biggest your climbing will make you blow a bit, that’s not a bad thing but the hills you e mentioned sound like a lighter gear maybe of some help when spinning up.

If you do,or do not do the event don’t get disheartened. Riding is just about you the bike and the location.

If the thought of others passing you or you not being able to keep up puts you off doing the event then that’s quite sad. Just enjoy riding and look around you.

Be good to hear from you if you do it..

If the thought of others passing you or you not being able to keep up puts you off doing the event then that’s quite sad.

Of course not… Just seems to make sense to actually be fitter to ride the course rather than concentrating on breathing and not throwing up. Ive lost loads of fitness over the winter (very long boring manflu virus and cough lasting about 3 months). Its made me realise how fit i actually was at the end of the summer.
Im normally the one to stop for cake and tea at the top of a hill and take in the view.. I dont normally get all competitive but just ride because i enjoy it.
Thanks for all the input..

In 8 weeks you can lose a stone (That’s my plan) which makes hills easier.

Fit lower gearing to get up the hill and practice hill climbing.

He sounds an ideal lump to draft.

Simple – wheelsuck the whole way round.

I think I may have come across as being a bit preachy there, sorry didn’t mean to.

Enjoy the ride.

😀

Must be about that time of year when the roadie magazines have their “6 weeks to train for a sportive” articles. W H Smith may be your friend.

Think the BC websites sportive section has some tips as well.

Ride more for 8 weeks, don’t worry about it, go at your pace and you will be fine.

I was supposed to be doing my first 300k audax in 6 weeks but work and family have stopped any hope of that. Quite enjoying not having to worry about riding for “training” to be honest.

Just get out and do some longer rides, rolled out for 100km ride after a 4 week injury break so it’s not that bad. Get your head down and build up to 100km over the next few weeks.

A simple 3 hard days hacking per week will pay dividends. Once you put some effort in don’t forget to do rolling rest periods I between.

If riding three days per week, would it be better to group them together or spread apart – to get the best improvement?

Is that what you mean by “rolling rest”?

Spread them out a bit if you can.

Try and do some hard intervals midweek, and then one or two longer rides at the weekend. Mix it up a bit, intervals can be hill reps/sprints/high cadence, weekend rides can be a distance you’re comfortable with, but pushing the pace, or fairly steady and longer than usual. Build up gradually, add some distance, or try and cover the same ground faster than last week. In 8 weeks you should notice reasonable progress if you’re disciplined enough.

Your man up here who is signed up to Fred Whitton is going to feel the burn a lot more. ‘The Struggle’ is aptly named. 5.4km, 400m of climbing, 8.2% average, 24% at its steepest!

The Fred Whitton doesn’t go up The Struggle.

The Fred Whitton doesn’t go up The Struggle.

Indeed, it goes the ‘easy’ was up Kirkstone. The other big passes (Honister, Hardknott, Wrynose) are much tougher.

Your man up here who is signed up to Fred Whitton is going to feel the burn a lot more. ‘The Struggle’ is aptly named. 5.4km, 400m of climbing, 8.2% average, 24% at its steepest!

meh. I live on the edge of dartmoor. plenty of nasty hills to train on

Not too concerned, been turbo-ing through the winter in between colds. just did an FTP test and 25% up on the one I did in november. Eight weeks should be plenty.

I’m guessing the super steep sections don’t last too long.

I’m guessing the super steep sections don’t last too long.

It depends how fast you go… the Hardknott is fairly long enough for me after 100 miles, though to be fair it has two steep sections with a sort of recovery bit in the middle. Mostly though, I think, it’s about keeping your speed up on the endless undulating terrain between the big climbs and ideally riding as part of a group over that stuff.