Training for a century ride or thinking about one? Here are some tips from Coach Nicole of NEO Endurance Sports & Fitness on how to train for and enjoy your next century ride.

1. Rock Your Next Century Ride
Nicole Drummer
NEO Endurance Sports & Fitness, LLC
"Get the personal attention you deserve!"

2. The Basics: The Century Ride
● 100 miles of pedaling bliss
● Requires cardiovascular and muscular
endurance
● Typical times are 5-8 hours
● The more prepared you are, the more
enjoyable the event

3. The Basics: The Bike
● Make sure you have good equipment
○ A comfortable saddle is key!
○ Keep your bike clean & tuned
● Make sure your bike fits you
● Know how to change a flat tire
● Most bike shops offer some kind of basic
maintenance class. Take one!

4. Preparation: Know The Course
● Is it flat? Hilly? How much elevation change?
Are the hills steep or gradual?
● Weather patterns
○ wind, storms, heat, cold?
● Learn the route - have a cue sheet with you
just in case
● Know where the support/aid stations will be
and what they will provide

5. Fitness Requirements
● Long day in the saddle, 5-8 hours. But it is
an aerobic event.
● Muscular endurance is needed...keep the
legs from fatigue!
● Depending on base fitness, "time in the
saddle" can get you to finish.
○ But why not do a little more?

6. Training: How Often?
● Ride 3-5 days per week
○ Long Ride
○ Intervals (1-2x/week)
○ Easy "recovery" rides
● Even 30 extra minutes can be beneficial to
fitness if you can squeeze it in your
schedule.

7. Training Specifics
● Have a plan
● Progressive builds with structured recovery
● Include intensity
○ 50% easy
○ 25% aerobic endurance (still conversational)
○ 10-15% "tempo" (sub-threshold)
○ 5-10% threshold
○ Small bit above threshold (VO2 max, 10s sprints)

8. The Long Ride
● Most plans will start you out at about 20-30
miles for your first "long" ride.
● Progressively build to about 80
○ do not need to do a century before your century if
you are training properly.
○ Build 3-1 , 2-1, or 1-1, depending on recovery needs
○ Example:
■ week 1: 20 miles
■ week 2: 30 miles
■ week 3: 25 miles
■ week 4: 40 miles

9. Intervals - Tempo
● Tempo intervals are sub-threshold
○ 80-90% LT power
○ 85%-95% of LTHR
● Moderately hard...we often spend a lot of
time here
○ Pros & Cons of this zone
■ Too much time we get good here but not above
■ Can be a solid boost for fitness
○ Good to do Tempo work for century training because
it is likely a bit faster than what you will ride during
the event.
● Can add tempo intervals to long rides

10. Intervals - Lactate Threshold
● Improve fitness by working your lactate
threshold.
● First determine your threshold power or HR
● Then setup progressive intervals where you
work just below.
● Example:
○ week 1: 3x8min/3-5min recovery
○ week 2: 3x10min/4-6min rec
○ week 3: 3x6min/3min rec ("Easy Week")
○ week 4: 3x10min/3-5min rec
● Progression depends on your fitness &
ability to recover.

11. Intervals - VO2 max
● Shorter & harder intervals work on VO2max
○ VO2 = maximal oxygen uptake by our muscles
● As we age, we want to make sure we are
doing VO2 work
● VO2 = hard to very hard effort
○ 120%-140% of LT power or >105%LTHR
● Example:
○ week 1: 2 sets of 4x30s VO2 w/30s recovery
○ week 2: 2 sets of 6x30s VO2 w/30s recovery
○ week 3: no VO2 work during easy week
○ week 4: 2 sets of 4x1min VO2 w/1min recovery
● Get the recovery you need

12. Recovery Rides
● A critical component to training....this is the
easy spin.
● Blood flows to the muscles but there isn't
much stress so it aids in recovery.
● It should be VERY EASY!
○ "Take your bike for a walk"
○ Social cruise but be sure to spin the legs!
Come to my weekly Friday evening
rides at Cafe Velo, 5:45pm, for an
hour easy ride!

13. Critical Cross-Training
● Strength Training
○ core stability
■ front, back, and side
○ "functional" strength
■ total body movements...multiple joints
■ Body weight exercises are great
● lunges, squats, push-ups, pull-ups...
● get those glutes, and strengthen the muscles around the
knee
● Flexibility & Body Maintenance
○ Yoga!
○ Foam rolling/stretching on your own
○ Massage

14. Nutrition & Hydration
● Know what the event will have and practice
with that
● Try different strategies in training to see
what leaves you with the most energy
● Many products out there, but real food is an
option
● Eat & drink at regular intervals to keep blood
sugar more stable
● Learn your rate of fluid loss
● Have a nutrition/hydration plan and train with
it

15. Track Your Training
● Technical or non-technical methods
○ Garmin Connect
○ Strava
○ TrainingPeaks
○ Pen & Paper
○ Excel Spreadsheet
● Try to detect patterns of when things go well
or when they don't
● Monitor improvement and look at long-term
trends

16. Have A Plan
● Set a goal & train for it
● Have an event plan
○ Travel logistics
○ Pre-event details (expo/meals/etc)
○ Event details (pacing/hydration/nutrition)
○ Post-event celebration!
● Rock your next century!

17. Need Help With Your Plan?
Nicole Drummer
NEO Endurance Sports & Fitness, LLC
http://neoendurancesports.com
nicole@neoendurancesports.com
719-235-8209