Transcontinental Race
Discussion
ALawson said:
Gruffy, liked the latest blog post. You will result in my Waitrose bill being bigger this month, or is Holland and Barrett better for half that stuff.
Waitrose are fine for most of that but if you find you're sticking with them you may be better buying some of them in bulk online. I use healthysupplies.co.uk and they're much cheaper for things like cacao powder and cinnamon. It's not a superfood but I also buy their 'no-nonsense pitted dates' by the kilo for general snacking. Cheap as chips and absolutely delicious. 100 calories of pure carbs for 5 dates.I am. I separate out my regular training and diet from my 'ultra' training and diet. The huge ultra-distance rides cause more fatigue than fitness benefit but are necessary for conditioning and experience. For regular training I eat as clean as possible and for ultra rides I simulate race conditions by scavenging in petrol stations and whatever I can find quickly. I have a multi-day test run planned in a few weeks which will be interesting to see how my body copes with repetitive junk food.
The bulk of my training is at zone 1 or 2 intensities (as it will be during the race). At that effort I burn large amounts of fat anyway. My metabolism is well suited to endurance and I'm still burning fat at relatively high efforts. When I do fuel it's only ever a fraction of what I'm burning, but if I manage the intensity it doesn't seem to be an issue.
Sunday's ride was 275km, burning around 7,000 calories. I ate less than 3,000 during the ride but never felt held back. My outputs were flat from start to finish. If you're familiar with Training Peaks I can tell you that my efficiency was flat and my power:HR coupling was less than 5%. All very encouraging at this stage in my prep.
I'm actually increasing my intake now to manage weight loss more gradually and preserve muscle. I considered adding a session of fasted riding once a week but that's effectively what my ultra distance rides achieve anyway, so I think it's better to fuel well for each training ride.
Sunday's ride was 275km, burning around 7,000 calories. I ate less than 3,000 during the ride but never felt held back. My outputs were flat from start to finish. If you're familiar with Training Peaks I can tell you that my efficiency was flat and my power:HR coupling was less than 5%. All very encouraging at this stage in my prep.
I'm actually increasing my intake now to manage weight loss more gradually and preserve muscle. I considered adding a session of fasted riding once a week but that's effectively what my ultra distance rides achieve anyway, so I think it's better to fuel well for each training ride.
I run ultra marathons as well as taking part in ultra cycling events and there is a convergence between both disciplines in relation to optimum fuelling, generally you minimise fuelling during an event.
Its worth reading Egomaniac Idai's views on the topic, his training for PBP (on 20kg of elliptigo of all things!) involved 20 hr fast sessions prior and during.
Personally I find it best not to hide behind peak this or that, science is always a successor to empirical observation.
Its worth reading Egomaniac Idai's views on the topic, his training for PBP (on 20kg of elliptigo of all things!) involved 20 hr fast sessions prior and during.
Personally I find it best not to hide behind peak this or that, science is always a successor to empirical observation.
stripy7 said:
I run ultra marathons as well as taking part in ultra cycling events and there is a convergence between both disciplines in relation to optimum fuelling, generally you minimise fuelling during an event.
Its worth reading Egomaniac Idai's views on the topic, his training for PBP (on 20kg of elliptigo of all things!) involved 20 hr fast sessions prior and during.
Personally I find it best not to hide behind peak this or that, science is always a successor to empirical observation.
Always love (and hate!) his videos on youtube, he seems a right character!Its worth reading Egomaniac Idai's views on the topic, his training for PBP (on 20kg of elliptigo of all things!) involved 20 hr fast sessions prior and during.
Personally I find it best not to hide behind peak this or that, science is always a successor to empirical observation.
stripy7 said:
I run ultra marathons as well as taking part in ultra cycling events and there is a convergence between both disciplines in relation to optimum fuelling, generally you minimise fuelling during an event.
Its worth reading Egomaniac Idai's views on the topic, his training for PBP (on 20kg of elliptigo of all things!) involved 20 hr fast sessions prior and during.
Personally I find it best not to hide behind peak this or that, science is always a successor to empirical observation.
I agree completely: real world trumps theory. The sports doc who's monitoring me now has me eating less during the longest rides (and more during rest days). If I manage my effort I don't seem to suffer at all.Its worth reading Egomaniac Idai's views on the topic, his training for PBP (on 20kg of elliptigo of all things!) involved 20 hr fast sessions prior and during.
Personally I find it best not to hide behind peak this or that, science is always a successor to empirical observation.
I read Idai's site and his thoughts on 20 hour fasting. I'll do more digging but weighing things up I don't think it's for me. One man's experience doesn't doesn't overcome what I see as the stress and potential risk of that strategy. My body is already well-accustomed to fat metabolism and I'm not sure, even with the best results, that I'd improve dramatically. It does seem like a punishing and disruptive routine though.
Do you train in a similar way? What's your experience been?
Gruffy said:
I agree completely: real world trumps theory. The sports doc who's monitoring me now has me eating less during the longest rides (and more during rest days). If I manage my effort I don't seem to suffer at all.
I read Idai's site and his thoughts on 20 hour fasting. I'll do more digging but weighing things up I don't think it's for me. One man's experience doesn't doesn't overcome what I see as the stress and potential risk of that strategy. My body is already well-accustomed to fat metabolism and I'm not sure, even with the best results, that I'd improve dramatically. It does seem like a punishing and disruptive routine though.
Do you train in a similar way? What's your experience been?
Sorry, I didn't appear to be disparaging and agreed what works for one person wont necessarily for another.I read Idai's site and his thoughts on 20 hour fasting. I'll do more digging but weighing things up I don't think it's for me. One man's experience doesn't doesn't overcome what I see as the stress and potential risk of that strategy. My body is already well-accustomed to fat metabolism and I'm not sure, even with the best results, that I'd improve dramatically. It does seem like a punishing and disruptive routine though.
Do you train in a similar way? What's your experience been?
Its important you retain confidence in whatever method you choose. That's the most important, its self belief that will drive you on.
The old adage of "Train hard and race easy" is worth following - find the worst conditions possible, then you have that confidence later and can remind yourself that its no worse than your training rides.
Personally I've hardly been on my bike this year, I concentrated on running the Spine race and GMU, next up is the Fellsman and Thamespath 100. I find running is more efficient training wise. I can average 100 miles a week running to and from work without eating into family time whereas 400 miles a week, the rough cycling equivalent isn't possible time wise yet.
I will need to start supplementing with audax rides at the weekends before June though!
I didn't read your comment negatively at all. I'm keen to learn as much as possible so I'd encourage people to challenge my preconceptions and offer new ways of thinking. I'm absorbing research as quickly as I can but I'm still relatively new to cycling and obviously very new to ultra-endurance.
It's been a busy couple of months since my last update here. I rode from London to Bilbao via the Tourmalet in 5 days. Then I rode from London to Edinburgh in a day and a half. It's coming together and I'm gradually ironing out the problems and learning how to be quicker.
There are now just 42 days (six weeks) until the Transcontinental Race begins.
There are now just 42 days (six weeks) until the Transcontinental Race begins.
Friends, followers and fellow PHers. This is where I ask you to help me fight against cancer by making a donation to Cancer Research UK via my JustGiving page.
If you've followed the thread and the blog you'll already know what I'm undertaking. I've done some small-scale simulations like London-Bilbao and London-Edinburgh and they bloody well hurt, despite being a fraction of my full race distance. I struggle to talk about my suffering when I'm talking about cancer in the same post, but please be under no illusions how tough this race will be.
Tougher still is the fight against cancer. I've been involved in some charitable efforts over the years, mostly through PH too, but this is on a whole new level and so are my ambitions for what we can achieve. I've seen friends battle against it and it's a b
d of a thing. The reality is that 1 in 2 of us will be affected by cancer in our lifetimes. That's you or your partner. That's one of your parents. That's half of your mates, half of your kids, half of the people reading and posting on this thread. This is not a request for charity. This is an encouragement to invest in your own future because this affects all of us.
If you find the blog entertaining please make a contribution, however small. It really does all add up and every penny inches us closer to beating cancer. If you read an entry that you think friends and family would enjoy then please share it. Readership is snowballing and the bigger it is the more leverage I have with partner brands to raise even more money.
If you've followed the thread and the blog you'll already know what I'm undertaking. I've done some small-scale simulations like London-Bilbao and London-Edinburgh and they bloody well hurt, despite being a fraction of my full race distance. I struggle to talk about my suffering when I'm talking about cancer in the same post, but please be under no illusions how tough this race will be.
Tougher still is the fight against cancer. I've been involved in some charitable efforts over the years, mostly through PH too, but this is on a whole new level and so are my ambitions for what we can achieve. I've seen friends battle against it and it's a b
d of a thing. The reality is that 1 in 2 of us will be affected by cancer in our lifetimes. That's you or your partner. That's one of your parents. That's half of your mates, half of your kids, half of the people reading and posting on this thread. This is not a request for charity. This is an encouragement to invest in your own future because this affects all of us.If you find the blog entertaining please make a contribution, however small. It really does all add up and every penny inches us closer to beating cancer. If you read an entry that you think friends and family would enjoy then please share it. Readership is snowballing and the bigger it is the more leverage I have with partner brands to raise even more money.
ALawson said:
Gruffy I did share the blog to a friend at Legal and General, their IT bounced it......due to profanities!
The last blog entry covering your exploits to Scotland was very good. Whilst I cannot cover that sort of distance it will motivate me to 1 big day this year.
Their firewall has taken the same stance as my mother then. Sadly, it's a necessary evil. There are times when only a bit of cursing will do, like 450km into a ride, soaked to the bone, cold and sleep deprived. Edited to add: I realise now you're talking about the JustGiving page rather than the blog. I may have to amend that, though there are also profanities in the comments now too. The last blog entry covering your exploits to Scotland was very good. Whilst I cannot cover that sort of distance it will motivate me to 1 big day this year.
Thanks for the kind words. I think the London-Edinburgh article is the most successful write-up so far, but there's so many more details I'd like to share. It's a balancing act between telling the story fully and terrifying my wife just ahead of the race.
It's awesome to hear my exploits encourage others to push their own limits.
ALawson said:
I expect the TCR may well whet your appetite, if the wife ready for that! RAAM 2017.........
Believe me, my appetite needs no whetting. If I could get away with it I'd be attempting the round the world record. If only I'd discovered cycling in my younger years, before I had responsibilities. We'll see where it goes from here. I have ideas but I don't want to commit to anything publicly that I'll have to climb down from later.Edited by Gruffy on Friday 17th June 10:37
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff