How far is too far?

[PaulB]

The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. So they say.

 

[yello]

Personally, I reckon I'd rather have the dull, slow burn! Maybe that's my problem!

Weight loss/gain doesn't really concern me... not to the point of calculating carb intake etc for a ride anyway. I eat more-or-less when I'm hungry. I just can't be bothered with any other approach (maybe that's another problem!!) In fact, I did start another thread about carbo-loading because I didn't really understand how much, when etc - and I'm still none the wiser.

I admire people like FionaN (I believe we share the same surname btw, same spelling too) for taking the sensible, serious and scientific approach (if that's the right word) to their goals. Maybe people like me should take a leaf. Perhaps I'm merely toying with the notions (hence these questions cropping up) and if I was more considered in my approach then I'd not be finding it quite so taxing.

 

[yello]

I've just read some poignant responses in an interview with Victoria Pendleton (thanks to ilovebikes!)

You’ve won various championships and are right at the top of your game. How do you keep motivated to continue?

It is hard. But it’s my job, and you have to get on with it. It’s not like keeping fit on the side while you’re doing a regular job. It’s your whole life. It’s how much sleep you get and what you eat. It’s a lifestyle. My life is guilt-ridden.

Does that mean you have to make many sacrifices?

Oh yeah! I don’t have a social life at all. I rest at the weekends getting ready for next week’s training, or I won’t make it through until the following Friday. I don’t go out. It’s a strict mentality. But I know it’s only short-term. You’re not going to be an athlete forever, so you make the most of it while you can.

Now I know I (we?) are not at that level but it shows the kind of commitment required to achieve ones goals.

 

[Greenbank]

I admire people like FionaN (I believe we share the same surname btw, same spelling too) for taking the sensible, serious and scientific approach (if that's the right word) to their goals. Maybe people like me should take a leaf. Perhaps I'm merely toying with the notions (hence these questions cropping up) and if I was more considered in my approach then I'd not be finding it quite so taxing.

I waved between overly scientific and completely casual and have happily found a good middle ground.

I started off keeping a food diary and calculating as exact a calorific intake calculation as I could. I'd then pore over the energy/calorie data from various devices (cycle computer, garmin, etc).

I'd watch the effect of increased miles on my weight (measured under reasonably repeatable circumstances every Wednesday morning as I play 5-a-side football on a Tuesday night and go for two pints afterwards). I adjusted my intake until I was steadily losing about 500g/1lb a week.

I don't bother measuring much now as I know when I've eaten more than I should have, and look at my weight as a general trend, not something to obsess about. If it goes up over the course of a *month* then I need to eat less or put more miles in. Looking at weight differences between weeks, or even fortnights, is pretty useless.

The food diary also gave me a good idea of the calorie contents of various different foods and I make choices based on that.

I got my feeding wrong on the ride this weekend, by not having breakfast and not eating enough at the first stop. I paid for it at the 200 mile mark but recovered enough to finish feeling stronger than ever. It's an odd thing to eat even when not feeling hungry.

 

[vorsprung]

Er, LEL is not a race. It will not demand the sort of damage on the body that running a race over 72 miles of fells will. The minimum speed is 12.5kph. Assuming a bit of stopping for sleep and eating, we are probably talking 15kph

Cycling at 15kph for 4 1/2 days isn't physically difficult but it does demand mental discipline

Last LEL I had a dodgey achillies tendon afterwards, but it was sorted out in a month or two

The OP was "how much is too much?" If we are talking audax rides in good weather I would say as much as I have time for. I found last July pretty depressing!

I'd rather do a summer 600 than a winter 200. Some people like that "RRTY" (randonneur round the year ) award from the UK Long Distance Cyclist Club. For this award you have to do a 200 every month of the year. This has never appealed to me.

As for weight / fat in-out during long rides, I have noticed an amusing trend. After riding a couple of recent long events ( a 300 and the same 600 as Greenback) my weight goes up for a few days. Then it goes down. Then it returns to some kind of equilibrium.

The point is that audax rides aren't really so hard on the body. It's not like mountain climbing. It's more like a quick trip around some cafes. You can cycle any distance at audax speeds without suffering permanent damage

 

[jimboalee]

Now I'll throw in the 'Initial Fitness, Step Test'.

Its available on the net and involves a 12" bench and a stop watch. Google it.

I'm in the 'Above average' band and regularly ride 200 km Audax.

I would not recommend anyone who is 'Below average' or worse to sign up for a 200km.

An 'Average' candidate might get round a flat 200km.

A 'Below average' candidate could get through a 100km BP – slowly.

Worse than 'Below average', I wouldn't imaging for one second they could ride a bike for 25 miles, let alone to the first café.


Which brings us nicely to the definition of the term "fitness". My interpretation is 'The ability to transport Oxygen and nutrients to the Muscles and vital organs".
A 'fit' person will have a higher concentration of blood vessels to the muscle fibres and vital organs.

Those who are trained enough to keep going and going must have developed their circulatory system over many months/years, and keep in the 'Aerobic' region continuously.

 

[MacB]

Now I'll throw in the 'Initial Fitness, Step Test'.
Its available on the net and involves a 12" bench and a stop watch. Google it.

Sorry Jim, that's not good enough, you need to elaborate for us, some of us aren't fit enough to do enough googles.

 

[rafiki]

I'm 64 years old and on beta blockers for hypertension. Given that the blockers reduce heart force and beat rate I guess the HR measurement against the fitness test chart will be valid so long as I keep taking the tablets.

 

[jimboalee]

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/home-step.htm

 

[yello]

Er, LEL is not a race.

Er, I know.

As for audax not being demanding, it all depends on how someone wishes to tackle them. They needn't be demanding, that's true. Especially true of the shorter distances. But ultra events are taxing almost by definition, be they a race or not. I guess that's one of the reasons why people like to do them; personal challenge.

So whatever your level of participation, you do need to prepare for an event such as LEL. That preparation takes a lot of time, and a lot of thought and consideration. You can't just wing it. That level of time and thought might well be too much for some people.

 

[Greenbank]

So whatever your level of participation, you do need to prepare for an event such as LEL. That preparation takes a lot of time, and a lot of thought and consideration. You can't just wing it. That level of time and thought might well be too much for some people.

I disagree (partly). What you lack in physical preparation you just have to make up for with grim mental determination, and that's not easy at all.

Every mile you put in as training, and other rides beforehand, will make it ever so slightly easier on the day but, as Vorsprung says, it's just a case of sitting on a bike and pedalling at a relatively gentle pace for many hours a day, and LEL is far from hilly.

There have been people who have completed 1200km and longer rides without ever doing a single ride over 200km beforehand.

Inexperienced people, however, are far more likely to give up during a low point (rather than knowing that it is only temporary), getting something wrong (hydration or feeding) and running out of energy, or suffering due to an incorrectly setup bike.

People who progress through an SR series beforehand are far less likely to succumb to these kinds of problems on a long ride. I certainly wouldn't recommend winging it, but there are plenty of people who entered LEL before they'd ever done a single Audax. Some of them have yet to do a 400km ride, one person I know has done 3 SRs since entering. I chose not to try for PBP in my first real season of Audaxing as I personally thought that it would be too much too soon. I'll be there in 2011 hopefully though.

 

[yello]

If you'll forgive me for saying, I do think you're being slightly disingenuous Greenbank. Your own contributions on the subject show you to be very careful in preparation. I doubt you'd consider doing LEL having only ever previously ridden 200km

I do however take on board both what you and vorsprung say; LEL can be done at a canter and by toughing out the bad times. It wouldn't be my approach (I'd want to know I have a decent platform of physical fitness first) but that's neither here nor there. The question of 'how much is too much?' was brought to my mind by the preparation I was doing for my LEL; it's not a question I meant to aim at anyone else's LEL prep.

I meant the question more generally; as a discussion/thought about the levels of commitment required to achieve goals. But I love the directions threads go (especially when jimbo contributes! ) and will even contribute to the new directions.

 

[vorsprung]

Last LEL I rode quite a few miles with a bloke called Steve. His previous audax experience was one 300km ride. He had bad ankle trouble and finished after me, but he did finish.

As for your clarification that you are interested in "the levels of commitment required" for me the level of commitment of doing more riding than normal and then spending about a weeks holiday doing LEL is too much. My family come first this time.

 

[yello]

you are interested in "the levels of commitment required"

Ah, vorsprung, welcome to the world of yello! I'm not really after answers! I like aimless discussion, directionless thought, belly button gazing, etc etc etc. I see facts as applying only to specific sets of circumstances and never really saying a lot to me about the big picture. Pointers at best. Useful without being particularly interesting.

But it is interesting to me that you are choosing family over LEL this year. (Incidentally, I think this entirely sane and to be applauded! Many people wouldn't). I think 'family come first' is the kind of factor that comes into play with peoples decisions about 'how far is too far'.

IF (note IF! ) one prepares for LEL (say) then that might mean forsaking other things; commitments, engagements, desires... whatever. I find that balance that we all strike at different times for different things interesting. Or, more specifically, the point at which the balance tips one way or t'other. And, as I said earlier, the point where the interest becomes an obsession - however you define obsession.

As for my LEL, my prep is going well enough. I like to answer my own questions too, not just slavishly follow someone else's best advice. I'm not convinced of the need to ride a 600 for instance, or even 400 for that matter. My concentration at the moment is getting used to spending hours in the saddle on consecutive days; knowing that I can coax some effort out of tired legs etc. I've done consecutive 200s and I'm planning of doing consecutive 300s next month. Oh, and I need to learn to slow down! That really is proving difficult to learn!

 

[rich p]

As for my LEL, my prep is going well enough. I like to answer my own questions too, not just slavishly follow someone else's best advice. I'm not convinced of the need to ride a 600 for instance, or even 400 for that matter. My concentration at the moment is getting used to spending hours in the saddle on consecutive days; knowing that I can coax some effort out of tired legs etc. I've done consecutive 200s and I'm planning of doing consecutive 300s next month. Oh, and I need to learn to slow down! That really is proving difficult to learn!

Great philosophy, Yello. Very cool

FWIW when I ran long distances (80 miles), I never ran more than 25 in training and I was reasonably good at it. A friend ran a 2.30 marathon and trained over no more than 12 mile runs.