What’s it like to transition from a marathon and ultra training to cycling training?
Pretty good once you get into the rhythm of it.
What am I doing?
I’m training for an event that I made up. Because I find that made up events are my personal favorites.
When you make up an event it has to be something interesting. It has to be something challenging that forces you to train. But, at the same time, it should be achievable.
I like events that are pointless and stupid as well. Fit’s my personality.
So the event I made up is a transit of Massachusetts, the state I live in. Massachusetts, being a small New England state is not that big. But, it’s big enough that I can squeeze 250 miles or so into it.
And the way I’m going to do that is to start on the top left corner and ride all the way to the tip of Cape Cod. The tip of Cape Cod is a convenient target for me because a) there’s a long stretch of Rail Trail on the Cape I can follow and b) I have a house about ½ way out.
There is an existing event that follows a similar, shorter route, called the Pan Mass Challenge. I have no interest in riding the Pan Mass Challenge. It’s a corporate event and you have to raise like $10K in charity. More power to your folks, but it’s not my cup o’ tea. Not my kettle o’ fish.
About 5 weeks form now on August 19th I’ll launch myself from somewhere near Williamstown Mass and take two days to cycle the 250 miles to the tip of the Cape.
First question you should have is ‘Does the math work?’ or if your British ‘Do the maths work?’
Well, I know I can ride 100 miles in a day. I’ve done that a bunch of times. If I stay on the bike and don’t mess around I can easily do that on the roads in under 10 hours. 125 miles put’s me in around 12 hours. I figure if I’m on the road by 6 AM I should be off the bike by 6Pm – That’s a long day but incredibly doable. That’s only 10 miles an hour.
I own two bicycles. The first is my old steel road bike, Fuji-san that has gotten me through several successful triathlon cycles. She’s old and heavy, but with a good tune up I can push that bike 20 mph.
The second is my Motobecane 29er Mountain bike that has gotten me through several ultra-distance mountain bike races. If I’m heads down cranking on a road I can push that at maybe 17 mph.
Ironically they both weigh about the same. I think the Mountain bike might actually be lighter.
I have decided to ride the Motobecane. I’m going to give up the speed. Because our roads here can be pretty bad. I think I would end up getting a lot of flats on the road bike. The Fuji is also a lot less forgiving if I get chased off the road by traffic. The Niner is also much more comfortable to ride, especially in the bumpy sections. And if I get run off the road on the Niner it’s no big deal, I’m not going to crash.
To make things a little bit easier I bought a set of small block tires for the Niner. Small block means they don’t have that aggressive knobby tread that you normally see on mountain bikes. They role a lot faster. They are immune to the gravel and road debris.
I also bought a pair of clip on Aero bars. Aero bars are a god-send on a long ride. Not so much to avoid the wind resistance, but to be able to rest your arms and shoulders and take some of the weight off your ass. I was surprised how much faster I could get a long ride done with the aero-bars.
My training over the last few weeks has been 6-7 workouts a week. 3-4 of those are rides and the rest are strength and stretching. Not dissimilar from a marathon or ultra training plan.
I do back to back rides on the weekends. Saturdays are my long rides. To simulate those tired legs. My thighs are getting massive and I feel pretty fit.
There are some differences in cycling versus running. First, cycling is just easier. My heart rate never gets near where it would go if I was running. Even if I’m pushing.
Second, I can eat and drink almost anything while riding – you don’t have to worry about keeping it down or getting sick.
Third, you can carry more stuff. I’m wearing my water bladder on my back and I ‘ve got my tools and pump and a water bottle, plus my phone and earbuds.
Fourth, the heat isn’t as much of a factor as when you’re running. The air from the speed keeps you cool.
And on the negative side:
First, you are dependent on your machine. You have to take care of your bike. This adds more time to the pursuit. In general the bike training takes more time. There’s more stuff.
Second, the routes are far longer. Even my short rides are 20 miles. It’s a logistical challenge to find, close, safe and appropriate routes for the training.
Third, there are different types of challenges when you go long enough. I was wearing my gel-half-gloves to keep my hands from getting sore but the sweat inside the gloved was making my skin peel on my hands. When you get to a certain point there is also chaffing. It’s in different places than you would get in running, and I’m learning those as I train.
And finally, I can’t take the dog with me. Which is a bummer for him and me.
The good news is that a 3 – 4 hour ride, now that I’m getting in shape, is good calorie burn and a good endorphin hit. Not as good as running, but pretty good if you’re grinding. It also gives me those long ‘alone-time’ thinking sessions to listen through some podcasts.
Believe it or not there is such a think as form in riding. The equivalent of form in running. In biking, when you are clipped in, that long distance form is very important.
You can’t just push the pedals like you did when you were a kid. You have to use the full stroke. Shoot your toes out, forward and over the top then pull them back through on the bottom. It’s an even full stroke where both legs are always working throughout the whole stroke to produce that nice consistent power.
That’s my current project.
At the end of the summer I’ll be pushing my big old mountain bike across the face of Massachusetts.
What could go wrong?