Training and Preparations

Please see Helen's fantastic training and preparation advice below. 

1. Make a plan - actually write it down and put it somewhere you can see it! It’s important to stay focused - consistency is key for endurance rides.

2. Include at least one block of 3 days back to back to get you used to the physical and mental challenge of getting back on your bike day after day, this doesn't have to be full distance as the recovery needed would be significant, but maybe 3-5 hrs / day would be great for 3 days in a row. 

3. Use all rides as a test for the big event, try out the kit you will wear, the food and drink you will use etc etc - nothing new on event day, everything should be tried and tested beforehand.

4. If you have any pain, discomfort, aches, niggles etc NOW is the time to sort them out. 

5. If you have never done 150-180km in a day then it is wise to plan one ride of this length to give you confidence you can do the distance.

6. Work on your weaknesses, if you struggle on short steep hills this would be a better session than flat laps for instance.

7. If needed work on your skills, riding wheel to wheel in a tight group will save huge amounts of energy. If you find gaps open when you go round a corner in a group spend some time working on cornering. Being able to eat and drink while not looking down and pedalling and keeping a straight line is key for your nutrition and others safety. 

8. REST is training too! Ensure you have at least 1 rest day / week, probably 2 on weeks with the big back to back rides and in the final 7 days pre OMC remember you cannot add fitness only fatigue so please only do a couple of shorter rides in those last few days to keep the legs moving but ensure you are well rested. 

9. Look after your body off the bike, good nutrition and hydration, early nights and stretching and rollering.

10. Think about what you will do if it gets hard! Mental skills. Often the brain gives up before the legs on a long tough ride. What can you say to yourself to motivate yourself - self talk. Do you have a mantra? Can you remind yourself of your motivation for taking part etc etc. It is worth having a plan for how you will deal with any tough points.

11. Generally a good taper will see a reduction in volume to shed fatigue pre event. In the last 7-10 days you are definitely not adding fitness pre OMC but will be adding fatigue. That applies to both cycling and life. Anything you can do to reduce stress, increase sleep and look after yourself generally in the run up to the event will make a big difference. Eat well (not more, but good nutritious food), hydrate well and put your feet up if you get a chance. Avoid people with germs and go even more crazy with hand washing/antibacterial gel. 

We start riding Thursday. Generally I would suggest a short ride either Monday or Tuesday that week to keep legs moving and blood flowing but 30-60 minutes is plenty. During that ride I would put in a couple of very short 15-45 second bursts of effort with high cadence, but nothing more. 

If you normally do weights in the gym or run I would suggest missing these that week so legs are as fresh as possible. 

The weekend before is too close to the event to do an epic ride! Please don’t be tempted to squeeze in one last big one as the fatigue will still be in the legs. Better to rest one day that weekend and ride on the other to keep the legs moving with a session under 2hrs, mostly steady riding but perhaps with 1-2 medium length efforts (ie 5-8 minutes up a climb). The goal being keeping the muscles moving by preventing the body feeling ‘stale’ of ‘sluggish’, reminding the legs what will be needed without adding huge fatigue.