Every person and their body are different. The important thing to remember is everybody will respond to different techniques differently and it is best to find what best works for you. Through changes or tweaks you can improve upon techniques that work for you and ignore those that don’t work for you. Here is a great outline to follow and refer back to while training for your mountain bike endurance race.
Training Ideology for Endurance Events
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Commit to time, not miles. When I trained for my first big endurance race/season, I committed one day a week to a long ride. Start with what you can handle and build each week. 4hrs, 5hrs, 7hrs... whatever suits you best
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Incorporating fun organized rides or races is a good way to go. Punish yourself in good company. One of my training rides was the “Hundred Grand” road bike ride. I did the 141 mile option on my MTB. I thought that I might be able to draft some of the slower roadies. WRONG! I got dropped like a bad habit. Still, I finished (10hrs) and it was much easier than a 10hr ride would have been with no support.
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Mix it up – do gravel road days, trail days, destination rides.
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On top of the long ride day. Incorporate another couple of days of shorter rides during your week.
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Heart rate / stay aerobic – 180bpm minus your age. + 5 if you’ve been training 4 times a week for two years. (Subtract 5 to 10 if you’ve been sick in the past month.) When in doubt lower your bpm.
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This takes discipline. If you can’t muster it, maybe the 100 mile race is not for you.
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Avoid anaerobic activity as much as possible. You are training your body to burn fat as its primary fuel. Interruptions to this base training will hinder your efforts.
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Bicycle Fit & Posture is Important for Long Hours
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Have a professional fit your bike to you. Your body will adapt to a poor fit and you may not realize your inefficiencies. For a short ride or race, this may seem insignificant; for a 100 mile MTB outing, a bad fit will cost you massive energy losses.
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Part of the fit process should include learning about proper posture and watching yourself on a trainer via video. If you have the opportunity to ride with people that can critic your form, do so and listen to them.
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Are your hands going numb? If so, you’re not holding yourself with your core. Weight on the bars and constantly flexing your triceps can cost you significant energy (up to 30% loss). When you’re planning on big miles and lots of saddle time, efficiency is the key!
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Do your toes hurt after a long ride? If so, you need to drop your heels and be aware of your peddling. You’re going for a smooth circular swoosh.
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Any area of your body that is giving you pain indications needs to be addressed before it develops into a problem. Make sure to differentiate. Be objective and honest with yourself. If the pain is from lack of conditioning, suck it up!
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Train on the bike that you will race on. Or at least one with the same geometry and fit. Your body will condition its self for that position.
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Practice cadence 90-110rpm
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Forget about power and concentrate on cadence. I used to push small gears and average 70rpm. This method requires weight lifting type strength. It’s hard on your knees and it draws energy from large muscles and creates lactic acid. It’s better to draw energy from your cardiovascular system. Spin to win!
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Recovery Leads to Growth
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Fitness = training + rest. If you don’t get ample sleep and recovery time, you will succumb to over-training and wasted effort.
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Recovery rides—a day (possibly two) after your long ride. Go out for an hour of riding at a very low heart rate. This should be 20-30bpm lower than your regular aerobic training pace. The goal here is easy movement; low stimulation helps to work the toxins and sourness out of your muscles.
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Breathing/music/meditation
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Breathing and thought affect your heart rate and your efficiency. Learning to relax and ride in a meditative/focused/positive state of mind is a goal that will serve you well should.
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Calming, inspiring, or aggressive music can aid to in reaching the state of mind that is required for the various stages of the race/ride.
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As the body breaks down the mind is unchained. Surrender the physical self. Let spirit be your guide.
Diet
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On the bike
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Fueling, hydrating, and maintaining proper electrolyte balances are vital for a long ride.
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Consume small amounts of fuel, water and electrolytes often.
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No big meals during the ride.
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Your digestive system can only process food into energy at a given rate. Exceeding that rate draws blood to the stomach and away from working muscles.
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Do not eat 3 hours prior to racing / training. Sleep instead of waking up to eat. Your body has plenty of stored energy in fat. You want your digestive system to be a rest when you start. A 6’ tall 150 pound man has enough fat supply (calories) to run for 100 hours.
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I recommend checking out Hammer Nutrition’s fueling guides for your weight. You don’t have to purchase Hammers products to reap the benefits of the companies fueling recommendations. Yet, should you try the products, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
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After a training session
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Get a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein food into your system within 15 minutes post workout.
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Have a nutritious meal no more than one hour post workout.
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Off the bike
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Eliminate all refined foods as much as possible. These are calorie high and nutrient low.
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Eliminate excessive carbohydrate intake. Learn about “good” fat and protein sources. This will complement your aerobic training and direct your body to burn fat for fuel.
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Note that carbohydrates eaten at rest will trigger your body to release insulin. During exercise the body does not produce insulin at the same rate in reaction to carbohydrates.
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Race prep
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Sleep
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Make sure to get plenty of sleep the week leading up to the race and especially the night before the race.
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Nutrition
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A healthy dinner the night before (don’t eat right before bed). It should include good fats, protein and vegetables. Eat adequate portions. Do not stuff yourself.
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Avoid the carbo load myth.
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Tapering your training.
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Start tapering your training two to three weeks before your race. You want to feel anxious to ride and be at full power on race day. You can’t gain any more fitness by training hard a week before the race. You can only waste energy stores.
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Race Day
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Don’t let ego compromise your potential. Endurance races are about maximizing your potential, not beating the guy next to you. Endurance races don’t really start until hours after the official start. If you sprint from the line or out pace yourself early, you won’t make it. I “drop the hammer” about 75 miles into a 100 mile race.
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Decide that quitting is not an option.
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Know that this endeavor will require suffering. Eliminate the option to quit with a mental prerequisite that you will not stop. When the pain comes, set it aside. If you have already made the decision that you will finish, you don’t have to struggle with the choice to quit. It’s simply not an option. Even if you bonk, keep moving. If 3 miles an hour is all that you can muster, so be it. But you cannot stop. A wise man once wrote that “It’s ok to give up, just make sure your legs keep moving.”
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The cup is the race. Trophies and podiums are nice. Yet, they are a poor illusion to pin your hopes on. Enjoy every breath. Appreciate the suffering. Live now. Do this and no matter your placement, you will have won.
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Stayed tuned in the following the weeks for a sample training plan based on these guidelines.
