Sunday, July 3, 2022

Thoughts on training for London-Edinburgh-London 1500KM: Endurance

I am registered to ride London Edinburgh London. It is a 1520 KM ride along the coast of the United Kingdom and we have 125 hours to finish it. To put it another way, we'll be riding 944.48 miles in 5.2 days - that's about 185 miles a day.

LEL will be the longest event I've taken on to date. It's about 300K longer than Paris Brest Paris. The weather is infamous for rain and wind. The terrain is noted for its climbing. The distance is more than I typically ride in a month. To put it another  way, this will be a challenge. 

The ride starts on August 7th - just over a month away. These next two weeks are the last best chance to get in some meaningful training. After that, it's time to taper, recover, and prepare, To put it another way, what I invest into these next two weeks will determine what I have to spend when the ride takes place. 

Train Hard, Rando Easy. That's my training philosophy. It's impossible for me to replicate this ride in advance. This not a 200K course that I can practice on. The only time I will be able to put together five consecutive days of 300K rides will be when the ride takes place. So my training plan is to take components of the event and train them harder than what I will have to do in the ride. 

One component is the endurance. The ability to endure. To keep at it day after day and ride another mile. To prepare for that component, I ride. 

I ride when fed and rested. Ride when hungry and tired. Ride to work and ride back home. Ride in the day. Ride in the night. Ride in the sun. Ride in the rain. Ride hard up hills. Ride intervals for minutes at near max effort. Ride for hours on end at a manageable pace. Ride 100K without stopping. Ride 200K with minimal stopping. Ride 300K. Ride 400K. Ride 600K. Ride again. Ride until the bike disappears. Ride until riding disappears, becomes silent like a heartbeat, thoughtless like breathing. Ride until getting on the bike is no longer a decision to be made but simply a way of being. When riding just "is,"  that  is when I will have the endurance.

2 comments:

  1. Best of luck to you. Bonne Route!

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  2. "Ride until riding disappears, becomes silent like a heartbeat, thoughtless like breathing." OOOOo. Good plan. Just don't ride like Sally. (stupid joke emoji.) Good luck!!!!!!!!

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