How to train for a 60 mile race.

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I am a 20 year old female and I love to ride my bike. Next month there is a 62 mile race in Port Aransas TX and I am going to enter it. How do I get ready for a race like this? I dont need to win, I just dont want to be last. I ride a lot around my neighborhood and I go to cycling class at 24 hour fitness a few times a week. Do you have any suggestions for me? Should I be on a special diet?

Thank you so much!

ANSWER: Hi Courtney,

I need some more information before I answer your question. Is this race a Mountain Bike Race or a Road Bike Race? It will make a good deal of difference in how you prepare.

Have a great day

Let me know and I will do my best to help

Jerry Goodwin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It is a road race and I am pretty sure its mostly flat. It is the "May be hot? May be not! Bike ride"

Answer
Hi Courtney,

The Maybe Hot, Maybe Not ride is a bicycle ride not a race. You don't get any more for coming in first than you do last. At that ride I am pretty sure that the main attraction other than the scenery is the fact that it helps the youth. There will be rest stops and such SAG etc. Not a race at all. Find someone to ride with that is about your level and just enjoy the ride, don't worry about speed. It is not a race.


Is this the ride description?

Location
Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce
130 W. Goodnight
Aransas Pass, TX

About This Event
Ride along the causeway - see beautiful bay waters, coastal marshes, naval base and more.

Benefiting the Aransas Pass for Youth

Come join the Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce, our sponsors and the youth of Aransas Pass on a fast and fun ride around the scenic Coastal Bend area. You have four routes you can take from 12 miles to 60 miles. All proceeds stay in Aransas Pass and directly benefit the summer camp program. The Aransas Pass for Youth, Inc. is a 501(c)3 Non-profit organization and an affiliated agency of the United Way of the Coastal Bend.

The Course
The ride begins at 8:00 A.M. You'll leave Aransas Pass Chamber parking lot going over the causeway toward Pt. Aransas turning around at the Lighthouse Trails park, travel by Conn Brown Harbor then into Ingleside. You'll pass the Naval station then head South on Highway 361 turning North at Highway 35 on in to Rockport and then back to the Aransas Pass Chamber. There will be seven full service rest stops with water, fruits and/or cookies. Medical assistance will be available upon request. Sag vehicles will be driving the entire route and phone numbers available if you need to be picked up during your ride.

T-Shirt and Registration packet pick up
Free T-shirts to entries received before Oct. 31, 2009.

Post Ride BBQ Lunch

Post ride BBQ Lunch with live music at the Chamber Office from 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.


There will likely be people of all abilities there and at your age I would guess you will fit right about in the middle, I doubt that you will be last.  You will want to make sure you finish though, with 7 rest stops you should do just fine. In a race there is no rest stops. This is what is known as a charity ride much like the one I was the event director for at www.carolinesride.com

I am also getting up another ride in the Southwest Georgia Area the Southwest Georgia Cycle Fest- making a Difference in the Lives of Wounded Warriors. This ride will benefit the wounded tropps returning form battle in Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and probably soon Iran. See www.southwestgeorgiacyclefest.com

As far as preparation the best preparation is to ride and also to do some resistance exercise for strength and stamina. When I am training for a ride I don't worry about speed, just distance. I will set a route that is about 1/2 of the distance that will be the ride distance, so in this case it would be about 30-35 miles, that will be my "training" route. I start by riding that for a few days, then start doing it twice, by the time I am finished (usually about 4-6 weeks) I am riding the full distance at a relatively steady pace with almost no stops.

Races are usually much shorter and you want to train for speed. The races I did last week were 40K, 20K, 10K and 5K. That translates into 25 Miles, 12 Miles, 6.2 Miles, and 3.1 Miles. 4 races in 2 days.

When I train for a race, I train for the longest one I will do, such as a 40K road race and a 20 K Road race I would find a distance that equals the 40 K race and start out with learning the route the first couple of days then I would take my times and start trying to whittle the time off each day.

With Time Trials it is a little different but not much, say you have a 10 K and a 5 K TT coming up, Train with the 10 K and you should do well in both.

This ride is along the beach so I would bet it is fairly flat, Don't wear yourself out by trying to go too fast, just go with the flow.

Have a great day

Hope this helps

Jerry