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Help Training Advice for the Kashiwa 120km Race

Greg2015

Cruising
Mar 8, 2015
39
2
Hello everyone,

I'm a new member and looking for a little advice. I've done some sprint triathlons but now I'd like to move onto
longer distance rides.

I just signed up for the Kashiwa 120km event. I took a good few months off from exercise and I want to get back into the swing of things.

I have a few questions if anyone could help.

Is it a terrible idea to ride to the event and back? I live around Kokubunji... I imagine it would take 45 to 60km to get there.

I have about 40 days to train. Any advice on how to go about it? When I trained for the Sprint Triathlons I would ride 20km hard and a total of 40km in a day.

The most I've ever ridden was in the U.S. It was 50 miles with leisurely stop-n-go's... I would say I did well and wasn't so tired.

The Tamagawa bike path is pretty close to me... You think I should just train there? Any other good training spots near Kokubunji?

Any help would go a far way for me. I do appreciate it.

Thanks a lot!
 
Before you get into any technical stuff, and any fine details, and before you start any obsessing over doing intervals here, or lactic threshold there, the very first thing you need to do, is go out and ride 120km by yourself, a load of times.

If you have 40 days to train, use the first 10 of those just riding 120km as fast as you reasonably can, without killing yourself. This will get your body into the swing of actually doing the distance. The ideal place to do this would be on the actual course you are going to race on.

Once you have done that, then start getting all nerdy over the details for the rest of the time.
 
Agree with TCC. The most important thing is to be sure you can go the distance.

But I think if you can do two thirds of the distance (ie. 80 km) a few times leading up to the event, that would be enough.

If distance is your concern, then best not to ride to and from the event.

Bear in mind that most people fail at these kind of events due to poor fuelling. Practice eating and drinking on the go. ABC Always Be Consuming. Once on the go, it is almost impossible to over eat. Fill your pockets with two items per hour you expect to ride. Don't rely on aid stations for food. Two full bottles on the bike.

Also be prepared for the weather. Lots of layers. Remember it's easy to take layers off. Too hot is better than too cold. A nice foldable windbreaker would be a good buy if you don't have one already.

Finally if this is going to be more than your body is used to, plenty of rest in the week leading up to the event. Early nights. No hard training in the week will make you faster at the weekend.

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
Thanks a lot for all of the advice!

This Wednesday I'm going to head out and try to do a 120 km ride, as suggested, maybe at a 25km pace to see how my body reacts. It will be the longest distance I've ever ridden for but a nice challenge to see where I'm at. I honestly didn't think I would jump in so deep starting off, but I like the idea/challenge. I've never thought about the ABC rule so I will definitely bring along a lot of fuel and remember to keep my water bottle filled.

Cheers TCC and Andy

I will let ya know how it goes.
 
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