Endurance Training/24 HR mentality for a new racer

[HoldFst18]

1st off, Incredible website. I am fairly new to serious mountain biking and have no friends who I ride with. I’ve spent the last 4 months training alone throughout NH and a site such as this really gives me hope for the future of the sport.

As I said, I have been doing alot of serious riding since early April. It started with an old Specialized FSR that I picked up on craigslist last year and the fact that married life added an extra 30 lbs, which I quickly wanted to get rid of before my quarter life crisis of parenthood. Well doing all the miles has paid off, Ive sucessfully lost all 30 lbs I intended to. As you might expect, I now suffer from a serious case of MTB fever. I’ve worked up to doing anywhere from 60-200 miles a week depending how I feel from the week prior. I try and mix in road riding quite a bit ( In central NH road riding is more like a gravel track 90% of my rides). Along with running stairs for atleast an hour a week. I have been trying to formulate a good training scedule for the off season thats approaching. I would really like to be in top shape for next March. I have a great desire to compete in endurance rides as well has 12-24 hour races, however I am terrified of the thought of being unprepared for either of these types of events. Can anyone point me in the right direction here… my real question is, how should i formulate a training scedule for the rest of the riding season before winter. And also, what should i specifically target for my winter workouts when it wont be possible to be outside on a bike. Ive always been an athletic person and have never had a problem in devising my own training methods, but as I said I really dont want to underestimate the amount of fitness these races require. Thanks for any replies, keep mashin the petals!

[brianW]

my first race was the Sumter Metric Century in SC last year. to prepare for it I rode a lot of 20-35 mile rides. Should of did a few longer rides. My goal was to finish and have fun which both were achieved. There are 6 hour endurance races that you could consider. In winter you could do spinning classes, maybe take two classes back to back. Also when I lived in MA/NH I rode on snowmobile trails. in a few weeks there is the Hampshire 100 in Greenfield. Could give that a try.

[Dustin Gaddis]

Welcome to the site! Sounds like you’re riding a lot! If you really want to take it up a notch, I’d suggest doing two things first. Get on Amazon and order:
1 – 24 Solo – movie/documentary about 24hr mtn bike racing. It is awesome. It will both inspire and humble you.
2 – get these two books: "the mountain bikers training bible" as well as "advanced sports nutrition"

Then read them and start learning.

And definitely start with a few 6hr races. Most intermediate riders can survive a 6hr, and for more advanced riders they are a great way to learn more about yourself, as far as things like pacing, nutrition, etc are concerned.

Also, try and find people to ride with, especially people who are a little faster than you. Best way to meet folks is your local advocacy group. If you don’t know who that is, either google or a local bike shop should be able to help you find out.

Oh, and come down to SC next month and do the Sumter Metric Century

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

Also see if you can get on to a relay team for a 24 hour race. That way you can ease into it a bit and see if you feel that you can work up to going solo.

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