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Monday, August 2, 2010

Cycling Back-to-Back Days

I successfully rode 211.6km in 2 days as planned. It was surprisingly easy!

The Tour de France is really what inspired me to try it - the guys go hard one day, then get back on their bike and do it all again the next. I had never ridden long two days in a row, so figured I would see what it was like.

Sunday: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42693072 (106.8 km)
Monday: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42869674 (105.0 km)

The keys to going back-to-back:
  • Stay out of the red - keep the power smooth and steady, no big bursts
  • Hydrate - I drank around 3 liters of Gatorade each day (just under 1 liter/hour)
  • Calories on the bike - Gatorade, bananas... I even ate sour soothers (which I don't really suggest, but mmm!!!).
  • Calories off the bike - Right after the first day, I made sure I had a big glass of chocolate milk and a bunch of carby snacks. The rest of the day looked pretty much like the day before a long race, lots of small carby snacks and carb-heavy lunch/dinner. I also made sure to re-hydrate by drinking a lot of water.
My legs were a big sluggish getting going this morning, but within a few kilometers they loosened up. By the last hour, fatigue had settled in and I was struggling a bit for pace, but nothing too serious.

All in all, a success!

Next up, century ride. This will be my 5th 160km (6th if you include the 180k ride at Ironman!), so looking forward to tackling the big distance again.

2 comments:

Boris T said...

You sir are an animal! I did a 60k today and it nearly killed me, well not really the ride but the cars and the fumes in Toronto certainly took their tole.

Jon P said...

Riding in Toronto nearly killed me, too... got hit by a truck a couple of years ago!