Double Century Training

Ok, so the double century is coming up. They’ve finally decided on a date, Saturday the 22nd November so lets hope the weather is nice. The start/finish venue will be at Swellendam Primary School and covers a distance of around 205km, so that’s the Argus cycle tour plus 100km or something like that…

We started training a bit earlier this year and have stuck to the program so far. So we should be well prepared on the day if we continue with our training plan.

Our training for double century 2008:
13 July – Strand – 90km
20 July - Stellenbosch – 90/100km
27 July – Melkbos – 80/90km
03 August – Gordons bay – 100km
10 August – Stellenbosch/wine route – 100km
17 August – Fisantekraal – 110km
24 August –Cape point/chappies/campsbay -120km
31 August – Stellenbosch/agterpaarl – 120km
7 September – Franschhoek – 150km
14 September – Durbanville/stellenbosch – 150km
21 September – Gordons bay/pringle bay – 130/150km
28 September – Stellenbosch/klapmuts/pniel – 140/150km
05 October – Bettys bay – 160km
12 October – Fisanterkraal/agter paarl/klapmuts – 180km
19 October- Cape point/chappies – 120km
26 October – Gordons bay – 100km
02 November – Stellenbosch – 90km
09 November – Durbanville/contermanskloof – 100km
16 November – Cape point – 80km

Then all that riding should prepare us adequately for the 205km on the 22 November.

The route:
From Swellendam we follow the R324 through Suurbraak and over Tradouw Pass towards Barrydale. A left turn onto the R62 takes us to the challenging 7km Op de Tradouw, before making our way to Montagu. We take on the the most challenging climbs, Tradouw and Op de Tradouw Pass within the first 60km of the ride. That’s gonna be fun…

The route then snakes through Cogmanskloof towards Ashton, turning left onto the R317 towards Bonnievale and back to the finish in Swellendam.

Bring it on! We’ll be ready…

The three stages - Stage 2

Ok, so now that you’ve been building that stamina base it’s time to start building the next level of our fitness, strength.

After a few weeks of stamina training it’s time to mix the stamina training with strength training. The difference between stamina and strength training? Well, strength training involves a bit of strain but not too much. So, assuming that you ride more than once a week, on your shorter weekday rides you can increase the intensity.

Interval training is one way you can improve your strength. I sometimes increase intensity up the small inclines, either maintain or increase your speed up these little inclines and recover if you need to once you over the top. Do that on a few rides and soon you won’t even notice the inclines.

And remember, recovery is very important… so always make sure that you eat, stretch and rest after every workout.

The three stages - Stage 1

There’s a lot of debate around how you should train but the truth is, we are all different so one individual’s training program could be totally different to another. But we all want to train without sustaining injury and to do that And improve your fitness you need to follow the 3 stages to fitness.

Think of it like a pyramid and with a broader base your pyramid will be able to support a broader mid-level and that mid-level will support a broader top-level. Make sense?

The first stage of your training should be to build a solid stamina base. To do that you need to spend time in the saddle at a comfortable pace, a pace slow enough (but not too slow) to maintain a conversation without breathing heavy. You also need to be on a gear light enough to maintain a high but comfortable cadence.

This will most certainly improve your endurance. After each ride you should feel good and the next day you should feel great. One very important aspect of training that athletes tend to forget is recovery so make sure you recover between rides. The three rules of recovery, refuel, stretch and rest…

I’ll tell you what stage two is all about later in the week…. but for now… get on your bike and ride, safely…