Endurance Training.....my 1st 100 miler

Concerned that I would struggle with hauling a sled across the ice for 30 days for upto 10 hours a day, I set out on a local endurance mountain bike ride on Wednesday of last week. This was to both, test my endurance and act as a training day for the next trip.

The South Downs Way is a path/track that runs from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex on the South Coast. It is 100 miles long and passes through some of the most beautiful scenery in Southern England. Most of the time is spent up on the South Downs ridge with sweeping views to the coast and up towards London. There are steep and fast descents and obviously some arduous climbs but in the main it is a rolling track, the perfect playground for endurance training.

This ride is normally done over 2 or 3 days, but I thought as I had maintained much of my fitness from the Iceland trip I would attempt the ride of a 100 miles in a single day - obviously weather permitting.

After 3 train changes I arrived at Winchester at 8:55am and a few last minute adjustments to my gear, I set off at 9:00am not really knowing what to expect or how far I could complete the ride. My record on the way upto Iceland was about 70 miles in a day and I figured I should at least be able to do 80 miles, so I had train times and my Dad as back up should I need to bail out for technical reasons, exhaustion or severe bad weather.

The first 45 miles shot by and before I knew it I was having lunch with my parents at a roadside cafe just north of Arundel. 10 miles later my legs were telling me they were getting really tired and gave me my 15 mile warning. Then as predicted the fuel tank ran dry and my average speed on the flat dropped from 13mph to 8 mph - I had hit the wall and every pedal turn was a huge effort. I made an effort to eat and drink as much as I could to try and give me some more energy so I could least make it too a local train station. That would be just under 80 miles and I thought I needed to at least make it to 80, that would be a personal best and I would feel satisfied that I had done my best.

All the food I had eaten suddenly kicked in and although I didn't have the power that I had in the morning, at least the weakness and fatigue had gone, I then knew I would make it all the way. The last 20 miles to Eastbourne were the best of the whole day, the sky was cloudless, I had the breeze on my back and the sun was setting - the most stunning evening of the summer so far, I'm sure.

I arrived at Eastbourne Station at 9:30pm after 12.5 hours on my bike and felt fantastic - my 1st ever 100 miler off-road and I felt fine! I had only stopped twice for rests, once for 10 minutes to stretch and then for 30 minutes for lunch - I did all my eating and drinking whilst riding.

I tested not only my fitness but also learnt that mentally I can push through certain types of pain/exhaustion when I believe the goal is worthy - all I need to do now is learn when it is safe to push on and when it is best to stop.