Ojai Valley Century Bike Ride

At the age of 62 I have just completed my first Century Bike Ride. Not only a bike ride, but it came with 5000 feet of elevation gain as well, so feeling pretty proud of myself.

For those that don't know me, I am Tony's sister. I have spent my life as a fitness and nutrition junkie and have concentrated primarily on biking, long distance hiking and cross country skiing. However the last 12 years I have been focused in the competitive sport of 3day Eventing. Upon the unexpected loss of my horse in December I decided to break out my road bike and see where it took me.

As a little bio - I went back to school 2 years ago and started my second career as and advanced personal trainer and nutritional consultant. With my education and personal life lessons I had a great base of fitness and health to start with, so 6 weeks ago I bought my new road bike and decided I needed goals and set my sights on a Century as the first one. I already could do 50miles easily and therefore only needed to ramp up my 1 long weekly ride 10% a week to reach 75miles to be ready. I played with my training as well as my fuel for the ride and came up with the perfect combination through much studying and research. I am pleased to report it was worth the effort, as I drank enough plain water to keep me hydrated (20oz and hour) to never feel thirsty and ate enough fuel approx 300cal an hour to never feel hungry. For endurance athletes it's not just important to have carbs, but you need protein and carbs in a 1-4 ratio. Yes our body uses carbs for fuel, however our muscles need protein to keep working efficiently and fend off lactic acid. Also the perfect nutrition for us all is a raw and plant based diet including protein in the same 1-4 ratio the week before the race. I know you all think carb loading is the best but that is old school. Yes you need carbs, but they need to be complex carbs not simple sugars and you need protein and yes you need it the night before as well. Don't change your diet, it should be correct all the time.

This was a tough Century, I thought I signed up for the 3500 elevation gain, but somehow got on the path to the 5000 ft elevation gain. It was tough but I was well prepared and the good news was that I was not depleted when it was over. Muscle tired? well yes, but not nutritionally depleted and no joint soreness and very little muscle soreness. I could in fact go out and ride my bike again today 50miles if I needed to which is a good feeling.

Speaking of muscle and joint soreness, please you long distance athletes out there, you must cross train and save the long distance for only 1 day a week. Do intervals and hill work 30 min 3 days a week using a Heart Rate monitor going from 50% for 2 min to 95% 2 min, repeat, and you will be more than prepared for your long event. Doing long training daily that is the same will develop repetitive stress injuries, especially in older athletes. I strength train 2 days in the gym,(highly important for bone health) spin 1 day, do intervals on an elliptical 2 days, and then do 1 long ride a week, 2 mod rides, 1- hour long hill ride. Yes some days I do a double workout and I do take a day off each week.
Posted By
Penny Fink