Training for a Cycling Challenge: 100 Km at 30 km/h

[@wjp555]

Allez! Allez! Allez! as I think they say in France. 😃😃😃

[@eagerbob]

Right from the beginning it sounds like overtraining: training every day (no rest days?), losing the desire to ride, setting goals (too )high, having a backlash, finding that it does not go according to plan, then thinking that you need to train harder, find out that this does not help, losing confidence, problems sleeping well. That is all classic overtraining.

[@ABiketoEscape]

It wasn't after all. It was mostly lack of sleep. Once my sleeping schedule improved, every metric improved. Which is a very similar problem, if you will: allow the body to rest. All the training sessions were made to not overstress the body and indeed I never lost the desire to ride (the dutch weather can be discouraging, that's all). I did (still doing) a training session per day, sometimes it is a rest day and the training session is yoga or a 30 minutes zone 1 ride. Surely I don't respond well to prolonged periods off the bike (say 3 days), which I guess it is yet another sign of aging :)

[@eagerbob]

​@@ABiketoEscape Ok clear. Sleep is important for recovery. You might look into good dark, heavy double curtains (with a liner) to make your room darker and more quite. Getting enough sleep gets more difficult as you age. Older people sleep less. And recovery takes longer too. I am 62 and start to realize that. But you are stiil young and I am sure you'll manage. Personally I would probably lose the 30k/m hr goal for the 100km ride. Just ride 100km and use a heart rate monitor to keep the effort in zone 2. The speed will come, you just have to trust the process. Good luck!

[@ABiketoEscape]

Thank you! You'll find out next week how the 100k went (if I get on with editing the video, which was a reason for the sleeping schedule issue)