If you are considering training for a century ride this may be one of the most important articles you have read for a long time.
Below I will outline some of the main things you should focus on during your training.
One of the most important aspects to concentrate on when you are training for a century is to increase your bodies efficiency at burning fat.
When cycling at high intensities we burn mainly carbohydrates, of which our body can only hold a limited supply.
If you ride for more than 1-2 hours at pace you will soon run out of gas as your body runs out of carbs.
In order to improve your performance you need to train for lengthy periods of time at a low intensity,.
Doing so will train your body to use its fat stores as its primary fuel source.
Ultimately this means you will be able to ride for longer before you run out of energy.
As stated above about 80% of your training should be at steady speeds.
The remaining time should be spent doing high intensity interval workouts.
The aim of these is to push your body to its limits for short periods while allowing your body to recover after wards.
All professional cyclists will have specific objectives for all of their rides.
It will be very rare for a rider not to know exactly how hard they should be working in a forthcoming training ride.
In order for you to successfully complete your century ride you too should develop a plan that specifies specific intensities for every training ride you do.