12-weeks to your first Century

A 100-mile ride (century) is a great goal for a cyclist who is looking for a new challenge. Organized century rides are offered in most communities and provide support and camaraderie for cyclists of all abilities. If you are a fit cyclist, interested in a new goal, a century ride is a great choice.

This plan is designed for a cyclist that is currently riding three-to-four days per week. The weekday rides can be either outdoors or indoors (trainer, stationary bike or spin classes). Weekday rides range from 45 to 95-minutes and the weekend rides range from 45 minutes to 5:15. At minimum, you can commit to cycling four days each week.

The workouts are prescribed using heart rate zones and a “testing workout” is scheduled during week #3 to set your zones and again during week #9 to check your progress. If you do not have a heart rate monitor, you can train by using perceived exertion and you can find a RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) Chart here: http://www.coachbuxton.com/Rating_of_PE.pdf

This plan includes two short body weight core sessions each week. However, if you are currently involved in a strength training program, you can continue that program on your easy cycling or cross-training days. You may need to adjust the weight, number of sets & repetitions and total weekly sessions to prevent the strength routines from negatively affecting the cycling sessions.

Your goal is to complete the century at the conclusion of 12-weeks of training. The plan is written for a cyclist that will average between 14 and 16-MPH for the event with an estimated total ride-time between 7:10 and 6:15.