Fitness and what to do for LDU 2019

[Lushman]

Hi all,

i am looking forward to this epic adventure.

i have couple concerns about my fitness and what you guys are doing yourselves in regards to any exercise etc. .

I am 47 and I am sure my pie and burger eating skills and drinking Redbull and coffee will not be sufficient 

i was looking to do some cycling during lunchtimes at work over the next few months,  other than that I walk my dog twice a day for about a hour a day.

My biggest worry is that fact I have never ridden more than 200 miles in a day, any advice would be gratefully appreciated. So that is another thing I will looking to be working on.

Cheers

 

 

[St George]

Have you got a running road legal bike already or is the LLD contender your only transport ?

[jaycee]

Make sure you are well rested before. For the week prior get your eight hours. 

My son was a new born at the time. I struggled with the last few hours. 

Physical fitness itself probably isn't a bad thing. You're less likely to get tired. 

Spend some time on the bike beforehand to acclimatise yourself to its foibles. 

[hawkati]

Wot Jaycee said - and get the miles in on the bike. It'll help to sort the bike as well as you. Little things like adjusting the gear lever for minimal movement on upchanges - repetition can stretch ligaments and once my leg simply failed to function so the last 30 miles were stuck in third gear.

You don't sit on a bike like a sack of spuds, but it's not like you'll be mega fit either. Having done it on an echo before I'd implore you to raise the bars just a bit otherwise your wrists will hate you.

Don't eat much during the journey. It takes too long and steals blood from your brain so you're dozy. Go fast. I mean it - cruise and you'll be nodding off. I go by a three second rule. Every minute aim to save three seconds. You'll save roughly 72 minutes during the journey, and trust me if you're 72 minutes away from the end you'd kill to have stolen those seconds! 

Best of luck - catch you down there!

[Lushman]

1 hour ago, St George said:

Have you got a running road legal bike already or is the LLD contender your only transport ?

I have a 959 and a cbr500r

[srad34]

You can't beat saddle time 👍

The adrenaline will keep you going but keeping hydrated is critical on the day.

doing some longer rides on the bike will get you used to being in the saddle longer and test the bike. Some folk stop loads, some don't bother, it's up to you, all about the charidee!

Riding Groups tend to form along the way so you won't be alone and we all help each other (be it a wake up slap in the chops or a bottle of water. Not to mention the ossum pitstops along the way)

Edited April 7, 2019 by srad34

[St George]

22 minutes ago, Lushman said:

I have a 959 and a cbr500r

Go out on either and empty 2 tanks of fuel then turn round and come back, repeat as frequently as possible, saddle time on any machine will help you immensely.

I'm not speaking from experience of doing the LDD / LDU, just commonn sense to get as many training miles in as possible.

[blow_away]

I've not ridden the LDU, so don't speak from any real experience. I'm 52 and reasonably fit, lost weight when I went endurance racing in 2015/16 and mostly kept it off afterwards. Fitness and weight loss has helped me enormously in general life. When I was overweight, I thought I had bad ankles and knees, now I realise I was just putting them under too much strain by being too heavy.

BUT I wouldn't really recommend going for a big weight loss or diet and fitness campaign, as there is only three months to the start of LDU. Saddle time, machine preparation and familiarity will be more important than general fitness this close to the start. I'd agree with @hawkati 's comments on eating, maybe adding bump up your good carbs and reduce fat the week before the race (it's not a race) (but you don't want to be last). If your normal diet is reliant on sugar/Red Bull etc. I'd try to minimise those in the run-up, so that the sugars you take on board on the day really do have an effect on your performance. Get used to drinking a lot more water than you do currently. Carry stuff like Jelly Babies or trail mix for quick boosts on the journey.

If you can schedule in some fitness stuff, keep it low impact like cycling or swimming. Don't start running or weightlifting, the injury risk for a beginner is too great, and you don't want to be riding hurt. Do some flexibilty work, riding your bike for some miles is going to hurt, if you can mitigate this now, all the better.

The route this year is the longest ever I think? I don't know what the previous runners would say, but I'd try to do a couple of sleep depravation exercises, so that you become familiar with how you react physically when you are trying to function tired, and maybe learn what methods you can use to effectively combat this. I'd also try to acclimatise to very early starts, so that getting out of bed at 2am or whatever it is on the day, isn't too much of a shock.

See you at P1, you'll be fine, bonne chance.

[johnnymack63]

Lots of sleep in the run up.

Do a few “practice” rides, aim for a day out that maybe gets you up to 300-400 miles, which will hurt, but I do believe that once you get to that distance, keeping going is a lot easier.

How you take care of yourself on the day is probably much more important.

Dont approach it as a 1000 mile ride. Ride from pitstop to pitstop. This will be much easier and less demoralising.

Stay off heavy/fatty food dieting the day. No chips, burgers or anything stodgy. Add sandwiches to that list too. They will make your body divert blood to your digestive system to deal with them, which deprives your brain and alertness. In short, you will get sleepy. Stick to flapjacks, bananas, and slow burn low fat food.

Only drink water. Stay off the coffee, Red bull and such like. They will give you a short burst of energy and then you’ll need a piss. At pitstop 5 whichbis Inverness, you’ll have about 100 miles left to go and you’ll be very very close to tears. At this point is it ok to drink as many red bulls as you like to get you over the line.

In short. Lots and lots of sleep before the event for about a week. Be Beverly very careful with what you take on during the day, and mentally for fucks sake, DO NOT think of it as a 1000 mile ride. It’s five 200 mile rides. Ride from pit stop to pit stop.

I cover a lot of this in the last couple of weeks running up to it, so don’t panic, but to answer your original question, as others have said, get out on your bike and ride it.

[hawkati]

Wot @johnnymack63 said. All of it is sage advice from one who's done it.

Especially Beverly.

Be more Beverly.

[jaycee]

23 minutes ago, hawkati said:

Wot @johnnymack63 said. All of it is sage advice from one who's done it.

Especially Beverly.

Be more Beverly.

Who is Beverly? 

[hawkati]

Just now, jaycee said:

Who is Beverly? 

Ask @johnnymack63

[hawkati]

Just to add. Clothing. Things like that seem in a glove that's mildly irritating at 150 miles will drive you insane after 750. A bit of velcro came loose in my race suit one year and rubbed my leg raw. I ended up wrapping gaffatape round it to stop it chafing or I would have killed someone.

So - test ride gear as well. Especially  gloves and boots. Preferably  bring two pairs of gloves so you can swap at intervals to relieve pressure points.

[jaycee]

On the clothing point. I did the trip in kevlar jeans and a Goretex jacket. I had to stop in Inverness on the way up to the start ( we used to run North to South) and buy a long-sleeved t-shirt as it was bloody cold in the mountains. 

You guys will be hitting the Cairngorms at night, even though we've had a relatively mild winter up here, there might still be snow on the odd peak mid-summer. 

Also, I'm going to stress this again. Get well rested in the preceding week. You're going to do a couple of thousand miles in a couple of days. 

Edited April 7, 2019 by jaycee

[srad34]

7 minutes ago, hawkati said:

 Preferably  bring two pairs of gloves so you can swap at intervals to relieve pressure points.....

And something dry to put on if you get wet digits.....

[Lushman]

Thanks guys this is some great advice. I will probably be going to Silverstone Tuesday and as the missus doesn’t want to go I can ride a bike their via a scenic route.

[johnnymack63]

4 hours ago, jaycee said:

Who is Beverly? 

Good question

[IforB]

I've gone and got a personal trainer. No joke. 

I have spent the last year doing precisely feck all exercise and have managed to grow by a stone and a half whilst my fitness has taken a bath. I went out for an hour ride on the Multi the other week and got cramp. That shit me up good and proper. So I am in emergency get fit fast mode. (More likely get less unfit fast)

So whilst the bike will cost me £300. The ride as a whole will have cost me more like £2000 in personal trainer costs... This is however a good thing long term!

[blow_away]

On 4/7/2019 at 4:34 PM, jaycee said:

Who is Beverly? 

Janice's sister.

No pics, sorry 

[jaycee]

5 minutes ago, blow_away said:

Janice's sister.

No pics, sorry 

OK. Now who is Janice? 

[Toneale]

3 minutes ago, jaycee said:

OK. Now who is Janice? 

Beverly's sister. Keep up FFS. 

 

[srad34]

10 hours ago, IforB said:

I've gone and got a personal trainer. No joke. 

I have spent the last year doing precisely feck all exercise and have managed to grow by a stone and a half whilst my fitness has taken a bath. I went out for an hour ride on the Multi the other week and got cramp. That shit me up good and proper. So I am in emergency get fit fast mode. (More likely get less unfit fast)

So whilst the bike will cost me £300. The ride as a whole will have cost me more like £2000 in personal trainer costs... This is however a good thing long term!

I really would not stress too much, you will be amazed how much adrenaline will be coarsing on the day to soak up stuff, the event can be competed comfortably if you avoid longer breaks and keep progressing.

Neck exercises and drinking lots of water really help if you get cramps, numb digits and neck aches (obvs). You don't need to be an adonis to do this, look at James S, he's made of twigs and does it easily 😉

Edited April 9, 2019 by srad34

[blow_away]

Maybe you should ask your PT to give you a Kardashian arse, that should help 

[jaycee]

4 hours ago, srad34 said:

, look at James S, he's made of twigs and does it easily 

Twigs? Has he bulked out? 

[Gix]

In my experience, it's not really physical fitness that is required, more mental fitness and endurance.

I am used to driving 500 - 600 miles in a day for my job but that can wear you down but it does prepare you well for a long jaunt like the LDD...... I felt fresh as a daisy arriving at John O Groats last year. 

That being said, a good level of physical fitness will no doubt help with the mental endurance.

Good luck with it...it's an amazing experience

[CMSMJ1]

It's fucking knackering. 

Deal with it. 

The point of this motorised flagellation is to suffer and to live a difficult life for a day. 

 

It's also extremely satisfying to complete and I do think that it was one of the best experiences I've ever had.  

You'll not enjoy all of it at the time but you will love the fact you've competed it for a long time. 

[jaycee]

What he says^^^

I only just beat the sunrise at Land's End and had a photo published in PB to prove it. 

Later on that day, Johnny Mack asked how I found it and if I would do it again. I said, "No, it would dilute the sense of achievement from this time. Once is enough" 

Others disagree and have done it more than once. One had done most, or all, @hawkati. Complete gentleman, but mad as a box of mad frogs on party biscuits. We like him. 

[jollygiant]

The most I've done on m/c is about 700 miles in a day and some stupid things on bicycles in a day (120miles and 15,000 feet of climbing, thats like cycling up 5 Mt Snowdon's all in one day).

As Mr Mack says hydration and low fat food is the key. Get tube of THESE and pop one in every bottle of water or use camel back. Try not to drink energy drink Monster/ Red bull etc as it utter crap and will only cause your body to crash as the chemicals wears off.

When you stop have good walk around and do some stretch's.

[hawkati]

8 hours ago, jaycee said:

Twigs? Has he bulked out? 

Since leaving blackwell's (minimum wage, bunchofcuntz) I've gone from 9.5 stone to just over 11 stone. To the point that I'm now giving a damn what I'm eating and a very simple habit of 40 situps and pressups morning and night mean I'm a hell of a lot healthier 

[johnnymack63]

Most of all, the challenge is a mental one. 

If there is any part of your mindset that doesn’t approach the event as a whole day and night riding a bike from pitstop to pitstop, you are going to struggle.

At the risk of staring the obvious, you must keep it simple in your head and be approaching the event as a day and night in the saddle, nothing else, and be mindful of the best way to fuel your body to do that.