cycling
28. September, 23:27 Uhr
This was my first century and I was really nervous about it. I read all kinds of horror stories about it so I tried to prepare myself for the worst.
Tips I got here and on the web that I think really helped
Stay hydrated - I started hydrating 2 days before the event and during the ride I made myself drink all the time, I took 3 bottles, 2 with water one with electrolytes and I filled them back up almost every station
Eat often - I bought some honey stinger, gu and other carb snacks that I was eating on while riding
Short stops - I stopped at almost all the stations to refill water, on 3 of the stations I ate a banana. I never sat down or stayed longer than 5 min
Switching hand positions - I tried to change the position of my hands a often as I could
Get off the seat - I tried to paddle standing, or rode downhill with the saddle between my thighs to give my ass a break
Find your pace - the first third of the ride I ride in a group that was gout a bit faster than I usually would have gone. After one of the climbs, I got separated from them and started riding my own pace until I found a group I could keep up with the rest of the ride. Drafting definitely makes it easier
The only person I am really competing with is myself - since it was a non competitive event and my goal was to finish before they closed the finish line I just focused on not wearing myself out and risking not making it to the end
Butter it up - butt butter definitely held with saddle sores.
Stretching - I noticed that my shoulders started hurting around mile 80, started stretching then, probably should have started that earlier in the ride
Have fun - again since it was the fist time riding a century I just wanted to go finish and learn how to prepare better for the next one, so I enjoyed the beautiful weather, the scenery and meeting other riders.
Overall it was a great experience and I enjoyed every second of it. It honestly didn't feel like a hundred miles. I have been a bit sore but not worse than on the 50 mile solo rides I have done. My ass hurts a but but not bad.
I am very glad I did it and I already signed up for another century in 2 weeks
The route was
100.26 miles
4826 ft of climbs
And I finished it in 6 hours and 3 minutes.