Disappointed in Gran Fondo (120km) result - Am I too hard on myself?

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For context, I’ve been cycling for about two and a half years. Before that, I basically did no sports at all since my teenage years, and even then, very little. Turning 39, I got the itch to buy a gravel bike, and a year later, a road bike. Cycling really hooked me.

I signed up for TrainerRoad about a year ago and followed some plans, mostly during the darker months. Since about January, I focused on a plan for the 120km race (Courses - Rund um Köln).

Yesterday was the day, and I felt quite good at the start. However, at around the 40km mark, my legs started to cramp, and I couldn’t get rid of the cramps for the remainder of the race. I had to slow down considerably and take quite a few short breaks. Group after group passed me. I was able to hang on to some of them on the flat parts, but as soon as it got uphill and the intensity increased, my legs cramped again. That was a quite discouraging experience.

On top of that, I started to have issues with my bladder later on. I probably drank too much to try and offset the cramping and had to take quite a few pee breaks (5 bottles à 700ml - iso drink with carbs).
On the carbs side, I think I got enough in, some gels, bars and the drink.

I was hoping to average at least 28km/h, and if everything went perfectly, even 30km/h. In the end, I finished with an average speed of 25km/h (including breaks). Well, at least I wasn’t last…

So, I guess what I’m looking for is some outside perspective. Given my history, did I expect too much of myself?
What could be my way forward, aside from continuing to stick to training plans?

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Hey fulcrum, it’s always disappointing to cramp so you’re not alone. Usually it’s just a simple sign that you’re going harder than you’ve trained for which is easy to do in a race setting.

I don’t blame you for feeling discouraged but yes it’s a learning experience, cast a cold hard eye over your last six months training - how consistent were you? In the last six weeks to race day did you do blow out rides or remain consistent and taper gently down to the start line? Did you set achievable target power for the race? Was your first thirty minute power sustainable? Etc.

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Sounds like you did what almost everyone does - and the podcast hosts always say not to do - which is go out way too hard and blow your legs up. Once you’ve gone over the limit there’s little chance of a comeback.

The course looks fairly punchy, I’d have tried to ride that conservatively until the 71km climb then push harder if I felt good. Even the start looks like enough uphill to slow you down, but maybe not uphill enough to realise it’s a climb. In situations like that (or a strong headwind) I tend to have a habit of pushing to get the speed I ‘should’ be doing rather than pacing to power. Others were probably doing this and if you followed them then the result was expected!

Also, yes 2.5 years is virtually nothing in the grand scheme of training. You’ll likely only get better for a long time still, and with improved pacing and fuelling you’ll be able to crack the 30kph average in the future I’m sure!

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I would have to pee every 10 min if I drank that much.

I aim for 500 ml per hour as a general rule. But, if I’m not going full gas or it’s cold (whatever do not make me sweat as much) then I can feel the difference in how much I’ve to pee.

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You are quite hard on yourself!

2 years of training is not a lot, and at the same time, you’re progressing quite a lot during those 2 years, and therefore, you think that you can hold 35km/h over that kind of race.
Compared to people that started cycling at young age, even if you train properly, you don’t have the same physical capacities anymore, plus you probably have a busy life besides cycling.
Every ride, and every race is an opportunity to learn and to improve yourself for the next event. So, what’s the 5 things you could have done better? What did work well? Be proud of the effort you did.

I’m in the same spot as you are: 37 years old, started cycling in 2021, thanks to TR a good fitness level, but I can’t hold 32km/h on the flat for 100km solo without burning myself.
One thing that improved my fitness is strength training. It allows me to hold speed for longer and be less burnt after long rides.

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I agree with the the previous comments. I have certainly got myself caught up in the nerves and excitement of a start crowd and then I’ve set off a bit too hard, which felt fine to begin with…

The other point I’d make would be asking if you have done 120km rides before? I have followed the gran fondo plans but I would still strongly suggest that you ride a couple of 100km routes to get an idea about what it’s like to spend 4+ hours in the saddle. I definitely feel it in my triceps and the palms of my hand. And I still struggle getting the balance between drinking enough to stay hydrated and drinking so much that I don’t need to pee! I can’t remember if you said about electrolytes in your drink?

And sometimes the small differences between your trainer set up and your outdoor bike set up can become apparent.

Put it down to experience.

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Presumably you’ve managed these averages over 3-4 hours in your training rides with similar elevation profiles? What did you do differently this time?

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Hey All,

Thanks for the replies so far, I really appreciate that.
Reflecting a bit and looking at my strava too much, it probably comes down to over extending myself way to much in the beginning and blowing up after 40km (well those were my fastest 40km till today…) and to high expectations.

At the end of the day I made my fastest times for anything over 80km that day.

Training was mostly consistent aside from some traveling I had to do for work.
As for my Power Target, well I set it and then came the heat of the moment.

I have done a few but nothing close to the intensity on sunday.

I had carbs and electrolytes in my drink.

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Not really most Training was indoors for the last six month, except a week on Mallorca but that was more riding for fun with friends and not speed, performance or any structure.
I probably set my expectations a bit to high.

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I think you should put this down to goal setting and expectation management. That’s not a criticism, it’s just part of the process.

You can run through all of the questions of preparation and replicating in training to perform on race day… but even then things go wrong.

I think it’s a quote attributed to Pep Guardiola - ‘If we don’t win, we learn’. The reality for the majority is that a win for us is achieving our goals rather than standing on the top step of the podium. Revisit your goals, revise the process. Go again :flexed_biceps:

But sometimes you just have to ask yourself… Was it fun? :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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We are all probably guilty of burning too many matches too early. In my 70’s I still get that itch to hang with the fast kids. While ok for a short time, it bites me after a while. There is an app called BestBikeSplit that can help with pacing over longer distances. Lesson learned. Next time will be a lot more fun.

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Just want to jump in and share that disappointing days happen, no matter who you are. Whether it’s training, nutrition, illness, mechanicals, or just simply not having it for the day, it happens to all of us.

My advice is try to learn something from it, but at the same time, not dwell and overthink it. Stay the course with your training and go for another one. I can’t tell you how many Cat5 crits I was dropped from early on before finally finishing one with the group. Things really start to click with more experience, and you can’t get that without trying again.

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Some days you’re the hammer some days you’re the nail. A favourite quote that someone said to me when I was blowing up and annoyed on a chaingang that I was perfectly fine the week before. Even the best in the world have off days (and years).
Cramping is likely going a bit harder than your body is used to which is so easy when you are in an event, you know the intensity you want to target now so just work to that.

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You just need to ride more at those intensities and duration.

700ml/hour sounds a lot. I drink that on hot, mountainous days in the summer. Currently, I still plan for that amount but end up not drinking it. Because I really don’t feel it. But adding salt helps me not having to pee so much.

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Ive found the biggest help in avoiding cramps is to increase sodium intake in the 2 days before an event/big ride. Carb loading 24 hours before also seems to work well for me, means i have a lot more left in the tank towards the end of the ride… i can definitely tell the difference between days when my prep has been on point, to days when i have neglected the prep.

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I try to add time to my Sunday endurance rides to increase overall endurance and practice hydration/nutrition for longer rides. So if I were training for a 120km event, in the weeks leading up I would have some 90-100km efforts. Being sure to include time to taper, the phase which I really messed up my last GF attempt.

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