Training for century event - Century Specialty vs Polarized Plan

Wow! So many responses, thank you all!

@Buckethead that’s good to know on the 2 hour rides. Normally I don’t mind the snow coming to MN, but I’ve gotten so into cycling this year that it’s really bumming me out. Now the best I can hope for is some dry days to bundle up and go for a ride :smile:

@Kuttermax my goal for this century is to be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum you described. I’d like to push myself to go relatively quickly, but I don’t expect to be hanging with the fastest riders. I’m planning to do the Solvang Century which looks to be about 6000ft elevation. It’s definitely more elevation than I’m used to on a regular basis, but I have done rides recently that were about 3-4k over 50 miles, so I don’t think it will be too far outside my comfort zone.

Thanks @Power13, I think I may try to sprinkle in some ~3-4 hour rides as well, just to keep up my long duration comfort on the bike if nothing else. I’ll have to look into the BMTR ride. I’ve never used zwift, but that might be a fun way to pass the time on the trainer.

@Michael_D Glad to hear your positive experience with these training plans! Core is definitely something I need to work on. I unfortunately sit in an office all day and have the core of a wet noodle. I actually just did my first yoga session yesterday with my wife and we’re planning to continue ‘yoga mondays’ which I’m excited about. I’ll definitely check out Phil’s videos. A few years ago I had pretty bad back pain (see core of a wet noodle) and I’ve been going to the chiropractor and doing daily stretches which has helped a lot, but I’m thinking regular yoga will be even better!

I think at this point I’m going to move forward with the polarized base, then move to the century specialty for the 8 weeks leading up to the event.

Way more responses than I was expecting, thank you all for your help. You guys are awesome!

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