I can see that. I’m not really quite up to the ultra endurance level and not sure I ever will be. I think I’ll top out at unbound 200. And for that I don’t a that many super long days on the saddle especially considering I’m not winning something like that.
But it’s definitely interesting understanding how people train for these things
There’s 2 ways of doing ultras.
Depends: push too hard and you may end up too wired to sleep properly and recover for next day.
I admit, haven’t done yet any multi-day rides yet, still pushing single day as far as possible. But there is already pattern visible:
What I gained for paid price with (1)? 30.4km/h vs 29.2km/h for duration.
So, yeah, i’m ok to be slower 
Have you read the thoughts of some of the best unsupported ultra racers?
There are many roads to Rome, in essence there are many different and effective ways of preparing for long distance cycling such as audax or ultra racing.
Personally my weeks tend to include a mix from the menu below with the endurance ride being a main stay. One or two days off a week, or one day off and one day recovery ride.
You don’t need to do that many of the big rides once you have the experience of ultra endurance. I see the big rides in your prep as more a test of your bike setup, equipment, and yourself. They generally generate too much fatigue to produce a fitness gain. It’s not about hero rides when it comes to your fitness.
For instance I rode 258 miles at the weekend. Something I discovered is that my new capri pants rise up over the knee over time. I got sunburnt just below the knee where I hadn’t applied sun oil as initially it was covered. A minor weakness in my sun protection that will bite me when it comes to the week long events later this year. But an easy problem to pre empt now I know it happens.
It is rare that riders don’t finish an ultra or audax because of fitness, if they’ve been consistent and put the work in. It is often something like gastric distress or they didn’t realise how cold it gets overnight or they got bad comfort issues or even that they spent too long stopped and were out of time. Your plan should not just mean fitness but also all the other factors which are the main causes of either not finishing or putting in a sub optimal performance even if you do finish.
LEL? Me too!
I’m also doing a 1500 km Audax (LEL) in August, and at this stage I’m trying to nudge my NP up by doing some more high intensity. So my weekly aim is one VO2 max (and TR is currently giving me long intervals eg 5’@110), one threshold (weekly paceline) session, one or two weights sessions and a long low intensity club ride. I’m also doing audaxes for fuelling/kit/mental practice, but only one per month or less. In terms of long-term preparation, I did MV polarised base from Oct-Dec, then MV Rolling Road Race from Jan to now.
Yes, the very one
There’s another thread on here about it: LEL (london edinburgh london) 2022
My club rides are never “low intensity”… Our club only seems to have one speed, and they love the climbs… I just tend to ride in the intermediate group rather than the fast group, and try not to get too competitive on the climbs. Sometimes I’ll sub out the 90 minute weekend TR WO for it.
I wasn’t really expecting to get in so I was originally training for some XC marathon events. Switched up my training plan using plan builder and as above, put it in as a stage race - fondo, and it has given me Century as the specialty. Seems to be working OK.
Are you based in the UK?
Yup, Manchester. You?
I agree with pretty much everything @GoLongThenGoHome said.
I had a similar experience to Phil with my 200-mile XL shakedown ride. I did the ride overnight to mimic race conditions. I discovered that I was nodding off on my bike around dawn. Apparently I’m good through the night, but dawn is the danger zone for me. During the XL I didn’t have any coffee except for the morning after the first night. Had no issues with being sleepy. Easy remedy, but if I hadn’t realized it beforehand it could’ve had a major effect on my race.
Bikepacking is a great way to get comfortable with self-support, if one is training for self-supported races. After 24 hours of riding, you’re not going to be in the most creative and clear-thinking mode when you have a problem to solve. It helps to have some experience troubleshooting mechanicals in situations where no one can bail you out.
You want sleep deprivation? Well look no further! The Tour Divide is currently underway and out in the lead (by some 60 miles) is Sofiane Sehili. Have a look at the bottom graph on this page Sofiane_Sehili - Tour Divide 2022 individual history by trackleaders.com , so far he’s stopped for just six hours in 100!
That takes a certain like of crazy and I mean that with the utmost respect 
Table on right says 15 hours stopped
Trackleaders is a bit weird with moving/stopped time, might be the SPOT trackers or it might be TL, but in races I’ve done with it it’s overstated the stopped time by a significant amount. It might be that occasionally the tracker can’t connect with the satellite so rather than the location being updated every five minutes and thus being seen to be “moving” the tracker doesn’t connect for half an hour or more so the software marks it down as being “stopped”. Quite why the table and the bottom graph don’t align is anyone’s guess. The map has him down as having made just one camp/sleep stop just north of Helena.
Cambridge. Flat, flat, flat
in 2017 I did the Highland Trail (550 mile MTB ride around the Scottish Highlands). The winner, Neil Beltchenko finished in 3 days 10hrs something, I finished in 5 days 2hrs something. Neil’s riding time was 72hrs mine was 80hrs, the rest of the difference, over 30hrs was stopped time. Then again I did have six proper sit down meals at pubs/restaurants and about a dozen café stops!
I’d do it your way. You probably remember more of it than the winner. 
Your way sounds more fun… probably, less of a race though!
London-Edinburgh-London isn’t a race, but you have a 125 hour timelimit to complete the 1540ish km - so my start time is 12:15 on Sunday which means a deadline of 17:15 on Friday. That implies a ~12 km/h minimum average speed including stopped time. Obviously you don’t want to be right along the minimum time the whole way because then if you have a problem, you’re going to be OTL pretty quickly.
I don’t really know how I will cope on 5 days of limited sleep. I have got a warmup 600 coming up but that’s still only really 1 night of poor sleep, which I know will be OK. So I am probably not going to push the sleep element too hard…
