Another solid day on the gravel in NWA….60 miles, 240TSS which gives me ~440 the last 2 days. If I can log 2 decent days tomorrow and Sunday, I can hit 1000TSS for the week and then next week is a rest week ( but doing Rough Road on Saturday if the weather is good).
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Nice
I’m at 400tss for the week, hoping for warm weather but rain is coming. Zone 2 on the trainer is going to suck
Yeah, heat is a tricky one for me. I’m from Texas and I do well in the heat, it’s just a type of adversity I don’t enjoy. I did the La Grind race last year in Emporia and had a really good result, but it hit ~100F+ (w/winds pushing ~30mph) and the second half of that race was a death march (over half the field for the 100 mile race DNF’d). While the heat was probably a big factor getting me on the podium, it’s a type of suffering that I don’t enjoy. And it gets to be a safety risk if you push too hard in these 100+ mile races once it gets near triple digits. We all worry about lightning when it storms (and rightly so), but I’ve seen a lot of folks taken off in ambulances from heat exposure. At Gravel locos (155 mile race) in 2022, there was a line of ambulances and paramedics giving IV’s at the finish. I had a good result there also, but it was probably my most miserable day on the bike ever. At some point, the line between epic and stupid is crossed.
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After growing up in the northern US, I’ve spent a majority of the rest of my life in the southern US including a dozen years in Florida. I’m not great in the heat. Definitely struggled at times with gut issues in the heat and feet swelling.
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+1 for the Dynaplugs. Successfuly used them for the first time after also having had not luck with the ‘worms’ on previous occasions.
I have the Dynaplug Racer which is lighter and cheaper. It comes loaded with a big and small plug. I needed two small plugs to fix the tire (couldn’t get the big one in) and was able to reload with a 2nd small plug on the spot
(spares were supplied with the Racer).
Worth the price IMHO, really saved the day 
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A little hiccup in training this week, but still progressing well. I failed my first workout of the year on Thursday, I was just too fatigued and pulled the plug during the 2nd over/under set. I chalked it up to bigger volume on Tuesday and Wednesday and just a really busy all day Wednesday and probably didn’t eat enough to top things off.
Bounced back nicely today and got outside and the legs felt strong all day. 7+ hours and 400+ TSS at .76 IF, ~5000Kj’s. A few hours of that was a sprited group ride and it also included a ~20’ interval at about 10 watts over threshold (after 2500kj’s and 3.5 hard-ish hours in my legs). That “tired 20” is my go-to fitness test and it felt really comfortable. Endurance is building for sure. Legs tired, but not destroyed and no cramps. AIFTP gave me a 3 watt increase on my FTP (which I think is a bit low), but close enough. Feeling better than I did last week, but still ready for the rest week coming up.
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I only need 100tss to get where i want for the week.
Failed a workout Wednesday, I’m growing tired of the trainer. Did a 4 hour solo endurance ride outside, the pressure to chase numbers is real. Half the time i felt good and 85% felt easy, but we’re saving that for tuesday I would tell my self
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I feel this deeply….need to do ~3 hours this AM to get to 1000 TSS and I am dreading the trainer. But Flanders is on and it is all easy Z2 stuff, so I’ll muddle through.
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You got it. Finish the week strong.
3 weeks to barry
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Wondering people’s balance of time spent training indoors vs outdoors as well as outdoor gravel vs outdoor pavement rides.
Previous years I’ve done most rides on gravel but this year I might do a few more rides on pavement to give my body a bit of a breather. Maybe on the 2nd day of back to back days do a road ride
I do a lot in doors, i have only ridden gravel a few times this year. Its an hour drive for me to get to gravel, when i do get to gravel its 80-100 miles
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I’ve been almost entirely indoors up to now…the joys of Chicago winters / springs. 
But definitely itching to get outside, especially for long rides. Weather through this weekend is total schitt, though….tentatively have a 100 mile gravel ride planned for next Sat with some buddies.
No reason not to do road instead of gravel….but make sure you train by time, not miles. 100 mile road ride is obviously gonna be shorter than 11 on gravel….you are gonna be on the bike for 12+ hours at Imblumd, so log the saddle time, not the miles.
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Yep. I do train by time. Had a 100 mile (105 for me cause I missed a turn) gravel race a couple weeks ago. Body held up fairly well which is usually my concern. Been doing lots of yoga/stretching and strength work to keep my low back and neck from bothering me on long rides.
During the week I’m indoors.
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Yeah. For gravel my closest is 40 minutes. It’s a nice 20 mile loop with almost all gravel and a good 1500 ft of climbing. But that gets repetitive and the climbing is all short and punchy rather than some longer sustained climbs. I have some other gravel routes about an hour away with longer climbs as well as some punchy stuff.
But road I can either ride from my house or an easy 30 minute drive to a rails to trails nice multi use path with some moderate climbs but nice and smooth and you can ride all day
What would be an average finish time for the 100 mile?
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https://www.athlinks.com/event/174195/results/Event/1034618/Results
Results from last year. Scroll to see 100. Last year was a little slower due to mud. north course like this year, my understanding is usually a little chunkier gravel and more elevation.
Last year it looked like 10 hours was in middle of 100 miler times. Course and weather dependent I’d guess 8-10 hours would be middle for 100 mile
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You can look at the results (link posted above), but that will only help estimate your finish time if you are looking at riders with similar abilities. If you don’t know some riders as a point of comparison, Strava can give you a pretty decent idea of what your finishing time might be. Just find people who have done the race and focus on riders with NP and weight similar to what you are capable of at “all day” pace. You’ll need Strava premium to get that data. Strava stalking for races is the only reason I pay for the premium Strava. I’ve found it much better than some of the other options for pacing and estimating finishing times (much better than best bike split). With a course like Unbound where it’s hard to anticipate how much drafting, weather, course conditions, etc., but it’s good to have an idea to help with fueling and general race planning.
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Just glanced at our forecast…now predicting snow tomorrow, accumulating up to 1".
My calendar must be broken because it says it is April.
deep sigh
I’m in the same boat, this weekends weather went from outside both days to 45 on Sunday. Ugh
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Yeah. almost zero chance I do Rough Road on Saturday. Overnight lows are now gonna be in the high 20’s, which means mid-30’s at best for race time.
Nope, hard pass.
Will keep checking and hoping the forecast improves.
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