when you say double century? are you talking about riding 200 miles just to get aprox ~ 10 hours straight of workout time??

I would try to do a swim/bike brick if i were you... the 2.5 mile swim is going to be tough to simulate just by getting on the bike as it works a whole other set of muscles....

and if you have never swam in open water or in a wetsuit, obvioulsy that will change things.....

I know several people who have done what you are thinking of. I have done several weekends with back to back 100 mile days but never 200 in a day. Recovery will be a lot easier thatn a marathon, just be sure you ramp up slowly towards 200 miles and not jump from a long ride of 80 miles to 200.

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

Organized double centuries are fun. Much different crowd than the IM crowd. Not sure where you are from but there are plenty of pick from in California.

Definitely help in getting base, since (as another poster mentioned) it's a good idea to build up to the 200 miles, plus you have a day of riding 200 miles. Recovery time definitely less also than doing a marathon. And depending how fast you are, you are possibly spending the same amount of time doing the double as you would when doing the IM.

I did two this spring (then recently got injured) and it helped my cycling immensely. And having great bike fitness helped my running too, IMHO. I recommend, they're fun!

My thoughts are: "How much training stress can my body absorb in a single session"

If you go over that then I would think that you would be wasting your time.

jaretj

By double century, I am talking about organized bicycle rides of around 200 miles in a single day with 8,000 ft or more climbing. I can only wish that I could complete such a ride in 10 hrs. Fortunately, they tend to pull you off the course in about 17 hrs.

I would probably do such a ride with some of my "roadie" buddies who insist on taking numerous breaks including at least 30-40 minutes for lunch.

The ride would be to increase cycling fitness. I have done numerous open water swims with and without a wet suit. A typical weekend day workout for me starts with 2500 - 3500 yds of swimming followed by a couple of hours of riding.

trijedi

Thanks for the input. I am indeed from California and ride with folks who proudly wear their Triple Crown and 1000 mile jerseys. They are quite strong on the bike but ride differently from triathletes. Not only do they like to break up their long rides with rest stops, they like to coast down hill and hammer up hill instead of a more triathlete like power leveling approach.

I do plan to build up to it and hope that it will be fun!

Thanks again,

trijedi

Hmmm. I don't know how much training stress my body can absorb in a session. I'm pretty sure that such a ride could easily top 500 TSS points.

I suspect that I could afford the waste of time - especially if I get one of those cool jerseys. My concerns are more related to getting feedback from those who know better than me on whether or not a double will hurt my training for an IM in the way that many suggest that marathon training gets in the way of IM training.

I fully agree that no one *needs* to do a double to train for an IM. I am looking for insights if a double is harmful / neutral / helpful to IM training.

Riding with my cycling buddies would be the motivation. I would do such a ride on my road bike so it doesn't get me IM specific training such as a long ride in aerobars, etc. I'll still do that training on my own on my tri bike.

trijedi

I don't think there is anything wrong with riding that far as long as you are building up the volume over time. Two of my athletes rode 204 miles just over 6 weeks from their Ironman race. They both raced well. I agree that racing a marathon is not necessary to run well for an ironman

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Bruce
ALBOPADS XTERRAWETSUITS NEWTON OAKLEY FIZIK GARMIN ROTOR COMPUTRAINER QUARQ HONEYSTINGER

double centuries are fun. I also like biking to centuries, doing the ride, them cruising home.

I've completed the CTC four times, including all of the doubles in Northern CA including Devil MT and Terrible Two...

...experience is a large factor with a double. I just don't know where to begin.

I'll leave you with one quote....

"It sucks for everyone after 140 miles."

...and your racing pace does not apply, but most people have to find this out for themselves.

My last two years of triathlon/IM overlapped with my entry into double centuries and the ultracycling culture. I don't believe those long rides hindered my triathlon efforts, but I put a lot of stock in run training so as long as that didn't suffer....

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"That night I had a dream. I dreamt I was as light as the ether."

DC's can be a lot of fun but the one thing that surprised me before actually doing one is how fast the guys go right out of the gate. At least it was surprising to a "bike is not my strength" triathlete. You can definitely find a group to ride with regardless of what ave pace you are trying to maintain over the 200. At some of the faster DC's like Solvang, it was amazing to be 170 miles in going 25+mph in a paceline. Get in with the right group, keep your rest breaks to a minimum (you'd be surprised how much time you end up wasting at the aid stations) and make sure to hit the soda at the aid stations after 125 miles, the sugar will help you get to the finish. Also, i'm sure you know this but no need to go anywhere close to 200 in training. I did a lot of solid training in the 6-8 hr range, with a couple 10hr rides, and was still able to crank out a low 10hr finish at solvang one year. Also, they seemed to compliment my IM training back in the day...did several DC's in the spring before getting into specific training for a fall IM. Mentally, made the IM bike seem a lot easier...good luck

Maybe I should have said disproportionate distribution of training time and not just waste of time.

If you enjoy doing that then it is clearly not a waste of time.

Just a few years ago i was where you are. Enjoyed Levi's (which friends talked me into) and then i was literally 'off to the races'.


I have been doing double centuries since - started at three per year now up to six.

I also do marathons - did 15 this year. added these in a couple of years later.

I like them as training for Ironmans (4 this year.) If you race enough, racing is a significant part of your training.

the double is (for me) about 12 hours of activity (give or take an hour depending on climb and weather.)

and i really like marathons the day after a 120-miler, so you are used to running tired.

my times aren't fast (11 hours at IMSR), so maybe it's not a perfect training solution but i like it.

James

Doing an all day ride with a bunch of people is fun and you don't have to change your Ironman training to do it.