[Closed] 100 days until the Kielder 100

2,678 miles so far this year which is around 2,600 more than this time last year so I hope to be in better shape this time

I'm fitter than last year, but still not sure... I am doing the Selkirk CRC sportive and mtb marathon and after that will see if my fitness is good enough to have another go.

If it isn't, I will probably pull out and try again next year.

Did the 24hr solo in 'coffin dodgers' cat at Newcastleton 2 weeks ago but have rediscovered booze and cake. Slightly concerned that I am now losing fitness and should be in full 'chubster' mode by September.

It [u]was[/u] going pretty well but a sore back has kept me off the bike more than I'd like for the past month. Really need to step things up now...

Not sure how many days now, but I seem to have just entered again.

2009: [b]D[/b]ead [b]F[/b]lipping [b]L[/b]ast in 14 hours
2010: 13 hours
2011: ?

I should probably ride my bike or something.

Pah! Mrs is trying to insist I go to a possibly 18th Birthday bash for one of our God Children, so might not can get to be a dogs body. Of course I can only get to either anyway if I can get time off from work.

Feeling fitter than last year, probably not got in quite as many long rides. Got a respectable 8 laps at the Glentress 7. Got a sportive in a few weeks. Entered the sportive/mtb arathon selkirk combo. Got a few planned training rides (200k road ride, 75mile offroad ride at Kielder).

It'll be fine, I actually found it easier than i thought last time. My only concern is if it is very wet and we're out in the rain for 10 hours like the first one...

I did a ride in April. And, erm, in February. It'll be 'right.

It'll be fine, I actually found it easier than i thought last time. My only concern is if it is very wet and we're out in the rain for 10 hours like the first one.

I'd love to only be out for ten hours 🙂

How's peoples training going?

starts today.

Did my first 100 mile mountain bike ride on Friday. Happily not taxing at all. (3rd of the climbing though) What is the course like for the Kielder 100? Is it mostly hardpack forest track?

What is the course like for the Kielder 100? Is it mostly hardpack forest track?

Yup, fireroad, followed by fireroad, singletrack section, fireorad, fireroad, weird passageway through trees, fireroad, fireroad, singletrack, singletrack, fireroad, puddle of doom, puddle of doom 2, fireroad, fireroad, singletrack, fireorad, singletrack, fireroad, fireroad, 100 miles, climb, awful stony singletrack, fireroad, singletrack, finish 107 miles.

Well thats how i remmeber it

Well, I'm out with a broken hand. Fitness was coming on but after 6 weeks on the turbo I don't think I will be able to do this. Never understood those who can "just pitch and ride". No way for me.

I might be interested in taking your entry of your hand(s) Shred...

I had my first session on the turbo last night so I guess thats my training now officially started... 😆

Road training will see me through 😀

Well, I've gone from not riding my bike at all a couple of months ago, to now riding my bike...

That should be plenty of training I think...

Mike, you'd better watch out, I'll be competing for last place with you!

Mike, you'd better watch out, I'll be competing for last place with you!

I was an hour and a bit ahead of last place last year! I'm super fast, me.

So far i'm doing around 2.5 hrs on the mtb 5 days a week with some interval training (if i can be arsed).

I need to start putting in some long days.

This is my first Kielder, well actually it's my first real event and I'm a little concerned.

'Loved' it last year, but then the sun was shining & it was all rather jolly. This year I'm handing back my place as a friends wedding is clashing with the event. I'm weeping even now...
So as far as the OP goes then - zilch, nada, nothing.
Sob.

My first time too.

Managing to get in a 65m+ ride per week plus commuting and club rides.
I have no doubt I can do the 100, but that niggle in the back of my head says should I be doing this.

I would be gutted if I got to a later check point and got the 'sorry mate'

Anyone got the number for Toms field camping?

I'm entered...

But I won't be there 🙁

So I have an entry for sale if anyone is so inclined (and if it is possible to transfer entries - I've emailed the organisers, but with no response).

Simply haven't had the time to get the training in this year. Up until May I was doing more miles per month than last year, but so far in June I've managed 4 (yes, F.O.U.R.) miles of riding. That is not Kielder form.

Last year was a bit of an eye opener. I'd been doing decently long (distance and time) rides around the local Peak District, but it was no where near enough to prepare me for K100. Now that I know that, there is no way I'll be fit enough by September to do it justice this year.

Do people seriously train for a poxy 104 miles 😯 and aim just to finish.

I've done a lot more training than last year, thought I'd better if I was going on to kayak the lake then run the lake straight after, all for a good cause though...

Can't wait for the pacing charts to get done again, they were seriously valuable, lost count of the number of people saying 'any idea how far the next water stop is'

10.35 last year, hoping for the same this year or quicker with some energy saving built in.

Start praying to the weather gods about now.

Matt

Can't wait for the pacing charts to get done again, they were seriously valuable, lost count of the number of people saying 'any idea how far the next water stop is'

I'll be doing them again this year. Was a spur of the moment thing last year, but I loved seeing them all the time on the 'race'.

I finally got my files copied over to my new laptop, so I could update my mileage spreadsheet*. This year's number is worryingly small than the same number for last year and the year before, both of which were worryingly small.

*Yes, I am a geek.

Not ridden a bike for 3 weeks since realising the crash I had wasn't without penalty, taking it easy, seeing the doc and booking to see a physio. Hoping they will tell me it is a small tear where my achilles joins my heel and it's nothing to worry about. Give it a couple of weeks and back to normal, feel free to ride without crashing in the mean time...
Thought I had better check before having another crash...
Then commute like mad and ride lots, recover lots and peak perfectly for Kielder with another successful recovery ride at the Ruthin CRC marathon.
Sorted 🙂

[b]was [/b]going to enter till on mentioning it casually to Mrs O was reminded somewhat forcefully that she's 50 that day and any thoughts of being on the other side of the country riding a bike race were "grounds for murder".... so now i'm not.... 😆

other side of the country riding a bike race

technically you will be in a different country at some point, so there's your loop hole right there 🙂

postierich - Member

Do people seriously train for a poxy 104 miles and aim just to finish.

Or were you being cheeky?

I'd guess the average ride for the average STWer is <30 or maybe even <20 so they are going to need quite a bit of training to just finish.

My modal ride is 2.5 miles and last year Kielder was my 10th ride of the year 🙂

It's in your head, not your legs.

Well, I'm glad you can do that, cause I can't. I tried last year with more training than that and got stopped half way.

It's in your head, not your legs.

Still reckon the average STW rider (non-racer) is going to need to up their riding before the event to finish it.

but surely you weren't sedentary for the whole of the year apart from those 2 rides? (running, swimming, gym, *whispers* roadriding?

I rode to work and back every day, which is 2.5 miles each way and have done for 5 years or so now. I think that gives a base on which to hang the [s]stubbornness[/s] positive mental attitude.

It's in your head, not your legs.

of course it is. So I'm going to stop training now and just get some hypnosis the day before a race.
In fact, my mum's going to get hypnotised too - she'll win for sure.

of course it is. So I'm going to stop training now and just get some hypnosis the day before a race.
In fact, my mum's going to get hypnotised too - she'll win for sure.

Finishing is in your head. Finishing [i]well[/i] needs the legs to back up the head.

I have an entry, and will have the fitness, but like some others above I have been told I shall be attending an Alternate Event for my missus' birthday.

Seen as I'd already paid, I did manage to barter a pass out to SSUK 2 weeks later instead though. 😀

I heard some lads chatting in the car park at the start of 10 under.

Chunky bloke 1 "You on target for Kielder then ?"

Chunky bloke 2 "Sort of ,doing a lot on my road bike ...pause...it's only a bike ride init ?"

4 hours and 3 laps later .

Chunky bloke 2 "**** that " ...puts bike in car.

I will have to look out for him in Sept 😉

fasthaggis a think that you might be refering to maself and a mate of mine if you are then for the record the fat bloke who went away after 3 laps u wont have to look for as he was niver gone to kielder as for maself will be there again to complete it as a said its only a big bike run ,sorry if am wrong but a said something like chunky bloke 2 at 10 under .

I agree mentally that its quite tough. All of last year all i could think about doing is pulling out until about the 60 miler marker, then i got a bit more positive getting nearer the end, although the last 7 miles is probably the hardest terrain wise.

Fitness wasn't a problem, although the event is physically very tough for everyone. I'm sure the slower paced people are in as much pain as us faster people keeping the pace going.

So, prepare yourself mentally for a really long physical day ( bring an ipod? ), and you will be in a better shape for the event

The day is pretty epic and you get dragged along with that and particularly getting chatting to people. Just make sure you have you back drops dialled in with your favourite munch and carry plenty of fluid, best to carry too much better stops than run out. A few people were losing bottles so make sure your cage(s) hold em tight.

Mike, agree with the head game stuff, look at Eddie Izzard, say no more. Mind over matter...

Jan: 101 miles
Feb: 102 miles
Mar: 132 miles
Apr: 148 miles
May: 100 miles
June: 96 miles

Oh dear, it's going to bloody hurt, isn't it?

Just one month now

And I have a cracked wrist that's hampering me a bit but I managed nearly 9 hrs solid riding last Saturday on very similar terrain at Hamsterley

pretty sure I have the endurance but the speed may let me down

Anyone know about tapers? Thinking I've got three hard weeks training before a gradual taper over a fortnight.

What are other people going to do?

What are other people going to do?

Stop all riding on, about the Wednesday before
All my training has had to be ad hoc but I feel strong enough, difficult to plan things when I don't know where I'll be from one day to the next

I'll be spending the 2 weeks before mostly panicing.

Is it too early to start carbo loading?

I'm planning to ride every day in the two weeks before hand, but mostly just flat 10 mile rides on my road bike at tick-over. I think it's really important to keep the legs turning over so they don't feel flat come race day.

But then I've not done much MTB racing and nothing like this, so I'm just applying running principles to the situation really, so would appreciate some input from those better qualified.

Well I have a training plan [that I never got to use] based on something Matt from Torq wrote for the mag a couple of years back

It goes something like

3 weeks to go - very hard training week

2 weeks out
Mon - rest
Tues - hill reps
Wed - Rest
Thurs - rest
Fri - easy spin out
Sat - 5 hrs moderate
Sun - rest

1 week out
Mon - rest
Tues - Hill reps
Wed - rest
Thurs - rest
Friday - easy spin or rest
Sat - race

Try and ride a bit over the next 2 weeks. GO away walking for a week. Rest in the final week before the event.

Any training plan has gone out the window, I feel quite a bit less prepared than last year.

The 3 weeks thing I posted up there was the last 3 of 13 BTW, as you were asking about tapering

I am into the final hard week of my second 4 week build period, then I have an easy recovery week, then 2 weeks to peak and a week to taper. I was up at Kielder at the weekend just to check out the area for the first time, rode the Lakeside way and all the red routes including the 1900ft climb up to deadwater fell, about 50miles with over 6000ft of climbing and legs felt good. Gear and bike is about sorted, just need to service the bb, forks & shock over the next few weeks, overall training going well, making good progress and feeing pretty good so far 😀

Some good tips guys, I recently participated in some sports science research and got my proper heart rate zones etc, bit late to be using them now though! My VO2 max is 63 apparently, racing roadies are about 70 so not too bad.

As I've got 3 totally different events to train for on the day for Killer Kielder I'm doing as much as I can fit in including early morning swims (motion is similr to kayaking) and doing evening duathlons.

I think generally there's not much point doing loads of miles at this stage, some short sharp sessions will give you more bang for your buck I reckon.

I'm doing the coast to coast virtually in the metro centre on saturday on a tacx turbo trainer with gps software whilst selling smoothies made by pedal power, a good solid 12 hour fund raising session for the Calvert Trust!

My top tip would be focus on what its going to feel like when you finish, this will help you get there.

I'm not able to do it now so have a Kielder entry for sale! £40?

Just back from two days at Kielder, 50 miles both days brought all the memories back from last year. Everything is a lot soggier than last year the reservoir is very full due to the amount of rain we've had. The trails are OK but the long sections of fire road are a lot heavier than last year. I live locally and I can't see this really changing much unless we have 2 weeks of glorious sunshine. The main thing I had forgot was how much of the singletrack around Kielder was on loose, rocky and very bumpy ground! my backside is in agony today. If you've never done it before I would recommend a waterproof goretex or similar. The forecast for the last 2 days was good but we got SOAKED for an hour both days and it won't be funny riding all day soaking wet. As the one of the girls in the cafe said when someone told her it was always raining at Kielder she said “ That's why we built a reservoir here.” says it all really. Be prepared for bad weather as it comes from nowhere around here pretty much on a daily basis. And my final tip: eat as much as you can throughout the race as it is unrelenting! Still it'll be great race you'll never forget.

My only fear is .......THE MIDGE. 😉

I was up there on Saturday. Did the ride over to Newcaslteton and Deadwater. I'll echo the above. It was very wet on the ground and some of the fire road was really tough going. It has about half an inch of what feels like wet sand on top and was really dragging.

Very little mud on the proper trails as always. If it doesn't dry up massively I'll be running mudguards as I go soaked. I was out for 5 hours and the next five would have been pretty uncomfortable had I continued.

Going up on sunday for a recce.

Doing the xborder loop so will report back on Monday.

Can't be as wet as it was the first year . . .

[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/30189432@N00/sets/72157622027919649/with/3859481981/ ]Kielder 100 on Flickr. 2009[/url]

Can we all pray for sunshine!

Trying to up the fundraising on my killer kielder epic on the same day, link to my fundraising page is www.justgiving.com/killerkielderchallenge all for the local charity Calvert Trust Kielder.

cheers

Matt

Any tips on tyres guys given loose conditions, surely kielder doesnt warrant anything more than a crossmark?

I stuck a crossmark on the rear last year.It was fine.

Ive been up to kielder a couple of times this year. Both times with a crossmark xc on the rear/ ardent on the front. Last one was ok, one before that I ripped the sidewall on the descent from the radio mast just over the border.

I think I shall be putting another ardent on the back on the day.

guys, went up yesterday, although its been raining on and off for a while here it didnt seem particularly bad, just the usual sandy conditions

I will be marshalling at the cut off/ 100 mile checkpoint again so say 'Hi' if you can speak at this stage - Oh and wear some nice lycra too 😀 Oh and when you get to me there will still be about 5 miles left to go

Ah yes the 'its just at the top of this hill' ladies pain and misery were brought to many when they realised they had several miles still to go! Seriously though thanks for marshalling.

Ah yes - good luck with the 3 disciplines ! OMG I'm tired just thinking of it

Looks like we have timed that weather window just right 😥

Still ,at least it will drown some of the midge 🙂

There will be no wind (so lots of midges) and pouring down with the wet stuff a quality day out! 😈

asscheeks. looked at the five day forecast this morning and was quite optimistic.
just had another look.....buggery.
Trying to look on the bright side ,as far as I am aware, rain =less of the midge.

Trying to look on the bright side ,as far as I am aware, rain =less of the midge.

Just keep telling yourself that....

I always thought it was bright sunshine and strong winds that kept them at home....

What forecast are you using. BBC says light rain.

BBC - search Newcastleton.

Didn't you watch the program on chaos theory? There is no way they can predict. As long as it is not windy I do not care.

until thursday pm - it isn't really worth looking at the detail

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/325?area=Newcastleton

But whatever the forecast, it could be doing [i]anything[/i] locally on the day.

Seriously, the BBC can't forecast tomorrow's weather accurately, never mind the weekend's! 😆

Youre' all right of course , but it doesn't stop me looking. 🙂

Pacelets are up at http://tinyurl.com/k100pacelet2011

Can someone double check the figures for me? A couple of the checkpoints were only 1 mile more/less than a feed station, so I just used one figure for simplicity.