[Closed] 12hr training advice please.

*watching earnestly*

Can't help with detailed advice, but if I was returning to them I'd be back out for 5 hour rides Saturday and Sunday and a long midweek. That or some 200/300 km road rides. Probably as simple as that.
Thing with 12's is that they can be ridden straight through. My best 12's have been the ones where people have helped so I've not needed to pit. I'd eat my only proper food stood astride the bike, have new bottles handed to me and carry on. Once past the pits you can't turn back.
I see them as just a long ride, 24's are different kettle of fish.

Torq 12 course is rough on the body. Get a couple of long (~6hr) MTB rides done somewhere rough.
It will give your back and hands a chance to get used to the punishment.

Also, if you can ride for 6hrs, then I think you can ride for 12... or 24.

Don't make plans on how long you can ride. Just see how you feel. Take a few minutes rest every now and then, even if you feel fine. To do well you need to be cycling at the end, not asleep in the tent.

Rub marmalade on your lower back. I'm almost sure this could help, maybe, perhaps.

Whilst I'm nowhere near as experienced in this as Matt I got a reasonable result in a 12 hour solo on the back of a couple of 6 hour rides and nothing else different to my normal riding.

I'd say don't stop, at all, just keep plodding on. You may think you'll feel better after a 10 minute break, but you've got to then ride 2 mins a lap faster for 5 laps, which is quite an ask. Keep eating, keep drinking and trudge on.

His advice on long MTB rides is good - start doing core stuff too.

Agree with njee20 on doing core stuff. I've personally found this has helped with my biking since I started to do it 6 months ago.

From sometimes bitter experience it's all in the mind. If you believe you'll finish you will, if you're just having a go then expect to be rubbish/in agony/not finish.

Obviously you need to do some riding as well but unless you're intending to win it doesn't need much structure.

2 weeks base training featuring 2x zone2 rides, a long ride and a skills ride. Rest week then 3 weeks intensity and volume featuring a 4x10m Z4 with 5m recovery and a 6xZone 5 with 2m recovery together with a Zone 3 ride and a long ride.

The last week of this should be a training camp where you train to total exhaustion then 2 weeks taper to the event.

Most important of all is the training camp 2 weeks before the event.

This based on what I learnt from Torqfitness as there was so much conflicting advice. See you there and don't beat me!

I'd also add, be careful not to eat/drink too much during the race because you're anxious about making the distance. As above, if you can ride 6 hours you can ride 12 hours at almost the same pace and fuelling. Taking on too much fuel will make you feel as crap as not having enough.

Keep an eye on the articles [url= http://ukxcnews.com/category/training/ ]here[/url]. More to come.....(What works for 24 works for 12 ;))

Based on doing ok at 10 under a few years ago I'd say that if you're just aiming to get it done then making sure you ride quite a bit between now and then is probably enough. Might as well go out and do some decent length rides just to get used to how it feels but I found a few months of commuting 17 odd miles each day 3 days a week left me in decent enough shape for it.

If you do go out for decent length rides then do them with no, or almost no stops so you can get used to what it feels like to just keep on going.

And yeah, find a support crew, even if it's just some mates who are doing it as a team who you can dump stuff with. If you don't have a support crew then a) use a camel bak as you don't need to stop to fill it as often and b) if you're using energy drink pre mix a whole load of it.

Oh, and enjoy it as it'll seem so much easier if you do 🙂

chips are good, especially on your shoulders...