RAGBRAI Training: Some final thoughts for RAGBRAI

Well folks, it’s one week to go until the start of RAGBRAI LI. I hope you’ve been riding and preparing yourself for this upcoming challenge. I’ll include some last minute tips on preparation and some thoughts on what to do if you don’t feel you’ve done all the training you wanted to do and are feeling uncertain of your ability.

First of all, with one week to go, the time to train is basically over. Yes, you should continue to ride but in all reality, it really is too late to add any additional fitness at this point. If you can get in one last long ride this last weekend before RAGBRAI, go for it. It can’t hurt and may help. But after this weekend, you should focus on resting and recovery from your riding and allowing your body to be as fresh and ready to go as possible. The analogy of cramming for final exams always comes to mind. If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter in college, you know that the day of the exam, your head probably wasn’t functioning clearly, and anything you gained by studying all night and more was lost due to your compromised frame of mind. The same is true for training. All the work you put in up to this point could be compromised if you go into RAGBRAI tired. What good is it to be 100% fit and 90% fresh. I always say it’s better to be 90% fit and 100% fresh so that you can take full advantage of the fitness you have. So do some short rides during your last week leading up to RAGBRAI but don’t do so much that you feel tired. Plus, you will be busy packing and running around getting everything you need to take with you and then traveling to the event. So you won’t have time to do a lot of riding anyway, and that’s a good thing.

So what if you don’t think you’ve done enough training to be properly ready to complete a week on your bike riding across the state? Despite what my training plan says and what I’ve said about getting in at least 1,000 miles before RAGBRAI, if you are reasonably fit, and have been doing some riding, chances are you will be able to complete the entire route. Yes, you may be more tired and sore than you would like, but you can complete it. As I’ve said in previous blogs, you can complete RAGBRAI riding about 8 mph, as long as you don’t stop too long at each stop. Now, most reasonably fit people can ride quite a bit faster than 8 mph so you should be able to get through each day with time to spare and still have time to enjoy the festivities along the way.

But a couple of things to keep in mind, if you come in under-trained. First is to pace yourself. Resist the temptation to keep up with your friends or team members if it feels like you are pushing harder than you think you can maintain for the entire day. Swallow your pride and go your pace. There will be plenty of other people out there to ride with at your pace. Secondly, do everything to can to rest, refuel and rehydrate every chance you get during RAGBRAI (that goes for everyone by the way). The more you can do to recover from each day’s ride, better you will feel the following day and you should be able to ward off some of the fatigue. But as I said above, resist the urge to go out this last week and try to put in as many miles as you can (i.e. cramming). You will pay for it if you do.

Yes, riding more than 400 miles in a week sounds daunting but just tackle one mile and one day at a time and you will get there. Now go have fun and enjoy yourself. And remember, major life accomplishments (like RAGBRAI) are worth the effort.

Coach David Ertl

David Ertl is a USA Cycling Level 1 Coach. He coaches the Des Moines Cycle Club Race Team and individual cyclists through the Peaks Coaching Group. He also provides cycling training plans and ebooks at his website: http://www.CyclesportCoaching.com. He can be contacted at cyclecoach@hotmail.com.

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