GranFondo Philadelphia

This 12-Week training plan is perfect for the cyclist looking to successfully complete their first century (100 mile) ride. The athlete using this plan enjoys cycling and is currently cycling three or four days per week. Your current weekday rides are between 30 and 60 minutes long, which can include a spinning class. A weekend long ride of 75 to 90 minutes is currently doable. You would like to add a structured strength training program that compliments your cycling. For the next 12 weeks, your weekday training time is limited to around an hour on any given day. The plan includes one or two days of strength training each week, two weekday rides that are 30- to 60-minutes (with a few optional 75-minute rides) long and one or two rides on weekends. Week 1 of the plan includes two strength training days, three 60-minute rides and one 90-minute ride. The plan builds the longest training ride to 5:00 in Week 10. At the end of 12 weeks of training, you plan to comfortably complete a 100-mile ride taking six to seven hours of actual ride time.

Plan is available in the book “The Female Cyclist: Gearing up a Level”

This 16-week training plan is designed for the rider looking average around 16 or 18 miles per hour for a century ride. A strength training program is included in the plan. For the first eight weeks of the plan, strength training occurs twice per week. Beginning in Week 9, strength training is reduced to maintenance at once per week. Should you decide not to strength train, for whatever reason, simply delete the strength training workouts.

Weekday bike rides are between 30- and 60 minutes long with a few options for 75-minute rides. The last eight weeks of the plan includes muscular endurance intervals to improve speed at threshold. This training is more intense than the training in the beginner plan. Long training rides begin at 1:15 in Week 1and build to between 5:00 and 5:30 in Week 14. Training ranges from 3:15 to 9:15 per week, with one to three days off each week for recovery and other lifestyle activities. The plan includes a taper designed to improve average speed on event day. Prepare well, ride fast, have fun ~

This plan is designed for time-crunched cyclists with at least one year of riding experience who want to prepare for a century. It assumes a time commitment of 5-10 hours per week for training. The athlete should have several preparation weeks of unstructured rides in their legs before beginning this plan—namely, about 2-4 hours of cycling per week at an aerobic pace.

The plan consists of three 4-week base building phases, plus a final taper week leading up to the century. Each 4-week phase gradually increases volume/intensity over three weeks followed by a recovery week. Weekly workouts revolve around three key sessions—the long ride, the sustained tempo workout, and the temp intervals. A time trial is scheduled every four weeks. The plan is designed to prepare the cyclist for a century at the end of week 13.

Training Guide

To make the most of this plan, use it along with the Multisport Training Guide found on the Alp Fitness website. The Multisport Training Guide provides information on how to determine your training intensity zones, protocols for field tests, guidance on goal setting, and general tips on nutrition and hydration.

Supplemental functional strength training

In addition to your run training included in the plan, you should incorporate another 30 to 90 minutes each week of functional strength exercises. This can be done by adding 10 minutes to the beginning or end of a run (or taking a 10 minute break at some other point during your day, such as while watching TV). Or it could be done with a longer 20-30 minute workout a few times each week. See the library of functional strength training workouts on the Alp Fitness website for detailed workouts to choose from.

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