I've found that there's a magic transition point every trip, at about a week. That's the point at which I don't get tired, I just get hungry. It's the point at which my metabolism catches up with everything else. Where the caloric intake converts directly to energy. Because the trip get a lot more enjoyable once this occurs, I'm learning that it's well worth gearing my metabolism up BEFORE I wander off into the wilderness. Depending on the shape I'm in before I leave, this typically takes somewhere between 3-10 days. This period can be decreased by training in advance. Even a little training can knock several days off that point.
My usual trip is me spending the six weeks before I leave swamped at work, not exercising at all, and dealing with it by not going very far the first few days, and slowly increasing my distance each day until my metabolism changes over. For a trip that's 4+ weeks long, this works. For a trip of only a week or two however, it becomes imperative to be in shape BEFORE I leave. In shape, to me, means able to bike 20-30 miles without significant effort. It should be possible to do 2 days in a row. The next day you shouldn't feel any major muscular stress, and indeed should be invigorated.This is currently a very intensive (to me) training schedule, and I'll revise it as I think about it. Would definitely put you in shape tho!
http://ncsports.org/pdfs/cnc_event8_Week_Training_Program.pdf
Training for Bike Touring
Goals:
1. To be able to bike for
a full day.
2. To be able to bike for several consecutive
days.
Training Priciples:
Building up 'the long
ride' over several weeks.
Getting your weekly
mileage up to three-to-four times your expected daily mileage (including two to
three rides of medium length).
Including light days and
rest days.
Including light weeks and
rest weeks.
Including some 'hills'
workouts.
Adjusting your daily
routine to be as similar to your target routine as possible (including
sleep-wake times, exercise times, diet, fluid intake, etc.).
A Sample Training Plan:
|
Week No. |
Mon. |
Tues. |
Wed. |
Thurs. |
Fri. |
Sat. |
Sun. |
Total |
|
1. |
6 |
10 |
12 |
rest |
10 |
30 |
9 |
77 |
|
2. |
7 |
11 |
13 |
rest |
11 |
34 |
10 |
86 |
|
3. |
8 |
13 |
15 |
rest |
13 |
38 |
11 |
98 |
|
4. |
8 |
14 |
17 |
rest |
14 |
42 |
13 |
108 |
|
5. |
9 |
15 |
19 |
rest |
15 |
47 |
14 |
119 |
|
6. |
11 |
15 |
21 |
rest |
15 |
53 |
16 |
131 |
|
7. |
12 |
15 |
24 |
rest |
15 |
59 |
18 |
143 |
|
8. |
13 |
15 |
25 |
rest |
15 |
65 |
20 |
153 |
Fluid Replacement:
Your body loses 1.5 to 2
litres of fluid per hour in moderate temperature.
Drink before you are
thirsty! Also eat before you are hungry!
How to Recognize Overtraining:
A significant increase in
resting heart rate (e.g., 10 beats per minute) or decrease in weight (e.g., 2-3
pounds) from one day to the next.
A lack of energy and desire. Frequently seen in procrastination before leaving for training, or a