100-MILE PLAN
Twelve weeks to finish a century strong instead of surviving it.
WHAT A CENTURY ACTUALLY DEMANDS
A hundred miles is an endurance and fuelling problem far more than a power problem. Most riders can produce the wattage needed; what stops them is running out of energy at 70 miles, or discovering at mile 80 that their position hurts.
So this plan is built around a progressively longer weekend ride, with midweek quality sessions to raise your sustainable pace and one non-negotiable job: practising exactly what you will eat and drink on the day.
THE WEEKLY SHAPE
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Rest or 30-45 min recovery spin |
| Tuesday | Quality: sweet spot or threshold intervals, 60-75 min |
| Wednesday | 60-75 min Z2 |
| Thursday | Quality: over-unders or VO2 max, 60 min |
| Friday | Rest or easy 45 min |
| Saturday | Long ride — see the progression below |
| Sunday | 60-90 min Z2, or rest if the long ride was big |
LONG RIDE PROGRESSION
| Week | Duration | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 h | Steady Z2, practise eating every 45 min |
| 2 | 2 h 30 | Z2 with 3 x 10 min @ 85% |
| 3 | 3 h | Steady Z2, one climb repeat set |
| 4 | 2 h | Easy — recovery week |
| 5 | 3 h 30 | Z2 with 2 x 20 min @ 88% |
| 6 | 4 h | Steady, full event nutrition rehearsal |
| 7 | 4 h 30 | Z2 with hills in the final hour |
| 8 | 2 h 30 | Easy — recovery week |
| 9 | 5 h | Longest ride. Event kit, event food, event pace |
| 10 | 4 h | Z2 with 3 x 15 min @ 90% late in the ride |
| 11 | 3 h | Steady, relaxed |
| 12 | 90 min | Easy with 3 x 3 min @ 95% — taper week |
You do not need to ride the full hundred miles in training. Five hours of well-fuelled endurance riding plus a proper taper gets nearly everyone to the finish comfortably.
FUELLING — THE PART PEOPLE GET WRONG
- 60-90g of carbohydrate per hour from the first hour, not once you feel empty.
- 500-750ml of fluid per hour, more in heat, with electrolytes.
- Practise it on every long ride. Your gut adapts to carbohydrate intake — this is trainable, and untrained guts revolt.
- Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. Both signals arrive far too late at this distance.
- Have a food you actually like. At mile 80 nobody wants their fourth identical gel.
PACING THE DAY
First third — annoyingly easy
Hold 60-70% of FTP. You will feel like you are wasting the day. You are not. Everyone who goes hard in the first thirty miles pays for it twice later.
Middle third — steady
Settle at 65-72%, let climbs drift up to 85-90% briefly, never into the red.
Final third — spend what is left
If you have fuelled properly you can lift to 75% and finish strong. This is the part that separates a great century from a memorably grim one.
FAQ
What FTP do I need for 100 miles?
Can I train for a century indoors?
How long should my taper be?
Should I ride in a group on the day?
KEEP READING
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
LuftQuest is a free indoor cycling app: pair your power meter, pick a structured workout and let a very opinionated coach keep you honest.