A Word From James Hayes

• Posted on 21 July 2023
• By James Hayes
• 0

James Hayes has done several dozen endurance events over the last few years, and he has some things to talk about here!

Century 101 with MSBC is coming up this weekend and I am looking forward to riding with my friends and helping as many people as I can to get to the 100 mile, 100K, or any other goal they may have for this weekend. I am not a professional by any means. I for one am still learning how this endurance thing works. I would like to share what I’ve learned about Pace, Nutrition, and Mindset and we enter this weekend and take on 100 miles with Main Street Bicycle Company and Friends.

Pace - I first determine a realistic goal for me and then I calculate what pace I need to maintain to accomplish that goal. I set A,B, and C goals. C goal is usually just finishing what I started because quitting in my book is never an option, if I can still pedal I will finish. This also plays into my mindset as I approach any event. My B goal is my realistic goal that has at least an 80% chance. An A goal is a stretch goal that is possible if everything comes together and you have a super great day. I use a pace spreadsheet usually and I will share my Coast to Coast Pace sheet. I will also be working on a Pace sheet for the upcoming Saturday that I will share on the FB event page. 

Nutrition - I have found that these endurance events are as much an eating contest as well as a race.There is really no way to replace the calories burned when you push for an extended amount of time. Coming up with a plan to make sure you keep your sugar, salt, and hydration in check is key. Everyone burns fuel differently and I think Sunday is a perfect time to investigate and figure out what works for you. Having it be a low pressure 3 lap with support event will make it possible to take your time and figure out what works for you. Many of the products on the market help with adding hydration to water bottles. I personally use these UCAN, Skratch Superfuel, and UCAN LMNT for salt replacement. Many people use PBJ sandwiches but I recently found that Ham, Turkey, Avocado, mayo, pickle wraps work for me. I also use Coke as well as pickle juice to help with sugar and salt at rest stops. 

Mindset - As I enter any event I alway know that I can get it done and I try to break the big event into smaller goals. For this weekend for example I would break this event into six, 16.5 mile rides. Each 16.5 mile segment will take you however long and I would try to just worry about each segment separately. If you can average 16.5 mph you could be done in just 6 short hours. I may shoot for this pace on Sunday but as my A goal but we will see. My main plan is to help as many of you reach your goals on Sunday. 

I am looking forward to riding my bike with my friends this weekend and I hope this little bit of information is helpful as everyone preps for Sunday. Please Reach out to me with any questions and feel free to sit on my wheel this weekend as we roll our six 16.5 mile rides. See you all Sunday!