Six weeks until Wilmington Whiteface 100k

I’ve been rolling with SS1, SS2, and now SS3 Intermediate since January, which will finish the week before Wilmington Whiteface. I’d like to concentrate on that as a key event this year, and I was wondering if I should keep with the SS3 going into that, or switch to another plan to spice it up a little more. Thoughts?

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So for a mountain bike race of that length we’ve design a six week training plan for you to do in the six weeks prior to the event date.

This six week 100 mile mountain bike race plan will prep you for a grueling 100 mile mountain bike race with gobs of Sweet Spot and Threshold plus a dab of anaerobic work during the week. The weekends are full of long rides up to 8 hours with plenty of climbing that will give you a chance to test your fueling plans as well as your saddle fit! There’s also plenty of low aerobic endurance work to help you build that mitochondrial density that will make you more efficient on race day.

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This is good timing, as I’m also doing the Wilmington 100k race. I’m in my last week of base4. Upon previous inquiry to @FRANK, he suggested I do the mtb marathon ss plan next.

@FRANK i guess I should also purchase this 100mile mtb race plan rather then the mtb marathon plan?

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They are very very close - this is specifically designed for 100 mile races

Whiteface being only ~65 miles, I was even wondering about the Firecracker plan. The distance isn’t intimidating to me at this point, after long weekends in the saddle through the winter, but I want to make sure that the knife is sharp on race day.

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See you FasCat’s there-- Assuming it is still a go, I’ve heard nothing from the organizers and the website has not been updated.

The race is closer to 70 miles and 7500 ft, (ending with a 2500 climb up the mountain) 85%+ is double track/Fire roads with the final single track New England style roots etc. So correct me if I am wrong BigCat by the Gravel Plan might be a good option too @FRANK

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@danleland
Doing that course on a MTB is going to take much longer than if you did it on a gravel bike. Like the Big Cat said, those two plans are similar but the simulation rides are longer in the 100 mile plan. So I think it comes down to the question of how long do you anticipate the race taking you to complete? How many hours do you have avaliable to train?
If you suspect 6.5+ hours, then I would go with the 100 mile MTB plan. However that plan does have some weeks >12 hours, so if you are not able to complete that then the intermediate gravel plan may be a better option… obviously do the workouts on your MTB though :wink:.

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@chad.davis @danleland Chad and Dan, out of curiosity, what have the two of you been doing to prepare for this race? I started with the 10 weeks off-season lifting around October, then back on the bike on Jan 1 with Sweet Spot 1, 2, and now 3 Intermediate. I think that I’m going to stick with SS3 until my taper (with the Diabolicals added, I think that it’s hitting me where I need it right now), and I’m doing about 1/3 of my weekly workout intervals doing hill repeats on the single speed.

As far as race day equipment goes, I’m planning on running a hardtail, probably with Spesh Fast Tracks (or legit knobbies, if the course is going to be muddy). YouTube videos leads me to believe that the single track is pretty benign, so I’m switching out the dropper post, and I’m considering running a rigid fork. All in all, going for a light/ fast rig. If either of you have ridden over there before, any beta would be welcome.

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Thanks Coach @Lacey_Rivette - good point. I’m looking at 7 hours or so.

Dan

I’ve been working with Coach @Jake since December, Muscle Tension- SS - recently started Base to Race, intervals early in the week following by some long endurance on the weekend (I have a mixed bag of events coming).

I understand some do race it on dropbar gravel bikes. I am going for a strong effort, but no desire to do Leadville, so not seeking qualification. I will be riding my Trek Top Fuel, probably stick to my trusted XC set-up Schwalbe Racing Ray/Racing Ralph.

I have a buddy who has a legit chance at qualifying for Leadville and he will be riding the Trek SuperCaliber and running Rene Herse Knobbies (not sure which ones).

Hope to meet you guys there.

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I’m also assuming it’s a go, I reached out to euphoria a month or so ago, and they never replied. I sure hope it’s a go, because I feel like I’ve been training for this race forever (have been planning for it since the original date of June 2020 and then again in October).

This is my first time doing a race of this distance. My goal is to qualify for Leadville, but to be honest I’m really not sure what I would need to do in order to reach that goal.

I’ll be riding my scalpel World Cup, 21.5 lbs with racing ray/ralph. I just got the bike this winter and it blows my mind how fast it is. I’ve been using it on the road for certain training rides and maintaining road bike speeds on the scalpel is no problem at all. I just hope to get it back from ruckus composites in time for the race (cracked seat stay from rock impact at a recent race).

I’m relatively new to fascat, but was doing structured training prior to joining so I feel I’ve built a good base over the winter, and just completed the base 4 polarized plan, and just started the mtb marathon plan. I just did my first 2x20 with burst efforts yesterday and felt really good. Looking forward to some longer mtb rides as soon as I get my bike back.

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@chad.davis I heard Euphoria went out of business- not sure. Fingers crossed this is a go.

I was just snooping around on Youphoria’s social media sites. No updates there since Austin Rattler in November. Their Colorado Secretary of State annual business filing was updated in March 2021, so there is some activity. It also looks like the Wilmington Whiteface schedule was updated for 2021’s event, but I don’t know if this is recent. A lot of the material on there is from previous years.

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If anyone hears from them it would be great to know. I’m registered, but can’t do the race as the Canada/USA border is still closed. I emailed them 3 weeks ago and it’s been crickets from them.

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I reached out to whiteface yesterday and no reply

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Well I heard back from whiteface, they say the only event happening this summer is the “uphill race” on June 4.

I just reached out to someone at the Leadville race series for confirmation.

For what it’s worth, I’m still going to whiteface and will either ride the course or do the uphill race.

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Thanks for following up.

What??? Darn it.

I am going up there for the week. If you want to get together for a ride let me know and we can work something out. I am really bummed, I have been working since November for this ride. Got to look for something else I guess.

I will consider the uphill race.

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Just curious @chad.davis did you reach out to the Whiteface mountain staff or did you somehow track down the organizers of the mtb event?

It seems like Youphoria has come off the rails (I did a search on their phone number, and it looks like it is now associated with Colley’s new roofing company-- a bad sign). I have a couple more weeks before I can’t cancel my housing, so I’m holding on hope that someone from the Lifetime/ Leadville mother ship comes down and throws something together.

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