My Training Begins, In Earnest

Sometimes fear is a good motivator. I have been in fear of my ability to complete (in the time required) LOTOJA for quite a few months now. I've been riding more than I ever have in my entire life. In fact, I'd say I'm in better shape than ever.

Unfortunately, with just over a month to go, I haven't met many of my training goals I set. For instance, I had planned to do a number of centuries this summer. I did only one in the Spring. I had also planned to do many rides at least 100 miles in length with some surpassing that. So far, only that century has met that goal.

One ride is not enough.

Time to Really Start
To start with, I will no longer do any "normal" rides. All my short rides will be either intervals, hill work, or both. This will help me build up as much muscle as possible in the short time left. Of course, I'll have to taper the last few weeks, but for now this is the plan.

Also, I need to get in more LONG rides. This will be hard as a few of my weekends are already spoken for between now and then. These rides should be at LEAST 6 hour rides. Hopefully 8. (Time permitting, of course. I still have to teach my oldest to ride without training wheels.)

Group rides. As tkp suggested in some comments previously (was it on my blog, or his?), I really need to start riding with the local group. For starters, this will show me where I'm at--strength wise. Also, I need to practice riding in a big group (particularly in a pace-line) so I can hang with one in LOTOJA. I'm NOT riding that one solo.

Other Things to Plan For
I also need to plan out nutrition. I've been doing some of this already, but I need to work with it on those long rides better so I know what to plan for. This includes pre-ride meals and such.

Thanks to GearReview.com, I'm working on a comparative review of bib shorts. Hopefully, I'll know which is most comfortable and use that one for LOTOJA.

Am I forgetting anything?