Hi Lynda,

Just wanted to report back from 24 Hours of Great Glen in NH! This race returned this year after a 6 year hiatus, so I was really excited to get off the waitlist to try and improve on my 2014 20-lap solo effort. I followed your 24 Hour PR training plan, with the goal of improving by at least one lap. As I worked through your plan over the summer, I could feel myself getting stronger, increasing my FTP from 227 to 296W

It was really nice going into this race with more experience than before at long endurance races, and knowing I could finish the 24h solo, which freed me up to think about how to go faster. Your pacing advice felt really solid – for the first 6h, I tried to stay in Z3 on climbs, Z2 on flats, and rest on descents. After about 6h, I paced more by perceived effort, especially as my heart rate dropped naturally overnight. My lap times were really consistent – generally just over an hour, with the fastest at 0:55 and slowest at 1:13 (which included a shorts change). Looking at Strava segments, I’m not sure that I was much faster at my fastest than in 2014, but I was way more consistent and was more efficient at stopping. I think the only thing I could have done better was to not force myself to eat as much overnight- I think your body kinda slows down and my stomach was a brick for a few hours there.

In the end I put in 23 laps for 2nd place! To top it off, my friend took the top spot, which is the basically the best outcome we could have had. Thanks for all the training advice!