Pete Basinger is my hero. Not just because he rolls the single speed most of the time and not just because he holds the second fastest time on the GDR by a wafer thin 20 minutes. He is my hero because he passes on the 500 mile training weeks. He once mentioned in a MTBR.com forum that he "trains" about 10 hours a week. This is profound because he beats the pants off of guys who will train 10 hours in a day. I have to admit that even though I want these facts to be true, I held a suspicion that he did a lot of physical activity that he did not consider training.
Now that I have come across his blog I see that he does in fact ride about 10 hours a week. Two hour rides are de rigeur. Nice. Of course, he will throw a 17 hour ride in every so often and I think that is the key.
Awhile back I was reading about the king of ultramarathon running Yiannis Kouros. His record is astonishing. When someone is that good everyone wants to know what he eats, what he drinks, how much he trains. When pressed about his training regimen he explains that you cannot train for a 1000 mile race, that is preposterous. Instead he tries to rest as much as possible and breaks up the rest with 45 minute runs each day. I understand that as much as he competes he really is just doing a recovery and maintenance routine but there is a lesson to be learned.
Single Speed GDR record holder Kent Peterson says it is better to practice than to train. I immediately understood what he meant. Stay fit, stay healthy, stay rested and every so often beat yourself up with an ultra epic day. Sounds like a good plan to me.
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