The mental aspect in Paris-Brest-Paris
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Participating in Paris-Brest-Paris is a long-term effort, one must be prepared physically, but not only that.
Participating in PBP is a long-term effort, one must be prepared physically, but not only that. The mental aspect also counts, but how can one prepare mentally for 1,200 km of cycling over 3 or 4 days?
Let's share the adventure of a first-time participation over this distance between Paris and Brest.
The Motivation
"This, it seems to me, is the first driving force for PBP. Without motivation, we cannot do it; we must move on to something else or wait another 4 years. For my part, I heard about Paris-Brest-Paris a long time ago from a woman in my former cycling club who had completed the distance in less than 57 hours. The appointment was made for the future, if I continued to cycle.
After ten years of triathlon and several busy seasons of cycling and running (Embrun, Nice in triathlon, Millau on foot), the year of PBP is approaching. It's time to start thinking about preparing for it. It's a desire to do it at that moment, we are in 2009, and I don't want to wait until 2015.
It's now: Paris-Brest-Paris 2011.
The objective according to one's abilities
Knowing myself, I know that I can ride fast, I like it, but I don't like riding slowly. Less than 20 km/h on flat terrain, I get terribly bored, because I need my legs to turn. So when I think about Paris-Brest-Paris, I tell myself that three days of cycling is good, but four, I won't be able to do it, it's too hard, it generates too many constraints, side effects. A time of 70 hours seems like a good compromise to me, aiming for 60 hours deep down, which is an average speed of 20 km/h.
But I don't know how to approach the distance! I ask a to two or three experienced cyclists on the event, then I complement my knowledge with testimonials on the web. My question is asked with this article from August 10th on how to manage the 1,200 km of PBP, and I then know that regularity over the distance will be the key to success, especially since it corresponds to my way of pedaling. I fully agree with the idea of sparing the mount to go far. Passing through Brest beyond 30 hours is a guarantee of success for me, while passing through it in less than 24 hours is a risk. Knowing how to ride according to one's abilities seems to me to be a strong point mentally.
Providing the necessary means
Riding regularly is an easy decision to make, but the real challenge is achieving it. The year leading up to Paris-Brest-Paris is dedicated to preparation, with 7,000 km covered throughout the year, including several 200 km rides, mostly ridden at a consistent pace with gradual accelerations. The group of cyclists I ride with at the club are also consistent, able to ride quickly but without sudden accelerations. In 2010 and 2011, I continue to seek this same consistency. 2011 is a crucial year with 12,000 km completed and a progressive increase in training load, with the four rides ranging from 200 to 600 km spaced over four months with one month intervals. Only the 600 km ride is new, with experience of just half a dozen nights on the bike. The 12,000 km provide the comfort of quality endurance, enabling me to climb hills without raising my heart rate while spinning my pedals. In 2015, I participate for a second time with over 10,000 km of preparation. In the last two months leading up to the event, I feel the benefits of my training as I am able to climb hills quickly, keep up with other cyclists, and reach the top of hills without being out of breath, on the contrary. Does this mean that my preparation has been good? How can I be certain?
Telling your story
Choices were made regarding the bike, the preparation, the nutrition... Everything that needed to be planned was, and unexpected events were reasonably anticipated. Some aspects were thought about, but not decided upon. This is notably the case for the rest stops. I plan on taking a single, 2-hour stop, but I don't know where, how, or if it will be enough.
For the location, I'm thinking of Carhaix, as it's after a challenging hill that I prefer to climb at night, and I'm prepared to go that far. For the return, I'm considering doing it in one go, but I'm not particularly motivated to do so. I don't have any arguments for or against it, we'll see.
The mechanical aspect of the bike has been sorted out to a certain extent, with serious work done on the chain, tires, and wheels. The bike is running well, which is a positive psychological factor to build upon.
- As for nutrition, choices have been made, and I'm fine with them. There are no unresolved issues, and I'll be drinking energy drinks on one side, and salty beverages on the other, with solid food consisting of pasta and rice, and the usual bars, cookies, and crepes for refueling. I won't be consuming fruit or overly sweet products, given the need for slow-burning sugars in endurance mode.
- Regarding organization, I propose that my support team only meets me at every other checkpoint. I can handle the nutrition for about 150 km, and most importantly, I can break my Paris-Brest-Paris into 150 km stages.
Years ago, I wrote on this same site that PBP is nothing but a series of 8 x 150 km, and a few years later I did it just like that. Paris-Brest-Paris is anything you want in terms of distance, but certainly not just a 1,230 km ride, it's two times 600, four times 300, or eight times 150. However, the formula of 16 times 75 km seems unfeasible to me, 16 is too much and 75 is too small. With the hindsight of brevets, 150 km seems to me to be a good way to break it up, and it can also be a training distance (mine was 100/120 km). Regarding assistance, when there is only one person, it is not easy to meet at each checkpoint, so meeting at every other checkpoint allows the driver to find time to sleep (which is important), to locate the checkpoint so that the rider can potentially save time or not waste energy figuring out where, for example, the restrooms are.
Finally, at the start, I hope to be able to ride in a group, but I hope it doesn't start at 35 km/h in the first hour or at 30 km/h in the first 200 km. I seriously think that finishing in less than 65 hours would make me very satisfied and I think that will be my time. I am confident and cautious at the same time. I am wary of going too fast, and over 1,200 km I am wary of myself, because I don't want to listen to my sensations and ride based on that. Experience tells me that I need to feel the legs turning for morale, but I need to ride conservatively for my physical well-being.
"I unconsciously removed everything that could disturb my way forward. I had prepared speed charts for averages of 25 km/h, then 24, 23, and 22 km/h. But I didn't bring any of them with me; they stayed in my bag, which is in the car. The GPS with heart rate monitor stayed at home; only the speedometer informs me, but in the Sizun fog, it will occasionally display incorrect information. I know that the average speed up to Mortagne, then Villaines-la-Juhel was 27 km/h. It's high, almost risky, but a little in the slipstream, a little with the wind at my back, and I don't feel like I'm in the red zone.
The first checks are done, the stages are going well, and the choice to meet Christian at every other assistance control suits me well, as well as Christian. The rain falls but doesn't wet me, the night falls, but I'm not sleepy. Arriving in Carhaix, I sleep for 2 hours, and when I leave, I feel good, my legs turn without pain, and I even have good energy. The second night will be the same, only 2 hours of sleep and good legs in the early hours. In retrospect, I wonder why, how to explain these good sensations when paradoxically I only slept 4 hours in two days and the rest of the time, I cycled at a rather good pace, crossed two storms, cycled in the rain, and in thick fog. Read more: managing sleep on Paris-Brest-Paris. In all the photos, I notice that I'm smiling. I don't think it was physical or mental preparation that got me through these difficulties, it was certainly stress.
The Paris Brest Paris endurance race is so massive that individuals prepare for it with their entire being, both consciously and unconsciously. In the unconscious part, there is positive stress generated that causes rain to fall, but morale remains high. It is solicited, and we need it. Night falls, but stress causes the body to only need two hours of sleep, then two more the second night. There is no sleep deprivation, which is difficult to manage, only a restriction, much like a baby who feeds correctly for the first ten minutes of breastfeeding, and the rest is pleasure, comfort, and exchange.
Finally, there is stress over the duration of the event. When I left Fougères on the morning of the third day, I knew that by evening I would be in Saint-Quentin. I didn't want it to last, with 300 kilometers to cover and a mental goal of getting back before nightfall. And since everything was going well, and I only had one control with assistance left, I rode fast, turned my legs, caught up with people, and it motivated me even more. I was caught up with, and I realized that it was also good. Unlike on the way there where I tried to ride in the slipstream, on the way back, I rode in front, moving forward, even putting it in the big gear.
At the last refueling stop, I felt that things were going well, and I was torn between the feeling of enjoying the moment, appreciating these moments of rest and discussions with Christian, and the feeling of getting back on the road as soon as possible to not lose the rhythm and desire. My coach pushed me, re-energized me with a look and three words, and I was off again with the same desire, except that the idea of doing something good in this great challenge was now in my legs and in my head. The plain that finishes the stage towards Dreux is monotonous and somewhat wears down my morale, although my average is very good.
After the last checkpoint, I finally plan to calculate my arrival time in Saint-Quentin. 7:30 PM would be good, and there on the side of the road, I spot a guy from my club who came to accompany me on these beautiful last kilometers. He may do 170 to share 65 with me, I am happy and decide to share these moments of friendship, forgetting about the arrival time, the average speed, and instead sharing my adventure while living the end at the same time: magical moments.
After the stress that was a driving force to defend myself in such a challenge, now pleasure is part of the game. This time, I smile not from a distance, but from happiness. Christian makes me understand that my Paris-Brest is won, and I see in his smile all the pleasure he has in sharing these moments. It seems to me that such support is a huge source of motivation. Paris Brest Paris, we do it for ourselves, that's why we pedal, but we also do it for others, those who dream of embarking on such a project. Going all the way then represents something even greater than just a victory over oneself.
Paris-Brest-Paris is not just an adventure of a cyclist who becomes one with his machine, it is also a whole with those who live Paris-Brest at the rhythm of your pedal stroke.
You can continue your reading in this book: One Step Higher.
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