I'm in the same boat as you Jen. Starting to train hard for my 100 mile cycling event. I did it last year and placed 11th out of 600 or so, so I'm determined to make a good run at it again this year. I have more work to do to get in shape than I did at this time last year. It's at the end of April. Proper nutrition is definitely one of the most important factors for training... probably second only to mental determination. If you have those two criteria up to snuff, your training itself will fall into place just fine. Like an MMA fight, long distance cycling is an endurance event. To train for this you need to work on cardio... which means you need both CARBS and PROTEIN. Carbs will fuel your workouts, protein will repair your muscles. The tricky part is to not eat too many more carbs than you will be burning! During training I eat a ton of pasta, vegetables, fish/ chicken/ wild game, and protein shakes. Not much else as boring as it sounds... but it's worth it. I honestly think a big mutivitamin every day is beneficial also. If you feel like snacking on junk... JUST DRINK A BUNCH OF WATER. Last year I cut out all the fatty, greasy, junky stuff and I felt soo good. I slept better at night, and I was more alert during the day. My only fault was coffee... I drink at least 3 big cups throughout the day. Something that might keep you motivated is taking a picture of yourself every week in order to see your progress as you go along. It may feel awkward at first (it did for me) but after a few weeks it's pretty cool to see what the body is capable of. Train hard and set your goals high Jen, you will do great! I just started my heavy training and strict diet last week so if you want to share tips as we go along, PM me.