Mtnracer

The training has been going well. I am improving in speed as well as overall endurance. I think I will be ready to actually compete in the next week or two at the Banana Belt races. I probably will not be doing the BBII, but am definitely writing it in my schedule to do the BBIII, since it’s part of the Oregon Cup, and also a good distance for racing (77 miles).

So, with my own training, I have also been doing some coaching. And, one thing that I have done with some of my athletes is test their fitness and strength to see where they are compared to where they were. Here’s a quick run-down on how I test this:

1. Fixed-interval sessions -

   For these, I give a fixed duration interval and fixed duration rest (for example 2 minutes all-out, 3 minutes rest). When your overall power starts to really drop, and you are no longer able to complete another full interval, I call that the end-point or maximal number of intervals. By measuring exactly how many of these you are able to do before complete exhaustion, you can monitor your progress.

2. Variable-length sessions -

   Similar to the other intervals, except that you mix up the length of interval and/or length of rest. After doing these a number of times, you will find that you can hold the efforts longer and recover faster.

3. Body weight -

   In cycling, there are few things that will make you as fast in the hills as losing pounds off your total weight. Some people will spend thousands of dollars trying to lose ounces off their bikes, but forget that donuts and cinnamon rolls make their purchase in vain. Another benefit, is that for men, who tend to carry much of their extra weight in their abdominal region, losing weight will make it so that they can be much more comfortable on the bike and reach a more aerodynamic position.

4. Average speed -

   This is something that I like to take a look at on my rides after the ride. And, I particularly pay attention to it on easy-medium days. Everybody likes to test their speed on hard days, but I find that an increase in my easy-medium day average pace truly shows an increase in fitness. If I used to average 15.6 mph on most of my easy-medium rides, and I now average 17.1mph, then I have really shown that my comfort level at higher speeds has increased as well as my fitness. I also tend to look for trends, not specific days. Because a single day may be high due to group riding, tailwinds, or some other particular vigor. But, trends across weeks or months speak much more highly about your fitness.

5. Hard-as-hell hills -

   My favorite test is to seek out the hardest hills in the area, whether by gradient (steepness) or length, and just do them. I don’t race up them, and I don’t particularly aim to pace them either. I try and make it so that just accomplishing the hill is a test in itself. We have a couple hills like this in the Corvallis area. Heather drive off Ridgewood is one of them, and I have a few secret others. But, I love to do these hills and see if it made me cry or dance with joy when I accomplished it.

Jumping right into it - I’ve outlined my goals for the racing season, both macro and micro, in Goals Outline. I discussed my methods of self-promotion and the emphasis on winning key races throughout the season. My next step is to discuss how I will achieve the form and fitness required to win.

“Form”-ula

Recently in an article on VeloNews.com, Dirk Friel astutely pointed out that form is the difference between fitness and fatigue. He provided this crazy algorithm. Try and keep up!:

Fitness - fatigue = form.

Assuming we cannot get negative fatigue, our best chance of achieving optimal form, relative to our fitness, is to bring fatigue to its absolute minimum - zero.
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For a decent training plan in any sport, you need to know your overall goals. We’ll start at the macro level and work our way towards the micro.

Macro goal: Become a professional cyclist.

Yeah, yeah. It’s the focus of this whole dang site. But, what does it mean? Well, to some it means to get paid to compete (aka. profession -Al). To others it means competing at the highest level of your sport, whether you get paid or not. For me, it is all about competing at the highest level, and since the former does not usually come without the latter anyway, I will aim for the latter (Competing at the highest levels - Pro category Mtn, US Pro license on the road).

I will be focusing on peaking for key mountain bike races this year. However, I will still be racing on the road. I am a category 2 road racer, and find that the experience and fitness gained from racing on the road unparalleled. If I get picked up on a road team, or find that my desire for road outshines my desire for mountain, I can always switch my emphasis (I’m ambidextrous like that).
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