f you know me – personally or peripherally through this web site, you know that I struggle to manage race stress. In the past, I’ve had a tendency to let the perceived enormity and perceived expectations to get the better of me. Resulting in a rather high-strung, unsavory version of myself coming to the fore moments and hours before a race. This is not good. Wasted energy and emotion which could be channeled to the pedals and race course was being wasted. So this year, I vowed to be different. To be better.

Reasons for this are two-fold: I will race better if I’m not so keyed-up and I need to keep my stress down to keep my UC in check. So two very important reasons to get on top of this race stress business. Now, don’t get me wrong, I recognize that some race stress is a good thing – it shows that one is hoping to doing well and wants to achieve a solid performance. But at times this race stress, for me could get me wound up rather tight. Hence the vow.

I’m pleased to say that I’m two double race weekends into the season and I like to think I’ve done a pretty good job at handling the race stress cauldron. Yes, I still get a bit of a nervous stomach and my voice might get a bit more urgent at times. But overall, I’m entering the races with a completely different mind set and body awareness. I wish I could pinpoint three or four key things that I’ve done to change things. But for me I think it really has been a result of a slow but steady concerted effort over the summer and fall training periods of working at improving my own self-confidence.

It seems that this improved self-confidence has helped to take some of the fear out of racing. Since I believe in my abilities, my training, my nutrition, my equipment and my mental strength – I no longer have the crazy thoughts entering my brain. I’ve also tried to force myself to relax a bit. I used to stick to a pretty rigid race day plan. I realized this doesn’t work. As soon as one thing doesn’t go according to plan/schedule, everything else would be messed up. Now I approach the race weekends/days with a loose plan of how I would like things to unfold. I have a solid idea on what I’ll eat race day and when. But the rest of the day is flexible.

For example, take this past Sunday in Vermont. Normally, I’d get on the course after Marc’s race to get in a few more laps of the course. But since it was raining and damp, I made a last minute decision to wait until the elite warm-up period to get my last laps in. Cool. This was a change for me. In the past I would have gone out done the laps. Gotten cold and damp and fretted about being cold and damp. Instead I set the bike up on the trainer, spun my legs out, chatted with the folks around the car, got kited up and then hit the course for the elite warm-up. I arrived at the line loose, dry and confident with seeing the course minutes before the race start.

The other component for me that has helped to reduce my race stress are my keywords. Yes, keywords. I have a few personal keywords that I repeat to myself when training, when brushing my teeth, riding to work, sitting in the car, warming up and on the line. This helps me immensely. Kind of like a little race angel on my shoulder. I learned about doing this from various sports psychology books and podcasts. It works for me.

I’ve also worked hard to remove the word “expectations” from my vocabulary. I don’t check these web sites that try to guesstimate how I’ll finish. I don’t look at start lists. I don’t get psyched out by who is or isn’t there. Or even by someone else’s flash kit. I just show up and do my thing. Not an easy thing to do.

Of course, all this being said, I’m by no means perfect on race day. There will be times when the stress does get the better of me. But hopefully I’ll be able to recognize when this is happening and get on top of it.

So there you have it, my thoughts on race stress. I believe that race stress is very individual. Some people thrive on stress. Others do not. Determining what works for you is all part of becoming a complete athlete. Just as important as the training we do, the food we eat, and the equipment we ride.

It was wet. It was slippery. It was a good day to be a cyclo-cross racer in Williston, Vermont. I told everyone it wouldn’t rain today. Well, I was wrong. It rained. I think it rained all night and for a good part of the morning. But it was a warm rain… And besides I’m not made of sugar, so I won’t melt.

We had a great evening at our host’s house on Saturday. Much relaxing, story telling, ice cream eating, and general frivolity was had. I think everyone was a bit tired from the day of racing, bike race watching, hiking and barn sales. But this is what the weekend is for – to squeeze as much in and out as possible. Thanks again to our awesome hosts (Jen and Shane) for taking us in for the weekend and letting us take over their basement, fridge, living room and generally their house. It really was a treat to return to a house rather than a hotel room for the night. Thanks to Skip for helping us out and extending his family’s hospitality to us. Hopefully one day we can do the same.

So we woke up to rain. Oh well. Luckily we had packed our super MEC rain pants and had plenty of layers, gloves, hats, and shoes to get us through. Marc and I hit the race course pretty early to get in some laps since today we were racing on a new course. Glad we did this as there were some key sections that it helped to be aware of for the race. The pump track was back in today as were some more longer rather punishing climbs. All in all, another excellent course set-up by the organizers. Nice to race two back-to-back days at the same venue and have to different race courses.

Kicked off the day with Marc and Steve’s race. This was a blast. Lots of friendly faces in the pit to catch up with. A little bit of pit action for me with two bike changes for Marc. Marc had a couple of crashes today that messed up a very strong ride. He recovered well from the crashes and did an impressive job of putting himself in the hurt locker to ride to a strong finish. Steve had a strong ride as well finishing in the front of the race. Great ride guys! Always inspiring to watch you guys race and hear you talk about the race afterwards. Congrats to Mike and Kathy R. for their fine rides this weekend as well. (Thanks as well for the cheering!)

I chilled out after Marc’s race and pedaled in place on the trainer. Decided that with the rain I didn’t want to go out and get damp and cold again. Luckily with the New England Verge Races, there is a designated elite warm-up period so we have plenty of time to get on the course before we race. I did two laps before my race and arrived at the staging area with just a few minutes to spare. This worked out well – the course was fresh in my mind, my body was still warm, and my brain was not getting distracted with the nervous chatter. So my race was in the end a good one. The result on paper is not what I wanted. But I rallied well from two crashes and a flat tire all in the first lap of the race. I mentioned this in my race report but it needs to be reiterated here: many many thanks to Marc, Keirnan, Shane and Skip today. These guys literally saved my race today – from noticing the ripped tire on my race bike, to loaning me a wheel (thanks Keirnan!), to getting me my race bikes, running to the pit to let Marc know I would be pitting, to helping Marc out in the pit, and for just generally being out there in the rain and damp cheering for me and continually encouraging me. Thanks so much!

We took off from the race pretty quick as we wanted to make some stops at our favorite Burlington shops. We did some browsing around EMS, Barnes and Noble, and Small Dog Electronics and then hit up Moe’s for some tacos and Sbucks for a chai tea and we then we were off. Took our new favorite route home that includes a smooth ferry ride and slid into our drive way just before 10:00. Not bad. One load of laundry is done. Second load is in the washer. Dishwasher is churning away. Bags are all unpacked. Bikes are wiped down. Murphy is sitting here happy that we’re back. And now I’m going to go to bed. Another great weekend of racing, friends, and traveling. I always say that one of the best things about cyclo-cross for me is the community and this weekend I really felt it. People were super supportive of one another – helping out with problems, cheering, showing each other good race lines, and just generally being friendly. Good times were had.

Green is the perfect word for Vermont. Everywhere my eye wanders I see green grass. This was definitely the word of the day at the Catamount Outdoor Center. Green grass. A fast grassy course. Dry as a bone. Loved the race today. Great venue. Challenging course. Lots of people out cheering. Well organized. Bumped into lots of old friends and made some new ones.

Can’t really beat this for a Saturday. And to top it off I got to watch Marc race his bike and then I got to race. Smooth. Marc and Steve were up first racing in the elite Masters field. They both suffered some crashes which set them both back but I’d have to say they put on some pretty good shows. Riding through the field to finish off in with solid results. Great riding guys. As usual, an inspiration for me. Robbie O put down a super awesome race in the 45 plus elite Masters race and finished off 4th. Way to go Rob! Josee also raced this morning with the 3/4 women and she had a most excellent ride. Way to go Josee!

All in all a most excellent day at the races. I had a decent day on the bike. Check out the race report.

Just chilling out here and relaxing. Catching up with the goings on out there in ‘cross racing land. Convincing Shane to race cyclo-cross. Think it is going to happen! Talk has switched to all out ‘cross and biking in general. Got to say it is super awesome to be hanging out a house instead of a hotel. So much more room to spread out. Nice to have other people to talk to and hang out with. Also extra bonus is having a big kitchen and just room to be. Looking forward to another excellent day tomorrow. Weather is calling for rain but I don’t believe it. I fully believe it will be dry. Okay, I’m out. Thanks for all the cheering and support out on the course. See you tomorrow!

Oh, I really really like Vermont. So beautiful. So much green. Mountains. Fresh cool air. Nice.

We had a pretty easy drive down. We went through Cornwall to avoid the Montreal rush hour chaos. Worked perfectly. Cool part of the drive was the ferry. We took a ferry from N.Y. state to Vermont. Nice. A mere $9 and a 12 minute ferry ride. Actually very relaxing.

Got to Catamount and we squeezed in a few laps before darkness descended. The course was all set out so we were able to check it out. Grass is the word of the day. Flowy course. Some long steady climbs. Fast tight little descent. A run-up/ride with logs. A fast descent down and around the barn. I really like the course. Challenging. But there are places to catch your breath.

We caught up with the Ottawa cyclo-cross crowd and with our pals from Mass. Great way to kick off the weekend. Now we’re settled in with Skip’s family. So super awesome to be staying in a house rather than a hotel. Thanks Jen and Shane for the hospitality! We’ve just kind of taken over the basement with our bikes. Shane did a little wrenching on my bike and fixed up my rear derailleur! The boys are off at the grocery store – time will tell if they actually buy what they are supposed to!

Well, I’m going to sign off. I’ll post up a race report tomorrow and of course a story about the day. Looking forward to a fun day of racing, cheering, and hanging out with friends.

Well, the Vermont race weekend is here. This is this first series of races in the New England Verge Series. The New England Verge Series is one of the best (if not top) cyclo-cross race series in North America. Deep fields in every category. Well organized. A strong mix of courses and venues. Experienced promoters. And extra bonus – getting to travel to New England. I’d have to say that is thanks to the New England Verge Series that I’ve discovered some real gems of towns and cities in New England. Could definitely move to Vermont or Massachusetts. And well, Rhode Island – I’ve been a fan of this little state ever since I wrote a report on Rhode Island for my grade five social studies class.

Hmm, seem to have digressed there. Sorry – must be the caffeine in my tea talking! Yep, so hopping in the car soon to drive down to Williston, VT for a weekend of racing at Catamount. Luckily for us we are able to skip the hotel process this weekend and are bunking down with Skip of Kingsbridge and his extended family. Nice change not having to cram ourselves into a little hotel room. Thanks guys for the hospitality!

So maybe you are wondering what goes into preparing for these weekend escapes to cyclo-cross country? Here is a small glimpse into what we do to get ready:
– clean and pack bikes (four bikes) into car
– clean and pack wheels (six to eight pairs of wheels) into car
– pack race bag (wonder if it will rain, snow, sleet or be so hot we will be melting)
– pack street clothes (decided to forgo extra pair of pants in an effort to save space)
– prepare food (made an uber-chili, cooked up brown rice, made salad, prepared pre-race meals of oatmeal, prepared post-race meal of couscous with egg, whipped up baggies of trail mix, breakfast cereals, and car snack food)
– wash and pack up the bottles
– find someone to look after Mr. Murphy for us
– general last-minute tidying of the house
– gather together miscellaneous stuff like bike tools, folding chairs, iPods, iPhones, GPS

Finally, cram all this stuff into our car and then hit the road. More or less on time. Drive. Arrive. Stretch out the kinks in the legs on the course. Crash in a hotel or host housing. Eat. Get race bags ready and finally hit the sack for the night.

That’s it. Sounds like a lot. But after a few weekends of this, we have things down to a pretty good science. The first weekend is always a shock to the system. Amazing how quickly the brain forgets how much stuff we need to take with us to a ‘cross race weekend. It is all part of the experience.

So with that, I’m signing off. It is still kind of early in the morning and I have a few things to do still. Besides I want to hit the big bookstore to pick up some reading material for my trips next week. As for preparing for a double trip to Italy followed by a week in Edmonton? Uh, not sure yet. I’m leaving on Wednesday. Guess I’ll know on Tuesday what goes into prepping for such a long and mostly solo trip!