Well the bike racing season is in full swing here now. I suppose for those of you in the U.S. it started a bit earlier, but for us northerners here in Canada, we are now fully getting into bike racing mode. This is the fun time. The time when all the hard work from the winter (or so-called off season) comes to fruition.

You get to take your bike out and play. Have a little fun with your friends. Race around in circles chasing one another. Then tell stories about it. I know pretty simplistic view of bike racing, but in essence this is what it comes down to.

For me, I’ve had a relatively slow start to the season. I’ve raced once at Calabogie. Feels like ages ago now. I’m racing again this weekend at Brossard. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to the race. I’m really looking forward to the positive energy that comes during a race – that rush of attacking, counter-attacking, leg aching, break-away, sprinting, crossing the finish line feeling.

This season is a different one for me. I’m taking a lighter approach to road racing this season. I’m not racing every opportunity I have. This is hard for me. I love to race. But I’ve got some big goals again this season for cyclo-cross so we’re trying something a bit different this summer. Primarily to give my body time to adapt to training stresses so that I’ll be really ready for the ‘cross season. I’m juggling training crits, with intensity work-outs, with weight work-outs and with the odd bike race thrown in. So obviously the body and brain need to time to recover and grow.

It was kind of hard this past weekend not to race. But when I got up Sunday morning, I was quite happy to have time to putter around the house and then go out for a solid three hour ride. I put some ache into my legs and had some fun. It wasn’t racing. But it was the next best thing – simply being out on my bike. I think this summer is really going to teach me this – to appreciate the bike more. So often in the past I’ve been focused on the next race and then the race after that. But this summer I’ve got more going on – I’ve got to really focus on my training and balance all the different avenues of this training. Did I mention that in June I’ll be getting on my mountain bike and ‘cross bike to do some trail riding and build up some technical riding skills?

Yes, there is method to this madness. I just need to remind myself of it. When I start to falter or bend to peer pressure to race, I have to remind myself of the ultimate goal and the big prize. I made great strides last year, this season I need to find that extra edge and take that next big leap.

Like I said, nothing quite like bike racing.

Did a critical power test today. Long time coming. Don’t know if you’ve ever done a critical power test before. It is a super efficient and easy way to get your wattage zones defined. You can do it in the comfort of your own home. It takes maximum two hours (depends on how much warm-up and cooldown you want). Anyway, I’m sure you can google “critical power test” and find out all the details. So I did one.

I learned something incredibly valuable today (besides my new wattage zones)… Fear of failure. This is my limiter. I held back during the first part of the 20 minute interval block. I was afraid of cracking and not finishing the interval. But what this did was prevented me from riding to my potential.

I had a long talk with Marc afterwards about the critical power test and what he saw. He started to point out some of the things I do when I train. I tend to pay too much attention to my SRM. Worried that I’m training too hard or not hard enough. When Marc points out, what really matters is the average number for the interval/training session. I need to learn to train with power as opposed to training against power. Does this make sense?

A similar trend happens when I race. I’m afraid of taking a risk. Taking the flier. Attempting to bridge to the group up the road. Or to really rip through a sandy corner. Limiters. Holding me back from my potential. This is a tough lock to unlock. Guess really it comes down to committing to taking chances. Taking a risk here and there will inevitably lead to success and failure. A bit of both is better than mediocrity.

I suppose it would be different if I was 17 years old – I’d have some years in the sport to try things slowly and surely and learn the bike racing game slowly. But I’m not 17. I’m 37. I don’t really have time to take the slow and easy approach. I’ve got to take the chances and race now like I’m not going to have a chance to race next year.

So time for some risk taking. There is no room for limits in my training and racing. This isn’t limited to the bike – same approach needs to be applied in the weight room and on my mental training.

Wow, I’m fired up now!!! How about you?

(Good luck to the hard-men and strong-women of Ottawa/Chelsea/Gatineau who are toeing the line tomorrow in Almonte for Paris Roubaix. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m out riding on nice smooth paved roads!)

Took a little break this morning and was scanning the New York Times. Came across an excellent article on training and coaching. Here are a couple excerpts from the article:

“Any great athlete who accomplishes anything, anywhere, loves to train,” said Tom Fleming, my coach and a former elite distance runner who twice won the New York City Marathon.
….
“What’s peak condition?” asked Dr. Pivarnik, the exercise physiologist. “It’s one step from falling off a cliff.”

Thought these were interesting quotes that could lead to some consideration and evaluation of your training and true desires as an athlete.

I’ve stated it here before but I’ll repeat it – I love training. Sometimes I think I love training more than racing. I enjoy long 4 hour rides. I like 2 hour tempo sessions. I thrive on threshold work-outs. Even the dreaded 1 minute max intervals get my blood flowing. I’ve always been like this – thriving on the training. When I used to compete in Taekwon-Do I would design some pretty intense training sessions and was always the first to show up for the extra “tournament” training sessions. Same with hockey – I loved practice time.

Maybe it is because during training, you can really take some risks. Play around a little and really test the body and the brain. Go a little too hard on that last interval? Okay well dial it back a bit for the next one. Not hard enough? Perfect – give it more gas. Want to play around with turning in loose terrain – go for it, falling in practice is
better than during a race. Training gives me a chance to fully free my brain and just get in the groove with the bike and the road. I have my iPod on (last night was a bunch of CBC podcasts to distract me from the rain), I’m focused on my bike and what I have to do.

I’m not stressed. I’m not worried about missing the move. Or attacking too late. I have no concerns over where I’m putting my front wheel or reminding myself to lay off the brakes. There are no fans cheering/jeering.

Out training it is just me. I’m accountable to me. There is nothing to prove and no one to impress.

Hmm, seeing these words on the screen, makes me consider that I might need to work some more on my race day mental game?

Anyway, just some words for thought on this Thursday.

Finally I’m getting to this little site and finding the time to write about this past weekend’s racing action. Sorry for the delay on this, my excuses really are a bit weak: sore finger and not a lot of time on my hands… None the less, here we are.

Sunday was a pretty decent day for a bike race. Particularly the season opener. It wasn’t terribly warm but not cold either. Typical April day really. I traveled solo to this race since Marc was down in Cambridge, N.Y. mixing it up at the Tour of Battenkill. Went through the typical pre-race stuff. Number pick-up. Chat and catch up with a few faces I hadn’t seen all winter. Key for me was a good warm-up. I’ve learned that my body likes a long warm-up. So off I went for 45 minutes of riding with a few tempo bursts thrown in. I also elected to follow my cyclo-cross warm-up method: warm-up in one set of clothing and then change into dry race clothing right before the race. This worked perfectly, I was able to roll to the start line in warm and comfortable clothing – I hate standing around in a damp sports bra and a clammy chamois.

So I’ve written a complete race report which you can read here…. In a nutshell, I missed the move. Frustrating, but such is bike racing. More lessons learned about reading a race and taking chances. Upside is that I felt super awesome. At no point was I feeling under pressure physically. This is what makes my error in missing the move even more annoying. Oh well, I’ve got lots more races to go… One drag about this race was that I lost all of my SRM data… Not sure what happened here – I most definitely pushed a button or two that I shouldn’t have.

I got in a decent little cool down after the race. Chugged my strawberry Recoverite and munched my post-race food. Mmm, liking the almond butter/banana tortilla wraps after a race. A nice little treat and chock full of protein and carbs. Made my way to the Sportsplex for my strength work-out.Yes, I did a weight work-out after the race. This was the plan – to tax my body heavily. Hence, the requirement for a solid cooldown and post-race food. Gym time was good. Legs felt pretty strong all things considered.

Rest of the day (not much left at this point) was pretty quiet. Long relaxing bath. Visit to the bookstore to browse the magazines and sip a warm drink. Murphy the cat and I enjoyed the backyard – he ate grass and I had some tasty Indian food. And that’s how it all went down.

Definitely so nice not to have to travel far for a race. Gotta like the easy 90 minute drive down the highway. The Ride with Rendall guys did super well at the Tour of Battenkill. They were in tough with a very elite field and an extremely challenging race course. Sounds like all the guys left it all out on the dirt roads and relentless climbs. Congrats for such strong racing. Extra congrats to Derrick SJ for going the distance – very impressive.

Next up for me is hopefully G.P. St. Martine this Sunday. I’m working on arranging a ride to the race – everyone else in the city is racing at Paris Roubaix… Hmm, I’m almost considering racing Paris Roubaix. Maybe the signs are pointing me towards this race. Not sure though. I don’t have fond memories of the race – but that was years ago (1995)… Maybe it is time to toe the line?

(Just got in from the first NRC training crit of the season. Where were you? Small group out tonight. Definitely made it a challenging ride. I died a few times out there. But survived it. Fun night was had. Thanks to Ross for running the races for us again this season.)

Check back tomorrow… Trouble typing tonight – sliced one of my fingers while chopping onion… Sorry for the delay.