This morning a very useful email arrived in my inbox from my coach – Steve Weller of Bell Lap Coaching. I thought I would share his email with you.

Spring riding and racing are right around the corner, and I’ve included some suggestions for proper preparation leading into those longer, warmer days we’ve all been waiting for.

1. Listen to your body: Sure, the spring races are coming up, but that’s no reason to dig yourself into a hole. Sudden increases in volume and intensity, or transitioning from a winter of XC skiing to more time on the bike, can put a big strain on your body and CNS. Pay attention to how you’re feeling on the bike, and how you’re recovering: remember that quality in your training is usually more important than quantity.

2. Review (or set) your goals: Bike racing, and cycling in general, can be an emotional sport. Make sure you’ve got clear goals outlined for the season, so you can check in periodically and objectively review how things are going. Make your goals detailed and specific to this season, and make sure you can measure your progress towards those goals. Make them challenging, but not unattainable. For example: In 2011, I want to compete in 10 races; climb Academy Hill in 14:30 or less by August; improve my confidence in sprints.

3. Make sure your bike and equipment is 100% ready to go: You might be a great home mechanic, but taking your bike to a professional mechanic before you start racing should be a priority. The guys and gals behind the counter at bike shops are trained to look over every detail of your bike, so you can head to the start line with 100% confidence in your machine. Have them check your frame, put on new cables and housing, chain, bar tape, and inspect and replace your tires, shoes, cleats, etc. And, while you’re at the shop….

4. Make sure you’re in an optimal position for this season: Bike fit is a dynamic thing, and changes from season to season. What you do, or don’t do, over the winter will impact your fit on the bike. Before you start racing and logging more hard miles, it’s advisable to see a qualified and experienced bike fit specialist to make sure you’re set up for success this season.

5. Think critically about how early season races fit into YOUR schedule: Just because you CAN start racing in March doesn’t mean you SHOULD. If you’re coming off of months of trainer time and XC ski season, it may be appropriate to hit the local group ride a few times before your jump right into racing.

6. Take a few test runs of any new equipment BEFORE racing: New gloves, wheels, shoes, tires: try them out before you’re in a situation where you’re depending on them.

7. Review your diet, on and off the bike: Winter can be a tough time for us bike racers on the diet front. Catching up with friends at the pub, holiday feasts, and even the shorter days all impact what, when, and how much we eat in the off-­‐season. But, with the time change right around the corner, and spring on the horizon, now’s a great time to revisit your diet. Try out any new energy foods / drink mixes before you start racing, and get creative in the kitchen at home. Sign up for a farm share,
and aim to eat 1 – 2 vegetables with every meal. Working those vegetables into every meal will help you eat well and get more creative in the kitchen.

8. Schedule in some family time: This could arguably be the first item on this list. The early season transition from weekends at home to race weekends can be tough on your family. Make sure to carve out some quality time to spend with those who support your bike racing habit throughout the year – remember that a weekend at home spent catching up on quality time with the family can go a long way!

9. Off-­‐the-­‐bike work: Don’t forget to keep up on your core work, stretching, and foam roller work. It’s amazing how many riders are willing to put in 10+ hours a week on the bike, but can’t be bothered to spend 15 minutes a few times a week on keeping their body in tune. If you can’t get to a Pilates or yoga class two or three times per week, the work you can do at home is nearly as good.

10. Train your weakness, race your strengths: Sure, it’s fun to smash your buddies in the town line sprints, or drop everyone on climbs. But, if you want to improve as a racer, you need to challenge yourself in training and not only do what comes naturally to you. Think about where you struggle in races, and try to replicate those situations in training. Have a hard time on steep climbs? Hit some repeats on a steep road at the end of your rides. Getting dropped in corners? Set up some cones in an empty parking lot, and work on increasing your cornering speed as you get more comfortable.

What about you – do you have some ideas or lessons learned that we can all benefit from as we look towards spring racing season?

I just read this fantastic blog post over at the Do Lectures and I really think it will resonate with you. It has with me.

Did you ever?

Look up to the mountain and think it was too steep to climb?

Did you ever wonder, even for the smallest second, if you had the talent to make it to the top?

Did you ever just watch a rival and think ‘I might as well as quit now.’

But you didn’t, did you?

You took the first step up that mountain.

You practiced. You practiced. You practiced.

You said nothing.

You just put one-foot in front of the other one.

And climbed.

Never looking up.

Never looking down.

And the journey wasn’t a quick one.

But overtime, people started to take notice of you.

Admiring the skill. The style. The simplicity.

But it wasn’t easy getting there, was it?

The sacrifices made along the way had a high price.

Then one day, out of the corner of your eye, you caught someone looking at you.

You knew that look. He was thinking ‘I might as well quit now’.

And you shot him a stern look straight back.

“Don’t you dare.”

Big thanks to David at the Do Lectures blog for this great post.

Oh boy oh boy – could spring be arriving early to us lucky folks in Ottawa? This past weekend we had some excellent weather and there were more than a few hardy cyclists out riding in the brilliant sunshine. I was still housebound with my recent cold – but the rest has paid off and the cold appears to be gone. Which means that I’m hoping this warm weather trend continues – I’ll be out there this weekend pedaling and moving rather than pedaling and not moving!

So this cold as I mentioned is basically gone. I rode for 45 easy minutes yesterday and 60 slightly less-easy minutes today – both times will no ill effects.

One interesting discovery thanks to this cold has been some inspiration found in an unlikely place. Inspiration all thanks to Halls. Yes, Halls – the cough drops… Marc picked up a bag of them for me and upon unwrapping my first berry-flavored Halls I discovered a wrapper with inspirational words on it. These inspirational words are bilingual and really are quite brilliant. Just the words one needs when forced down with a cold or sore throat. So all thanks to Halls, here is some late-February inspiration (maybe you can use these words today when you hop on the trainer or convince yourself to ride outside this weekend):

Go For It
Let’s Hear Your Battle Cry
Nothing You Can’t Handle
Don’t Try Harder. Do Harder!
Be Unstoppable
Get Through It
Don’t Give Up On You
Don’t Wait To Get Started

See – pretty darn inspirational and convincing! (Yes, I saved my Halls cough drop wrappers.. My mom is super talented creative embroiderer and she “makes” fabric out of wrappers. Yes you read that correctly. She collects wrappers from candies, bars, gum, etc and somehow converts them into fabric – I have a wallet made out of wrappers. So I thought she could use these wrappers with inspirational quotes to create some nifty fabric!)

Alright and for today – well our collective mission is to think spring and to think sun. If we all put our minds together we can make this happen and get out for a ride on Saturday and on Sunday.

Frankly, I’m frustrated. Really frustrated. I have another cold. Just as I was getting back into structured training and making some gains – I was hit by a cold. A cold that forced me to take six days off the bike. Fine a cold is a fact of life… I’ve been back training now for two weeks and guess what? I have another cold…

Grr. Very frustrating. This one is only in my head but I have that “hurts to swallow” feeling as well. Not impressed. I know it is only February but I want to ride and train. Kind of feels like two steps forward and three steps back.

Sorry for whining here…. Anyway, I’m taking a second day off the bike. Hoping that the rest will help and I can get back to riding on Saturday. Apart from being stuffed up, congested and coughing a bit I feel pretty good… I’ve been sucking on Zinc lozenges and taking the powerful oil of oregano (wow this stuff is potent and I think it does help).

Alright, so this is where I’m at. I have a cold. I’ll get over it. Okay whining is now over. Have a great Friday!

Over the last couple of days all I’ve been able to think about is racing my bike again. I’ve been thinking about the spring and summer races I’ll be doing. I’ve been thinking about what I’ll do in these races (yes, a bit crazy but I can’t help it!).

In short – I’m itching to race my bike again. When I’m riding my bike in the basement watching another episode of Damages (pretty good for the trainer..) and grunting through another set of intervals, I’m thinking about racing. I’m think of goals left unsettled, of new goals, and of simply getting out on the open road.

This is a good thing. I think I’ve finally reached a point where I’m back to full health – my nasty ulcerative colitis flare of 2010-2011 is well-behind me, my body has rebounded from the medication side effects, my back is fully healed from my 2011-2012 season-ending injury, my confidence is back, and I’m feeling good.

I finally feel like myself again. The self that really just wants to get out and have some fun on the bike. I have no outcome goals for the spring/summer racing. My goal for each and every race is to go as hard as I can – to push myself, to be engaged in the race, and see what I can do. I fully expect this approach to racing to end with some surprises – likely some blow-ups on the bike, some lucky moves that put me in a successful break, and others that simply show me what I still need to learn.

I don’t know how other cyclo-cross racers approach their spring/summer racing campaigns (so tell me!) – but this is what I aim to do. I’ll be building fitness and strength during this time so I’m excited to see what does happen.

Yes, I’m excited. I wish I could get out and race today! It is hard to believe that I’m turning 40 in a few months – I have a feeling this will be a good year.

(My good friend Nikoline Hansen emailed me this photo today – it was taken of us at the 2009 Treviso, Italy World Cup – this race seems like a lifetime ago. It was the start of a dream season. Nikoline and I met that day during the pre-ride and have been friends ever since. Amazing what the bike gives you.)