Crosssports's Weblog

Howdy folks,

It’s Sunday, and that’s race day almost everywhere… so, your workout today? Pretty damn obvious, right?

Go Race!

Today, though?

Try to race smart.

© Justin Smith / Wikimedia Commons, CC-By-SA-3.0

Have a plan for how you hope to race before your race even begins.

When you pre-ride the course during your warm-up, try to visualize the race.

How do you think it’s going to go?

– Will the course make the race? How?

Are there chokepoints on the course that you will need to be at the front for?

Are there technical sections of the course that will particularly suit you, or will give you fits?

Where can you take it to the competition?

Where will they try to take it to you?

– What advantages do you have over your competition? How can you race to maximize them…

Are you a good sprinter?

Sweet. Your job is to turn every race into a sprint.

Good sustained power?

OK. Get to the front. Drive the pace. Grind everybody else down.

Good recovery?

Nice. Attack. Make everybody respond to you. You’ll be able to recover, I’m betting the rest won’t be able to…

– What advantages does your competition have over you? How can you race to minimize them…

Just the opposite of the above.

Terrible sprint?

You got it. Make sure it never comes down to a sprint

Bad sustained power?

Get up front and slow things down.

Have trouble with your recovery?

OK. Keep the pace high enough that no one can attack, but low enough that you don’t overcook it and go over your redline.

Getting the picture?

– Will you need to change bikes? Can you gain an advantage while pitting when you don’t – strictly speaking – need to?

Always scope out the pit area. Know where it is, and figure out the best lines in and out if it’s at all tricky.

Over the years, I’ve been in several races where it was faster to go through the pit and change bikes than it was to ride (or run!) the adjacent “normal” part of the course.

Look for opportunities like this. The pit area is just one of them. Look for that hidden line that no one is using, but will enable you to attack around the group when the timing is right. Keep it in your back pocket, and use it when it will give you an advantage.

…and etc., etc.

What you are trying to avoid is perpetual living in reactive mode at the races.

You know what that looks like, right?

You line up for the start, and have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen.

You spend the whole race looking at what everyone else is doing, and everything you do is triggered by someone else’s actions.

You’re passive.

You’re reacting.

Does that sound like you? Take a look around at the race today, and I bet you’ll see that this describes almost everyone on the course.

So, work on it.

Stop playing defense. Make the race happen for you, not to you.

Think about this when you’re racing today, reflect upon it after the race, and hey – maybe work on starting the race with a plan.

It can’t hurt, right?

M

**********

Hey there…

Thanks for following my blog!

This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.

It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.

Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.

It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.

So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.

How do you do that?

Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.

The outpouring of support for this appeal has been incredibly gratifying, and I thank everyone who has chipped in for doing so.

I’m in the process of adding another page to the blog where I will publicly thank everyone who donated, because I really, really do appreciate it.

Ya’all rock.

M

~ by crosssports on October 18, 2014.

Posted in Cyclocross, skills, The Workout Of The Day
Tags: Bicycle racing, bike racing, cx classes, cx handling drills, cx intervals, CX practice, cx skills, CXWOTD, Cycling, Cyclo-cross, Cyclocross, cyclocross classes, cyclocross handling drills, cyclocross instruction, cyclocross intervals, Cyclocross Practice, cyclocross skills, cyclocross workouts, Fitness, Health, Heart rate, Howy folks, Intervals, Marymoor CX, Marymoor cyclocross, Marymoor practice, Personal Training, Physical exercise, Running, s: Aerobic exercise, Seattle, Sports, The Workout Of The Day Tags: Bicycle pedal, wootd, WOTD, XC Racing