The worse I place in a crit, the more fun I haveRace report from Kathryn C.:
I ended up racing in the 3/4 field today because of the course. The cat 4s race on a modified course which essentially has no turns...boring! I just couldn't bring myself to sign up for it. I'm not sure if I was just trying to find an excuse to animate, but after a quick assessment of the field, I thought I would be in trouble in a field sprint and decided I was going into attack mode. I pretty much spent the whole race trying to escape off the front and covering all moves. I actually think if I could've gotten one or two girls to go with me, we may have had a shot at staying away, but nothing seemed to stick. With it being the first race of the season, I don't think anyone really had the confidence to fully commit to an attack. With about two to go I tried to play it a bit more conservatively, but wheels were getting sketchy in the wet conditions and teams were lining up. I was probably a little too cautious going into the final turn (a long sweeping 180) and didn't have a great spot to start the long sprint. While my legs felt great, I just didn't seem to have it together for the sprint. It's a pretty long finishing chute and I should've trusted my instincts to hold off a little longer to really push it, especially because I don't have a lot of top end at this time of year. I finished 10th beating a whopping two girls in the final sprint - we must have had some fall off the back beforehand. All in all, I'm really happy with how I felt for this time of year. I felt strong on the climbs and recovered quickly when covering attacks, I just didn't have the positioning or pop for a good sprint. I must admit, I had way more fun than I did when I won last year and I got a great workout. It seems that the more foolish my tactics, the more fun I have! I actually feel like I have an ok grasp on tactics, I just tend to say screw it and take to the front. It's probably a good thing cross is my focus... Thanks for all of the help you've been giving - I think we are definitely on the right track! I hope your weekend if off to a great start! Kathryn PS - you know you're doing too much work when the winner thanks you after the race for covering everything.
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BJL Coaching Athlete Gili T. recently traveled to Israel to participate in a 200km ride starting in the afternoon and rolling through the night. The course was mostly on gravel and dirt roads, and Gili had a great ride as you can read below. Goes to show you what you can accomplish with 6-8 hours of training per week, when that training is focused and purposeful. These types of e-mails and phone calls can make a coach grin from ear to ear! Nice work, Gili!
"Hi coach from the holy land and 70th degrees. I had a blast ride: total 11h ride time and total of close to 200km (from thursday at 1pm to Friday at 5am)with 3 stops, one for 30 min and two of one hour long each. Mostly flat ride on mostly gravel / dirt road. I did it effortlessly keeping max z2 and even at this had to wait for the rest. Only another guy finished the whole course but i had to wait for him to a point that I could have shaved an hour at least. Salsa spearfish turned to be a hack of a bike!! Fast, convenience, superb geometry and handling. Want to thank you for a good training year with many milestones and achievements. Talk soon, Gili" The bike racing bug sunk its claws into me in 2013. After jumping into two races on a whim late last season, I was hooked. Fast forward to 2014, and my race number collection has grown ten-fold, from two lowly sheets of Tyvek to nearly twenty between road time trials and cyclocross. I placed just outside the top 10 in the NJ Time Trial Cup and I went well beyond what I ever believed I could achieve in my first year of real competition. But as much as I’d like to say I did it all on my own, I couldn’t have done it without a little help from my cycling coach, Coach Brian Lariviere of BJL Coaching.
My 2014 Race Number Collection According to USA Cycling (USAC), there more than 1,400 licensed coaches operating nationwide. After going through an extensive educational curriculum and certification process, USAC-licensed coaches can begin working with athletes to help them unlock their potential. Coach Brian is not only a USAC-licensed coach, but also has many years of racing and coaching experience in the disciplines I wanted to compete in. That knowledge and experience made him the natural choice for me. As a bonus, he happens to be local, but a coach doesn’t have to be based in your area to be effective. With Coach Brian’s help, I can confidently say I’ve made the transition from enthusiast rider to competitive bike racer. I also learned a few things about riding, training, and myself. Here’s my top 5: 1. Know Your GoalLast December, Brian and I met over coffee to start creating my training plan. The first question he asked me was “What are your goals?” I knew the answer to this question, since I had committed myself to compete in the NJ Time Trial Cup.A lot of people considering enlisting a coach may not have a clear goal in mind. American writer Bill Copeland once said, “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” Put simply, you don’t need a certified coach to put rides or workouts on a calendar for you. Anyone can do that, even you. A good coach, however, can make sure that each and every one of those workouts counts towards achieving your goal. That goal should be more concrete than just “ride faster” or “get stronger”. Whether your goal is to complete a metric century or win the Tour de France, a coach can ensure you’re doing the right things to get there. 2. It Isn’t All For Fun AnymoreBefore I started working with Brian, my “training” consisted of whatever I felt like doing and however hard or long I felt like doing it. Fun value was high but training value probably wasn’t. That all changed when I started my training plan. Brian warned me up front that there will be times when the scheduled workout might not necessarily be what I feel like doing, or that my rest day might be the only nice day of the week (see #5). Either way, sticking to the plan is essential to success even when it’s tempting to do otherwise. I’ll admit, hill repeats in the driving rain and frigid winter base miles aren’t what I call fun. Neither is begging off social rides with friends to suffer through threshold intervals all alone. But no accomplishment comes without some sacrifice. 3. Data MattersA training plan is like a custom-tailored suit. Without measurements, it will never fit. Your coach will need performance data from you in order to maximize the effectiveness of your training, and you must have the tools to provide it. A cadence-equipped cycle computer and a heart rate monitor will do the trick at the very least, but using a power meter is the best way to give your coach all the data she needs to unlock your potential. There is simply no better way for your coach to track your fitness level, make your workouts repeatable, and extract maximum benefit from your training plan. Can’t tell your NP from your TSS? Your coach can show you what it all means. Training with power involves a lot of numbers. Thankfully, I had a math teacher in my corner (Brian also happens to be a high school math teacher). Brian introduced me to the plethora of metrics involved in power training, how to interpret them and how to use them during training. Seeing my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) increase over the course of the season was a major motivator for me to keep working. 4. Recover Just As Hard As You WorkOnce my race season started in earnest this April, I was surprised not by how much training I was doing, but by how much recovery was in my schedule. Easy rides and rest days totally off the bike are just as important as hard workouts, and you should take them just as seriously. It’s just as easy to over-train as it is to not train enough, and finding the right balance of training and recovery is often challenging to do yourself. The objective eye of a coach can help you find the ratio that suits you and your fitness goals, allowing for proper recovery and eliminating dreaded “junk miles”. 5. It’s Not All About FitnessA good coach and a good training plan will improve more than just your physical fitness. Depending on your discipline, your coach might also provide skills training. Brian is a top-level cyclocross racer and having his expertise and experience on my side while we practiced cyclocross skills (mounts/dismounts, hopping barriers, etc.) really paid off on race day. Below is a shot of Coach Brian’s homemade practice barriers that we used to sharpen my hops. (Yes, we met and practiced before dawn. Remember what I said about sacrifice?) A good coach helps train your brain as well as your body. You can train your body all you want, but if your head isn’t in it, you won’t get far. For a discipline like time trialing, your mental fortitude is as important as your power output, so Brian’s advice on visualization and self-motivation were key to my success. An athlete’s body needs fuel, so a good coach will also help optimize your nutrition. Much healthier hydration and fueling habits, both on and off the bike, have become a part of my daily life now thanks to Brian’s advice. You don’t need to be a pro to access the expertise and knowledge of a cycling coach. All you need is a goal, a will to reach it, and the tools to help you along the way. A USAC-certified cycling coach like Coach Brian can build a plan around what you bring and help you achieve success. Want to get started on your own training plan? You can find out more information about Coach Brian at www.BJLCoaching.com or contact him directly at [email protected] You can also find out more about USA Cycling’s Coach Certification process here. Link to the original post: https://cyclecraft.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/put-me-in-coach-5-things-i-learned-from-my-cycling-coach/ The Mountain Man is one of favorite races out there, having participated in this since 1996 or 1997. Not every year, but I have quite a few Mountain Man sweatshirts floating around.
This year I hadn't done any run prep, and while I've done the "off the couch" thing before, I didn't want to do that to myself this year. Also, after getting third last year, with at least a little running in my legs, I didn't want to go backwards. So...I had the bright idea to do it relay with my 9 year old nephew. Chris, the promoter, basically created this category for us, which was cool. I've seen folks do relay before, mostly father/son type of deal. Since my son is 5 months old, that probably wasn't going to work out yet. Race day brought some amazing weather, and we were pumped. My nephew had a great run, coming in safely at 17:30. He handed off the "baton" and I was off. I knew I could go eye-bleeding hard since I didn't have to run afterwards. And, although my eyes didn't bleed, I did almost think I was going to black out. We had about 25 or so in front of us, so I had plenty of rabbits. I think I caught 10 to 12 on the first little climb up Patriot's, then kept moving forward from there. My goal was to catch everyone and to set a new fastest lap time. I knew the leaders had about 5 minutes on me, and one was former professional Jonathan Erdyli (sp). While not a mountain biker, he's good on his mountain bike on terrain like LM. I kept pushing and pushing and came in on my first lap at about 20.5 minutes. I knew I had bested my fast lap from last year, as I would hope, and felt good for a second lap. I hit it hard, and chased down a handful more. I started recognizing the jerseys of the leaders, and when I saw last year's winner, I knew I was in good shape. However, I caught him just before the roller coaster at the end. So I came in hot with the fastest bike time by 5 minutes. Honestly, I would have been a bit embarrassed if I didn't since I had fresh legs. I didn't think I caught everyone, and I didn't, but my family was cheering saying "great job!" I asked, "How many?" and it turns out it was only Erdyli and he was only 15 seconds up! Doh! So my nephew was off. He did GREAT, and only had 3 people pass him. He was 30 seconds faster than his first run, and he attributed this to no traffic. He came in and put us in 5th overall, and 1st (out of one ) relay team. He was soooo pumped that it totally made my day! For a point of fact, he's a very good, competitive runner, but had never trail run before. When he gets a little older and some more experience...look out. Chris, after 26 years, is seriously considering adding a relay category. I hope he does as this will really open this event up to more mountain bikers and only add to the fun nature of this race. What a super day! And, as a bonus, my teammate Kris Weber showed up and it was great seeing him. He ROCKED the course and finished FIRST in his age bracket. Congrats, Weber! Sunday, September 7, 2014, was spectacular weather for racing!
David G., Alexy U., and me lined up for what would be the last TT for each of us this year, but this time instead of competing against each other, we would be doing the Route 29 TT as a team of three. I was super stoked to be asked to be on this strong team and excited to race. We had a great ride, all taking equal pulls on the very flat 20+ mile out and back course. The format for the race is unique and nice. After the "out" leg, your time is taken and you have about 1 minute of neutral to U-turn, line up, and start again. This eliminates the need to try to do a fast turn around, especially on this road where the promoter was not permitted to completely stop traffic. Our out and back legs were very similar, averaging almost 30 miles per hour. We ended up taking the win by several minutes, and we all went home with a little extra dough in our pockets. BJL Coaching Athlete Kevin E. had a great ride for what would be his last TT of the year as well. Keving scored in the top 10 again and put forth a solid effort on this long course. I was also excited for my teammate Keith L. who took the win the the Masters 40+ Category in his first TT this year. Actually, it was his first TT is many years and this was a great prep for the half Iron Man Tri that he had a couple of weeks following. Great way to cap off the TT season. Now, we're looking forward to getting out on the dirt, grass, gravel, pavement, sand, mud, and whatever else will comprise the 'cross courses. Keep it rolling! I'm excited to be racing the Route 29 TTT this weekend with David G. and Alexy U. The three of us all stood on the podium for the NJ TT Cup Overall in 35+ Master Men last year. Alexy took the win, David with a close second place, and I was just behind in third. It will be an honor and an absolute hoot to be racning with these two speedsters on Sunday on this 35 Km pancake flat course.
Kevin E. will also be competing in what is NOW his final TT of the year. Next up will be some CX for Kevin, and enjoying some great fall riding. Should be fun! Coach Brian was approached by the Sealskinz sales rep for the area and was offered a partnership in helping to promote this great line of outdoor gear. Sealskinz has some incredible waterproof clothing, including socks, gloves, and hats. I've tried one style of socks and gloves so far, and they're amazing. Unlike a pair of waterproof oversocks that I purchased over 15 years ago, the Sealskinz socks get worn like "regular" socks and feel great. They have the ability to stretch like normal sock, instead of feeling like plastic bags on your feet. Even on a warmer summer day, my feet were comfortable and, on that particularly soggy day, dry. You can literally stand in a stream and your feet won't get wet. I'm super excited to try out more of their products and keep you posted on their stellar performance!
 Having not raced since mid-April, I was itching to go fast and hard with a number somewhere on my bike or body, so I signed up for the PA TT Championships at Lake Nockamixon in Quakertown. It was actually an hour closer than the TT in NJ, and the course was longer with some climbing, so it sounded great.
Since one TT isn't enough pain for the day, I decided to sign up for two categories, Masters 40-44 and Cat 3. The promoter was cool and offered a discount to the 10-12 knuckleheads who were doing two, and let us go basically first and then last so we had ample time to warm-up, cool-down, switch numbers, warm-up again, and cool-down one last time. My first run was early and I don't think my engine was fully charged up yet, but I had a pretty good time. I was 28:08 for the 12 miles with 600 feet of gain, which put me in 5th in Masters 40-44. It would have been 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, in every other Masters category, including the younger folks. Actually, I would have won every older category, except 50-59...that guy CRUSHED it! I love seeing the "old" guys and gals showing up the youngins. An hour later, I was back on the line for Cat 3. This time I had some rabbits and chased down 6-7 guys, which I think really helped keep my time close to my first run. I ended up 28:30, 1 second off of 4th, in 5th place again. I was definitely pleased with this considering my lack of racing, lack of sleep, and only getting on my TT bike a few times before the race. I certainly see areas where I can improve and am looking forward to the next event! I definitely recommend this one to anyone that does TT's or wants to try one for next year. Being the State Championships, it brings out all the best PA guys. On a side note, I was the fastest NJ guy there, which was pretty cool. |
AuthorCoach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Categories
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