New Year

This is the first time I have taken such a long time off the mtn bike, some of Nov, all Dec and Jan to be exact. I made the big mistake of trying to do an Expert race the first week that I came back because I felt so fresh. BIG MISTAKE, as I totally fell apart after the 2nd lap. So I put the mtn bike racing back on the shelf to actually make an attempt at getting my form back first.

I decided to do something I have never done, to do some road racing this year. I think I have become accustomed to riding my bike so hard, that I’m not as fresh as I should be when the race season starts in late September. So changing up my program should be refreshing to the legs.

I learned a lot form this past mtn bike race season. First thing, I rode my road bike way too much during the summer. I had great road bike legs, but not enough of it translated over to the mtn bike once the race season started. Second thing, I don’t ride multiple laps enough. It’s amazing that all the top Expert and Pro riders that train here only do one fast lap at a time. I have decided to do multiple laps just under race pace, and work my way up.

Why the new program?
There were a couple of things that made me decide to go with this program. I was always surprised that I would fade at the end of the race even though I know I had a big endurance/power base. After talking with Robert Bounds I decided that I need to ride trails that were longer, or I had to do multiple laps without stopping. My biggest weakness is getting slopping at the end of the race. The riders in Central Florida can ride for several hours without stopping because they have those types of trails. I can’t do that in South Florida. If I train at my normal trail, the lap will be over in 33-34mins, which was not enough.

Now, that I have my new goals for 2007, I spent less of my time riding with the “1 lap riders “, and decided to do multiple laps by myself. The program was to have 2 days that I would do 3 laps back to back. That would be a great start. Anyone that rides Markhum knows that it is a tough course to do 3 laps back to back on.

This way I could find a nice flow and studying my own riding style. I found some very interesting things that were basic during this time out on the bike SOLO. I found that I could do the same lap times as before, and my heartrate was 6-8 beats lower than before, even though I was doing multiple laps. When I reviewed my heartrate charts I had never ramped up my heartrate towards the end of each lap. Because I never did that I felt fresh during the laps, and never came close to getting sloppy.

During the month of Feb, I only had 2 other Experts riders to try this with me and they only did 2 laps back to back. By the end of February I was riding much better, and coming into my own riding style. I realized just how much of my riding style was reliant on my raw power, brute strength, and natural ability. A great thing about going out to do this type of riding by yourself is you get to deal with yourself on every level. You find out just how much patience, fortitude, self-motivation, and mental insurance that you do have.

I was riding so much better after 3 weeks, so I decided to give myself a Wednesday race day test. Bob McCarty rides 1 speed, and that is race speed. To backtrack just a little bit. In January I could do a 34min lap, and I would be cooked. I would attempt to ride that pace again, but I would be 40 seconds out. If I was able to duplicate that speed, my HR would be 6-7 beat higher than race pace. This particular day I was able to do 33:10, and a 33:32, and my heartrate stayed exactly the same. The avg speed for both of those laps was 12.4mph. That is race speed, and I don’t care what anyone tries to say. In addition to those laps, they added 90 secs of single-track to the course in between the time I was doing the 34min laps. So it’s like doing a 36min lap, then carving it down 3mins. I have no doubt that Markhum is the tightest, most jagged, course in Florida. There is a reason that this race is not in the Florida State Series. It’s because it’s downright “Dangerous”.

So I was riding so much better that decided to do the SERC in Reddick the second week in March. Now Razorback and I aren’t really friends, and it’s mostly my fault. I haven’t really respected just how long and difficult she it. So I made sure I would be prepared to finish the race strong.