|
On August 24, 2010, 27 team members attended a round table discussion held at Dennis and Greg Larson’s CPA office in Sandy to share our collective endurance racing knowledge. We enjoyed Café Rio before the clinic began. A few of our endurance racing experts who were on hand to field questions were Drew Jordan, Drew Free, Bob and Lyna Saffel, Andy and Rhonda Hypio, Ryan Ashbridge, Jenelle Kremmer, and Bart Gillespie. Below are a few of the topics and some of the advice that came out of the discussion. 1) Training a) There are lots of resources for training out there. The general consensus was to start tapering 2 weeks before the race. Do a massive ride 2 weeks prior to the race, then your longest ride should be 2 to 3 hours at moderate to easy pace. You can do shorter hard efforts in those two weeks, but nothing epic. b) Ride with faster people. Long training rides are essential, but long training rides with people that will push you is just as important. These are the rides you should test your food types on too. 2) Fueling a) What works for one person may not work for another! b) Pre-race meals - do everything normally. i) One to two days before: Some say to eat normally and just stay hydrated. Others say to have a bit more carbs for the day or two before. Don’t eat anything out of the ordinary and don’t overeat. ii) Breakfast on race day: Some say not to eat within 3 hours of racing but more agreed 1.5 hours is generally good. Most agree that you should eat a normal breakfast that has carbs for sure and isn’t super heavy on fat and protein. c) Race day i) Eat Early. Eat Often. You might set a timer to go off to help you to remember to eat every 35 minutes. If you wait until you feel yourself slowing down, you’ve waited too long. Should be eating and drinking in the first hour. It is worth it to slow down and lose 5 or 10 seconds to eat; otherwise you may bonk and lose 30 minutes. ii) Time your intake correctly. Don’t eat something solid before a big climb. You won’t be able to digest it. Maybe eat something solid if you have a long decent where you will be able to start digesting. iii) You may be able to go the entire race on carbohydrates alone. Other people may need some protein. Carbo drinks, gels, and blocks will be the quickest form of fuel. Protein and fat are slower burning. iv) A general rule for how much you should eat is 200 to 300 calories per hour depending on your weight. Your body cannot process more than that. v) You might try to stuff your jersey pockets with sugars (gels or blocks) on one side and solids (bars) on the other, so you know where to reach for the fuel you need in a hurry. vi) Hydrating is ultra important too. If you eat a lot of gels or solids it is especially important to have plain water too. 3) Race strategy a) Ride steady and smart. b) Be nice to your bike. Bike mechanicals are the racers fault. Don’t mash the gears. If you are riding in dusty or wet conditions, it is worth it to take a few seconds to clean/lube the chain. Ride smooth to avoid flats. Make sure your bike is good to go before race day (see gear section below). c) Have a goal. Possible goals include: 1) win or place high  , 2) hang with a certain crowd that you think are your speed or a little faster, 3) beat your time from last year, 4) get through feeling like you did your ultimate best, rode your hardest, and didn’t bonk, 5) make the cut off times, 6) finish!  d) Play to your strengths. If you are a great climber, maybe you push it a little harder on the climbs knowing you can recover on the downhills. If you aren’t such a great climber, maybe you spin up the climbs but race harder on the flats or gentle climbs. e) Pace: There are a couple of schools of thought on this. Some may try to keep their heart rate in a zone 3 or 4 the whole time, but if your race has a lot of steep climbs, that will be nearly impossible. Many racers try to keep their heart rates at the top end of the endurance zone and keep the cadence high. Higher cadence is a good strategy to prevent muscle damage, but if you don’t practice that way during training, spinning on race day isn’t going to work. f) If your race is at really high altitude, you won’t be able to recover after a climb, so it is better to not hammer the high elevation climbs. g) Try not to let other racers get in your head. In long endurance races, someone may pass you, but you’ll pass them an hour later. Race your own race. h) Nervousness and how to stop it. Nervousness will go away the more you race. Cherish the feeling. Remember that you’re only racing for fun. 4) Getting through the inevitable low points.  Every racer has those times when everything hurts, he/she feels horrible, and quitting seems like a good idea. Here are some strategies to get past those times: a) Set small goals: pick one hill to summit, set a time to make it to (20 minutes is good), set a distance to do (make it through the next 4 miles or to the next aid station), or set a heart rate to stay at. Once you achieve that goal, you’ll probably be through your bad spot, but if not, set another small goal. b) Just stick it out and it will go away. Cry and get over it. c) Keep positive. 5) Gear a) Bike maintenance: i) Do NOT do anything drastically different like change saddles or change the fit substantially the week before the race. Do NOT get new cables the week before the race. Do NOT bring your bike to the shop and expect them to be able to hook you up the night before the race with a new wheelset. ii) DO make sure your tire sealant is topped up. In the hot summertime, Stans will dry out in a month. Also check for dirt in your bead. DO make sure your tires have good tread. b) Sunscreen: wear it. c) To wear a hydration pack or not? Pros: easiest to drink out of on technical courses, allows you to carry more than two water bottles worth of fluid. Cons: retains heat, may aggravate back problems. d) What to bring: i) Essential: 1 or 2 tubes and/or patch kit; pump, Big Air, small CO2 or some combo of those; salvaged piece of a sidewall, dollar bill, piece of Tyvek, energy bar wrapper, or some other tough flexible material to fix a sidewall rip; chain tool and master link; zip ties. ii) Optional depending on the race: rain gear, derailleur hanger, small bottle of chain lube if the course is dusty or lots of water crossings, duct tape, sunscreen. 6) Above all, remember, this is supposed to be FUN  . Be courteous to fellow racers and enjoy the challenge! 7) Health awareness. Beware of air travel thrombosis and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs that move to the lungs or heart). Endurance athletes account for 85% of air travel thrombosis cases. This is because we have slower resting blood flow which carries greater risk of stagnant blood subject to clotting. We are also more likely to have bruises and sore muscles that can trigger clotting. To avoid, make sure you move around every 15 minutes during travel and wear medical compression tights. Symptoms include one swollen leg, chest pains, trouble breathing. Read here for more information http://www.airhealth.org/athletes.html. |
