What Not to Do

Attacking the field @ Bethel (Courtesy of Corey Tucker)

Below is an interesting article that I found on www.pezcyclingnews.com on "What Not to Do." As athletes, we often focus on what to do and pay little or no attention to the opposite.

The article focuses on mistakes that triathletes and inexperienced riders make. The author mimics what Audrey and I have been trying to get across to the team. Key points include:

• Crashing - The biggest concern of most people who race, crashing, is usually avoidable. Ride behind an experienced racer. I say racer because choosing the right line into a turn can be the difference between winning or loosing; crashing or staying upright. And, people who race learn this quickly and often the hard way. Ouch! So, on your next ride, when the pace ramps up, don't attack to the front. Sit in and follow wheels of the experienced racer. You'll learn a lot.
• Nerves - Stay loose! That was the very first thing I learned when I did my first group ride on the road at 17 years of age and it's something that we try to instill in everyone who we teach how to ride in a group. The more tense you are, the more likely you are to hit something or someone and swerve into a more dangerous scenario. Soft hands on the bars/aerobars, bent elbows, relaxed face.
• Riding on the Front - Don't do it. Why? To say you pulled the whole field around the course? They'll say thank you and sprint for the win. Same thing in triathlon. Why surge back and forth with someone just to pass them and then the both of you blow up. Sit in and relax. Make your move when it counts, when everyone else is tired, scared or relaxing. Headwinds, uphills and technical downhills are great places to attack whether you are a cyclist or triathlete.
• Training - Train for every scenario not just what you "think" will happen. Yes, you should train for what the course or effort will be like but, things change and you need to prepare your body to do whatever it takes. As a coach, I see many athletes train long and slow for the marathon and short and fast for a 5k. A marathoner needs interval work to make the body more efficient and economical. A 5k runner needs the endurance to last the 3.1 miles at a fast pace. Same rules apply for cycling. If you're a road racer and you are not working on your "jumps" or accelerations then I'll guess you often miss the breakaway and will end up slogging your way back up the the break towing the whole group behind you. Same goes for the triathlete when that rider comes flying past you on the bike or run, can you switch "gears" and pace off of them?
• Speed - Ask anyone who has talked to me about training and they'll tell you I preach about this all the time. But, everyone thinks it's irrelevant to endurance training so I'll keep my secret workouts to myself and my athletes! Muhahahah! (evil laugh)

The article can be read HERE. Enjoy!