Racing: Mind and Body

Late Friday afternoon, the family and I loaded up the car and headed south to sunny St. George to kick off the bike racing season in the first Intermountain Cup event. While in route, my girls fell a sleep so I settled in for a quiet evening entertained by my own thoughts. I would consider myself a pretty speedy driver for the most part, but from time to time there were a few others on I-15 who didn’t mind pushing the accelerator a little closer to the floor than I. A few times I’d hop in behind them as if I were following a break. Use them to set the pace and hopefully give me a heads up if there happened to be a UHP in the area. During these intermittent accelerations, I found myself questioning the efficiency of our Honda Element and it’s ability to keep up with other, “faster and stronger” vehicles on the road. At times, I had to force the car to go beyond its comfort cruising zone, which as most of us know, does a number to the MPG. Now, the Element isn’t known for is horse power or top end speeds, rather, it’s roomy interior and functionality. And on this trip we were using pretty much every square inch of it. But because the Element doesn’t quite put out the watts like some other cars, I was jeopardizing my fuel levels by putting it into the red, which in turn could end up with us running out of gas and KDAY pedaling I-15 to grab a refill. I actually think it would be hard to run out of gas between SLC and St. George, seeing that there are gas stations nearly every 40-50 miles. By now you may picking up the subtleties of where this article is going. We rolled in to St. George about 10:30 on Friday evening, unloaded out stuff and went to bed. The next morning SDAY woke early and went for a run with Becky, while Layla and I had some breakfast and watched the sun rise. It was going to be a great day for bike racing. I was feeling pretty confident that my fitness was much better than its ever been this early in the season. I was pretty confident that a decent result  would be within reach today.My pre-race routine was pretty standard. I usually try to include some eggs with oatmeal, or waffles along with some fresh fruit. Warming up before the race on the new bike was a bit stressful as I was making a few adjustments and trying to work out the bugs. When it came time to line up before the start, I still felt a bit of hopeful confidence. I was on the back line but that didn't bother me. There was plenty of road a head of us and lots of jockeying could be done there. As the gun went off, so did the pro mens field. It was fast as always but I never felt uncomfortable. This is where the problems began.As we rolled up the road and towards the first section of single track, I was riding very conservative. Saving gas, if you know what I mean. For the first mile or two the course rolls on double track up and down some short hills. Good for those who have decent power. It's tough to settle in at this point so you can either pin it to move up front and take chances of being in the red, or find a solid tempo and keep a close eye on the front group. I'm not entirely sure I was doing either and it seemed to stay this way the entire race.As we grinded out our laps I found myself in a similar situation as I was on the drive the night before. I felt like I was pushing a decent pace at times and then I'd get passed another racer from the pro category. I would respond and stick to their wheel without much of a problem but soon find myself, again, being way too conservative. I'd let the pace maker gain a little time on me or pass a lapped rider thinking I'd be fine and could bridge the gap. I let a lot of "faster and stronger" guys go when I should have put up more of a fight.I finished the race in 11th place and was pretty happy about that considering the amount or lack of fight I put in. We had 25 really fast guys on the line to begin with. Those ahead of me and behind me were all riding very strong. At one point in time I fought to catch them or keep them from catching me. After the race I rode for about an hour in route to the home where we were staying. I decided to put in a few efforts and the legs still felt pretty good. I still had some fuel in the tank just not the mindset to use it correctly.Unfortunately we don't have gauges like our vehicles and can't always tell how much is left. It's just something you learn when listening to your body during training and racing. For me that's why its very important to include some early season races and high intensity efforts. It really helps the body and mind adjust to challenges that lay ahead and throughout the cycling season.To follow up, I'll be posting an article about the importance of a good base and different types of interval training that can be included during early season rides and events.