Confidence Rollercoaster

[GinnySellars]

I'm getting ready for "real" stage race in Mt. Hood Oregon. We'll ride 4 events: 2 road races, a time trial, and criterium. The longest road race boasts 8500ft of climbing, with a 35mile climb up Mt Hood with some 12% grades. Yes, I'm shitting my pants about this race. I've been sick for nearly 10 days, and I have only done 2 little road races, with a handful of novice women.

Yesterday was my first ride in a week, so I went easy for 4 hours, and other than excess snot, I felt pretty good. The last hour was with Andrew, and we played on the hills a bit.

Today I decided to get back on my time trial bike. Brock took out the risers under the elbow pads, and I'm trying to get comfy in aero again. I did an LBP test on my own at home to try and get some idea of my present fitness. I'm totally stoked. It's my best ever. I've got way more high end ability, and my balance point is way higher, meaning I can sit at 165 bpm very comfortably, in control, with no drift over 30 minutes or so.

LBP HR: 169
LBP wattage: 237
LBP watts/kg: 4.62

I know I don't hold a candle to Jen who has a balance point wattage of over 260watts or so, BUT I'm thinking that if I ride well, perhaps I can draft off some of the 42 women in my group. If I can still with them until the hills, at 113lbs, my 237 watts will go a long way.

I have been freaking out all week, sending rookie questions to the BPR gang I'm going down with. I'm going to replace negative thoughts with positive.
"I've been sick for a week" --> "I'm rested"
"I don't have power to keep up with a break" --> "If I react quickly, I can hang on"
"It takes me forever to warm up" --> "I'll warm up, even before the long RR"

Most importantly, I'm going down with Jen, Stephen, Joel, and Jonas....what could be more fun!!

[Schulzy]

Ginny,
You are going to rip it up in the Hood! I am so pumped to have an awesome teammate to race with!!!! By the way you didn't race with some novice riders.. You left the other racers behind at the line and they couldn't come near you even while working together! You essentially raced on your own in the wrong category! You rode as fast as the Cat 1/2 riders at Maple Ridge on your own!!!!! Nobody in the  Cat 1/2 race rode at the front for more than a few minutes at a time and you rode for a few hours all on your own without a draft on the flats or downhills!!!!!! + you have put in some QUALITY miles since the last race!!! The Hood race is the perfect race for you! The climbs are long and steep which minimizes the impact of any surges or attacks! A gap can be closed with some perseverence and patience on these types of climbs!

You are a TT machine especially on the hills! This will be a true advantage at a timed GC race! You are light, fast and experienced! BTW, I have developed some bad TT anxiety which led to a confessed total meltdown last night (will spare you the details).  Trying to put together a TT bike a week before a race doesn't help either! I know most of my TT issues are due to a lack of practice!!! I have been road racing for 3 1/2 years now and don't have a good excuse! Essentially Mtn bike racing is one big TT! Also, mashing at a panicked cadence of 60ish doesn't help my cause!  I am putting on a cadence monitor and will do my best!
Also, as far as your positive thinking.... Remember, cognitive restructuring only works if you believe it!!!
It will be a great weekend of learning and team building for all of us!!!

Jen

[StephenU]

Ginny, you are not the only one having a confidence problem!
I've had a tough time keeping my weight down with all the racing, etc..  too much eating and not enough training time in the lower HR zones.  My plan was to be down to 141 for Mt Hood so I can climb like a goat, but I'm a few over that now and am worried I am going to get dropped on the big climbs!!! (I think I am insane!)  I am sure we will all be fine when the racing starts and ends, but I think the buildup to these things is much worse than actually following through on the plans..


Stephen

[GinnySellars]

See what I mean? Great support from you guys. Thanks.

Stephen, here's my opinion. I think you are probably right that you've done a ton of racing, and could do with a week of lower HR training. BUT NOT due to weight. You are super skinny, and I don't think weight is an issue at all. The key is to stay well nourished, so that your body can maintain strength after all the racing you've been doing. You already know that climbing is where you excel. You won't get dropped.

Jen, you have already said it...mtn biking is a TT. You showed yourself what kind of intensity you could maintain over 6 hrs, and also when you've done fast laps in prep at 37min or so. You were right in the mix in M.R., and that was with NO warm up, coming straight off the freezing cold RR with metabolic issues. Your TT in Mt. Hood will re-write your TT experience.

All right...ready for good times.

[Matt]

I wish I could be there with you guys!  I'm sure you'll have a great experience:)....and be fast!

Matt

[kiwichris]

I would like to echo Matt's comment - and say how well prepared you ALL are - just think that the work you have put in over the past 9 months as we came together as a group has prepared you like NO OTHER ATHLETE there! You are all primed and ready to go! Just relax and do your stuff.

Chris

[StephenU]

Good thing it rained last night and the crit was cancelled!  I went mtn biking with matt and peter at Knox/grainger/Mckinnley and found out something was wrong with me!  If I had of been at the crit, I would have ridden through the problem and likely made myself worse!

My HR was a good 10-15 beats higher than normal.  ( i know this because I have ridden these trails soo many times )  I thought Matt and Peter were hammering when in fact they were not!   Although my legs felt fine, no soreness etc after 3 full days of rest, something else was wrong with me!

My last bout with overtraining / race induced heart trauma was because of extreme high HR and output but this seems to be caused by too much volume last week.
Salty Dog Sunday, tuesday Mtn Bike ride, Predator Loop wednesday, Thursday Crit, friday Spin, Saturday, saturday 6 hour mtn bike ride, Sunday 7 hour road ride. MEGA HOURS!

So 3 days off in a row and then my disasterous ride last night!!  After realizing that my HR was super high with relation to my power output, I shut it down and kept the HR very low, hiking up steep hills etc. (I have learned from Master Yoda (andrew) )
being that I have not had any high intensity riding for over a week, I can only assume that my peripheral systems are still super stressed from the mega hours.. .  More rest required!

[Andrew]

GREAT insight Stephen.

The huge hours can have an affect on the heart as well as the peripheral system. And in fact, it may take you longer to recover from the cardiac stress of a long session, than from the stress on the peripheral system.

It will be very important to rest well before COBRA, where we can get a close look at how you feel prior to the trip South.

You may also be at the head of a viral infection, so be very dilligent with sleep, fluids, and healthy nutrition this week-end. If you do not feel 100% at COBRA, you can always choose to keep me company, as I will certainly have trouble holding on to the rest of the team if they are firing on all cylinders.

Thomsen, our young skier from Whistler, will be joining us, as will young Greyson, who we have not seen since last fall. This will be the biggest single event for teh BPR team, which is very exciting for me as a coach.

As for Mt Hood...I am absolutely convinced the BPR members going down to race will have a fun and successful trip. There is no further prep that is needed for any of you, other than ensuring your bikes are in working order, and ensuring appropriate rest before the event by being organized in terms of packing appropriate gear, and planning your schedule to allow you to relax when it is time to race. No more last minute gear changes, or tire swaps, or brake adjustments. Your body's are ready, now get your heads ready as well. Look closely at the schedule of events, and be sure you know exactly when and where you need to be each day. Then race with PASSION!

[Schulzy]

Well as it turns out I should not have been teasing Stephen for being so fried after a week of mega miles because as my test showed this morning I am also extremely fried! My legs were rested after only a few hours of riding this week. My HR was very high at a SUPER low wattage. This trend was very apparently very early in the test. Stephen and I rode the exact same miles following Salty Dog but I thought I could somehow escape the impact this would have on my heart! In retrospect, it would have been SUPER SMART to rest after Salty Dog and avoid a mtn bike ride + the predator loop + a 6 hour mtn bike ride + a 210 km road ride etc.... Today I definitely learned more about the benefits of rest and the benefits of testing regularly. If I would have done a Step test a few days after the Salty Dog I probably would have avoided riding the crit and the mega miles. I felt awesome at the crit and assumed that everything was OK!
Jen

[Andrew]

I am really glad there is an open discussion here about the value of testing, and the importance of recovery. We try to stress its importance through every education session we run, but it sometimes only hits home when it hits closer to home.

We did some testing this morning with Thomsen and Sean in Salmon Arm. Both showed very positive improvements, after completing some "different" training ideas of the past few months.

Sean has had some time doing higher intensity work and some stroke volume focus, and has pushed his LBP wattage up close to 285, with excellent recovery. Still showing rom for cardiac improvements, so will continue his plan right through until Oliver, and reassess after racing there next week. He will also be joining us for COBRA, as his first real chance to ride with the roadies. He is strong, and I think he will do very well if we can help him adjust to the changing paces of the peloton, and he has some help from those with more experience. Keep an eye open for him as the day progresses, and pass along some encouragement if he is in a gruop with you.

Thomsen (our Sprint Skate Ski specialist who is currently living in Whistler, and training with the Callaghan Valley Team) did a run test, and showed how his focus on ankle mobility, hip flexor stretching and cadence have all had positive effects on his performance line. He has ridden COBRA before, and made the top of the hill with Tom and Olav a couple of years ago. He is back again, and should be very strong on the bike despite a relative lack of road miles this season. He was also really impressive in the water, at Masters practice this morning, and I am  now convinced he has potential as an Xterra athlete...

[GinnySellars]

Well Stephen and Jen, if you need lessons in rest in relaxation, I'm an expert! It's a good chance to catch up with your loved ones who think they've lost you to a bike. When's the last time you've read a book, washed the car, planted a garden, painted your nails, sat in a coffee shop with a newspaper, watched a movie on a rainy day, baked cookies...shall I go on? Enjoy some rest.

[kiwichris]

I saw Quail getting his nails done yesterday - so obviously taking some RandR time (he he)

While it was not great to see Jen in such a fried state this morning - it was great to see her reaction to the news and reflect openly about her situation. With some rest and some step tests on Monday and Tuesday following the C ride we should see things improve. I am positive that she will go in to Mt Hood in great shape to rip it up down there.

Chris

[Andrew]

10:00pm in Salmon Arm...the night before COBRA...torrential rain...if you pray on Sunday mornings, please pray for sun.

[Andrew]

Well...they're off. Sent Ginny with a fully loaded Element off early this morning to pick up Joel, and meet up with Quail and Schulzy, and Jonas for the long drive to Oregon to rae at Mt Hood. Each one of them has shown remarkable strength at some of their early season events, and should have the confidence to attack this race, knowing they are well prepared. But each one also has had some moments of doubt. So, I send this note as a reminder to them all to believe in themselves, be ready for an excellent day of racing with some fantastic competition, and work towards your overcoming your personal limitations.

Best of luck to the BPR racers at Mt Hood!!!