SETTING SOME GOALS

Let's talk about setting some goals for your upcoming cycling season. Setting goals is a very important step in not only setting up a training plan, but helping you keep the fire and motivation as the season progresses. I wrote a bit about goal setting this time last year, and it can be read here. I would like to expand on that a bit this year, maybe help a bit more as you try and determine your season goals, as well as give some additional info on what to do, or how to help achieve those goals.

So, first things first. What do you hope to accomplish this season? Are you new to racing and just want to improve some skills, get comfortable in the peloton, and maybe finish a stage race for the first time? Or, perhaps you've been doing this racing thing a while, and it's time to step it up and battle with the big boys, upgrade to CAT 2 and have a realistic shot at placing high some races. No matter what the goal, first and foremost it MUST be important to YOU. It doesn't really matter what other people want or expect from you, when the going gets tough, the training gets hard, and the distractions are everywhere, what you're going after MUST be important to you. Bike racing is hard. It doesn't matter if you're a CAT 5 just starting out, or CAT 2 capable of winning state or regional races, it's just plain hard. If you want to be successful, you have to be willing to work. If you don't really know why you're doing this or what you hope to accomplish, it is way to easy to just throw in the towel and go back to playing golf or whatever else you can do that doesn't require as much physical and mental preparation (and pain!) to be successful. So, the goal has got to be important, and YOU gotta want it, and want it BAD.

Another thing to consider is that the season goals have to be realistic. I used the Tour as an example of a dream in my other goal setting post. It's great to dream and think that someday you could be riding in the Tour de France, but for the vast majority of people, that is a dream, not really a goal. It's great to dream, and I think it is even good to have a dream goal. A dream goal is something that is most likely out of your reach, but something you really, really want and if everything happened just perfectly and you got really lucky, who knows, it could happen. Example might be to someday get noticed and signed by a pro team, or win a national championship. For some people, those are realistic season goals, for others, they are dream goals. A dream goal is something you can use to help motivate you when times get tough. You gotta keep working, you don't want to give up on your dream, right? So, it's great to dream, but your season goals are most important. They must stretch you, make you work hard and maintain focus, but they must be something that could realistically happen for you THIS season.

OK, the season goal(s) must be important and realistic. To me, these are the most significant qualities to have in a goal. If you have something that is important to you, and realistically possible, you will be willing to do what it takes to accomplish them. They also have to be something you can control. A goal of "winning the Tour de Bozeman" might be something that is realistic and important to you, but if Alberto Contador and his tainted beef show up, you're probably not going to reach your goal. I'd rather see the goal worded as "have the ride of my life at Tour de Bozeman". That way, it's possible to accomplish your goal and feel like you had a successful season, even if you don't get the win. It's ok, and even good to have more than one season goal, but try and keep it down to three or four, otherwise you are giving yourself to many different things to focus on as you move through the season.

Once you come up with some goals, you have to think of what it will take to accomplish them. These will be the things you need to focus your training on as you move through the season. Back to the Tour de Bozeman example, if that is your goal event you will probably need to improve your climbing ability, considering the nature of the course. You may need to work on training consistency, improving the structure of your training, improve TT position, drop a few pounds to reach a desired racing weight, or hire a coach to guide you on your journey. You will also want to come up with some short term goals to help you along the way. Some example of short term goals might be to cut one minute of your best climbing time up your local hill, achieve racing weight by April 1st, improve functional threshold power to xxx watts by a certain date, attend a week long training camp early in the spring, etc.

Once you have put some thought into this process, the next thing you NEED to do is write down your goals and tell people about them. I have a goal setting worksheet that I have my clients fill out. They have to write down there dream goal, season goals, what it will take to achieve them, and some short term goals that will help them reach the season goals. I not only have them fill out the worksheet, but ask them to write there goals down in other places, as well, For example, one of my goals this season is to drop a few pounds to get back to a leaner racing weight, so my goals are posted on the refrigerator. Every time I reach for a snack, I see my goals and it helps me decide whether I really need to eat now, or not. In the film "A Ride with George Hincapie" George talks about how he has his goals written down and hung in his closet, so every day when he dresses for his training rides he looks at them and it helps him focus his training. Write these things down everywhere you can, and tell as many people as will listen what your trying to accomplish. Once the people around you know how important your goals are, not only will they possibly be more understanding and do what they can to help, but it helps hold you accountable. All these people now know your trying to accomplish a certain goal, you don't want to let them down, so maybe you'll get that ride in today instead of skipping, even though you really feel like going to bed. See what I mean? It may seem like a bunch of mental mumbo jumbo, but trust me, it all helps.

As an example, and to help hold myself accountable, I will post my season goals here. I know Jason and Tomas will see them, not sure if (or why?) anyone else still reads this....

Dream Goal- Master National Cyclocross Champ

Season Goals:
- Have the ride of my life at Masters CX Nats, leading to a top 10 finish
- I have a specific MT road season goal here, the people around me will know
it, I just don't want Herzig to know, so I'll not post it here
- Be strong enough to be a factor and help the team at Elkhorn

What will it take to achieve these goals?

- focused and consistent training
- determination
- improved climbing ability
- improved bike handling for CX
- improved power to weight ratio

Short term goals to focus on throughout the season:

- Be fit and in the mix for a personal or team win at Roubaix
- Achieve racing weight by mid April
- Improve functional threshold power to 350+ watts by June
- Stay with the lead group on the climb heavy Cow Country course
- Consistently finish on the podium at Montana CX races

There's all the goals, etc for my upcoming season. I can now use this as a blueprint for where to focus my energy during training. The training will all be geared towards accomplishing these goals. Posting them here really will help hold me accountable, and strive even harder to accomplish them. Doing something similar could help you, as well.

Pick important goals, tell people about them, write them down everywhere you can, and work your tail off to make sure they happen. Time is wasting, now is the time to decide what your going to do this season. Better get to it.....

'TIS THE SEASON

Ah, December. Winter in Montana, and time to be doing almost anything but biking or training, right? Well, I guess that depends on your situation and upcoming season goals. Some hardy MT racers are still going hard, with sites set on Cyclocross Nationals next weekend in Bend, Or. I had hoped to be one of the hardcore racers still grunting out intervals in December to prepare for battle at Nats, but, as always seems to be the case, life got in the way and my cyclocross season came to an unplanned early end. Other racers out there have been taking it easy for a while, recovering and recharging the batteries after a long season. Even though it is the dead of winter, they are probably itching to get back on the bike, or a least back to some sorta training regimen.

Really, a training regimen in December when the first races aren't until early April? Well, like I said, that depends and situations are different for each individual racer. For me, I raced and trained pretty hard up 'til about a month ago. Once I realized 'cross season was over for me, I decided to take a bit of a break. I took three weeks totally off the bike. I didn't even think about cycling or racing at all. I just hung out, did some hiking and hunting, and took some time to do other things that get neglected while training, and enjoyed life. Being the cycling junkie that I am, after three weeks off the bike I was ready to ride and start thinking about next season. As a CAT 2 racer with some lofty goals, crazy strong competition, and a strong team to try and support, starting serious training in December is pretty much a necessity. Even though the training is serious, it's starts out fairly relaxed with some easy riding, a bit of weight training, and hopefully plenty of cross training in the form of running, skate skiing, and hiking to try and minimize the time spent on the trainer or rollers. That said, I still spend the vat majority of my available training time on the bike. All the other activities are great, and will help build endurance, but if I want to excel at bike racing, I gotta spend time on the bike, even if that means riding the rollers for a couple months.

I have been doing this for a few years now, and I know from experience that I am mentally strong enough to handle a training schedule like this. Others may not be able to, and if they start to early, they may lose motivation and fizzle out before the races even get here. When to start and how hard to train are very individualized situations. If you are an experienced cyclist with lofty goals like myself, time is a wasting and you had better start thinking about what those goals are and how you are going to achieve them NOW. It'll be time to toe the line again before you know it, be sure you are ready. Newer racers may want to wait a bit to get serious, but as I said that is dependant upon the individual. No matter what your situation there really is no off season. Even if you aren't training seriously yet, it's always good to remain as active as you can and enjoy unstructured aerobic activities to help maintain fitness throughout the year.

So, enjoy your winter. Whether it's climbing ice, hitting the slopes, skate skiing, or even riding the trainer in a basement like I will be doing, you gotta stay active and start thinking about next season now. The first thing you need to be doing is coming up with some goals for next season. More on that later. Until then, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Training Year. I hope it's a great one.

MSU/GAS crossed, Thunder struck, and Kali bound

As expected, it's been a while since I've made time to post on the blog. The last few weeks have gone by pretty fast, with lots of racing, a little training, and the other usual life events. I've found that if I don't post this stuff right away, it just doesn't get done.

By now, everyone who cares about the Bozo cross weekend and rolling Thunder knows what went down. Both events were great. The GAS and MSU guys put together a great two day race weekend in Bozeman at an exciting new venue. The courses were tough, yet fun and led to some good racing. For me, it was a tale of two days. Day one I started fast, took the hole shot, and almost immediately began to fade rapidly through the field. The beach section was killing me, and I just felt like I had nothing. I was totally disappointed with my ride/fitness that day. If my kids had not been there, I'm pretty sure I woulda threw my bike into the pond and possibly left it there for good, never to utter the word cyclocross again as long as I lived. Again, saved by the kids. Day two turned out much better for me. I again took the hole shot, wanting to be near the front as we hit the beach. After the first lap it was just Curry, Doll, and myself then a good gap to the chasers. I held on for a while, but again was foiled by the sand section, as I bobbled the tough turn coming off the beach. Curry and Doll got a gap, I tried to chase back, but with Curry drilling it around the pond, getting back on their wheel was pretty much a lost cause. I did my best to stay close, and eventually Doll slid out on a tricky gravel corner, allowing me to overtake him for second. JDoll suffered a mechanical in the crash, and was out. Curry was long gone, then me with Scott Herzig in hot pursuit. Either I began to fade again, or Herzig picked it up, because he was coming fast. It was beginning to look like a good battle for second, but with maybe two to go, Scott pretended to have a pedal problem so that he didn't have to get beat by me. I woulda waited for him to fix the pedal, but I had already waited for about two laps to allow him to catch me in the first place! Just kidding Scott, I think we both know you were gonna get me, but I was sure gonna try! Anyways, thanks to Doll and Herzig I was mostly gifted second place, but at least I felt like I had a descent ride for the first time this season. Plus, I won some cool gloves and a doughnut! Thunder was looming....

Thunder was great. Congrats to Radley and the crew for another super day of racing. The day started early with Mariah, Benji, and Griffen all repping GAS in the junior race. They all raced hard. Benji is getting faster each year, and I saw Griffen killing the tricky s turn descent, riding it fast and clean, just like eventual winner and pro mtb rider Sam Schultz-watch out Sam, in about seven or eight more years he's coming for you! And, Lisa Curry wasn't the only GAS rider to win at Thunder. Mariah was again crowned junior girls Thunder Champion. Way to go, Mariah! It was a tough course, imagine trying to ride it as 9 yr old girl (OK, I rode it LIKE a 9 yr old girl, but not AS one, there's a difference there). Mariah then hoped into the kids race. With a giant field of 20+ kids, Mariah and trey went one-two, both showing off their hard earned remount skills in front of a good crowd. Then, they got candy. It was a good day to be a kid. Heck, it was Rolling Thunder, it was a good day for anybody! In the 4/5 race, PURE athlete Aaron Johnson fought hard to finish second. He had a great ride, and is looking forward to this weekends racing up in the Flathead, where second place just won't do..... Once darkness fell, it was time for the elite race main event. I was surprised to get a front row call up, but took advantage of it by again getting a solid start (those short, hard practice start efforts are paying off) and was beat to the first corner by only Sam Schultz. He went fast, and I stuck on his wheel...for a while. I was a bit distracted by his acrobatic entrance and high speed going into the tricky s turn descent. Trying to match his speed on that feature was a bit much for me, as I bobbled a bit at the bottom and had to put a foot down. I had trouble clipping back in while powering up the off camber climb. This allowed Toby to get by and a gap to open. So much for that $220+ 1st lap prime ....From there I again began to fade. The fitness actually felt pretty good, but the tight loose turns were killing me. Too much time on the trainer, not enough time in the dirt...something for me to work on. I fought hard, but lost a few places over the next few laps. I was still comfortably in the top ten with four to go when I broke a spoke on the s turn and had to run about a half lap to the pit. The spectators were awesome. Some cheering me on, saying there's just no quit in him, great job, etc. while others said it was over. I should just quit and have a beer, it's the American way-hilarious. I ran it out, got lapped, got a wheel, and finished Rolling Thunder dead freaking last. Not what I had in mind, but that's racing.

OK, now we're up to date. I spent the last week working, got a couple good training rides in (trying to address this mid race fad, we'll see if it works) and looking forward to the Kalispell weekend. Woodland cross tomorrow am, with Heron Park on Sunday. I'm not sure who all is going to be there, but I don't think Mr. Curry will be, so we all get a chance to race for first overall, instead of first behind Curry! Who is gonna step up and take advantage? My money is on PURE athlete Jesse Doll. He had a great ride at Thunder, and just took another W last week at the Missoula Wed night series. So, if I was a betting man, I'd go with him. But, my heart says I can take him. See you in the morning, Jesse....

MOOSECROSS, FUEL TO THE FIRE

The boys from Victor Velo once again put on a great weekend of racing at MooseCross. Great courses, top notch competitors, food, beer, prizes, movies, and even a place to crash (stay the night, that is, there are plenty of places to "crash" on the course and I found a new one again this year)-pretty much everything you could want from a cyclocross race. The GAS/Intrinsik team showed up in force, and a great weekend was had by all. Victor, Idaho is a pretty cool little town just outside of Jackson, Wy. It has small town charm and beautiful scenery. I wouldn't mind living there if it weren't for the crazy reverse angle parking on Main Street. I don't know how they ever got that passed. The city council must be out of there mind! (just kidding Dave, we pretty much all agreed the reverse angle parking was a sweet set up).

I hitched a ride down in the Curry van. I secretly hoped that just being in close proximity to Mr. and Mrs. Cyclocross, as well as Mrs. Freight Train would somehow make me faster. I tried to absorb all there 'cross secrets and knowledge on the ride down. Turns out even all there secrets and knowledge couldn't make me any faster. In fact, it seems to have made me slower, if that's possible. Thanks for nothing, John, Lisa, and Amy. Guess I'll be getting my secrets elsewhere in the future.....

Some highlights from the weekend, other than what mtcx.com already listed include:

* A dramatic crash by Tomas. He slid out at high speed as he hopped onto the sidewalk. I was right behind him, and it looked BAD. Kudos to Tomas for dusting himself off and getting back in the race in a big way. There's no give up in him.

A probably almost a s dramatic crash by your truly as I somehow managed to step into my front wheel while dismounting. This resulted in me flipping over into the barriers (ouch!) nearly taking out JDoll in the process, breaking spokes on my carbon tubular wheel (sorry Aaron, I know I promised to take care of your babies when I purchased them from you, hopefully it can be brought back to life with some new spokes and some TLC). Once I got my bearings about me, I had to run over 1/2 lap to the pit for a spare wheel. Needless to say, the race was over for me, but I decided to stay out there and at least get a workout and some much needed practice. The cool thing was I ended up back in right where I probably would have been without the crash. I caught a couple people, then had my sights on PURE coached athlete JDoll, but he proved to be to strong, and simply rode away from me the last few laps. The results show me in 6th place, but I was a lap down, and should be listed DFL.

*PURE coached athlete Jim Nallick had a strong ride in the Masters race. Turns out some of my ignorance must be rubbing off on him, as he chose to then hop into the CAT 4/5 race for another strong showing. Way to use that hard earned fitness, Jim.

*Junior GAS/Intrinsik racer Benji Nallick takes the hole shot, and holds on for the W in the junior race. Way to go, Benji!

* Day one ended with food, beer, awards, raffles, movies, and keg tossing. My right arm was a bit sore from my crash, otherwise I'm pretty sure I coulda took the keg toss W from Eric Horn. Next time, my friend, next time.

*Day two had an epic three way GAS/Intrinsik battle for domination of the masters race. Tomas, Alex, and Jared duked it out for the whole race with Alex coming out on top.

* To hop, or not to hop? There were some cool "shorty" barriers in day two's course. Racers were practicing and nervously deciding whether or not to risk hopping them. Hopping them proved to be faster, but a bit risky. It seems it turned out to be about 1/2 and 1/2 as far as hoppers vs. runners. LCurry showed up the women's field, as she was the only one hopping. It worked pretty good for her, except for that one time, whoops....

* PURE coached athlete Jesse Doll once again put the hurt on the coach as he rode to a strong 4th place finish behind some very fast dudes. I didn't crash this time, and at one point early I was right on his wheel. He simply rode away from me again. The student becomes the master...Guess we know who's doing there work and who's slacking.

It was a great weekend of racing. I gotta admit that I left there a bit disappointed in my performance. I feel like I have been training pretty hard, and thought the fitness should be coming around. It seems I'm right about where I was last season- just a touch behind the fast guys. Oh well. I will turn the disappointment into desire and train a bit harder. The season is long, and I still have time to make some improvements. I skipped out on work today and got in a solid workout of 5 minute VO2max intervals, which actually felt not to terrible. Now I'm off to GAS/Intrinsik Tuesday night cross practice to see if I can improve the skills enough to at least not crash into the barriers this weekend. Bozeman cross weekend is coming, will you be there?

TRAINER BOUND.....

Man, can you believe this weather, It was incredibly nice here in Belgrade today. Not very "cross like", but I don't hear to many people complaining about it. Unfortunately for me, between work and shuttling kids, I didn't get a chance to enjoy it with a ride. So, another trainer session for me. As much as I complain about riding the trainer, it sure is an awesome training tool. You can really cause some serious self inflicted pain on those things. Since you don't have to worry about traffic, running into a tree, or even keeping your balance, you can really put the hurt on. At the end of some of the intervals, it's all I can do to keep from falling off the bike. I tend to make a few moaning, groaning, even cussing noises when I really push it. My wife said it sounded like I was having a baby down in the PURE coaching studio tonight. I told her what I was doing was probably much harder than having a baby. I don't think she liked that. But man, if having a baby is harder than what I was doing on the bike tonight, it must be pretty intense! OK, for all you mothers out there, I am sure having a baby is much harder than my little trainer ride, just saying I was hurting....I know you can hurt yourself out on a ride as well, but on the trainer, at least for me, I can take it just a touch farther it seems. I'll still complain about having to ride the damned thing, though, probably as soon as tomorrow if I'm unlucky.

KROSS KICKOFF- VICTOR, ID

I spent last weekend down in the Jackson hole area. We headed down there for a soccer tournament that my daughter, Mariah, was in. It was a great weekend. Mariah got to play tons of soccer, I got to do some riding AND racing, Trey got to fish, Tawnya got to see one of her bestest friend in the whole world (besides me, of course) and we also got to make some new friends with some of the other soccer families. Awesome.

Like many great weekends, it started with some time in the car. Not always fun, but at least we were traveling through some of the most incredible places on the planet, so it wasn't all bad. We took a short break along the Gallatin so my son, Trey "Fishbrain" Morgan could wet a fly or two. He though he may have had a couple nibbles, but alas, no fish for dinner. Bummer.

More car time. We headed down through Yellowstone, saw a few critters, herd some bull elk bugling, and generally speaking had a grand old time. Everyone was impressed, as always, by the sight of the Tetons. Once in Jackson, we had a few hours to kill before meeting up with friends at the hotel, so we did the tourist thing and walked around downtown a bit. Fishbrain spotted a fly fishing shop, as usual, so we spent some time in there. The proprietor of the store was so impressed with Fishbrain's excitement for the sport, that he gave Trey a free fly box. Talk about making a kids day. Other than the fly shop, we pretty much decided downtown Jackson was crazy, expensive, and overly crowded, even this time of the year. If anyone is interested, we did spot a T-Rex skull fossil for sale. The sign said it was real, and only $375,000. Everyone should have one of those, right?

Next up was dinner, hotel, visiting, and sleep for an early am start to the tourney. Although the weather was awesome all weekend, being on the soccer fields at 7 am on frosty grass made for a chilly morning. The u10 Bozeman Blitz girls did their thing and played hard, coming out on top of game one, with Mariah scoring the winning goal. Next came about a 30 minute wait to get McDonald's for breakfast. The town was SO busy we couldn't get in anywhere without a huge wait, and even McD's had a line basically out the door. Crazy.

After that we headed back to the hotel, where I prepared to embark on my adventure. There was a 'cross race in victor, home of Moosecross, that I was interested in attending. To make it into a solid training day, I decided to ride to and from the race as well. Google said it was 27 miles from my hotel to Victor, but google didn't tell me about Teton Pass! Wow, that is a great ride. I think the sign said 10% for 5 miles on the Jackson side, and 10% for three miles coming back over. The climb up and over was great. I tried to keep it dialed back a bit with the racing ahead of me, but it was steep enough that I had to go fairly hard just to keep moving.

It really doesn't look like much in the photo, but that is a solid climb. Then, descending the other side was scary. Steep and fast, and the first time I'd done something like that on the cross bike. It felt like I could feel the lower psi tires just rolling around under the rim. Needless to say, I had to take it kinda easy on the way down.

Now the (supposedly) fun part, cyclocross racing. Lucky for me (or not) I arrived early enough to do the Masters race first, then the 1/2/3 race later in the afternoon. Shortly after arriving, I met up with Peter, another one of the "soccer dad's" from Mariah's team. I had told him about the race just that morning. He had brought his cross bike, and hoped to do a little riding over the weekend. Since he is a cyclist, and therefor slightly less intelligent than your average person, he, too, decided to come on over and do some suffering (HE was smart enough to drive over, though). I registered, dropped off a bunch of crap from my "commute" that I didn't need for racing, and went out to check the course.

The race was at the same venue as Moosecross, and the course was mostly the same as last year, with a few tweaks here and there. Next weekend is the annual Moosecross race, and anyone who goes can expect a good course with some of the same features as in the past, including the double barrier into the run up, the "narrows" (a twisty bermed section), a triple barrier section, the green monster (slightly different, and I'd say tougher than last year with some tight and off camber turns) and of course there will be loose dirt and plenty of bumps to contend with. There is a little more pavement added, as well a a trip around the brewery on some sketchy gravel to keep things interesting.

First up was the masters race. I started a bit conservatively, giving up the hole shot so I didn't have to be the early leader. After about 1/2 lap, I couldn't stand following anymore, and put in a solid dig. When I finally took a look back, it was me and one other guy, Troy Barry, WAY off the front. Near the end of lap one, troy got tired of following and took the front, I was quit content to sit on him, as I new he was super strong from previous years at Moosecross. He put in a few digs, but I stayed glued to his wheel for a couple laps. He was faster through the double barrier/run up than I was, and eventually opened a tiny gap there. But, once he had the gap, he took advantage, and I was unable to close it. I dug deep, and tried to limit the loses, thinking he may fade near the end. I stayed close enough to apply pressure, and he eventually went down in one of the corners. This allowed me to close the gap a bit, and I continued to push hard. Troy fell again over the green monster, and when I overtook him, he told me he was done, broken derailleur. With Troy out, and the next rider maybe 2-3 minutes back, I was able to cruise the last couple laps and save a little for the 1/2/3 race later in the day. This ended up being my first ever cross victory. I've been close, but never got the W. I always joked that the only race I would ever win with knobby tires on the bike was the dirt crit in Helena. Since they aren't doing that race this year, I figured I might go win less. My goal is still to win one of the MT races, but damn, some of you guys are freaking strong, and I just don't know if I can make it happen. I will try though, oh, I will try.....Also, great ride by soccer dad Peter from Bozeman. He rode strong, and held on for fourth place. Way to go. He was then smart enough to get in his truck to drive back over the pass to watch the girl's next soccer game. OK, so we know he's smarter than me, but does that make him a better dad, too?

The 1/2/3 race didn't go so well. Troy was able to get his bike repaired, and apparently didn't want to toy around this time. He took the hole shot, and went HARD from the gun. I stayed glued to his wheel, but this time only for the first couple laps, then he was GONE! I cracked big time. I went from "this aint so bad, I can do this all day," to "holy crap, I think I'm gonna die" in about one minute. Instantly I was done, and basically soft pedalling around the course. It didn't take long for Dave Bergart from Victor to fly past me, and eventually another racer rolled easily by as well. I did find the strength to put in one last hard dig to keep fourth place, but all in all it was a pathetic showing on my part. I can only hope it was a product of a hard week of training and the hard riding that day, because I'm gonna have to be MUCH better to battle with the MT boys. Time will tell.....

I knew as I struggled to the finish line that I had a good ride ahead of me to get back to Jackson, and I was worried. I figured I could manage, but the thing that worried me was that I didn't have a lot of time before the sun went down. So, not only did I have to drag myself back over the pass, but I couldn't do it leisurely or I would be caught in the dark. I probably could have scored a ride back, but what fun would that be, and again, I'm not that smart. So I put my bottle cages back on and set off. Nice and easy. Ate some bars, drank some water, felt...ok, until the road went up. That was the hardest climb I have ever done. I seriously had to stop, lean over my handlebars, and cuss outloud about five times before finally cresting the top. I was cold and hungry. I think the bonk caught me about half way up, and I'm not sure if I've shaked it yet. I have never been so glad to be done climbing, never. I took a short break at the top, added some layers, took a few photo's, and wished I had some more food....

From there I pretty much had it whooped. A screaming, scary 5 mile 'cross tire darn near rolling off the rim descent, trying not to kill myself, but chasing the sun at the same time. Once off of the main descent, I was able to ride the final eight miles or so on a bike path. This allowed me to slow a bit, as darkness wasn't quit as big of an issue since I was off the highway, but I still had to get back before I couldn't see where I was headed. I rolled into the hotel/resort area just after dark. Tawnya and the kids hadn't made it back from dinner, so I was locked out of our hotel room, still cold, and still hungry. Luckily there was a gas station near by, with some much needed calories to bring me back from the brink. The gas station attendant asked me how long I had been riding. I said, "To long." To which he replied, "Ya, it looks like it." A Snickers bar and some chocolate milk never tasted so good. Eventually, the family showed up with some dinner for me. Tawnya asked how I enjoyed my ride back. I lied and told her it was great, but I don't think she believed me.

Turns out Mariah's team won game 2, and she scored two goals while I was being a bad dad and racing my bike. What can I say, it's a sickness. Tawnya said it was the best game her team had played. They were in the championship game for sure, but still had one more bracket game before that. Both games would be against the same team from Boise. Bozeman started strong, but you could quickly tell the girls were outmatched by the Boise team. Those Boise girls played some great soccer. The spread the field, passed with precision, and made our girls chase the whole game. Although Bozeman fought hard, they were beaten handily by the Boise squad. The girls had a couple hours to rest and think about what to do different, and then they had to play the same team for the championship. I'm not sure what changed, but the Bozeman girls battled hard and made a game of it. They were led by a super effort from Alla "The Wall" in goal, but all the girls contributed and fought hard to stay in the game and keep it close to the end, finally losing a close battle 4-1 after a couple late goals from the other team. Mariah scored the Bozeman goal, and hustled her little butt off trying to help her team. Even though they lost, that was a great team performance, and a blast to watch. Great job, girls.

Well, that was about the end of the trip, with the exception of some more less than fun car time on the way home. We all had a great time, and can't wait to go again next year (I think I'll bring more food on the ride next time!) Next up, right back to Victor, ID for Moosecross next weekend. I'm excited to try again, this time focusing on the 1/2/3 race, with no master race or Teton Pass to wear me out first, hope it makes a BIG difference!

AND SO IT BEGINS

Cyclocross season is finally here! I know there have been races going on in other places, and some hardy Montana racer have even travelled many hour to suffer with the best, but the Montana season starts tomorrow! The traditional (at least as long as I've been racing here) opening weekend in Butte gets thing rolling once again this year. Psyclocross and Copper Mountain Cross are both great races. I'm assuming most of the serious MT racers will be on hand to mix it up and see how they stack up against the competition this season. I know most of the racers are stoked and ready to get racing. Should be an exciting couple of races. I, for one, am ready to get the racing started. Unfortunatly for me, I will not be there for the Butte races this season. Mariah has a big soccer tourney in Jackson Hole, WY so we're headed there instead. Should be a good time, but I'm gonna miss throwin down with the boys and seeing how I stack up (or if I even stack up!) so far against the fast men of Montana. If I am lucky, I may get a chance to do a cyclocross race in Victor, ID (home of Moosecross) this Saturday while I'm down there, so at least I'll get some training and a little race experience under the belt. Good luck to all you racers, and especially to the PURE coached athletes that will be mixing it up. I'll see some of you next weekend, back in Victor for Moosecross, and many more of you the following week in Bozeman. Race hard.

Brad

BIG PLANS, BUT DENIED AGAIN

Well, it turns out that at least Tomas reads this, so I better keep it going. Had big plans for today, but they didn't happen. Originally, a few weeks ago the plan was to be at Starcrossed/Rad Racing this weekend getting dirty and with the big boys of cyclocross, just to see what it's like. I trained pretty hard so I could at least not totally embarrass myself, but I just couldn't totally commit due to work, family, etc. Turns out my daughter Mariah had soccer games in Helena Saturday, so as soon as I found that out, the Seattle trip was off. At least I'd have one more good weekend of training before the racing starts, with one last chance to get in a solid long ride to boost the base fitness before changing things up to more short, high intensity cyclocross type efforts. Best laid plans.....

Mariah had been sick most of last week, but started to feel better Friday afternoon, conveniently enough so she could play soccer Saturday. She awoke Sat am saying she felt great, let's go play some soccer! I, however, woke to the beginnings of a sore throat and a bit of congestion, not good. Turns out that Mariah was also still feeling it a bit once she started running for the game. It slowed her down quit a bit, but she was a trooper and fought through both games, even scoring three goals along the way (she's a total stud) I actually didn't feel to bad for most of the day, and thought I may have gotten off easy, so I still planned on going for a long ride on the 'cross bike from my house out in Belgrade, up and over Flathead Pass, down Bridger Canyon, and back home. I did it last summer. I think it was about 90 miles, plenty of which is on gravel, with some solid climbing along the way. Well. no such luck. I woke up feeling much worse this morning. I was far from being on the death bed, but had a pretty bad sore throat, congestion, and headache to boot. No way I was dragging myself out of bed at 7 am for a long ride. I chose instead to try and sleep it off. I lazed in a few more hours, but felt pretty much the same as the day wore on. I was up and functioning, and thinking I could probably go for a ride, and I really wanted to. But, I knew what advice I'd give to a client in this situation. Rest and get better. Do not dig yourself a hole by training hard while your body needs the energy for healing. It's a long cyclocross season, and though it's frustrating to miss training days when your motivated and feeling strong, it's much smarter to take a few days off/easy and get over the sickness. If I can get through from now all the way to Nats in mid December with just this little sickness as a set back, I'll feel pretty lucky. Chances are I won't be that lucky. So, no training the last two days and probably nothing for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll feel better in time to go play with the rest of the GAS crew and other Bozemanites that are crazed for cyclocross on Tuesday evening for the GAS cyclocross practice. Good times practicing the skills and drills, and chasing Curry around for some practice laps, should be fun.

I'm back.....hopefully

Ok, I'm obviously the worlds worst blogger, no surprises there. Time for the David EEEEEE time capsule to get pushed aside. My guess is there will be more to write about Mr. E in the future! I've been meaning to start posting again for about a month or so as I, as well as many other hardy Montana racers began preparing for the greatest time of the year, cyclocross season. I was stoked, training hard, and wanted to help get MT racers fired up for the season. Well, it just didn't happen. Now cyclocross season is basically here. Good thing Radley over at mtcx has been stoking the fire, 'cause I sure haven't been. Work, life, kids, training, etc is a full plate, and finding time to write useless crap no one really cares about is the easiest thing to put off, so that's what I do. I'm sure no one really missed my once a month ramblings, but I'm gonna try and bring them back. I'm going to try one last time to see if I can come up with some semi frequent blog posts throughout the cx season, and if I can't, then I will put this little show to rest for good. Ok, that's it for tonight. I don't want to use up all my ideas in one post, plus I gotta get up in five hours for some serious training. Tomorrow is gonna be some hard, fast(hopefully) practice laps, followed by a solid threshold session to finish things off. Then, as luck would have it, I get to go to work. Anyone care to sponsor me so I can quit my tile job? I need lots of money, and I'm not that fast. Just checkin'.

Keep it PURE,
Brad

DAVID EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

David E leading the way at the Rocky Mountain Roubaix
www.jpsphotos.net

Who?

David Ellenberger, PURE coached athlete and GAS/Intrinsik racer solos to victory on the queen stage at the American Prarie Classic stage race in Malta, MT. I don't have all the details yet, but I heard that David went off the front with about 25 miles to go and held on for the win. I couldn't be more excited if it had been me taking the W. David is the perfect client. He works hard. No matter what kind of torture, I mean training, I send his way he gets it done- no excuses. I gave a brief "warning" to all you other CAT 4/5 racers early this year, but didn't want to say to much about how strong he was and make him a marked man. His season started pretty good with a decent showing at Frozen Flatlands, but was derailed slightly with a flat in Roubaix. I know he was riding super strong at Roubaix, and I was totally bummed to hear about the flat, but he handled it well, and continued to train hard. Well, the secret is probably out now. I'm telling you, don't give that guy an inch, because he'll turn it into a gap you can't close. He's packed with PURE power , and he's not afraid to use it.

Here's the email I reveived from David this evening:

Wow Brad...Today was the most excellent day of all my years cycling. Soloing to victory over the field was a thrill that I'll not soon forget! Thanks for all the help and encouragement this year and it looks like the hard work paid off big time. I'll give you a call tomorrow and we can chat about the weekend if you like.

Looks like he's giving some props to me, but he's the one doing all the work. Sweet spot rides, climbing repeats, threshold intervals, I name it, he does it. I am so glad to see it's paying off, because he deserves it more than anybody I know. However, I am a little concerned, because he said he wanted a coach so he didn't have to finish all the races on his own. I guess I'll have to hope he's OK with finishing alone off the front!

Congrats David. You deserve it.

SO DO YOU RACE INTERNATIONALLY?

That was one of the questions that I was asked after winning the Downtown Billings Crit last weekend. I went off the front from the gun and lapped most of the field, which gave me quit a bit of notority with the crowd. I was like a big time celebrity after the race. People taking pictures, asking questions, and telling me how great I was. I tried to be humble and downplay the win as much as I could, telling people I was probably a little more serious about this racing thing than the rest of the racers, and that I usually can't win like that in a race against more equal competition. It was basically like picking on a bunch of CAT 4's, but hey, It's still fun to be king for a day once in a while.

The day started with a 5k run. I am most certaintly not a runner, but my daughter sure is. She wanted to do the 5k, so I did my best to keep up with her. She ran it in 25:54, taking first place in the 15 and under girls catagory (she's 9), and beating probably 3/4s of the adults in the run. She is quite the little athlete.

Next up, after killing a few hours in the big city, was the crit race. It was a cool event with a good crowd. There was a beer garden and lots of excitment. The course, however, was shall we say, not quit traditional. It had four, yes four, U turns, yes, U turns, per lap. My biggest concern was getting crashed out, possibly getting hurt, and missing some of the "real" racing that is just around the corner. Against my better judgment, I decided to go ahead and race. The "expert" catagory (it was not a USA Cyling event) had about 15 guys, most of whom were kitted up and looked pretty fit. I figured the best way to stay out of trouble on a totally sketchy course was to try and get off the front and ride solo. A NRO rider, Jeff, I think, got the holeshot, but I got around him after a couple corners and never looked back. 45 minutes of microbursts later, I had lapped most of the field and took the win. The crowd seemed to be impressed.

My wife Tawnya was up next in the "beginner" crit event. I got changed out of my GAS kit, and headed back over to the course to cheer her on and take pictures, and thats when the paparrazi hit. I felt like Lance Armstrong trying to get through a crowd. I was unprepared, and even left my bodygaurds at home, bummer. Tawnya was looking good and riding hard, but I had a hard time watching her as so many people wanted to talk to me about how great I was. I assure you, this doesn't happen everyday, so I tried to oblige and give everyone a chance to get a question or two. OK, it wasn't that bad, but I was pretty popular all of a sudden. People were patting me on the back, asking about how much I ride, taking pictures, even asking if I race internationally. I assured that lady that I definatly wasn't that good, and in a normal event I would have been racing with more experienced racers, and in fact, there were other strong racers, right here in Montana that could have even beat me. I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't believe me, though. Yes, I was king for a day. But, back to Tawnya. She had a great race, riding strong for the duration, finishing 3rd woman, and beating many of the dudes. Way to go Tawnya, looks like all that spinning is paying off. Next up for her, the Peaks to Prarie cycling event. Better get that aero position dialed in!

The day wasn't over yet, as Mariah didn't get enough from her little run, and decided to hop into the "fun" crit to end the day. It was awesome watching her race. She was so serious, almost sprinting from corner to corner to corner to corner (you get the point), riding aggresive and having fun. She even got to sprint for the line against a guy on a red cruiser bike, barely nipping him at the line (thanks to a well timed pull of the brakes, thanks dude on the red cruiser!) Again, a great job by Mariah. She's the defending Rolling Thunder junior girls champion, as well as MT state Champion, girls age8 bmx racer from last year, and I predict some big things from her on the bike this season.

So, we all had a great day at a fun event. My 1st place prize was a bike donated to World Bicycle Relief in my name, which I thought was pretty cool. I talked with several of the racers, and some people who helped put on the races. Hopefully next year they can get more streets closed, make a better course, and some more of us racers can go put on a real show. I think I will ask for an appearnce fee though, since I'm such a superstar.

My head swelling didn't last to long, as the next day was spent chasing Frykmans wheel all around the Bridgers. Back to reality and the realization that racing is hard, and I am definatly NOT the king. The fun and pain of Roubaix is coming soon. I have been dealing with some knee issues that have kept me off the bike a bit, so the training has faltered a little lately. I plan on being as ready as I can be, though. Maybe I'll bring the bodygaurds this time, just in case....

My TSS is through the roof this week

Unfortunately, the TSS I'm talking about is tile stress score. I'm dealing with some looming deadlines on a couple big tile projects I'm working on up in Big Sky, so the tile stress is high. The real TSS that is important to a cyclist is training stress score. When you train with power, each ride is given a training stress score, based on the duration and intensity of the ride relative to your functional threshold power (it can also be estimated based on heart rate and/or perceived exertion). You can use TSS to plan how much training you do every week, or over a longer period of time. The TSS can also be used to build a performance manger chart, which is an awesome tool for tracking fitness, freshness, and fatigue over the course of the season. It's kind of a snapshot of your recent training, and can be used to help plan future training and peaking periods. More on this later, right now I have to much tile stress to deal with. No ride tonight, but tomorrow I get my aerobic workout from grouting 500 square feet of slate floor, not the best way to spend a Saturday.

ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND

To bad it has to come to an end with another Monday tomorrow! Mariah, Trey, and I spent ALL day Saturday at the rink in Billings for Mariah's figure skating competition. She had three events, did awesome,and came home with two gold and one silver medal-way to go Mariah! Tawnya had to stay home so she could teach a charity spinning class at Gold's gym in Bozeman, which was also a big success. She really enjoys teaching spinning, and already has a reputation for being the "tough" instructor. I haven't had the pleasure of taking one of her classes yet, but from what I hear, I may not be able to handle it! If you're from the area and looking for a good workout, check her out at Gold's or Manhatten Athletic Club, just be prepared for battle when you show up.

Today ended up being a beautiful day. Mostly sunny, and probably about 40 degrees so I got out for a long ride. I had a great ride with GAS teammate Tomas and GAS teammate/PURE coached athlete David Ellenberger. They were both riding strong, pulling hard, and we had a great time cruising around the Gallatin Valley, we even threw in some gravel roads for Roubaix training. Many of you Montana racers may not know David, but I predict he will make a mark on the CAT 4 field this season, and everyone will soon know who he is. Consider yourself warned! They called it a day after about three hours, but I rode on for a couple more, all mostly easy stuff, just putting in the miles. I made it to the 5 hr mark, and also hit just over 100 miles for the day. That's pretty good, at least for me at this time of the year it is. Some seasons I don't hit 100 miles all year, so I'll call today a success.

My season training is off to a pretty good start. Here my performance manager chart up to this point. The CTL is rising, just hope I can continue that trend for a while longer.

Another good week of training is in the books, unfortunately it's back to the world of tile, mud and Big Sky in the morning. Lucky me!

Burrr

Things have been going ok with the training recently with a few exceptions. Last week was a rest week for me, which was definitely needed after four solid weeks of training. The only problem was I took rest a little to seriously, and ended up only getting in a few rides for the whole week. It was way to easy to convince myself that I could skip that day, since it was a rest week, and next thing you know I had skipped three in a row. Oh well, I needed the rest, and seemed to come back pretty strong this week. At least until we had a team meeting on Thursday evening, which was to include a "short, easy, run." I guess a short easy run for someone who runs can be a battle for survival for someone who doesn't. Actually, the run wasn't that hard, but since I haven't ran a step since cross season, it basically left me hobbled for a few days afterwards. I couldn't believe how sore I was, guess I'll have to skip the run next time. Ouch! Other than the run, the meeting was great. We decided on a few things for the upcoming racing season, mainly that we WILL dominate the Montana race series, consider yourself warned if you dare race against the mighty GAS/Intrinsik machine! Just kidding, we do hope to have a good season, though. If only we can get Frykman to do some training. He looks to have gained about 25 lbs and hasn't touched his bike for months. Not sure what his problem is, maybe it's because he's so old? And Curry, he is still just reminiscing over a great 'cross season, and doesn't seem to think it's time to train yet, hope he comes to his senses soon. Tomas and Lussier do a little climbing and skiing, but that's not really training, is it? Sebastion is to busy hanging out with his son Willy to really care about training. All he does is change diapers and play peek-a-boo all day, not sure how fast he's gonna get doing that. Simmons says he's just racing against the college boys, because you Montana boys are just to fast for him. Only Jason D seems to be on the right track, as he has hired a coach (yours truly) and started to get serious. So I guess this season it will be the Brad and Jason show until about July when the rest of the guys get fit, if they ever decide to. Hope we can pull something off, but it doesn't look to promising.

Anyways, I tried to do my part to help the team by putting in four hours in the sunshine today. To bad it was only a little over 20 degrees or so. Things like bottles, fingers, toes, and beards got a little icy! Also to bad none of the rest of the guys were man enough to join me, they missed a good, although slightly chilly ride!

NO PAIN, NO GAIN, RIGHT?

No pain, no gain, we've all heard that before. Far to many cyclists take this to heart. They believe if they aren't killing themselves with super hard efforts, they are not going to get faster. I'm sure in some instances, no pain no gain is correct, but in cycling, it couldn't be further from the truth. Pain and suffering are, of course, huge parts of what makes competitive cycling so beautiful. To do well in this sport, you have to be willing to suffer. Yes, if you didn't know, there will be suffering. You have to put your body through sometimes excruciating pain, dig deep, as they say, into the suitcase of courage, ignore the pain, and keep pushing. I hate the pain, yet I love the pain. I can't really understand that love-hate relationship, but if you're reading this, you know what I'm talking about. So, to win, yes, there will be pain, guaranteed. But, to make gains, to get better, to become faster, more efficient, more technically sound, more tactically smart, no real pain is necessary. Oh, it requires plenty of hard work, a little dedication, perhaps a pinch of insanity and an almost unnatural love for riding and racing, (having an understanding wife helps, too) but it doesn't have to hurt. At least not all of the time, not yet.

We've all also heard about building the base. This is the time of the year when we should be working on building our base. I think most people know that, but many aren't sure the best way to go about it. Some people will take this to an extreme and do nothing but long slow rides for a few months, and others will totally ignore the concept, saying base is a myth, and just ride hard. In certain instances and situations, both concepts could be correct. For most cyclists, finding a bit of a happy medium if probably the best approach.

To help understand why base building is important, it is helpful to know a little about the adaptions that take place within the body as a result of this base training. It is important to know that, yes, you can get faster by riding slow. Why? Because you are training your body to work more efficiently. Cycling is an aerobic sport, meaning most of the energy required for you to make the bike move comes from your aerobic system. To train the aerobic system, you have to keep the intensity somewhat low. Aerobic training starts in zone 2, which is a fairly easy intensity that you can sustain for several hours, but the aerobic system continues to see benefits from higher intensity training as well. As you increase the intensity of the workout, the rate of most of these adaptions also increases, up to about threshold or so. The trade off is that the higher the intensity, the more recovery your body needs to reap the benefits from the workout, and be able to train again. So, you can ride zone 2 every day, recover easily, and see some improvement. Or, you can ride a little harder, for a little less amount of time, get the same benefits, but, you have to take more time off the bike to recover. You can't just go out and do threshold intervals without working up to that point, otherwise your body will be cooked after one session, leading to several days off the bike as you recover. This is another example of how you can get more benefit from a couple of easier rides, than one hard ride that forces you off the bike for a couple of days. Finding the right mix is the critical part.

How does this all work? As you cruise along at a fairly easy, say zone 2 pace, your body is adapting. There are several things that happen, here are just a few in fairly simple terms. Your heart is actually getting bigger, increasing the stroke volume and maximal cardiac output. Basically, your heart pumps more blood with each stroke, which means more oxygen is delivered to the working muscles where it is needed. You are also increasing the size and number of the mitochondria in your blood. The mitochondria are basically little power plants, converting oxygen into energy. The more of these little guys, the better. You are teaching your body to use more fat as fuel. We all have plenty of stored fat (even Frank G and Scotty H) to supply our bodies with energy for a very long time, but as we increase intensity, less and less of our energy demands are met with the stored fat. So, by riding somewhat easy, the body becomes more efficient at using the stored fat. This spares the use of the muscle glycogen, which is needed for higher intensity efforts and is depleted faster. Once depleted, it has to be replaced in the form of consumed carbohydrates. These easy rides also increase the muscle's ability to store glycogen. By using less glycogen and storing more, you will obviously have more available for longer periods of time when you need it to supply the muscles with energy. Even while riding easy (no pain), your body is adapting to the training. All of these adaptions lead to a more efficient aerobic system, which will lead to you becoming faster rider (GAIN!).

But what about the many higher intensity efforts that are required in a bike race? They, too, benefit from this aerobic training. Even when you're going all out, some of that energy is being supplied by the aerobic system. Once any efforts gets past about 30 seconds, you've used up all your stored or readily available energy and the body has to produce more, some of that is supplied by the aerobic system. The bigger your aerobic engine is, the harder you can go during those higher intensity efforts. Sure, later in the season you will have to start doing some of those harder, pedal until you almost puke efforts to get you ready for the demands of racing, but for now it's best to focus on your aerobic base.

My recommendations for this time of year are to mix things up, but keep it pretty easy. I do as many long, fairly easy rides as I can make time for, but I also do plenty of shorter tempo paced rides. Consistency is important. Make every day count, whether its a training day or a rest day. Throw in some cross training, do a little on the bike leg strength work, build up to sweet spot and eventually threshold intensity efforts, and by the time spring shows its face around here, you should be pretty fit, and ready for the pain.

Another two hours on the trainer tonight. Visions of gravel climbs danced through my head....

Can't wait for the Roubaix. I'm training hard, are you?

WINTER/SPRING TRAINING PLAN

I hope everyone out there is starting to get some good training in. I have been pretty consistent with getting some time on the bike over the last month. The CTL is rising, and I'm starting to feel pretty good on the bike, I only hope I can keep it up as the season approaches. I've been keeping busy with work, the family, and doing some coaching, so it's hard to squeeze the training in. I try and make it a priority, and often neglect other things that need done (like sleep) so I can ride. Trading sleep for training isn't the best plan, but I have to take what I can get. One of the projects I've been working on lately is a 14 week training plan. It is designed to help cyclists build an early season base and get them ready to start racing in the early spring. Here is a brief description-

This plan is written by Coach Brad Morgan, a Level 2 USA Cycling Coach, team coach for the GAS/Intrinsik Architecture Cycling Team based out of Bozeman, MT and a CAT 2 road and 'cross racer. For more information about Coach Brad or the GAS team, go to purebikecoaching.blogspot.com or gascyclingteam.com. Any Montana racers may contact me for a promo code to receive this plan at a reduced cost. This training plan is built for a cyclist that is racing at the CAT 4/5 level and wants to finally make that CAT 3 upgrade, or maybe a new CAT 3 hoping to become more competitive at that level. The 14 week plan is designed for late winter/early spring base building, and will not take you to your peak fitness, but it will get you strong and ready for the early season races. This plan has race weeks planned for weeks 10 and 14. This base building plan starts off fairly easy with zone 2 rides, adds in some leg strengthening rides, then builds to tempo, sweet spot, threshold, and eventually some climbing and higher intensity workouts in the later weeks. All workouts are on the bike, or strengthening your core. The training weeks are tough, and weekly training volume is in the eight to ten hour range. If you follow this plan, at 10 weeks you will not be at your peak, but you will be ready to race. More importantly, at the end of the plan you will have a strong foundation on which to build your in season and late season fitness. You will be able to take your peaks higher, leading to a more fulfilling and successful racing season, with perhaps a few podium appearances along the way. Happy training.

As mentioned in the description, the plan has race weeks planned at week 10 and week 14. I had hoped to have this done a couple of weeks ago, but didn't quit make it. So, for you Montana racers, if you start this week, that puts the race weeks in line with the Montana Roubaix, and the Belt Omnium, two of Montana Cycling's early season classics that everyone hope to do well in. This is a one size fits all plan, which mean that it is probably not perfect for any one racer, but should work well to be sure you heading in the right direction with your training. I still have room for maybe one more full time client if you would like a more personalized coaching plan designed specifically for you and your goals. The 14 week plan is for sale on the training peaks website, and can be previewed and purchased here . The plan is 1/2 price for all Montana racers who contact me for a promo code. GAS race team members, you can contact me to receive the plan for free.

Time for another trainer ride,
Brad

RIDING THE TRAINER

Everybody loves riding the trainer, right? Ya, right. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a necessary evil for some of us. Winter time in Montana isn't the best for a cyclist. The weather and road conditions usually cooperate at least a couple times each month, but for the most part riding outside is limited. If and when you can't ride outside, there are tons of other activities that you can do to get in a good aerobic workout. Things like skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, ice climbing (for you brave souls), and running are just a few ways to get outside, embrace winter, and get a good workout in. The GAS Team puts on a great Tuesday Night Headlamp Crosstraining Series where people meet up and do many of the above mentioned things as a group. Good fun, and good training to boot. However, for some of us, it's hard to fit things like that into the schedule, so that leaves the option of no workout, or the trainer.

We've all heard the great advice out there on how to make the trainer rides more exciting, or at least bearable. Things like having a fan, drinking plenty of fluids, watching television (I prefer hockey, go Avs!)or cycling videos, listening to good music, doing specific workouts, and keeping the ride short are all great ideas. For me, the hardest part of any trainer ride is just getting on the bike. It's way to easy keep putting the ride off until it's to late to do it. Or to tell yourself you feel a little tired, skipping today is probably best. Some days, if you really are to tired, taking a rest day IS best, but using it for an EXCUSE to avoid the trainer just leads to decreased fitness, and increased chances of getting dropped when the racing starts. Remember, every day counts, even the days that you don't feel like riding the trainer. The thing that best helps me avoid those missed rides is focusing on how good I feel after a ride, rather than on how bad it sucks to have to ride the trainer. I always feel great after a good ride, whether it is on the trainer or outside. I know if I skip the ride, I'll feel like crap for cheating myself, and if I do the ride I'll feel great afterwards. It may seem cheesy, but it works for me. There are not a lot of positives about riding the trainer, but try to find one that works for you and use it to your advantage, so you can get the most out of your training in these cold, dark winter months.

Keep it PURE,
Brad

THRESHOLD TEST-OUCH!

With the new racing season looming on the horizon, I decided it's time to get a little more serious about my training. I've been doing some riding for the last few weeks, but nothing really serious or structured, just putting in some easy miles. I think it's only 13 weeks until the Montana Roubaix in Missoula, and I want to do what I can to be ready to race by then. The Roubaix is always a tough race. Everyone has been training hard(unless you ask, then no one has been on their bike for weeks, maybe months) and they're itchin to test their fitness. The course is challenging, and the weather is always a question at that time of the spring. GAS was a dominate force in the race last year, taking 1st and 2nd overall, and we will definitely do what we can to repeat that this year. The Freight Train is already rolling. Flurry Curry is coming off a crazy good 'cross season and will be flying. Hardman Lussier is keeping fit climbing ice and skiing, and will probably not even look at his bike (other than his commuter, of course) between know and April, yet he'll still be killing it. New dad Sebastion is probably chasing little Willie around non-stop, but I'm guessing he'll find time to squeeze in some quality training, so he can be ready to ride away with the race if the opportunity presents itself. Tomas also has kids to chase around to keep him in shape, that is when he's not chasing or leading Alex up some crazy ice climb. He, as well as Jason D. and the rest of the GAS crew, will be ready to race for the win, or support the team goals. We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves this year, time will tell. 13 weeks seems so far away at times, like when I'm riding the trainer and wondering why, but it'll be race day before we know it. I, for one, am excited. I heard from a reliable source that Sam Krieg was planning on racing the Roubaix this year. When I heard that I told my wife I wasn't worried about it and my new moto is " I'm not afraid of Sam Krieg." Then, I ran downstairs and put in an extra two hours on the trainer! (OK, I'm a little afraid)

Part of being more serious with the training is testing. I did a threshold test last Sunday, and boy did it hurt. I train with power, so the purpose of the test is to determine my functional threshold power (FTP). I then use the FTP to determine different training zones. The different training zones are used to set the intensity level of each and every ride I do. The intensity at which you train helps determine the adaptions that take place in the body as a result of the training. The adaptions that take place in the body are what leads to you being fit, or not. Once you know more about what happens within the body as a result of the training you do, you can train smarter, and get where your going (achieve your goals) faster. More on this later. So, back to the test. The test I choose to do is hard. But, I like it for several reasons. It is repeatable, it can be done alone, (although having a coach or another rider there to offer advice and motivation can be helpful), and the numbers don't lie. There is no human judgement involved. Some tests may be physically easier, but they rely on a coach or the test administrator to determine threshold based on watching breathing patterns or by having the tester to give out perceived exertion numbers. These tests can be good if both the coach and rider are experienced enough to give accurate responses, but sometimes this is not the case. My test simply relys on your legs to push the pedals, and a power meter to record the data. There is a specific test protocol that I go through, but the FTP is based on a twenty minute time trial. You go as hard as you can for twenty minutes, and if you do it right, it hurts. Well, I must have done it right, because it hurt. I felt like quitting after about 5 minutes, but stuck it out and found my rythme. I felt better in the second half, but it still hurt. I actually threw up when the twenty minutes ended and I started to soft pedal. Wow, I haven't done that for a long time. That sets the bar kinda high, now whenever I do a test, if I don't throw up I won't think I went hard enough. Oh well, I'm just glad it's over and I don't have to do it again for a while.

Throwing up was the bad news. The good news is that the FTP number is higher now then it was mid February last season. So, If I can continue to neglect my job (which I plan to do) and get some good, solid training in over the next couple months, I should be ready to go wheel to wheel with Sam Krieg in April, at least for the first lap or so!

PROOF THAT MONTANA CYCLING IS TOUGH

TJ Van Garderen is living the dream. Many of you who have raced in Montana for a few years will remember TJ. He spent some time living and racing both in Bozeman and Missoula when he was a young up and coming racer. He put the hurt on us old guys many a time while he was here. Just for the record, I did beat him once at a road race in Helena. He was maybe 15 years old, and I had a teammate to help me, but regardless, I still crossed the line ahead of a future pro! Pretty sad that barely beating some young kid in a bike race is my claim to fame, but you take what you can get! I believe he is America's next hope for a future Tour win. Here's a link to a recent interview he had with cyclingnews.com as he prepares for his first season as a protour rider for Columbia-HTC. Go get 'em, TJ!

THE "OFF" SEASON

I was down in the PURE Cycling Studio (cold, dark, unfinished basement) the other night riding the trainer when a good friend of mine called. He asked what I was doing. I told him I was riding my bike. He kinda giggled and said "Why are you doing that. It's only January. Isn't this the off season?" My friend is new to cycling, having just bought a mountain bike last summer. He still thinks cycling is JUST about having fun. Maybe he's one of the lucky ones, and it will always just be about having fun. For some of us, it turns into something a little more than just fun. Sure, it starts out innocently enough. You go for a ride, get some exercise, have a little fun. Then, you realize, the more you ride, the faster you can ride, and the MORE fun you can have. Pretty soon, your riding more, just so you can ride more, makes sense to me. Then, somehow, some way you decide to do a race. Game over. Now your a competitive cyclist, you'll never be the same. Now, it's more than just fun. Your going to go through a slight metamorphosis. Subtle changes, like watching what you eat, trying to get more sleep, drinking more water and less beer. Ya, crazy, I know. Other changes are not so subtle, and you may receive a little bit of disapproval from people close to you. Things like shaving the legs, spending large chunks of cash, and usually credit on cycling stuff, wearing lycra and neglecting work, family, etc to get in a long ride or race. You're no longer only riding, you're training. Before you know it, you find yourself down in your basement, riding a bike on a trainer, pedaling fast, but going nowhere, in January. Believe it or not, to me, at least, that can still be fun. I've gone through that metamorphosis, so for me, there is no off season. There are breaks, and time away from the bike, but to get faster, you gotta ride. Here's a short list, in no particular order, of some of the many reasons you'll find me on my bike in January- Josh Tack, Scott Herzig, Clint Muelfeld, Frank G, Matt Butterfield, Ben Parsons,and Matt Seely to name a few. And there are more. Montana may not be a "hotbed" in the cycling world, but we have some strong riders, and most of our races are pretty intense. All those guys are beasts, and if I'm not training, I don't have a chance of competing with them. Not to mention some of the strong men on the GAS team-John Curry, Alex Lussier, Seb White, and Brian Frykman. If I don't ride my trainer in January, I won't even be able to hang on their wheels on a group ride later on, let alone try and help them win some races. So, ya, for me, there is no off season. Enough blabber, I gotta go ride.

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD

Welcome to the start of another year. This is the time of year when many people look back on the past year, reflect upon how things have gone, and make resolutions to try and improve different aspects of their lives. I've never been much of a resolution person. It seems most people tend to make resolutions that are a bit unrealistic, and pretty tough to stick to. I am, however, a goal oriented person. I think everybody should have goals in their life. Whether it's for cycling, work, or just life in general, having something to strive for is important. Setting goals is one of the first steps in designing a season training plan. Goals should be specific, challenging, realistic, and something you REALLY want to achieve. Winning the Tour de France, at least for anyone who might be reading this, is probably not a realistic goal. Now, that said, it's great to have dream goals, as well. Something that is borderline crazy, but if everything fell into place and you worked your hardest, it just might someday, somehow be possible. In that case, winning the Tour might be a dream goal for some of you out there. My son is five years old and plays termite hockey. He has already said that one day his name WILL be on the Stanley Cup. Hey, I'm not gonna squish that goal. In fact, I'll do whatever it takes to help him get there. The odds are obviously against him, but it's great to dream. Your season goals, the things you base your training on, should be much closer to the realm of possibility. They have to be important to YOU, not to anyone else. Having the support of other people in reaching your goals is great, but you gotta wanna do it, otherwise it's just to darn hard. So, set some goals. Decide what you want to accomplish with all this training you plan on doing, otherwise, you might just wake up one day and decide it's a lot easier to not train. Set some goals, and don't give up on them.

Here's where the looking back comes into play. You've set some goals, you're excited to train and have a successful racing year, now what? You need a plan. One of the first things you should do while planning for the upcoming season is look back at last few seasons and ask yourself a few simple questions. Did you meet your goals? Did you have a plan? Did you follow through with your plan? What went well with your training? What went wrong with your training? Did you give it your all? Can you, or are you willing to, give more to meet your goals? How can you use these experiences to improve your training and racing this year? So, crack, or click, open your training journal/log and start checking things out. Did you spend adequate time building your base? Was your training load unrealistic, and you missed/skipped many sessions? Did you allow for adequate recovery? Did you feel consistently tired, or perhaps never tired? These questions and many, many more can be answered by going through previous years training journals. You did keep a training journal, right? If you didn't, you're missing out on one of the most valuable training tools you have at your disposal. With no training journal to look at, you will have a hard time answering some of those questions. If you don't know when you were doing what, for how long, and if it worked, your basically starting from scratch. Even if you've been doing this a few years, and think you have a good idea of what you did, you don't really now what to change to get the improvement your hoping for. Keeping a journal can seem like a chore, but it doesn't have to be. Make it part of your routine. Once it becomes a habit, it's not that big of a deal, and later on when you need some info, it'll be there.

Those are the first basic steps to getting your season started. Set some goals, come up with a training plan that will get you there, and use your past seasons training journals to help you decide which route to take to get there. Of course, there will be many obstacles and decision to make along the way. Hopefully, I'll be around to update the blog more than once a year, and I will post a little more advice on many things related to training. If you've got specific questions, or anything you would like me to write about, leave a comment or send an e-mail. Otherwise, I'll see you on the roads. I am really looking forward to this season, and have already started my little training journey. I've picked up a couple new clients for coaching this season, and I'm stoked to help them achieve there goals and rip some legs off of the rest of you Montana racers as well. I only have room for one or two more full time clients, depending on the level of coaching involvement desired. Contact me if you're interested. Here's to a great 2010, for me, at least, it's gotta be better than my injury and illness filled '09.