Endurance races, ski trips, musings, and adventures on the East Coast.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Unorthodox Training Tips

I've never been one for organized training plans. Perhaps I'll hit a point where I need one, but to date, I've never been able to follow one. They just seem to make me bummed out. That said, I still need to train - a lot. Especially in the off-season. I'm certainly not a coach, and most of these training techniques could get you hurt, so don't come suing me, but without a lot of structured training I've settled on a few things that I mix into my week pretty regularly to ensure I'm fast on race day.

1. Find another sport. Seriously. Cross training is good for the mind and the body. In the winter I ski. Sure, I have a trainer and I ride a few days a week indoors to keep in touch with cycling. But there are dudes who ride year-round in New England. They're crazy. Snow is for skiing. Go earn some turns and you'll maintain some fitness and come away with a huge grin on your face.

2. Find your local pump track. For real. They're awesome, tons of fun, and wicked good for your skillz. You'll find yourself pumping rollers (and saving energy) in races, hitting more jumps, and having more fun on the trail. Plus, pump tracks help build your upper body strength, which a lot of bikers ignore at their peril. Mentally, it's a nice change of pace too.

3. Ride the wrong bike. Okay, I have to give my good friend Pat credit on this one. Try riding your road bike on a mellow trail, airing out your xc bike at the dirt jumps, or doing hill sprints up a road on a squishy dual suspension rig. Just don't come yelling at me if you crash or break stuff. Even better, piece together a crap bike out of junk parts and rage that for a while. I once had a friend ride across the Sierra Nevadas to CA on a free, junky fixed gear that didn't look like it could make it across the parking lot. Just saying. It makes you sharpen your skills, have fun, and if your bike breaks in a race, hey, you're used to it.

4. Find an interval workout you like. So, this is a kind've standard one, but it's important. Intervals can help you go faster. Finding a workout or two that you can throw in as the spring winds down that can get you that last little bit of fitness without burning you out is key.

5. Just ride, a lot. Really, that's what makes it happen. Ride your bike. Ride it on trails, on roads, to the grocery store, to the creemee stand, to the coffee shop, to dinner parties. Riding is riding - it all counts.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Kinda Mind Blowing

Something clicked in the brain this week, and all of a sudden I'm thinking about bike racing again. Maybe it's been the emails about the team next year; maybe it's all the cyclocross videos on the internet and La Ruta coming up. Not sure, but ski season has barely started and I'm already thinking about riding again. Hmmmm. I think I'll have to let that feeling build up for a few more weeks - definitely need to bank some motivation for trainer sessions this winter.

In the meantime, nothing like Danny MacAskill to get you psyched about riding a bike. Maybe you've already seen this, but if you haven't, it's more than worth it. Kinda mind blowing actually.

Click here to watch Way Back Home.

Monday, November 8, 2010

2011 Sponsor News

It's no secret that my racing season has been over for a little while now. It's been good to kick back a little bit, but I'm feeling ready to train again. Mostly it's been long forays into the mountains to ski (a great way to build a nice aerobic endurance base), and sprints on the bike to the grocery store and the pump track. I've also been testing some equipment and thinking about next season. With that - the big news....I have a 2011 Sponsor: MTBRacenews.com. I've been writing race reports for them for a year or so, and now I'll be flying the colors and looking for some podium time in the kit while filing reports from around the country. Check out the site; it's a pretty rad group of folks trying to promote grass roots (and big time) mountain bike events from around North America. Check out the site and help us grow the sport of mountain bike racing. Happy winter training.


www.mtbracenews.com

Another Weekend....

The snow keeps rolling into Vermont. We had one of the snowiest Octobers in recent memory, and though it's raining out my window right now - it's snowing up high on the summits. So while it's been a consistent 30-45 minutes of hiking to snow recently, we've been consistently rewarded with fun turns. A few pictures from Mad River Glen this weekend:November always means lots of really cool mist and fog rolling in and out.

We had a good group out to snag some turns off the double chair.
You can almost ski to the base........winter is close.