Race prep

Race prep

As race season gears down or amps up, depending on how you ride, I’ve been getting lots of questions on how to prep for a race. As I write this, I’m prepping for a gravel race by riding Zwift on my indoor trainer, typing on my phone, just putting in miles. When I go out and chop wood, I’m prepping for a race. When we go out and do group rides, I’m prepping for a race. When I drive down the gravel roads we’ll be riding, I’m prepping for a race, and strangely enough, when I eat right before, or during a ride, I’m prepping for a race. How is all of this part of prepping for a race, you ask? Well I’ll try to explain it, but remember that each of us is unique and each of us have different needs depending on our personal physical and mental spaces. 

Ride, baby, ride! First things first: the most important component of prepping for a race is riding your bike. Well, duh, you say, but seriously, miles matter and seat time matters. I don’t have time during the week for “real” rides so I substitute my indoor trainer time and am strict with myself about it. My personal goal is 100 miles and 5000’ climbing per week, no excuses! I try to ride 20-30 miles per ride so my body knows what that distance feels like and I know I can do it in a certain amount of time. This helps me determine the pace I need to ride in order to reach the end at a consistent pace and not burn myself out too early. I enter virtual races to prove to myself that my steady slower pace quite often catches up to, and beats those who start out of the gate at a sprint and burn out after a few miles. It’s confidence-inspiring to start at the back and eventually pass rider after rider by the end. This is my strategy in a real race also: start at the back and keep my pace consistent. I may not win, but for sure I’ll end up much more forward in the pack than I began. I’ve even had a weird sort of out-of-body experience when I feel like I am the avitar on my trainer when I’m pedaling down a real road. This makes me feel like I’ve done this before and that I can do it again. 

Eating…what helps motivate the ride. We all love food. We all need food, but not all of us need all the calories we consume and when we ride, we need to keep the metabolic fires stoked. I usually eat dinner right before my trainer rides and somehow never get any ill effects. My stomach has learned not to hog all the oxygen for digestion and shares well with the muscles. You’ll need to eat while you ride and it’s important to get used to doing that before trying it during a race. People who ride with me know I always carry cheese sticks on rides and “cheese time” can be any time we stop for a break. I also eat trail cookies (recipe below) and only allow myself a trail cookie during a ride so they remain a special treat reward for pedaling. Learn what foods your body can tolerate and when it can tolerate them. I learned through bad experiences, that although I can eat pretty much whenever, if I drink before a big climb, I’ll get disabling stomach cramps, so I wait to drink on the flats or after the climb. Experiment with what type and concentration of electrolytes you can tolerate. I like one bottle with ice and LMNT in it and one with plain water. As I ride, I drink from the icy electrolyte bottle and refill it from the water bottle so that I am diluting the electrolyte concentration as I ride. Most longer races have midway feed stations and I suggest not drinking or eating anything unfamiliar to your body while riding a race. If you are used to LMNT, don’t try Hammer for the first time during a race. Don’t eat 5 Twinkies at the feed station unless you want to suffer later. Again, everyone’s body is different so it takes preparation and practice to dial in your nutrition and hydration needs. Also remember that once you are thirsty or hungry, you’ve already put yourself behind the curve and it’s tough to recover as you try to continue the ride. 

Cross training. What does chopping wood have to do with riding a bike? The further you ride, the more you will notice that you are using your upper body as well as your legs. Many people burn out in their hands, necks, shoulders and arms well before their legs give out. Everyone has a different favorite way to exercise their upper bodies, but to me chopping wood is great exercise for my shoulders, neck and arms and hands plus provides a good stack to keep us warm in winter! It’s a mistake to think cycling only takes leg strength- done correctly, cycling is something that can utilize your entire body so prep for that before embarking on a longer distance event. 

Come on, how is driving down a road prepping for a race, you ask. Well, mental preparation is nearly as important as physical preparation. As I drive down the road we’ll be riding during the race, I let myself envision riding my bike along that same stretch instead. Here is a loose corner, here’s a washboard section. Here’s a long climb but there’s the end that I can focus on when climbing on my bike. As I imagine riding the road, it becomes familiar and we all know that a familiar trail feels much shorter than an unfamiliar one of the same length. Familiarity breeds confidence and lets me push where I know there’s an end or conserve energy for the next climb rather than just pushing blindly and burning out later. 

Of course, you need to get your bike in race-ready shape as to prevent in-race mechanical disasters. Check your chain, check for spoke tension, check your brakes, shifting and suspension. If you have Bluetooth shifting, dropper post or electronic suspension, make sure your batteries are fully charged and good to go. Make sure your sealant is fresh and determine if your current tires can survive the planned race course and possibly change them to match terrain and speed needs. A pre-race tuneup is a great idea and I’m lucky enough to have a personal in-house mechanic who makes sure all the boxes are checked. 

Check your pack for essentials and ditch unneeded weight. Make sure you are able to carry enough water to get you from aide station to aide station. Check the weather forecast and decide if you’ll need a wind jacket and/or rain jacket. Race day is not the time to be scrambling through the bike clothes drawer trying to find that other sun sleeve or favorite piece of kit at the last minute!

To me, actually entering a specific race is a helpful way to focus rather than just saying I want to “get in shape” for whatever random reason. Having a date as a checkpoint for my prep is motivating and keeps me working. 

By publication, I will have ridden my first gravel race so we’ll see how all this race prep does in real time. Eighty miles and 6000 feet is a lot...but mentally, that’s just the riding I do every week so why not? I’ll let you know…