My racing season starts this Sunday.
I’ve said a number of times in the past month that I am not ready. I’ve heard others say they are not ready either. What is ready, though? Who peaks for their first race of the year and shows up with everything tuned and perfect? My plan is to show up, try to keep the extreme nerves quiet, and race my bike. Part of tuning the body is racing – there is no better training than stomping the pedals wildly in an effort to get away or stay attached.
The nerves part is easier said than done. I am a basket case; on the bright side, I could eat the entire aisle of Easter candy at Target, shelves and all, and burn it all off before Sunday morning just from fidgeting. My stomach is wondering if we ate a rabid bat earlier today and why we did not bother to chew the poor, angry animal.
Last year I raced somewhere around forty races. While I know plenty of people that raced more than that, I think it may have been excessive for me. That’s a lot of number pinnings, pre-race PB&Js, warm ups, nerves, start lines, one-lap-to-go jitters, finishes, cool downs, post-race analyses, and car trips. By the end of the season, I was deeply worn out. The best I could coax out of my legs on hard rides was a percentage of what I’d had a month or two earlier. My whole summer was a blur of racing, racing, racing. I think that style of competing has its benefits – I got better at starts and finishes, had more chances to get smarter about tactics, and took the pressure off each individual race because there were always a dozen more ahead.
This year will be different, though. I will race less, travel only to those events considered key for experience or results, and try to spend my weekends in between training hard while also enjoying life. Cycling is wonderful and racing no less important to me than it has been before, but I think I will be a better racer if I also make time for being a better everything else. Besides, I’m embroiled in so many games of Words With Friends that something has to give in my schedule.
Naturally, I am worried about this approach. What if missing out on races means missing out on potential results or quality training? What if I have shit luck on the days I do plan to race and come away from the season regretting the times I stayed home? The only way to know these answers is to try this approach and see how it feels. I hope it feels like when race day comes around, I am fresh, eager to race, and ready to win.
On the bright side, if this tactic fails and I leave the season feeling unsatisfied, there is always my trusty rebound, good ol’ cyclocross.
Just do what you are trained to do. Give your body the credit it deserves and knows what to do. You can’t do anything in life 24/7 except breathe and be alive. The best we can do is set a goal, do what you physically and mentally can do to get there, and learn from any mistakes along the way. And, most importantly, enjoy life and its journey during each day that comes.
It sounds like you have an excellent plan in place to move things up to the next level. Nobody, not even the most elite cyclists in the world, is in top shape at the beginning of the season. That goes for cycling as well as other sports. I think the problem you had last year is that you raced too much and got burned out towards the end of the season. Perhaps that’s why you didn’t achieve the results you were after? The body can only do so much. Now, you’re backing off a bit and should be stronger each race..kinda like how Lance used to only race the TdF each year and nothing else…similar concept anyway. No worries, Lindsay, you will have a great year…good luck on Sunday!