This post was inspired in part by the full force of winter that has attacked Charlottesville recently and by a blog posted on Velo News by Julian Kyer, a continental Pro that rides for SmartStop.
After what has been a mild winter with almost no hiccups in the training schedule the last 3 weeks or so have been a struggle. I had only ridden the trainer twice prior to this little block of winter weather. It seems like the weather gods decided to unleash all the winter conditions in 3 weeks instead of spreading it across 3 months. 3 or 4 major snow storms and temperatures hovering in the mid to low twenties makes for some tough riding conditions. Coming off a big block of training I took a down week in fine weather, the next week snow blanketed the city. Instead of forcing anything, another down week ensued, riding the mountain bike or rollers for 1-2 hours a day or not if I was not feeling it. Another week, more junk conditions. I was lucky to get in a couple outside rides. The couple of road rides I did when the roads finally cleared but temperatures stayed cool enough for the snow to stay on the ground. Stunning. Riding through the countryside with snow blanketed fields is something I've never done before and it was definitely worth the cold temperatures.
I do think it is key to keep moving and get something in, but you can’t beat your head against the wall doing it. For me that meant hopping on the mountain bike and cross bike. Plenty of days consisted of hitting the essentially unrideable trails with friends or spinning out the cross bike on crappy roads. Either way I only did that because it was an adventure, something fun to do for the day. It’s easy to become stressed and worry about the training you’re not getting, the workouts you’re missing, or the fact that you hate the trainer or rollers. If you mentally break it’s a problem, so take the week, or two, or three, and just enjoy riding and goofing off with friends. I had a great time kicking it the snow and goofing off, not worrying about big hours and catching up on work and hanging with friends. That can’t be replaced in a training program. It’s good to goof off, play in the snow, and relax.
So, what does this have to do with confidence? Julian Kyer mentions in the article how cyclists plan out there winter training and have goals and expectations for exactly how it goes and how there is always disappointment in not hitting this perfect as life gets in the way. That might mean, the flu, weather, jobs, school, or a number of other distractions, but it never goes perfectly. How you adjust to these imperfections can be the make or break point of your season. Are you confident enough that it is only February? Are you confident that a missed workout won’t kill you season? Are you confident changes to the held all too closely training plan won’t ruin your SM100 result? It is incredibly easy to get caught up in these negative attitudes. So what do you do?
Be Confident.
How you mentally tackle these stumbling blocks is more important than anything in your lead up to a great spring and summer. Take the opportunity to back off training, let your body and your brain recover. Training hard takes both to be working properly and both need rest. 3 weeks of low hours and easy riding isn’t a bad thing at all. Will you possibly be a weak late on form, sure, maybe, or you might come out of it stronger as you’re itching to race and train hard when it’s over. Nothing makes a 60 degree day warmer than weeks of 20 degrees.
So are you confident enough to take time off? Are you confident enough that your legs will come around? Are you confident enough to relax and let your mind and body relax? If you’re confident enough to do that I am convinced you will be confident enough to win in the spring and summer.
And lucky for us, warmer weather seems like it is on its way.
Keep those pedals spinning,
BSlow
How you mentally tackle these stumbling blocks is more important than anything in your lead up to a great spring and summer. Take the opportunity to back off training, let your body and your brain recover. Training hard takes both to be working properly and both need rest. 3 weeks of low hours and easy riding isn’t a bad thing at all. Will you possibly be a weak late on form, sure, maybe, or you might come out of it stronger as you’re itching to race and train hard when it’s over. Nothing makes a 60 degree day warmer than weeks of 20 degrees.
So are you confident enough to take time off? Are you confident enough that your legs will come around? Are you confident enough to relax and let your mind and body relax? If you’re confident enough to do that I am convinced you will be confident enough to win in the spring and summer.
And lucky for us, warmer weather seems like it is on its way.
Keep those pedals spinning,
BSlow