No Events? No problem!
Right now many of you are feeling disappointment and frustration around races and rides being canceled. Most of us haven’t seen a global event like this in our lifetime. I believe, however, that we can adapt and overcome this temporary challenge and be ready for the inevitable light at the end of the tunnel. My personal view is that above all else, family and personal well-being come first. That being said, for a lot of us, cycling and being connected to our community positively contributes to our physical and mental health. Although the physical interaction with our respective communities may be paused, there are many ways to stay connected. I had a great conversation with my coach, Lynda Wallenfels, about some strategies we can take in uncertain times.
The key is to focus more on personal challenges rather than relying on organized events. Here are some ideas that I will be working on with Ordinary Epics athletes in the coming weeks.
Everesting
This is basically an extreme version of doing hill repeats. To be precise, climbing 29,029 feet on a single hill. This is something that I personally have been interested in doing over the past few years after reading accounts from folks like Chris Plesko and Chris Seistrup. They have used this challenge to help build physical and mental strength training before a big event. Here are some great resources to help calculate pace, number of repeats, and level of difficulty:
Everesting calculator - https://everesting.io/
Submit your Everesting effort - https://everesting.cc/
This may be an extreme version of social distancing but you might be surprised to find a few friends who may be interested in joining you on a challenge like this, or even supporting you during your attempt.
Virtual Challenges
Although Zwift was a popular training tool before coronavirus, this is a no-brainer for those who have a smart trainer and enjoy riding inside.
There are other ways to challenge yourself and your friends virtually, such as using apps like Strava with individual or SMALL group rides.
Find three segments you enjoy riding and set a new PR.
Chase an age group leaderboard.
Get that KOM!
Create or join a Strava Club and setup some club rides with an open date. This will dynamically set a leaderboard for a specific route with time boundaries.
Create new segments. This means new challenges and PRs!
Performance and Skills
We may not know when organized races will get back to a predictable schedule, but that doesn’t mean we can and should continue to build fitness or work on specific areas of improvement. This is a HUGE area that I will be working on with my athletes in the near term. Sucking at your 4-minute climbs? Guess what…we are going to bang away on VO2max efforts. Nervous descending loose gravel? Let’s work on body position and build confidence.
For endurance athletes, this is a great opportunity to go back to winter basics and build FTP. This is a power system that we can always use more of for longer efforts. Time to pile on sweetspot efforts. I will be building some new workouts that will incorporate this Goldilocks range in interesting ways.
Nutrition and Gear
We typically use our off-season to experiment with new types of foods for both on and off the bike. Use this time to try a new hydration product or snack. My current favorite combo is CarboRocket 333 and Skratch Chews. Occasionally I will snag a Torq banoffee gel out of Wendi’s stash. I have some friends that are really stoked on Maurten and SiS which I will be taking this off-time to give a shot to see how it agrees with my stomach.
A lot of us who ride really enjoy geeking out on new parts and pieces. Making changes right before a race isn’t a good idea, but now that we all have a little free time on our hands, it might be a good opportunity to try out that new tire you have had your eyes on. Something else that we may take for granted is a bike fit. I believe a proper fit is one of the best investments you can make in your comfort and efficiency. Reach out to your local bike shop to see if they can give you a hand or go check out our friend John Karrasch in Birmingham if you live in the Southeast.
One of the best lessons I have learned from Lynda over the years is to BE ADAPTABLE. This, my friends, is just another bump in the road. Keep your heads up and keep pedaling.