The coveted rest week - rest to get faster and stronger

Ahhhh..i made it - time to rest.  For the whole week, i don't have to think about miles, minutes, pace, or anything related to training.  This week is about recouping, recharging, and like my acupuncturist says, restore my chi :)

Taking a much need rest after the Catalina Gran Fondo.

Intense training and racing takes its toll.

• The physical & mental energy required for race day performance and focused intensity.  
• Physical energy for those hard training days that you push yourself past your limits.  
• Time and energy to plan your rides and training off your bike.  And then the energy to take care of life's necessities like cleaning, cooking, kids, or life's emergencies after a hard ride. 
• Physical & mental energy to start a ride or workout when your body feels exhausted from yesterday's activities.  
• And the emotional energy.  Maybe it's because i'm a girl and i can be more sensitive then my male counterparts, but i know that when I've been putting my body under continuous stress, i am not able to handle emotional situations as gracefully.  

Honestly i would make myself push through all this stuff and keep going.  The real reason why I started to incorporate rest week was due to the fact that I would get sick...all the time. Mostly upper respiratory infections - in two years i got pneumonia twice!!  After the second bout of pneumonia, I threw the towel in to figure out what was going on.

As a coach, i should know better than to not give my body rest.  But as an athlete, it is hard to stop training.  i had to come to terms with the science and give myself the needed rest WEEK.  It's been about a year and a half since i started to incorporate the coveted rest week and i've been sick only once in that time. 

How it works - train, intense hard for 5-7 weeks (varies from athlete to the next) and then take a WHOLE week to do whatever the heck I want.  here are a few do's and don'ts for your rest week:

• DON'T put too many rules.  do whatever you want without any judgement.
• DO schedule a massage or acupuncture or some type of bodywork to help with muscle and tissue rejuvenation.  I try to do more yoga during my rest weeks.
• DO try to get fresh air and get a little sweat. Do something you don't normally have time for.
• DO try to do more with the ones you love - Sit and watch movies with my children.
• DON'T worry that your friends are riding or the such.

Then when it's time to get back on the bike and start training, you will be able to give more then you did before your rest week.  It's in the science - train hard (overload principle) and then recovery to rejuvenate and repair.   I've also noticed that I'm don't get burn out like i have in the past.

Tomorrow?  Time to go to Big Bear for some racing..yea!!!  Rest week is about to end and i'm like a race horse hungry to ride fast.

Train hard, rest even harder

chi

here are few articles reinforcing how your performance improves when you incorporate a rest week. 

http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2012/06/recovery-week-design.html 

http://cyclingtips.com/2008/11/rest-periods/

http://breakingmuscle.com/cycling/how-your-recovery-relates-directly-to-your-performance

Will Race For Beer

Racing has a unique way of defining you as an athlete and as a person. I wasn't always sucha strong competitor but after completing my first mountain bike racing season as Expert, I look back at how much racing has molded me into the athlete and person I want to become. It is an arena to become a better rider – nimble and light on the descents, strong and steady on the climbs, and smart on the nutrition. I won’t race forever: one day I will fill my calendar with my own picks & favorite trails rather than US Cup # (enter a number); but while the fire is burning and the passion is there, I will race and race hard.

Be careful with overtraining!
I was getting faster with every ride; so I rode more, hoping to get faster. Only to find that I was sick and my energy was severely dampened. Manage your energy and stop while you’re ahead. You know you’re overtraining when you ride and your legs hurt after your warm-up. They should feel fresh and your breathing smooth.

Ditch the camelback!
The camelback was like my blankie and it had everything I thought I needed. But when it came to racing, it's about being lite. What I REALLY needed on a 15-25 mile ride was a tube, CO2, a gu and a bottle of water. The only other time I used my camelback was during Downieville when I needed both hands on the bars during the descents. Although, there were a few moments I could have drank from a bottle…note taken for next year.

Stay focused!
There were obstacles that could have slowed me down or made me think I couldn’t ride hard. There are obstacles IN LIFE that make you question your ideas, your abilities, and your values. Believe in yourself. Staying focused on the task (call it a race, a goal, your life) is challenging because distractions and doubt can steal your vision. Nuture your goals and recommit your focus -- this focus is powerful. Whether it is a break up, worse day of my period, and an upset stomach (all on the same day), you still have to race. What are you going to do about it? What does it take to break you? Excuses give you an easy out; but challenges can make you find a stronger side that is waiting to be exposed. Once the race starts and you got your groove, fatigue seeps into your muscles and your head and start a downward spiral. Keep your focus! Breathe… when you can hone your focus, you transport to a kind of surreal, dream-like feeling. When I race, I tell myself “Winners don’t whine” or “soon you’ll be sitting with a cold beer and won’t feel any of the pain” . When all else fails, PEDAL, PEDAL, PEDAL!

What’s a kit?!
Team leader, Derek Harmon, brought me a kit the day before the first race at Sagebrush. I’m thinking “what the heck is a kit?”. Soon I realized that your racing outfit is your kit - dah! I was reluctant to wear the tight shorts (XS? REALLY?!) but after racing in ‘my kit’ I realized that they do the job of keeping clothing out of your way. I acquired a new Lazer helmet that is feather-weight and super cool glasses that have changeable lenses.

The power of protein, electrolytes, and water!
How, when, and what you feed yourself 24/7 is essential to training and racing. The closer you pay attention to your hydration, protein, and veggies, the more power you get. I added a shake in the morning that has 20 grams of protein and shit-load of fruit, added some lean steak on my salad, ate more fish, took omega-3 oils, added super green powder to my drinks/smoothies. Alcohol intake subsided and was substituted for water. Stopped my Wednesday night ice cream treats and substituted plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit. Started using Hammer’s Recoverlite after my hard rides. On average, I drank 4 liters of water a day. I ate and drank to ride and then I ate and drank to recover.

Train hard, train smart!
Every workout, no matter how good or bad I might have felt, was like a deposit into the ‘race hard fund’. But on those rides where I was committed to the training, I made huge gains. I started to tailor my workouts depending on the race coming up – short and fast, long hills, technical descents. I added more pushups and pull-ups for Downieville and long hill repeats for Big Bear race. Ahhh…and then there’s yoga like a dear, loyal friend. My yoga practice has improved my upper body and core strength with arm balancing poses. Yoga is about non-attachment and not worrying about how good you look, it’s about your breath and how you feel and being absolutely present. My mind would wander and I would bring it back to the present. This training, helped me keep my focus during my riding….one breath at a time.

Next year...
more strength training – core for balance and strength, stronger legs for the climbs, stronger upper body for the descents. Adding road biking to the training schedule in the off-season. My own floor pump – hand pump and CO2s aren’t cutting it. Finally, arm and leg warmers would be nice.

I must give proper credit to – Derek of Bear Valley Bikes who helped me ditch the camelback, reassured me before major races, helped me with the fancy helmet and gear, and with race day logistics. My riding buddies (Craig & Binh - pictured left) for showing me the lines and keeping it real. My buddies (Orange & Gimpy) at work for kicking my ass. Super K for reinforcing all that I read about mental training and how key it is to having a successful race. My family who made sure I came home safe after every race.

Every time I get on my bike, it is a treat. I get a unique opportunity to encounter the world around me in a language I understand. It cures my concerns, shows me solutions, retraces the beautiful gifts I have in life, and makes me feel so grateful. At the end of the day, a race is a race; take the good and the bad and learn. Have fun along the way.

Now...how about that cold beer?

Chi

A moment to reflect

It has been several weeks since my last post. I have been revisiting and reflecting on the elements that create and attribute to the sweetness of ....well...kicking ass! The sudden reflection came as I completed my first mountain bike race in a higher category and having celebrated a birthday. The race made me analyze my training and my birthday made me look at what's important in life and then the two thoughts played off each other.

It is actually ironic how I published a post on mental strength - each mantra resonating a truth from a recent experience. And yet, the day of the race and for a few days after, I'd stare of into space wondering "what happened?". Many of you may have experienced this feeling when you step into the unknown and then get a taste of life. My good friend Emily says it best "you just had a fat piece of humble pie".

After some solid reflection, I started to rebuild my foundation of training and my life values. not much had change but it was good to take a fresh look. Here are some of the foundations as i move forward in my racing season and in life.

1. eat good food and eat more of it - eat lean meats, lots of fruits/veggies. eat IMMEDIATELY after your workout and drink water and then more water.

2. get rest - a good riding friend reminded me of this recently...more important to get rest than to ride sometimes. in the last few months, i noticed that I averaged one day of rest for every 10 days (not good).

3. just another session (ride, run) - don't over think the race. it's just you and the trail.

4. be present - whether on the yoga mat, in the ocean, climbing a hill. be there and give it your 100%. don't worry about the past or what's to come. Stay focused and relaxed.

5. take care of your gear & body and it will take care of you.

as far as being one year old and wiser...my life is about honesty, love, and strength. i hope to infuse all three in my relationships, my life, and training.

time to move forward...time to train - train hard, train smart.

chi

Mantras for Achieving Your Goals - Mental Strength

I never considered myself one to talk about mental strength - I don't like being tired, cold, or hungry (go figure!). And yet many amazing opportunities over the last couple of years have shown me first-hand some fundamental principles of mental strength that can help you achieve your goal. Take mountain bike racing for example - I picked up this fun racing sport for three reasons. During my first racing season, I came to a stark realization (a true 'aha' moment) - you have to believe you can win AND believe you deserve to win. It was that realization (on that day) that gave me not just my first victory in mountain bike racing, but first victory EVER!

If you are training for a race or specific goal, below are the top four important mental 'mantras' for achieving your goal -

1. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

• FOCUS on your goal and know what you want (be it a marathon finish time, 10 -foot wave, snowboarding down black diamonds).


• FOCUS on the present moment and then breath (see 'jedi powers'). When you get fatigued, cold, or hungry (because it will happen and be painful), breath and focus on your next move. One step at a time.


• FOCUS on your body and movements. This applies to those sports where there is no damage control - it's do or... well...hit hard! Focus on your weight in your feet, keep your core engage and awake, and relax your shoulders.

2. "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER... GIVE UP"

This was the famous last words when talking to Paul Romero before setting out for my first adventure race. The mind does tricky things when you embark on a long and painful 'adventure'. It is like having two 'mental' doors - "you can" door and "you can't" door. The fatigue and pain will play games on your mind and you may be tempted to go into the 'you can't door. Stay away from that door and don't even think it. If you give even a second thought to "you can't" - you're done. This has nothing to do with your physical state - it's all mental. Refer to #1 -- Focus on your goal - and yes YOU CAN!!

3. SUPPORT

Surround yourself with people and places where you feel supported. Friends who love the sport, friends who have seen you train, family who believes in you. When you are feeling low and in the dumps, their words of encouragement will be as welcome as that cup of water on a hot day.

4. BELIEVE

Believe it, feel it, own it! You have to believe you can do it and visualize your goal as clearly as possible.

I remember those moments fondly after my mountain bike race, after my adventure race, after running last few miles with a client in a half marathon - those goals that were achieved were not hard physically... it was all mental. How well could you focus and believe. When friends and family were present, I was so excited to share with them in my achievements and how grateful I was that they were there. The funny thing about achieving your goals...you set new ones and the process starts over as you continue to overcome new obstacles.

Focus & Believe!

Chi

** oh, as far as those three reasons for racing - learn new places to ride, feel safe when riding alone, see how fast I can ride.