Mid-Season Cyclocross Self-Exam
It’s hard to believe, but we’re just
about halfway through cyclocross season. Temperatures are dropping, the leaves are
turning, and hopefully your race legs are still turning too. At a certain point in every person’s ‘cross
season, there comes a period of “forced reflection.” It usually doesn’t come when things have been
going great, but rather during an unplanned downturn. This could be caused by sickness, or a string
of sub-par races, or any number of life factors that may present themselves. Reflection, whether forced or not, is a great
thing and you should embrace the opportunity.
Way back in August, you loaded up the race calendar with every single cyclocross race on the schedule. And your plan was to win every single race. I like your style – you’re full of motivation and ambition. How has it worked out? I would guess that it probably hasn’t gone exactly to plan. One reason for that might be that cyclocross is far more demanding than many give it credit for. Think of a cx race as a 40k time trial. What if you did two 40k TTs per week for 2-3 months? You’d quit bike racing, probably after a month. So, the key is to figure out what works for you – how often can you race and still maintain that edge to be performing at or near your best at every race? Below I’ve listed some ideas to consider as you approach the second half of the season. So, dig out the objective lens and take some time for a look back at the first half of the season. Keep an eye out for patterns!
Write down your best 2-3 races this year and your worst 2-3 races.
a. Look back at the 1-2 weeks prior to those races. Consider:
i. Training modes and intensity/frequency (Z3, Z4, Z5 work? Running? Skill work?)
ii. Number of rest days
iii. Hours of sleep / sleep patterns
iv. Stress levels
v. Travel schedule / timing
vi. The goal here is to see what left you firing on all cylinders for your good races, and what factors may have contributed to bad races.
b. What types of races have gone well/poorly? Consider:
i. How are your bike handling skills? Where do you excel and what holds you back? Are you more comfortable with short, punchy efforts, or the long, sustained type? The goal here is to not to figure out that you should only do fast, dry courses with wide, sweeping turns, but rather to start working on your weaknesses. You want to have the same level of confidence going into a mudfest as you do a dirt crit. Cyclocrossers have to be complete riders, so don’t pigeon-hole yourself into a certain type.
c. What goes on in your head during good and bad races?
i. What does your internal dialogue (self-talk) look like on your very best and very worst days? Write down some examples.
ii. What are you telling yourself on courses you know you’re good on? What about the bad ones?
iii. If you’re getting negative when confronting areas of weakness or low-confidence, I can guarantee you won’t improve at them. Being aware of your internal dialogue is the first step in improving it. If you recognize it as an area that needs work, bring it up with your coach and consider talking to a sport psychologist.
Now that you’ve taken a good hard look at yourself, it’s time to put this list to good use. Talk to your coach about it. Problems may have arisen from the training plan, but there’s an equally good chance that they’re coming from elsewhere. Sleep, stress, and everything else that life throws at you have a significant effect on your recovery, which in turn affects your training and racing. So, be honest with yourself, and talk to your coach about whatever is on your mind!
Way back in August, you loaded up the race calendar with every single cyclocross race on the schedule. And your plan was to win every single race. I like your style – you’re full of motivation and ambition. How has it worked out? I would guess that it probably hasn’t gone exactly to plan. One reason for that might be that cyclocross is far more demanding than many give it credit for. Think of a cx race as a 40k time trial. What if you did two 40k TTs per week for 2-3 months? You’d quit bike racing, probably after a month. So, the key is to figure out what works for you – how often can you race and still maintain that edge to be performing at or near your best at every race? Below I’ve listed some ideas to consider as you approach the second half of the season. So, dig out the objective lens and take some time for a look back at the first half of the season. Keep an eye out for patterns!
Write down your best 2-3 races this year and your worst 2-3 races.
a. Look back at the 1-2 weeks prior to those races. Consider:
i. Training modes and intensity/frequency (Z3, Z4, Z5 work? Running? Skill work?)
ii. Number of rest days
iii. Hours of sleep / sleep patterns
iv. Stress levels
v. Travel schedule / timing
vi. The goal here is to see what left you firing on all cylinders for your good races, and what factors may have contributed to bad races.
b. What types of races have gone well/poorly? Consider:
i. How are your bike handling skills? Where do you excel and what holds you back? Are you more comfortable with short, punchy efforts, or the long, sustained type? The goal here is to not to figure out that you should only do fast, dry courses with wide, sweeping turns, but rather to start working on your weaknesses. You want to have the same level of confidence going into a mudfest as you do a dirt crit. Cyclocrossers have to be complete riders, so don’t pigeon-hole yourself into a certain type.
c. What goes on in your head during good and bad races?
i. What does your internal dialogue (self-talk) look like on your very best and very worst days? Write down some examples.
ii. What are you telling yourself on courses you know you’re good on? What about the bad ones?
iii. If you’re getting negative when confronting areas of weakness or low-confidence, I can guarantee you won’t improve at them. Being aware of your internal dialogue is the first step in improving it. If you recognize it as an area that needs work, bring it up with your coach and consider talking to a sport psychologist.
Now that you’ve taken a good hard look at yourself, it’s time to put this list to good use. Talk to your coach about it. Problems may have arisen from the training plan, but there’s an equally good chance that they’re coming from elsewhere. Sleep, stress, and everything else that life throws at you have a significant effect on your recovery, which in turn affects your training and racing. So, be honest with yourself, and talk to your coach about whatever is on your mind!
