By Eric Kenney

Your thinking “its Thanksgiving! What could I possibly do for training??? Turkey Carving is some of the best deltoid training there is! This will make you more stable on the bike and resist fatigue longer! Don’t miss the opportunity. Actually I am kidding. Thanksgiving marks the beginning on the holidays and the beginning of the long difficult road to start training again. I myself, have fallen victim to the following scenario before. First its time to rest, then turkey day comes along, then Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. which slams full speed into new years. Throw some travel for work in there, a vacation and maybe a wedding (went to a new years wedding a few years back. Best time ever) and the next thing you know its February, your turning 29. Again. And you are barely going to get in 6 weeks of base training before spring.

What to do?

Its time to plan. The answer here is this is not the time to stress about training but to plan ahead. And before we can plan ahead one must look back at the past. Looking at your past year or more of racing and training can be the best thing you do in planning for the next season.
Here are some steeps to get you on the road to success.

• 1. Write down your general goals. Things that you want to focus on in general. Ie. Become a stronger runner, spend more time training on the bike.
• 2. Then write down specific training objectives: these can be precisely measured. Increase threshold wattage to 300. Run sub 30:30 minute 10k, etc.
• 3. Then write down your goals, “win the state championships”. For races write down there dates and rank them in priority.
• 4. Most importantly identify your weak areas.

Finding these can be harder than it seems. Here are a few methods for analyzing your season and finding your weakness to get you started right in 2009.

Step one: Analyze Your Season
Did you meet your racing goals and training objectives? Did you peak when you wanted to? Did you go as fast as you predicted? These should be pretty simple yes or no questions. Look then at your training objectives as stated above. . They should be measurable goals that are stair steps to you major goals. If you did not meet your major goals of the year the answer, or at least part of the answer, to why may be right there. As you keep looking into why you did or did not meet your goals look at everything: job, personal life, relationship, etc. Stress out side of the athletic world is the number cause of people under performing. If you’re a lawyer working 60+ hours a week and training 20 hours a week as well as being a mother or father, you may be setting out about things in the wrong manner. There are only so many hours in the day!

Note what worked for you and what did not. The things that worked you will want to keep in your bag of tricks as these things will likely work again. The things that didn’t work, get rid of them! We’ll come up with something better!

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By Eric Kenney

I get this question often this time of yr. “how do you NOT train?” Especially for the competitive cyclist or triathlete who has been racing all summer, sometimes every weekend, not training hard and racing all the time can feel very strange.

The Off Season:
First off I want to stress the word “OFF” in off season. Off means Off! The first and most important aspect of your next season is being totally fresh and completely motivated for next season. Now is the time to start that process.

Less is better here. Catch up on work, family, and drop off the bike at the shop for a tune up. Have them check it over for cracks in the frame along with full safety check. Racing is very hard on your equipment. The key with this faze is to make sure you are 110% ready to start training come the start of your program. The under trained, over motivated athlete will beat the perfectly training under motivated athlete every time! Come the beginning of “base training” you should be itching to train. It should be all you think about, so when its 20 degrees and freezing rain, your pumped up and ready to put in a solid training effort! This is also the best time to sit down with your coach and/or teammates to discus what your goals will be for next year. How did you perform this year? What was good? What was bad? What will have to be different with your preparation for 20, etc

Here are five easy steps for an effective off season.

1. Off time:
Take an extended time of ZERO training. This will be deferent for every one. 2 weeks for some, 2 months for others. How ever much time you need to be totally rested and motivated to train again.

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By Eric Kenney

Cyclocross is huge. Once participated in as training in the fall and winter months for fun it is now a huge international spectacle. Athletes are now focusing their whole year on cyclocross. Even for us Tri geeks and hard core all road all the time people cyclocorss is luring.

The question is coming up more and more; will racing cyclocross be a good option for training in the fall and early winter training?

First lets take a look at your year ahead and behind to answer a few questions.

• Have you had enough time TOTALLY off after your last race/ training block? (I prescribe 2-6 weeks)
• Will you have enough time to rest after your cross season and the start of Base training? (2 weeks)
• How taxing was your summer season of racing and training?
• How much other stressors will you encounter? ($$ for bike, race entry, travel, specific training, etc)

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We all have different Ideas on winter training, for some it is a vital time of year, laying the foundation for a big race mid summer or tuning speed for the early season duathlons. For some, winter will be a success if they gain less than 10 pounds. What ever your motivations for this winter; balancing a structured plan with a good dose of spontaneity will get you in the best form ever, physically and mentally.

Outlook:
If you live in the northeast or anywhere that snows in the winter, and your not a pro, you simply can’t train as much in the winter. With darkness coming around 4:30pm, fridged morning temps and icy roads it just not possible. We won’t even get into jobs, girl friends, kids, wives, the patriots game schedule, etc…

So now that we are at peace with the fact that we simply can’t put in as much time as we may want, We can focus on what to do with the time we have.

Getting start:
Find a routine. With cold temps, warm beds and stale indoor air it is easy to get “off track”. Try to find some kind of routine. This could be 1 workout or rendezvous with a friend per week. ie. “every Wednesday morning john and I run together, no matter what.” “Thursday night I do the spinning class at my gym.” Even with only one appointment per week with your body you can maintain your fitness. Find something that works with your schedule so it will be easy to keep this apt and not get side tracked.

This can work for you in a great way if this one work out focuses on your weakness. I have known athletes to turn there swim that puts them 5 minutes down to 1 minute up, over the course of the winter!

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By: Eric Kenney

With busy schedules, many athletes just don’t have enough time to work on all the aspects necessary to reach their full potential. Let alone the Triathlete who needs to be effective in “all four sports”, see that article here.

Because of this, it is of great value if one can combine workouts. I am not talking about a brick workout or double sessions either. I’m talking about maximizing your time. Even pro’s whom train for a living need to be effective with there time and training. Do you think lance logged any junk miles while training for the Tour? Don’t think so.

A great way to do this is by focusing on more than one aspect of your training in one workout. By placing workouts within workouts one can get a double whammy effect out of his or her training. Consult your coach before concocting your own “double whammy” workouts. One of the best ways to do one of these is to place tech. drills or hard intervals into a longer endurance workout. For example: In your 3 hr. ride, focus on your technique while riding up hills. Keep pedal cadence high and concentrate on pedaling “perfectly”. Talk to your coach about that too. Alternate standing and sitting. Stand up on one hill; for the whole hill, sit on the next. Hone your skills. Do fast pedal drills in your long ride or strides in your long run. Another option is to do intervals or some kind of harder effort in your work out. If you are looking to increase your power or speed, do your intervals after a solid warm up. Cool down easily, hydrate and fuel up appropriately, then continue with a low intensity endurance workout.

Bike example: 20’ warm up.
3×10’ level 3-4. (rest 3’).
10’ cool down, continue cool down at level 2 for 2 hours.

Looking to focus on more endurance for that IM. Do the intervals after 2 hours of riding at level 2. BAMB! Two birds with one stone! Please consult your coach or a coach before doing any of these as they are a bit more taxing than your normal single aspect workouts that mere mortals do. There are some “double whammy” workouts that are a bad idea. Example: working two different maximal effort zones in the same work out. Working long tempo, cooling down then doing 1minute intervals. Not effective training here.

With proper planning there is no reason that anyone can’t finish that IM, be a contender in there age group, or win the big one. Happy training!

Eric coaches athletes of all levels in triathlon, cycling, mountain, biking, Cyclocross
and is working with RAAm solo rider this year!

http://Erickenney.blogspot.com

By: Eric Kenney
It’s that time of year when we all start to race or think about it. For many of us some of these first races are non- priority races or “training races”. There are a few different ideas as to what a training race is and how it should be done. Some people think that it just means you don’t taper and “training through it” giving us a nice excuse for not doing well. In fact a training race is a prim opportunity to get great training, important experience and test our self’s in the exact environment that we are training to excel in the first place. Here are a few key points to consider and plan out when doing your early season race’s and race simulation workouts.

1. Its still a Race: A training race is NOT a time to waist 60$ (or what ever) in gas and entry fee to ride around in a circle with a bunch of other spandex clad freaks for the heck of it! It is an opportunity to really test your self, in the field and against your pears instead of your self. With this, aim for a specific, measurable goal. While this training race will not require a 3 week peeking phase you should take the few days before to make sure you are well rested and ready for a good effort, physically, mentally and with all your equipment working 100%! You have committed the money, time, energy, the sacrifice of getting up at, still dark out- thirty to meet at some random office park. Make it worth while!

2. Make a goal: If you have been working on your strength and all winter and are now ready to turn that strength into accelerating power than make a goal to do some number of BIG accelerations. Attack the short hill, jump on a break forming, go for the half way prim. But commit to this goal. if your going to work on your jump then do that and just that. Spend your other time sitting in and riding smart. Make the sprinting efforts as strong as possible. Killing it on the front, riding in a break for x number of laps, going to the back then to the front then back to the back of the pack will make your training race workout end fast.

Maybe just getting through the race will be hard enough. Then do that. Ride smart. Is holding your position in the pack hard for you? Make a goal to simply ride in the top 15 riders or so the entire race, I have done this my self. Focus on warming up well, if necessary, and watching the race play out. Identify when its go time and you must get across that gap and to the front group and when is a good time to sit in eat and relax.

Maybe your endurance is lacking. Do some extra mileage before (ideal) or after the race. if you go this way keep your effort in the race under the hood a bit. This should be a hard workout but we don’t want it to take a week to recover! be deceive. If your going to attack. Do it. See if it works and move to the next steep. always have a reason for doing something.

3. Gain experience. Learn. A training race is a prim opportunity to learn. About your self, about your competition, your preparation, your fueling plan, your equipment, your warm up (or there lack of) if you run well in the wind, on the hills or down hills? How did you feel afterwards. Like you just parted the seas? Or do you feel recovered after 15’ of hanging out by the kiddy pool of Powerade and table of bananas, thinking “man I could have gone way harder?” The list goes on. Come the big race day you can’t afford to be caught off guard by something silly. A cross wind hitting your fancy new disc wheel, your cool new PTS tank top and tri shorts fitting right in your aero position, and how big are those pockets? Do they fit 1 or 2 cliff bars? Gaining as much experience about your self, and how your body works in a race situation will have you better prepared come the big day. This may not have you breaking any records but when the going gets tough the prepared shine trough. Anyone can post a personal best in there ideal conditions on there ideal terrain. You want a personal best in any conditions, on any terrain, on any decided day.

Coaching is not only Eric’s full-time job, it’s his pride and joy. “I take it personally. I am also a competitive triathlete and I am as careful with my athletes as I am with myself.” He coaches athletes of all levels in triathlon, cycling, mountain, biking, Cyclocross and is working with RAAm solo rider and team this year!

http://Erickenney.blogspot.com

Thinking of entering a stage race? Eric Kenney takes you through his experience from the 2007 Tour of Gila

By Eric Kenney

The Tour of the Gila stage race is one of, if not THE premiere amateur race in the US. Especially if you’re a category 2 rider. As it is one of the few races in the country with a cat 2 only race. Almost every category fills and every one brings there A game. Are you ready?

This 5 stage event has something for everyone and has everything possible to make this one the hardest races you’ll ever do. Silver City, NM (the host city) sits the mountains of southern NM at about 5500 feet. If you hadn’t spent time training and living at that altitude you’ll know it. You may get away with a good ride on day one but you are sure to feel the low O2 crunch as the race goes on. Many of the roads are “chip seal” making them slow. The wind is always a factor and can change at a moments notice. And then there are the hills. We’ll get into those in a minute.

Get to know this site. http://tourofthegila.com
Neutral support was great I did the cat 2 , 07 edition of the race with no team support on the road side, plenty of good water bottles being handed out by volunteers at every feed zone Be sure to check details and bring enough food on each stage!

Stage one, Mogollon RR, up hill finish: This stage will cause some big time gaps. The road of the finishing climb is bumpy, steep and relentless. It also comes after relatively flat but many miles. 90 or so if you’re a cat 2, 1 or pro. 75 if any other category. Its enough to cause significant time gaps but the race is not over. Ideally plan to have some one pick you up or arrive a full day early so you can drop a car at the base of the finishing climb. its 75 miles out side of town! Leave food and water with the car, while there is some support at the finish, food and water, but there is no stores or anything really until you get back to town. There is an area to park, afe and there will be other cars there. Bring light wheels and a 25 or 27 tooth cog for the finishing climb it a beast!

Training: be sure to have a good power to weight ratio and feel comfortable going all out up hill. Also be sure you have a few races in the belt and are comfortable riding at a fast pace for miles on end. Hit the local group ride and finishes your self off with some hill repeats at your FT.

Stage two, Inner loop RR: One of the tougher 65 mile races you will do. Relatively straight forward. 2 Climbs back to back in the beginning and one big one towards the end. There is 5+ miles down hill and flat after the last climb so it will most likely come together. And the long flat road over the divide is a good rest for people under pressure.
Areas of Note: the decent off of climb 2. is very steep and twisty. Tack caution. It ranks in the category of so dangerous that it becomes… really not that bad. Nothing sneaks up on you, and with so many turns you can’t quite get to mach 1. Just pay attention! The star and finish are at the same place. About 4 miles from town. Easy, quick drive.

Training: Again good pack riding and climbing FT power will get you the finish line. Want to win? The sprint in a long slightly up hill drag. Have some good 1’ power. Start finish are at the same location so check it out!

Stage three, TT 16 miles hilly: pre riding this course could be the best thing you do to prepare for the Gila! Wind can make or break your performance so get it dialed in if you’re riding for a personal best! 16 hilly, solo miles on stage 3 will create some big time gaps again. Depending on your category you’re looking at a 35-45 minute effort. Depending on the wind the last down hill 4 miles could be a 40+ mph affair or feel your still riding up hill! Bring the 54-11 gear combo or bigger! Bring the aero wheels but the disk may be to much of its windy. And it will be!

Training: Practice your Time trails! No secret there but this course is tough, up and down no flat road to speak of. Gauge your effort well. Don’t go out to hard. Easy to do on the gradual uphill start. Long FT intervals on your TT bike will get you ready.

Stage four, down town crit: The downtown crit has lots of fans and hug support! With a long wide finishing straight and wide turns it’s a safe, fast course. There are 2 short, steep rollers on the back side. Nothing major but again if the wind is blowing get to front and stay there. If you have to ride in the wind a few times and hammer the hills it could have you on the defensive.

Training: Good anaerobic endurance and crit riding skills will make this a short sweet event and make your day more recovery than anything else which you will need! If your looking to finish well get to the front and stay there! With the wind and the rollers on the back moving up can be difficult. Some descending intervals, racing a few crits, and strength work will have you well prepared.

Stage five, the Gila monster, 100+ miles, sever course, up hill finish: This stage would make Lance Armstrong do a double take. Depending on your category you could be in for over 100 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing! The course also retraces some of stage 2 in the opposite direction. So don’t think your hallucinating, although you may be by the finish.
Areas of Note: The final climb. It starts quickly. Its steep and twisty. (scary descent for day 2) get to the front! Trying to come around 50 people will put you in the red zone fast. The steep section gives way to some false flat for a long while. DO not think you are done! The course then dips and turns sharply for a few more miles. Pay attention here! One moment of lack of attention will have you closing gaps to what’s left on the peloton if not going off the road. By the time you start the final climb the lead group will be around 15 riders or so. Maybe smaller! The last climb is not hard but after 5 days and 10,000 feet of climbing that day if could break anyone.

Arrange a ride for this finish. Its about 5 miles from town. I have ridden back but avoid it if you can. There is some water etc at the finish but not much food. There is however a restaurant. The best BBQ pulled pork sandwich you’ll ever have! Its worth carrying a 5 or 10 spot in a baggy if you don’t have the car. Bring the climbing wheels plenty of food and 27 cog for this beast of a ride.

Training: good climbing FT power again will do you well but make sure you can handle the volume of the day! long tempo rides (2-3hr of Z3 riding) in the hills is best but if you live in a flatter area nock out the tempo at your lower climbing cadence.

Try to arrange to stay over that night. Traveling after a race like this can ruin your season, trust me I have seen it happen. Congratulations you made it!! Pat yourself on the back, but keep up the good recovery methods for a few days and take some time off! You need it.

Eric coaches athletes of all levels in triathlon, cycling, mountain, biking, Cyclocross and is working with RAAM solo rider this year! http://Erickenney.blogspot.com

Ever find yourself out on the road with a flat and have no idea what to do? Well check out this excellent video by Mach3Multisport on what to do should you find yourself in such a predicament!

Road Cycling Etiquette

Road riding with a group can be fun and safe if done with common sense and courtesy. Below are some guidelines we all need to follow in order to maximize our safety and enjoyment while riding with our fellow cyclists amidst the motorized vehicles, pedestrians and roadside obstacles that we may encounter during the ride.

Stay focused and attentive
Keep an eye on the road ahead and other riders around you. Be attentive of audible and hand signals by riders warning others of pedestrians, potholes, parked cars or other roadside obstacles. Anticipate sudden moves by other riders as they swerve or brake hard to avoid an obstacle.

Follow traffic rules
Obey stop signs and traffic signals. Blowing through red lights and stop signs is a recipe for disaster. Be alert for pedestrians, especially for children, who might suddenly dart into the street.

Ride predictably
Make it easy for other riders as well as vehicular traffic to anticipate your next move. Do this by riding in a straight line, keeping a consistent pace and by not slamming your brakes. If you need to slow down a bit, adjust your speed by feathering your brakes.

Use hand signals
Use hand signals when you turn or slow down. Also, use hand signals to point out road hazards such as potholes, glass, parked cars alongside the road and other obstacles you might encounter during a group ride.

Stay out of the way of vehicular traffic
Avoid vehicular traffic by riding on the right side of the line separating the road from its shoulder. Be careful not to ride too deep into the road shoulder, as there tends to be debris like broken glass, rocks and other road hazards there.

Ride single-file
Since most roads can barely accommodate a bicycle alongside motorized vehicles, ride single-file. Riding two or more abreast on most roads is a sure way to annoy drivers and could cause a crash if the rider next to you suddenly swerves in your direction to avoid an obstacle.

No overlapping wheels
As you ride in a paceline, avoid overlapping wheels - riding with your front wheel next to the rear wheel of the bicycle in front of you. This way, if the rider in front of you suddenly swerves in your direction, he or she doesn’t take you down as their rear wheel smacks into your front wheel.