March 4th, 2009 by 
thien
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 waste $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 peers instead of yourself. 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!
