http://fattyreflyer.com mountainbiking news for the rest of us Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:08:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.mtbracenews.com/2010/03/question-alison-throughout-your-career.html http://www.mtbracenews.com/2010/03/question-alison-throughout-your-career.html#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:08:00 +0000 mtbracenews.com tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993984796727623769.post-2712936931375128826

Question: Alison, throughout your career you have been great at peaking for the big races whether it's National Champions or the Worlds. How can I time my fitness to peak at just the right time?

Peaking for the Big Race

Being able to peak for the “big race” is one of the hardest things to do in cycling. Even after 20 years of racing I still had races that didn’t go well after doing everything perfectly to get ready. There are things you can do, however, to improve your chances of having that “perfect” day at the most important race of the season.

Peaking for a race begins months earlier in the off-season. This is the time when athletes sit down and plan out their entire race season. Most cyclists know that they can’t physically race at their best from March through September, so most will prioritize their races by order of importance. Once a rider has established which races are the most important, she can then build her schedule around those particular events.

Designing a training schedule that brings you to your most important race in peak form takes years of experience and a little luck. Based on what kind of race you are peaking for, you’ll want to design your training so that the month before you’re doing the most race specific training possible; workouts that are most similar to the kind of race you’re doing. For example, if you are peaking for the Cyclocross National Championships in December, it doesn’t make sense to do 4hr endurance rides the month before your race. You instead need to be doing lots of short intense anaerobic power workouts.

It is also important to reach your peak event in not only super fantastic race shape, but rested and mentally motivated. You can use something called a “taper” in the weeks leading up to your big event. A taper is a way to maintain intensity and peak race fitness, while allowing your body to rest and recover at the same time. A taper typically lasts 1-2 weeks, depending on the athlete. In a taper the intensity stays high, but the volume goes way down. You can still do high intensity workouts leading up to your big race, but don’t add any extra mileage during your taper. You are basically doing short interval workouts and nothing else other than recovery rides. And skip the big weekend group rides as well during your taper.

The last two days before your event are the most important and can also be the most challenging. In these two days you need to make sure you are 100% rested, but also 100% opened up and ready to race. If you’ve had a few easy days leading up to your event, it is super important to get the legs “opened up” before your race. Pre-race openers can be done 1-2 days before your event and involve maybe some tempo riding and then some short, high intensity efforts. If you are doing a mountain bike or cyclocross race, your pre-race openers can be done on the course.

On race day it is super important to get a good solid warm-up before your event. I recommend doing a combination of endurance and tempo and then finish with some short high intensity efforts as close to the start as possible. In general, the longer your event, the shorter and less intense your warm-up needs to be. For example, if you are warming up for a 24hr solo race, it doesn’t make sense to do a bunch of vo2 intervals.

We all know there is a lot more that goes into having a good race than just fitness. There can be crashes, weather, and mechanicals that unfortunately affect the outcome. Coming into your most important race in peak fitness will give you the confidence to handle not only the physical stress of the race, but any unexpected bad luck that might derail your effort. When you cross the finish line you want to know that you did absolutely everything possible to have your best day. Don’t have any doubts or “what ifs”. The athlete that wins the big one is the athlete that is the most prepared.

Good luck and happy trails!

Alison

Alison Dunlap is a certified Level II USAC Coach and has been working with athletes for five years. She runs a coaching business called Alison Dunlap Coaching, and has mountain bike camps in Moab, UT through the Alison Dunlap Adventure Camps. Alison is also a two-time Olympian, MTB World Champion, and 13-time National Champion.

]]> http://www.mtbracenews.com/2010/03/question-alison-throughout-your-career.html/feed/ 0 http://www.pinkbike.com/news/beacon-skye-video-2010.html?trk=rss http://www.pinkbike.com/news/beacon-skye-video-2010.html?trk=rss#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:09:00 +0000 Pinkbike.com tag:www.pinkbike.com://3bc62f8415fca178c4ff467afb05ca76
I had a great time behind the camera, as did they ripping the trails they have been riding all winter. Video inside!]]>
I had a great time behind the camera, as did they ripping the trails they have been riding all winter. Video inside!]]> http://www.pinkbike.com/news/beacon-skye-video-2010.html?trk=rss/feed/ 0 http://www.pinkbike.com/news/52-weeks-week-31-32-2010.html?trk=rss http://www.pinkbike.com/news/52-weeks-week-31-32-2010.html?trk=rss#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:05:00 +0000 Pinkbike.com tag:www.pinkbike.com://9bb39adc59cb23072b5b5c54be1465b0
Find out more inside and get a peek at my finished custom 2010 Haro X7!]]>
Find out more inside and get a peek at my finished custom 2010 Haro X7!]]> http://www.pinkbike.com/news/52-weeks-week-31-32-2010.html?trk=rss/feed/ 0 http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Fogelsode-18-2010.html?trk=rss http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Fogelsode-18-2010.html?trk=rss#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:03:00 +0000 Pinkbike.com tag:www.pinkbike.com://1b918835f5d124a413e1b4c8f40df7f6
More details and video inside!]]>
More details and video inside!]]> http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Fogelsode-18-2010.html?trk=rss/feed/ 0 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/moots-partners-with-dirt-sweat-gears-to-support-imbasorba/ http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/moots-partners-with-dirt-sweat-gears-to-support-imbasorba/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:11:21 +0000 Gregg http://reviews.mtbr.com/?p=17961 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/moots-partners-with-dirt-sweat-gears-to-support-imbasorba/feed/ 0 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/sr-suntour-launches-north-america-subsidiary-lead-by-industry-vet-doug-stuart/ http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/sr-suntour-launches-north-america-subsidiary-lead-by-industry-vet-doug-stuart/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:05:44 +0000 Gregg http://reviews.mtbr.com/?p=17957 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/sr-suntour-launches-north-america-subsidiary-lead-by-industry-vet-doug-stuart/feed/ 0 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/michal-prokop-twelve/ http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/michal-prokop-twelve/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:53:45 +0000 Gregg http://reviews.mtbr.com/?p=17950 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/michal-prokop-twelve/feed/ 0 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/imbikemag-launches-issue-4/ http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/imbikemag-launches-issue-4/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:44:21 +0000 Gregg http://reviews.mtbr.com/?p=17946 http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/imbikemag-launches-issue-4/feed/ 0 http://www.pinkbike.com/news/blind-bobby-racing-2010.html?trk=rss http://www.pinkbike.com/news/blind-bobby-racing-2010.html?trk=rss#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:17:00 +0000 Pinkbike.com tag:www.pinkbike.com://f4137586092af3db7b286fdb4845ce07 Source: Blind Bobby Racing/Lauren Leisz

Blind Bobby McMullen Launches New Website And Adds 'Motivational' Speaker Tour

Blind Bobby is at it again! 2010 is here and Bobby McMullen, long-standing team member of the WTB/SantaCruz/Fox squad, is throwing a new website your way: www.RideBlindRacing.com. You can check out what Bobby has been up to on his blog; view his race schedule/event calendar; shoot him an email with a heckle; get a look at his sponsors product offerings, or take in a vid or some pics of the most inspirational man on a mountain bike. More details inside,]]> Source: Blind Bobby Racing/Lauren Leisz

Blind Bobby McMullen Launches New Website And Adds 'Motivational' Speaker Tour

Blind Bobby is at it again! 2010 is here and Bobby McMullen, long-standing team member of the WTB/SantaCruz/Fox squad, is throwing a new website your way: www.RideBlindRacing.com. You can check out what Bobby has been up to on his blog; view his race schedule/event calendar; shoot him an email with a heckle; get a look at his sponsors product offerings, or take in a vid or some pics of the most inspirational man on a mountain bike. More details inside,]]> http://www.pinkbike.com/news/blind-bobby-racing-2010.html?trk=rss/feed/ 0 http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Follow-me-week-4-2010.html?trk=rss http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Follow-me-week-4-2010.html?trk=rss#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:31:00 +0000 Pinkbike.com tag:www.pinkbike.com://4c3989ae7959d0bacf621c92030cd7e6 Follow Me...Everywhere Contest now 1 month old, the submissions are rolling in with everyone vying to add the 2010 Giant Faith 0 to their arsenal of bikes on March 19th. But until then, Shimano is kicking in weekly prizes; check out who won the random draw for week 4.

See who won!]]> Follow Me...Everywhere Contest now 1 month old, the submissions are rolling in with everyone vying to add the 2010 Giant Faith 0 to their arsenal of bikes on March 19th. But until then, Shimano is kicking in weekly prizes; check out who won the random draw for week 4.

See who won!]]> http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Follow-me-week-4-2010.html?trk=rss/feed/ 0