BLOG.CYCLINGFORMANDFITNESS.COM

Coaching 101

2011-09-14T00:08:00Z

Evolution. It's time to step back from coaching in order to make additional income by working in the Quality field once again. The last 4 years of primarily coaching & bike fitting have been great! No regrets!! I've had the pleasure of working with over 30 different athletes in the pursuit of their personalized goals. Additionally, I've completed approximately 130 bike fits while achieving a high degree of customer satisfaction. All good stuff. But, change is inevitable.

For 2012, I'll be keeping a couple of coaching clients to stay in the coaching game along with bike fitting when time permits. I'm also considering a program for competitive cyclists that want to improve their ability to self-coach. There would be a fee for each step, pay as you go...

Step 1: Coaching 101 Seminar focused on explaining basic coaching theory relative to how to prioritize workouts based on the time of year, goals, time constraints, strengths and limiters. I'd also cover how to integrate a Power Meter, WKO, and/or Heart Rate into the program along with my Excel based training log.

Step 2: Provide an empty Excel log for 2012 including a goal sheet, all the workouts I use (about 120), and a few completed plans as examples. There would also be supporting screen shots of WKO workouts as visual aids. And lastly, about 20 "Training Tips" that I've accumulated over the last few years.

Step 3: One on one consultation with clients in 1 hour increments if desired. My availability would be limited so first come first served by appointment only.

Give me a message back if you have sincere interest in this program. Cost, date, and location are TBD based on what type of feedback I receive. Thanks!

June in review

2011-07-07T14:18:13Z

A monthly review of my accomplishments, lessons learned, and the accomplishments of my clients. So if you're reading, thanks for coming along for the ride!

MTB/WORS Overview:
Top Elite/Cat 1/Pro Overall Position in WORS
Male = 6th and 10th
Female = 7th

Cat 1 Age Overall
Male = 1st, 2nd, and 7th
Female = 2nd

Comp/Cat 2 Overall
Male = 2nd, 7th, 18th

Cat 2 Age Overall
Male = 1st, 1st, 3rd

Bryan F. = personal best finish at WORS Cup Cat 2 Short Track = 2nd overall!
April D. = personal best finish at WORS Cup Cat 1 Short Track = 5th overall!
Ben M. = personal best finish on a technical ski hill, WORS Cat 2 XC = 7th overall!
Mike H. = personal best finish at WORS Cat 1 Cup Short Track = 8th overall!
Jeff M. = finally in the money in the Pro/Cat 1 class at the WORS Super Downhill = 10th overall!

Bike Fitting: still going strong. Always great to help clients be more comfortable & powerful on their bikes.

Personal Results: WORS results have been OK with me feeling stronger at each race over the WORS Cup weekend. The Super D finish was 10th overall in Cat 1/Pro race; worth taking that one to the end (best 8 finishes out of 13 count towards the overall).
In road racing, I had my first Time Trial in Masters 1/2/3 with the new Trek Speed Concept 9.5 being put to the test. 27.3 MPH on the twisty 12.2 mile course was good for 4th overall. My watts were a little down making the State TT podium a possibility. WORS #6 is this weekend followed by the State TT. Good stuff!
Thanks for reading

May 2011

2011-06-18T12:17:43Z

A monthly review of my accomplishments, lessons learned, and the accomplishments of my clients. So if you're reading, thanks for coming along for the ride!

MTB/WORS Overview:
Elite/Cat 1/Pro
Male = 7th, 13th, and 34th
Female = 8th

Cat 1 Age
Male = 1st, 3rd, 5th
Female = 4th

Comp/Cat 2
Male = 4th, 7th, 13th

Cat 2 Age
Male = 2nd, 1st, 2nd

Bryan F. = personal best finish at Wausau = 5th overall!
Bob P. = personal best finish at Wausau = 17th overall!

WCA/Road Overview:
Cat 3
Travis H. = back to back podium finishes at Chiropractic & Sussex Crit's

M 1/2/3
Jeff M. = 4th at State Road Race Championships, 3rd/Bronze for WI racers

Bike Fitting: still going strong. Always great to help clients be more comfortable & powerful on their bikes.

Personal Results: WORS results have been OK with my best yet to come. The Rhinelander finish was 13th overall in Cat 1/Pro race; worth taking that one to the end (best 8 finishes out of 13 count towards the overall).
In road racing, I've steadily improved with good results at the Whitnall Circuit Race & State Road Race Championships. It's my first year in Masters 1/2/3 so there's been a learning curve. Age group wise I've been finishing consistently in the top 5. Good stuff!

We finish June with some ToAD racing (only one for me) and the National Pro race at Mt. Morris (I'm racing Cat 1). July brings the TT State Championships with the new Trek Speed Concept 9.5 being put to the test. That bike is so fast! Should be a wicked good time!! Thanks for reading

April 2011

2011-05-06T00:21:00Z

It's been a full month since the last blog post. From a business perspective, I still think it's valuable to highlight my accomplishments, lessons learned, and the accomplishments of my clients. So if you're reading, thanks for coming along for the ride!

MTB Race Results:

WORS #1 Iola MTB

Elite/Cat 1 = 4 that were somewhat satisfied, better results to come

Comp/Cat 2
Bryan F. = 13th overall
Bob P. = personal best = 21st overall, 1st in age
Ben M. = 22nd overall
Chris G. = personal best = 31st overall

Sport/Cat 2B, Ben L. = 20% off his last year's race time, top 30% of field

Matthiessen MTB, Cat 2, Paul-Brian M. = 4th overall

Road Results:

Leland Kermesse, M Cat 4/5, Mike H. = 2nd overall

Menomonee Falls Criterium, M Cat 3/4, Grant S = 1st overall

Great Dane #1 Criterium, M Cat 4/5, Andrew R. = 3rd overall

Bike Fitting: business is picking up here. Always great to help clients be more comfortable & powerful on their bikes = pretty awesome!

Personal Results: Two races down, two good experiences.
1) Whitnall Park Criterium was good for learning what to do, and what not to do. Don't waste energy by staying out of the draft. Don't lead the pack with 2 to go in a failed break. M 1/2/3 = 14 overall; 5th in 40+.
2) Iola MTB was more of the same. The start was bad in that I rushed the process and stayed unclipped from a pedal for the first 20 yards or so. Terrible start, good progression through the pack, wonderful experience riding the MTB supported by Team Pedal Moraine! Awesome!!

Recent happenings

2011-04-14T21:04:00Z

Once again, a long delay in blog posts. Business has been at a all time high between coaching (20 clients), bike fits (many), and my part time day job. All good stuff though in that the combination allows me to keep doing what I love. Talking about things I love, ascending the 2 hr 15 min climb up the twisty road to the peak of Mt. Mitchell is certainly one of them. Although, going down is an entirely different way of having fun (1:15 by comparison). We have a girl friend that it quick to say that "going down is her favorite" as made evident by her impressive MTB skills. She did that instead of descending Mt. Mitchell. Everyone has their day in Asheville. Anyhow, back to reliving my favorite road ride during our last trip. I'll stick to the short story followed by statistics and photographic evidence.

After an entirely too twisty drive to the start location we proceeding to get the group of 9 on their bikes. It was a sunny day at base camp (elevation 1,200 ft) with temperatures in the low 70's. The ride up Hwy 80 is a steep and twisty affair with about 40% of it being spun in the 39/27. That's about 9 mph for you non-gear ratio thinking people. The Captain took the helm leading up this climb at about the 30 minute mark, and continued to put out a steady but hard tempo that eventually decreased our group ride from 9 to 3. Although not intended to be a race up Mt. Mitchell, there's always a sweet spot relative to cadence and power when pedalling up a challenging climb. I did my best to sick his wheel knowing that there was lots of climbing left once on the Blue Ridge Parkway. And, that became the next separation in that our group was decreased by one more by him deciding that hard Tempo was no longer the preferred way to ride for the next 1:30. I knew that simply sucking my Captain's wheel up this mountain wasn't fair so it was time to go to work. Many of you realize that when averaging 12.5 mph up a undulating ascent, drafting is only somewhat useful. But, there was an occasional head wind along with the psychological factor. Onward we rode with the Captain pointing out the magnificent views, and me chatting about them also as a way to show no pain. Being able to have a conversation while going uphill is merely a method for suggesting that you're feeling no discomfort. We finally approached what I knew to be the last of the Parkway before making the right hand turn up the Mt. Mitchell access road; a 6 mile ascent that has plenty of granny gear climbing to zap any remaining strength. Here's were my morning recon proved to be beneficial. I knew that the Mitchell road was at mile marker 355, but the Captain didn't. He had taken over the pull about two miles beforehand. I just rolled in front to give him some help at mile marker 356. He seemed to be hurting so I did what any true friend/team mate would do. I simply kept the Tempo up and swung on to this last ascent with a 10 second gap. Now the uphill TT portion started. If not because of pride, it was forced on you due to a lack of additional gears for the ever increasing % grade. Although I did crack a bit toward the top of the last 40 minute climb, it felt great to hit the mountain top with the now 60 F air being drawn deeply into my lungs. Upwards I went to the observatory (a last bit of 15% grade) to get to the final destination of 6,600 ft. The highest point east of the Mississippi. The Captain joined me about a minute later followed by Skip and some of the rest of the group. We picked up the others on the fast & crazy descent to base camp. I shocked the observers by my lack of descending skills on a sharply decreasing radius turn about 3/4 th's the way down; brake sliding while going to the final 2 inches of pave into the pea gravel. Saved! That was pretty close. I got better after being humbled back into reality. All gathered at the bottom to share ice cream sandwiches, cokes, and some great stories. Just another day in the saddle in Asheville, NC.

Mt Mitchell Stats:
Ascent time = 2:13
Distance = 28 miles
AVS = 12.5 MPH
Npwr = 266 watts
kJ's = 2033
Elevation gained = 6,092 ft

Descent time = 1:10
Distance = 28 miles
AVS = 24.2 MPH
Npwr = 197
kJ's = 596

Team Time Trial @ Multisport Expo

2011-02-04T22:58:00Z

I was a late entry for the Team Time Trial @ Multisport Expo promoted by our ToAD series friends and founders. The idea was to get as many WCA road teams as possible (up to 8) to race as teams in head to head match-ups until the best 3 teams rose to the top. At stake were bragging rights along with a fair amount of cash. I was contacted by Jeramey to be the 4th man for Team Extreme (along with Brian & Grant). At first I was thinking "who in their right mind would race in the middle of winter on Computrainers?". That line of rational thinking didn't last long as I justified this event as being just another training session: up to 3 intervals of Z4 @ 6.2 miles each. No problem! Yeah, and then there's the fact that this was a race!!

Once we found out that each team's time would be based on the average of all 4 members (not by the last across the line) we set our first strategy. The strategy changed several times as we prepared for the event, and during each TT. Yes, I did say each because there were 5 teams total with us winning round #1 making a 2nd round our reality. We did it by riding together somewhat during the first half (drafting allowed for less power by the draftee) but ground was being slowly lost by doing so (we didn't quite have the drafting figured out, or the best way to rotate the paceline). Then two of us split off because it seemed that two groups of two would be more effective; there was a significant difference in our functional threshold powers; we had two groups of two in that regard. Tactic deployed successfully with us taking the win by about 30 seconds (in a 15 to 16 minute race).

Our 2nd round put us against the newly formed Attitude Sport team. They were comprised of a collection of heavy hitters from various WCA teams. These guys had it all figured out leaving us scrambling from the start. They were all averaging 310 watts +/- 10, taking smooth pulls, and had extended a significant lead in the first 1/4 of this race. We deployed the two by two tactic again but could only hold steady with them for the last 3/4. It was painful as TT number 2 mostly because of being in catch-up mode from the start, but painful in a good way. Our goal was accomplished in that we were hoping to compete in at least 2 rounds with a chance to finish in the money while having some fun. That we did. Team Extreme finished 3rd place overall. Entry fee was returned with a portion of it being donated to the RACC. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Thanks for the ride guys!

What's new?

2011-01-26T21:21:00Z

It's been 44 days since my last post. Must be the off-season that has me limiting entries. There is much to celebrate though relative to Cycling Form & Fitness. I reached my 20 coaching client maximum for the first time as of 1/1/2011. That's a pretty awesome achievement! This group consists of:

Triathlete (1/2 and Full IM age group contenders) = 2

Road: Cat 4 = 1, Cat 3 = 4, Cat 2 = 1

MTB: Cat 2 = 7, Cat 1 = 5

Bike fitting continues to go well with a recent surge of interest/sales relative to Cobb saddles. I'm really impressed with the features & benefits of these saddles. Whether you specialize in Road, Tri, or MTB I believe that one of the Cobb saddles will work better for you than anything else you've experienced so far. So if you have seat related issues, give me and one of these a try.

My FedEx package finally arrived bringing this post to its conclusion. Thanks for reading!

CX State Championship

2010-11-25T13:27:00Z

I'll start off by saying that it's difficult to get the CX type fitness to stick around for 12 weeks. Without going into details, being a little off in timing (or degree of fitness) can make a pretty significant difference. There's a balancing act between Cumulative Training Load (how long you can go hard), Power at Threshold/Anaerobic Capacity (how hard you can go), and the X-factors (equipment, tactics, technique, desire). Every season I learn something new relative to improving race outcomes. Unfortunately, many times these lessons can't be applied until the next season. Keeps the passion alive though. It's all about the journey!

Results
Masters 35+ Cat 4: Grant took home the gold after battling with a 2 week long cold. Awesome!
Masters 45+ Cat 4: Sean took home the bronze after a month long layoff from CX racing due to a pulled hamstring. Very well done!
Cat 3: Bryan and Ben showed up but were unable to bring all of these factors together for this single race. Glad that both of them have had some great results earlier in the season to validate their personal commitments to training and racing.
Master 35+ Cat 1-3: I took home the bronze. That is what I had this season relative to the aforementioned fitness + X factors. The evolution will continue.

There was a conservative start followed by contesting for the win for 20 minutes against Dave Peters (Brazen Dropouts).

Followed by about 20 minutes of recovering and getting passed for 2nd by Bob Downs (Planet Bike).

Finishing with a 2 lap race to the line with Joe Curtes. I won the sprint over a guy on a singlespeed but anyone that knows Joe understands that even this isn't an easy thing to accomplish.

Photo credit goes out to Brittany Nigh

MTB Season (and Triathlon/Time Trial) in Review

2010-10-15T14:10:00Z

WORS Overall Results (CFF clients):

Citizen = 1, 5th in age group, his 1st season racing MTB
Comp = 5, all finished in the top 4 of their age groups, one of them finished 1st
Elite (cat 1 + Pro) = 1, top 10 overall

Photo by Nikki Frazier

Triathlon/Duathlon: Two clients getting some awesome results in Triathlon Sprint, Olympic & 1/2 Ironman competitions.

Time Trial: One client racing Time Trials only. More to follow on his story but some highlights include: since starting with CFF his weight has went from 235 to 190, his TT speed from 19.3 MPH to 21.8 MPH (average speed/similar conditions), and progress continues. All at the age of 53!

Personal Results: Although my 5 MTB races this season aren't note worthy, they did keep me "good on the bike". I did manage 1 top 10, and 2 top 20's in the Elite category (Cat 1 + Pro). That equated to an age group win, and two runner-ups. Met expectations.

Road & CX are my focus this year. Next year should have me racing the MTB a few more times. It's all good. I did get a silver medal in age group at the ABR State 40k TT. 2nd overall in WCA Cat 3 Masters +35 (Road/Crit/TT). 3rd overall in ToAD Cat 3 (Road/Crit). A good season so far with CX to top it off, I hope! Thanks again for reading!!

Cyclocross Weekends 2, 3 & 4

2010-10-13T02:47:00Z

Time flies when you're having fun. Just the short story for the last few weeks of CX. MTB highlights to follow once the WORS Overall Results are posted.

USGP CX at Sun Prairie: Very deep fields with some of the best from around the US. I finished 23 out of 70, and was the 3rd WISCO rider across the line in the Cat 1-3 35+. Burped a tubeless tire & dropped my chain early in the race. Made me a bit tentative. Other CFF racers did well = good experience overall.

WCA at the Domes: Fun race at a new course put on by My Wife Inc. Grant ended up 1st in Master 35+ Cat 4. Sean = 1st in Masters 45+ Cat 4. First win for both of these guys = awesome! Ben, Bryan, and Ryan were still putting the pieces together but showed signs of better things to come. I burped a tubeless tire (again) and had to stop for air mid-race. Made me a bit tentative again = 3rd in Master 35+ Cat 1-3.

WCA at Grafton: Fun race with on a similar course as last year. Huge climb that we struggled up every lap. 2nd win for Sean in Masters followed by a strong finish by Grant in the Cat 4 (3rd). All of the other usual suspects were saving it for the WORS MTB finale at Sheboygan. I dropped a chain (again) and had to stop for a 1st lap painfully slow fix. Hardest CX race for me this year = 3rd in Master 35+ Cat 1-3. 11 times up the steep climb = ouch! These mechanicals should be behind me after some intensive bike rehab. Thanks for reading

Photographic evidence by Madcross:

WCA Cyclocross Weekend #1

2010-09-20T20:41:00Z

I had a successful race at the CX season opener this past weekend. The venue was in Eagle, WI at the Kettle Moraine Ranch. Except for the occasional pile of horse manure, this venue was pretty awesome in that the course weaved around the surrounding fields, hills, and buildings including a long run-up on a set of wooden stairs (see picture above courtesy of Nikki Fraizer) . The rain made the course challenging, but more so for the early races. By our 2:15 start time, there was at least 1 firm path around the entire course with a few sections having multiple good lines. I was a bit nervous about racing Masters this season because the age groups were changed around enough that I didn't know who would be racing the 35+ category (used to be 40+). Once we lined up it was obvious to me that the competition was for real. Jeramey Rodriguez took the holeshot with me grabbing his wheel. He was riding a little tight so I worked my around and built a pretty decent lead early on. Later I found out that Jeramey had several bike changes due to mechanicals = there will be those days. This lead got me winning the 2nd lap prime that consisting of a set of CX tires, a boot shaped mug, and $50 cash (put up by fellow Master racer Christan Griego). How awesome was that! Anyhow, there were still many more laps to go so I just focused on working my way through the Cat 1-2 field (they had started 1 min ahead of us). At about the 1/2 point of the 65 min race I saw last year's State Champion, David Peters, moving up from behind. Dave is typically a slow starter but really knows how to meter his efforts when the course is soft & sticky. He rode 3rd wheel for about 1 lap with a Cat 1-2 racer between us. I was pretty gassed and had settled into more of a time trial pace. Dave saw this and made a pretty significant surge going up one of the long grassy climbs to pass both us, and create a gap that I couldn't close. I still kept the effort steady, but managed to drop my chain in the process allowing the gap to grow larger. So that's all she wrote. Finished about 1 min behind Dave. We had passed 7 of the Cat 1-2 racers along the way, and had a decent size gap over 3rd place finisher Paul Roltgen. Added another $40 to my winnings; looks like Daddy gets a new pair of shoes! Seriously, I really needed a new pair of MTB/CX shoes. Looking forward to a well contested WCA Cyclocross Series in the Masters category. Thanks for reading!

August Overview

2010-09-03T14:43:00Z

"Races just don't go as planned sometimes, but we do our best anyhow"
Photos by Brittany Nigh & Danny Marchewka

Cyclocross: I'm looking for a few more clients here. Please let me know if you or somebody you know is looking for a CX coach. Otherwise, our practice sessions started this past week. Looking forward to adding a newbie or two next week. Fun stuff. Glad to be back doing the CX thing.

MTB/WORS Overall Standings as follows:
Citizen = 1 client that is 5th in age group, first year racing MTB, and progressing nicely
Comp = 4 clients all slotting in at 3rd place in their respective age groups
Elite = 1 client that is 1st in age group, and top 5 overall

Otherwise, Chicago Mike is ramping up his workload in preparation for a successful Cyclocross season. He's had a couple more podium finishes on the MTB and CX bikes during August.

Triathlon: looking to grow here in 2011 by adding tri specific training plans (balance run/swim/bike). Potentially going through the USAT certification process. Please stay tuned.

Road: most of the guys are currently on a break and/or preparing for Cyclocross.

Bike Fitting: business continues to be strong. After working with women on bike fits for the last few years, I have learned the importance of having a properly shaped/padded saddle that is positioned correctly. My female clients & friends that use Terry saddles are the ones that have the most positive comments about their cycling comfort. Therefore, becoming a dealer for Terry Saddles is a great advancement for Cycling Form & Fitness. I have the majority of their options in stock and ready to be fitted. Terry/CFF offers a 30-day comfort guarantee relative to the saddle.
Link to Terry Saddles: http://www.terrybicycles.com/saddles

Personal Results: Three races completed during August. Feeling good about the progressively better results going into the CX season:
1) WCA State 40k TT = 4th in age group out of 12, 15th overall out of 110, averaged 26.9 MPH (near perfect conditions)
2) ABR State 40k TT = 2nd in age group out of 14, 13th overall out of 130, averaged 26.8 MPH (more wind & heat)
3) WORS @ Reforestation = 2nd in age out of 15, 19th overall out of 50

Thanks for reading

State TT Championships

2010-08-10T01:21:00Z

1st 12.3 mile lap had me 10 seconds off my "stretch" goal, and trying a bit harder than I should have (about 10 watts over target). I suffered a bit as a result during the 3rd quarter (about 10 watts under target), and was 25 seconds down with 4 miles left to go. Had a couple of rabbits to chase, turned the positive self-talk on, and dug deeper than I've ever dug (in a TT) to gain back 15 seconds on the final straightaway = finished 10 seconds off goal with an average speed of 26.9 MPH over the 24.5 mile course, and one place off the podium (the course was shorter than advertised). The competition was way deeper this time around. Last year in the rain I struggled to get 305 watts in the aero position @ 25.9 MPH. This year was 318 watts, and 2 min's faster. Now it's time to go shopping for that new bike; I think I finally deserve it: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/triathlon/speed_concept_7/speedconcept75/

July Overview

2010-08-01T22:49:00Z

Cyclocross: I'm looking for a few more clients here. Please let me know if you or somebody you know is looking for a CX coach.

MTB/WORS Overall Standings as follows:
Citizen = 1 client that is 5th in age group, first year racing MTB, and progressing nicely
Comp = 4 clients slotting in at 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, and 4th in their respective age groups
Elite = 1 client that is 1st in age group, and top 5 overall

Otherwise, Chicago Mike is ramping up his workload in preparation for a successful Cyclocross season. He's had a few podium finishes on both the MTB and Road Bike during July.

Triathlon: 2 clients, both with great finishes in their respective 1/2 Ironmans. Nice to have been part of their success, from both a coaching and bike fit perspective.

Road: most of the guys are currently on a break and/or preparing for Cyclocross.

Bike Fitting: business continues to be strong. The Cobb saddles have been a great fit for Time Trialists and Triathletes. Cobb Cycling provided me with demo saddles making it easier to fit clients properly. I personally like their V-Flow Plus & HC170, and am really looking forward to the SHC170 coming in September.
Link to Cobb Cycling: http://www.cobbcycling.com/cart/Seats_C1.cfm

Personal Results: Only one race for me during July since the WORS @ Crystal Ridge was canceled. I finished 1st in Masters Cat 3 at the Chiropractic Partners Time Trial, 10th overall out of 100 competitors. Averaged 26.1 MPH over the hilly course. Goal accomplished along with gaining more confidence for one of my 2010 goals: > 27 MPH at a 40k TT. The State Championship will be a great opportunity for this in that the course is relatively flat, and that I typically can go about 1 MPH faster there than any other course. Thanks for reading

June Overview

2010-07-06T23:55:00Z

It's been a full month since the last blog post. I know that blogs are more of a 2008 thing. From a business perspective, I still think it's valuable to highlight my accomplishments, lessons learned, and the accomplishments of my clients. So if you're reading, thanks for coming along for the ride!

MTB Race Results: continue to have mixed results here with more good than bad. The Road and MTB summaries have a common theme = what Robbie Ventura referred to as the X-factor to bicycle racing. See below for more on this. In any case, the guys are fit enough. It's just getting all the other factors optimized to finally get the results they desire. I do have a few standout performers though in the form of WORS Elite and Comp age group leaders = nice!

Road Results: Here's one reply I had to a client that "retired". It falls heavily into the "lessons learned" bucket: Yes, you were my GREATEST failure in that our relationship was solid, your work ethic was superb, and I really enjoyed working with you; but the X-factor is what ultimately did US in. And, I'm really just getting to understand how to apply my motocross and MTB racing background to road racing, and how to improve the X-factor from a technique/tactical/mental standpoint. It all applies. I needed a ToAD experience, along with the TE clinic, to put it all together. But, in the final analysis, road racing is a high risk/high reward sport. That is why I have a hard time saying "Just Do It".

X-factor: again, I have to thank Robbie Venture for making this distinction clear in my mind as part of his involvement in the Team Extreme Road Racing Clinic. The X-factor is everything else other than fitness. You can lump equipment, technique, tactics and strategy into this category, along with the mental aspects of racing. WOW! That's > 50% of the equation that I've been shying away from because of liabiity, and because clients haven't grabbed on to "paying to learn". So, for my long standing coaching clients I'm working to ride with each one of them, to point out areas of improvement, and to show them how to improve these X-factor limiters.

Bike Fitting: business is picking up here. Always great to help clients be more comfortable & powerful on their bikes = pretty awesome!

Personal Results: I met a 2010 goal in my average speed of 27.1 MPH at the the Bong 30K TT. The same day I failed miserably at the WORS Sunburst MTB race by "hitting the wall from a physical perspective", and pulling out of the race after 3 of 5 laps. Additionally, my frame broke during this race, (not because of hitting the wall), and was just recently rebuilt.
Because of the MTB failure, I moved on to the ToAD road racing series. ToAD is a 10 race/10 day Wisconsin based road racing series. It has separate awards for each day, and series awards for the overall. The highs were 2 wins and 1 second place finish; and 3rd overall in the series (Cat 3). The lows were my crash in the finishline sprint at Greenbush along with sitting out 2 days/races afterwards to recuperate. That experience was awesome from an overall perspective; I learned so much. Thanks to all that made it possible!

Race Report from WORS at Wausau

2010-06-02T14:51:00Z

Overall, a continuation of good results for CFF clients at WORS #3. Seems that a few were negatively affected by the course markings being knocked down in one area = there will be those days. I decided to write this one up from a personal perspective since it was a relatively new experience for me in many ways. I've been racing WORS for 15 years, and still having new experiences that lead to personal growth = pretty cool!

I facilitated the CFF Time Trial on Saturday. It was the typical 10 mile all-out affair. With only 4 in attendance, and 3 racing WORS the next day, we did an easy recovery spin to the local coffee shop afterwards = thanks to Michael, Dan, and Ben S. Going backwards in time I'd say that Thursday was relevant to this post. I rode the new Reynolds wheels on my road bike for the first time and was totally stoked on how they performed. I was equally stoked to decide that racing my MTB on Sunday was something that would truly light my fire; the passion for racing. Odd how that was determined on a long/great road ride. Must have been the 3.5 hours in the saddle, and the contemplation that goes along with it.

photo courtesy of Brittany Nigh

So I'll keep the WORS race review short since most won't read this long. Start was horrible because of me not clipping in well, and being almost last over the line. Oh well, onward through the thick cloud of dust I went. From 60th place, I knew that the moves had to come early. The course was very road like but many passes had to happen on the grassy edges versus main lines. With the temp's in the 90's, the matches seemed to burn with more intensity with every surge. I settled down to ride with Scott Cole for awhile, then up to Ronsta, and finally with age group contender Michael Naughton. I do love the fact that you can make allies in a MTB race by working together with a common purpose of moving up through the field. It was a very cool vibe with some excellent riding partners. I lastly settled with Kevin McConnell (IA) as most everybody else had dropped off his pace. We were polar opposites in that he'd drop me on the climbs and I pull him on the straights. But, it kept the pace high so that was good enough to bring it home in 9th place overall, and 1st in age group. I was so fatigued on the last lap that I had to let Kevin go. It was all good though. The 9th place finish was more than I had hoped for due to the 60th place start, lack of MTB training... 2:15 of a good mixture between learning how to ride single-track again (sorry guys), learning long race pacing/drinking strategy, and fine tuning the race tactics. I'm stronger because of this experience = pretty awesome!

Race Report for LaRue-Denzer-LaRue Road Race

2010-05-23T02:27:16Z

Masters 3: The race started off poorly for me = lesson learned = check your equipment when you arrive at the race. I did much better to get to the race early enough; about 2 hours before start time. Unfortunately, watching the finish line instead of checking my equipment left me to find that I was missing my Power Tap CPU, and now had a wheel that I didn't want on my bike. The wheel was changed along with a cassette for the climbs = ugh. Without data, but with a bike that was fully functional, I rolled out for my 8 minutes of warm-up. Downright laughable! Anyhow, it was warm enough that I didn't think a long warm-up was in my best interest. Race began at a reasonable pace as we started the 1st of four 15 minutes climbs (with sections of false flat in each). Due to a few attacks and chases, I think a split happened up the 2nd climb (Denzer Rd). About 10 of us worked together to increase the gap. After 30 minutes of pace-lining the gap was formed, and the pace slowed considerably. Dwight (Ace Hardware) from Marquette came up to me and said that we should wait until the last climb up Denzer to sort things out. I agreed, and the pack easily rolled on. Sure enough, Dwight ramped it up on Denzer creating a 10 second gap. I rolled up the front to tell my compatriot from the Circuit of Sauk (Doug Braun) that we should make this a 3-man race. I didn't think he'd bite on that, but he did. I followed, half the gap was closed by Doug, so I came around to finish it off ,and we then became an 8-man pack with another ¼ mile of climbing left to go. Shortly thereafer, Dwight's team mate jumped around the front of the pack and we all gave chase. This time there were 6 that made it across. We took this pack down the final descent towards the finish line. They left me on the front so I carefully braked on the descent. We should have been going 45 mph on this descent, but had slowed to 20 mph. Finally somebody jumped and we all gave chase with me on the back. One by one I let these guys draft me towards the front and passed them as they faded. At about 100m, I was getting really excited to go from about the 3rd wheel, but waited, and with 50 m to go I jumped out of the Dwight's slip stream to take him by a wheel. So much fun! Rick came across in 7th and Brian won the field sprint = success for Team Extreme!

And then there were 6

2010-05-20T18:45:00Z

picture courtesy of Brittany Nigh

In the last post I forgot to include my newest client on the MTB scene. It's not all about Comp & Elite. Sorry Mike. His first WORS race ended up with a 47th place finish out of 140 starters. Pretty awesome way to kick start a new hobby. I think the road bike is now taking a back seat to the MTB

CFF clients are making some noise in WORS

2010-05-19T14:12:00Z

photos courtesy of Brittany Nigh

I have 5 coaching clients racing the Wisconsin Off Road Series for 2010. Interestingly enough, 3 of them have moved up from Sport to the Comp (Cat 2) class this year, one is back in Comp, and the last is flying solo in Elite (Cat 1). Although I don’t provide names unless given permission, here’s how the season has went so far for this group of 5:

Elite Male = 2 races completed, 2 finishes in the top 10, currently top 8 overall

Comp 1 = 2 races, 2 solid finishes, 2^nd in age group

Comp 2 = 2 races, 2 wins in his division, 1^st in that group

Comp 3 = 2 races, solid improvement trend, 8^th in a stacked age group

Comp 4 = 1 race, OK finish with the best yet to come

Off to a great start for 2010. I can’t say enough about how much Comp #2 has improved from last year. His commitment to training smart, along with some equipment upgrades, has made for a huge improvement. Although, the same could be said for all of these guys. It also takes time to put the pieces together after moving up to a higher category. Pretty awesome start to the season!

Utilizing Power Meter Data - Fatigue Profiling

2010-05-12T14:34:00Z

With the recent releases of the 2nd edition of Training & Racing with a Power Meter (text) and version 3.0 of WKO+ (software) there also comes the added complexity of some new tools. These tools are designed to better utilize power data for prescribing future training based on strengths, weaknesses, and limiters; to improve future racing fitness & results. They include Multi-file Analysis, Quadrant Analysis, Scatter Diagrams, and Fatigue Profiling. I have been working diligently to get my head wrapped around these new tools in order to better assist my coaching clients. Daily progress is being made

The "Tool of the Day" is Fatigue Profiling. This one currently has my full attention. I always thought there was something lacking in Power Profiling because it seemed to not address fatigue resistance unless 60 minute time trials were added (not many clients wanted to do this one). Coupling Fatigue Profiling with the Power Profiling provides me with a tool that allows for better determination of Strengths/Weaknesses/Limiters; better than only using peak power over the chosen durations (5 sec, 1 min, 5 min, 20 min) via. Power Profiling. In all reality, it dissects the Mean Maximal Power Curve to make it more meaningful.

My coaching services are set up ala carte. Basic coaching provides a client with a monthly plan along with weekly interaction based on necessary changes & performance to plan. I also review any significant power files. Most clients believe that this service is a great value in coaching (relative to the $80/month fee, less if a current member of a sponsored team). So with that being said, I'd like to apply Fatigue Profiling to current clients for a nominal fee of $25. This will be about a 1 hour long process for me. It will provide both of us (coach & client) further insight on what's best for future training. Please let me know if you're interested in learning more. Thanks for reading!