Fear and Intimidation

My good friend Jon Limbird (AKA Bird) and I raced Male Duo 40+ at the Gear Grinder 6 Hour MTB Race yesterday.   It was interesting because the race was held at a private camp near Zirconia.   Virtually no one had ridden the course prior to Friday afternoon.

We met about 3:00 PM, got our race numbers and set out for a practice lap.   WOW!!!  I don't use the word intimidation much in connection with my name but Friday night, I was intimidated.   This is another way of saying I was frightened.  Bird could see it but we did not discuss it.

We stayed the night at a wonderful cabin, owned by Amelee and John Weems, about 5 miles from the race venue.   Brandon Rudin joined us there.  Laying in bed, I remembered it was OK to be afraid…..it was not OK to stay afraid.

Saturday morning we headed for the race start.   I am never sure how I actually get passed this fear thing.  I don't use logic or argue with myself.  Mostly I visualize riding safely and easily.  I ask myself what is the worst that could happen and can I live with that?  To some extent I just 'man up', whatever that means??  and I don't think it has anything to do with being a man.   Women do it every day….in fact maybe better than us guys.

The course included a 1.2 mile steep gravel road, 7 miles of single track, about 30 sharp switchbacks and lot of moderately technical elements.   What made it hard was no one thing.  Most MTB trails have easy sections between the technical elements.  This one did not.   It was consistently moderately difficult from a technical perspective.   The roughly 3500 feet of climbing in the 25 miles (3 laps) was serious from a cardio standpoint.  It was very intense (nerve racking) because, at times, the consequences of failure were pretty serious.  In fact Hoffmonster claimed there were 500 places to 'get hurt' each lap.  Thankfully no participant was seriously injured.

All and all, it was a super event.  I would do it again in heartbeat.   I recommend it.  The support area, the course, beauty, organization, barbecue and awards were all fun.

Bird and I were 8th out of 9 teams but felt like winners by accomplishing 6 laps in 5:52…….something that seemed nearly miraculous to not only the two of us, but some of our pals in attendance.   Sometimes, just finishing safely can be a big accomplishment…….this was one of those times.

I hope that you can get through your fear if you ever run into anything like this.   For me, doing so, opened up the door to a lot joy this weekend.   Being fear-less is a lot more fun than being fear-full.

See ya out there.

Ask for What You Want

I learned many years ago, to ask for what I want.   So, I am asking you, as a reader, to help me expand the readership of this BLOG.  The growth in readership, over the last months, has been significant.   I would like to reach more people with messages for our lives, on and off the bike.   I hope to continue to write about competition, goal setting, accountability, failure, achievement other pertinent topics.

Hopefully you will feel there is value to what you read here and you can pass it on:

*  Share the link to my post with your FB friends
*  Forward links to BLOG via email
*  Refer others to the BLOG via conversation

If you have had a post that meant something to you, scroll down, find it and 'share' it right now if you have time!

Also, many of you are reaching me by private email, FB comments, or text with your comments and that is great…..continue.  Please also use the comment feature on the BLOG.  I get a message immediately and make sure the comments are appropriate.  I then 'publish' them.  Not a single comment has been withheld in 4 years.

Thanks for your help.   I will not impose upon you again on this subject……..back to writing my next post………or maybe riding my bike.

See ya out there.  

What it takes to be a Champion

A recent post, brought a lot of feedback about what it takes to excel in cycling.   The overall responses were shocking to me.

Many people, some who's opinions I greatly respect, responded.  It seems that most feel champions are 'born'.  It is a case of genetics….you have it or do not.   You have the VO2 Max or you don't.  I even got some feedback that 'luck' was a key determinate.

I have spent a lifetime reading, studying, observing, and coaching for performance.   I have strived for personal high performance in several arenas over the last 50 years.   One of my recommended reads is the TALENT CODE.   This is one, of many books, exploring this very interesting subject.

Since we know that 'beliefs' drive action which creates results, one's belief, on an all important subject like this, can largely determine life outcomes.

NOTHING in my experience leads me to believe that champions are born.  

When I was playing football at Texas A&M in the late 60's, we had a pretty poor team and I was about the 30th best overall athlete in the group……….project that to a national scale including all the athletes for just the football teams.   Maybe there were a few thousand guys in the sport, at that level, with greater general athletic ability??   Add basketball, baseball………..you get the idea.  You might say, I was one of the 'many others'.

Academically, I achieved the Dean's List most semesters…….but then so did about 500 other people at Texas A&M alone.  I routinely found myself in upper level classes with folks that could learn and grasp things over my head.  Calculus was like the Chinese Language to me.

When I started cycling, Joe Friel did testing on me.   My VO2 Max was so low, I would not listen to what he even said about it.  I figured all it could do was limit what I believed I could accomplish.

I have one friend and cycling comrade that was a surgeon, is a scratch golfer, went to Hawaii to the World Ironman Championships, plays music and sings, is a woodworker.   I am sure I left something out.  I could not be a doctor if tried, once had a 9 handicap, can't hardly swim two laps in a 25 meter pool, can't sing, play an instrument or dance.   Do you get the picture?

Don't get me wrong, I came into this world with some gifts.   I am damn glad for the hand I was dealt genetically but it is hardly extraordinary.

I have been fortunate enough to accomplish a few things in life and most recently on the bike.  I was never an olympian or world famous business person but I have reached a few 'podiums' along the way.   Maybe I am kidding myself, but if I had relied on IQ or VO2 max tests to tell what I could accomplish, things would have been much different.  I always set bold goals I had no idea how to achieve.  I committed myself to them.  I prepared through study and training.  I learned to suffer…….setbacks, defeat, pain and agony.  I rarely feared failure, injury or much of anything else.   One book I read, used the term 'GRIT'.  There is no test for 'GRIT'.  I am not sure I have all I could use, but I think I have a little.

I am pretty sure that every time I have reached the 'podium' in life, there have literally been thousands (maybe millions?) of people with better genetics who could have beat me but they didn't.  

Genetics and luck (if it even exists) are completely out of our control.  The truth is, we don't know what our potential is in anything.  The truth is most of us never come close to reaching our genetic potential so it is not really a limiter.  So, I am going to keep stumbling through life oblivious to genetics and luck.

I am going to train, rest, suffer, study Spanish and love my family.   I am going to strive to be a better and better bike racer, Spanish speaker, husband/father/grandfather.

I am going to pull up to the start line at the next race knowing my competition because I have studied their experiences and results.  I am going look around and calmly to see who might be second.

All of this will result in tons of failure but you know what?  Sometimes I WILL achieve success………

See ya out there.

 

Predictors of Success

I have only been racing bikes for about 7-8 years so I consider myself still a newbie.   When I began, I wanted to understand what things I had to achieve for success.   This had worked in the business world, why not in cycling?

As a life learner, I focused on the sport that was becoming my passion.   I read many books and employed Joe Friel as a coach.  During the 2-3 years Joe coached me, I learned a lot.

It seemed to me that there were a couple of things on which success hinged:

*  60 Minute Functional Power
*  Power to Weight Ratio

The obvious implications were to get more powerful and weigh less.  I set about to do this with some success.  Over several years my 60 Minute Functional Power went from 270 to 315.   This was not without tremendous focus and intense training.   My weight dropped from 220 to about 187.   These changes created huge gains in my results but at a point, I could not lose more weight and more power gains were allusive.

However, I continued to train and gains continued.   I began to think that while important, the 'Holy Grail Indicators' that I was using, were not the whole story.   In 2013 and early 2014, I  realized that it was not how hard you could go for 60 minutes that mattered, but how hard you could go for the whole race.  I found myself overcoming the competition late in the events…..I hung on the first climb but hurt people the 10th.  I also realized that these measures I had been using, did not predict anaerobic fitness……..how hard can you go for 30 seconds to 2 minutes???…..how fast can you recover from these short efforts? How many can you do before you crack?  My capability in this short effort/recovery was increasing rapidly.   I believe this area is neglected in the training of most cyclist…….why?  It hurts like heck!

Early this year, my weight seemed stuck at 195 and I was very stressed.   I am a big cyclist and 5-8 lb. would negatively effect my power to weight ratio.   How was it that I was having my best year ever?   Answer:  This power to weight thing really comes into effect on long steep climbs…….how many races have these?  Answer:  Not all of them.  Why was I now weighing 195?  Answer:  More muscle?

So what does predict success at this higher level of competition?   I looked at my pals, 6-7, who are 60+ and ride like the wind.    Hum, weight was all over the place.   We varied from 140 lb. to 195 (me).  Wow, that is huge.   The power output varied from what seemed to be about 240 - 315 watts?   Interesting, because we were cycling and racing at similar levels?

Was there any common denominator?  What could predict success?   My answer is leanness…….yes, waist size.   If a rider/racer is super lean, the weight is not a huge factor.   If there is no fat, all that is left is bone and muscle.   The lean heavier cyclist can be on par with the lean lighter cyclist.

Sure, the lightest guys can climb Mt Lemmon faster but it is not all that big of a difference.   The most powerful (heaviest) guys are better on the flats and short climbs but it is not that big of difference either.

Taking a poll of my pals, I found our jean sizes varied from 30-34 inches in the waist……..mostly we are 32's.   Interestingly, the 140 lb cyclist and I both use 32 inch jeans……..body makeup and shape are obviously much different.   While our weights vary, all of us are really lean.   Compared to the general population, our single digit body fat, makes us, maybe, 1 in 1000 among 60+ year old men.

So the bottom line is:  Forget your age, sex or size…..you can't
do a darn thing about these.  You must however, be extremely lean to excel in cycling.   This, you can manage and determine.   That's right.  Don't work on being lighter, think leaner.  They can be the same but not necessarily.

If you think you can do it with training alone, you are dead wrong.   You MUST control your diet……this is another subject for a future BLOG.

See ya out there.

PS>  Also note that most people highly underestimate the skill needed in bike racing.   Riding a bike takes moderate skill.  Racing with results requires tremendous skills.  You can't acquire and maintain these skills riding, you must race.   If you race once or twice a year, how can you get there?  Answer:  You can't.

La vuelta pequeña de España sur (The Little Tour of Southern Spain)

Some people go on vacation to escape.......from a boring place, bad weather or work.   I am pretty fortunate in that I don’t work, I live in two wonderful places and rarely experience anything other than great weather.   I  have found through the years, that I see things from a very different perspective when I am removed from normal surroundings and ‘on vacation’.  At times, I have done my best thinking while ‘away’, particularly since I started cycling.  Cycling for me is also a time for reflection so a cycling vacation can bring epiphanies or just subtle changes in thinking.  And, of course, sometimes neither....just some fun and exercise.

Years ago, our teacher, Lou Tice, conveyed to me that people do not really respond to things but experiences.  Even the things we acquire bring experiences.  He professed nobody really ever wanted a sports car.   They wanted the feeling/feelings the sports car gave them.

For me, Spain was all about feelings.

My very first day there, I was reminded of my beginnings in cycle: Some years ago, struggling up Caesar’s Head, I heard a gear shift behind me.  Much to my surprise, George Hincapie pulled along side me.   I was breathing hard but George easily spoke, “Hey Randall, how’s it going?”  I tried to get something out as he stood and disappeared in what seemed like only seconds.   In that brief moment, I could not help but notice his jersey, unzipped, was flapping in the wind.  This resulted from his 16-18 mph speed.  It looked like a cape and to me, he could have been Superman.   I wondered if I would ever know how it would feel to climb so effortlessly and powerfully?

Sure, the climbs in southern Spain are mostly Category 2 or 3.  As such, the grade is rarely over 5% and they are usually 20-30 minutes max.  So, it ain’t Caesar’s Head but we had warm days and I rode many with my jersey unzipped.  I was likely only going 10-12 mph.  Sometimes strong winds probably helped........MY jersey flapped and flapped.  I felt the power!  For those moments, I was Superman.

Discovery was up for me this trip also.   We were in a completely new place.  On day 6, I did 130K by myself and with little planning. I left thinking I would ride about 50K.  Slogging into the wind about 30K out, I was picked up by 7 sturdy Norwegians.   When we established that I spoke Spanish/English and at least 4 of them spoke Norwegian/English, we had a basis to communicate.  One wanted to know where I was going.  I proudly said, I was just out exploring and would ride with them, if OK.   Although, I never pulled while in the group, I earned my place when we stopped for lunch in small village and I managed ordering and paying with my language skills.   After about 50K with them, they took a turn to NE and home was SW so I waved and said good luck.  I wasn’t sure how far I was from home or how many mountains I needed to climb.  I knew I could climb whatever was in my path and every sight, sound, noise and smell would be a new experience.  Toward the end, I ran into Chris and Mike, a new arrival.  Chris helped me finish off 130K for my Strava Challenge.  I was on an adventure.  I WAS Ferris Buhler.

Day 7 was our crowning day.   We rode to Valencia and back, because we could.  Most bike riders can remember their first bike, and the freedom it represented.  The world got bigger immediately.  You could walk a few blocks, you could cycle much further.........going to places your parents did not even know about.   Even today, I have small child in me and he loves freedom.   Valencia was 210K round trip.   Prior to the trip,  I had only heard of it.  I had no idea I would ever go there as it was not on the trip agenda. It was a place that was ‘off my map’.  Chris and Helen know me though, and I think they threw this one in for me?  

Freedom: expanding your boundaries....going where you have never been......seeing things you have never seen......and yes even suffering in some ways you have never suffered.  That day, it was about doing all this with Andrew, Chris, Helen and Christina.  When we unclipped at our temporary home, Casa Maurana, Parcent, Helen was tearful.   She only displayed the emotions were all feeling.  We were all moved.  We hugged.  

I did not really go to Spain these last days.   I went to a place of power, discovery and freedom.   A person can probably find this anywhere if they are willing to look.  I am headed to Greenville right now in search of more wonderful experiences.

See ya out there.