TRIA Orthopaedic Center Your Cycling Blog

By Jonas Carney, Performance Director
Optum Pro Cycling Team

Nutrition

There is nothing more difficult than running out of energy halfway through a long ride, or even worse, cramping up due to dehydration! As the Menomonie Gran Fondo and Spectator Rides approach, your nutrition becomes the critical component for a successful and enjoyable day. A few days prior to the ride you should start hydrating. Drink water frequently, cut back or eliminate caffeine and alcohol, and add carbohydrates to your diet. Practice proper nutrition habits for each training ride leading up to the event to be sure you are eating and hydrating properly.

On the day of the Gran Fondo, eat a light breakfast of high-carbohydrate foods and drink lots of water. During the ride drink before you’re thirsty. The rule of thumb should be one water bottle (20 ounces) per hour on the bike especially if it is warm weather. Water or a sports drink should be your first choice. Carry two bottles and alternate your consumption throughout the ride. Eat easily digestible, carbohydrate rich-food such as energy bars, bagels, fruit or granola bars. Don’t try something new on the ride; eat things you know agree with you. Remember, practice makes perfect so do several test rides before the Gran Fondo.

Attitude

In a large group ride, it’s only natural to feel a sense of competitiveness in our veins. Don’t let the adrenaline take over your ride! Ease into the ride pace. The Menomonie Gran Fondo isn’t a race and if it’s your first long ride, the goal is to finish comfortably and enjoy the experience. Stay positive and attentive to others around you. Safety should be at the front of your mind during the day. Here are some more tips for an enjoyable ride:

• Change your position on the bike frequently. Move your hand position, get off the saddle, stretch your arms, shoulders, neck, and calves, and arch your back. Avoid staying in one position too long.

• Take short rest breaks off the bike. The Menomonie Gran Fondo includes both water and food stops. Take advantage of this time to get off the bike, refill your water bottles, stretch, and use the restroom. Keep these stops to 10 minutes or less or you may risk getting stiff from lactate build up in your muscles.

• Find a companion or two who ride at a pace similar to yours. The ride will go faster and feel easier with a friend or two who you can chat with and provide mutual support. Also, skilled riders can take advantage of drafting and save some energy in the wind. On windy days, take turns leading into the wind with your fellow riders to conserve energy.

Attitude is everything. If you have prepared yourself well, you can sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery around Menomonie and Dunn County (and maybe plan your next big ride). In my next entry, I’ll cover Gran Fondo day-of-ride preparation.

Get out and ride!

Jonas Carney
Performance Director

Optum Pro Cycling Team

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By Jonas Carney, Performance Director
Optum Pro Cycling Team

A milestone in the life of any avid cyclist is riding in a major event like the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival’s Gran Fondo rides in Menomonie, WI, June 16. While riding 65 or 85 miles in a day may sound extreme to a non-cyclist, you can do it too! Almost any novice cyclist can complete a Gran Fondo ride if they follow a consistent training routine. The key is to start your program early to give your body a chance to respond to the training plan and not wait until the last minute to train. If you are not up to the challenge of a “Big Ride” this year, give yourself a chance to succeed on your own terms by participating in the shorter distance Menomonie Spectator Rides, which are 32 or 15 miles in length!

There are 4 key success factors to have a fun and rewarding Gran Fondo experience:

• The right equipment
• The right training
• The right food
• The right attitude

Equipment
The right equipment means comfort and functionality. Your bike should fit you well and you should be familiar with it. If you aren’t sure about fit, have your local bike professional provide a fit-assessment. A visit to the local bike shop will also identify any mechanical issues with your bike. Don’t plan to ride a new or a borrowed bike on your first Gran Fondo ride. Consider having a tune-up before the ride, and carry a spare tube and patch kit, tools, a pump and knowledge of how to use them. Other essential equipment includes:

• A helmet that fits appropriately (must be worn to be effective)
• Water bottles and cages
• Energy drink and snacks for the ride
• Cycling clothing, including shoes, shorts, gloves and rain gear
• Sunglasses and sunscreen

Training
The core of your training should be endurance training. If you start your training at least 12 weeks before the ride, you will have ample time to prepare for the Gran Fondo. If you already ride more than five hours a week, you will need far less time to prepare. While most of your rides will be at about 65% of your maximum heart rate (MHR), add two days of interval training, where you push hard for several minutes – up to 85% MHR. Hills are a great way to add interval training to your ride. And don’t forget to allow one day per week for recovery. If you can only ride four to five days a week, don’t do your rest days consecutively. A sample training schedule may look like this:

• Saturday: 1-2 hour ride with 30 minutes of hard effort
• Sunday: 1-2 hour ride at steady pace (65% MHR)
• Monday: Rest
• Tuesday: 1-1.5 hour ride with hills
• Wednesday: Rest or 1-hour easy recovery ride
• Thursday: 1-1.5 hours with interval training
• Friday: Rest or 30-minute easy recovery ride

More Training Tips
• Maintain a cadence of 80 to 100 revolutions per minute
• Increase your mileage as you get closer to the Gran Fondo, no more than 10% at a time.
• Ride with friends, family or your local club to increase your level of comfort riding in larger group.
• Plan a 50- or 60-mile ride at least two weeks before the century to gauge your fitness
• Taper your mileage a week before the century. During that week you may even reduce your riding to one or two days of an easy five to 10-mile spin. Also, try to get plenty of sleep.

In the next blog, I’ll cover Nutrition and Attitude as you approach the day of the Gran Fondo rides. So, stay tuned!

Get out and ride!
Jonas Carney
Performance Director

Optum Pro Cycling Team

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by Fiona Lockhart, USA Cycling Coach
www.fionalockhart.com

Now that we have a 2011 NVGP champion, it’s time to focus on our training again as we build for our next race. Many of the blog posts leading up to the Nature Valley Gran Fondo focused on specific issues, such as nutrition, specific bike riding skills, bike fit, testing, etc.  These are all important issues as you get ready for a specific event such as the Gran Fondo.  But today, I want to talk about the bigger picture:  how do you work on improving your overall fitness month after month, year after year, while still keeping yourself motivated and excited about riding your bike?

One of the big concepts we use in exercise physiology is “periodization.”  Periodization is the idea that an individual needs to vary his or her training throughout the year in order to maximize the physiological benefits of training.  As a general rule, for cyclists that means that some time should be spent on “base” or “foundation” training (i.e. somewhat easy, steady efforts), some time should be spent on lactate threshold training (i.e. longer, medium to medium-hard intensity efforts), some time should be spent on VO2 max training (i.e. maximal efforts), and some time should be spent on specific bike skills (cadence, bike handling, etc.).  

The key with training any of the above systems is that you need to train each system enough that you give your body enough stimulus to make it adapt and get stronger, while not doing it so long that you either stagnate (both mentally and physically) or over-fatigue yourself.   There are lots of different ways to structure the timing of that training, and that is often dependent on a cyclist’s riding history, strengths and weaknesses, and goals. 

As a very general example, a cyclist who wants to get ready for some Gran Fondo-type events through the summer and starting in June could do base training in January and February, lactate threshold training in March and part of April, VO2 training in late April and May, and then have a little bit of a taper (or easing-up of riding) prior to the event in June.  But that might vary for others – some riders who can ride forever but don’t have any “punch” when they need it might need to spend some more time on their VO2 systems.  Other riders who seem to be able to go fast for a while but then fatigue early may benefit from more time in the base or lactate threshold training periods.

If you’re confused, don’t worry:  this idea of periodization can be very complex.  But if you’d like to give it a try, there are books and online programs available that lay out periodized plans for cycling (books by Chris Carmichael and Joe Friel are popular, for example).  If you’d like a more personalized approach, you could seek out a local cycling coach to help you plan out your program.  Many coaches work with all levels of riders from beginner to elite, so don’t worry about where your starting point is.  And often coaches will have plans available at different price points to fit your budget and needs, so don’t be afraid to ask. 

Another option that is becoming more popular, particularly up here in the Midwest where our outdoor riding can be limited in the winter, is indoor cycling training classes led by cycling coaches.  These are different than standard “spinning” classes in that they are usually done on your own bike on a computerized trainer, the goals of the class are specifically set to help you get stronger for outdoor riding, they are usually led by a cycling coach, and the classes are often structured with the concept of periodization in mind. 

These can be enormously helpful for a few reasons.  First of all, they usually start in the autumn or winter months, which as I noted above is the ideal time to get that base training in (and exactly when a lot of people don’t ride because of the weather).  Secondly, they give you face time with a coach so that you can get a better understanding of training concepts and how to improve your own cycling fitness and skills.  Third, they can act as a great motivator as you’re riding with others who are working on similar goals.  There are a number of these indoor training studios popping up in the Twin Cities; two that I am affiliated with are at Balance Fitness Studio (www.seek-balance.com) in Minneapolis and Now Sports (http://nowbikes-fitness.com/) in St. Paul.

Hopefully that gives you something to think about over the medium to longer term with your cycling – it really can be a lifelong sport and continuing to find ways to feel strong on the bike while enjoying the process can be tremendously rewarding.  I hope you enjoyed the Gran Fondo and continue to enjoy ll of your riding endeavours!

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By Kristin Armstrong
Peanut Butter and Co. Team TWENTY12
Four-Time Nature Valley Grand Prix winner, 2006-2009

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, I completed the biggest achievement of my career by winning the gold medal in the women’s road time trial competition on August 13. It was a childhood dream to compete in the Olympics and is one of the most amazing days of my life representing the United States at the highest level an athlete can reach.

I love cycling and I love competition. After a year-long break to start a family, I’m proud to be racing this year on a team that I also am part owner of: Peanut Butter & Co. Team TWENTY12.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is one race I’ve always looked forward to each year. Typically, I excel at the time trial, but the opening stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial, is very different. We aren’t allowed to use time trial specific equipment in this race! This nuance creates a unique challenge for me. As a time trial specialist, I’ve always benefitted from using aero bars, disk wheels and a time trial bike frame specially designed for speed. The dynamics of this technical course, plus riding a traditional road bike for the stage, slightly changes my strategy for the race. It still favors time trial specialists like myself, but my training for the time trial will focus on my road bike rather than my time trial machine.

Every cyclist has an opinion about time trials: You either love or hate them. While many cyclists prefer not to do a long, solo effort, the ability to time trial effectively is handy whether you actually do stand-alone TT events or not. How can you benefit from this training?

• Time trial training helps any rider who has an opportunity to break away from the pack in a race. The ability to push your cycling skills and knowledge to the edge and hold it there for extended periods requires mental and physical toughness.
• Riders can train for both skills. If you know you can nail a steady speed, power or heart rate output for an extended period of time, you’ll have more confidence in the saddle. When time trialing, I mentally challenge myself to tap every ounce of energy I have and fight through any physical pain in order to compete and achieve my goals.
• Time trial training can also benefit recreational riders who never pin on a number and race. The power and aerobic capacity that make you a successful time trialist also make you a strong all around rider.

The key to success for the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial is to stay smooth, calm and powerful on the course. There is no hiding in the pack or drafting behind teammates. Each rider must test herself against the course. This course is all about power and efficiency as riders traverse the out and back on Lilydale Road and then face the steep climb and turns up Cherokee and Ohio Street. Finesse and endurance will help everyone get to the finish. Without the aid of time trial bike technology, riders will need to stay focused. Riding time trails is a great way to get strong and will help your solo training or during the Gran Fondo rides when you find yourself breaking the wind.

In our world, we call time trials “the race of truth.” Although my peers and I will complete more than 200 miles of cycling in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, this 6.1 mile race can be a decisive factor – showing who the true contenders are for the overall win. Losing just a minute in this time trial could cost dearly in the final standings.

Cheers from spectators – especially up the hill climbs and at the finishing straight – always help motivate riders to the finish line. So bring your breakfast and coffee and watch us go for it!

Kristin Armstrong (born August 11, 1973) is a professional road bicycle racer and Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the Women’s Time Trial at the 2008 Summer Olympics and also 2 World Time Trial Championships. Before temporarily retiring to start a family in 2009, she rode for Cervélo TestTeam in women’s elite professional events on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and UCI Women’s World Cup. She announced a return to competitive cycling beginning in the 2011 season, competing for Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12 at the Redlands Classic.^[1] Armstrong earned a bachelor’s degree in sports physiology from the University of Idaho in 1995, and currently lives in Boise, Idaho. Kristin Armstrong and Lance Armstrong (known to women’s cycling fans as “the other Armstrong”) are not related.

About Time Trials:

An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: contre la montre – literally “against the watch”, in Italian: tappa a cronometro “stopwatch stage”). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ITT’s are also referred to as “the race of truth”, as winning depends only on each rider’s strength and endurance, and not on help provided by team-mates and others riding ahead and creating a slipstream.

Source: Wikipedia 

Kristin Armstrong,Minnesota Bicycle Festival,Nature Valley Grand Prix,St. Paul,Stage One,TT,Time Trial,Women's Professional Cycling,road racing   Tags: Gran Fondo, Kristin Armstrong, Nature Valley Grand Prix, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12, St. Paul Time Trial,   Comments Off