Ready to Rock: How to Streamline the 36 Hours Before the Gun Goes Off

Whether your cyclocross goals involve winning events, spending the day racing and getting dirty with your friends, or pushing yourself to the ultimate limit, being prepared will help you get there.  This goes beyond your cycle training program, developing a deep base of fitness and learning the intricacies of cyclocross skills.  There are a few easy steps you can take in the 36 hours prior to your event to ensure that you're ready to rock to the best of your abilities when the gun goes off!

Preparation the Day Before

Planning ahead is key. It's difficult to show up on race day in a rush, without proper food and looking for your “lucky left sock", and still be successful. Planning ahead will eliminate unwanted stress and allow you to focus on the actual race.

I like to do the following on the day before a race:

• Check my race bike over. Twice!
• Pack my gear bag according to a checklist of weather-appropriate warm-up and race clothing as well as clothing for after the event. If you have the luxury of two pairs of riding shoes, bring them!  Having extra stuff can only help.
• Plan out what you're going to eat.  I fill a small cooler with the necessary food to keep me fed and sane throughout a long day of racing and travel.  A rule of thumb is to eat your breakfast or lunch at least three hours prior to race start.  You'll also want to maintain as normal of an eating schedule as possible prior to the race.  For a great article on what and how to eat before an event, click here.

Race Day

On race day it is key to try to minimize your stressors so you can focus on the race and reaching your goals.  Allow yourself a time buffer just in case something needs to be fixed on your bike, tires need to be swapped, or the registration line is crazy long.  Create a routine for your typical sequence of events: arrive, porto stop, registration, course inspection, etc.  The list goes on and needs to be tailored to your specific objectives while streamlining race-day activities.

Warm up!  The value of the warm-up covers several areas.  The physiological advantage to warming up and getting the legs going are undeniable.  I also see huge value in the mental side of warming up.  It helps dial in your focus while allowing you to think about your goals and objectives.  Without distractions, you can rid your mind of clutter and worries.  Taking 30-40 minutes to ride before the start will help calm your nerves as you also receive the physical advantages of riding prior to the race.

Here are five key components to a good cycling warm-up:

• The warm-up is personally tailored.  Trial and error over time will be your best bet at finding the perfect warm-up routine for you.
• Check the course out and if you can, ride a lap or portions of a lap near race pace to see how your tires fare in the particular terrain and conditions.
• 20-30 minutes of aerobic and tempo work will be awesome for the legs!
• You donʼt want to leave everything on the wind trainer in the parking lot!  You have likely heard the term “openers” which are perfect in this setting.  These are short, hard efforts designed to ready the legs, mind, and cardiovascular system for the racing ahead.
• The first lap is going to be a crazy/horrible/hard/chest cracking suffer-fest.  Expect this and be ready to go full gas at the gun.

Implement these pre-race strategies and you will make the most of all your training and achieve cycling success!

Did you know you can purchase cyclocross-specific training plans on TrainingPeaks?  If you've never tried cyclocross, check out Joy's article about why you should 'cross!  You can also read more about why it's important to have a pre-race plan. 

Joy Duerksen received a B.S. in Physical Education and Commercial Fitness from Pacific Union College and during the summer of 2010, she completed both the USAC Coaching certification and the ACE Personal Training certification in order to pursue her dream of coaching athletes of all levels.  Joy is also an avid cyclist. The 2010 season brought Joy into her 3rd season racing as Professional mountain bike racer. She also made the segway into road cycling, racing the majority of the season on skinny tires as a cat 2.  She also races cyclocross from time to time and would love to hit up a pump track in the near future.  You can learn more about Joy and her company on the Big Wheel Coaching website.

Comments

[Denis Paxton]

this is so motivating, i am currently looking forward to participating in the yearend bike trail event, it's going to be my first time in over a decade so i'm kinda reading up! thanks for the post :)

[dirtcoach]

obvious!