Sometimes everything goes wrong...almost

Not everything is easy...or definite.

Photo credit: Kurt Maw

When I was younger, and a Cat 4, I read an article from my coach about planning for the day of the race.  What to prepare, when to leave, how much time to allow, etc.  I still follow that roughly to this day.  One of the key bits of this is arriving at the race and not being [too] stressed out.

When you are late, it seems like everything goes wrong.  But if you are repeatedly early and on time, you develop a muscle memory for what to do before the race and you know what to expect. This routine becomes tested when life throws you a curve and you have to adapt based on the time left. 

Like when you arrive 40 minutes before the start of a cross race.  So what do you do?  Evaluate the nice to haves and need to haves.  First of all, you won't arrive at the race magically late.  On the way, relax and do a mental checklist.  Then...well, you need a number, and you probably need to visit the porta-john.  You need to have your kit on and you need that number on your kit.  Don’t fuss with warmup and race clothes, just put on the race kit.  Then, when you are done with that, you probably have 20 minutes to go.  So, pull out the race bike, evaluate the course, put in the right tire pressure and go.  No pit bike, no pit wheels.  Just go.

Ride to the start, maybe ride to the start as fast as you can to get some blood pumping.  Evaluate staging and then ride the start so you don’t take the whole field out going left when you should go right.  Come back to the start and be there before they start staging.  And so it is done.

At this point, you are probably thinking “no warmup, ugh!!” but you have one bit on your side: Adrenaline.  This cagey chemical in the body is helpful and hurtful.  But in this case, it’s getting you ready for the whole ordeal because deep down you are nervous and scared.  Both things that excite the adrenal glands.  Vocalize to yourself that you’re nervous and then relax and give it your best.  One thing that will happen is that the first lap will feel horrible because you aren’t fully opened up.  So be patient, and let that happen.  On the second and third laps you will begin to feel better and start hunting folks down.

Photo credit: Benjamin D Bloom Photography

This happened to me this past weekend, and a guy next to me that I’ve known for a long time said “Eh, whatever.  You have no expectations, you will probably just relax and have the best race.  It’s not like you are late all the time, then it would be a problem”.  It wasn’t the best race, but what it wasn’t was my worst.  I got 5th with a late surge.  Sometimes you get thrown a curve, and you have to wait on it, adjust and get to the line.  Once on the line, hit it with what you have.  Yes a perfect warmup would have been nice, but you are here to race, so practice racing.