In a world where we can follow icons of the sport on Strava, see real-time numbers during a World Tour race, and track ourselves while we sleep …where do we draw the line when it comes to data? The accessibility of power meters, heart rate monitors, CGMs, etc. is a great evolvement for the sport, but it makes stepping away from the numbers even harder to do. There’s something to be said for being able to turn off the noise and focus in on our bodies, the task at hand, and how we “feel”. Furthermore, there’s nothing you can do about Van der Poel’s power up the Poggio or what Nino Schurter’s FTP is – it’s about you and your situation.

Data’s Role in Training
This is the bread and butter of our data, gadgets and gizmos. Training can be the most benefited from having a power meter or heart rate monitor at the least. I’d even say Strava – where you could use segments or portions of trail and road to see how you are progressing. As discussed in my Zones article, structure and diligence with our training through the year is important (aka knowing when certain efforts are to be trained). Additionally, with the bleeding of Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) from the diabetic/medical world into the endurance world, we can use insights from this as to how we respond to food and fine-tune our fueling.

Additionally, using those HRV measurements, readiness scores, and fatigue estimations (Whoop, Garmin, Oura Ring…) are great for keeping tabs on how you are responding to training over time. If we pair it with how we actually feel, this can give us an indication of when to push and maybe when to “feel things out”. Although, you can’t let a “bad score” keep you from lacing up and giving it a go – this is where you need to be open to learning how you feel. This, is where I want to move onto the topic of racing…

Data During Racing
Where things get tricky is when to rely on the numbers during events. When it’s a road race, gravel race, or some sort of “durability” type of event then it can be really helpful to supplement our pacing with this info. It’s helpful to gauge your efforts and “save matches” with HR or Power by keeping within yourself (and your threshold).

On the flip side, data can be a leash to us. I’ve seen it too many times, especially in shorter events like XC, where numbers really don’t mean all that much but we can allow them to impact our perception, pace, or expectations. This is the “paralysis by analysis” situation. When it comes to race day, we need to learn to go off of feel, be confident in our prep, and turn down the noise from these inputs. Don’t let your data talk you down from giving things a shot – it’s a race and a chance to try.

Take a look at those numbers retroactively and then draw some conclusions, break down the race, and learn.

Aside: Power v HR
Power and HR both have usefulness in training in different ways. Power is often the “golden metric” for cyclists (as pace is to runners) because it is constant, fixed metric. It represents direct workload being produced. Heart rate (HR) is the response to work that your body produces. HR can be affected by a variety of factors though, such as fatigue, temperature, caffeine, etc. I use power when it comes to nailing intervals and pushing limits on intensity. However, during the base phase, I often rely on HR more because I want to accumulate time in and/or below certain zones to stay aerobic.-taken from previous article on Zones

Know when to turn things off, not rely on numbers, or go off feel. Know when to change the page and just settle into your task fueled by intuition and feeling.

Prioritize, Plan, and Peak
When laying out your calendar, it’s natural to want to fill it full of events. However, it’s important to emphasize certain ones over others in line with your goals. I break races down into the A, B, and even C categories based on their value + role in an athlete’s calendar. As = peak events. Bs = important but not the main focus. Cs = performance not critical. Note: if your focus is on consistently racing for fun and don’t want to optimize one event, then this layout is not so important!

Realistically, most athletes looking for a big Peak (or highly optimized period of performance) can only do this about three times. This is because a true peak requires each mesocycle of training from the Base, Build, and Preparatory phases…or at the least Build and Preparatory. Essentially an athlete needs a couple months minimum to get towards a Peak. That being said, step one is to lay out a handful of your biggest, most important goals. Now, take about 3 of those that you can highlight as “A” events. 
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Training Through Races
This phrase is one you may have heard tossed around and can be helpful for taking things up a notch. It essentially means to take a preplanned and suboptimal amount of fatigue and training into an event. Now, you are not supposed to be feeling 100% and that’s okay. We utilize this with our C events specifically and occasionally B events. If it’s an early season C event or one leading up to your main goals, it can be a good chance to stack some extra training on top of your plan. When followed up with adequate recovery, these experiences often produce a big compensation or “fitness bump” as I call it.
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Cross-discipline Opportunities  
Depending on your focus or “type” of racing and the demands that come with it, you can also leverage other disciplines to assist your training plan. For example, as a XCO mountain biker, gravel races and endurance events can be great springboards for stacking up some preseason fitness for me. They’re typically longer and more aerobic in nature but really challenge that aerobic threshold.

Likewise, you can use local mtb races to fine tune some skills, work on repeatability and power, and get some speed work in for your gravel/road/endurance events.
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Leave Room for Rest
After a big peak or block of racing, rest must follow. Even midseason or in the summer when events are going off left, right, and center you have to be mindful of building in rest periods. These don’t have to be full “off-seasons” but a week to 10 days of both rest days and light riding to hit the reset button. Most people train diligently until the spring and race all the way through to the fall…then wonder why they may feel so fried. 

Additionally, if and when injuries, illness, or complications throw a wrench in your plan just accept these moments of pause. This is one of the biggest struggles I have. I’ve learned that longterm growth and progression is not harmed (and even benefited) from leaning into these breaks in training and not fighting the complication. Then, you can come back healthy, rested, and mentally ready to go. 

Bonus: maintaining strength 
As you approach these events and when the season gets going, it can get difficult to keep your strength in the routine. Sometimes you may have two, three, four weekends in a row of racing. This is not the time to try to build strength – and I’m speaking from experience. This is when you should scale back the strength to “maintenance” work. Let the ego go and take weight off the bar, focus on form, and address functional movements that keep you healthy. I back off and advocate for band work, TRX movement, and body weight exercises to keep from adding fatigue to heavy weeks already.

Heat:
“If you can’t handle the heat, stay outta the kitchen.” Or, just get stuck in the kitchen more often. Heat is a tricky thing to tackle when it comes to endurance events. It’s an uncontrollable, inescapable part of competing certain times of the year and in certain locations. Excessive heat (or more specifically the inability to handle it) can lead to an increase in overall core temperature and just a few °F can make things go downhill quickly. The brain starts to realize that there are more important things than you pushing hard on the pedals and will try to put a stop to that. Overall, heat stress will reduce the ability to achieve maximal metabolic rates during exercise. to a Cardiac drift is common term for the increase or “drift” of your heart rate upwards over the duration of an effort/event and is expedited with dehydration or heat. Often, this dance with the discomfort of heat is manageable over the duration of a training session or short XC style event. However, if gone unaccounted for it can lead to a drastic drop in performance. 

Things may start with discomfort and an annoyingly hot feeling…typically if you are equipped to handle it then it will stay that way. If you can’t, then some dizziness, nausea, and/or waning ability to really focus on the task at hand can follow. 

Below, I’ll dive into ways to manage the heat from an micro (small) perspective around racing or training + from a more macro (big picture) perspective. 

Managing The Heat
There are Manny things we can do to mitigate the effect of heat. In the lead up to the big event/workout/race, it’s important to think about your prep 2,3,4 days prior. Firstly, hydration cannot be neglected during these days and a greater importance should be placed on electrolytes. The idea behind this is to increase the essential minerals we need and that especially being sodium; as sodium levels in the body rise, water will follow. Thus, if we slowly increase these minerals we will “hold onto” more fluid in our cells over time. Yes, you will gain a little water weight but SO WHAT if it means mitigating the effect of heat. 

On race day, keep all your bottles, fuel, etc as cool as you can and try to buffer heat through cooling vests, shade, and less aggressive warm ups. PRO TIP: fill pantyhose with ice and stick them in your jersey collar while getting ready. 

Acclimatizing [“uh-kli-muh-tizing”)
From a bigger picture, and longer timeline, you can prep for key events by acclimatizing to the heat. If it’s during the warmer months or you are in a warmer climate, try moving some of those moderate workouts towards the warmer part of the day….gradually. If it’s the winter months (as my Puerto Rican race trip was) you can leverage sitting in a sauna to get acclimated. This looks like: 7+ days of 20-30min sauna sessions around 180°f if possible and ideally immediately following training. (Check this article out for a scientific review…)

Here’s What’s Happening
Heat acclimation typically takes around 10-14 days depending on variables. During this time, your body will be learning how to send more blood to the skin quicker, in greater amounts, and more efficiently. One big reason for this is due to the increase in plasma volume in your blood (the fluid part). These processes lead to more liquid coming to the skin which cools you through convection. As you begin to get more acclimated, this typically induces more sweating but less mineral/sodium loss. Additionally, your body’s entire cardiovascular system becomes more responsive and efficient when it encounters this heat stress and the hormonal system is becoming more adapted to this “new normal”.  

For a detailed interview with someone that has a lot of experience on this subject, see the Trainerroad Podcast with Dr. Minson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8edDmyhHes