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As race season approaches, most MTB racers will be chomping at the bit to get between the tape and see where they stand. After a long winter of training, the transition from base to race is one that is exciting as you see your fitness sharpen. This time includes a focus on speed, power, and technical skills that are all important in this prep phase. You can use the analogy of transforming yourself from a big, broad butcher knife into a precise steak knife.
While your traditional intervals and workouts are still essential to how this transition works, certain overlooked practices can make a huge difference to how well you apply your fitness on race day. Here are five ways we can make that leap from base to race.
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In the world of endurance sports, it’s easy to get caught up chasing marginal gains and the “special sauce”. But the truth is, the biggest improvements come from nailing the basics: consistency, sleep, fueling, and recovery.
The best training plan isn’t the most complicated one—it’s the one you can execute consistently and effectively. In an industry filled with optimization strategies and "the next best...", there is a lot to be said for maximal gains, and there are only a few of them. Just pedaling circles won't cut it for long-term development. See why a balanced and simple strength program is a big piece of the health and fitness puzzle for cyclists.
Click in to read more! Unbelievable views, wild routes, unique landscape, historic villages, and one of the toughest weeks of racing you could ask for. This was the 2024 Swiss Epic.
I learned an immense amount – being one of the first partner races I’ve completed at the (UCI) highest level. The aspect of competing as a unit –not just by yourself– and navigating five days of racing as one was actually pretty rad. Jerry Dufour and I were partners, and as you probably know, we fit like a glove. We were both on the same page in a variety of ways: fitness, abilities, and skill. But even more important was the similarity in our mentality, durability, and stress response. We’d spent a lot of time together over the last decade of racing and know how each other ticks. I feel that each time I line up to a challenge like this I expect to suffer, to get out of my depth, and have a general anxiousness about how I’ll “do”. This time, it felt a little more like curiosity; more excited about the opportunity than nervous about it. With the wealth of information on how to fuel, hydrate, recover, etc…athletes can still struggle to have a successful training session. Maybe they struggle to do it consistently and just expect that a good day will come around every now and then.
However, instead of worrying about all the things you need to do to improve, how about you think about what you shouldn’t do? One unique way to develop better habits or accomplish your goals is to think, “What would I do if I didn’t want to accomplish X, Y, Z?” I came across this idea (probably from a podcast) where you essentially inverse your goals to develop clear direction. If you are stuck in a rut or can’t seem to be consistent, check this out. I have been trying to soak up the recent success at the MTB Marathon National Championships. Interestingly, it can actually be difficult to enjoy a big win when you have a sport that forces you to move the goalposts so quickly. I got stuck in that “process, process, process” mentality and when a window finally opened for me to make it happen I had to trust myself in a new way. I've had to intentionally pause and enjoy the wake of a major elite-level win.
To mix things up and try to provide something valuable from it, I figured I’d use this article to break down the race and tactics that led to my first Elite National title. I often get asked, “What’s the best thing I can do for recovery? What should I be doing to recover better? What do I need to buy for recovery?” Recovery has become more of an activity or task than a state of being. Don’t get me wrong, I use a few tools and tricks myself, but I’ve come to realize we are getting a bit lost in the trees and not seeing the whole forest.
Reframing Hard Things to Work for You
While rereading a personal Top 10 book, Do Hard Things, the theme of “choice” keeps coming up as a key part of overcoming challenges. Steve Magness, the author, references multiple studies run with either mice or dogs or social experiments with people where they were faced with an issue and given a choice to deal with it…or not. Apparently, when given the ability to choose –to make something happen by our own free will– it rewires how we view challenge, approach it, and ultimately deal with it. Feed time and it will feed you.
This concept has slowly wiggled its way into my life and philosophy over the past few months. I’ve read a lot of productivity, self-development, and performance books over the year and one thing seems to stand as the linchpin in improvement: consistency. The off-season. It’s a sliver of time in most athletes’ calendars that is either dreaded or eagerly looked forward to. Regardless of your relationship to it, this 2-3 time is vital to your training, health, and growth as an athlete.
As many years as I’ve done this, I understand how it can be a daunting time. For 48+ weeks you’ve been on the bike and had a training goal. Now you’re forced to step off of it and recalibrate. Do not view it as a step in the wrong direction, view it as making room for the growth to come. |
AuthorCarson Beckett, 26 | Coach, Pro, and Co-Founder of Dirt Camp Racing | Carson Beckett Coaching CategoriesArchives
November 2024
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