There are few pleasures in life as great as to achieve a goal, to accomplish something that doesn’t come easily. Great lessons are taught through this activity; we learn that it is our determination and not our doubt that defines our limits. We learn that through studied discipline we can cultivate the skills required to work incrementally towards becoming what we want to be.
This is true for our personal, social and professional lives – and any other aspect that I may have left off. But to achieve our goals is usually a rather complicated mess; it requires introspection, it often requires reliance upon others to do their part or at least not interfere with you doing yours, and it is usually rife with hard choices of long-lasting and difficult to understand consequences.
In its most basic form, Cycling provides us a path to discovery in a less complicated model than do our actual lives. We train our bodies, we become more healthy. We become more healthy, we train more. We become stronger, we go faster. We derive more pleasure from our efforts. We experience reward for sacrifice. We associate progress with the pain of an effort. We enjoy Cycling more. We ride more. We become healthier still. We become stronger still. We go even faster. We suffer more. We associate more pain with a greater sense of achievement. And though it all, we discover it that unlike every other walk of life, in Sport we are islands: what we find here is only what we have brought with us.
Eventually, exercising will become training. The activity becomes richer with the application of the discipline that comes with this rebadging. Exercise is something you do regularly but without structure. With training comes a study of your body and how it responds to stimulus. Long rides have a different effect on the body than do short ones. Successive hard efforts have another effect, as do longer and shorter periods off the bike.
Training Properly requires discipline and patience. It means you don’t just throw your leg over your machine and pedal off to ride along tree-lined boulevards. Training Properly means having a plan for each day. It means heading for the hills one day, and the plains another. It means controlling yourself and not trying to set your best time up the local climb because you feel good that day. Training Properly means restraining yourself on a group ride and not joining in on the town line sprints if your plan doesn’t call for it. Training Properly means leaving for a ride despite the rain falling from the heavens and the loved ones whom you leave at home.
Training Properly comes down you and you alone; much can be learned from books and coaches, but the path is yours to walk. The discovery is yours to experience and to shape into what you are seeking. There are, however, some basics to keep in mind. Also keep in mind I’m not a “Sports Doctor”, “Physiotherapist”, or “Smart”. And never take medical or sporting advice from Some Guy On the Internet.
Be patient. Have discipline. Train Properly. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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@mcsqueak
Good points, ones I have studied over many years.
Training for what? is the issue. When I was racing, and wanted to do well, then I trained. I'd do all the base, the intervals, the diet. And you know what? I hated riding.
So I started 'just riding' again. Sure, I rode fast, slow, climbed, sprinted, raced my mates, layed down the V. For fun. And if I raced, I was fit enough to do as well as I ever could, even better, because riding wasn't a chore.
Two years ago I had a major goal; to join the 3 hour club at the Karapoti Classic mtb race after narrowly missing it twice. I knew I needed to be in top shape, and while my mates got actual 'training plans' and followed them religiously, I vowed to use my knowledge of myself to prepare. If I felt good, I'd do the hill repeats. Or I'd throw in a couple of sprints on a longer ride. Or I'd just do nothing and drink beer if I felt like it.
I didn't put undue pressure on myself physically or mentally, and arrived at the start line as best prepared as I could ever be. All I needed was to ride the best I could and have good luck. And it all came together, my goal was completed, and I could walk away happy. The training plan guys had burnt out weeks before and came up empty.
Moral? Pros train, the rest of us ride.
@Pedale.Forchetta
Thank you, my friend. Right now I am "cautiously optimistic." Each day feels a little bit better than the day before...it's a great feeling just knowing I can ride once again.
Thank you for again motivating me to go out and ride with a purpose.
(Long time velomilurker, first - okay second - time poster.)
@frank, this is a great article and I appreciate that it captures a wide gamut of motivations for why folks ride. Some ride to win, some to challenge oneself, some to engage in an occasionally-social activity with outstanding health benefits, some to eat. I happen to subscribe to all of those. Except the first.
But the wonderful cycle (pun intended) of suffer, recover, then suffer faster is so addictive. Maybe some day I'll Do Something Meritorious on a bike.
I admit that I'm somewhat afraid of getting burned out by all of this excruciating fun. Has this happened to any of us? Since I'm posting here, I'm obviously keen to know why it might have happened and what it took to get back into it.
@brett
+1
What a fucken spot on article. Following a trip to the Alps last year with a bunch of mates, it was pointed out to me that I rode like a complete idiot... on the Marmotte course, I went up the Croix de Fer like a stabbed rat; sat on the front into the wind to the foot of the Telegraphe; summitted the Telegraphe first.... then blew up at Valloire... the detonation could be heard reverberating through the valley, and I crawled up the Galibier as everyone, and I mean everyone, came past me like I was going in reverse... the awful thing was, one of the guys I was riding with's Garmin was picking up my heart rate rather than his... pretty much at 175 the entire ride... which he kept calling out to everyone with great mirth. I was given a stern talking to back in Bourg by our patron along the lines of 'get your shit together, stop being a dick, and ride to your real potential, not your self-delusional perceived ability'... so on return, I found a coach who's sole job has been to get me not to train full-gas / ride full-gas etc. all the time... and manage my HR down on rides... saving the V for when it will have maximum impact ("Sverpunkte!")
I had lots of bad habits, which have taken so long to break. For example, it has taken six months for me to be able to go out and ride 100km at a HR of 130 - 140 and no more, no matter who goes past; or do a short ride of mixed tempo (i.e. not make it a long ride); and I've been riding with groups a lot less, as it doesn't fit with 'training'... he lets me out once a month to let loose with mates and go full gas... but no more than once a month. One of the most important things he's told me is to learn to rest: he tells me all the time that I don't overtrain, I under-rest (job, kids, life, etc.) and that I need to do all my training at L1 or L2, with only a little bit above threshold until 2-3 weeks before an event (at which point he makes me do really painful things that hurt and make me feel sick - e.g. interval training, balls out). He's also put me onto a book 'Racing Weight', which is super helpful in terms of eating properly whilst training, and peaking on weight as well as training. (I'm with all you guys... like the Modfather, I'm either 'on' (and really 'on'), or I'm 'off', in which case, I'm seriously off the reservation)... the discipline is spilling over to other areas of my life, too... which is great
I'd recommend getting some help from a coach to anyone who is seeking structure, as I really had no idea what I was doing... I love the structure it gives me, and the measurable progress. Only downside is the pressure he's putting on me to get power. Not sure how long I can hold out... as it would mean more data that I could look at with no idea how to analyse (heaven).
We shall see in Belgium whether it has done my cycling any good - that'll be a 'no' if I'm spat out the back after 300m on the first ride, methinks.
"in Sport we are islands: what we find here is only what we have brought with us." Mint, just mint.
VLVV.
@cal
Absolutely. I spent a long time away from my bike for this reason. Too much focus and structure can kill the fun of something very easily. I relaxed, and it became more fun, and as was said before, first and foremost we should enjoy the sport - we're not getting paid to ride our bikes. (I'm not, at least.)
Further, what @brett alludes to is totally spot on. You have to know your body, work it, rest it, listen to it. But that also doesn't mean training by numbers and getting a training plan and never deviating. That's why there are V points to the list, not a thousand like it should have if it were a training guide. I would say what Brett is describing is the holy grail of Training Properly - give your body what it needs to be as good as you can (want to) be. For Brett, a training plan and loads of structure don't work; it was better for him to go by feel, relax about it, and have more fun at it. But he also sprinted, climbed, rode easy, rode hard and did all the basic things the body needs to become fit and be able to do a monster ride like he did.
All this brings into sharp relief the point that everyone is different, and everyone should approach this stuff in a way that works for them. And don't take advice for Some Guy on the Internet.
This is the only thing I disagree with from Brett's good post.
I have been very lax in my riding lately - due to a number of factors such as sloth, indolence and laziness.
Not coincidentally (I think), over the last 6 months I haven't been getting a plan from a guy i pay to give me ride plans (Aussie Road & TT champ, Olympian - so he knows his bones). Without someone to "answer to", I let things slide, then riding 6 days a week dropped back to 4 and dropped even further. And before you know it, I was a street hustler giving it away to strangers for $20 a throw. Actually, that last bit isn't true - its another story entirely.
I have a two day bike ride/race coming up at the end of this month. Pain is on its way.
One piece of training wisdom that took me a very long time and about 4 different sports to understand - you only get faster when you are off your bike.
@frank
That was my best received comment so far as a Velominatus. I worried, and paused before submitting it as the last thing I want to do is get anyone's back up. I am very very proud of my Grey Cog and thank the keepers for their sterling work.
I've been out and now that I'm home I see that the discussion has added plenty depth to Franks article, lots of food for thought. Chapeau to all.
@cal
I'll raise my hand as well on this one.
Road and raced and followed it religiously for about 7 years from '87 until around '93/94. Awesome at first. Loved the racing, training, was doing well, moving up cat's and then I started to put a ton of pressure on myself, really started over training and also started to go backwards in race results. Finally just burned out and was dropped early in a race one day and I turned the bike around, went back the the start, put it in the car and did not ride again for about ten years.
Not sure what got me back on, just bought a Lemond CX bike one day and started riding again. That was in '06 and now I am in heaven again on the bike, have been for the last 6 years, and am only getting stronger each year. I think the key is that I now know that I will never be a pro and I am just enjoying the heck out of it.