The Days After a Race

So you killed it! You worked hard for a few weeks. You started the week out with the sat/sun race in mind. You trained right, ate right, and slept right. You did everything the way it was suppose to be done. Sat/Sun showed up and you got up got ready and raced your butt off. Win or lose you worked your butt off.

Take my weekend for example. I raced both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday didn’t turn out so good due to a feed zone mishap. I missed my feed and died on lap 2 of a 3 lap course. Sunday was bound to be better right? Wrong! Sunday was a Crit. This was suppose to be my race and it may have been, if not for bad luck. On the last lap I was sitting 10th wheel (the perfect spot for me). Right before the back side hill some clown dive bombs the inside and catches a bad bump. He takes out 80% of the field, and the top 9 guys got to sprint for the win. So what does all of this have to do with “The Day After a Race”??? Well, I’m mad. I want to race again; I want to race right now. I would have been in the money (or at least close). So here it is Monday morning and all I can do is think of my next race coming up on Sunday. Time to get on the bike and start preparing, time to kick it up a notch right? Wrong again! Stop! don’t do it. Don’t fall victim to a useless training day. Right now my legs are cooked. Even though my mind may be full of motivation my legs are full of micro tears. I need time off. I don’t have to take the day off completely but I need to stay away from doing crazy intervals. I may even need to lay back a bit tomorrow. What am I going to do? I have to race again in 6 days.

Coach D.

Can you add to this Coach T???

 

Yep!  I have lots to add. Everyone in the Haus should know by now that CoachD is my brother and I have coached him for several years.  I know his tendencies.  I know he is hyper motivated coming off of a disappointing race weekend.  I also know the last thing he needs is hard training.  Those micro tears in his muscles need recovery and recovery done right will make CoachD even stronger this weekend.

What to do after the race?

#1 Recover.  Spend the next couple of days on a foam roller concentrating on your tight spots.  Stretch periodically throughout the day to rush blood to your aching muscles.

#2 Eat.  Refuel your starving body with proper fuel.  Your muscles are super primed to absorb high quality nutrients.  Don’t waste the next couple of days on junk food.  Eat plenty o fruits, veggies, complex carbs, and high quality protiens.

#3 Analyze.  Download your ride data to Golden Cheetah or Training Peaks and study your race performance (check out the analyzing race data article).  If you don’t have the ride data to look at, mentally rehearse your race.  Think through each corner, each position change, and every attack.  Where did you make mistakes?  What could you have done better?

#4 Prepare.  Plan your next training block.  Focus your efforts on your weaknesses.  Adjust your CritScore appropriately so that you enter your next race stronger, fresher, and ready to throw down. CoachT Out!