Sleep

While you are sleeping your body releases hormones to repair damage caused during your hard workout.  Studies show sleeping 8+ hours a night and more when leading up to an important race is critical for optimum performance.  I recommend going to bed early enough so you don’t need to set an alarm. Your body will wake you when it’s ready to get up, if you are forced awake, your body isn’t done with getting the rest it needs.

Bonus: Take a a 30min to a hour nap on top of the 8+ hours as often as you can.  For most of us we don’t have that extra time, but if you can get in an extra hour mid day, you’ll notice a big difference the following day.

Food

Eating ‘clean’ healthy foods is probably one of the easiest things you can do to improve recovery.  Focus on eating whole foods such as lean meat (wild and/or grass feed), nuts, fruit, vegetables.  Remove processed foods  such as white breads, pastas, chips, cookies, cake, crakers etc.    Other foods that can be included are healthy fats such as coconut oil, avocados, whole organic milk (almond/soy/coconut), cheese, olive oil, greek yogurts

Within 30min of your workouts have a recovery snack.  I like a recovery smoothie, or if I’m not at home when I finish the ride I use Infinit Repair.  Focus on getting 15-20g protein, some fast acting carbs (1 banana or other fruit) and yogurt, 300-400 calories in all.  Have a meal within 2 hours of your recovery snack.

There is so much more to using food to assist in recovery.  For expert advice on nutrition contact Kelli at  Apex Nutrition LLC.  She will help you with all aspects of how and what to eat to make sure you are getting the best fuel needed for your training and racing.  All MTBCoach plans and coaching get a discount and free coaching through Apex Nutrition.

Bonus Tip:  Eating processed carbs like breads, cookies, pastas etc causes inflammation, delaying recovery.  Many endurance athletes are eating gluten free, not because of health issues or because it’s a fade, but it’s because products that contain gluten generally cause inflammation, delaying recovery.   Gluten free foods are generally whole foods that provide  excellent recovery and fueling nutrition.

Massage

Massage may be the most powerful medicine cyclists can get without a prescription. It relieves sore muscles, speeds recovery, prevents injury, and helps you feel better fast. Few activities demand more from your body than cycling, and few athletes benefit more from massage than cyclists.

Bonus Tip:  Some tools to use for self massage include a high density foam roller or The Stick.  Use them a couple of times a week or daily.

Compression Clothing

Compression garments further helps blood circulation speeding up recovery and prevent injury.   Use either a Calf Sleeve or full leg sleeve or tight .  Some athletes use the Calf Sleeve or Sock to help circulation while training or racing.    Put on the garment right after a hard workout or race.

Bonus:  Checkout RecoFit Full Leg Compression Sleeve or Calf Sleeve.  I started using RecoFit this year after using another brand the last couple of years.  I found the RecoFit product to work better as they stay in place and has focused placement  of compression material where it’s really needed.   They also look sharp!

Active Recovery

Studies show active recovery appears to significantly reduce accumulated blood lactate and speed muscle recovery.  Doing a cool down (easy light spin) after a race or hard workout will help relax the muscles and clear blood lactate.

One or two days a week (depending on your fitness level and training phase)  you need an active recovery day.  30-60 min on the bike easy Zone 1/Power level 1 or 2, a brisk walk, hike  helps clear lingering blood lactate.

For optimum performance practice these tips daily.  If you have questions on any of these methods, leave a comment or feel free to contact me directly.   Thanks for reading.

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Gathering after riding Horse Thief Bench Loop

The first day of camp we headed out to the Kokopelli trails in Loma.  The ride included a loop around Horse thief Bench which made for a great location for some skill building and remembering how to ride on techy stuff after a winters worth of riding on the road and trainer.  Then we moved on to Marys Loop and Steves Loop.  This was the first single track people have seen in a couple of months as most people from Colorado are on the road and trainer during the winter months.

At the end of the Western Rim.

Day two included a great talk from Kelli at Apex Nutrition.  I have been working with Kelli for a few months now and have seen great results in my fueling and lost a couple of pounds on the way.  Kelli talked to us about endurance sport nutrion.  This was a great session that had everyones attention.  Nutrition is such an important aspect to training and racing, if you have it wrong you’ll suffer, loose performance or even DNF.

After Kelli’s talk we headed into Rabbit Valley to ride the Western Rim.  It was an awesome day with mostly clear skys and  warm sun.   The ride was great until we hit a unfamiliar trail, but all was good after riding the rim a second time on the way back to the Parking Lot.   If you haven’t riden the Western Rim, this is one of the gems of the Fruita area.  The views of the Colorado River are amazing .

Kelli giving us great advice on how to eat for training and racing.

The last day included 18 Road for in my opinion the best single track in Fruita.   Here we added more skill building with all the great descents  Kessel Run, PBR, Joe’s Ridge, Mojos and Zippidy  Do Da.  Skill practice including learning cornering, pumping and handling step descents.  We took some folks on some tails they never thought they would ride and ended with a big smile at the end of the day.

Thank you to everyone that attended and came out to support.  The energy and excitement made the camp a great success.  I’m looking forward to future camps.  If you want to stay informed of training camps, sign up for the mailing list in the upper right hand corner.   Hope to you at the next one.

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Whats in the Box

SRM MTB 2×10 with PowerControl VII. I dig the CO flag decal

Out of the box the Power Meter included

• Power Meter
• PowerControl VII
• Speed sensor
• Magnets
• Manual

Installation

Before installing the Power Meter you need to install the magnet on the bottom bracket.  SRM provided two magnets.  One to connect directly to the BB shell and one that will install under the BB shell that is connected to a little aluminum piece that mounts near the power meter.  The  magnet needs to be 2-5mm from the power meter to get accurate recordings. I’ve had a number of problems with mounting the magnet on two superflys (hard tail and full suspension)  with both the Quarq and SRM.  If you get the magnet to close to the power meter, the small chain ring bolts will hit it and you’ll either hear a click click click with each crank rotation, or if the (or when) the chain drops off the small chain ring the magnet will get knocked off.  I’ve tried many different  placement locations and different sized magnets and each time my chain dropped the magnet was knocked off.  This would occur at the most inopportune times, like during a race or the ever important intervals.   The trick is to find a spot on your bottom braket where the magnet is 2-5m from the power meter, and out of the chain line.  Of course, making sure your front derailleur is properly aligned will help too.  I have yet to find a perfect spot for the magnet on my MTB’s.  I asked SRM about this and their response was this “Magnet placement on the Superfly frame specifically is particularly difficult. We’ve been able to find reliable solutions for just about every other bike out there.”

After installing the magnet, you can add the  power meter which is as simple as adding or changing a crank set.  My bikes came with a SRAM XX GXP BB crankset and like the Quarq the SRM was a simple replacement of the XX set.    No bearing or washer replacement or changing was necessary. Keep in mind that if you have a non GXP BB, you  need another power meter with a different BB option.  SRM has many options. It is also easy to switch to other bikes if they have the same BB size and bearings.   I was able to switch between my two MTB’s in 10min.  Just remove the non-drive side crank arm and slide out the BB spindle and install on the other bike.  Piece of cake!  I have done this many times on my MTBs as I race and train on both my bikes throughout the year.

Calibration

After installing the power meter you need to calibrate it with your head unit.  The power meter is ANT+ compatible so it will work with your Garmin and other ANT+ head units.  It also connects with the PowerControlVII (see below) included with the power meter.    Instructions included in the manual provide the steps to calibrate.  It’s pretty simple.  Push a couple of buttons on your head unit to the calibration page, then spin the power meter backwards 4 times to turn the power meter on.  Once the head unit reads the power meter the calibration is done.   After the head unit and power meter have synced and calibrated, you are ready for your ride. I recommend recalibrating every ride or at minimum every other ride.  The calibration number should be with in 2% of the last calibration number.  This will ensure you are getting consistent power reading each ride.  A bad calibration will give you bad power numbers with false readings.

PowerControl VII

SRM PowerControl VII (top) Garmin 500 (bottom)

The power meter came with a PowerControl VII (see picture on right), which is a cycle computer that records the power, cadence, speed and altitude.    It mounts to the handle bar and sits out in front which makes it nice to see while riding.  It is a little vulnerable on a MTB.  One over the bar crash, the unit can be lost or broken (SRM says they are designing a new mount so the device is more protected).    It doesn’t have GPS, so it records speed with a wireless wheel sensor that mounts to your fork, and magnet fixed to a spoke on your front wheel.  Cadence is recorded by a magnet mounted to the Bottom Bracket.   Altitude is calculated by barometric pressure, like most GPS devices including the Garmin.  As a mater of fact the PowerControl VII is similar to the Garmin expect it doesn’t have GPS.  It does have a lot of the same features, but it is missing,NP, TSS and IF data points, which is great for training.

Data Recording

Threshold Intervals with PowerControl VII

During many of my rides I used both the Garmin 500 and the PowerControl VII.  While cadence, speed and elevation where pretty close to each other, power was consistently 10watts higher on the PowerControl VII.  It really doesn’t matter that it was higher, but I thought it was interesting.  I mentioned this to SRM and they said to make sure that the Garmin Smart Recording feature is off,  which it was.   The most important aspect to this it is to be consistent with what you use.  If you are switching between two head units, you may get different values, which in turn may change how good you feel when you use a particular head unit.   I found that If you don’t have the speed senor on, when coasting for long periods of time, the power control will turn off and no data is recorded.

Reliability

I found the reliability of the SRM power meter to be the best I have used.  I’ve used PowerTap SL, PowerTap MTB Disk, Quarq MTB and one thing those three had in common is they didn’t work well in abnormal riding conditions.   Water killed both my PowerTaps, Quarq MTB has problem with mud and snow if they get on the chainring, causing calibration issues.   A bad calibration leads to bad power readings. While training this winter for the 24hrs in The Old Pueblo I used the SRM exclusively.  I trained in snow covered, mud covered, dirt roads, for 6hrs at a time, many 20min threshold intervals, 3×3 VO2 Max intervals, and each ride the SRM worked flawlessly.   I was impressed considering the issues I’ve had with other power meters. I also raced the 24hrs in the Old Pueblo with it.  I relied on the power reading to assist with my pacing  and fueling strategy.  I raced 24.5 hrs with it and it was spot on the whole time, no recalibration needed. The one attribute I don’t like about the SRM power meters is that it does not have a user replaceable battery.  Given the battery is stated to last 700 hrs, which is probably more then a year for most serious riders.  To replace the battery you have to send it to SRM.  I am told the turn around time is fast, with in a week or two.  So if you time this at the end of your season, it’s really not a big deal.

Conclusion

Overall I am impressed with the SRM MTB 2×10 power meter.  It held up to the elements, it doesn’t get tired and works as expected.   The price is higher then all the other power meters.  Power meters can be finicky, especially when you put one through water, rain, mud, sand and snow and what else you can think of,   If you need a highly reliable power meter the SRM is the one you want.

Stay tuned for a comparison between the PowerTap MTB Disc, Quarq MTB 2×10 and the SRM MTB 2×10, and review of Stages Cycling power meter.

The post SRM MTB 2×10 Power Meter Review appeared first on MTBCOACH.COM.

My goal was 18 laps and get one step higher on the podium.  This was not going to be an easy task with the likes of Tinker Juarez, David Munoz, Brian Bennent, Taylor Lideen, and good friends Jonathan Davis (check out Jonathan’s race report) and Brian Sells. All experienced endurance MTB racers and strong riders over all.  There were a number of other people that I didn’t know could also reach the podium. there must have been 10-15 people that were capable of challenging the front of the field.

The course goes between our camp.

This is one event I look forward to all year long.  The folks at EpicRides put on a great show.   The race is well organized and ran.  Road tripping  and camping  with friends in the desert for a few days is the highlight before the race itself.  Hangout out talking bikes, racing and pre-riding the course is what I look forward to the most.

Just before the start.

The race begins with a Le Mans start, and this is the most nerve racking part of the race.  I was at the front, and 800 people behind me  that are much faster runners.  People are pushing and shoving as you run in carbon sole shoes in sand, ruts and rocks.  You are luckily to survive this part.  I feel like I’m home free once I get to my bike.

The first couple of laps were fast, and I came through where I thought I would, 1:05, and the 5th solo.   Kept about the same pace for the next two laps, times were a little slow, then I finally settled in to my zone 2.  For the remaining laps, I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on around me in terms of other racers.  I lost track of time and how many laps I had completed.  I was just riding.   It’s a long race, and I let the top guys battle it out.  I figured let them beat each other up, someone will eventually crack.  That happend.  Tinker had some physical issues, rumor is he lost sight in one eye.   Late in the race I battled with Brian Bennet, also rumored to have a sight issue.    We were 1 min apart on a couple of laps trying to hold 2nd place and I was giving everything after 20 hours to get rid of him.   He finally stopped racing, due the sight issue, I presume.   After 16 laps I had enough lead above 3rd and 4th place that all I had to do is complete the laps in a reasonable time.  I limped around at sub 1:30 laps, and those were very painful laps.  my back was hurting, my feet were shooting pains up my leg with each pedal stroke.   There was no way I was catching Jon, he finished 19 laps at almost the same time I finished 18laps.

I don’t recall ever being on the podium with friends.  Some how we ended up taking the 1st, 2nd and 4th spot.

Podium with Friends. Left to right. Brian Sells 4th, Curt Wilhelm 2nd, Jon Davis 1st, Jason Michalak 3rd

There are a lot of people that I need to thanks for helping with this race.  First off, my family earns a huge thank you for the support they give me in racing my bike.   They fully support me in my training and racing and without their support there is no way I could accomplish great results.  Racing and training takes time away from the family, but they are supportive in my goals.

I spent the last three months training harder then I have ever trained. I wouldn’t have been able to train as hard as I did without the help from Kelli at Apex Nutrtion.  Kelli guided me in my recovery meals, daily and training fuel.  Not only was I fueled properly I lost 5lbs.

Of course all the usual suspects deserve some recognition   Trek for making some sick bikes, Trek Bicycle Store Boulder for getting my bikes ready for battle, Infinit Nutrition for suppling our team with fuel for the entire race, Maxxis Ikon tires, Ergon for saddle and grips for a comfy ride, ProGold Lubricants, and a rock star support team.

My support team consisted of great friend Alan Smith and Sam Blumquist.  Alan helped me last year.  Doing a 24hr solo and in a race like Old Pueblo, solo racers need support.  Alan stayed up all night long and greeted me each lap.  Alan kept me fed and kept me up to date on my place and the racers around me and provide much needed motivation.  Thank you Alan!    Sam Blomquist provided mechanical support, and luckily I only needed a chain cleaning a couple of times.  ProGold was a perfect lube for this course.

Old Pueblo File 1- First 14.5 hours

Here is my Heart Rate and Power profile (red is HR, yellow is watts).  I used a SRM 2×10 power meter to help me pace.  I found from previous 24hr solos i can sustain a Level 2 power literally all day long.  The first part of the race was quite a bit higher, and slowly lowered my pace to right at my lower level 3 and upper level 2. Used 800-900kJ each hour, which requires a lot of fuel.  I used Infinit Nutrition Go

Old Pueblo File 2-last 8 hrs

Far and Custom Blends, along with some solid foods like Honey Stinger Bars, 1/4- 1/2 Bagel with Almond butter and jelly.    I’ve had a fuel test from the Boulder of Sports Medicine and learned I’m a Carb burner.   I used a 70oz CamelBak that  contained 6 scoops of Infinit and enough water for two laps.  I used two packs and would alternate each lap.  Alan would have the fresh pack ready for me every other lap.  Each pack consisted of about 900cal of fuel which lasted between 2.5 and 3hrs.  300 cal an hour, plus what I ate during pits.  I ate about 800 cal per lap.  The last few laps my power was still at level 2, but my heart rate was in active recovery (zone 1).

I took a much needed break from training, a total of 15 days off the bike.  I’m feeling good and motivated to get back into it.   I’m now getting ready for the regular race season, with many 4-6 hour races, a couple of 100 mile races, and the 6-day Breck Epic.  It’s going to be a great season.    Thanks for reading.

Dont for get to watch the video our team put together.

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24hrs in the OP has been an annual event for our racing team for the last 5 years.  This event is well run and the warm weather is a welcome change to the cold winters we have high in the Rocky Mountains.  However, this year the weather has been really mild.  There has been some cold days, but the snow is almost non-existant. My normal trails are snowed in, but the dirt and asphalt roads are icy free.

Training for a big event in February is strange because most people are doing base miles while the people heading south to Tucson are about to peak.  I’m no exception.  After taking 2nd place at 24hrs of Moab Mens solo, I took about 1 month off from training and just rode for fun.  This was a great period because the weather was still really nice.    In early November I was back in some base training that lasted only 4 weeks with my eyes set on OP.

One of my last laps.

Since early Dec I have been in a build phase.  This is the most important phase for me.  In this phase I’m working on my endurance, power and vo2max.  I’m very happy with how this phase has been going.  I had a lab administered LT, Power  and Vo2 Max test at the Boulder Center of Sports medicine in early Dec which gave me a good indication of my current fitness.  All my power and LT numbers have been on field tests, which is a good way to do evaluate your fitness, but using a lab and testing blood is a very scientific method. There is no guess work.  With those new numbers I have been doing FTP threshold intervals, 2×2 and 3×3 VO2 Max intervals and had a many 3-7 hour rides.  Over all I’m feeling really good on the bike and while resting.   Hopefully a good sign.

In addition to my training, I’ve been working with a Dietitian to dial in my daily and training fuel.  Kelli Jennings at Apex Nutrition has been helping me by providing a meal plan and weekly advice.  We changed my diet a bit to include more fat, protein and supplements to assist recovery.  The result is my recovery has improved and I’m able to train harder then ever.

I’ve also been gathering some equipment needed to improve my race time. In last years race my night laps were much slower then I would have liked.  Part of this is that my eye sight is terible at night (who’s isn’t, right), but mostly because I didn’t run a head lamp, only bar lamps.   I have a NiteRider Pro 1200 (a few years old) for the bars and I just ordered a NiteRider Pro 1800 for the helment.  This should help my night vision quite a bit and I hope it will increase my night laps by 5min or more.

I’m working on a written plan for the pit boss.  This is a lap by lap plan on what I need each lap and includes things like clothes, fuel, lube, lights.  It’s been helpful for the last two 24hr solo races, and I’ve learned a bit more and including that for this race.

Other prep has been confirming a pit boss.  My good friend Alan who helped last year is back again this year.  He did a fantastic job keeping me fueled and motivated, last year, I’m really looking forward to having him again this year.  The team has also acquired a mechanic, Woot!  Bikes will be running smooth!

Trail side pit. The Trek Store Colorado gave me some awesome support.

On bike nutrtion is provided by Infinit Nutrition and a custom formula I’ve used the last few years.  This stuff worked great last year and at Moab, but I did include some solid food including Honey Stinger waffles and bars, bagels, chicken noodle soup and oreo cookies.  I never got hungry and felt good energy throughout the race.  I’m planning on doing the same for this year.  Stick with what works right!

I also got hooked up with a Epic Cam which I will have on during some pre-riding and the first few laps of the race, and maybe the last lap.  It will be fun to record the action and post it for all to see after the race.

I’m super excited for this event.  It’s one I look forward to all year.  The race, the friends and the riding are fabulous.  I still have a lot of work to do before I’m ready for this, but progress is being made and I know I’ll be 100% when I am running the Lemans Start at 12noon Feb 16.

Thanks for reading.

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Once your goals are set , you need to assess how you will accomplish them.  You need to ask yourself some questions and be completely honest.

• What are my limiters.  what in your training, life or other is holding you back from progressing.  How can you improve on the limiters.
• What are my strengths.  What do I excel at and how can I improve.

Pick one or two of your limiters and strengths and develop a plan to improve them.  You may have a big list of limiters and that’s ok.  You only want to pick one or two so you can focus on those and not forget or lose focus on the rest of the things that worked really well during the  season.

For an example, when I looked back at last season, one of the things that was holding me back (aka limiter) is how fast I was recovering after races and key workouts.   It was taking a day or two longer then the previous 1-2 years.  But last year was really noticeable.  One of the things I’m going to do to  promote faster recovery is to improve my nutrition.  Don’t get me wrong, I eat really well, but there are some foods that I know I’m no eating or eating enough of to promote recovery.

How am I going promote faster recover with nutrition?  I’m doing two things different this year.  First I’m getting FUEL Tested by Boulder Center of Sports Medicine to  understand my nutrion needs while training and racing.  I have a feeling that I may not be consuming enough calories during training and races and I may be using mucsle for energy.  Instead, I want to be using fat and carbs (from sport drink) as energy.  The BCSM will do an Metabolic Efficiency test to tell me what I need for different workouts and races.  Second, I’m hiring a Sports Nutritionist to assess my diet and create a plan to  promote faster recovery.

I’m going to continue the same routine in training that I did last year, for the most part. I will still work on building my power and speed, but I’m hoping that the faster recovery will help me do more of those workouts  to make bigger gains in those areas.

If you need help working out your goals for next season, and identifying your limiters (and strengths)  contact me to set up an appointment.  With a 90 minute  consult, I can set you in a direction with goals to help you succeed in 2013.

Thanks for reading.

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I will be presenting a discussion on Base Training on two separate occasions, once in Nov, the other in Dec.  The first is hosted on Mountain Bike Radio Nov 14  and the second at TrainingPeaks Dec 4.  I will explain base training, what to do before  your base training phase begins and describe some workouts used during this training phase.

Mountain Bike Radio
When: Nov. 14th, 6pm MT
Where: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mountain-bike-radio/

TrainingPeaks
When: Dec 4th, 2pm MT
Where:  Online webinar hosted by TrainingPeaks
Register Here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/731952970

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