Race Preparation

I believe that much of your racing success is tied to creating successful routines which can be repeated.  These routines prepare your body and mind for the physical and psychological battles which follow.  There are three routines (minimum) which you need to incorporate into your race weekend planning; psychological, physical, and equipment.  All three are the components necessary for success on race day.  

Overall Preparation—There are many kinds of stressors which can be placed on the body.  These include physical (such as working out, lack of sleep, poor diet), emotional (family/relationship challenges, work stress, etc.), psychological (fear, self-doubt, excitement about racing).  You wanna know a secret?  Your body doesn’t differentiate between them.  What does this mean to you?  It means it’s critical to control stressors leading up to racing.  Here are some general recommendations which I believe should be incorporated into your race week preparations:

1.      Physical #1--Eat well—Stress often leads to poor eating habits.  Simply put, for many of us, sweets make us feel better.  Unfortunately, they don’t help us perform better.  Pay particular attention to your hydration.  Drink lots of water during the week and incorporate sports drink during warm-up and racing.  Eat a good dinner the night before racing and have a decent breakfast the morning of the race.  That good night’s rest was also a period of fasting…Make sure you eat a fair amount when you get up.  Frequently you will need to drive up to 2 hours to race, combined with registration and warm-up, your total time from leaving your house to the beginning of the race can be 3 or more hours…So don’t forget to bring food/drink with you for your drive to the race, your race, and post-race…In short, that’s quite a bit of food to pack.  Rifling through 7-11 on the way to the race is NOT conducive to success.  Plan your nutrition in advance.

2.      Physical #2--Focus on sleep--We’re all busy.  Sometimes it’s tempting to stay up and watch the news at night.  However, it’s critical that you get AT LEAST 8 hours of sleep per night.  All those people that tell you they can function effectively on 6 hours are full of it.  If you believe that…Try sleeping more and watch your performance improve.  Trust me, after 4 years in the U.S. Navy, I know how to work on 4 hours sleep…I also know that I perform MUCH better after 8.

3.       Physical #3--Self-Massage/Stretching 72 hours to 48 hours in advance of the race.  Helps promote blood flow and flexibility since you’ll be riding the drops quite a bit.

4.       Psychological #1--Do NOT think about racing constantly!!!  Plan 30 minutes daily to practice positive mental imagery.  This should include overcoming physical/emotional obstacles, reading about tactics, mentally rehearsing race day situations.  30 INTENSE/FOCUSED minutes daily will do more to mentally prepare you than the day-dreaming for 4 hours each day which many riders “incorporate.”  Train your mind like you do your body…Intense mental focus followed by complete recovery.  When you aren’t in your “focus” time, spend your time doing/thinking about other things.  If racing “creeps” into your head…Change the subject.  

5.      Physical/Psychological--Conduct a proper warm-up.  Here’s what I recommend (in general) on a rear-wheel trainer (so you can close your eyes, stretch, relax, and visualize):

a.      15 minutes @ 100-120 BPM
b.      10 minutes @ 120-130 BPM
c.      4   minutes @ 130-140 BPM
d.      3   minutes @ 140-145 BPM
e.      2   minutes @ 145-155 BPM
f.      3   minutes @ 100-120 BPM
g.      2   minutes @ 145-155 BPM
h.      10 minutes @ 100-120 BPM

***Allow 15 minutes to put on dry racing gear, load food and water, and roll around for 5 minutes before the start.

***Get all the stuff you need next to your trainer…Food, water, warm clothes.  The warm-up is roughly 1 hour so make sure you eat and drink throughout the warm-up.

6.      Equipment #1--Have your equipment ready.  Have a designated race bag which includes everything you might need.  Having the proper clothing, food, preparation gear, etc. can help reduce physical and emotional energy expended.  That energy saved can be the difference between winning and finishing OTB.