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mtb286

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've been riding for about 15 years but decided to sign up for my first race. It'll just be about 10 miles of tight, twisting single track, most XC stuff, with some punchy climbs and some tech.

The race is in 3 1/2 weeks and think it'll be a little extra motivation to get in better shape -- ride more, eat a little healthier, drink a little less alcohol.

Any training tips -- I'm in pretty good shape from riding a lot recently but don't want to overtrain. How many rest days should I take before race day?

As far as the race goes any tips on pacing myself or other tips for newb?

Excited to give it a shot, get the lungs pumping and enjoy some post-race beer!
 
#2 ·
For a short race like that about 3 weeks out I would probably focus on high intensity intervals. For example 30 seconds full gas followed by 30 seconds of moderate spinning. Repeat about 8-10 times or until you puke. Ride easy for about 20 minutes and then do another death set.

Maybe just a few rides like this a week but they should be all out. This kind of training can really help your ability to go full gas and then recover instead of blowing up and it sounds like this race might test those skills.
 
#4 ·
you will go harder than you ever have. Even if you don't want to, you'll find yourself huffing and puffing. I've been at it 30+ years, and no matter how hard I train before, that actual race day makes you go harder than ever. Then you finish, and can't wait to do it again for some reason. Good luck, and give it your best.
 
#5 ·
What is your special? Or your standout? Climb?, decend?, sprint?.

Let that part of you shine. It is very rewarding to pass many people using your natural ability. But if you go hard like all of us do, by the time you get to your “special”, you might not have much left.

Based your race on where you want to shine. The tour de France king of mountain or sprinter jersey winners are not necessary the stage winners. They are rewarding in their own rights.
 
#7 ·
I am 63 and did my first race (3 hour endurance race) this year. It went fairly well although I was slower than most. If I could do it over I would not let myself get carried away and start too fast. (I did that) I agree with HIT training if you only have 3 weeks. I think the race will make you push yourself and probably help you improve your fitness and ability a lot. I wish you well. If you had more time, there are lot's of training programs out there for nearly every class and discipline of riding. Have Fun!
 
#8 ·
Bikedog22 said:
Remember to have fun and don't blow yourself up at the start. In a CC race, I let everyone go then reel them in.
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I'm going to respectfully disagree. Racing is generally only fun when it's over and you spent some amount of time in contention for the podium. I do one or two of the classics each year and won't have time to preride the course much, so I rely on watching videos from folks who raced in previous years. I find the same opinion --if you start at the back and slowly pick people off for a respectable mid-pack finish then you were never really "in" the race ...you paid good money to have a lonely ride and question your training and preparation when it's all over.

If you are a going to pay the entry fee then you should try to win! This usually means sprinting to the inevitable choke point leading into the single track. From there, stay with the leaders for as long as possible before settling into your maximum sustainable pace. Sprint to the finish line. I will repeat racing is not fun while it is happening and if you are not near the front then you will be questioning why you ever took up the sport.
 
#9 ·
GlazedHam said:
I'm going to respectfully disagree. Racing is generally only fun when it's over and you spent some amount of time in contention for the podium. I do one or two of the classics each year and won't have time to preride the course much, so I rely on watching videos from folks who raced in previous years. I find the same opinion --if you start at the back and slowly pick people off for a respectable mid-pack finish then you were never really "in" the race ...you paid good money to have a lonely ride and question your training and preparation when it's all over.

If you are a going to pay the entry fee then you should try to win! This usually means sprinting to the inevitable choke point leading into the single track. From there, stay with the leaders for as long as possible before settling into your maximum sustainable pace. Sprint to the finish line. I will repeat racing is not fun while it is happening and if you are not near the front then you will be questioning why you ever took up the sport.
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I won the race I had in mind when I wrote that. 99% of the races I do are gravity but I dabble in XC. If someone wants to blow up while I find my legs, I don't care.
 
#10 ·
mtb286 said:
ride more, eat a little healthier, drink a little less alcohol
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For your first race ever, I'd say you're on track right there. Add a bit of intensity as JB suggests above,

Then, if you like it, you can dive into the deeper end of training.

GlazedHam said:
Racing is generally only fun when it's over and you spent some amount of time in contention for the podium.
Click to expand...
Respectfully disagree. Racing is an absolute blast. Sure, there is suffering, but that is also fun in a sick, twisted way. ;)
 
#11 ·
GlazedHam said:
I'm going to respectfully disagree. Racing is generally only fun when it's over and you spent some amount of time in contention for the podium. I do one or two of the classics each year and won't have time to preride the course much, so I rely on watching videos from folks who raced in previous years. I find the same opinion --if you start at the back and slowly pick people off for a respectable mid-pack finish then you were never really "in" the race ...you paid good money to have a lonely ride and question your training and preparation when it's all over.

If you are a going to pay the entry fee then you should try to win! This usually means sprinting to the inevitable choke point leading into the single track. From there, stay with the leaders for as long as possible before settling into your maximum sustainable pace. Sprint to the finish line. I will repeat racing is not fun while it is happening and if you are not near the front then you will be questioning why you ever took up the sport.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much how I feel about it. Racing isn't all that fun until it's over and if you're taking the time, money & effort to show up at a race you should be in it for a good result or why bother? You can go for a free casual ride any time you please.


Bikedog22 said:
If someone wants to blow up while I find my legs, I don't care.
Click to expand...

That can work for some races but usually if you allow the leaders too much rope you'll never see them again.
 
#12 ·
J.B. Weld said:
That's pretty much how I feel about it. Racing isn't all that fun until it's over and if you're taking the time, money & effort to show up at a race you should be in it for a good result or why bother? You can go for a free casual ride any time you please.





That can work for some races but usually if you allow the leaders too much rope you'll never see them again.
Click to expand...
I may have an advantage since I live here and ride the trails the courses are on all the time and live at altitude. I usually leave the house 20 minutes before starting time. In the race I was alluding to, I sprinted past the race leaders just as the course turned into downhill singletrack. They never saw me again. I've raced those trails for 30 years.
 
#13 ·
Bikedog22 said:
I may have an advantage since I live here and ride the trails the courses are on all the time and live at altitude. I usually leave the house 20 minutes before starting time. In the race I was alluding to, I sprinted past the race leaders just as the course turned into downhill singletrack. They never saw me again. I've raced those trails for 30 years.
Click to expand...

For sure knowing when to get in front and when to burn matches can be a big advantage. I've been in the same boat where I knew there was tight downhill singletrack coming up and I had to sprint like it was the finish line in order to get around riders before we got there. Match well spent.
 
#14 · (Edited)
All we have around here are tight, twisty trails.
I'm a part-time racer. I can never stop myself from going out hard to put myself in a particular position early in the race.
The problem with that strategy is that I don't have the stamina to stay at that pace for a whole race.
Try to put yourself in a starting position with riders of your speed. There should be a short piece at the start to sort out some of that before you hit singletrack. After that, depending how you feel, you can ride aggressively and start passing, or settle in and see what happens. In a 1st race, it's really hard to assess.
But if you have been riding hard, and not just a lot, trust your fitness and push your pace.
Good luck and have fun!

-F

PS - Racing is a blast. I love the part where I make that one perfect corner...
 
#15 ·
Four key tips:

1) Warmup, warmup, warmup. For that length race you should arrive at the starting line fully ready to rip - 20-30 minutes of warmup on the bike to the point where you're breathing hard and building up some sweat. Otherwise you'll risk blowing up at or just after the start.

2) Get up early and arrive early so that you're not stressing, you've gotten a nice big dump out of the way, and you have time to just relax prior to the race

3) Don't make any major bike changes or part swaps the night before the race. Ask me how I know.

4) Have fun - the race will be over before you know it, and you'll be having a cold beverage talking about how awesome it was.
 
#16 ·
It's your 1st race, 286, so you're in it to learn and have some fun while pushing yourself out of your typical comfort zone. You may not even know yet at what pace you can sustain without blowing up.

If it's a race that's been around awhile, you can look at Race Results of fellow Beginners to get an idea of a finishing time. That helps with pacing and effort.
 
#17 ·
J.B. Weld said:
That's pretty much how I feel about it. Racing isn't all that fun until it's over and if you're taking the time, money & effort to show up at a race you should be in it for a good result or why bother? You can go for a free casual ride any time you please.
Click to expand...
I was always "in it to win it" but some of the cheeriest, funnest racers I rubbed elbows with were mainly there for the vibe and post-race fun.

Also, those folks help the promoters make budget. If nobody buy true podium contenders showed up, we wouldn't have any races to attend! 🙃
 
#18 ·
kosmo said:
I was always "in it to win it" but some of the cheeriest, funnest racers I rubbed elbows with were mainly there for the vibe and post-race fun.

Also, those folks help the promoters make budget. If nobody buy true podium contenders showed up, we wouldn't have any races to attend! 🙃
Click to expand...

It's not so much about being a podium contender for me but if I'm racing I'm racing and that involves pain & suffering even if I'm off the back. Different strokes for sure.
 
#19 ·
GlazedHam said:
I'm going to respectfully disagree. Racing is generally only fun when it's over and you spent some amount of time in contention for the podium. I do one or two of the classics each year and won't have time to preride the course much, so I rely on watching videos from folks who raced in previous years. I find the same opinion --if you start at the back and slowly pick people off for a respectable mid-pack finish then you were never really "in" the race ...you paid good money to have a lonely ride and question your training and preparation when it's all over.

If you are a going to pay the entry fee then you should try to win! This usually means sprinting to the inevitable choke point leading into the single track. From there, stay with the leaders for as long as possible before settling into your maximum sustainable pace. Sprint to the finish line. I will repeat racing is not fun while it is happening and if you are not near the front then you will be questioning why you ever took up the sport.
Click to expand...
I've been middle of the pack, never sprinting for the first pinch point for 32 years straight. And only once did I questions "why did I pay so much money to do this"...and that was when I did the Iceman Cometh and it was 29 degrees, sleet, snow, pouring rain, and I was 30 pounds overweight on an old 26" steel hardtail. That's it. It's possible to not be racing for the win and still enjoy racing. You're talented enough and put in enough training apparently to actually have a chance being at the front for more than 30 seconds. But that's not what racing is about for people like me. I just like that it's the only chance to really push myself, I get to ride on many new XC trails that I never would otherwise, and it gets me out of the house and on some nice road trips. The racing to win thing has only hit me four or five times in over 3 decades.
 
#20 ·
Preview the course so that you know if there will be passing opportunities after the start: if the singletrack starts immediately and stays tight, you'll have to arrive early to get a good start spot and "pin it" from Go so you don't get stuck behind all the guys who only have 3-5 minutes of fast riding in them, and there's a lot of those guys in the lower cats. If it's a well designed course with regular passing opportunities (like short road sections and/or wide climbs) you can pace yourself from the start and pass when others fade. When you line up at start, even if it's in beginner, it will look like you're at a pro start with all the fancy bikes and kits, don't be intimidated by all the guys who are kitted up like pros.

Warmup is individual, figure out what works for you: be careful not to warm up so much that you go into fatigue too early (or get soaked and mud-up your bike if it's wet), I've seen a ton of both. I've also seen very experienced racers get lost during their long warmup, and miss their start. I seem to have been unique/lucky that I could warm up to the point of breathing a bit hard, in just a minute or two, and I'd be ready to race.

Go over the bike at least 2 days before (so you have time to get parts and repair) and don't ride it again after that until race day. Check every fastener including your cleats, every spoke, and every link on the chain, and make sure you have adequate sealant (be careful not to ride through any thorny areas during your warmup).

Bring 2 bags: one with just what you will be wearing during the race, the other big bag has all the spares and other stuff in it. That way you aren't digging around for that glove or arm warmer in the big bag when you're probably a little bit stressed out.

This might be mostly unique to me: wipe your face around your eyes with water and a cloth before start. Clean sweat won't burn your eyes, but if you haven't washed your forehead or around your eyes in a few hours, your sweat might burn/irritate your eyes.
 
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