Crawling out of winter hibernation feels cozy until the “Race Day Scaries” pop up. The feeling where race season is upon you, but you haven’t started training yet.
If this sounds familiar, we’ve rounded up our top tips to help you get off the coach and get into race season mode!
1. Be realistic
The first thing most people do when they get geared up for the first training session of the season is they come flying out of the gate gunning for a PR!
A long winter season and lack of training can take a mental toll on any seasoned athlete and it is difficult to give ourselves patience with the training process. We all want to start off as our best!
However, going too hard in the beginning of your training season can lead to injury and impacted results.
The goal here is to just get started – it’s important to be realistic!
We recommend taking it easy for the first training session or two so you can ease back into it and honor what your body is telling you.
Use these first couple of easy-going training sessions are out of the way, your next training session should be used to measure your benchmark.
Using your benchmark metrics you can plan goals for your race times, training times, and metrics you’d like to hit throughout the season.
Your PR and race goals will help you determine your workout routine throughout the training season so you can gradually surpass each goal as you get stronger.
2. Warm Up
Before doing any exercise it’s imperative to warm up and stretch, even if you’re a seasoned athlete.
Some of the worst injuries happen in the off-season and this is due to not warming up when transitioning into race season.
When your muscles haven’t moved the same during the off-season the way they did during race season, you’re bound to feel some discomfort, tension, or tiredness in your muscles when you first get started again.
A great warm-up routine to follow is the FOLLOWING FROM BICYCLING.COM
Take care of your body by warming up and then lightly stretching before training.
3. Plan your races
Before you start training, pick your races for the entire race season. We recommend choosing 1 race per month in order to prevent overuse and injury.
Factors for choosing your races includes travel, budget, and the time allotted for the race itself – including time to cool down after the race and begin training for the next one.
By planning your races ahead of time, you can be organized and precise with your training schedule.
4. Find a coach
By investing in an experienced coach, you will set yourself up on a path to reach your goals more efficiently and effectively.
“Great coaches teach their athletes to go beyond their barriers.”
– John Roderick
A talented coach will hold you accountable, expertly push you to be your best, and help you make the best decisions.
All athletes, no matter how experienced, have a personal and emotional attachment to training and racing. Your coach will be your objective lens to help you manage fatigue, push past your comfort zone, and cheer you on through victory.
Beyond accountability and support, your coach will take the tedious task off your hands of creating your training schedule. For the busy athletes, this is especially important.
Based on your benchmark metrics and the goals you want to hit for the season, having an expert guide you through your customized training schedule will drastically improve your results.
5. Use the right tools
Implementing the right tools into your training regimen is a smart way to both keep you on track with your goals and also keep you connected to your coach.
We recommend using the dynamic TrainingPeaks app. Your coach can upload your workout and training notes to the app so you know exactly what to do to stay on course.
The benefit we most love about the TRAININGPEAKS APP is that it integrates with SOLOS technology!
This powerful integration takes the workout and notes that were uploaded to the TrainingPeaks app and sends it to your SOLOS wearable smart glasses device.
Simply apply the workout to your pair of SOLOS and our proprietary heads-up display will give you instant data with guidance and updates as you train.
Imagine you are training and you don’t have to look down at your watch, your phone, your notes on your arm, or your bike!
With SOLOS + TRAININGPEAKS, you will maximize every single training session with your coach through real-time guidance. SOLOS will coach you through each step with an effective combination of visual and audio cues that align with yours and your coach’s goals.
