Women

The Year I Raced Everything, Everywhere

December 16th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Katja Opfer

My second Iceman marks the end of my second year on TAMJD, and I have been taking some time to reflect on everything we accomplished this year. It seems like I raced practically every weekend from April to November, adding up to over thirty races in four different disciplines (mountain bike, gravel, cyclocross, and road).

My season started off strong at Barry Roubaix in April. After winning the 18-mile “Chiller” last year, I moved up to the 36-mile “Thriller” and won first overall female, setting a new course record in the process.

Englewood in mid-May was my first national-level race of the season, where I got to test my strength and skills against girls from all over the country. I had improved enough from last year to place fifth in both XCO and short track, my first national podiums.

These early-season successes reassured me that my winter training was paying off.

My biggest challenge this year was taking on the Marathon MTB National Championship in Auburn, Alabama in mid-June. I went into this race feeling confident about my preparation. The metabolic testing I had done with Athletic Mentors in the spring helped my coach and I determine my hydration and nutrition strategy for this race. The heat and humidity in Alabama had to be considered, but luckily for me, I was used to riding in similar conditions in Michigan. Many racers from out West were forced to DNF during this 40-mile race because they were not used to the high heat and humidity. My USWE pack allowed me to carry a large volume of Skratch mix so that I would not become dehydrated in the heat. Timing was everything; we meticulously planned how much water I needed to drink, and when I would drop my pack and get water bottles or ice socks from my parents at the feed stations. We also took the terrain into account. There were many sharp, loose rocks on the trail, which caused several of my competitors to get flats during the race. I erred on the side of caution by running inserts in my tires, and I carried CO2 and plug tools just in case. I also did not know that my category would be starting with several other women’s age groups, which meant I had to pass many women whom I wasn’t even racing against just to catch up to the other girls in my category.

Marathon Nationals was by far the toughest, most grueling race I’ve ever done. The pace was fast from the start, the weather was far from ideal, and the trail was extremely fatiguing. The last few miles seemed to stretch on forever; every time I glanced down at my Garmin, it seemed I hadn’t covered much distance at all. I had to use 100% of my effort and energy to make it across that finish line, winning my first National Championship in the 15-16 age group. Then I took a long and well-deserved nap! USA Cycling held a nice awards ceremony that evening, and after my podium I was surprised when Hannah Otto, a professional endurance cyclist from California who came in eighth in the Life Time Grand Prix this year, leaned over and congratulated me!

In mid-June, I had the opportunity to race at Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) for the first time, a series of road criterium races in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had only done a few crit races before at Waterford, and I really enjoyed spending the week in Milwaukee sharing a house with all my teammates. Since I was racing in cat 5, my team suggested I race up an age group in 17-18 so I would have more competition, and my coach helped me prepare for the challenge of five consecutive days of crit racing. I won the first race of the junior series in a sprint finish, but every race after that seemed to get more difficult. I lost multiple sprints, but still managed to hold on to the points lead. On the final day, I felt some pressure because I had to finish in front of the second-place girl in the points to win the overall series. The weather decided it had other plans for me and poured on us during my race. I was not used to having so little traction with slick, skinny tires on wet roads. On the final lap I took a turn too wide and slid all the way into the curb. (Turns out that crashing in the rain is not as bad as dry concrete, so the road rash was minimal.) I still managed to finish the race in sixth place, good for second in the overall series. The atmosphere at ToAD felt like a car race; watching the pros whizzing by and having announcers and cash prizes made the whole scene very exciting and professional.

We returned to Bear Creek in Pennsylvania for Mountain Bike Nationals in mid-July. My family had just moved across the state, which was pretty stressful, so I was a little nervous about my preparation for XCO and short track. During my practice I went over-the-bars in the hardest section of the course, which was a little disconcerting. XCO was as brutal as I remembered from the previous year, but I made an effort to save energy for the tech sections so I would feel more confident and less shaky. I was hoping for a top-10 finish, but my 24th starting position was far from ideal. I climbed up through the pack over the course of three laps and finished in 11th place—a little frustrated to be so close to my goal, but in retrospect I am happy with my result. The short track course was longer this year, which played well to my skill set, as it was more technical and had more climbing. I was thrilled to place 6th from a 26th starting position, only one step off the Nationals podium, competing against the very best girls in the country!

My training plan had me take a break in August after racing the Ore to Shore 48-mile Hard Rock for the first time, where I placed third overall on a really fun and beautiful course. I also loved spending some time in Marquette with my family and friends. Then I turned my focus to gravel, as I geared up for Gravel Nationals in Gering, Nebraska in early September. This was the furthest I have ever traveled for a race (15 hours over two days) and the landscape and terrain were very different from anywhere I’ve ever raced. The long drive was worth it, as I won my second national championship of the year on a fast-rolling 58-mile course.

This fall I had another great MiSCA season, riding with my new scholastic team, the Southwest Michigan ThunderCats, and securing my second Varsity State Championship. Our team is very young, and I really enjoyed mentoring the younger kids throughout the season while also exploring the trails around my new home.

I rounded out the season with a couple of fun Michigan cyclocross races and then set my sights on Iceman, where I was seeking redemption after a difficult race last year. This time I was able to hang on with the lead pack of pro women for almost the entire race, when I got dropped on one of the last climbs. I finished 11th, one spot better than last year and still just outside the top 10, but the field was much stronger than last year and I was racing multiple Life Time Grand Prix and international pros, so I am extremely proud of my result.

Finally, I am excited to share that earlier this fall I was offered and accepted a spot on the Donovan Racing National Team for 2025. I see this move as an important transition to support my goals of racing at the national level, and I am really excited to start this next chapter in my cycling career. I am happy to continue working with Athletic Mentors’ coach Terry Ritter and will be able to maintain my relationship with TAMJD. I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities and experience I have gained over the past two years on TAMJD, and while this move is bittersweet, I cannot wait to see where the next year takes me!

Learning New Disciplines

November 1st, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Miriam Bretzlaff

I made a goal for the 2023-2024 season to expand my training and racing into multiple disciplines; and I am happy to say that I was successful in doing so. This year I began to take part in several Team Athletic Mentors road, gravel, and cyclocross functions which provided me with enjoyable and interesting experiences. I have predominantly raced MTB cross country (XC) for the past eight years since I started MiSCA and Ore to Shore, and my training and riding has reflected this. XC has always been a ton of fun but I’m really glad I started trying new things, too.

Road: Before this season, the only road riding I took part in was a few weekly Lucky 13 group rides. The first major road ride I did was during the TAMJD North Carolina training camp with my teammates and friends, which was a 70 mile, almost 6 hour, challenging route with a whole lot of mechanical problems and stops. It was probably the most painful ride I’ve ever done and it was pretty eye opening. During that same week, I participated in the attack on Mt. Mitchell, going 33 miles up a mountain and 33 miles back down. While this was yet another painful experience, the feeling of freedom hitting 50 miles per hour cruising down a closed road with my friends next to me was also such a great experience and a ton of fun. Later in the season, I raced in the Waterford Hills road race series for the first time. I did not perform very well and was almost immediately dropped and lapped by my group. This was a disappointing result but I stuck with it and kept competing in those races until I achieved third place, just behind first and second, in the last race of the series. I also attended a larger-scale crit in Ada where I was able to exercise my new skills. Overall, road racing and riding has become a lot of fun and very enjoyable for me this year and I am excited to continue that career next season.

Gravel: I’ve done the Barry Roubaix gravel race for a few years now, and I absolutely love it. There are so many gravel roads by my house and I’ve started doing the majority of my training on them. I also enjoy going on longer endurance rides on gravel with my friends because a lot of the roads connect to really cool destinations, shops, and restaurants which enhance the fun of the rides and give me something to look forward to. My peak race this year was the Cowpie Classic 35 mile where I just had a ton of fun while working really hard, and it paid off in my results. Next year I plan on increasing my mileage while training on gravel with the goal of attending gravel nationals. Gravel is one of my favorite disciplines because it’s beautiful, accessible, and enjoyable.

Cyclocross:
This season I continued to attend TAMJD cyclocross practices, which revealed to me how much I love the discipline. I made an effort to attend several CX races this fall but unfortunately I was unable to make it to any due to a busy schedule. Next season I plan to attend multiple of these races and continue training for them.

XC:
While adding these new dynamics to my training and racing, I did not neglect mountain biking. I competed in plenty of XC races this season. At Tree Farm Relay, the first one of the year, I had an unfortunate crash that put me out of commission for a few weeks. However, I got
right back into it and raced Ore to Shore. I did pretty good in my MiSCA season as well, finishing in top ten overall in a stacked field. I am looking forward to racing Iceman this year as well, and get a little redemption from last year. I love the fast-paced technicality of XC and the features I have the opportunity to face.

I am happy to have extended my interests and activities, and I’m excited to continue training and racing in these new disciplines next year.

Consistency Boosts Overall Performance

October 25th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Brie Siems

In what ways does consistent training boost our overall performance?

Having consistency while training for a sport is an important part of improving performance. Regular training helps build a great base for achieving and maintaining excellence. There are many different ways training consistently can help improve your overall performance, whether mentally or physically.

Repetitive skill development helps increase our performance. When you go to the gym or practice field consistently, you may work on the same skills at every training session. Repetition in training while adding intensity helps to build your ability to perform better and faster every week. Each training builds onto the next. This means that over time if you practice your sport regularly, you will see improvement over weeks and months. Practicing skills reinforces muscle memory and increases your ability to perform your sport more efficiently. Repetition also reduces the risk of injury.

Along with consistency comes routine and discipline. The more you train weekly, a routine starts to take place in the gym and your life. You start to have discipline to get the work done even though it may seem monotonous. By also setting a time away from practice, our bodies create healthy training and recovery habits. Habits make it easier to keep motivation and a positive mindset along with other life obstacles.

The mental mindset also is a factor. Training consistently and intensely helps to strengthen our minds. The mental toughness and motivation you develop during training helps you in competition. During a race, the good mental habits developed over time can help overcome adversity.

Competing in a Race is Not All About Winning

May 14th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: JoAnn Cranson

Running for a specific team or club is a great opportunity and honor, but along with that comes an expectation. Being on Team Athletic Mentors is a prestigious position to be in. Naturally we (as a team) want to do our best and win races, whether running, cycling, triathlons, skiing, etc., but that’s not what it’s all about.

As a master athlete, I’m not going to finish in the top overall positions in events I compete in. But there is so much more myself and others can bring to a race. My goal is to inspire others to find what they enjoy doing and to motivate them to pursue a healthy lifestyle and positive attitude. This world has a lot of challenges and negative issues. But as we are running, cycling, swimming, etc., it’s amazing what an encouraging word will do for others.

I worked hard at my running and qualified for the Boston Marathon this year. I ran it just 4 weeks ago. It was very inspiring, very challenging and the enthusiasm from the spectators was amazing. It wasn’t about my finishing time, it was about taking in my surroundings and soaking in the achievement of making it to this Grand-Daddy of races in the United States. The spectators lined the whole 26.2 mile route!! The kids wanted to give us “high-fives”, others were handing out candy and orange slices in front of their houses, some were spraying water hoses to cool us off, many signs were held up, clapping, bells ringing and shouts of encouragement.

The last weekend in April my grandchildren’s school had a yearly fund raiser with a 5K run. This is the second year – we ran it as a family. Three generations with my son, my daughter-in-law and 2 grand-daughters. My grand-daughters wanted to run with grandma. Pretty cool to inspire the younger generation to be healthy, challenged and positive.

On May 5th, I ran a 10K (6.2 miles) in Kalamazoo. As I was at about 2 miles, this young man was running beside me. I told him he was doing really good and asked his age. He said this was his first 10K and he was 13. I told him we had a 50 year gap between us and he was surprised. We ended up staying close by each other most of the way. I tried to keep him updated on our pace, the mileage, encouraging on how great he was doing and that we were getting close to the finish line. How fun it was to just encourage this young man and watch him achieve his goal.

JoAnn Cranson & William Bates

When we finished I asked him if he would be willing to take a picture with me. As I put my hands on his shoulder and he put his hand on mine, I was thinking how great it is being complete strangers yet we could feel such camaraderie in 4+ miles of running together. A big thanks to Zeigler for sponsoring this race and giving all of us, but especially new runners, the chance to compete.

So next time you are out and about don’t miss an opportunity to take a moment in the busyness of life to encourage someone. You never know what an impact it will make in their life!

Adjusting Expectations: Katja’s First Season with TAMJD

December 27th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By:Katja Opfer

My first season on TAMJD got off to a bit of a rough start when I broke my thumb at my high school ski team’s training camp in early January. While my ski racing season ended before it even began, this meant that I had a lot of time to train and build up base miles in Zwift. Breaking my thumb reinforced my belief that everything happens for a reason, because having all that time to train set me up well going into the cycling season and it paid off. My fitness was better than ever before and I had a great time at the team’s spring training camp in North Carolina, where I got to do some amazing rides. I also had the opportunity to participate in V02 testing at Athletic Mentors headquarters with some of my teammates, which was a great learning experience.

Barry-Roubaix Race

Going into the first race of the season, Barry Roubaix (18-mile), I had fairly low expectations for myself since it was my first gravel race. To my surprise, I won first overall female and set a new female course record on the way to helping TAMJD win the team competition for the third year in a row! My success in this race opened up the world of gravel racing to me and I went on to place second overall female in the Cowpie Classic Short Haul (36-mile) and also won overall female at De Ronde Van Grampian (25-mile). I had never done any gravel riding before this year, but it became an essential part of my training every week and provided something different to change it up.

A lot of my training and preparation this season was focused on the Mountain Bike National Championships in Bear Creek, Pennsylvania. This was my chance to see how I stacked up against girls my age from all over the country. The course was super intimidating with more rocks than I had ever seen on a mountain bike trail in my life, and some pretty nerve-wracking features to tackle. With my limited experience on techy terrain, plus being one of only a few racers on a hardtail, I felt like I was thrown into the deep end. I spent many hours practicing on the course and built up my confidence a ton by the day of the XC race. My result of 28th out of 74 proved to myself that I could compete against these incredibly fast girls and gave me some ideas of what my goals should be for next year.

My last race before MiSCA season was the Ore 2 Shore Soft Rock, which was one of the most fun and challenging races I did all year. The 28-mile course located in the U.P. was beautiful and had a fair amount of long climbs and fun descents on many types of terrain. This race was very competitive, and I really left everything I had out on the course with a sprint finish to win first place overall female. This win was a big achievement for me given that it was such a close race.

MiSCA season felt a lot different this year because I went from only racing the 6 MiSCA races last year to doing over 20 races this year. Winning all 6 races as a sophomore in my first Varsity season, after sweeping JV last year as a freshman, was pretty unreal. This year MiSCA was really about the atmosphere and the friendships. It’s not very common that you are friends with all your competitors. Even though we are on different scholastic teams, many of us are on TAMJD together and we invited the other Varsity girls to hang out with us after the races too. This dynamic made the races a lot more enjoyable because I was cheering on my friends and teammates.

Iceman Race

My last race of the season was the Iceman Cometh Challenge in Traverse City. Being the indecisive person that I am, I waited until practically the last minute to switch to the Pro category. After careful consideration of my season so far, and placing 2nd overall in Pro women at Peak 2 Peak two weeks before, I decided to switch to Pro at Iceman. Even though it was my first time racing Iceman, I felt confident that I could race in the Pro category after pre-riding the course. I had a great start but unfortunately I was involved in a crash around mile 4, which most likely took me out of the running for top ten. I gave everything I had to bridge up to the lead group, but couldn’t stay with them and got dropped halfway through the race. I was still able to finish 12th in a stacked field of 26 Pro women. I saw this race as a chance to prove myself and was really frustrated that it didn’t work out the way I wanted, but what can you do? I’ll be back next year, that’s for sure.

In summary, I view my first year beyond the horizons of MiSCA to have been very successful. Having a structured training plan provided by my Athletic Mentors coach Terry Ritter definitely helped me train productively to accomplish my goals. Next year I am setting my sights on more national-level races, possibly including gravel and marathon Nationals, and hopefully I can break into the top 20 at MTB Nationals. I also plan on doing some longer gravel and MTB endurance races after doing so well in the shorter versions, including Barry Roubaix, Cowpie, and Ore 2 Shore. I am excited for my second year with TAMJD and am looking forward to all the racing in 2024!

Where Oh Where Has My Sleep Gone?

November 24th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By: JoAnn Cranson

Are you like me and getting a good night’s sleep can be a challenge? “Why can’t I sleep like I did as a teenager?”

As we age we produce less of a growth hormone which allows us to not get into as long, deep sleep like when we were young. With this in mind, there are a number of things we can do to set us up for better sleep:

Limit caffeine. Everyone is different, but I find I can’t have caffeine after 2 pm. (The half-life of caffeine is around 5 hours.” Meaning if you took in 200mg of caffeine, after roughly 5hrs, half of that (100g) will have been excreted. But some people metabolize caffeinefaster or slower than others!)
Keep a bedtime schedule as consistent as possible. This helps our bodies to know when to start slowing down and when to start waking up.
Your bedroom should be dark and cool for better sleeping. Consider using a sound machine.
Really do your best to reduce your stress and try to slow your brain down when it gets close to bedtime.
Stop screen time at minimum an hour before you want to go to sleep. Even if you use blue-light glasses, it doesn’t matter.
Don’t drink alcohol before bed. You may feel like this helps you fall asleep but it hinders good sleep throughout the night.
Stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime.
Make sure you are hydrated before going to bed.
Some medications are prone to interrupt your sleep.
Exercise during the day has shown to help you sleep, but not right before going to bed.
Lower light levels about an hour before bedtime. Make sure to get natural light in the mornings. This helps regulate your body.
Magnesium – I take 30 minutes before bed. I take Magnesium as di-magnesium malate, magnesium citrate and magnesium glycinate blend to get all the different benefits. 7 out of 10 adults are deficient in Magnesium!

In training, it seems like we are so focused on our workouts, racing and nutrition we forget how essential sleep is for our recovery and overall health. We need 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Not getting enough quality sleep raises the risk of many diseases and disorders. These range from heart disease and stroke to obesity and dementia. Sleep prepares your brain to learn, remember and create. As you sleep you can reduce inflammation, pain and increase metabolism. According to the National Institute of Health “The brain has a drainage system that removes toxins during sleep”.

There has been MUCH emerging work in the form of pre-eminent sleep and the impact on our lives. Researcher and author Matthew Walker has a lot of good information. Click on this link to listen to one of his talks.

It is important to understand the 4 stages of Sleep to help us realize we need all these stages each night. Here is a link to a great article from VeryWellHealth by Kendra Cherry.

Are we choosing to get less sleep because we go to bed later and get up at 4:30 am to workout with only 5-6 hours sleep? If this is the norm for you, you may want to reconsider.

With all these things in mind, we need to prioritize our sleep. It is a choice to be intentional about setting ourselves up for a good night’s sleep. For me, some nights I win and some nights I lose.

Growing in Triathlon by Volunteering and Relay Racing

October 14th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Brie Siems

My name is Brie Siems and I am 14 years old. I am a freshman at Hackett Prep. I enjoy being outdoors and have a passion for being active. I participate in many sports such as soccer, swimming, running, basketball, and skiing. I like triathlons because they include swimming and running. This past summer, I competed in many triathlons in addition to running in multiple 5k races in the area.

My brothers and I volunteered at the Kid’s MiTi triathlon in Grand Rapids this past August. I really enjoy volunteering at races. I watched so many kids arrive in the transition area to set up. They were so happy and excited. For some of them, this was their first kid’s triathlon ever. I was able to help set up the food table and mark the kids’ arms and legs. It was fun to see all of the kids gathered at the water start. I helped some kids get their socks on in transition and take their heavy bikes off of the rack for them. I was even able to hand out all of the medals to the kids when they finished. It wasn’t that long ago that I was one of those kids who was new to triathlons and learning the basics. Now, I am helping kids in the race. It’s a good thing to give back and encourage others who are new to triathlons.

I also had the opportunity to race in the MiTi Olympic Relay triathlon the next day with my two brothers, Kellen (14) and Sean (16). This triathlon is a 1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run. I was encouraged to do the swim leg. The swim course looked very long and it was my first time swimming this distance with no break. It was also my first time racing in a wetsuit, which really does improve speed and comfort in the water. Luckily, I have been training on a swim team so I was ready! We all have strengths and weaknesses, but it was perfect because I was better at swimming. The race ended well with each of us getting a finisher medal and a 3rd place overall Olympic Relay medal. My brothers and I worked hard but also worked well together as a team.

Athletic Mentors provides great support and opportunities. In addition to helping with gear, it provides a network of people that help you out.

Weightlifting: A Guide for Seniors

July 25th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By: JoAnn Cranson

What is happening to me? I’m still very active, walking, running, cycling, swimming, playing with the grandkids, yet…. I’m not as strong as I was a few years ago!! The inconvenient truth is that we lose muscle mass as we age into our late 50’s, 60’s and beyond. By the time we are in our 80’s statistics show some have lost over 30% of our muscle mass!! What?? No wonder it is harder to get up that big step or balance oftentimes feels off.

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. I’m fighting this muscle loss, too. To combat Osteoporosis, balance issues, muscle loss, slower metabolism and to increase calorie burn, I’ve found that the best thing to do is WeightLifting. I realize many women are not keen on this. But you also want to stay active, burn fat, strengthen bones and have good balance as you age, right?

I’ve weightlifted off and on in the past to get faster at cycling. This year I knew I needed to do it for more than cycling, I needed to do it for my overall health. The weightlifting, whether at home or in the gym, is not simply for toning. To increase muscle mass, you must lift somewhat heavier weights. Now this doesn’t mean you are lifting like a body builder, but small weights doing it fast with lots of reps will not work either.

I’m here to remind you that it’s never too late to start!! I was listening to a podcast about lifting and learned about a study that was done on 90-year-olds that had not lifted weights before they entered this study. After 12 weeks of lifting two times per week, they all showed significant improvement. Click here to review the study.

Before you start weightlifting you should:

Check with your physician before anything else to make sure you are healthy enough to be lifting weights.
Ideally find an experienced trainer to get you started. (Athletic Mentors can work with you in their gym or remotely).
Develop a training routine. Do strength training 2 to 3 times per week (make sure to have a day of rest in between – even once per week is better than nothing). Normally you will do the same exercise for one or two sets starting with 6 to 10 repetitions, then as you build strength you can do 3 or 4 sets. I normally do between 6 to 9 different exercises per workout. Between sets I rest about 1-1 ½ mins depending on how strenuous the exercise was.
Get a weightlifting buddy. You can encourage each other. Alternate taking turns and you will get your rest break while your buddy is lifting. Watch each other and help your partner keep good form when lifting.

Tips:

Lift the weight slowly; lift to a count of 4 and lower to a count of four. Start with 3 to 5 lbs., then hopefully over an extended period of time you can build up to 10, 15 or 20+ lb. weights depending on the exercise. You should be able to feel your muscles having to “work” when lifting.
Don’t use other muscles to compensate when you are lifting. If you can’t help compensating, then do less repetitions or use lighter weight until you gain more strength to only use the muscle you are using in the movement.
Tighten your abdominal muscles to help protect your back from strain. The great thing about strength training with dumbbells or other free weights is that it is also working your “core” muscles – abdominal area – which is a great help with balance.

If your doctor has advised you that you have osteoporosis or are in the beginning stages, it is super important to begin strength training right away and stick with it. Strength training can help prevent bone loss and can even help build new bone. You will need to focus on hip and back exercises as that is the most damaged by bone loss. Here is a good website to give you professional advice on lifting – https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/weight-training

For the cherry on top, weight lifting increases your metabolism, burns fat/calories not only when you are exercising but afterwards. Check out this article about it, https://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/strength/calories-burned-lifting-weights

When I’m lifting consistently I see significant improvement in my strength, balance and calorie burning too! Give it a try and don’t let your age get in the way of your overall health and feeling strong!

Mid-Season Break

July 14th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Christina Vipond

Most sports have an off season which allows an athlete to have some well deserved time to take a physical and mental break. The off season also allows an athlete to return to basics, work on building a strong foundation and work on skills. For cyclists, this may be difficult to schedule into the season as there are so many opportunities for training and racing the entire calendar year. Gravel racing alone runs from March through October. Cyclocross season takes over from there and fat tire races happen all winter long. There is also mountain bike racing, crits and indoor racing. For many athletes, training and racing an entire season is not an issue. For other athletes, it may be beneficial for not only an end of the season break but also a mid-season break.

Photo courtesy of Rob Meendering

A cyclist usually plans the race season around peak or big events mid season and at the end of the season. Training and racing up to those events helps prepare for peak performance. Peak performance requires a huge amount of energy and focus. Most people can identify acute fatigue, this is what is felt after a hard workout. Athletes can generally recover quickly with nutrition and rest. However, it can be more difficult to recognize chronic fatigue which accumulates over time. It’s a slow build up from stress on the body’s systems, physically and mentally. By mid-summer, an athlete may have been training and racing for months to prepare for a peak event. A well timed mid season break following the event can be beneficial for the second half of the race season.

It may seem counterintuitive to take a break in the middle of the race season. However, many studies show fitness will not be lost with a short break (up to 10 days) and can help avoid burnout and injury. A mid-season break is different for each athlete. Some athletes may require only a small break, while others may require a few days completely off the bike. Just like the end of the season, a mid season break is a good time to focus on basics such as proper sleep and nutrition. This time can also be spent with easy activities such as walking or gentle stretches. This period can be followed with a few days of short, easy rides.

After the mid-season break, it is time to start rebuilding aerobic capacity, endurance, and mental focus. A structured training program is key to the overall performance and health of an athlete during the entire training and racing season. Be sure to talk with your coach at Athletic Mentors about your program, stay strong, stay focused and have fun the entire race season!

Race Weather

June 8th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Christina Vipond

In training or racing, the only thing we know for sure is that we won’t know what the weather will be until we are on the start line.

Race season typically begins in March. We could get lucky and have a warm, dry day or we could get snow or cold, rainy weather. Usually, the morning is cool and may or may not warm up so having kit ready for any weather is essential.

Some athletes can tolerate colder weather, others aren’t so lucky. Thankfully, the technology for clothing is such that it allows for layers of clothing to be worn without affecting movement required for racing. Drinking warm liquids before and during the race can keep the body temperature warm. Its is also a good idea to consider eating more carbohydrates if you are a person who shivers as shivering can break down glycogen.

The opposite side of the spectrum is intense heat. The last week of May was unseasonably warm in Michigan with temperatures reaching upper 80s and into the 90s for an entire week. There have been studies done that show just 10 days of heat acclimatization training improves time trial performance and power output when racing in intense heat. Unfortunately, that isn’t realistic with the unpredictable and inconsistent weather. Other studies have shown that aerobic fitness is an effective strategy for heat stress. An overall aerobically fit body can keep blood flowing and keep the heart pumping blood to muscles in all temperatures.

Drinking plenty of fluid seems obvious but drinking too much water can lead to a condition called hyponatremia. Drinking too much can dilute blood sodium levels which can cause athletes to collapse as well as more severe health issues. Urine color is one indicator for hydration. Clear urine along with high volume can indicate too much hydration. However, if urine is dark or low in volume, this could indicate dehydration. When an athlete is dehydrated, blood is sent to the skin to increase sweat for cooling. This means less blood is going to muscles to deliver oxygen and nutrients. This can cause muscle cramps, decrease power output, increased heart rate and increased breathing.

Not only is drinking important in heat but eating can be affected as well. Hot weather can also decrease appetite as well as upset stomachs. Liquids with drink mixes, electrolytes or soft gels when racing can be helpful

Here are tips which may help race performance in extreme heat (may seem obvious but are good reminders):

Staying in the shade as long as possible when available.
Use an ice sock.
Drink cold fluids before, during and after the race.
Do training rides in a warm environment (or without a fan if indoors). This is a good way to experiment with different drink mixes and electrolytes to learn what works for your body in extreme heat.
Wear sunscreen, sunburns amplify heat stress and dehydration.

Weather can be unpredictable. Training for all types of weather to understand how your body responds to cold and heat as well as how to compensate is an important component to healthy racing.