What Getting Knocked Out Taught Me About Cycling

A couple weeks ago I was on the Reston Bike Club "1" ride, or simply the racer-types that get out and try to rip each others legs off on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer. Well, apparently we were going down Stuart Mill after Birdfoot and there was a crash. One of the riders hit a rock, bounced into a teammate, and then went down hard right in front of me. I don't remember any of this, but apparently I rammed into his bike/body at almost 30 mph and went over the bars, landing on my head and shoulder. What followed was a slide across the pavement on the side of the head and shoulder and a KO. 45-60 seconds later I got up, called my wife, and stumbled around. I'm not going to dwell much further on the actual accident and immediate aftermath, but I do want to add that all the guys that stopped to take care of me and the other rider were awesome. Although I was conscious, my memory of the day has faded into oblivion and I pretty much have to take people's word on what happened.

Well, the moral of the story is that getting knocked out is good for your racing! Before the accident I was sneaking into the top 10 throughout the season but I'd never had a podium, even as a cat 5. Just two weeks after the wreck I placed 1st in the Washington County Stage Race Criterium and then two weeks after that I won Hagerstown Criterium, the MABRA championship. Seems like getting creamed and using your head as a street sweeper helps...

The reality is, I've been decently overtrained for most of the season. The Zatopek effect (http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2010/04/history-lesson-the-zatopek-effect.html) pretty much defines my results this season and hopefully I can learn from it next year. The problem with the whole overtraining/training issue is that most training plans are designed for 1-2 peaks per season. When you're racing for upgrade points, it's difficult to focus on just a few races since they don't offer enough possibility to earn them. Therefore, if you're following a proper season training plan you're going to go into some race weekends with major fatigue in the legs. At the level I'm racing at (cat 4), it's not as critical to have a strict schedule with peaks in your season as it is for higher level riders. Basically, as long as you lots as a cat 4 you will win races if you recover correctly. Peaking is not as important as recovery between hard workout blocks. I'm not saying you can't do both, it's just a lot more difficult to plan for when life gets in the way of training and you need to make adjustments to your weekly schedule.

My personal experience and evidence this year is enough to make me fully appreciate the value of some time off the bike. Every single one of my good results was after extended time (more than 4 days) off the bike shortly before the result. Let's go over my season so far...

• Vint Hill: Went there at the end of a tough training block. Was totally destroyed and barely finished both races. The week before Jefferson Cup and I felt like all my work over the winter was out the window.
• Jefferson Cup: After Vint Hill I became sick and rode maybe 1-2 hours the week before the race. I got 4th and if it wasn't for the shock of being near the front I could have done better. Coming off of the Vint Hill results this was great news.
• Morgantown Road Race: Still recovering from being sick the week before and ended up 5th only because I bungled a 3 up sprint for 3rd. Still working off the good form I was on after taking 4-5 days off due to sickness.
• Murad Road Race: Again, took some time off the bike because of business travel. Came back and got 4th in that race. Again, felt awesome and like I had a lot more in me, just can't sprint.
• Washington County Criterium: First race after my concussion. 10 days off the bike, started riding two days before the road race. I win from a 3 man break after attacking on the final lap.
• MABRA Championship Crit (Hagerstown): I took a really easy peak week before the race and the legs felt better than ever. Didn't feel like I used any energy during the race and when I went for my solo flyer on the last lap it stuck as I rolled across the line 50 yards in front of the chasing field.

Moral of the story here is that all of my good results come after significant time off the bike in the week or two before the race. Although I'm not as fit as I would be were I to follow the training plan as prescribed, for the race calendar I'm riding and for my goals (upgrade!) getting my base fitness as high as possible and then properly resting every 3-4 weeks is critical. My rest weeks were only a 25-30% decrease in training stress (TSS for those training with power) and they should have been closer to a 50-60% decrease. The caveat here is that this works for my body and might not work for others as effectively. However, given all the other anecdotal evidence out there, it seems like many amateur cyclists fall into the same trap of thinking that if they're not wasted tired they're losing fitness. It took me getting sick and getting knocked the f-out to show me the way.