Dirk's Super Training Plan 2010

ROK ON

Dirk. That is a great read. Honestly man, what you felt in that race is what most people feel in situations that they want to do well in. If you don't feel that butterfly/nervous pang then it just doesn't mean that much to you. Keep it up.

niceonetom

Dirk. I hope you're looking at that race as basically a job well done. The object of these things at this stage is not just to do well, but to learn how to do well, and on that front it sounds like it was a very productive evening. You know exactly what you would do better next time, bikewise, tactically, pacing, positioning etc. and I've absolutely no doubt that you can put that into practice.

You are not alone in your nervousness either - everyone has those second thoughts and doubts, though some are better at supressing them and denying them the oxygen of attention than you are. Use your nervousness, the adrenelin makes you faster, but for the love of jebus don't wallow in the anxiety. I know you feel a bit pressurised by some of us here, but we just see your ability more clearly than you do sometimes. Behind every great champion is an overly aggressive, barracking asshole parent - we are your shouting, angry dad. You are our Tiger.

You are enjoying the racing though, right? At least retrospectively? Because that is the point of it: fun. Try to remember how good it feels afterwards next time you're fighting the anxiety on the startline.

I'm enjoying the reports too btw.

uberwolf

if you're enjoying a race during it you're not trying hard enough or nor trying to win tbh. The retrospecto scope is the only one that looks fun.

I understand where you're coming from in respect of being concerned about what others think about you, but it'll get you nowhere in the long run, and is a poor motivation to fall back on. It's seen me push others up a hill at times.

DirkVoodoo

Thanks for all the replies guys. I should probably read the report again before posting but if it came across as negative or self depricating that wasn't really the idea. I was nervous as heck. definitely, but like I said to Tom ages ago I get nervous about most things. I'm something of a worrier, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy things. In fact, while I was cycling home I felt really good, but at the same time I was playing through the race in my head and what I could have done differently. I do this about most things and have, on occasion, come up with the perfect chat up line to a situation that occured a week earlier.

Anyway, I'm definitely enjoying the racing even if I wish my performances had matched my expectation. I'm certainly finding that I am becoming more ambitious with each race and where I once thought "stay at the back and out of the way" I'm wanting to get up front and have a go. In some respects I was inspired by Raam's report a while ago where, even though he blew up, he made a go of it and attacked. This really pushed home the idea that it's important to “try and fail, but don't fail to try.”

It's definitely a case of racing being the best training for racing and I feel like I'm beginning to find my racing legs. I've even noticed on my singlespeed around town that when I take corners I am trying to take more of a "racing line" (whether or not it actually looks like this I don't know).

I'm definitely learning though, but I think I'm enjoying even more the camaraderie amongst racers that I thought was only present amongst boardsies. It helps that I know a lot of the guys from boards, but my preconceptions about racing being hostile and aggressive were more or less unfounded and it's only really going to happen if you are a liability in the bunch. To those sitting on the fence, I can't think of anything more fun to do on the bike.

DirkVoodoo

ROK ON's broomwagon post reminded me that I have neglected this recently.

In fairness, this wasn't so much a training plan as a training blog with little or no direction.

So please join me as we push this burning ship out to sea, thread closed, etc. I will have to read back through it tomorrow and have a laugh!

godihatedehills

Boo to that. Yours was the best of all the training logs. I mean I wasn't a big fan of all the cycling stuff like, but all the rest of it was very entertaining