Racers - with or without a coach

[sulis]

I have a question for those of you who race.

I tried racing last year but it didn't go so well. I just didn't feel like I knew what to do. If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said no way am I racing again. But part of me really wants to give it another try. However, the women in my area are amazing and in my current condition I don't think I could keep up. Coaches are expensive but I may be able to make a few budget shifts and scrape together some cash for a coach and a few races.

For those of you who race - do you work with a coach or not? What are the pros and cons? For those that don't work with a coach, how do you train and prepare yourself to stay competative?

Thanks

[AuntieK]

Hi Sulis!

I hope you'll give racing with us another shot this year!

I do work with a coach...mostly because I need someone for me to be accountable to. :o Plus, he plans everything out for me, so I don't have to think about it--just do it. I've been working with him for less than a year though, so we'll see if I've made any improvements because of him.

Pros: I know I've gotten stronger because of what my coach has put me through.
Cons: He's expensive!!! :eek: I could have sooo much more bike stuff if I didn't have to pay him.

[SheFly]

Sulis - this will be my third season of racing, and last year I upgraded from a Cat 4 to Cat 3 with a successful beginning of the season. All of this was without a coach, and without any formal training plan.

I would first suggest seeing if you have any racing clinics in your area. This is something that our club offers, and it is a great way to learn the basics of pacelining, cornering, incidental contact, race tactics, etc. If you can find one local to you, sign up!

Second, I used Joe Friel's book The Cyclists Training Bible to figure out the basics of what I SHOULD be doing. Did I follow it? No. But, I went out and rode my bike, a lot, increasing my fitness and skills.

My point here is that I don't think you NEED to have a coach to race. There are lots of online resources available to you to help, and there is always this forum ;).

All that said, though, this year, I am going to try a coach and see what the results are. Of course, I am now racing at the Elite level and want to really focus on TT and Cyclocross at those levels.

Hope this helped!

SheFly

[Andrea]

I'd also recommend joining a club or team that has people who race/have raced and going to group rides with people who have raced. You can learn a lot from the experience and knowledge of others!

Nothing beats personal experience, though. Go back and think about what went wrong (and right) at your first race and think of how to change it. It may take a few races before you get into the swing of things.

[Eden]

A coach will help you with your physical training, but I think as far as helping you to understand racing, a team is better. I joined a team first (after having done 1 race unattached) and hired a coach my second year.

Now there are people on my team of all abilites who use coaching and I think that no matter where you are starting from a personalized plan will certainly help you reach your goals a bit faster, but for me it was the same reasoning as buying a new lighter bike. The expense would be worth it when I was close enough that the edge I had by using a coach would lead to results.

[NJBikeGal]

+1 on joining a team!

I rode a bike for several years on my own, thinking that I was "training." Turns out, I was just riding a bike on my own for several years! :rolleyes:

I joined a team and realized that I could get a lot more out of a group dynamic, including skills, techniques, and ADVICE! It's amazing what you can learn from a group of riders that you would never think of on your own.

I also hired a coach my first year. I have been an athlete all my life. If you told me, "get in the pool and train." I would say, no problem - I know exactly what to do because I've been doing it since I was 6! But, when I was told, "get on the bike and train." I had NO IDEA what that meant. I'm sure I could have figured it out (as SheFly suggested) through books and internet sources, but I was fortunate that my new team came with a GREAT team manager and coach who was VERY affordable. It was a no-brainer to go with him rather than try to teach myself. Still, I'm not sure I would have upgraded in my first year if not for the team and my coach!

[RoadRaven]

Hey there Sulis... I want to add my voice to these encouraging words
Do give racing another go.

I don't have a coach, but I do live with cyclists (my partner is a time trial gold medalist, my 19yr old was at the top of the club, almost beating his father. He has stopped cycling for now, but still avidly follows and talks cycling. My 17 1/2 yr old is now racing in the same grade as his father (in the last ITT he was only 2 seconds behind him). My nearly 15 yr old is rapidly rising through the club grades also - his average speed in the club race today was 38kph.

So although none of us have a coach, we do live, talk and breathe cycling, so in a sense we are each others coaches.

Also, as Eden and NJ say, being part of a team is fantastic in terms of support and fine-tuning skills. In a sense, I suppose again this house is its own team. We operate like one in terms of going to events, supporting each other and such. Although we ride in three different ability grades, or 4 different age-grades and cannot race together... we do train together and support each other at events in whatever way is necessary...

And I think thats what you need to find - some kind of support network that not only hones your skills and mind, but also cries and laughs with you, keeps you accountable and also helps you realise that you cannot win/have a personal best every day.

Do race again, and find like-minded people - whether its a coach or some other person/people

Do race again - its so much fun (LOL... and not at all addicative!)

[smilingcat]

wow old thread brought back up how did I miss it?

Yes please give it another try.

And yes join a club and you can get "free" pointers and training from the club. If you want to win, train with the boys every once in a while.

I used to do the free for all to the top of the hill. I never got to the top first but it does wonder to your training.

And unlike most, I spent great deal of time on the trainer because there are way too many stop signs and lights. My HR would drop to normal while waiting for the light to turn green. not what you want when you are training. It doesn't matter if you bonk on the trainer, you are home :)

smilingcat