20/20 Vision
by Seiji IshiiThe temperatures are falling, the racing calendars are thinning out and most of you are beginning to wind down your season. When you do, you will get not only a much-needed respite from training, but also an unparalleled vantage point for an honest review of your year. You can look back to see whether the modifications you made the year before produced the desired results. You can decide whether a tweak here and a twist there may produce better results for the upcoming season.
But what are you forgetting? Think hard.
That's right! The same thing you tend to neglect during the training year: proper recovery.
If you've ever wondered why there are so many articles about recovery, it's because you, or at least the majority of cyclists out there, don't pay attention to them! So don't make the same mistake this year. Get out the hot cocoa and your training log (it may be in the trash or buried underneath your dirty laundry-find it!) and get ready to examine the three areas in which you may have shortchanged your recovery: physical, emotional and mental. Be merciless in your assessment. It can only help you in the long run.
PHYSICAL
Post-Workout Recovery
Did you consume some calories within 30 minutes of finishing workouts-every time you worked out?
Commercially available recovery drinks are the easiest route to consistent post-workout feedings.
Next year, get the drinks ready before you work out-if you're lazy before the workout, think how you'll feel when you're done.
Did you eat full, nutritionally correct meals within two hours of the end of your workout? Again, advance preparation is key. It is more efficient to make multiple meals at one time. Placing some of these meals, in addition to healthy snacks, at home and at work will make it far more likely that you will take advantage of them.
Sleep
Consider how much you actually slept while you trained and raced. Here's a hint: eight hours of "sleep" in which you wake up
several times because of a snoring mate or restless pets is not sound sleep. In the future, you may occasionally have to
separate yourself from your mate or kick the dogs out of the room-for your own health. Also, try cutting your lunch break a
little short and taking a 15- to 20-minute nap. You'll be far more productive at work and on the bike. Always nap on weekend
days, even if you have to explicitly block out time in your schedule to do so.
Lifestyle
From here on out, if you are not training, you are recovering. And if you must heap physical stress on top of training,
make it as light as possible: mow the lawn in the cool of evening or morning; use a cart at the grocery store instead of
lugging heavy bags. When you relax, really relax. Sit in the air conditioning, and watch a movie lying down on the couch.
He who is a blob at home is a dynamo at races.
EMOTIONAL
Socialization
Did you jettison what used to be your social life in order to train more? Was it worth it? Social contact is necessary to
be totally healthy, so schedule social time if that's what it takes All training and no play makes Johnny a dull boy
who isn't fully recovered. What's more: deprivation impedes motivation. If you begin to feel like your training is taking
you away from people you miss, you begin to resent it. With resentment comes unproductive-or missed-workouts.
Circle of Concern Did you waste valuable energy worrying about things over which you had no control? Getting upset at the rain accomplishes nothing productive. Berating yourself over a bad race doesn't change your performance. When you go into next year, try to limit your circle of concern to things over which you have control and use the extra emotional energy to fully recover.
MENTAL
Relax
Was there any point in your busy day when you were not thinking hard? How about not thinking at all?
Cyclists tend not to believe this but the truth is that a tired mind can be as bad as tired legs
because the systems that regulate your body do not know the difference between stress from a ride
and stress from the office. So instead of rushing through the day at breakneck speed, chugging coffee,
eating lunch at your desk and never stopping, take a few minutes to empty your mind and really zen out.
Look at it as a challenge: emptying your mind is much more difficult than filling it.
Quit thinking for just a few minutes; quit worrying; quit mentally working on something.
If you must, read the comics or a book (not a training book!). Just turn that noggin off for a few.
Be Smart
As you approach your training and racing future, remember to think about recovery.
Notice how you feel when you are rested and when you are tired. Learn about the warning signs of overtraining
and then heed them. Work to clear your mind of negative thoughts about your past performances and focus
on the positive aspects of your current performance. Your brain, your legs and the people around you will be glad you did.
This is only a short list of the possible areas in which you can look back at your season to improve recovery habits. Hindsight is 20/20, says the old cliché-take advantage of this clear perspective of your past season to brighten the view of the next season.
-- Originally Published in Ultrafit e-Tips