Saturday, August 2, 2014

Area Athletes Target Upcoming Events

The hot mid-summer weather isn't slowing down area residents as they train through the heat to prepare for upcoming events that will take place between now and early fall. Those events include the new San Angelo Triathlon, the Hotter'N Hell Hundred cycling tour, and the 2014-2015 cyclocross race season that will kick off in October.

San Angelo Triathlon
Regional triathletes are putting the final polish on their swim, bike, and run fitness as they prepare to race  the new San Angelo Triathlon on August 10 in San Angelo's Spring Creek Park. This new event replaces the Wool Capitol Triathlon which was a mainstay on the Texas triathlon circuit for many years. The triathlon will include both the classic Olympic distance event (1,500 meter swim, 40K bike, 10K run) and a shorter sprint distance race with a 500 meter swim, 20K bike and a final 5K run. Race categories will include both individual age group and team relays in both the Olympic and sprint distance events.

The San Angelo Triathlon will also take place in a new venue at the marina in Spring Creek Park. The swim course will be in Lake Nasworthy near the marina with the bike leg being an out-and-back through the park to Spillway Road, then over the equalization channel onto Knickerbocker Road to the turn-around point. Racers will finish off the triathlon by completing a final run that goes from the marina through Spring Creek Park to the turn point, back around the point on Camper Road and then to the finish line near the marina. Full information on the San Angelo Triathlon and a registration link is posted on-line at www.permianbasinevents.com/san-angelo-tri.html.

Hotter'N Hell Hundred
Many area cyclists will be headed north to Wichita Falls on August 22-24 for the 33rd annual Hotter’N Hell Hundred cycling event.  Although the capstone event of this three-day festival is the 100 mile cycling tour, the 12,000 or more cyclists who participate in the event will also be able to take part in road races sanctioned by USA Cycling, race their mountain bikes on the WeeChiTah Trail, run a 10K or half marathon trail race, or test themselves in the Triple Threat competition by completing the mountain bike race, the 100 mile bike tour, and the half marathon trail run. San Angelo's Marlon Miller will one of the individuals taking on the Triple Threat challenge so let's cheer him on. Visit http://www.hh100.org for full information on the Hotter’N Hell Hundred.


Cyclocross University
Although the cyclocross season in Texas doesn't start until October, a group of area cyclists will start building their race fitness and honing cyclocross skills during the weekly 6:30 pm Wednesday evening cyclocross workouts that begin on August 6 in San Angelo's Middle Concho Park. These facilitated workouts, jokingly referred to as 'Cyclocross University', are open to anyone who wants to learn or improve their off-road cycling skills and learn about cyclocross events. All ability levels are welcome from beginners to experienced cyclists, and each participant will need a mountain or cyclocross bike, helmet, and either mountain bike shoes or flat pedals with running shoes.

If you are not familiar with cyclocross (CX), it is a form of off-road bicycle racing where riders complete multiple laps of a short 1-2 mile course for 30-60 minutes per race.  Each lap of a race will include one or more 'dismount-and run-with-your-bike' obstacles and the courses may include dirt, grass, pavement, sand, mud, and even snow/ice since the race season starts in the fall and goes through the winter. The local CX race series and the state-wide Texas Cup series will both start in October, and the 2015 National Championships will take place in Austin in January of 2015. For more information on the Wednesday evening cyclocross workouts visit San Angelo Cyclocross on Facebook or email bcullins@suddenlink.net.

Remember - the hot summer weather isn't slowing down area athletes.




Upcoming Events

Aug 2: Southland Shuffle, roadlizards.org
Aug 6: Cyclocross group workouts, 6:30 pm, Middle Concho Park
Aug 7: Road bike time trial, angelobike.org
Aug 10: San Angelo Olympic and sprint distance triathlon, permianbasinevents.com/our-events.html
Aug 13: Run to Remember, roadlizards.org
Aug 21: Mountain bike time trial, angelobike.org
Aug 22-24: Hotter'N Hell Hundred, hh100.org
Sept 13: Run to Remember, roadlizards.org
Sept 27: Mason Lions Club 5/10K Run,
masontxcoc.com

Friday, August 1, 2014

Cyclocross University




CYCLOCROSS UNIVERSITY 2014

Aug 6 - Sept 24

Want to improve your chances at winning one of these? If so, you need to earn your Mud and Cowbells certification by attending this free eight week series of workouts that combines cyclocross theory, demonstrations, and tires-on-the-dirt lab exercises. You will be a stronger and more skilled cyclist after completing these group workouts. 

  •  Presented by Team San Angelo in conjunction with the San Angelo Team Red White Blue community 
  • Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM Aug 6 - Sept 24, next to the middle restroom in Middle Concho Park in San Angelo.  After entering the park's front gate, turn right and follow the paved road for about 1/2 mile.

Course prerequisites:
  • Must have (and be able to ride) a cyclocross or mountain bike and have a bicycle helmet.
  • No known allergies to cowbells, fun, grass, mud, rain, sand, snow, or sweat.
  • A fondness for heckling and being heckled while maintaining a high heart rate.

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
  • Gracefully dismount and remount a bicycle while moving at various speeds.
  • Carry an exhausted bicycle up hills using the top tube, suitcase, and shoulder techniques.
  • Leap over tall barriers in a single bound while carrying a bicycle.
  • Negotiate smooth fast turns through flat, off-camber, uphill, downhill, grassy, sandy, and muddy corners..
  • Bunny-hop over small logs, rain ruts, and large rattlesnakes.
  • Ride fast on grass, dirt, sand, mud, and snow-packed surfaces.
  • Understand the true meaning of 'hot laps'.
  • Properly wear a cycling casquette under a helmet.
  • Be prepared to race (not just ride) a cyclocross event.


Workout Schedule


August 6: Middle Concho Park, 6:30 pm:  CX overview, training plan discussion, dismount/remount practice, running with the bike, short group ride around typical course, sprints, uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

August 13: Middle Concho Park, 6:30 pm: Warm-up, cornering practice, shoulder bumping, short group ride around typical course, sprints, dismount/remount over barriers, uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

August 20: Middle Concho Park, 6:30 pm: Warm-up, descending, riding over obstacles, short group ride around typical course, sprints, dismount/remount over barriers, uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

August 27: Middle Concho Park, 6:30 pm: Warm-up, bunny-hops, riding through sand, hot laps around typical course, sprints, dismount/remount over barriers, uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

September 3: Middle Concho Park, 6:30 pm: Warm-up, uphill sprint starts, trail ride w/ CX technique practice (natural barriers), uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

September 10: EQ channel parking lot, 6:30 pm: Warm-up, uphill sprint starts, trail ride w/ CX technique practice, uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

September 17: Twin Buttes main boat ramp, 6:30 pm: Warm-up, uphill sprint starts, trail ride w/ CX technique practice, uphill runs, cool-down and stretch.

September 24: Race simulation on ASU CX course, to include warm-up, course inspection, fast start and 30 minutes of 'hot laps'.  Short discussion of race clothing for various weather conditions.

Oct 1:  Race #1 ASU CX Series (location TBA)

Oct 8:  Race #2 ASU CX Series (location TBA)

Oct 15:  Race #3 ASU CX Series (location TBA)

Oct 22:  Race #4 ASU CX Series (location TBA)

Oct 29:  Race #5 ASU CX Series (location TBA)


Texas Cup CX races in October

4 - Bicycle Sport Shop Six Shooter – Austin
5 - Bicycle Sport Shop Six Shooter
11 - San Antonio CX – It’s a Bexar – San Antonio
12 - San Antonio CX - It’s a Bexar
18 - Webberville Cross – Austin
19 - Cyclocross Scuffle – Austin


For more information, contact Bill Cullins at bcullins@suddenlink.net or call/text (325) 234-8942

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Train Like A Tour de France Cyclist

I’ve heard comments from fellow cyclists over the past couple of weeks that went something like “I wish I could ride half as fast as those guys in the Tour de France — what is their secret?”

My response was “You could — if you trained just half as hard and half as smart as they do.”

Although the cyclists who make it into the ranks of elite professional racers are genetically gifted, their workout regimen is also among the most grueling of all professional sports.

To be competitive at the upper end of professional cycling, these riders must be capable of performing at an almost superhuman level.

They achieve that level by following carefully structured training programs designed to achieve a very high power-to-weight ratio and to maintain a high power output for an extended period of time.

Power in cycling is measured in watts. The average well-trained recreational cyclist may be able to maintain a power output of about three watts per kilogram of body weight for an hour. For a 180-pound rider (81.6kg), that would equate to 245 watts of constant power.

Professional cyclists are able to produce twice that amount of power or more, with the top Tour de France racers being able to produce power outputs close to 6.7 watts per kilogram of body weight for an hour or more on long, steep climbs (450 watts or more for a 150-pound racer).

While recreational cyclists will average 17-18 miles per hour on flat terrain and 9-10 miles per hour up mountain climbs, the pros will use their high power output to scoot down the level roads at 25-28 miles per hour for hours at a time and go up long climbs at 20-plus miles per hour.

How do these professional cyclists develop the ability to produce that much power and achieve that type of power-to-weight ratio?

The answers to those questions (genetics aside) are simple — they follow a structured training plan, ride a lot of miles, minimize body fat and train extremely hard when the plan calls for hard workouts.

Those are things that all of us could do on a “normal cyclist” scale.

Tour de France racers will start their training year by completing what is known as a base phase that consists of riding a lot of miles at an easy to moderate pace while concurrently doing strength workouts and working on weaknesses such as descending or doing time trials.

After developing their endurance base, those cyclists will shift into a build threshold phase that includes doing long intervals at a faster pace, performing hard climbing repeats in the mountains, and racing selected, low-priority events that are used as hard, race-specific workouts.

During the base and threshold phases, they will also pre-ride some or all of the Tour de France stages to ensure they properly prepare for each specific section of the course.

Their workouts during the threshold phase may include multiple 30-60 minute race-pace climbs on steep roads, followed by a fast descent and then another (and another) race-pace ascent of the climb.

They will wrap up their preparation by competing in shorter multiday races to acclimate their bodies to racing hard for multiple consecutive days.

Riding a lot of miles is another characteristic that differentiates pro racers from everyday cyclists. A typical training year for many professional cyclists will include riding 25,000 to 30,000 miles per year with some weeks having 600 or more miles of riding.

Assuming the average pace is in the range of 20-25 miles per hour, that would be 24-30 hours per week in the saddle.

Add in the strength, flexibility and other cross training activities and these athletes may be training for 40-50 hours per week.

Train, eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep.

The net effect of the structured plan, high miles and race-specific workouts is that these professionals arrive at key races with body fat percentages as low as 4-5 percent and with the ability to generate high power outputs for long periods of time, day after day.

So how could a recreational cyclist learn from what these professionals do?

Although most of us have busy lives with jobs, families and other time-consuming responsibilities, we can apply the same general strategies by following a structured plan, increasing the number of miles ridden, improving our power-to-weight ratio and doing the hard, interval workouts.

The pros’ secret is simple — lose excess weight and do the hard work needed to produce a lot of power for long periods of time.

Ride On, San Angelo and remember — if you train half as hard as a Tour de France cyclist, you will get faster.

Bill Cullins is an old cyclist, slow runner and former state Masters cyclocross champion. His column appears every Saturday. Contact him at bcullins@suddenlink.net.

Upcoming events

Aug. 2: Southland Shuffle, roadlizards.org
Aug. 6: Cyclocross workouts begin, Middle Concho Park
Aug. 10: San Angelo Olympic and sprint distance triathlon, Spring Creek Park, roadlizards.org
Aug. 13: Run to Remember

Who Do I Follow On The 'Net?

The response from readers regarding my final newspaper column in the San Angelo Standard Times (which several people referred to as the &quo...