Training Tips from Mark McCormack

About Mark

Mark McCormack was the 2003 US Professional Road Racing Champion (this race was 156 miles and took just under 6 hours). Mark raced as a professional cyclist from 1992-2006. He has been coaching road cyclists, MTB racers, Triathletes, and Cycling enthusiasts since 1995. Mark is now the New England Territory Manager for FUJI, SE, and Kestrel Bicycles and continues to operate his coaching business.

Mark can be reached at MarkJMcCormack@verizon.net.

2010 Tips: FEBRUARY

2009 Tips: MAY | APRIL | MARCH | FEBRUARY

MARK MCCORMACK'S FEBRUARY TIP::

Cold Weather Riding Tips

February can be a great month for riding a bike…if you dress properly.

The roads are in decent shape given the recent snow fall so if you want to get outside and ride to alleviate the indoor trainer boredom all you need to do is dress properly and you will have some of your best rides.

Tip 1: Put clear packing tape over the front vents of your helmet to limit how much air is getting to your head.

Tip 2: Always start with a wicking base layer on your upper body (avoid a cotton T-shirt).

Tip 3: Winter shoes or wind/water resistant booties are a must. Good gloves/lobster claws and a balaclava can make for comfy fingers and ears as well.

Tip 4: Do not overdress…you will freeze. Sounds bizarre but if you get too sweaty, that extra moisture will eventually make you cold.

Tip 5: Make sure you have an extra layer in your back pocket. I like to have a light weight wind jacket so that if I need to stop at store for more liquids/calories or to fix a flat tire I can put that jacket on for the first 10 minutes after starting up again…this helps retain my body heat and keep me warm. Once I feel comfortable I make sure to remove the wind jacket to prevent overheating.

Tip 6: Watch the black ice. If the ground looks wet, don’t assume it is a puddle, go around it.

Riding in the winter can be extremely enjoyable. There are fewer cars on the road and training with all that extra clothing is like swinging 2 baseball bats before getting up to the plate. When spring comes and you can reduce the layers you will feel 15-20% fitter than you thought you were.

See you on the road!

Mark

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MARK MCCORMACK'S MAY 2009 TIP:

THE FINAL MONTH: LAST CALL!

The 2009 Harpoon B2B ride is fast approaching and there isn’t much time to procrastinate on your epic rides.

By now you should have had a chance to get in some long weekend rides and a few weekday/evening rides to complement your total weekly hours in the saddle.

Hills have hopefully been a portion of your focus to get your climbing legs going and your form/technique in check. If not, this should be a priority going forward. If you live on the Cape or in Southeastern, MA and your longest hill is 1 minute long I highly recommend a few trips to the Pine Hills in Plymouth, the Blue Hills in Milton, Wachusett in Central, MA, or the mountains of Northern New England.

Endurance is another element that is high on the priority list. You should be comfortably covering 5 hours on 1 ride each weekend at this point with a goal to get in at least 1 or 2, 5 to 6 hour road rides (this is ride time, not including stops along the way) between now and the Harpoon B2B.

I suggest working on riding with others if you are not comfortable doing so at this point. Learning to ride in the slipstream of a rider is a huge benefit and can help save lots of energy on the day of the big ride allowing you to go faster than if you were riding solo. Make it a point to call in some friends to get out for a few long, hilly rides in the next few weeks. Riding with others will help you learn to relax and understand the group dynamics that come from being around others.

You should be thinking about your nutrition and what foods/liquids you plan to carry with you during the B2B as well. Make sure you are comfortable reaching into your jersey pocket and eating those foods while riding. It will be important to eat small amounts of food frequently on the ride, not just when you stop at the rest areas along the route. Use your training rides to experiment with various types of food and packaging. Personally, I like to pre-open my food items before putting them into my jersey pocket so that I have one less thing to do when I am refueling.

Lastly, bike shops get very busy this time of year. If you feel your bike will need a tune-up I suggest you call ahead and schedule an appointment so that you won’t be without your bike for more than a few days. Fresh tires, a clean drive-train, and good shifting will make for a great experience free of headaches on the day of the event.

Keep in mind that you won’t need much energy after the ride…the crew at the finish line party will pour your Harpoon for you.

Until next time, happy riding!

Mark

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MARK MCCORMACK'S APRIL 2009 TIP: BUILDING UP

With a little more than 2 months until the 2009 Harpoon B2B I am hoping that you have used my previous suggestions and are now ready for your serious training to begin. The weather should start to show signs of summer and with the warmer air your training should seem a little easier.

Keep working on getting outside a few mornings/evenings each week to get as much extra time on the bike as possible. Remember that 45 minutes is better than not riding so even if you can’t devote a big block of time on a weekday you should still make every effort to get on your bike.

Your weekend miles should be steadily increasing now and your goal should be to increase at least one of your weekend rides by 30-45 minutes each week (this assumes you are not already riding 5-6 hours on a single ride). Hopefully you are able to do 3 – 3.5 hours on one of the weekend days at this point in April. If you can double up and ride long on both Saturday and Sunday that is even better.

By mid-May you should be able to ride 4.5 – 5.5 hours on a single ride without much soreness the next day. If you can keep this as your next short term goal it will make the Harpoon B2B distance seem less daunting.

Keep in mind that if you can’t find the time each weekend to build on your riding time that you need to follow my advice from my March posting and increase your intensity. Using that same workout I suggested then will still be a great alternative…but don’t use it as an excuse not to ride longer.

Finally, look for some hills on your rides. The Harpoon B2B is a very challenging route and the hills/climbs get larger in the middle and latter portions of the ride than they are at the beginning. I am a big fan of the Blue Hills in Milton, MA, the rolling climbs of the Wachusett area, or the White Mountains in NH as great places to get in your climbing while enjoying some really nice scenery as well.

Remember, the more you ride now, the more you will enjoy the Harpoon B2B event and the post ride celebration. Not to mention, you may still have some energy to enjoy the day after. And if you do a really good job getting in shape you may even find yourself pushing a few friends up some of the hills…maybe add a few sets of push ups to your daily life as well.

Until next time, enjoy your riding.

Mark

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MARK MCCORMACK'S MARCH 2009 TIP: 3 MONTHS OUT

With a little over 3 months until the Harpoon B to B event there seems to be so much time to prepare. Like any good student would do when preparing for a big exam I suggest you start your training now rather than waiting until the final month and “cramming” like a stressed out student would do prior a big exam.

If you get things rolling now with your training, the build up in volume can be more gradual and your confidence will have a chance to grow with your fitness.

Make sure you have your bike ready to go.

Your tires, chain, saddle, and cables should all be in great shape and ready for a trouble free season of riding. No sense in waiting until every other cyclist needs their bike repaired in April or May. If you bring your bike in for a tune or upgrade in March you will most likely have it back in a day or two whereas in April and May it could be 1 or 2 weeks in the shop.

Before you get on your bike make sure you also have the clothing you need to help increase your enjoyment for riding. A new pair of shorts can do wonders for your comfort level. And this is not an area where you should be looking to save a few dollars.

Time to get out on the road

With the clocks moved ahead there is now more daylight to sneak out for a few afternoon/evening rides. Don’t think that doing a 1 hour ride a few days a week along with your weekend miles won’t help. Every mile you ride will help your future training and preparation so make the time on weeknights to get out on the road after work. This will get your body accustomed to a routine, get your metabolism running, and improve your mindset for your everyday life.

On weekends you should be considering maximizing one, if not both, of the two days with the goal of increasing your ride time/distance each week. For the riders that are already in good shape from a winter of MTB riding or consistent indoor trainer workouts this will be a chance to improve your general endurance and starting out with 3-3.5 hour road rides will be no problem.

For those of you that have not been on your bike much this winter you should be striving to get in at least 2 hours of continuous riding on one or both weekend days. With each week you should be adding 15-30 minutes to these weekend rides so that by the middle of April you are riding 3 – 3.5 hours without much difficulty.

Increase the Intensity

Keep in mind that if you can’t find the time to get in the longer rides on weekends you need to increase the intensity. In this case you should focus on breaking the ride up into 3 segments: warm up, workout, cool down. In the workout time you should add some specific efforts to increase the gains you make on a shortened ride. For example, if you have only 2 hours here is a good way to make it feel like you did a 3 hour ride (this can be done on an indoor trainer or outside on the open roads).

Warm up 30 minutes (gradually increase your effort from very easy up to steady state)
10 minutes at 75-80% effort and 70 rpm
6 minutes very easy and 85-95 rpm
10 minutes at 75-80% effort and 105-110 rpm
6 minutes very easy and 85-95 rpm
10 minutes at 75-80% effort and 70 rpm
6 minutes very easy and 85-95 rpm
10 minutes at 75-80% effort and 105-110 rpm
6 minutes very easy and 85-95 rpm
Cool down for 25 minutes (gradually decrease your effort from steady state to very easy)

Depending on where you live you may be able to find a road with a gradual climb on it that would work well for the 70 rpm efforts and a flat road for the 105-110 rpm efforts. Or if you opt to ride indoors simply change the resistance level on your trainer unit.

Enjoy the riding!

Mark

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MARK MCCORMACK'S FEBRUARY 2009 TIP: FENDERS

February can be a great month for riding a bike…if you have Fenders. Why fenders?

Yesterday it was 50 degrees and sunny but the roads were soaked from all of the melting snow. With a good set of full wrap fenders and a few modifications to them, riding in those conditions can be extremely enjoyable. Riding without fenders it can be extremely miserable.

If you plan to ride with a group of people make the request of everyone on the ride ahead of time to install fenders so that everyone can stay dry. There is nothing worse than having someone else’s rear wheel spraying you in the face with cold water.

On the rear fender I suggest adding a long, flexible extension so that the rider behind is not being sprayed by your rear wheel. On the front fender a rigid extension will keep your feet dry. You can use recycled plastic for your extensions and attach them with a few zip ties (you may need to drill a few small holes).

Given that we still have nearly a foot of snow and the snow banks are even taller, this melting is going to be going on for quite a while. Once the snow is gone the fenders will still be a good idea since the spring months tend to bring many days of rain.

If you have a cyclo-cross bike installing fenders can be very easy since many come with threaded eyelets and lots of clearance for the tires. If you are using a road bike you can still use full wrap fenders with a few modifications in order to get them to fit through the fork and under the rear brake.

Give them a try, I know that you will not be disappointed and you will be more likely to ride your bike outside this winter and spring. And your riding partners will thank you for keeping them dry as well.

Until next time, happy riding.

Mark

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