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Pacing yourself during cross country races
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about pacing during cross country races. As an introduction, this thread over at mtbr highlights the fact that there are as many different strategies as there are racers. Part of the issue is that mountain bike races are notorious for their fast and furious starts, and it is these high-tempo, high-energy starts that I think cause problems for lots of riders. Endurance-based events are more likely to have slower starts, but even there I’m sure there is some serious jockeying for the infamous hole shot.
When it comes to deciding how hard to push during a race, the dilemma lays in knowing how hard one can go before they blow sky high. Unfortunately, it’s not one of those things that has a simple answer — I’ve been racing on and off for almost 16 years and I still don’t have a handle on my pacing.
Some have said that mountain bike racing is the off road equivalent of the roadie’s time trial — go as hard as you can over a set course and the winner is the one with the best time at the end of the day. At top levels they talk about cross country races in more tactical terms — such as chasing down attacks (just like in road races) — but at my level I rarely think in those terms and it seems to be much more about finding that red line and holding it there as best as I can. Sure there are some tactics involved in trying to gap someone, get out of sight around a turn (out of sight, out of mind), or chasing someone down to be able to feed off them by riding their wheel. But for the most part I race in my own world without spending too much time thinking about other riders.
Common questions about pacing during races
- How hard can I go?
- How hard should I go at the start in order to get a good position?
- If I go too hard at the start, am I going to burn too many of the matches that I might need later?
- What if I go too easy and finish with energy that should have been left on the course?
Some personal experience
This last question is one of my biggest concerns during a race. Part of the reason I race is to find my personal limits and reach beyond them, and I don’t want to finish with a lot of energy left over. As a matter of fact, if I finish with gas in the tank it seems like falling short. I think this philosophy has gotten me into a lot of trouble this past year and I’m thinking of changing my outlook a little.
Let me explain. If you read my race reports at my BLOG you’ll almost always hear about my muscle cramping issues. The muscle cramps are my equivalent of a pop-up turkey thermometer. You know those things that pop out of the turkey to tell you when it is done cooking? I seem to reach a point in almost every race where the paralyzing muscle cramps hit, and then it goes from being race to being a survival to the finish line. My average speed drops almost to nothing as I have to spin the granny to get the cramps to subside. What’s worse, they come in waves and once they start it’s just a matter of time until they hit again, so it’s like riding on eggshells until I finish.
The funny thing is that I’ve trained really well the past few years, and I’m faster and stronger than before. However, I found that I’ve cramped SOONER in some races than in the past. Take this race for example; I got the first inkling of muscle cramps 1:15 into the race but the last time I’d raced on that course I didn’t start cramping until 2 hours into the race. So what gives?
Here’s my theory. During the race mentioned above I was in the lead group, topping out on the first climb. Those guys are fast and I really had no business being there but my increasing fitness has given me the ability to push at a much higher level than in the past. And I got myself so psyched up and motivated that I just rode out of my skin, burning too many matches and triggering early cramping. At some points after the cramping initiated, I was soft pedaling in the granny gear while guys were passing in the big ring or worse at a standstill on the side of the trail.
I did finish that race in fifth place overall in my class which ain’t too shabby. But the dilemma I’m facing is this: would I have been better riding slower and then not cramping (or more probably cramp at a later point)? Should I have kept a lower average speed during the early part of the race as opposed to doing what I did?
Contrast that race to this one. I finished feeling fine and was upset at myself for not pushing myself to the ragged edge. Yet I didn’t cramp and I got my best placing in this particular series. I did cramp up during the other two races in the series and finished lower in the rankings, even though I was racing against the same people for the most part.
In an earlier race in the year, there was a mass start with all classes starting at the same time. I had no idea where they guys in my class were, so from the get go I ended up just racing my own race. I didn’t cramp out and I actually won my first race ever. If I’d started with my class I have a feeling I might have pushed too hard in order to try to hang with the leaders of my class.
Don’t do it
I was talking to my brother-in-law — a top masters running racer in the competitive Chicago running scene — and he was telling me about his pacing strategy for a 10 miler. His mantra is “Don’t Do It”. Don’t push too hard. Don’t try and pass this guy right now. Hold back.
What I found interesting is that this is a negative mantra — the key word here being ‘Don’t’ — even though so much of sports psychology centers on being positive, getting amped and / or psyched. During mountain bike races I’ve tried to think about being able to do anything and going for the gusto, but I think this could be getting me into trouble.
Choosing the right strategy
One of my goals for this coming season is to try a race where I let the leaders go. Or to do a lap race where I go for a negative split each lap (meaning that each lap is faster than the previous one). This is going to require me to start WAY slower than I want to in order to maintain speed as fatigue sets in. Still, I have no clue which (if any) of the approaches is the right one.
Another metric that I wish I’d pay more attention to is how smooth I’m riding the singletrack. Sure later in a race when you are fatigued your technical skills are going to get worse. But early on how you are flowing on the trail can be an indicator if you are riding too hard. At my home course race this year, I was riding some single track like I was a pinball. No flow, not smooth like I can do in training. Backing off a little would have allowed me to find a rhythm that would have let me conserve energy, ride more efficiently and most of all go faster.
In my interviews with pro racers, I found that their answers to the ‘pacing’ question have been pretty wide ranging. Nick Martin goes balls out from the gun while Salem Mazzawy lets the leaders go and has found that, after the first 1/4 mile, he still matches everyone else’s pace even though he didn’t have to go redline. Allison Dunlap says, “I go as hard as I need to to stay with the leaders the first lap. Then things settle down. I usually bump it up a notch for the last lap.”
No way to know what’s best except to try different things I guess. It is just so hard mentally to not get caught up in the frenzy at the start, even though the hole shot can make or break your race — especially on those 100% single track races. I’m thinking that I might be better off taking the advice of Chris De Burgh and to listen to the voices in the dark that say “Don’t do it“.
Of course this is just me. Your mileage may vary.
Technorati Tags: mountain bike, racing, training
1. Posted by Sally | 6:49 am, 19 January 2006
hello i was reading your article about your cross country and pacing yourself when it made me start tp think about it myself and how i should go about racing. I like your phrase aint too shabby it was very cool indeed.