So you think you want to race? Part 5: Toeing the Line

Reprinted from http://www.gamjams.net Watch for weekly installemnts of this interesting and informative series.
by David Kirkpatrick, NCVC

Having just begun my “official” yearly training plan, I suppose it’s time to think about that first race.  Nothing keeps you going through alternately (even simultaneously) boring and painful winter training quite like looking forward to racing.

There are four critical aspects to racing: long term preparation, registration, short term preparation and execution.  Long term preparation covers your training plan, which we’ve already covered, so we’ll focus on the last three.

Registration can be a bigger challenge than you’d imagine.  All of your training goes for naught if you keep getting shut out of races, which can happen if you don’t register right when registration opens.  It’s a pain and as much of an incentive to upgrade (or get older - higher category and master’s races fill up more slowly) as anything else.  Racing is administered nationally by USA Cycling, and without one of their licenses you can’t race, so step one is to get a license.  This is easy to do online at www.usacycling.org.  Licenses run from January to December.  If you are only going to do a couple of races a year, you can get daily licenses on site at races, but this is a pain for you and everyone else.  If you’ve joined a team, make sure you include your team on your license application.  Apply for your license in January and you will be sure to get it in plenty of time for your first race.  You always need a license to race and you always need to show it at registration, so make sure that you keep it someplace where you will always have it on race day.

MABRA (Mid Atlantic Bike Racing Association) is the regional administrator for cycling, and once you get your license from USAC, you will pretty much be dealing with MABRA and not USAC.  MABRA sets the event calendar, makes all the race official stuff happen, handles upgrades, etc.  The race calendar is published early in the year at www.mabra.org.  At the MABRA site, there is a link to “resources,” on which there is a link to join the MABRA email list.  This is your best route for staying tuned in to race notices, learning when registration opens, etc.  Join that list.

Most races handle registration through www.bikereg.com.  Go there and set an account up for yourself so you don’t have to do that in the melee of trying to register for your first race.  BikeReg also shows a pretty comprehensive calendar of events in other regions and publishes most event results, so you’ll wind up at their site a lot.  Bookmark their home page.  When registration for a particular race opens up, you’ll want to be sitting at your computer, ready to go.  As I said, it’s a pain.

Winter training race registration is generally handled exclusively on site on race day.  Both the Trade Zone and Cold Toes series do things this way in order to handle the vagaries of weather – they don’t have to deal with refunds if the weather stinks.  Information about both of these series is made available at the MABRA site and on the email list as the season draws closer, but if you are going to these races (and you should), plan to get there early, especially if the weather is nice.  They can and do sell out, and it’s a shame to go all the way there and not be able to race.

Once you’ve successfully navigated the license and registration end of things, the focus is on short term preparation and execution.  Your first several races, maybe even your entire first year of racing, will be totally integrated into your training plan, so no accommodation is made for these races in terms of training.  You “train through” these races.  The only change you might want to make from your normal riding is to use your racing wheels, if you have them.  If you do decide to break out the race wheels, make sure to adjust your derailleur, as not all wheels use the same limit stop settings and cable tension.  Get at least one ride on them before you race.  Apart from that adjustment and pumping up your tires and maybe lubing your chain, don’t make any last minute adjustments to your bike.  Last minute adjustments turn into 11th hour catastrophes.  Make a good visual inspection of your bike to make sure that nothing is out of order, but seriously, the day before a race is no time to be fiddling around with your bike.

It’s a good idea to get yourself a dedicated gear bag for race day, which you’ll pack the night before a race.  My race bag has a few permanent residents: first aid stuff, sunscreen, spare contact lenses, a box of baby wipes (absolutely indispensable), some energy bars, drink mix, spare inner tubes, a multi-tool and a photocopy of my license.  The night before a race, I pack my helmet, shoes, jersey, socks, arm- and leg-warmers, gloves, directions to the race and sunglasses and leave the bag by the door.  You may have noticed that I didn’t put my bibs in my bag.  I almost always wear them under my pants, with the shoulder straps down, when I go to races.  Getting all butt naked at the race site on a frosty cold morning isn’t my favorite thing.  If you are prone to gobbing on the chamois cream, you may want to put your shorts on at the race.  Please also note that after the race is over and I have cooled down, I am the first guy to get out of my shorts.  Festering taint gank does not a happy racer make.  I also put my trainer next to my bag to remind me to take it.  I haven’t yet forgotten to take my bike but if you are prone to such acts, you might leave your bike by the door as well.

The night before a race, your goal is to have a good healthy meal with which your body is familiar and you know you can digest easily.  Don’t worry too much about the fine print of what you eat, just make it something healthy and familiar.  Be sure to stay hydrated throughout the evening, and if you are drinking beers this means water equal to the amount of beer you’re drinking on top of the water you should be drinking otherwise.  There are plenty of apocryphal stories of racers showing up with pounding hangovers and having a career race, but that’s not really the kind of thing you can count on.  Try to get a good night’s sleep, but don’t get too freaked out if nerves keep you up a bit.
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Also in this series:
So you think you want to race? Part 1: Questions demanding honest answers
So you think you want to race? Part 2: Your first group ride
So you think you want to race? Part 3: Han Solo or Attack of the Clones
So you think you want to race? Part 4: The Training Calendar
So you think you wnat to race? Part 5: The Women's Perspective