Housing At CX Nationals

This is for all those headed to Bend for Nationals....

I rented a sweet house with some available beds/rooms for the week of the races (wed - sun). The house is located about 2 miles from the race venue, is over 2500 square feet and includes: Outdoor rock gas fireplace in private patio area, large kitchen for entertaining and cooking at your leisure, large eating bar and formal dining room, wine chiller, comfortable beds and linens, plush towels, Jacuzzi tub in master, full DVD library of movies, and more!
We have the following available at way better than hotel rates -

Master Bedroom: 1 King Bed - reserved
Guest room #1: 1 Queen Bed - reserved
Guest Room #2: 2 Twin Beds - $75 night ea w/2night minimum. Book your for all 4 nights for only $250
Bonus Room: 2 Twin Beds - $75 night ea w/2night minimum. Book your for all 4 nights for only $250
Plus: 2 full sized Fold out Beds - $65 night ea w/2night minimum. Book yours for all 4 nights for only $230
The garage will be set up as bike heaven. In addition to tools and workstands (and possibly a mechanic on site), we'll have two computrainers as well....ready and loaded with various workouts and options to be sure your training is optimized in the runnnup to your race no matter the weather. We'll also be leading a few outside rides, weather permitting.

We will plan to co-op purchase and preparation of food to help keep costs down and quality up. I'm working on a meal plan (well, ok my wife the super-chef is making the plan) and will forward it to those attending. If you have a specialty, and want it included let us know and we'll add it to the mix...

Need more information? Drop me a line - info@sterlingwins.com -
Full information will be sent upon receipt of your non-refundable, but transferrable, deposit of $100 via paypal to the same address

This is gonna be fun!

Matt

Articles Archive

I've written quite a few online articles over the past year and a half. Some of them were even pretty good. Yet time and again I forget to post them on my own blog - that seems sorta silly. So, I'll be posting a variety of old articles and labeling them over the next couple of weeks. It'll give me something to do and who knows may even provide you with something worth reading!

Among The Upcoming Topics:

- Cutting Edge Hydration Strategies
- Cutting Edge Nutrition Strategies
- Optimal Tapering Strategies
- Managing Your Training Week

and more...

2010 Team Program Announced

STERLING SPORTS REGIONAL RACE TEAM
Team Debuts Inaugural Road Program For 2010

SUNNYVALE, CA (October 15, 2009) – Sterling Sports Group is pleased to announce the addition of a regional road program for the 2010 season. Built on the foundation of our successful Cyclocross Team, the road team is focused on developing a core group of riders and offering a comprehensive team racing experience. We are looking for up to five (5) riders in the following categories for membership on this Northern California based team (Selected riders must be committed to a focused training and racing program for the 2010 season):

•Category 3 Men
•Category 4 Men
•Junior 17/18 Men
•Masters 35+ 4/5 Men

The Sterling Regional Road Team will support a core group of riders with a road/criterium specific coaching program, regular team based training/tactics rides, a team race mechanic at marquee events, access to substantial pro-deals from sponsors, and great prices on the best looking kits in the peloton. Team training programs start in January, and are led by USAC Elite Coach Matt McNamara. Training includes regular group rides on weekends and a weekly training schedule delivered via your own online training log. Potential team riders should be committed to attending the twice monthly team rides in the winter/spring, and as many of our weekly rides as possible during the spring/summer.

Maybe you’d like to ride with us? Interested riders should submit a team application by November 15th , better yet come to our INFORMATIONAL MEETING at The Bicycle Outfitter on November 11th at 7:00pm (Dave Prion at TBO has even offered a “team discount” of 10% off to attendees that night). Preference will be given to those athletes who most ably demonstrate the balance between competition, camaraderie, and fun in their approach and attitude. Applications and program descriptions are available on the company website www.sterlingwins.com. The final team roster will be announced December 15th , and training programs start January 1st. Please drop me a note to reserve your spot at the meeting, or to answer any questions – info@sterlingwins.com !!

Cost for the program is $250 ($100 for Juniors) and includes:
•1 year membership on the team.
•Road/Criterium Specific Training Program, including an online training log: January - August
•Optional Personal Coaching program for $99/mo ($175 membership fee)
•Team Training Camp in January including performance testing & bike fit, and long rides each day
•Race Mechanic/Support from Bay Area Mobile Bike Repair, at 5-10 designated team events
•Regular Training Rides on weekends (2x/month) and weekly training with the return of Summer
•Category Specific Race Plans – we’ll work with each category to generate results and upgrades for all
•Access to Pro Deals on team bikes and equipment thanks to our sponsors.

ABOUT STERLING SPORTS GROUP
Sterling Sports Group (www.sterlingwins.com) is the result of over 20 years of passion for the sport of cycling. Sterling Sports is a growing company focused on creating a seamless interface between athlete and coach, technology and personal attention. They can be reached at 408.891.3462 or info@sterlingwins.com
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Race Report - CCCX #2 - Justin K

This was a very strange race in so many ways. I was a bit late getting to the venue which impeded my warm up and my pre-race bike prep. I rode a few practice warm up laps and I found myself to be very challenged by the course from both a physical and technical perspective. I changed the wheel/tire brake setup on my by bike a few days earlier and only tested with a light practice ride the previous day. I was not sure how the setup would perform in race conditions.
I could also see from my pre-ride that there were likely to be a lot of wipeouts/pile-ups on the descents and in sandy sections that may to need to be avoided during the race. I got to the start line and was pretty much in the middle of the group. Since my main goal was fitness and my secondary goal was assessing the equipment changes, I was not fighting it out for a front line start.
The start was pretty quick and I held my position through the first climb and started passing before the beginning of the descent portion. As my suspicions played out, the downhill sections and the sand took its toll on riders. Many people were remounting which improved my overall position. I took a corner too fast and suffered a wipeout-front end slide. On remounting I noticed I had bent up my derailleur and jammed my chain-I guess I should limit any wipeouts to the left side, not the right, haha. Several riders passed me. Straighten the derailleur and fix the chain...rolling again...repass on the hill right after the tarmac straightaway. Rear shifting erratic, spontaneous and no front derailleur action - not a desirable situation. On the downhill bumpy sections I kept on bottoming out my front rim (oops, forgot to check my tire pressure during my pre race bike setup.) I continued around the course and it seemed odd to me that there were so many riders practicing....at least thats what I thought they were doing. On to the barrier and run-up to start another lap - I hate running-heart rate went through the roof, totally sucking wind.
Did all that several more times including another slide out or two (or more) with the old catch it at the last second before a total yard sale... I felt like my fitness sucked, could have used an 02 tank strapped to the rig. Having very little control of my gears and a front end that was constantly bottoming out and wanting to slide out in the corners made things very challenging. Crossed the finish line. I was thankful the race was over. I was so disheartened about my poor fitness/lack of energy, the poor performance of my rig (no controlled shifting and front end wash out) that I left right after the race to go home and drown my sorrows. Since I was sure I was last, there was no point in checking my placement. At the car I did check my tire pressure. A whopping 19psi up front and 25psi in the rear-made a mental note - check the tire pressure BEFORE the race next time idiot. I assumed I was in last place because I didn't really see riders on the course, other than those that were practicing.
I gathered up my courage to check my finish this morning. A DFL isn never the end of the world-maybe better than a DNF. To my amazement I got 4th. I guess the people I thought were practicing were actually racing, never really noticed their numbers...they were all so nice and gave me plenty of room to pass. I bet this never happens again.

Training Theory Applied - Part 3

Specificity

Racing is not training. The argument is that you can't create a 'true' race intensity effort during training. Ok, maybe not but that's no reason not to try and make the efforts you do put in as effective as possible.

Yes, I'm speaking of specificity!

In the hierarchy of training theory specificty ranks near the top (so it's no coincidence that it's my third topic I guess!). If you are not addressing specificity on most of your rides then you are either - just riding around, or wasting your time. A bold statement though that may be, I think I can demonstrate that it has merit.

The short explanation of what I mean by specificity is to DO WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO on any given day/ride. For many riders there are degress of specificity on any given workout, which although defensible, is not the point. The point is to do what you're supposed to do. "What you are supposed to do" will be answered in the next Training Theory Applied topic, but for now let's give it some metrics.

If your Functional Threshold Power is 300 Watts then your Threhsold level workouts should be very near the neighborhood of 300W. If your VO2max Power is 425W, then it's a fair guess that VO2 specific workouts should be right around 425W (*I chose FTP/MAP intensitites specifically due to their race level relevance). This begs the question "how near" should they be - good question. It's fair to say that for Threhsold level workouts you should probably be in the ball park of 90 -105% of FTP. For VO2max efforts you have an effective range of 85 - 110% of MAP (Maximal Aerobic Power).

Which leads to the next question - how long? Since the goal of workouts at FTP and MAP is to hit the needed workload, and maximize the effectiveness and total volume of time spent there you have two considerations - length of interval and length of recovery. Let's start with FTP efforts.

Several studies have looked at the minimum and maximum duration of workouts in order to determine the optimal range. For the most part it is well established that 10 - 12 minutes is the minimum interval duration for a worthwhile threshold level workout. The maximum is likely in the neighborhood of 60 minutes of focused FTP work. Certainly you can do much more than 60 minutes of threhsold work when intensity drops to 90%, especially when factored as Normalized power (which I believe has great relevance, but isn't the be all/end all of rating an effort), but the key word is focused.

On the recent Santa Cruz Mountain Challenge I spent the first 2h41m at 90% FTP Normalized! That was a hard day but if we look at the variability index of that ride we see it was 1.19, so it wasn't a very focused interval and therefore lacked the requisiste Specificity! In fact the longest quasi steady state interval (VI < 1.05) of that ride was a 30min block at 286Wavg and 303Wnorm, and I'm not sure I could have done that a 2nd time that day!



Which takes me back to the 60 minutes of accumulated threshold intensity on a given interval workout. It is a good target.

Recovery - another key component. On focused, SPECIFIC threshold efforts you shouldn't require too much recovery. Figuring that you "should" be able to do a 60 minute block of this intensity, then a five minute recovery from the standard 20min interval should be plenty.

VO2max Effort Length and Recovery: Since MAP is so much harder and more wicked than FTP you should look to maximize total time spent at VO2max! Which is to say at between 85-110% of VO2 Power. This range is cited in one of my favorite research papers by Thibault when he lays out his graded MAP interval protocol. Accumulated time at/around MAP is an important consideration because even a motivated athlete has a hard time doing MAP efforts of longer than five minutes for more than 2 or 3 intervals (eg 15minutes of accumulated VO2 time). I think it is an elegant representation of specificity! He even covers the rest intervals necessary at these varying intensities. Without reading the whole paper it is a fair estimate to say recovery time should be at a 1:1 or 1:1.5 interval/recovery ratio. As you gain fitness you can play with these recovery times.

Which brings us to our last point on Specificity for today. How do you know when to stop? A classic rule of thumb is to stop the interval when you can no longer hold at least 90% of the intended workload. This rule of thumb is fraught with problems however - for example if you hold 90% of 90% FTP - you're really only doing ~81% FTP. Not quite the intended effort level! So a modification is when you cannot hold the intended % of FTP or MAP workload you are likely done for the day. For example if you start a 20min block at 90% FTP and cannot hold it after 10 minutes...rest, recover and try again - if you still can't hold it then go home and rest.

Too often athletes squander their rides on easy pedaling and unfocused efforts. By addressing your specific workout needs you will see quicker progression and more overall satisfaction with your fitness gains. It will also translate into stronger race performances and more confidence that you can put the hammer down when necessary!

Patterson Pass Road Race

I haven't raced a road race all year - and have only pinned a number on four times in all (3 crits and a track race), so why am I doing a hilly road race? No, I'm not a climber, not even a pretend one, but this course just seems like it might be a good training ride. Climbing, wind, wind, climbing...what could be better at fostering some fitness? Here is the course map:



Looks like about 1500 feet of gain in ~3miles. Sounds like Old La Honda, but we'll see. Strategy? Go early and make 'em chase me (geeze, I hope they aren't all reading this). I figure the Normalized power will be roughly the same overall, so I might as well make it a big time trial. 3 laps of the course should be enough I think. I'll let ya know...

Cyclocross Programs Annoucement

STERLING SPORTS GROUP CYCLOCROSS PROGRAMS
Company Deepens Committment To The Cyclo-Cross Community For 2009

SUNNYVALE, CA (July 17, 2009) – Sterling Sports Group is going ‘All In” for cyclocross in 2009 by offering a full complement of ‘cross related programs and activities. Company President Matt McNamara noted that adding elements like a cross specific webinar, weekly training series, online training programs and performance testing & fit packages specifically for the CX community was a logical step for the company: “We are a performance coaching company committed to the culture of cyclocross. We couldn’t think of a better way to demonstrate that commitment than to broaden our reach to the cyclocross community through these innovative programs.” Among the program elements:

- CX Training Camp – All ‘crossers are invited to sign up for our 2 day training camp September 18 – 20th. The camp includes baseline performance testing, group rides, position assessment, and training program orientations. Camp costs between $150-$375 depending on affiliation

- Training Series – Starting September 8th we’ll have a 6-week training series on Tuesday nights. Each week we’ll tackle a different element of ‘cross competence including: starts, mounts/dismounts, hills, intervals and a practice race. Training Rides are $30/each or $120 for the whole series.

- ‘Cross Webinar – We will be hosting a Cyclocross Training Webinar on August 27th. It will cover ‘cross specific training and racing requirements including program design, equipment selection, interval formats for racing, and more. Webinar is $15.

- Online Programs – We have developed several cyclocross specific online training programs available through our website. These programs are geared to different levels of racer and those training with power or heart rate. Online programs start at $50.

-‘Cross Specific Testing & Fit Package – Get an idea of where your fitness is, what to train to be faster, and get a complete Pro-Fit in one easy session. A $225 value, only $150 for Cyclocross! Valid til October 1st.

To register for any of these exciting programs simply visit us online at www.sterlingwins.com, drop us an e-mail at info@sterlingwins.com, or call us at 408.891.3462


ABOUT STERLING SPORTS GROUP
Sterling Sports Group (www.sterlingwins.com) is the result of over 20 years of passion for the sport of cycling. Launched in late 2003, Sterling Sports is a growing company focused on creating a seamless interface between athlete and coach, technology and personal attention. They can be reached at 408.891.3462 or info@sterlingwins.com
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Training Theory Applied - Part 2

Consistency:

In the first post of this series(is it a series?) I wrote about The Athletic Mindset, and the triangulations that form it: Zen Buddhism, The Flow State, and Expertise. Now the trick is to employ these elements in a manner that helps drive development. For the most part that can be summed up in one word - Consistency.

If we take the precepts of the Athletic Mindset to be worth striving for, then bringing consistency to your workouts is an elemental first step. Yet, it is often difficult to master. There are too many distractions, too much work, too few hours in the day. Whatever the rationale it really boils down to a question of committment. Instead of striving for consistency, many athletes follow the 'too much, too little' paradigm. They'll have a world class ride, better still a world class week or two and then, because the training was so focused, too focused, they over cook themselves and training plummets for a day, a week, or a month. Or perhaps training is steady and work/life/family/stress gets in the way and training plummets. Whatever the reason it's these 'ON/OFF' patterns that result in sporadic fitnes gains. The challenge is to establish a new pattern...

Consistency

Consistency is really just making the committment to steady progress with your training. My recent ToolBox article on Pez Cycling News covered some of the traditional approaches to organizing your training week, including how some of those traditions may contribute to sporadic fitness. As noted in the article it is often a good idea to take a larger view of your training. One way to do that is to look at your goals for a particular block (threshold development for example) AND how that fits into the big picture of training towards that marquee goal you've set vis-a-vis training load. Another way is to look at the individual rides and better manage their efficiency. First let's look at Training Load.

Thanks to people like Andy Coggan, Hunter Allen, Eric Bannister, Phil Skiba etc. we have any number of ways to track training load for both individual workouts and over time. Personally, I like the Coggan model because it is built from a solid platform of research and it's pretty intuitive to understand (you can brush up on it here). I also like it because it's part of the WKO+ software that I use, so I don't have to do much to keep track of the numbers.

There have been several good threads about training load on the Wattage forum. They have dealt with the imposition of training over time - usually reflected in one's Chronic Training Load (CTL). The consensus seems to be that a gradual ramp rate of 5-8 TSS points per week (20-35 points per month) is sustainable long term up to an athletes as-yet-unknown optimal training volume. Of course the duration of this 'gradual build' is set by ones current CTL and, therefore, may not be the best tracking method for those alread close to an optimal training load (then again do YOU know YOUR optimal training load?). One thing is certain, by approaching your training load in a more longitudinal fashion you will likely build fitness at a rate you can maintain, and still see improvements throughout.

Let's say you have 10 hours a week to train. Theorhetically you have a maximum training load of 1000 TSS points (1 Hour at FTP = 100 points) per week. It is much more realistic to expect between 500 and 800 points in a given week for the same 10 hours (really, how many hours per week can you do at FTP!). You can then make an educated guess as to your individual capacity and set your training load accordingly. You may find it quite liberating to know that you only have to hit 550 TSS points this week and 555 TSS points next week to meet your long term training goals (hint - have long term training goals!). This awareness provides a great starting point for another element of consistency - the individual ride.

While variations in weekly training volume are easy for most athletes to see in the real world, they have a much harder time with the idea of moving training specificity from theory to application. By this I mean simply that they waste valuable training time goofing off. You know exactly what I mean...you start out on a two hour training ride and spend the first 30 minutes just riding along "warming up" then you knock off your 2x20minute intervals and roll back home at 'cool down' pace and call it a good day. While that is a 'specific' workout, it is not an efficient one. Consider that if you only have 10 hours to train in a week, you've just wasted 10% of your training time in an endurance or recovery zone that wasn't necessarily needed. Instead maximize the time you have by remaining cognizant of the goals for that workout and adjusting your efforts accordingly. Often I'll advocate starting a ride at the top end of Endurance, or even Tempo, to try and kickstart the workout while maintaining a higher average power. This is especially true on longer aerobic and tempo interval rides where the variability index would be lower than a higher intensity VO2 or Anaerobic intervals workout.

Matt's Training Update

Awhile back, well late April actually, I posted a short summary of my training year so far. Of note was the vast scarcity of miles and consistency. It wasn't that impressive, but it was motivating!

Since then I've been more focused, yet more relaxed as well. This goes to my embrace of consistency over haphazardness. I started to look at my training in the long view - eg where I want to be when Cyclocross season hits. I know that I want my Chronic Training Load (CTL) to be at or above 100 points/day. I also know that getting there in 12-16 weeks is a much more responsible approach than doing it in 8 weeks (recall that my starting point was a CTL of about 30). This realization brought with it a certain tranquility. I've repeatedly stressed a gradual build in fitness to my athletes and now here I am living my own advice. There is a certain comfort that comes from knowing I need to do about 500-600 TSS points per week in May and early June. Frankly, it's pretty easy - I can do that volume on about 8 or 9 hours a week of mostly structured training. Those totals step up a bit for the next 6 weeks to between 600-700 points, and therefore a few more hours, but it's still a very stable, steady, and do-able progression. Here is the CTL Progression:



and the Performance Manager Chart since December:

STERLING SPORTS GROUP CYCLOCROSS 2.0

Cyclocross Team Returns With Enhanced Program For 2009

SUNNYVALE, CA (June 2, 2009) – Sterling Sports Group is pleased to announce the kickoff to our 2009 Cyclocross Race Program. Built on the foundation of our successful 2008 race team, version 2.0 offers prospective team members a comprehensive racing experience. We are looking for select riders in Northern California, Colorado, New England, and the Pacific Northwest who are committed to a focused training and racing program

The Sterling Cyclocross Team will support a core group of approximately 20 local riders with a cyclocross specific coaching program, a team race mechanic at marquee events, access to substantial pro-deals from sponsors, and great prices on the best looking kits in the peloton. Team training programs start in July and we will have a team house at Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR this December. This year the team will include up to five riders on each of our Regional teams: Colorado, New England, and Washington/Oregon.

Sterling Sports Group President Matt McNamara noted that “the team was a such a blast last year that we just had to continue and expand it. As a performance coaching company I cannot think of a better way to support the racing community, and build awareness of our services than through the team. I was proud to see our jersey appear on podiums throughout the season and have our program attract great racers like Mike Sayers and Liza Rachetto, and sponsors like Leopard Bikes, SRAM, Ritchey, and Northwave. I’m really excited that we are able to expand in 2009.”

Maybe you’d like to ride with us? Interested riders should submit a team application between June 2nd and June 28th . Preference will be given to those athletes who most ably demonstrate the balance between competition, camaraderie, and fun in their approach and attitude. Applications and program descriptions are available on the company website www.sterlingwins.com. The final team roster will be announced June 30th, and training programs start July 1st. Team clothing orders will be submitted July 15th and racing starts in September!

Cost for the program is $350 ($175 for Juniors) and includes:
• A team kit (Jersey/Short)
• Cyclocross Specific Training Program, including an online training log: July – December
• Optional Personalized coaching program for $99/mo ($175 membership)
• Team Training Camp in August including – performance testing & bike fit,
• Race Mechanic/Support from Bay Area Mobile Bike Repair, at top tier events like Bay Area Super Prestige, NCNCA Cup and Districts.
• Regular Team Training Rides
• Access to Pro Deals on team bikes and equipment thanks to our sponsors.

ABOUT STERLING SPORTS GROUP
Sterling Sports Group (www.sterlingwins.com) is the result of over 20 years of passion for the sport of cycling. Launched in late 2003, Sterling Sports is a growing company focused on creating a seamless interface between athlete and coach, technology and personal attention. They can be reached at 408.891.3462 or info@sterlingwins.com
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