Ready vs. Prepared

I have committed to 52 posts in 52 weeks in 2014.  I’m looking forward to sharing some video posts, and maybe a guest post or 3 or 4, as well as a few of the lessons I’ve learned from a lifetime of doing things the hard way.  I don’t think, by any stretch of the imagination, that my little blog is going to change the world.  I do hope, however, to be able to reach some readers who, like me, are getting back on the bike “later in life”, or perhaps for the first time.  I’ve been riding bicycles since I was 6 and repairing them since I was at least 10 years old.  Getting serious about cycling in my forties has been challenging, frustrating, but mostly fun.  I love being on the road, but dirt is my passion.  I’ll be sharing my experiences with you, and I encourage you to comment and share yours as well.

Ready vs. Prepared

I have a confession.  I have not been prepared, in the recent past, for some events I’ve competed in.  I’ve been ready, but not prepared.  But, you’re saying to yourself, they’re the same thing.  What?  Allow me to explain.

As an athlete, growing up, I was always ready to play.  Baseball, football; it didn’t matter.  Suit me up and get me on the field.  Once I started playing varsity football in high school, things were different.  There was conditioning, and weight training, and nutrition, and game film.  Game film?  Yes, game film.  All of this added up to preparedness.  I was always “ready” to strap on the pads and lay a hurtin’ on an opposing lineman or linebacker.  But, if I didn’t take care of all the “little things”, there was no way in hell I’d be “prepared”.  Take game film for example.

Every week, we had optional film review.  Why anyone chose not to watch the opposing team’s film is still a mystery to me, but there were only a few of us that attended every week.  All offensive linemen…go figure.  By reviewing film, I could learn that opponent’s defensive tendencies, their formations and stunts, and ultimately be able to anticipate in most situations, what the other team was going to throw at us.  It made me a very PREPARED player.

Fast forward to my current athletic endeavors.  There is really no game film for a bike race, besides YouTube videos from a past participant’s GoPro camera.  It can give me an idea of the course layout, but it really won’t get me PREPARED to race.  Where I’ve failed to prepare has been with conditioning and in-race nutrition and hydration.

My thought process going into the Iceman Cometh Challenge in 2012 was, “I rode a century in August and was fine.  How hard can 30 miles on dirt in November be?”

Wellllllll….it’s hard.  Especially if you aren’t PREPARED.

I didn’t maintain the miles I needed in order to condition myself for the event.  I hadn’t made nutrition and hydration a priority leading up to, or in, the race.  My strength training was minimal.  Without blaming my equipment, I mounted tires that really were not suited to the conditions.  There are a lot of little things I should have done. In short, I failed to prepare.

The improvements I’ve made in all of my events this year have been the result of hard lessons learned.  The added training miles helped.  Being aware of my on-the-bike nutrition was a major factor in my endurance.  In this year’s century ride alone, I shaved an hour and seventeen minutes from my previous time.  This past November, I rode in my second Iceman.  I felt very strong on the bike.  My perception was that I fatigued to a lesser extent on hills, and recovery was faster.  My equipment was sound, and I brought the right clothing layers for early November in Traverse City.  Improvement?  Yes and no.  I finished with a nearly identical time to 2012.  Opportunity to learn and to be better PREPARED for 2014.

So, what have I learned?  For starters, I know I can ride for several hours, non-stop, at a moderate to moderately fast pace.  I also now know, that my overall conditioning sucks.  I just started a kettlebell class, and it wipes me out.  From the waist down, I’m getting it done.  As far as above-the-waist is concerned, strength does NOT equal fitness or endurance.  I’m taking steps to remedy that.  One of the things I need to constantly remind myself is that I cannot compare my beginning to someone else’s middle. I’m new to this, and I’ll continue to improve as a cyclist.  I’m always READY to ride.  I just have to keep thinking like a Boy Scout and “Be Prepared.”