From training to race weight, to time trials and peak performances, this is Part II of what I learned from the 2019 road season:
Race Weight
140 lbs. (63.5 kg) is my tipping point:
A few times during the 2019 season, I cracked. Not mentally – that would come after I crashed at Intelligentsia – but physically. My body could only handle so much work, so much training, and so much stress. And I discovered, at these points throughout the season, that these ‘tipping points’ were directly correlated with my weight. In other words: I got too skinny.
- Two days before our team’s training camp February, I completely cracked while on a routine training ride. set out mid-morning for a three-hour ride with 3×12 min Threshold efforts on the TT bike. Everything was normal: same breakfast, same time of day, same warm-up. But during the first interval, I completely disintegrated. I started off at 340 W, which quickly became 330, then 320, then 310 W… I felt like sh*t. I was going deep into the well of suffering, but nothing could save me. My power just kept dropping. Seven minutes in, I had to stop on the side of the road and call my mom in order to pull myself together. I weighed 138 lbs. that morning, having lost almost 10 since Christmas. It was too much too fast, and I learned my lesson. Almost.
- In April, I completed a 4-week training block in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was the best four-week block of training I’ve ever had, and I was about to come into the Tour of the Gila on some of the best form of my life. But, once again, I pushed it a little too far. My weight dipped into the 130s again just a few days before I was set to leave for the race. After nearly a month of huge rides and consistent intervals, I cracked again on a normal training ride. It was my last endurance ride at altitude, and was supposed to be just two-hours at a comfortable pace. But 20 minutes in, my power meter read ‘easy’ but my mind said ‘hard.’ I could barely turn the pedals. It felt like I was bonking, but I had only just started. Luckily, there were still a few days until the race, so I had time to eat good food and put my feet up. It didn’t take long until I found my legs again, but it was an important lesson, now twice learned.
A Stable Weight is a Good Weight for Stage Races:
Along similar lines, I discovered that my ideal race weight is ~145 lbs. And, just as importantly, I perform at my best in training and racing when my weight stays consistent. This may seem obvious, but especially in stage racing, your body is going through all sorts of overload and torture that makes it extremely difficult to stay consistent. This means eating and drinking the right amount – not too much, not too little. Just like Goldilocks.
Whatever weight you come into the stage race, it’s best to keep it consistent. Whether or not you feel you are at your ‘ideal race weight’ is pretty irrelevant. The best thing that you can do for your body and your performance is fuel properly, and keep your weight consistent.
I noticed this correlation both in my training and racing. One of my most consistent training blocks of the year was a three-week stretch in January (probably because my routine was yet to be interrupted by traveling or racing), where my weight remained almost constant: 141-143 lbs. for the duration. I never had a bad day in all that time, and I felt full and fueled every single day.