When the going gets tough relax. The best way I have learned to relax in a race or in a tough group ride is to loosen up. I have a couple of tricks to do this. The first one is let my lower lip go slack as if it were blowing in the wind. The other one is to drop my elbows to keep my arms bent. When doing both I have found its imposible to tense up.

This last off season was an epic training season for me. I am sure there will be more like it or even harder but for now it has been my toughest to date. Why? Its simple, I want to improve.

With this in mind right after my last race of the 2008 season I sat down and thought long and hard about what I liked, didn’t like and my strengths and weaknesses from 2008. I was told by coaches and had read that I needed to sit down and write out my goals. My thought was this should not be to hard as I have been managing projects and business teams for years so I will apply what I learned from these experiences to my own desire to improve.

What is a goal? A goal is the result or achievement toward which effort is directed – http://www.dictionary.com

There are several tenants when setting goals. I have listed ones that I found helpful at Applied Sports Psychology. I did not follow these strictly but used them as guide lines.

1. Make goals specific, observable and in measurable terms
2. Clearly identify the time constraints
3. Goals should be precise
4. Use moderately difficult goals
5. Write goals down and regularly monitor progress
6. Use short-range goals to achieve long range plans
7. Make sure goals are internalized by the athlete
8. Consider personality and individual differences in goal setting
9. Set positive goals as opposed to negative goals
10. Identify a goal-achievement strategy
11. Seek support of goals
12. Set team as well as individual performance goals

In my previous post I listed some very simple goals some of these I am proud to say have been met! Others I am still working on some I have failed on. I will list my goals here as an example of the above guidelines.

Goal 1: Upgrade to Cat 4

I decided it was time to upgrade my license to Category 4 after speaking with teammates coaches and the head of license upgrades for Indiana and Kentucky. It was simple process and I met the requirements for number of races completed so I asked and I received my upgrade for the 2009 season. Want more details on what it takes to upgrade check out this link.

Goal 2: Become a stronger climber

Stop getting dropped in the climbs. This goal is a bit vague and a bit subjective when measuring results. I had a difficult time hanging in with the main group in races and training rides when the road became vertical. This was frustrating to me because I live around roads that are 80% hills and I like to climb but I wasn’t doing well. So I decided to educate myself on climbing by reading, speaking with strong climbers, coaches and participate in two different climbing camps. By the fall of 2008 and my second climbing camp I had been told by the coach that I had improved. I then sought the help of a strength coach to improve my leg and core strength in the off season in an effort to improve further. I am now 2-3 MPH faster on several of my training climbs over last year. I have also participated in group rides and races where I was able to drop other strong riders in the climbs. Climbing will all ways be an area of focus for me.

Goal 3: Drop some weight

This goal came about because I was still not happy with my weight even after dropping better that 30 lbs after getting back on the bike in 2003. I decided to set two possible outcomes to this goal. I labeled these as my primary goal, my intermediate goal and my advanced goal.

Goal 4: Improve my race standings

Basically I wanted to see myself with more pack finishes, some top 10 finishes and maybe just maybe a top 5 finish?

In my next article I will begin explaining how I went about setting up my goals, researching how to tackle the goal, what tools I applied to reach my goals and how I have met the goal or what I am doing to meet the goal.

The list I sent to my coach was not very detailed and included my the satus of some of these goals. I post it here for the world to see.

Upgrade to CAT 4 – (Done)
Loose 10 lbs – Done (Done)
Squat 300lbs (Done)
Stop getting dropped on climbs (I have made major improvements this year)
Get race average up to 22+ MPH early in the season – Done (Waddy RR)
Get TT Average up to 22+MPH early in the season (Failed – Still working on this)
Get race average up to 23 MPH Mid Season (Done Capital City Crit)
Get TT Average up to 23 MPH mid to late season (I will now be happy to get 22MPH)
Get race Average up to 24 MPH end of season (Done Capital City Crit)
Start breaking into the top 20 in races (So far so good)
Don’t wreck, break anything or get hurt (Failed – Wrecked in a Crit, broke a wheel and hurt my elbow)
Put in 15-20 races this year. (So far so good)

In my next posts I will write about the speciffics of how I set about meeting my goals.

Until then Keep The Shiny Side Up and Go climb a hill

Rob Grissom

Those who know me well know that I am a driven individual. While I like many others love to be successful, it doesn’t always mean winning. I am now a 40 something husband, father of two, career/business minded athlete. I have focused on cycling as my sport of choice.

Why cycling? I have been in love with bikes and riding them since I was very young. I also love High Performance Cars and driving fast. While I am not able to afford a Ferrari I can afford the Ferrari of bikes and still get my speed fix.

I embarked on an even more structured training program this season. I am determined this year to drop 10 lbs, upgrade to a category 4 racing license and quit getting dropped on the climbs. I have also set PR goals for speed and finishing spots on what I consider to be key races for myself.

In the coming weeks I will cover how I am trying to accomplish the above goals.

Until then keep riding and pushing your self try just a little bit harder.

Rob Grissom
Main Street Velo Racing Team