Even the most attentive cyclist has no control over the actions of others. When disaster does strike it can take your passion away only to have it replaced with fear and trepidation. If you are lucky enough to escape with recoverable injuries you do not come back to the sport with the same perspective. And if you are seriously injured you may not come back at all.

Like all cycling skills there is a specific way to keep your self on the bike when faced with an obstacle in your path.

While its true that all sport carries with it the risk of injury, many injuries can be avoided by through proper preparation and training.

Endurance sport efficiency is largely dependant upon access and utilization of fat as a fuel source. Working at an intensity that results in the highest fat oxidation (Fatmax) is the key to success in long endurance events.

As you get closer to your race goals your training should become more precise, specific, and step towards race intensities. This is a precarious and technical process called �peaking.� A base training block is relatively easy to design but a race specific block is tricky. Maximum results often occur in that last 10% of intensity or duration. This may mean that extra little push needed to get into your aerobic capacity zone, a few more seconds of anaerobic endurance, or another 5 minutes at threshold. Mentally these efforts are the hardest to focus for and require the most fortitude to complete, but they may be the necessary stimulus to prepare you for your next race.

Conversely race specific training requires the most recovery and sensitivity to recovery. A bit more may be too much and can put you into overreaching, the predecessor to overtraining. The extra weight work out, a few added miles, another sprint could break your body down too much or perhaps even injure it. An extra 10% can leave you flat and tired on race day.

This careful balancing act is what we coaches build into our athlete's plans. Each work out has a recovery period attached to it and each athlete will recover differently based on a wide variety of factors. The athlete, however, knows their body best. In my experience elite athletes do not take enough rest days and focus too much on quantity of training over quality. Listen to your body; if you are showing signs of overreaching such as lethargy, irritability, digestive problems, performance drop, or frequent infections, it is time for a day of (or two). Realize that the extra rest may give you a better quality work out the following day, enough to put you in the last 10% that you could not achieve without it.

-Coach Matt Russ

The athlete that understands their individual digestion and absorption of nutrients and fluids is more likely to develop optimal methods of maintaining his or her blood volume (a critical issue for performance), without inducing nausea and vomiting (GI Distress).

The North Atlanta Multi-Sport Club provides a social and athletic setting for multi-sport athletes of all abilities in the North Atlanta area.