Mid-Race Fade - Comments & Discussion

My tendency to fade mid-race this season raises a few questions worthy of discussion.

1. Did I mis-manage my pre-race nutrition? This is a question raised by an experienced coach after reading my blog entry. It is an interesting insight, particularly because we typically do not think that there is any risk of "bonking" in a 'cross race that is only 45 minutes long. But 'cross racing places demands on your body that are vastly disproportionate to the length of the race. Just think of the energy used in pre-riding the course (particularly if you arrive at 8 a.m. or earlier for a 10 a.m. race), preparing your gear, staying warm in cold or wet weather, and in warming up for the race itself. On some mornings I would eat as early as 5:30 a.m. before driving to the race and then not eat at all in the hours leading up to the race. That was undoubtedly a mistake. Was it the cause of my fade? Probably not the only cause, but certainly a contributing factor.
   
2. Was it a strategic error to start really hard? Is it better to start conservatively and attempt to ride through the field during the race, or start fast and risk blowing up? I tend to favor the latter approach for several reasons: (1) People are closer together at the beginning, so you can make up places more quickly; (2) starting fast puts you in front of most crash-induced traffic jams; (3) everyone else will start fast and fade some, so the key is to fade less than them. The fast start brings the risk, however, that you'll blow up and be passed by dozens of racers, all of which will become hard to re-pass as the race goes on and gets strung out.
   
3. Did my training over-emphasize VO2max and under-emphasize threshold power? I think the answer is certainly "yes." I alluded to this in my previous post in my off-hand comment about doing only two laps of our 5-minute practice course. Early in the 'cross season I was pretty diligent in doing threshold intervals on the 'cross bike, including a couple of good rides out the C&O Canal Towpath. But as the season went on, I more often defaulted to using our Wednesday 'cross practice as my main workout of the week. These practices, while good for many things, cannot be considered threshold training. I should add that, by relying on cross practices, I was not exactly following the advice of my coach! If I had been more diligent in following his weekly plans, I very likely would have preserved more of my threshold power during the season. Next year, I'll make it a priority to keep up with some longer threshold rides and I'll encourage my teammates to vary our efforts at 'cross practice.