“Alright Team, here’s the Interval set for tonight’s practice!” A collective groan forms a cloud and sails away from the trail head where our high school mountain bike team is gathered. As the coach explaining tonight’s practice, I am getting narrowed eyes, crossed arms, and more than a few actual scowls from teenagers that thought joining the High School mountain bike team was going to be all Pit Vipers and “getting sendy.” Which it is – a lot of the time – but after the first few races, both athletes and coaches have been able to identify strengths and weaknesses, one of the weaknesses being endurance and power when going up hills. Because, well, that IS cross country mountain bike racing, and when we don’t go really hard uphill for extended amounts of time, our bodies and minds struggle. Which is why we train.
Let me switch roles from coach to athlete for a moment. In the context of racing, my progression went from, “Can I?” to “I can!” to “I can, and FASTER!” only to arrive at “This is FUN!!!!” I love the thrill of race day – everyone has on their freshest togs, skis/bikes/bods are all tuned up, and there is palpable energy in the air. The uncertainty of the thousands of combinations of possibilities of what could happen out there is intoxicating. However, race day is the MOST fun when you are prepared. When you have the fitness to duke it out with friends new and old, appreciate the natural beauty of your surroundings, and actually feel LUCKY to have the opportunity to push yourself this hard with like-minded individuals, that, to me is how racing can be FUN.
Back to wearing my coaches hat -in order to transcend dread, suffering, and survival mode on race day, you must be fit. So we follow a plan, build fitness, and emulate the stresses of race day during workouts and practices. By performing the right workouts at the right times, you have the opportunity to actually look forward to and have some fun on the race course/group ride/alpine objective. As coaches, we do this FOR you, not TO you. if you think about it, we are giving the gift of fun – if somewhat delayed. So next time you have a hard workout ahead, embrace the rewards that it will reap and get to work. Who knows, you might even have some fun!
Coach Jaime Brede is based out of Breckenridge, Colorado, where she lives with her husband Sam and pet rabbit, Gary. She graduated from Fort Collins High School where she swam as a mighty Lambkin, and attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Upon graduating in 2001 with a Major in Business Administration and a minor in skiing, rock climbing, and Ultimate Frisbee, Jaime returned to her family’s skiing roots in Summit County.
