“OK, this time, I’m going to stand here and catch you if you don’t clear it. Just charge it hard and let go.”
I hate this.
Howdyshell and I are mountain biking off of Lefthand Canyon outside Boulder, and I didn’t make it 50 feet off the road before the terrain forced me to dismount and walk up the first tricky little uphill.
“OK,” Howdyshell said. “A mistake I’ve always made in mountain biking is going through sections I couldn’t ride and not repeating them again. If you can’t get them, do it until you do.”
Howdyshell is a great coach. He’s not being obnoxious and taking advantage of our imbalance in skill to rip on me and score bro points because I can’t send it like he can. He’s genuinely invested in helping me get to the point that I can get through these rock gardens, drops, and rutted turns.
He also doesn’t make the mistake of pushing me too much. Neither of us has hit this mountain bike trail before, and it’s fair to say it’s really freaking hard. Even Howdyshell has to push himself, and though he’s far ahead, I swear I can see his bibs puckering before he disappears over a sudden drop. Who said Boulder County didn’t have any technical mountain biking?
I would never choose this for my Sunday ride, but it’s late September, and this is where I should be. The road racing season is over, and though I have one last gravel race waiting for me in October, it’s my offseason. The offseason means less structured training, but most importantly, it’s an opportunity to take inventory of the weaknesses and addresses them.
For me, that means improving my technical riding. Look, I’m a roadie through and through. I gravitate to the road because, to me, a racer’s motor should determine how fast you are, not your skills.
But I also love gravel racing, and what’s limiting my performance in gravel racing isn’t as much my legs as my skills. I can get as fit as I want, but if I keep grabbing fistfuls of brake every time I hit a technical downhill, I will bleed places on the results list.
So, even though I hate technical riding, even though I wouldn’t choose it, I’m here, working on my weakness, badly. But the only thing worse than working on my weakness is not working on it at all, which leads to actual failure. If I never improve, the thing that holds me back never changes and I’ll keep having the same results.
If you’re a gravel racer, you’re approaching the offseason. Sure, some races remain, but sooner or later, in the next two months, the cold will set in, the races will dry up, and you’ll have to concede that the 2021 gravel racing season is over.
You will feel a void. You could hire a therapist, or you could follow this simple two-step process:
First, take two weeks off completely. I explain why on The Better Podcast, which is worth a listen, but the point I make there is that taking time off in October, November, or December doesn’t matter at all to your long-term fitness, but it does make a massive difference to your physical and psychological well-being.
Second, during these two weeks off, use some of that extra time for a season review. You can ask yourself many questions, but if you’re not motivated to perform a complete inventory, ask yourself this: What’s holding you back the most?
That question should trigger an honest response and lead to meaningful actions. The answers could be (I even argue should be) embarrassing – few people are proud of their shortcomings. Don’t hold back – remember, you’re the only one reading them.
Once you answer what’s holding you back the most, develop a plan to address them. The key to managing your weakness is that your solution is effective and simple. Let’s use my example to illustrate the process:
What’s holding me back the most? Technical proficiency.
What’s an effective solution? Get coaching from an expert. This is effective because it reduces the learning curve.
What’s a simple solution? Designate one or two days a week to practicing technical skills I learned from my coach. This is simple because focused repetition will rein
The offseason is the ideal time to identify and work on your weaknesses. Remember, it’s OK if your weakness doesn’t become your strength. You’re still coming out ahead because unlike last year, you haven’t pretended your weakness doesn’t exist. When training starts in earnest again for your big race, you’ll be light years ahead.
When it comes to performance, small changes over time produce the differences in success outside observers like to call ‘talent’ or ‘breakthroughs.’ For those in the trenches, it’s just another way of saying ‘working smart.’
– Matti Rowe, Summit Endurance Academy Coach
