COACHING CLINIC

PART FIVE

 

EXCELLENCE NOT MEDIOCRITY

 

Right, if any of you have got this far and have not dismissed these articles as rubbish because they don't fit your thoughts and lifestyle, then there are just a few points we need to highlight and affirm before this series comes to an end.

 

These articles are meant for a general guidance, and some people may benefit a lot more than others from them.  I know that some people are born with a natural talent but all the points I make will still improve those gifted riders.

 

You cannot, if you want to be a top rider, live a double life - not training in the week, ignoring all advice, then turning up on Sunday with the idea that you “did a bit" yesterday so you will be fine today. It’s foolish and lying to yourself.

 

If you are riding in the regional events only, why be satisfied with 15 or 16 points a match, when the opposition is poor or weak or inexperienced? It may look good, you may be top scorer for your team but does it mean anything except  that your riding in a mediocre  league where you can take five second places with a youngster behind you and go home feeling good.

 

Riding in cycle speedway, may look fast from the outside with the low gears, and small tracks but the average speed is around 18 mph, so think about it!  In each race you ride for 40 seconds at 18 mph.  Consider a track rider or a time trialist.  Not directly comparable I know because of the difference in gears, but the top sprinters

over 200 metres will touch 45mph.  

A time trialist, will maintain 25mph plus for hours on end, some even on fixed gears, so why are you so knackered?  Because these guys know what they have to do to be consistently good at their sport, and

consistently do it.

 

We have seen that excess weight is a burden to a cycle speedway rider, we know that alcohol dehydrates you, the wrong type of food and drink at the wrong time slows you down and that having a four month hibernation break every winter creates physical and mental barriers.

 

I have given you the answers to these problems, and told you how to approach race meetings on a psychological level.  I have told you how to train in the winter months (if you can't get out use a turbo).  We have learnt that cycle speedway does not require massive muscle definition and weeks on the weights in the gym.  

What it does require is dedication, diet and discipline.  Look after yourself with these three things in mind, set yourself some intermediate goals throughout the season and aim for excellence not mediocrity.

 

You can all improve, but the question is do you want to?  Bon chance.

 

Editor’s Note – I am sure readers will join me in thanking John for this in-depth and informative insight into the world of coaching.  Many thanks John.

PART FOUR
 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT

 

Food and drink, we can't do without them can we?  Well “no” is the obvious reply, but how much and when is the question, we need to ask ourselves when we are involved in sport.

 

There are two or three ways to look at this question.  Do we just eat and drink what we want, follow a diet that carbo loads and hydrates us as if we were doing a 100 mile road race, or think sensibly about what we are doing, and eat and drink accordingly?

 

Let us look at these three scenarios individually, firstly eating and drinking what we want.  Ok, how many times have you seen a cycle speedway rider turn up for a Sunday match with a hangover?  How many times have you seen a rider throw up in the pits?  How many times have you seen a rider way down on performance and when you ask him what’s wrong, he just says i was out last night, as if that is a perfectly good reason why the team has just lost the match.  These are all examples of eating and drinking what you want in sport.  It's also called irresponsibility.

 

Second example, eat a big meal the evening before, pasta, jacket potatoes, bread, rice, then in the morning top up with sports gels and drinks and energy bars in the pits before your race.  This is fine if you are doing an endurance event or a medium distance event needing sustained slow release energy throughout, but we are dealing with five high intensity possibly anaerobic short burst efforts, so why do we need to carry all that food and carbo baggage around with us during a race?

 

The third scenario, is one that I hope that at least a few of you follow.  Eat a reasonable meal the night before, say chicken, fish or a light rice dish, stay away from spices and curries, eat fruit as a dessert, and stay off the alcohol.  For breakfast, have a small bowl of porridge with jam , or toasted wholemeal bread and jam, with fruit juice.  For those caffeine junkies, who need their fix have a cup of

coffee if you must.

 

At least two hours, preferably three, before the event, eat a small salad sandwich, and drink diluted fruit juices.  After that hydrate only, with whatever isotonic drink suits you but preferably water only.  Do not use those caffeine laden drinks that promise you the world, or carbonated drinks under any circumstances.  You will feel so much better, lighter and fitter because all you have put into your stomach are things which can be converted into energy, with no side effects or downsides.

 

After the event eat sparingly for a few hours then have a normal balanced meal carbos, proteins, vegetables and fruit, if you follow this regime.  You will improve considerably from either of the previous two outlined scenarios and be on the way to becoming a truly serious athlete.  Good luck.

PART THREE

 

IN THE ZONE

 

Now for those of you (if any) who are still reading these articles, we have got to the stage where we have decided that excess body weight is a major contributor to being slow, and found out what we can do about it.  Also that continuous training without the usual four months plus lay off is a major step towards keeping fit and healthy both physically and mentally.  Now we need to have a look a little deeper at the underlying psychological reasons people perform or under perform.

 

How do you know that you are good at something?  You achieve success!  People tell you that you are good!  Your peers show you grudging respect!  But the main thing is that you feel it and know it yourself.

 

Ever heard of the term "in the zone?"  It’s the state you feel when you know that you have trained mentally and physically to the position where you can put out the optimum performance each time you race.  It’s when no matter who the opposition is you just know that you will do well and it feels easy when you are there.  It doesn't come easy.  Apart from the physiological training, there is the major aspect of mental training.

 

You go into the pits, you look at the programme and invariably you start scanning through your races, finding out who you have got in heat three, what gates has Joe Bloggs got, when do I meet John Smith,etc.  Why?   None of this will alter a thing, so why worry about it?  It is going to happen so let it come on and concentrate on

yourself. 

 

Firstly you will have checked the evening before that your licence, kit,

and spare kit is in your bag, that the tools and equipment you need are to hand, your drinks bottle and helmet and glasses for wet weather or sun are available ready to go, and your bike and spare wheels are checked and in first class order.  Therefore your mind is completely at rest as you are fully prepared.

 

Or are you one of those riders who get to the track, have to borrow a helmet, go around the pits asking can I borrow your spanner/wire brush/ pump/ drinks, etc, and then when they get a spanner haven't a clue what to do with it!  I have regularly seen a rider who, ten minutes before the start, has his seat off, wheel out, bottom bracket stripped, and is rescued time after time by his team mates fixing his bike for him. 

 

This guy is a loser from the start.  Worse than that, he is causing his team mates problems by disturbing their mind and thought processes.  Don't fall for it!  You could lose out because of him and his couldn't care less attitude to his team, club and himself.

 

Do not be distracted by anything.  Find a spot in the pits, make it your own.  Arrange your kit and equipment, take a deck-chair or stool with you and use it.  Stay out of the sun.  Use a brolly if it’s glaring hot, and hydrate well.  If it’s wet use waterproofs and change your kit at the interval.  I’m sure that we are all professional enough to have a spare pair of socks and racing pants.  If it’s cold keep warm in the pits.  Use a turbo or rollers and keep a warm coat on.

 

If people talk to you be pleasant but don't get caught up in conversations.  Plenty of time for that afterwards (we all do post race analysis sessions don't we?). You need the space and time to get your mind into race mode.  Concentrate on your best performance in the past.  Remember the success you had last week.  Remember that you are still the same (if not better) person who had such a good season last year.  If you are newish to the sport remember the guy you beat last time out and how that felt.

 

When it’s your race go out take your grid and you don't even need or want  to know who is on the other grids, it’s immaterial.  They are there for only one thing, for you to beat them, and you know that this is what the training is about.

 

When the race is over that’s it!  It’s over, win or lose its finished.  Don't cry and whinge about it.  Sort yourself and bike out drink if needed, and concentrate on your next race.  Don't use energy and time going over something you can't change.  Concentrate on what you can influence in your next race. Believe in yourself and do

it.

 

Just one last thing.  I am sure that you are not one of those riders who turn up week after week with holes in their racing pants, gloves with no palms in them, and peaks on their helmets and wheel spindles  too long, and have to be told by the ref to change them causing a major panic ten minutes before the start.  You are too good and professional for that aren't you, or are you?.

 

Next time food and hydration.  Yes we all need it to live, but how much, what and when?  Find out how to beat the others by reading the next article . Bye for now.    

Next Time - Excellence or Mediocrity

PART TWO

 

RACING TO WIN

 

Well here we go again on how to train for cycle speedway.  This time we can look at when to train.

 

The first thing I must emphasise, is that racing to train is not what you should be doing.  When you race you race to win, not to get yourself fit.  Of course by win I don't always mean first place.  I mean sitting in for third place and a 6-4, is a win in my view in a team event.  The guy who scores 10 points a match and each of his races is a 6-4 is equally as good if not better than the guy who scores 20 and his partner 5 and gets all 5-5s.

 

As we discussed last time, cycle speedway riders race for about 30 miles a year, admittedly, quite a lot at anaerobic level but so do a lot of other sports people and generally for much greater distances and time periods.  Again I must emphasise that cycle speedway is not and cannot be regarded as an endurance sport.  Correction!  The only way it can be regarded as an endurance sport is when it is made that way by the participants, because of their reluctance and inability to train correctly.

 

So we have got riders who race about 30 miles a year, (yes I know that some of you do more but it is still negligible) and even in the middle of the season can't take two on the trot without looking as though they are dying.  That happens in regional racing, not just at the top level.  We also have the rider who never takes five rides because he is "injured", or being oh so chivalrous, lets a reserve take one of his rides. This just further reduces the number of rides per season he is

doing.

 

Let us look at other amateur cycling disciplines.  I have known many very good time trialist road men and a few trackies, who do a full season, then go straight into a winter season of cyclo-cross, then come February, start training for their next season.  This continuity, gives them that edge in their fitness as they do not experience the drop off in October, and the dreadful and sometimes frenzied attempts to "Get Fit" in February that a good proportion of cycle speedway riders go through.

 

Triathlon and duathlon competitors train continually, as to do well in two or three disciplines it takes a rather special person and mindset.  The next time you complain about rubber legs after a tough race, think how you would feel after doing 25 miles in an hour, jumping off your bike and running 10k.

 

So what does the cycle speedway rider do at the end of the season when he is completely exhausted after riding one mile a week at racing pace?  Answer, hangs up his bike, eat rubbish, go out on the booze and do minimal training till February when panic training starts again.

 

Get out on your bikes guys, spin low gears, try cyclo-cross, go off road mountain biking, do circuit training (minimal weights), but train!  Do not be inactive.  Continuous training is the answer unless you love the annual pain and mental suffering that the start of each season brings but more about that side of things next time.

COACHING CLINIC - PART ONE

 

IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE – LOSE WEIGHT

 

Ok, so you ride cycle speedway.  The new season is a couple of months away, and after your hibernation since October, the time has come to get yourself back into shape, push yourself through all that pain and make up all those excuses why you’re not going well while you have another pint in the pub after that pizza you just enjoyed.

 

Take a long hard look at yourself.  Like what you see?  That extra stone (6kg), you gained during the winter won’t vanish on its own.  A once-a-week thrash around the track for six or seven weeks is going to do little to improve your times.  Bet that has cheered you up!

 

Now look at what your sport asks of you.  Once a week (twice for some people) you are asked to race five times around a 75 metre track for four laps.  Total distance 1500 metres, less than a mile.  You may have around 30 events depending on your league and own choosing - total 30 miles in the full season.  Time trialers and velodrome riders can do that in one event.  Road racers consider that distance as a warm up!  Your yearly time total is around two hours.  Big deal. 

 

So you want to get better?  Want to know how to do it?  Here you are then - all for free.  Firstly it’s a known fact that if you were given the choice of riding a bike weighing 27 lbs (12.5 kg) or one which weighed 15 lbs (6.5kg), the majority would snatch the lighter bike and ride away smiling.  Why pay hundreds of pounds for lighter frames and wheels and cranks, when you can get the same and more benefit for free? How?  Read on!

 

It’s well-known in cycling coaching circles that the loss of one kilogram in body weight can, all other things being equal, knock 25 seconds off your time for a 30 minute steady climb.  That six kilograms that mysteriously appeared these last few months, around your gut, if vanquished, could equate to a vast improvement in your times.  

It’s simple arithmetic.  For every minute raced the gain would be .833secs.  Seeing that a race is usually about 40 seconds, then the gain would be .555 of a second.  But we are talking about possibly 6 kg loss, so 6 x .555 = 3.33 secs, equate that into distance on the track and you are suddenly 25 metres faster than you used to be.

 

Ok how do I do it then?   Well forget your fancy gyms, and weights.  They will put muscle on you and that adds weight.  Work out a simple circuit training course that covers flexibility and core fitness.  Decide that you are going to achieve this weight loss - and do it!!!  Cut out all the excess carbohydrates you don't need.  You are not an endurance athlete.  

That means bread, pizzas, biscuits, limit the sweet stuff (you don't need the calories), watch what you drink and that doesn't only

mean alcohol, ride your bike, and watch the pounds fall off.  Eat well and healthily, especially fruit and veg, salads, oily fish, and white meats - and your self-esteem, and riding confidence will go through the roof.

 

This will not take months either.  I lost 10lb in eight weeks, so give it a go.  Oh just one major hurdle.  You have got to want to get better.  If you cheat yourself or tell yourself a load of bull (I'm ok, I'm going reasonably well, I'm older than I was, I will get better as the season goes on, etc ) then don't start it because you are a waste of time, and need to ask what you are racing for?

 

Hope at least some of you try it.  Good luck.

 

Next Time – Racing to Win

With the new season approaching fast, riders up and down the country will soon be brushing off the cobwebs and starting to prepare for 2013.  With snow on the ground and temperatures falling below freezing, it’s tough to get yourself motivated.  So what can be done to encourage riders out of the comfort of their homes and down to the track or the gym?

 

We asked top northern coach John Burston for some ideas.  Always forthright and free with his advice, John was more than happy to oblige.  Over the next few days we will be bringing you a four-part series explaining what you can do to improve your game before the tapes go up on the 2013 season.

 

John is widely recognised as one of cycle speedway’s best coaches. His in-depth experience of the sport and no nonsense approach as earned him the reputation of being a hard task-master and an inspirational motivator – so who better than to host out new Coaching Clinic!

But first let's take a closer look at John's sporting career and why he is well qualified to lead our new feature, Coaching Clinic.

JOHN BURSTON PROFILE - posted 25 January 2013

John came into cycle speedway relatively late, at the grand old age of 31, having raced motor bikes on the sand tracks winning the North West Unlimited Championship, on a Hagon Triumph.

 

“My elder brother Roy had rode for Moston Pirates years before and I was in the same class at school as Josh Gleave.  I knew about the old Blackley track since I was a kid.  I saw a report in the Bury Times about a new team, Chesham Comets, and went to see them” John told Spokesman.

 

John teamed up with the Comets winning the club indie and the Woolertons Trophy.  He spent two years at Heywood, where he rode for the National League versus Scotland before joining the famous Blackley team (pictured below) and riding in the team which won the national team championship in 1979 and 1980, along with numerous league and knockout cup events.

 

John Burston (back row second left) pictured with Blackley’s 1979 British team championship winning team.  The line-up is John Whiting, John Burston, Steve Crook, Derek Garnett, Roy Burston (team manager), Front row – Paul Hulme, Dennis Torr, Robin Martakies (sponsor), Les Bowen, John Watchman

“I was in the team which won the Ashtonhurst Fours and the first two indoor team matches held in Manchester before retiring and taking up triathlon and biathlon winning the Selby vets biathlon and finishing second in the Stone biathlon, also winning my age event in the European championships at Birmingham” explained John.

 

John then took up time trialling and fell running and enjoyed a good few years at those sports before he took up cycle road racing, getting in the top three in a number of Cheshire events.  At the same time John was riding cyclo-cross, finishing as North West veterans champion on a number of occasions.  After he had competed in the taxing Three Peaks event, John changed direction and became a cyclo-cross commissaire.

 

John picks up the story again

 

“I came back to cycle speedway as a competitor in the 1989 national vets at Leicester and finished seventh on 14 points, not having ridden a match for two years.  The following year at Stockport I lost a run-off for third to Kevin Greenhalgh in the vets nationals, after again not riding a match for three, scoring 17 points.

 

After coaching unofficially for years, John decided to get a formal coaching qualification.

 

“I decided to get some formal qualifications for the coaching I had been doing for years.  I gained the level 2 coaching course, later going on to pass the cycle speedway specific course.  Up till last year I also ran a circuit training session for my local cycle club ABC Centreville which I did for eleven years.”

 

“I now coach the Combination team and juniors riders (and the odd vet) at Bury cycle speedway club where I have been for a number of years” John concluded.