By Dennis Pedersen
After my 2018 season ended, I was pretty motivated for the 2019 season. Some years I was so burned out I considered taking the next season off to mentally recover. Happily, 2018 wasn't like that, and I looked forward to the months of hard training.
Even so, to avoid burnout, I asked my cycling coach, Jeff Solt, to start my training program on May 1st, rather than earlier (I did this last year too). That also allowed me to focus on strength training during the off-season, with my weights coach, Sy Shaddox, at Santa Cruz Strength.
The goal, of course, is to improve steadily year-over-year. This year, similar to the last several years, has yielded a somewhat mixed bag with no super clear conclusion. However, the fact that I am setting at least some new personal records every year is likely proof that what I am doing is working. But in any sport you still have to have a good day on the day of your actual competition. There's never any guarantee that your improvements in fitness will yield better results.
Here's a table showing some of my results over the last several years:
So, you can see that my weight-lifting PRs have improved again (I didn't try for a new squats PR this year). Yet my cycling PRs were not significantly changed, though I did tie my 500 meter ITT and improve slightly on my flying-200 meter, even though I'm 58 now. As I conjectured a couple of years ago, I may have reached a point of diminishing returns from my increased strength. Either that, or I need to step up my cycling training to take advantage of my newfound strength. It's a puzzling conundrum, for sure.
It's impossible to know for sure where I need to focus to improve further, assuming that's even possible. But I suspect that the last two seasons of slightly reduced cycling training volume perhaps couldn't leverage the benefits of my increased strength. I don't regret my choices, I needed that, but maybe 2020 will require a change.
As for my racing, I pretty much only raced at our NCNCA District Masters Track Cycling Championships at Hellyer Park, San Jose, and the USAC Masters Track Cycling National Championships, in Carson, North of Los Angeles, this year. My Districts results were surprisingly good, with two Golds (500m ITT and Team Sprint) and one Silver (Match Sprints). This was especially gratifying as I didn't taper at all for these races, and just trained right through them with no rest.
At Nationals I had hoped to get another Gold medal in Team Sprint. It didn't happen, though I did get a Silver with my teammates Rich Rozzi and Martin Harris. I didn't podium in any of my other events, Match Sprints and 500m ITT, but I did do quite well in the Match Sprints none-the-less. In my 500m I was disappointed at my time, which was slower than it was at our District's on a slower track no less. I was also disappointed with my lap 1 in our Team Sprint. I really had hoped to at least tie my previous lap 1 PR, set in 2017. That didn't happen, and it's possible that mental focus somehow interfered. It takes extreme focus to do well in these very short and intense races. Every thousandth of a second matters.
The 2020 USAC Masters Track Cycling National Championships will be held in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, June 30 to July 5. However, I'm not certain the outdoor track there on the east coast is something I want to spend a lot of time and effort training for, though the fact that the track there is very similar to the track in San Jose is nice. After the soaking wet and humid Nationals in Indianapolis in 2016, I'm reluctant to spend so much on a trip that could be ruined or even cancelled by weather. I'm somewhat uncertain what I'll do, but if we can get a strong Team Sprint team member to replace our man 3, Martin Harris, who's taking the year off, then perhaps Rich Rozzi, our new teammate, and I will compete at Nationals. We shall see if we can find someone who's a good fit.
In the midst of this uncertainty, I am continuing to train all-out like usual, no let-up. I enjoy the training, and I can stay ready for whatever comes up. The UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships are returning to Los Angeles in 2021, so perhaps I will try to focus on that after next season.
After my 2018 season ended, I was pretty motivated for the 2019 season. Some years I was so burned out I considered taking the next season off to mentally recover. Happily, 2018 wasn't like that, and I looked forward to the months of hard training.
Even so, to avoid burnout, I asked my cycling coach, Jeff Solt, to start my training program on May 1st, rather than earlier (I did this last year too). That also allowed me to focus on strength training during the off-season, with my weights coach, Sy Shaddox, at Santa Cruz Strength.
The goal, of course, is to improve steadily year-over-year. This year, similar to the last several years, has yielded a somewhat mixed bag with no super clear conclusion. However, the fact that I am setting at least some new personal records every year is likely proof that what I am doing is working. But in any sport you still have to have a good day on the day of your actual competition. There's never any guarantee that your improvements in fitness will yield better results.
Here's a table showing some of my results over the last several years:
| 2012 | 2013 | 2104 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flying 200m: | 12.6 | 12.26 | 12.04 | 12.1 | 11.94 | 12.12 | 11.887 | 11.877 |
| Standing-start 500m: | 39.2 | 37.9 | 37.2 | 36.2 | 36.579 | 36.262 | 36.302 | 36.23 |
| Back squat: | 275# | 300# (3x) | 305# | NA | ||||
| Bench press: | 185# (3x) | 205# | 220# | 255# | 265# | |||
| Deadlift: | 335# | 365# | 395# | 424.4# |
So, you can see that my weight-lifting PRs have improved again (I didn't try for a new squats PR this year). Yet my cycling PRs were not significantly changed, though I did tie my 500 meter ITT and improve slightly on my flying-200 meter, even though I'm 58 now. As I conjectured a couple of years ago, I may have reached a point of diminishing returns from my increased strength. Either that, or I need to step up my cycling training to take advantage of my newfound strength. It's a puzzling conundrum, for sure.
It's impossible to know for sure where I need to focus to improve further, assuming that's even possible. But I suspect that the last two seasons of slightly reduced cycling training volume perhaps couldn't leverage the benefits of my increased strength. I don't regret my choices, I needed that, but maybe 2020 will require a change.
As for my racing, I pretty much only raced at our NCNCA District Masters Track Cycling Championships at Hellyer Park, San Jose, and the USAC Masters Track Cycling National Championships, in Carson, North of Los Angeles, this year. My Districts results were surprisingly good, with two Golds (500m ITT and Team Sprint) and one Silver (Match Sprints). This was especially gratifying as I didn't taper at all for these races, and just trained right through them with no rest.
At Nationals I had hoped to get another Gold medal in Team Sprint. It didn't happen, though I did get a Silver with my teammates Rich Rozzi and Martin Harris. I didn't podium in any of my other events, Match Sprints and 500m ITT, but I did do quite well in the Match Sprints none-the-less. In my 500m I was disappointed at my time, which was slower than it was at our District's on a slower track no less. I was also disappointed with my lap 1 in our Team Sprint. I really had hoped to at least tie my previous lap 1 PR, set in 2017. That didn't happen, and it's possible that mental focus somehow interfered. It takes extreme focus to do well in these very short and intense races. Every thousandth of a second matters.
The 2020 USAC Masters Track Cycling National Championships will be held in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, June 30 to July 5. However, I'm not certain the outdoor track there on the east coast is something I want to spend a lot of time and effort training for, though the fact that the track there is very similar to the track in San Jose is nice. After the soaking wet and humid Nationals in Indianapolis in 2016, I'm reluctant to spend so much on a trip that could be ruined or even cancelled by weather. I'm somewhat uncertain what I'll do, but if we can get a strong Team Sprint team member to replace our man 3, Martin Harris, who's taking the year off, then perhaps Rich Rozzi, our new teammate, and I will compete at Nationals. We shall see if we can find someone who's a good fit.
In the midst of this uncertainty, I am continuing to train all-out like usual, no let-up. I enjoy the training, and I can stay ready for whatever comes up. The UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships are returning to Los Angeles in 2021, so perhaps I will try to focus on that after next season.
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