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Biking the New York City Marathon
Bicycle Escort for Wheelchair Athletes at the New York City Marathon
By Ann Marie Miller
I am very pleased to share with you a very “different†Race Report – a report of my experience as a Bicycle Escort for Wheel chair/Handcycle athletes in the New York City Marathon.
Several weeks ago, Richard Rosenthal invited me to serve as a volunteer “Bicycle Escort†for the wheelchair/handcycle athletes in the New York City Marathon because of my experience in bike racing and as a coach and group ride leader. The “bicycle escorts†assist the wheelchair/handcycle racers by serving as “rolling marshals†on the course, giving the spectators notice of the athletes approaching and watching for any hazards on the course. I embraced the opportunity to "give back" to the local cycling community, network with other cyclists and see the 5 boroughs from a different perspective.
I had no idea the bike escort group would include such a diverse group of cycling enthusiasts! Besides networking with many of the local racers I expected to see there, I was impressed with the diversity of the other bikers. I was honored to be included in a group ranging from an Emmy-award winning actor, to leaders in the civic and business community to concert musicians - a real reflection of the palette of New York culture and business!
We met the other riders at 6:15am at 59th & 5th Ave. to ride together to the Brooklyn side of the Verrazano Narrows bridge, were we organized, received our final assignments, and waited for the wheelchairs and handcycles to arrive after their start at 8:30am, well ahead of the actual marathon start. Cyclists were paired with one on each side of the road to lead the athletes, and blow a whistle to warn pedestrians and spectators that the wheelchair athletes were approaching. I think I was more nervous about escorting the handcyclist than I would be about doing a criterium in New York City! The handcyclists can hit speeds of 22-24 miles per hour on the flats, and since the event is "draft-legal", there can be "packs" of handcyclists, making it tricky to negotiate the bike escorts and groups of athletes!
Although there was a strong headwind from the north blasting us in the face as we rode up 4th Avenue in Brooklyn, and 1st Avenue in Manhattan, the ride went very smoothly. It was great seeing the crowds gathering in advance of the runners, and hearing some of the bands along the course. My partner & I were assigned to the first female hand cyclist, who stayed together with another male handcylist for most of the race.
The bike escorts were diverted from the course at the exit from Central Park Drive to 59thSt. (Central Park South) so we did not pass through the finish area with our athletes. “Riding†the New York City Marathon course with the wheelchair athletes was a great experience, and I’m sure all of us bike escorts were as impressed with the grit and determination of these athletes as we’d have been with any world class athletes.
Richard Rosenthal does a great job coordinating the bike escorts, and the entire marathon support team is amazing. I was very proud to volunteer and help with this epic New York City event as an ambassador for Cadence Cycling and Multisport. I'm looking forward to helping with this event next year, and if you are interested in serving as a bike escort, please let me know.
I have attached a photo of the Bicycle Escort team (I’m over on the right side, 2nd row, crouching halfway down, partially hidden in the shadows.)
Labels: cycling
TRAINING AND FATIGUE
If you are an endurance cyclist you have probably experienced fatigue. Although some fatigue is ok, and even desirable, severe fatigue can be very detrimental to your fitness and your goals. As an athlete or coach you must be able to differentiate between fatigue that will yield performance enhancements and that which will hamper growth and recovery.
An athlete who is unable to produce the same performance they did just a week ago is fatigued. Put simply, fatigue is the inability to perform at a level that was once possible in recent history (excluding illness or injury).
Athletes can perceive fatigue differently. Some athletes avoid fatigue at all cost while others never slow down. If training becomes excessive enough and poor recovery habits are taken persistent fatigue can follow which will ultimately interfere with performance.
One of the difficult aspects of training and coaching is determining how much training and stress will fatigue an individual athlete and if how this fatigue will impact their training prescription.
Power meters and heart rate monitoring have made the diagnosis of fatigue and the ability to track the amount of training stress easier and more accurate. Frequent fitness testing with a power meter or field test allows cyclists to document the effects of training on particular aspects of performance. For an athlete, a range of performance and perceptions may follow a rigorous training block;
1. The athlete feels good and performance is improved
2. The athlete feels good but performance is poor
3. The athlete feels tired and performance is poor
4. The athlete feels tired but performance is excellent
Depending on the training and recovery prior to the test, all responses are possible and all results indicate something different. With the use of power meters, every cycling effort can be compared to a personal best clearly indicating when a cyclist is tired and when they are fresh. Patterns between training and performance will emerge providing insight into managing fatigue.
There are four main classifications of fatigue and they are described below.
PERCEPTUAL FATIGUE
There is little denying the perception of fatigue but oftentimes once you get going you are feeling great and beating the locals feeling full of energy. Experienced athletes know that it usually takes exercise to evaluate whether fatigue is severe enough or not to cancel a training session. Perceptual fatigue can be very persuasive so don't give up without trying. You may be capable of much more than you imagined. If you have finished a sufficient warm-up and you are struggling to reach and hold the given power levels then it is advisable to listen to what your body is saying and take a break!
SHORT-TERM PRODUCTIVE FATIGUE
Every daily training session results in short-term fatigue. As you become tired, heart rate and the perception of effort increases for a given workload or power output. Fatigue may increase to the point that a desired workload is not achievable. However, after a good meal and sleep most athletes will be ready for more abuse the next day. If the training bout is severe enough, two to three days may be required to regain previous form. This is considered short-term fatigue and is productive because the performance outcome is positive, increasing your performance, after sufficient recovery.
LONG-TERM PRODUCTIVE FATIGUE
What happens when you train hard for six days in a row? As you would expect, you are probably tired. Many times a fatigued cyclist can find it difficult to cope with a hard training session for up to a week after this effort. There are often complaints about heavy legs and heart rate suppression during hard efforts. The training which leads to this sustained fatigue is termed 'overreaching'. Fortunately for those suffering from this type of fatigue, performance rebounds to desirable levels following 7-12 days of quality recovery. However, many athletes mismanage this fatigue and start training or competing well before they are fully recovered. Ironically, it is the athlete that feels the best that is most at risk for this type of fatigue. Athletes experiencing great form feel like superman, neglecting the proper nutrition and recovery habits needed. But eventually the fatigue will accumulate. Often the most severe fatigue comes following a week or two of incredible form. Be very careful when power production reaches an all-time high. With appropriate management - particularly the inclusion of recovery days in your training program - it's possible to maintain top form for weeks, if not months.
LONG-TERM NON-PRODUCTIVE FATIGUE
This type of fatigue is commonly known as overtraining. Many athletes are extremely motivated, very fit, and also living a very stressful lifestyle. These situations often cause a loss in fitness before fatigue dissipates. Thus, despite rigorous training and following weeks of recovery, performance never rebounds. Lifestyle stress, poor nutrition and disturbed sleep all contribute to the extremely heavy fatigue experienced by athletes.
Despite numerous attempts by sport scientists, there is no one physiological marker that can be used to identify the magnitude of fatigue or that when it has reached some critical level. Although resting heart rate can be a useful indicator of training stress there is little solid scientific data to support using this marker as a guide to training.
It's important not to confuse overtraining with non-specific training. It is possible that a lack of specific training for a certain event is responsible for the poor performance. Lots of cycling on the flat is unlikely to promote a rider's climbing capacity. So when evaluating your performance also think about the amount of specific training you've been doing for your event. Again, if a cyclist is using a power meter and recording training sessions it becomes fairly easy to retrospectively examine the time spent at a power output and cadence that is sport specific. Unfortunately, an athlete with persistent fatigue may need to stop training and focus on a good diet and adequate rest.
SUMMARY
When it comes to cycling and endurance sports, fatigue is almost always present and can develop in many different forms. Most types are easy to deal with and fairly short lived. However, the perception of fatigue is not always associated with performance. Athletes should try out their legs and start a training session before making the conclusion that they are too tired to train. General or short-term fatigue is characterized by an increased perception of effort for a given power output, but the ability to produce power is generally maintained. More severe or long-term fatigue is associated with a decrease in performance and possibly a suppressed heart rate and elevated perception of effort for a given power output. Although excessive training can lead to persistent fatigue, this condition is very rare. When endurance athletes are unusually tired for a long time there are usually other environmental variables contributing to it.
Fortunately, power meters can now be used to track training volume and quantify whether performance is really compromised. This type of feedback combined with frequent performance testing can be used by cyclists to better understand the effects of fatiguing bouts of training and racing.
If you are an endurance cyclist you have probably experienced fatigue. Although some fatigue is ok, and even desirable, severe fatigue can be very detrimental to your fitness and your goals. As an athlete or coach you must be able to differentiate between fatigue that will yield performance enhancements and that which will hamper growth and recovery.
An athlete who is unable to produce the same performance they did just a week ago is fatigued. Put simply, fatigue is the inability to perform at a level that was once possible in recent history (excluding illness or injury).
Athletes can perceive fatigue differently. Some athletes avoid fatigue at all cost while others never slow down. If training becomes excessive enough and poor recovery habits are taken persistent fatigue can follow which will ultimately interfere with performance.
One of the difficult aspects of training and coaching is determining how much training and stress will fatigue an individual athlete and if how this fatigue will impact their training prescription.
Power meters and heart rate monitoring have made the diagnosis of fatigue and the ability to track the amount of training stress easier and more accurate. Frequent fitness testing with a power meter or field test allows cyclists to document the effects of training on particular aspects of performance. For an athlete, a range of performance and perceptions may follow a rigorous training block;
1. The athlete feels good and performance is improved
2. The athlete feels good but performance is poor
3. The athlete feels tired and performance is poor
4. The athlete feels tired but performance is excellent
Depending on the training and recovery prior to the test, all responses are possible and all results indicate something different. With the use of power meters, every cycling effort can be compared to a personal best clearly indicating when a cyclist is tired and when they are fresh. Patterns between training and performance will emerge providing insight into managing fatigue.
There are four main classifications of fatigue and they are described below.
PERCEPTUAL FATIGUE
There is little denying the perception of fatigue but oftentimes once you get going you are feeling great and beating the locals feeling full of energy. Experienced athletes know that it usually takes exercise to evaluate whether fatigue is severe enough or not to cancel a training session. Perceptual fatigue can be very persuasive so don't give up without trying. You may be capable of much more than you imagined. If you have finished a sufficient warm-up and you are struggling to reach and hold the given power levels then it is advisable to listen to what your body is saying and take a break!
SHORT-TERM PRODUCTIVE FATIGUE
Every daily training session results in short-term fatigue. As you become tired, heart rate and the perception of effort increases for a given workload or power output. Fatigue may increase to the point that a desired workload is not achievable. However, after a good meal and sleep most athletes will be ready for more abuse the next day. If the training bout is severe enough, two to three days may be required to regain previous form. This is considered short-term fatigue and is productive because the performance outcome is positive, increasing your performance, after sufficient recovery.
LONG-TERM PRODUCTIVE FATIGUE
What happens when you train hard for six days in a row? As you would expect, you are probably tired. Many times a fatigued cyclist can find it difficult to cope with a hard training session for up to a week after this effort. There are often complaints about heavy legs and heart rate suppression during hard efforts. The training which leads to this sustained fatigue is termed 'overreaching'. Fortunately for those suffering from this type of fatigue, performance rebounds to desirable levels following 7-12 days of quality recovery. However, many athletes mismanage this fatigue and start training or competing well before they are fully recovered. Ironically, it is the athlete that feels the best that is most at risk for this type of fatigue. Athletes experiencing great form feel like superman, neglecting the proper nutrition and recovery habits needed. But eventually the fatigue will accumulate. Often the most severe fatigue comes following a week or two of incredible form. Be very careful when power production reaches an all-time high. With appropriate management - particularly the inclusion of recovery days in your training program - it's possible to maintain top form for weeks, if not months.
LONG-TERM NON-PRODUCTIVE FATIGUE
This type of fatigue is commonly known as overtraining. Many athletes are extremely motivated, very fit, and also living a very stressful lifestyle. These situations often cause a loss in fitness before fatigue dissipates. Thus, despite rigorous training and following weeks of recovery, performance never rebounds. Lifestyle stress, poor nutrition and disturbed sleep all contribute to the extremely heavy fatigue experienced by athletes.
Despite numerous attempts by sport scientists, there is no one physiological marker that can be used to identify the magnitude of fatigue or that when it has reached some critical level. Although resting heart rate can be a useful indicator of training stress there is little solid scientific data to support using this marker as a guide to training.
It's important not to confuse overtraining with non-specific training. It is possible that a lack of specific training for a certain event is responsible for the poor performance. Lots of cycling on the flat is unlikely to promote a rider's climbing capacity. So when evaluating your performance also think about the amount of specific training you've been doing for your event. Again, if a cyclist is using a power meter and recording training sessions it becomes fairly easy to retrospectively examine the time spent at a power output and cadence that is sport specific. Unfortunately, an athlete with persistent fatigue may need to stop training and focus on a good diet and adequate rest.
SUMMARY
When it comes to cycling and endurance sports, fatigue is almost always present and can develop in many different forms. Most types are easy to deal with and fairly short lived. However, the perception of fatigue is not always associated with performance. Athletes should try out their legs and start a training session before making the conclusion that they are too tired to train. General or short-term fatigue is characterized by an increased perception of effort for a given power output, but the ability to produce power is generally maintained. More severe or long-term fatigue is associated with a decrease in performance and possibly a suppressed heart rate and elevated perception of effort for a given power output. Although excessive training can lead to persistent fatigue, this condition is very rare. When endurance athletes are unusually tired for a long time there are usually other environmental variables contributing to it.
Fortunately, power meters can now be used to track training volume and quantify whether performance is really compromised. This type of feedback combined with frequent performance testing can be used by cyclists to better understand the effects of fatiguing bouts of training and racing.
The one part of our bikes we probably neglect the most is our saddle. Most of us are meticulous (or should be) about cleaning and lubricating our chains and drive train; are nutty about checking and double-checking our tires for wear and cuts; and are passionate about clean, neat, and shock absorbing handlebar tape. While all these basic maintenance items are critical for both the good working order of your bike and for conserving your energy stores by limiting resistance due to friction, the saddle is one thing most of us never take into consideration. Who really pays attention to their saddle before the cover starts to peal away or until it is so warn that you can't remember if it was white or dirty brown to begin with?
If you consider how critical proper positioning is on your bike you should also consider how important a fresh saddle is. As a saddle ages there are a number of ways in which it fails to provide the support for which it was intended. The most visible wear on a saddle will reflect in the cover, but really it's what's underneath the cover that enables a saddle to do what it was designed to do: maintain and support your position. The decidedly modest foam padding under a saddle's cover provides only a few millimeters of cushioning, but even this minimal amount of padding breaks down over time. Furthermore, the more the cushioning a saddle has the faster it will break down. A change of even a millimeter in saddle height means you are moving lower and more forward on the bike. Add 4 millimeters by way of material breakdown and suddenly you're half of a centimeter lower and drastically further forward. This change in your position forces your body to adapt to a new and probably a very inefficient pose which will cause you to fatigue faster and work less efficiently.
It's not only the foam padding that breaks down. The plastic substrate under the foam will also fatigue and sink. This sinking where the greatest amount of pressure is applied becomes exponentially greater over time as the material becomes more and more pliable. Couple the break down of the foam with the sinking of the substrate and you could be riding 1, 1.5, or even 2 centimeters lower than optimal! And, as this break down occurs fairly gradually over a span of weeks, months, or years-depending on how often you ride-you may not even notice that you are riding considerably lower and further forward than you should be. In addition to causing fatigue and poor pedaling efficacy, a lower and more forward position caused by the degeneration of your saddle's integrity can lead to a number of physiological problems including knee pain, lower back pain, shoulder and neck pain, constricted blood flow, reduced oxygen intake, and improper breathing.
Research conducted by Cyfac in conjunction with the French Institute of Sport in Lyon, France has indicated that in general racing saddles should be replaced every 5,000 miles. Saddles which break down the quickest, e.g., the Fizik Arione, have a typical life span of around 3,000 miles. That may seem like a significant amount of mileage for many riders, but for others that may only be 3 months' worth of training. (Note that saddles will break down faster for heavier riders.) To make sure your saddle is in good working order periodically reconfirm your saddle height. Measure your saddle height from the center of your bottom bracket along the angle of your seat tube to ensure consistency. To safeguard against seat post slippage, which would falsely indicate that your saddle is breaking down, wrap a piece of tape around the seat post where the seat clamp stops.
Saddles are to our bodies what tires are to our bikes. The proper function and safety of our bikes depends on fresh, reliable, and structurally sound tires. The proper functioning of our bodies depends upon a supportive and properly positioned saddle. And just as our tires have limited life spans, so also do our saddles.
If you consider how critical proper positioning is on your bike you should also consider how important a fresh saddle is. As a saddle ages there are a number of ways in which it fails to provide the support for which it was intended. The most visible wear on a saddle will reflect in the cover, but really it's what's underneath the cover that enables a saddle to do what it was designed to do: maintain and support your position. The decidedly modest foam padding under a saddle's cover provides only a few millimeters of cushioning, but even this minimal amount of padding breaks down over time. Furthermore, the more the cushioning a saddle has the faster it will break down. A change of even a millimeter in saddle height means you are moving lower and more forward on the bike. Add 4 millimeters by way of material breakdown and suddenly you're half of a centimeter lower and drastically further forward. This change in your position forces your body to adapt to a new and probably a very inefficient pose which will cause you to fatigue faster and work less efficiently.
It's not only the foam padding that breaks down. The plastic substrate under the foam will also fatigue and sink. This sinking where the greatest amount of pressure is applied becomes exponentially greater over time as the material becomes more and more pliable. Couple the break down of the foam with the sinking of the substrate and you could be riding 1, 1.5, or even 2 centimeters lower than optimal! And, as this break down occurs fairly gradually over a span of weeks, months, or years-depending on how often you ride-you may not even notice that you are riding considerably lower and further forward than you should be. In addition to causing fatigue and poor pedaling efficacy, a lower and more forward position caused by the degeneration of your saddle's integrity can lead to a number of physiological problems including knee pain, lower back pain, shoulder and neck pain, constricted blood flow, reduced oxygen intake, and improper breathing.
Research conducted by Cyfac in conjunction with the French Institute of Sport in Lyon, France has indicated that in general racing saddles should be replaced every 5,000 miles. Saddles which break down the quickest, e.g., the Fizik Arione, have a typical life span of around 3,000 miles. That may seem like a significant amount of mileage for many riders, but for others that may only be 3 months' worth of training. (Note that saddles will break down faster for heavier riders.) To make sure your saddle is in good working order periodically reconfirm your saddle height. Measure your saddle height from the center of your bottom bracket along the angle of your seat tube to ensure consistency. To safeguard against seat post slippage, which would falsely indicate that your saddle is breaking down, wrap a piece of tape around the seat post where the seat clamp stops.
Saddles are to our bodies what tires are to our bikes. The proper function and safety of our bikes depends on fresh, reliable, and structurally sound tires. The proper functioning of our bodies depends upon a supportive and properly positioned saddle. And just as our tires have limited life spans, so also do our saddles.
Benjamin Sharp's report from Paris-Roubaix
Friday, April 13, 2007 posted at 12:17 PM by CADENCE 1 Comments
Benjamin Sharp here with the National Junior Team in Europe. We're getting ready for Paris-Roubaix--looking forward to it, and the event as a whole.
I know it's going to be nuts considering we are on the course at the same time as the professionals. Estimates say that close to one million people see the pro race and 500,000 or so see the junior race. We went down there yesterday to ride the last 85km of the course. We do a 35km loop before entering the pro course with 85km to go. Yep, 27.7 km of that is on 16 sectors of cobbles. I rode with the guys yesterday and let me tell you, those cobbles are insanely ridiculous. I know all of us have romanticized this event and who hasn't imagined himself, when rolling over some rough road somewhere, as Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle, Steve Bauer, Johan Musseuw, Tom Boonen, or Fabian Cancellera in the closing kilometers of the "L'enfer du Nord"? I'm here to tell you, the roughest alley in Old City has NOTHING on these crazy-ass roads. It is absurd how rough these stones are. My hands cramped after 50km and I have two blisters on my palms to show for my efforts. The athletes that finish this event (let alone WIN!) deserve all the recognition they receive, and much, much more. I tip my baret to them. It's nuts.
Western Europe is enjoying its warmest spring in years and it looks like it will be about >70 and sunny on Sunday. It hasn't rained here in a couple weeks so the dust, it will be a-flyin'. A good thing, considering I have no concept of what it must be like to do this thing in the rain. No freakin' way.
I hope everyone is well in Philly.
I know it's going to be nuts considering we are on the course at the same time as the professionals. Estimates say that close to one million people see the pro race and 500,000 or so see the junior race. We went down there yesterday to ride the last 85km of the course. We do a 35km loop before entering the pro course with 85km to go. Yep, 27.7 km of that is on 16 sectors of cobbles. I rode with the guys yesterday and let me tell you, those cobbles are insanely ridiculous. I know all of us have romanticized this event and who hasn't imagined himself, when rolling over some rough road somewhere, as Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle, Steve Bauer, Johan Musseuw, Tom Boonen, or Fabian Cancellera in the closing kilometers of the "L'enfer du Nord"? I'm here to tell you, the roughest alley in Old City has NOTHING on these crazy-ass roads. It is absurd how rough these stones are. My hands cramped after 50km and I have two blisters on my palms to show for my efforts. The athletes that finish this event (let alone WIN!) deserve all the recognition they receive, and much, much more. I tip my baret to them. It's nuts.
Western Europe is enjoying its warmest spring in years and it looks like it will be about >70 and sunny on Sunday. It hasn't rained here in a couple weeks so the dust, it will be a-flyin'. A good thing, considering I have no concept of what it must be like to do this thing in the rain. No freakin' way.
I hope everyone is well in Philly.
About...
This blog is supported by Cadence's cadre of professional coaches and staff, and occasional input and pro-peloton insight from some of the pros we coach. We hope you will find, research, and discuss, the topics addressed and also provide your own insights. The blog is open with the requirement that all posts are respectful and void of profanity.Previously...
- Biking the New York City Marathon Bicycle Escort ...
- Kicking the Water
- Coping with Stress: Distress, Eustress, and Destre...
- The Bet: Episode 2
- The Bet: Episode 1
- It's Not About the Numbers
- Cyclists are Warriors
- The Racing is "Heating" Up
- The Traveling Cyclist
- kJ vs. kCal