I've had a long! layoff. Pretty much since end of summer 2003 & have intermittently rode, although more off than on. I think it all came to a head whilst getting into my first season of racing (but have over 13 years club level riding, so no novice scenario here), training hard for this & working long(er) hours than expected. I suppose I suffered the cliché 'burnout' which brought about immediate downturn in motivation & the lay off. I sense what I'm missing & remember good times I had with my club & did enjoy some of the races I did, but not all. I'm aiming to get back into some point of routine with a view to race next year & wonder if people have ideas or references to kickstarting again after a layoff. I was considering sports psychology books, any good refs to publications? I may get coaching from local Uni. sports scientists over winter but for now till end Sept. just want to ride a base condition before embarking on seriousness. I checked back to my training diary from last winter & did 2 weeks on rollers. Suppose this'd be good to get legs supple?
Any motivational ideas or other relevant info please respond. Thanks Andy.
I've had a long! layoff. Pretty much since end of summer 2003 & have intermittently rode, although more off than on. I think it all came to a head whilst getting into my first season of racing (but have over 13 years club level riding, so no novice scenario here), training hard for this & working long(er) hours than expected. I suppose I suffered the cliché 'burnout' which brought about immediate downturn in motivation & the lay off. I sense what I'm missing & remember good times I had with my club & did enjoy some of the races I did, but not all. I'm aiming to get back into some point of routine with a view to race next year & wonder if people have ideas or references to kickstarting again after a layoff. I was considering sports psychology books, any good refs to publications? I may get coaching from local Uni. sports scientists over winter but for now till end Sept. just want to ride a base condition before embarking on seriousness. I checked back to my training diary from last winter & did 2 weeks on rollers. Suppose this'd be good to get legs supple?
Any motivational ideas or other relevant info please respond. Thanks Andy.
Some non-riding motivational ideas... 1. Tour dvd's 2. LA - "It's not about the bike" 3. Cycling mags
But I find the best is to just get out and ride some long rides. The kind where you don't set yourself any goals, apart from being out on the bike for 4 hours or more. The first one or two are tough, but you feel great when you get home.
Once you've got a bit of a base, coaching is an excellent way to get some goals set up, giving you something to focus on. Maybe pick some events and build a plan to be at a certain level when you reach those events.
