LOTS of triple digits in the Southland

You can spend your time, waste your time, or invest your time. It's your choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Heat is On!!
With The Devil’s Punchbowl road race behind us, the San Luis Rey Road Race coming this weekend and another triple digit heatwave, it seems like an appropriate time to discuss heat, hydration and feed zones.

Training and racing in the heat is serious business and should not be taken lightly. Athletes need to respect the heat, prepare for it and learn how to recover from it.

The most common heat related conditions that can affect competitive athletes in extreme heat are heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration and hyponatremia. Age, illness, medications, fitness, as well as the intensity and duration of the event can increase the speed and severity of your symptoms. All of these conditions are very serious and potentially life threatening conditions that can be prevented but will require immediate medical intervention.

Two of the most common fluid related conditions that can affect endurance athletes in competition and in training are dehydration and hyponatremia. Almost too simply put, dehydration is a result of not drinking enough fluids and Hyponatremia (low blood sodium) can be the result of drinking too much (non-sodium based) fluids. With dehydration, (5-10% reduction in body weight) your fluid levels are so severely depleted that your entire body begins to shut down. With hyponatremia, (5-10% increase in body weight) your blood sodium levels are reduced enough to cause your kidneys to stop processing fluid. As a result, your muscles accumulate excess fluid that they can’t get rid of no matter how much more fluid you drink. So where’s the balance?

One of the ways our body regulates heat (thermoregulation) is through the efficient exchange of fluids. When we drink a quart of liquid, it passes through our body delivering important products to all of our body parts. Excess fluid is then either urinated or sweated out of our bodies. When extreme heat is combined with extreme physical efforts, this process becomes our life line.

Pre-Competition ~ In the day or three preceding a long training ride in the heat, or an afternoon track race on the infield of the “Concrete Crater” aka ‘the Encino velodrome’ athletes should pay close attention to their food and fluid intake. Extra effort should be focused on increasing your intake of foods and fluids that are high in potassium and sodium. Bottles of plain water should be alternated with a fluid replacement beverage that is high is electrolytes such as ZipFiz or Gatorade or whatever you like. In the days leading up to a goal event, make sure you include an extra serving a day of yogurt, replace an apple with a banana and use an extra shake of salt on your baked potato.

During Competition ~ During a race or an afternoon of racing, athletes should make every effort to drink as much fluid as possible. However, not all of it should be plain water! Sweat is not pure water therefore water alone can not replace all the sweat you’ve lost! Learn to reach for fluids that contain 200-300 mg of sodium and at least 10 mg of potassium. If you have a sensitive stomach you may consider using electrolyte tablets with your plain water. Nibble on salted pretzels, crackers or peanut butter. If you are on a salt restricted diet, you should consult your physician before training or racing in extreme heat!!

Post Competition ~ Once the race is over, athletes should immediately begin to focus on reducing your core body temperature and refueling. This is especially true even if you feel “fine”! Find a shady place to sit and sip a cool electrolyte based beverage while the judges sort out your race results. Visit the nearest coffee shop for a carbohydrate & protein rich iced latte and some air conditioning before collecting your prize money! And, when you are packing your gear for a race, learn to drop a couple of wet wash clothes or a hand towel or two into your ice chest. After your race you can use the icy wet towels to clean up while cooling your head, neck, back and stomach.

Feed Zones ~ If you’ve never worked a feed zone, you have not truly lived! Working a feed zone at a bike race is definitely more fun than racing the race!! If you are planning to support your loved ones and/or your teammates by working a feed zone, here are some tips to help make the day successful for both you and your athletes. First off, feed zone workers must bring a sense of humor, a canopy or beach umbrella, a comfy camp chair, a well stocked picnic basket, sunscreen (for you!), an ice chest full of ice (3-4 large bags), a supply of clean empty water bottles (that you don’t mind never seeing again) and 2-4 gals of plain water. Next you’ll want to make sure your athletes will recognize you so plan to wear your team’s jersey. If you are feeding athletes from more than one team, either layer each team’s jersey (only kidding!) or wear a brightly colored generic shirt or hat that they can all look for and easily see. Additionally, plan to have 2-3 people working with you so you can spread out the full length of the feed zone. If your athlete misses the first person’s bottle they still have another chance or two a few yards up the road. Finally, when you hand your rider a bottle you need to hold the bottle from the TOP while leaning forward toward the approaching rider as far as you can and then run 2-3 steps beside the rider as your arm swings with the rider till they have a good hold on the bottle before you let go. As the lead motorcycle brings each group through the feed zone there will be 30-45 seconds of apparent chaos as everyone is running, screaming, ducking and jumping over thrown bottles while handing off new bottles before scurrying around to locate tossed bottles so they can quickly rinse and refill them before the next onslaught. In between pace bikes, it is eerily quiet as everyone waits.

Have fun!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 7-8, 2008 ~ The Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic. This event is coupled with the very successful Nature Valley Grand Prix stage race. Please see the attached Event Flyer for all complete details. The Blaine Velodrome is a beautiful outdoor (wooden) structure located in MN at the National Sports Center. On a first come, first served basis the following amenities may be available to confirmed participants thru May 1st only: transportation to/from the airport for you (the track is approx. 40 minutes from Minneapolis International); waived entry fees; housing at the National Sports Center (right next to the track). There are limited rooms available and they will be allocated on a first commit, first reserve basis. After they are gone, we won’t be able to offer this. Also, stipends may be available to help offset travel and other miscellaneous expenses for “elite” riders. Amounts will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

This event will be a great experience for riders and a good show for spectators. Confirmations from riders must be received by May 1, 2008. After that, we can not promise the above resources will be available (transport, housing, stipends, etc.)

James Tainter
MN Fixed Gear Classic rider liaison
jtainter@nscsports.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Attn Ladies: The next 2 Ladies Only Track Sessions will be Saturday May 10th and Saturday June 14th from 12:00-2:00pm. We expect to have a great time with plenty of room and time for everyone to ride till you can’t turn the pedals one more time! Please be early so you will have time to sign in and get ready. The session begins at 12noon, sign-in begins at 11:30.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Attn Ladies: The Ladies Only Track Sessions is going on a road trip!! We will be packing up and heading up to the Encino Velodrome this Summer for the July 12th & Aug 9th LOTS sessions. Stay tuned for more info later in the Spring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday May 3rd ~ The Encino Velodrome presents “The Long Rider Endurance Omnium”. This is race #2 of the Bob Hansing Memorial Cup Series Omnium and the SCNCA So Cal Track Cup Series. Both Registration and the track will open at 4:30PM & Racing begins at 5:30PM for Juniors, Women, Masters 40+ and Men Cat 5’s. The Women will be racing a 40 Lap Points Race, a 20 Lap Scratch Race and a Miss ‘N Out.
So Cal Cup Points will only be awarded to WCat 1-3.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday May 4th ~ The Celo Pacific Road Racing Team presents the 21st Annual San Luis Rey Road Race. Masters Women 35+ will be racing at 7:45AM. WCat 3-4 will be racing at 10:30AM. WCat 1-3 will be racing at 1:15PM. For complete details, please see the Event Flyer. This race is hot and long so make sure you have someone ready in the feedzone with a bottle of ice water for you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday May 10th ~ The Encino Velodrome presents Part 3 of the monthly “Low Key Time Trials”; a USAC Non-Competitive Event Series. March 22 (done), April 19 (done), May 10, June 14 & July 19 2008. The TRACK & REGISTRATION Opens at 8:15am & Closes at 9:15 am. RACING starts at 9:30am. Entry $10, One entry free gets you into as many events as you like. No Pre-Reg; Race day entries only.
All athletes must provide a signed 2008 USAC Athlete Release form (see below). RULES: Must have track experience. All 2008 USCF rules apply. Helmets must be worn at all times while on the bike.

Individual Events Include ~ 500m, 1k, 2k, 3k, & 4k
Team Events Include ~ 3k & 4k, Teams must provide your own holders!
Team Sprints (2 women) & Olympic Sprints (3 men) included.

Please note: Rental bikes ARE available for all races at Encino.

For additional Race information, please email: Trattenero@hotmail.com
LOCATION: Encino Velodrome17301 Oxnard St, .Encino, CA. 91416

Please visit the Encino Velodrome’s website at www.encinovelodrome.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday Nights at ADT ~ Attn Ladies the TT’s at ADT and at Encino are fantastic opportunities for beginners to race your first track race and for more experienced Ladies to fine tune their IP and put together a Sprint or Pursuit Team or two for State & National Championships! If you are interested in training for these races and more, please plan to join me at ADT each Friday evening for open (ie co-ed) training from 6-9PM.

Please note: I will plan to be at ADT this Friday Night.

Please send me an RSVP email so I know who to expect this week. Normal track fees apply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you seen USA Cycling's Web article featuring the LOTS program? If you, your employer or anyone you know, is interested in sponsoring the LOTS program, please contact me. The LOTS program is dedicated to introducing women to the exciting sport of track cycling and we intend to grow this program as far into the future as we can see!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 2008 USAC Athlete Waiver is available on-line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 2008 SCNCA Racing Calendar is available on line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 2008 USAC Rule book is available on-line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have a super week Ladies!!

Julia Cross