With only a few days to go until Le Tour 2014, I would imagine that there is a fair amount of nervous anticipation among riders, management and sponsors alike. Notice how the ordering of the respective role players reflects the hierarchical food chain of pro cycling; everybody is nervous but for different reasons. Performance, logistics and return could be among the foremost thoughts of each party.
Perhaps the most put out are the riders, some of whom could be assailed with varying levels of self-doubt that comes with less than perfect form, health or general well-being. Living on the razor’s edge of peak fitness is a fine balancing act, where surroundings and habit are perhaps two of the most important contributing factors to this notion. Routine is everything to an elite athlete, where the repetition of a simple day template is key to achieving harmony and peace of mind; a safety blanket of sorts.
Yet this week might be markedly different. Cooped up in various hotels in the unfamiliar surroundings of Northern England, the riders will no doubt be trying to save as much energy as possible whilst away from their home surrounds. Tanned Spaniards riding the Yorkshire roads will no doubt be wrapped up in as much clothing as possible chatting incessantly; the Belgians and Dutch rolling bigger gears in short sleeves; it is all about routine and comfort. I remember reading about a former professional who stated that if he missed his 9am training ride for whatever reason, he would rather stay confined to his home instead of heading out later in the day. The disruption to his routine would throw him out of his natural rhythm, leaving him unsettled and in a bad head-space. As asinine as that may sound, it goes to show how important familiarity and daily rhythm can be to some.
A fish out of water; that is how I've felt several times in my life whilst in unfamiliar surrounds. In many instances, I've attempted to simply maintain my home pursuits and lifestyle whilst away on various work assignments, some ludicrous and others mundane. From cycling the radiating motorways of Abu Dhabi in 2001 to staircase jogging in outer Nairobi in 2011, being out of my familiar surrounds for extended periods has evolved from futile pursuit of maintaining the ideal to embracing the challenge of the adapting to any environment with a more open mind. I’m sure we've all heard instances of the busy CEO and passionate cyclist whose impending business trip abroad would mean a daily grind in the hotel gym. Needless to say that he or she would probably be better off resting or finding a park in which to walk briskly.
The same could be said about seasons and the various factors that longer nights and colder temperatures bring with the onset of winter. Why fight the weather? It is one of those things beyond human control. As I alluded to in a previous post, the winter months of 2014 have panned out somewhat differently than those of last year. While I have an identical athletic goal in mind this spring, my circadian rhythm is now a higher priority than actual training time in the dawn hours. Not that I planned it this way; I just feel sleepier this winter and am totally accepting of it. Yet these darker months do present a different sense and vibe of which I truly enjoy. The mountains and beaches take on a different dimension to the brightness of summer. Raging waterfalls and the smell of damp trees is truly liberating as is the grey surf and chilly offshore breeze. Remember that training involves stress and rest, sleep therefore being a critical component. If winter means more sleep and obeying the actual seasonal inclinations, the resultant is a great base of stored energy for the longer days of the summer season, thereby truly enhancing the body’s ability to be functional year round.
Rhythm extends other aspects of sport. There is a great analogy by Scott Tinley in a 2012 podcast where he relates how his year would be centered on the first full moon Saturday of October, the time of the annual Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. He goes on to explain that for many former athletes, the simple yearly rhythm is one of the more common things they hold dear from their sporting careers, sometimes even transcending their actual results.
When does rhythm descend into routine? It depends on the circumstances I suppose. I can remember several consecutive winters where cycling in the darkness of dawn just became part of the norm. Whilst a good number of those rides where truly enjoyable and exhilarating, I am certain that their routine nature did come at the expense of energy levels and motivation further down the line. The residual effects of pushing the envelope in the mid-year would almost always result in a general feeling of lethargy and apathy the following January.
Is routine such a bad thing though? Not necessarily, although I’m sure there are those in the proverbial rut who would disagree. Running home through the local forests the other evening, I was most definitely in a higher state of mental clarity. The dramatic surrounds intertwined with the dampness and semi-darkness from the pines certainly contributed to a state of euphoria only achievable in the winter months. Exiting the plantation area and homeward bound I bumped into a friend running with his dog. A builder by occupation, he related how each and every Sunday is the day for a “long plod” around the forests and greenbelts, hound in tow. Having been suffering from some recurring physical problems over the past few years, he commented that he is just happy to be out there adding that those few hours every Sunday are a ritual. Now there is a great analogy.
Routine, rhythm and ritual. Three separate terms that have more in common than one might think yet can also be totally at odds at times. I wonder which one is applicable to those professional cyclists climbing the walls over the next few days? Hopefully their mundane routine will let them find their more intrinsic rhythm. Yet don’t be surprised if the irrepressible Frenchman Thomas Voeckler already has already found his own rhythm and has achieved his ritual by this time next week.
