with Coach Liz Varner

It’s that great time of year when the daylight hours are long, the race and event schedules are full, and your friends and teammates are enthusiastic to ride and race. It is the perfect time to be on the bike, but for some reason you find yourself less than excited about your next event or training.

Just today a client called to discuss her next race. She told me that she was going to the track because it was Wednesday, and, by the way, she thought she might be getting sick or maybe it was allergies. During our conversation, she waffled between wanting to race everything on the calendar and wanting to skip half of the races on the calendar.

How many times have you found yourself feeling a little flat after a weekend of racing? You do not really feel like getting out to train, but then decide what you need is that extra edge for you next race since the last one did not go as well as expected. You consider adding more intensity to your schedule, more than your coach has recommended. You think perhaps motor pacing or threshold intervals will prepare you for the rest of the season. The problem is your body and motivation (and your coach) do not agree with this plan.

What is the commonality between you and my client? Midseason burnout. Almost every racer will find him/herself not as excited about an upcoming race at some point in the season. It happens at different times for everyone, but June is a pretty popular month to feel a little tired, especially if you have been racing hard since February or March.

Midseason burnout can be mental or physical or both. Everyone will burn out sooner or later. The longer you ignore the signs of burnout the more time you will need away from racing in order to salvage the remainder of your season. If you listen to the signals your body is sending, then you can rest before you are too tired to rebuild for a few more months of racing.

What are the signs that you are starting to burn out? It may be lack of motivation for your next race. You may find that you are not preparing in the usual ways. Perhaps you wait to the night before the race to look at the race flyer for your start time. You could have physical signs of needing a rest. You may find your placings slipping with each race, that you are slower at threshold, or that your recovery takes longer than usual. For me the telltale signs are walking up the twenty plus steps to my front door. If I feel my legs burn, I know it is time to back off. The other is a shift in my attitude about racing. When I start to tell less than positive race stories, I know something is up. I am grumpy because I am tired and disappointed in how I am racing and feeling.

How will you avoid burnout? You can plan your season to have a break. You can listen to yourself and not race when tired. Don’t give in to the peer pressure. Don’t compare yourself to your teammates or competitors. After all, we race for results, not just to say that we trained a certain amount and did every race on the calendar.

If you are feeling like you want a break, call your coach to discuss what is right for you. You may find that you need a weekend or two away from racing or that a longer break with a rebuild plan is needed. Either way, there is a lot of racing to still be done and enjoyed.

Joe Cieszynski is a true "all-around" athlete and coach. With the combination of his educational background in Sport Science, extensive experience competing in a variety of sports, and professional work in Sports Medicine, you will be hard pressed to find a coach with such a broad background.

Joe has competed for many years in road racing, track racing, mountain bike racing, and cross-country skiing. Over 20 years of experience in Sports Medicine has exposed him to high school and collegiate athletes from an array of sports. In this line of work, he specializes in helping athletes return to their competitive level after sustaining injuries and working with all types of personalities and different levels of motivation.

As a coach, Joe has a proven track record in helping athletes work their training and racing into their hectic lifestyles and, with two kids of his own, has plenty of personal experience in this arena. While all athletes want to perform at their highest level, Joe understands that there is more to sport than winning and losing and strives to help athletes make their sport “part of their everyday lifestyle”.

If you want to find out more about Joe, you may be able to catch up with him on the roads or trails around his Wisconsin home or simply click here.

Refer a client in June and receive a Wenzel Coaching beanie hat! For each client you refer who signs up this month, you'll receive one of our toasty hats for podium appearances or those chillier summer nights.

Email us at info@wenzelcoaching.com for more information.

Do you ever find yourself filled with self-doubt at the start of an important event? Do you become so over- excited or anxious before a race that you waste precious energy? Do you struggle to find the motivation for events in which you have performed poorly in the past? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you may benefit from devoting more time to enhancing your mental “fitness” to reach your full potential as an athlete.

It is not uncommon for athletes to invest hundreds of hours training and thousands of dollars on equipment and race entry fees only to fail to reach their true potential because they have neglected the mental components of training and racing. To help our athletes avoid this common pitfall, Wenzel Coaching has added an expert in Sport Psychology to our line- up up of outstanding coaches. Michelle Cleere, MA specializes in working with endurance athletes in a variety of sports to help them develop the skills needed to properly address mental preparation for their events.

With an extensive background in coaching and personal training as well as doctoral work in Sport Psychology, Michelle has the tools necessary to help make a difference in your performance. She understands the challenges faced by endurance athletes and her positive track record shows she has what it takes to help athletes succeed. Consultations with Michelle can help you improve your techniques in relaxation, motivation, goal setting, visualization, and positive thinking while overcoming factors such as over-arousal and anxiety.

Michelle is available for individual consultations (in person, by phone, or via email) and workshops and clinics for larger audiences. Take a step towards enhancing your mental “fitness” with Michelle Cleere and Wenzel Coaching!

Click here to read more about Michelle.

Pete Hubbell -- 3rd Place Balloon Festival RR (Master's 55+) - 2nd Place NY State RR (Master's 60+)

Mike Innusa -- 6th Place Keith Berger Memorial Criterium (Cat. 5 - First race ever!)

Dennis Comeau -- 1st -- GF del Legno

Clay Hobson -- 10th Plano Criterium 6/6 (Cat. A)-- 1st 6 hours of Dirt (Cat. A)

Bryan Wadie -- 1st Royse City TT Round #2 - 3rd Overall (Cat. 4)

Noah Williams -- 1st Texas Youth Track Championships (10-12 yr)

Sten Schmidt -- 1st GS Tenzing Criterium (Cat. 3's) -- 2nd Houston Grand Criterium (Cat. 3's) -- 10th TX State Criterium Cat. 3's Chris Eckert -- 6th TX State Criterium Master's 35+ (Cat. 4's)

Peter Femal -- 10th Wisconsin State RR (Pro/1/2)

Susie Bump -- Completed Davis Double and California Triple Crown (three double-centuries in one year)

Stephen Davidson -- Richardon Bike Mart Friday Night Track Series, 1st (M35 Cat. 4's)

Virginia Perkins -- Upgrade to W3 on points -- 3rd place - Fremont Criterium (Women 3's)

Kyle Boudreau -- 2nd Overall (Cat. 3) Giro de Rankin

Molly Cameron -- 3rd Mt. Tabor (Pro/1/2)

Hanns Detlefsen -- 3rd Place Dunlap TT (Elite 4's)

Debbie Whitely -- Personal Best in Twin Rivers Cyclists Thursday Night TT - Reached goal weight

Wenzel Coaching offers signed copies of Bike Racing 101 for only $15.00 plus shipping! That's nearly $4 off the list price!

Click here for more information.

Wenzel Coaching is always on the lookout for quality coaches with a passion for teaching. This includes road coaches, MTB coaches and track coaches.

Are you well respected in your local cycling community?

Are you already answering questions for teammates and friends and writing a few training programs?

Do you have some years experience on at least the Category 2 or Expert level?

Do you enjoy helping others achieve their goals?

Would you rather not deal with billing and other administrative duties and just focus on coaching?

If the answer to all that is yes for you or someone you know, you have the makings of a good coach candidate!

Please contact Kendra Wenzel by email or at 503-233-4346.

We are looking for coaches willing to devote both full and part time to coaching, particularly in areas where we do not currently have coaches.