Wenzel Coaching Newsletter March 2007
Greetings!
It's March and we bet you're itching to race! If so, check out the article "Attack the Early Season" by coach Rich Cramer. This month we also congratulate Coach of the Month Liz Varner and welcome new Wenzel Coach Jenni Gaertner of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We've added a new rotating feature this month: the Maintenance Tip of the Month.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please write to [email protected] or call 503-233-4346 with your comments, race stories and ideas.

~Kendra Wenzel, Scott Saifer, Rene Wenzel and the Staff of Wenzel Coaching
In This Issue
2007 Camp & Clinic Information
Coach of the Month: Liz Varner
Power Training Tip of the Month - Refine your equipment choices
New Coach Profile: Jenni Gaertner
Quote of the Month - Staying focused
Client Successes
Maitenance Tip: Weekly Bolt Check-up
Attend a Wenzel Coaching Camp or Clinic this Year
Clinic coachWenzel Coaching will present a number of camps and clinics this year. There's still time to make a last minute trip to Mallorca for our GoFast Camp starting this Sunday. Next on the calendar is a Women's Bike Racing 101 Clinic in Helena, MT. Check out the camp and clinic listings here. Check back frequently for details and new listings!
Coach of the Month: Liz Varner
Liz is both a triathlon and cycling coach in the Bay Area of Northern California.  She is also directly involved in the development of Custom and Semicustom programs for Wenzel clients.  She has competed in gymnastics, mountain and road biking, running and endurance rowing.  Liz has a diverse client pool and coaches everyone from competitive cyclists and triathletes to  individuals looking to improve their lifestyle through endurance activities.

"Liz Varner was my coach last season.  Although I am not currently racing (due to an extremely busy school and work schedule), the fact that she and I still talk is a testament to her ability to see an athlete as a "whole person."  She is adept at helping her clients juggle family, work, school, and racing commitments and asking questions to evaluate motivation, stress levels, and other factors that might help or hinder a racer."     ~Audra DeWitt

Learn more about Liz...
Power-Training Tip of the Month
Use your power meter to refine your equipment and clothing choices. Try different wheels, shoe covers, jersey and shorts versus skin-suit, etc repeatedly along the same stretch of road. The equipment that gives you the highest speed at the same power or the lowest power for the same speed is your best equipment for that type of terrain. Test your choices on flats and uphill as the results will likely be different. You'll need to try each position several times to average out the effects of changing wind and other variables.
New Coach Jenni Gaertner
Jenni Gaertner has over 13 years of experience in mountain and road racing, triathlon, and 24 hour mountain bike racing.  She holds degrees in Health and Human Performance, Physical Therapy and Education.  Her diverse background and education help her understand and help clients that juggle work, family, school while training and racing. 
 
                                   Learn more about Jenni...
Quote of the Month
"You have to work hard for a long time without results. And you'll feel like you're putting yourself into a hole, but you just have to stay focused. You have to have the faith that if you're doing the work now, you'll get there sometime."  ~Nicole Reinhart, two time gold medalist at the Pan American Games
Client Successes
Matt Dion takes 1st place in the CCCX MTB Race in the Junior 14-18 category

Kyle Boudreaux takes 3rd at Rouge Roubaix, Cat3

Melissa Sanborn sprints to win the first Banana Belt road race in Cat 1/2/3 women

Sue Butler takes 3rd place in the Banana Belt #1 race in Cat 1/2/3 women

David Fultz achieved his goal of making it into a surviving break in a criterium

Joan Case finishes 14th in the Foothills Road Race in the Cat 3/4 women, her first race of the season

Gale Beatty achieved his goal of finishing a race with the main field
Maintenance Tip: Weekly Bolt Check-up

Your stem should turn on the steerer if one elephant hits your wheel and another hits the bars, or if the bike hits the ground hard in just the right way, but now with any lesser force.  Before you race, grasp the wheel between your legs and wrench hard on the bars.  If the stem turns, it was too loose.  Loosen it, straighten it and tighten it again, harder*. Double-check the headset for play or sticking at the same time.

Similarly, get in front of the bike and really push down hard with your full weight and a punch on the brake hoods. This is the force the bars experience when you hit a hard bump in a race. If the bars drop, loosen them, put them back where they were and tighten them again*. Pound on the side of the seat. If the post twists in the frame, loosen it, straighten it and tighten it some more*. You'll notice that a lot of new bike parts have torque specs printed on them. I've used a torque wrench a few times to achieve those specs, and bolts need to be surprisingly tight to reach the specs for the most part, especially if you are using a hand-size allen key or allen key set.

Do not get in the habit of just tightening everything on the bike every week though. You can often tighten a bolt just a little more if you push hard enough. That doesn't mean the bolt was loose. If you keep tightening a bolt that already seemed tight, you are actually stretching the bolt. Eventually you stretch it past the "elastic limit", meaning that it actually begins to deform permanently. Once that happens it breaks just a hair of tightening later, or maybe when you hit a bump just the right way.

* If you have a torque wrench and parts with specified torques on them, tighten bolts to spec. If the parts are still not secure, toss them. If you have carbon-fiber parts, get a torque wrench that measures in the suggested range.

Wenzel Coaching thanks you for your business!
 
Attack the Early Season Racing!
 
by Coach Rich Cramer

Early season racers

 

Depending on where you live, the 2007 race season has started or soon will.  You may or may not be prepared to race, whether due to fitness, mental state or schedule.  If you find yourself on the side of fairly fit but unsure if you want to devote the time and energy to taking spring races seriously, consider this a golden opportunity.  Read more...

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