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Wenzel Coaching Newsletter January 2008
Greetings!

Welcome to 2008! Whether you're enjoying sunshine or slogging miles in the rain or on the trainer, for most it's time to keep working away on base training. Check out this month's article A Case for Base to keep up your dedication to building the foundation of your year's training.

As always, you'll find the Resource of the Month, the Quote of the Month and the Power Tip of the Month below.

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

Happy Holidays! ~ Kendra Wenzel, Scott Saifer, and the Staff of Wenzel Coaching
In This Issue
Nutrition Spotlight: The Power of Protein
Coach of the Month: David Peckinpaugh
Quote of the Month
Client Successes
Resource of the Month: Know Before You Go
Power Tip of the Month: Should I Train with Power?
Featured Article: A Case for Base
Nutrition Spotlight:
The Power of Protein, The Power of Knowledge 
by Nutritionist Heather D'Eliso Gordon, RD, CSSD
Steak
It's nothing new to athletes that protein is an important nutrient for training and recovery. Scientific studies abound about the benefits of protein in the diet. What's missing for most athletes are specific recommendations; they are often left with too broad or too vague of guidelines. It is my intention to clear up that confusion and offer you advice that you can work with - that's practical and to the point.

Let's cut to the chase. Which foods contain protein and how do you choose which you should eat when? All animal foods consist of protein; providing all of the amino acids considered "complete proteins." Plant foods contain less protein and not all of the amino acids, therefore are considered "incomplete proteins." Consuming protein from a variety of sources (animal & plant) is a healthy way to meet your requirements.
Coach of the Month:  David Peckinpaugh
This month's Coach of the Month is David Peckinpaugh of Hadley, Massachusetts. David's 14 years of racing experience and Master's Degree in Exercise Science give David the tools necessary to assist his clients in meeting their fitness or racing goals.  Here are what some clients had to say about David:

"
I competed in seventeen races as a master 55+ racer last season, and crashed in late August during an endurance ride the weekend before my most important race of the year.  I was off the bike for 3+ months...Dave has done an excellent job in tailoring my program to accommodate my injuries and lost fitness, encouraging me and emphasizing how I must be patient....my fitness is slowly starting to return.  I had my best year racing in 2007 (my first year with Dave as my coach), and with Dave's coaching, look forward to an even better year in 2008."
~Will Kraham

"David has been incredibly patient and thorough with his explanations and direction. Although I am a relatively new client of Wenzel coaching, I am very pleased with his service thus far and look forward to continuing with Wenzel for many months to come."
~Anthony Diaz

Learn more about David
Quote of the Month

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.  Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle"

~Ernest Hemingway
, American Author

 
Client Successes

Sue Butler takes 3rd place at the GP Hotel Threeland CCX race in Luxembourg, Elite Women

Jason Ulaner has increased his LT power by 13% in his first 3.5 months with Wenzel Coaching

Matt Dion upgrades from NORBA Sport to Expert after a stellar 2007 season

Kea Hunt takes two 1st place finishes and 1st place overall in the LARPD CCX series, Men B

Resource of the Month:  Know Before You Go
It's time to ride.  You get on your bike gear, grab food and fill your bottles, lube your chain and head out the door.  Two hours into your ride it begins to rain, hard.  This is suprising since the forecast on the 6:00 news last night called for sunny and clear weather.  The weather can change in a moments notice, so it's good to check your local forecast right before you go. Use these weather tools to switch training days around to put longer rides or intervals on days when the weather is going to be more favorable.  Make sure to contact your coach if you have any questions about switching days. Here are some great web-sites that provide useful tools such as probability of precipitation, wind speed and directions and Doppler Radar imaging in addition to standard weather information.  Check them out next time you are headed out for a ride:  National Weather Service, Accuweather and The Weather Channel

The websites found in the "Resource of the Month" are in no way associated with Wenzel Coaching and we are not responsible for any information they contain.
Power Tip of the Month: Should I Train with Power?
You don't need a power meter to be a great bike racer. The vast majority of athletes winning at the local and national level are not using power meters. The power meter is a tool that can help you make good use of training time, but it's not magic. It won't make you any stronger than you can get from the time you put in on the bike and in the gym. With or without a power meter, you have to put in a lot of hours to be as strong as the others who put in the hours, and you have to be smart enough to back off when you are tired. If you do choose to use a powermeter, please let your Wenzel Coach help you to figure out the best ways to use it.
Wenzel Coaching thanks you for your business!
 
A Case for Base: Go fast, not hard

It's January and you're being dropped by your team on a weekend group ride while attempting to keep your heart rate under control. Your teammates begin to egg you on: "Can't you pick it up?... You aren't riding hard enough... What's that coach got you doing?" You are tempted to "blow off" your training program and simply ride. After all, your legs already hurt from the weight training - why shouldn't you?

There are a number of reasons why you shouldn't overdo it on group rides during your base training period, above all...

 

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