WC Masthead
Invest in your goals!
Wenzel Coaching Newsletter February 2008
Greetings!

This month's newsletter is so packed with articles and announcements that we'll cut this intro short and let you get to it all! Goal setting advice, late winter riding tips, a great resource, and more are in store.

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, and the Staff of Wenzel Coaching
In This Issue
Late Winter Riding Tips
Coach of the Month: Laurel Green
Announcement: New Wenzel Cycling Clothing is Here
Quote of the Month
Resource of the Month: Find New Bike Routes
Client Successes
Power Tip of the Month
Featured Article: Realistically Planning Your Race Season
Announcement: Silicon Valley Cycling Center Opens
Bad Weather?  No Problem
Late Winter Riding Tips

Head Coach Scott Saifer gives some tips to survive late winter riding.

1) It is okay to look at the weather report and rearrange your riding calendar to put the long rides on the nicer-weather days. Ask your coach for help.

2) Ride outdoors as much as you can, even if there is a bit of rain. If you ride in the rain, dress so warmly that you'll still be warm when you are wet and that you will actually be relieved to get wet.

3) Studded MTB tires on ice have grip as good or better than regular road tired on pavement. If you really have ice to deal with, get a set of studded tires. They can be had for less than the cost of good road tires and you can use them season after season if you dry them and store them in an airtight bag in the dark once the ice has all melted.

4) When you get home from a winter ride and you are cold, the fastest way to warm up is to strip off the wet clothes and jump on the trainer. You can generate heat internally much more effectively than you can absorb heat from food or a shower.

Coach of the Month:  Laurel Green
Laurel Green
This month's Coach of the Month is Laurel Green of Graton, California. Laurel has 13 years of racing and 7 years of coaching experience to help her clients achieve their goals.  She also has degrees in Psychology and Kinesiology.  Here's what a client had to say about Laurel:
 
"Thanks to her help I have earned the California Triple Crown for my first riding season (Three timed California Double Centuries in one calendar year).  Additionally, I have reduced my finishing time for a double centuries by nearly 2 hours within four months.  This next season I intend to earn the 1000 mile club (5 timed doubles in a season), and I'm working on reducing my finishing time until I can finish with the fastest riders who tend to be cat 3 and 2 racers.

Laurel is amazing in her ability to ride with me and always pin point the next set of exercises or technique refinement that will bust me out of a plateau.  She is much more than a motivator with a training schedule, she is a supremely gifted teacher."
2008 Wenzel Camps and Clinics Announced
The first camps and clinics of 2008 have been posted on the Wenzel Coaching website. Offerings so far include the SVCC Pre-Season Off-Road Clinic in Campbell, CA to help you jump start your MTB season.  There are also several free Women's Pre-Race Clinics at Portland International Raceway in Portland, OR from May to August and a weekend cyclocross camp in Washington State.

New Wenzel Cyling Clothing has Arrived!
Wenzel-long-sleeve
Wenzel Coaching has just received a new shipment of cycling clothing including previously out-of-stock sizes of bib shorts, short sleeve jerseys, vests and long sleeve jerseys.  Winter beanies are now half price (on sale for $8).

Quote of the Month
"What makes a great endurance athlete is the ability to absorb potential embarrassment, and to suffer without complaint. I was discovering that if it was a matter of gritting my teeth, not caring how it looked, and outlasting everybody else, I won. It didn't seem to matter what sport it was--in a straight-ahead, long-distant race, I could beat anybody. If it was a suffer-fest, I was good at it."

~Lance Armstrong
, 7 Time Tour de France Champion

 
Resource of the Month:  Find New Bike Routes
Do you have a great training ride to share?  Are you looking for a training ride in a new area?  If so then check out MapMyRide.  This site will allow you to add your rides to the database or search for rides by geographical location.  It's a great resource when you are "bored with the same old route."  Check it out when you have a chance.

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.
Client Successes

Mark Rajotte takes 1st place at the Vanport Kermesse, Men's C

Sue Butler takes 22nd in her first Cyclocross World Championships, Elite Women

Joe Fernandez wins 5 out of 6 primes at the Dade City Criterium.

Coach Melissa Sanborn takes 5th at the Cherry Pie Criterium, Cat 1/2/3 Women
Power Tip of the Month:  Power and Temperature
Use your power measurement device to check your cooling efficiency. Many riders find that they make less power at a given heart rate on a trainer than they do outdoors. In that case, if the power is down by more than a few watts, the indoor training time is at least partially wasted since the rider is tiring himself or herself out training to make less power. Keep adding fans, air-conditioning, cool breezes, cold drinks and iced towels until your indoor power equals your outdoor power. 
Wenzel Coaching thanks you for your business!
 
Realistically Planning Your Race Season
by Associate Coach Melissa Sanborn
goal notebookGoal-setting is a common weakness for struggling athletes and a common strength for successful athletes. Good goal setting will improve your motivation and self confidence, while poor goal setting or avoiding goal setting altogether will greatly decrease your chances of success.

Let's start with a research-proven fact: if you believe in yourself, you're more likely to be successful. I know that's not rocket science. But ask yourself: what affects your belief in yourself as an athlete?

 

Quick Links
 
 
Enjoy the Wenzel Coaching Newsletter?
Tell a friend!
Subscribe to the Wenzel Coaching Newsletter
The Silicon Valley Cycling Center is Open for Business
There is a new resource for cyclists that travel to the Silicon Valley region. Led by Wenzel Coach Karl Etzel, the new Silicon Valley Cycling Center has just opened it's doors and offers several services for cycling enthusiasts and competitors. Services include:

Bike Concierge - a high end road and MTB bike charter service that delivers a properly fitted bike, route guidance, nutritional supplements and a helmet to your hotel.  Just pack your shoes and clothes, they provide the rest.

Cycling Camps and Clinics - They help experienced racers and beginners alike to train smarter and ride faster, while enjoying some of the fabulous riding the Bay area has to offer. 

Product Sales - Besides frames from Look and Ritchey they also carry high-tech training tools (power meters, GPS units, etc.) with an emphasis on service to help customers really extract the benefit.  They also do bike fits.

Visit the SVCC Site