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Wenzel Coaching NewsletterAlmost Summer 2010
Greetings!

Though it may not seem like it in much of the US, it's nearly summer time. While the snow has just stopped falling in some areas, people have been racing and doing events for four or five months already in others. It's the beginning of the season for some, but a good time for a mid-season break for many others. Is it time for a mid-season break for you? Check out this month's article on knowing when it's time to relax and rebuild. 

Are you planning to take your bike with you this summer as you fly to your destination. Check out the Resource of the Month on airline bike fees. Research before you reserve!

We also welcome new coach and TT specialist John O'Brien of Ridgefield, Washington. As a coach who looks at the whole athlete, he offers an article this month on the possibility of adding yoga to your training routine.

As always there are the Tip of the Month, Resource and Quote of the Month as well as Client Successes. We encourage you to submit your nutrition and sports psychology questions for our monthly column and value your email input always.  

Happy training and racing!
~ Kendra Wenzel, Scott Saifer, and the Staff of Wenzel Coaching
In This Issue
Are You Ready for a Midseason Break?
New Coach Profile: John O'Brien of Ridgefield, WA
Training Tip: Timing of Arrival at Altitude for Optimal Performance
Resource: The Cost of Traveling with Your Bike
Feature Article: Yoga for Cyclists
Are You Ready for a Midseason Break?
It's that time of year again, time to think about taking a midseason break to ramp up for the remaining races of the year.  Our annual midseason break article will give you advice and ideas to discuss with your coach. 

New Coach Profile: John O'Brien of Ridgefield, WA
Wenzel Coaching would like to welcome new Coach John O'Brien of Ridgefield, WA.  John has 15 years of racing experience and currently races as a Cat 2.  He has been part of Masters teams for iconic events such as the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and Cascade Classic.  Having worked previously as a regional sales manager, John knows the demands of balancing work and racing. Now as a full time coach and fitness trainer, John can help his clients with training, nutrition, tactics, bike handling skills and recovery.

Quote of the Month

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both."


~James A. Michener,
American Author
Training Tip of the Month: Timing of Arrival at Altitude for Optimal Performance
by Head Coach Scott Saifer
The adjustment that occurs when you take your body to altitude includes several different processes that proceed at different rates. When you first arrive at altitude, you may find that easy movements like standing up can put you out of breath. Several hours after you arrive at altitude and continuing for maybe 24 hours, you'll be generating large volumes of urine. Your body is thickening your blood to increase it's oxygen carrying capacity. By the time that process is over, you no longer get out of breath from standing up. Unfortunately while the period of increased urination results in an increased hematocrit, it also results in a decreased peak cardiac output (how much blood the heart can pump). The effect is that after about 18 hours at altitude, your body handles mild efforts better, but higher intensity aerobic capacity is impaired. In other words, even though you feel better, you can't race as fast as you could when you first got to altitude.

There's a substance in red cells called 2,3-DPG that adjusts how oxygen sticks to your hemoglobin. By about the fifth day, the level of 2,3-DPG in your red cells has increased enough to make up for the reduced cardiac output, and for your performance to finally exceed what it would have been had you raced immediately on arrival at altitude.

Okay, enough physiology. What this means for racers planning to race at altitude is that they should plan to arrive at altitude late enough to race before they've been at altitude for more than 18 hours unless they can get up a full five days early. There's no point in going up a couple of days early to "adjust" because the early adjustment impairs rather than enhances performance.
Resource of the Month: The Cost of Traveling with Your Bike
Bike CaseThinking about taking your bike with you this summer? Be informed before you make your airline reservations.

Domestic Airline Fees for Bikes and luggage greater than 62 inches (each way)   
Alaska Air:  $50
American Airlines:  $100
Continental:  $100
Delta/Northwest:  $200
Frontier:  $50
Jet Blue:  $50
Midwest:  $75
Southwest  $50
United  $100
US Airways  $100

So, beware of that enticing fare on Delta, for instance, and realize that you need to add $400 to a round trip there.International fees will also differ, so check directly with the airline. Though your bike may fold into a case less than 62 inches, some airlines will still want to charge a greater fee simply because the item is a bicycle. As always, the enforcement on the fee will also depend on the agent's knowledge and generosity at the check-in. Put on your best smile or sob story. It's usually at least worth a try! Some of the airlines still discriminate between bicycles and other popular items such as golf clubs, which still fly for free on most airlines, but if you're thinking of bringing your deer antlers along with your bike on Delta, you're in for another $200.

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

Wenzel Clients had 32 top 3 finishes including 18 victories this month


Tim Butler

-1st at the Bend Don't Brake Road Race, Men 40+

-2nd at the Mudslinger MTB XC, Men 35-44

-2nd at the Spring Thaw MTB XC, Men Cat 1 35+
-4th at the Mellow Johnny's Classic XC MTB, Men Cat 1 40-44

Coach Steven Beardsley

-1st at the Eugene Roubaix, Men Pro/1/2

-1st in the Points Race and takes 2nd overall in the Eric Kautzky

 Track Race, Men Cat 1/2
-1st at Tuesday PIR #6, Men Cat 1/2

-2nd at the Joe Bar Racing Ravensdale Road Race, Pro1/2


Nick Quensel

-1st at the Massasoit Lung Opener, Men Cat  2
-1st at the Glocester Grind MTB, Men Cat 2
-1st at the Winsted Woods MTB, Men Cat 2


Coach John O'Brien

-1st with teammates win the OBRA State TTT Championship, Men

 40+

Beth Tennant

-1st in her age group at the Rev3 Olympic Triathlon, Knoxville

Beth Butrymowicz
-1st in the Friday Night Breaking Away Omnium, Open Women

Heather Ross
-1st in the Win and Out at the Women's Friday Night Breaking Away,
 Open Women

Coach Melissa Sanborn begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting

-1st at the Mt Tabor Circuit Race, Women Cat 1/2/3


Sue Butler begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting

-1st at the Bend Don't Brake Road Race, Women Cat 1/2
-1st at the Spring Thaw MTB XC, Women Pro
-1st at the Mudslinger MTB XC, Women Pro

-3rd at the Cascade Chainbreaker MTB XC, Women Pro

-Named to the Nature Valley Pro Ride Team

-3rd at Stage One and Stage Five and takes 3rd overall at the Mt

 Hood Cycling Classic, Women 1/2/3


Carl Hoefer

-1st at the Beautiful Estacada TT and sets a PR, Men Cat 1/2


Heather Stallion
-1st at the Weaverville 6 Hour MTB Race, Women's Sport Solo

Erica Krumpelman

-1st with teammates at the 24 Hours Round the Clock, 5-person

 Coed

-1st at the Bavarian Bike & Brews Festival MTB XC, Women Open




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Feature Article:
Yoga for Cyclists-The Benefits for Your Performance
by Coach John O'Brien
Years of yoga have convinced me of benefits of this 5000 year old practice. The word yoga derives from the Sanskrit root "yuj" meaning "'to yoke," referencing the body-mind union.  The exercise associated with Hatha branch of yoga can lead to improved flexibility, strength, concentration, relaxation, immune response, posture, lung capacity, coordination, balance and confidence.   As a cycling coach, yoga instructor and competitive cyclist, the contribution of yoga practice specific to improved cycling are of particular interest.  There is a yin yang balance to the challenging stresses of cycling and the restorative properties of yoga.  Let's explore a few of the reasons I encourage my cycling clients to be yoga practitioners as well.

Quick Links
 
More Client Successes

Joe Meyers-Fuchs

-3rd at the Tour of Colts

 Neck, Men Cat 5


Coach Martin Baker

-3rd at the Mudslinger

 MTB XC, Men 35-44


Darrin Braun

-3rd at the WORS #1

 MTB, Men Pro/Elite


Leia Tyrrell

-3rd at the US Collegiate

 National Championship

 Criterium, Women

 Division 1
-Named to the Nature Valley Pro Ride Team


Erica McKenzie

-3rd at the Oliver Half

 Ironman and qualifies for

 IM Canada, Women

 35-39


Lynn Akers

-Finishes the Wildflower

 Olympic Course for the

 first time


Donna Sundale

-Finishes the Wildflower

 Olympic Course for the

 first time

Dawn Rintala

-Finishes the Wildflower

 Long Course for the

 first time


Gabe Valera

-Earns a pro ride to the

 Nature Valley Grand

 Prix


Dan Taylor

-Completes Davis

 Double Century on first

 attempt


Hal Russell

-Returns to the bike
 after suffering a broken
 femur


Alissa Maglaty
-2nd at the Memorial Day Criterium, Women Cat 4
-2nd overall in the Hellyer "Get Ready for Summer" Omnium, Women
 Cat 3
-Upgrades to Cat 3 on the road

Rob Butner
-2nd at the Weaverville 6 Hour MTB Race, Men's Sport Solo

Coach Ron Castia
-2nd at the Weaverville 6 Hour MTB Race, Men's Pro Solo

Cara Bussell
-2nd at the Arizona State RR Championships, Women Cat 1/2/3
-2nd at the Mt. Lemmon TT, Women Cat 1/2
-3rd at the Morehart-Murphy criterium, Women Cat 1/2/3

Coach Jenni Gaertner
-2nd at the Wenatchee Omnium, Women Cat 1/2

Dan Mensher
-2nd in the Omnium at the Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race, Men
 Cat 3

Jade Wilcoxson
-2nd at the Mt Tabor Circuit Race, Women  Cat 1/2/3
-2nd at Stage Six of the Mt Hood Cycling Classic

Missing your results?
We do our best to publish all the results we receive, but if we don't know what you did, we can't tell the world about it. Did you have recent results that we didn't publish already? If so, please send them to our newsletter editors. We publish top-3 in any event, completion of endurance events, top-5 in national events, any substantial goal reached (weight lost, training pace increased, personal best for a course...)

Personal and Team Clinics Available
Could you or your club use focused work with a qualified Wenzel Coach in cycling, running or swimming? Clinics for individuals, small groups and teams are available for as little as $150 for a half day session.  Cornering or dirt skills, for example, running stride, or swim stoke work are all areas where Wenzel Coaches have helped clients save valuable time and energy.  Contact the main office at 503-233-4346 or by email to inquire about a clinic for you or your team.