It burns you know.

It burns you know … after a long set.

I mean it’s really going to hurt … but that’s why we signed up for this race, right? I mean lets be serious – we train all year for one single race. So why would it be easy? Finally, the 61st Little 500 race is here and it looks like the weather won’t be in our favor either. Then again, nothing could be worse than last year … or did I just jinx that? My name is James Coudright and I'm the Captain of Delta Tau Delta Cycling. This post will be the last before the race and with it I hope to prepare you (in my own sweet way) for that time in your set when you will have to make a decision – a simple yes or no – that will decide whether you look back on this year’s race with pride or embarrassment.

They say that pain is temporary … but when you’re on the bike during your set and you aren’t feeling too shabby … pain can seem to last a very long time. However, there are a couple of things that can encourage you when you get to that place:

1.If you are in pain – so is everyone else. Know that everyone is hurting just like you are. So push through – the pace of the race will get fast but if you can hold on until it slows down you’ll be able to recover before the next surge.

2.Fear is your enemy – the minute you start to second guess yourself your heart rate will start to increase and when that happens it’s usually a domino effect that most always ends in even more pain. So relax both on and off the bike. Your breathing should be steady, upper body and jaw loose, and mind clear.

3.Don’t let your mind wander – emotions, the crowd, the pain – erase it all. Think about the present and current future: straight away – turn – straight away – turn – burnout – recovery.

4. Make your own luck – none is freely given. If you or your teammates get in a wreck, get a flat, botch an exchange, or mess something up … get back up, mentally and physically, shake off the mistake and GO. This race isn’t going to give you freebies, but it will reward your hard effort. In 2010, FIJI Cycling was a lap down before lap 100 … could you have guessed that they would come to place second after not giving up, but instead working hard to make back hat they lost? In 2009, Cutters wrecked and fell off the back of the field … could you have guessed that they would come to win? These examples mark only a small sample of rider’s decision to keep going, even when luck, odds, and most everything else is up against them.

5. Accept the pain and be a bit sadistic. If you want to start getting ready for this race I might watch this video over and over and over again. I know I have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOamblPax8A

Rest up because soon we'll all be in pain.
-James