What you may not know about...

There are many interesting people who spend time around Hellyer, and I intend to interview some of them so that we can all get to know them a little better. And who better to start with than Mark Rodamaker. Mark has been racing and helping out at Hellyer for about 20 years, and he has achieved some major accomplishments in track cycling. Mark and I have been friends and teammates for so long I can't remember much about when we weren't.

So, Mark, let's start with the basic details. Age? married? Kids? Relatives who are cyclists? Years racing? How many days of track racing? How many criteriums and road races?

I'm age 58 although I'm 59 according to USCF. 2 kids. Daughter Wendy raced when she was really young. Son Scott still races but fulltime work and 2 kids has cut his training time. He is old enough to go to Masters Track Nationals. BTW, Wendy has a son who is 19 and athletic. We could do a 3 generations team sprint at states.

I raced for a few years in the 1970's in upstate NY and in Texas right after college. Took about 10 years off but did some running and then triathlons. Eventually, common sense prevailed and I started bike racing again in California in the mid 1980's so it is many years in total. Days of track racing would have to be in the 100's. Number of road races and crits would also be in the 100's. I have not done any road races in about 5 years. As soon as I stopped worrying about being a terrible climber I started winning crits. I am not much of an historian.

What are your major racing accomplishments?

I have won 14 master National Championships and 2 Master World Championships and these were all in the last 8 years. Wins are in Points Race, Match Sprint, 500m TT, 2km Pursuit, TTT and Team Sprint. Never won any major titles till turning 50. My first National Championship was the Points Race at Nationals. It was kind of strange. Everyone was watching John Elgart who would win the BAR if he won the Points race. I went to the front just to give John a wheel. John backed off as he didn't want the two of us both at the front. Everyone backed off with him and I got a gap riding at 20 mph. It got harder as they tried to chase but I eventually gained a lap on a 400 meter track. (Laps gained used to take precedence over points in points races.)

How did you get started in bike racing? Where was that?

I had been a competitive weightlifter in college but got burned out going to competitions. Decided to try cycling while in grad school at RPI in Troy,NY. Just rode around for a while but raced within the first year. We had local non-sanctioned races that were not super fast so I did well immediately. These became ABLA ( this became USCF years later) races later and were faster but I was ready by then. Raced in upstate NY for about 5 years.

When and where was your first time on a track?

I had a track bike when I lived in NY but never rode it on the track as there were none close. First track riding was at Hellyer. I think it was 1987.

What brought you to the track to try it out?

I can't recall why I tried the track but it was clear I would never win a climbing race and there are no big hills at the track so it just seemed logical to race where the crits are even shorter and you get to do 4 in a session.

What tracks are your favorites? Why? Any notable not-so-favorite tracks?

For racing, an indoor 250 meter track is really the best there is. On longer tracks, it is often better to be 2nd and slingshot around. On a 250, the straights are so short that the advantage is almost always to the leader so it encourages racing to get to the front. Also, a wood surface has a totally different feel. It is just silent,fun and faster. As a result, I really like Manchester. The ADT Center in LA is pretty darn good but the facility has some issues mainly due to being built on a minimal budget. We've had Nationals in Frisco which is an outdoor 250 but it tends to be slippery, the weather is hot and humid and it is really too steep at 46 degrees. The 250 tracks are not great for training as you can't ride slowly between efforts without falling down. Colorado Springs is a great 333 and the thin air makes it faster than anything else I've been on. The Portland track has character but it is so rough it is not much fun. Most of the 33'3s are fine but are nothing special. A 400 such as the Seattle one is not great. It is really long out of turn 4 to the line.

Tell us about a particularly meaningful race from your early years in racing.

I've already mentioned my first National Points race win. The winter before turning 50, I managed to get in a lot of base miles even though it rained a lot. When racing started I was about 5# lighter than usual. The first race of the season for me was the Landpark crit. I won the sprint in the 50+ group pretty easily. This was inspirational as I hadn't won a non-track race in years. I ended up winning a number of crits that year, plus the Points Race at Nationals and medalled at Worlds. But, the win at Landpark crit was what got it rolling.

What are your favorite events on the track, and why?

I've had success over the years mainly in the Points race and match sprint. Sprinting is really very stressful and I often have to race against younger guys who are really too fast for me so it is not really an event I've enjoyed a lot. Points racing can be the same story if I get in with the pro/1/2's but it is probably my favorite race. The keirin is also a really good race. The fields are less than 10 and the race starts from speed. I've placed in the senior District keirin a few times in recent years so it must be good for me. Conversely, any race that requires a sustained effort will not work for me. A really miserable example is the point a lap. Some super fit roadie will invariably get a gap and hold it. My comments while suffering a half lap behind would be unprintable.

What would you say was your most important result, or most meaningful result?

My first Master's National Championship was my most meaningful win as it gave me direction and the desire to get more of them and go for Worlds. Likewise, my first World Championship was extremely important as it showed I could win at the top level for Masters. These were both Points races which is why that is my favorite event. Another important event was finishing 2nd in the Pursuit my first 2 years in the 50's to Ian Hallam.

Did this result change the way you thought about your racing, or did it encourage you to change your approach to racing?

The Points race successes reinforced my approach. The Pursuit results were encouraging but also direction altering. While I actually held the US Pursuit record in my age group for a year till a better pursuiter turned 50, it was clear I could never beat Ian Hallam in an endurance event at the World Championships and I could never escape him on age as he was 2 months younger. I believed I had a chance in sprint events and altered my training approach to emphasize sprint efforts. Ian has not raced after he turned 55 which is when I won my Worlds events, but he was a major influence.

How have you been involved as a volunteer at Hellyer in the last few years, or going back even farther?

I was president of the NCVA for 3 years just before Mike Hardaway's reign. I have been a Saturday morning supervisor for about 6 years now and also do quite a few special sessions including being supervisor at the regular Tuesday and Thursday morning sessions. I make most of the work parties. Even though I'm not on the Board this year, I still talk with the current Board members regularly and I think they value my comments.

What do you like about Hellyer?

Hellyer is a very good track overall. The straights are short because the turns are very wide. This makes it a better racing track than you might suspect. Even with minimal banking, the wide turns can be taken at speed and the short straights make it questionable as to whether to lead or follow. The transitions are great. The surface is generally pretty good. The gentle banking makes it very friendly for novices. The infield has been a mess that is hopefully being fixed. The rest of the facility is basically super low budget. It would be nice if we had showers, a building with lockers, an office etc but we just don't have the money to do it. I have to put in a little plug for those who run the place and I mean the NCVA BOD. In my opinion, while not every decision is exactly what I would want, there is no one on the Board who isn't volunteering his or her time for the betterment of the whole track racing community. We have an extremely low amount of political intrigue. End of political statement.

What are your goals for this season and next?

My current racing age is 59. Experience has shown that I can compete but not necessarily win in my last year in an age group. There are some super talented racers who can win every year but I'm just not that good. If I could win one event at Nationals, that would be a great accomplishment. I plan to attend World's as I've never been to Australia but getting on the podium would be a great result there. But, next year I get to be young again and have every intention of winning at Nationals and Worlds.

Tell us a bit about your training. Major segments, favorite training efforts, least favorite, but still effective.

Last year I followed the Australian sprint plan and it really did not work well. It is pretty much all 10 seconds max efforts, weights and recovery rides. There was not enough training volume to ever get my weight low enough. There was so much weight and strength work that I was slightly injured most of the time. It works for 25 year old sprinters. This year I've added a lot more road miles with some intensity but these are mostly base miles with some near AT hill efforts of 10 to 30 minutes. 2 or 3 times a week I do sprint work which is mainly 10 seconds efforts on either a road or track bike. I also do weights twice a week with leg presses both days. One day it is two legs and the other day I do them one leg at a time. One thing I should mention is that I was having some, actually quite a lot, of back pain the last few years. Tried a number of different cures but finally came up with a 20 minute twice a day routine that includes core strengthening, stretching, yoga and repetitive core motion that has made a big improvement. You can not do a good standing start if you are concerned that your back is going to spasm. I do not do lactic acid type efforts in training. I am an energy system believer but doing the 1 to 3 minute efforts necessary to train the lactic acid system are just too painful. I know they would help and I may do some just before Nationals or Worlds but I just can't face them in March.

World and Olympic kilometer champion Chris Hoy has confirmed plans to attack Arnaud Tournant's world record (58.875 seconds) for the kilo. Chris plans to make his bid on May 12 at the Velodrome De Alto Irpavi in La Paz, >Bolivia, elevation 12,000 feet-the same track used by Tournant for his record. Do you think Chris Hoy will break the kilo WR later this year, and what do you predict for his time? This is a hard prediction.

The track condition may have deterioriated. It could be windy. But, Chris should be super motivated. With the demise of the kilo, if he sets a recored, it would likely last many years so I would expect the record to fall but not by much. I would predict a 58.2.

What advice do you give new track racers?

Try every event there is. After a while it should be clear what events suit you. Spend extra time on those events. Most track racers also race on the road. I think you can categorize bike racing into four groups: road racing, crits, track endurance and track sprinting. It is possible to be good at 3 of them but you can't pick the 3. You probably have to pick road racing or track sprinting plus the middle two. There are specialists who only do road races. These climbers can't sprint so never place well if there is no big climb. Likewise, a pure sprinter will not have the endurance to finish a 10 lap race. Get a good track bike but don't get fixated on equipment. Track stuff is rather basic. Weight doesn't matter much. In fact, heavy bike usually feel better at high speed. Aero is important as you progress. One of the great things about track racing and Hellyer in particular is that the racers socialize and share knowledge as they are sitting together between events.

Thanks, Mark, for taking time to do this interview. Questions and comments for Mark can be posted below.

Training to go Fast!

One of the questions that comes up frequently is what is your training like? What do you do? What is your favorite training session? I intend to pose this question to a number of our regulars at Hellyer Park so that we can all learn about what has helped other people go fast, and what may help each of us go a little faster ourselves. Since I'm already writing, I'll go first.

Uphill sprints. I hate them. I love them. They are a major component of the training that's helped me win twice at Masters Nat's. Every month I look for them in the training plan my coach has given me, and for about 9 months of the year, there they are. Waiting to inflict the worst pain and suffering upon me. And they are the efforts that I look forward to the most because they help so much.

To describe them, and how and why they work I think it's best to start at the end, and work back. When I'm getting close to a major peak in the season I'll do these once a week, usually on Tuesdays so I'm fairly recovered from prior racing, and I'll have time to recover (mostly) before the next races. On a hill of about 4-6% grade, about like a steep freeway overpass, I roll up to the bottom of the hill in the gear I'll use for the entire sprint. Usually it's a 53x15, sometimes it's 53x16. If I want to work mainly on strength I'll start from a dead stop and use the bigger gear. If I want to be more specific for sprinting I'll start from about 10-15mph and sometimes use the smaller gear. I go 100% right from the start to the finish, 15-30 seconds later.

The shorter efforts are for improving the standing start for a TT like team sprint, kilo, or 500mTT. (Pursuiters don't need to start nearly this hard.) The longer efforts are to improve ability in match sprints, the finish of TT's, and points race sprints. I often do a few sprints of the shorter duration, and then some of the longer duration. Here's the really hard part. The rest period between repetitions is only 2'30" to 4', and rest between sets of 2-4 reps is only 5' to 7'. A person focused more on points races than sprinting would aim for about 12 repetitions with the shorter rest periods and more reps per set. A sprinter/TT rider would use the longer rest periods and 2 or 3 repetitions per set. And the total number of reps will be 6 to 9 for the sprinter, and 12+ for the points racer.

Generally, we will work up to this volume beginning in January for the peak near August, and then another peak later for World Championships. In January most of the sprints are 10-20" each, no more than 3 reps in a set, and usually 4' rest between reps. Going into March the duration is usually 20" each, and the total number of reps is 5-8. By June the volume is at it's highest, with plenty of 20-30" sprints, and 6-9 reps. In July the volume comes down slightly to allow for higher quality of the efforts. About 6 weeks out from peak we'll regularly do these efforts on a hill one week, and on the flat the following week, and if I'll do sprints at the track later in the week we usually do less than 5 uphill sprints that week.

These efforts are very hard, and will significantly drain your levels of blood sugar-which can educe the sugar levels in your brain (you see dark spots). It is very important to have plenty of sugar in your blood before and during these efforts or you might black out a bit after the last one or two sprints of the session-been there done that. Don't do them with car traffic around you.

For so much suffering why do them? I am very fortunate to be coached by Max Testa since 2003. Before I started with Max I thought to be good at match sprints you just do 15-20 second sprints on a flat road with plenty of rest between each sprint, and maybe 4 or 5 sprints in a session, and that was it. With this approach I could win at the District level, but at the National Championships I couldn't handle the long sprints of the 3-ups, and when racing the best sprinters in the country they'd come around me out of the last turn. I have learned from Max that quite often, the best training for a specific kind of race effort is not to just mimic that race effort in training.

In a match sprint you'll come up against lots of riders who can go fast for 150-200 meters, but the ones that often win the championships are the riders who can tire the other rider out just a bit, and then go very fast for the last 200 meters, and without slowing down as they approach the line. You will need to be fast when your legs are a bit tired, and you're in a bit of oxygen deficit, and your legs are already loading up with lactate. And if you're doing TT's you already know you need to be really good for 25 seconds or more.

You can not win consistently if you can only produce high force for 5 or 10 seconds. The uphill aspect of the sprints doesn't allow you to spin up the gear to 120+ rpm's by the finish of the effort-the higher rpm's reduce the force per pedal stroke. You won't get much above 80 or 90 rpm's on a hill if the gear is big enough, and this also allows you, and causes you to maintain very high force for the entire effort. And that's what you need for long sprints and for TT's.

The relatively short rests result in incomplete recovery between sprints. This means you'll be sprinting within many of the constraints you'll face in your races, whether that is during a long sprint common in 3-ups, or against another rider who is good at long sprints, or during TT races. You could just do longer efforts, but then fatigue becomes a major limiter. You can't expect to go out and do 4 repetitions of a full-on 500mTT in a single session, or 5 repetitions of 350m sprints at maximum effort. Your fatigue will reduce the quality to a level that is counter-productive.

While the short rest periods help to provide most of the conditions you'll have to cope with in your races, significant fatigue won't be a factor until the 5th, or 8th repetition. You will notice that when the rest periods between sprints are shortest, your muscles will recover a few days quicker than when you use longer rest periods. Consider this a hint for the emphasis of the training that day, or that week, and plan accordingly.

Max used to coach the star riders at Mapei. The first time Max had me do these uphill sprints I was in such agony during the last few sprints (of 9) that I called him up right after the session. I asked him, when the team owner at Mapei was upset with a particular rider, did he tell you to have them do these uphill sprints? Max laughed and said that when he was coaching Michele Bartoli he would have him do 20 repetitions in a session, so that he could attack over and over in the last hour of World Cup races. (Bartoli won the WC overall two years in a row.) Oh well, I guess 6 to 9 repetitions isn't so bad, and they do work.

-Warren

Training for Track Races

Here in NorCal we have a number of racers who have won masters World Championships, and Elite and Masters National Championships, as well as some top-level coaches. I'd like to offer a place where riders and coaches can share information about their training, so that we can help each other learn more about what can help us go FAST! And if you're already fast, and are looking for that last little .01% improvement, you may find that here too.

I invite people to suggest topics of interest, whether it's about the training to become a better all-around track racer, or some specific training efforts that could be useful for a favorite event. Understand that training needs are very unique for each different person-what works for one will not work for all. Please remember that this is not a place to look for a detailed weekly plan of training for yourself. It is my hope that you can learn about some things that you can incorporate into your own training. Even the best riders and coaches in the world have to experiment with training, to some degree, so if something doesn't seem to be working after a month or so you may need to re-consider it.

The more experienced riders and coaches are welcome to contact me by email about posting their own article about some area of training, so that others may learn from it and offer their own feedback.

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