Gravel Worlds Training Blog: The Ultimate Event Day Guide

The Ultimate Event Day Guide: 

Embracing the suck, the highs  and lows, the do’s and don’ts and how to have your best event

By Frank Pike 

Head Coach, Beyond Category Coaching 

Warning! Long article. I suggest reading at part of your recovery protocol after  a ride to be sure you have enough time to digest all the info.

Embrace the suck: Do Not think too far ahead 

Long gravel events are difficult by design! You must be  prepared to be uncomfortable both in training and during the  event, this is crucial for your success! You don’t have to set out  to intentionally suffer, but you also shouldn’t try to shy away  from being uncomfortable. There will be times you feel fast  and unstoppable, and times when you feel slow and miserable.  Neither will last forever thus, enjoy the times when you feel  good and keep working during the rough times. You will get  yourself into trouble thinking too far ahead vs focusing on task  at hand right in front of you. 

This goes for equipment and bike fit, too. You can spend an  enormous amount of time trying to essentially use your gear  and bike fit to smooth out the gravel roads. The truth is, if  you’re on the bike for 6+ hours something is going to hurt, no  matter what. Embrace that fact and figure out how you’re  going to continue riding and having fun when your hands, butt  or feet don’t feel perfect. 

As far as bike fit goes, comfort is king, but so is control. You  need to feel confident going fast, but also have the skill to  navigate corners without slowing way down. In my opinion, you  also must make sure you can ride effectively and comfortably  with your hands in the drops (and sometimes for longer  durations), on the brake hoods, and on the bar tops. Too often  riders can handle the hoods and top bars, the drops are where  issues occur. 

Never count yourself out 

Gravel events are long, so long that you have time to encounter  delays or even setbacks and still reach your goals. You cannot  control everything on event day. There will be moments where  everything is going right, and you will feel like a champ and  there will be times when it feels like it is all falling apart, and  you just want to quit. It is critical to remind yourself either of  these two extremes will NOT last long so enjoy the moments  you feel like a champion. When the time comes when you feel  so bad and just want to quit- manage the problem and know  that every other rider is going thru the same exact process there is power in numbers! 

Go in as fit as possible 

This seems elementary I know, but the point is that fitness  solves a lot of problems. The more fit you are, the better you  can handle mistakes or unforeseen conditions. When training  for gravel races it is easy to get caught up in the complexity and  neglect the fundamentals. What intervals should I do on what  day? What should my total hours be this week? What about  those anerobic capacity intervals I heard on that podcast last  week, when should I throw those into my training?  

Time on the bike and a lot of time on the bike is key. Next,  focus on structured interval workouts during your shorter  weekday rides and work in longer endurance rides when you  can, for many this means weekend rides are longer. There’s no  magical distance you must ride in a single workout to  determine you’re ready. Those ultra-long training rides are 

more useful for experiential learning than they are for  improving fitness, this is the time to figure out your nutrition  strategy, get use to riding with a water pack on your back,  practice using all your hand positions on the bar etc. They’re  good to do, but if you can’t fit one into your training, don’t let  that affect your confidence. 

Roll with the punches 

The longer the event, the less likely everything will go as  planned. Your perfectly portioned nutrition strategy will go out  the window when a bar or gel falls out of your pocket or a  water bottle bounces out of the cage, only to realize it miles  down the road! Or you might just not have any desire to eat  that special sandwich at mile 100. The weather may turn, your  bike may conspire against you, or maybe you’ll even take the  wrong turn and go off course for a bit.  

Learn to be flexible and quick to adapt. Don’t hang on to tightly  to a plan that is going off the rails. Having great fitness, and  plenty of grit will get you through most problems you will  encounter. 

Learn to love the process 

Staying engaged in training can be difficult. The outcome – whether it’s a spot on the podium or a just rolling across the  finish line – is only partly under your control. It’s not the  outcomes that keeps you engaged in your sport. It is your love  of the sport, the challenges it provides, the sense of  community, and the process of training that most likely keeps  you coming back for more, and your events give you something 

to direct your training toward. Events and races are the proof in  the pudding so to speak. 

Be kind to yourself 

One of the best things about gravel events is the fact that  eventually at some point you will ride solo. By that time, all the  riders are so spread out that you may not be able to see anyone  ahead or behind you. It’s just you, the open road, the dust and  the wind and the crunch of gravel under your tires. That  solitude also gives you a lot of time to fill your head. The same  thing happens to athletes in training. You are your own worst  critic and when you are exhausted and things have started  going sideways, it is very easy to be extremely hard on yourself. 

It is critical to recognize those negative thoughts and replace  them with positive statements. Negative thoughts will happen, it is natural. You get to decide what to do about them. Don’t let  negativity gain a stronghold in your mind, or it will grow and  multiply. 

Success in gravel events as well as success overall as an  endurance athlete, depends less on your physical capabilities  like power output, Vo2Max, FTP or even aerobic endurance. It  has more to do with your mental capacity. Can you make good  decisions about pacing, nutrition, hydration, and navigation?  Can you manage your eating and drinking over hours and hours without upsetting your stomach? Can you keep the negative  thoughts at bay? Do you have what it takes to roll with the  punches, face adversity, and keep moving forward? If the 

answer is yes, then you’ll cross that finish line and perhaps even  have a smile on your face  

Eat a good breakfast 

Whatever you do; DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST, even if that means  waking up at 4am to eat for your 6am start time! Take the time  to figure out what kind of pre-race breakfast works for you.  There’s no perfect formula and one of the keys is to avoid  overeating. Even though the day is going to be long, and you’ll  burn a ton of calories, stuffing yourself with a huge breakfast  isn’t going to give you the energy to make it through the day.  That comes from the glycogen in your muscles, what you eat  the day before the event, the fat you’re carrying around, and  the food you eat during the race. 

Keep breakfast to a moderate size. Some examples can include rice and eggs, with some toast and coffee. My go to is a big  bowl of oatmeal with a couple scoops of peanut butter and of  course 2-3 cups of coffee! Foods that have a lot of fiber like  some fruits can be dangerous later in the event, so be careful of  high fiber foods. Remember to start eating early, I personally  will start eating within the first 40-60 minutes of an event.  

Start hard but race your race 

It’s tempting to roll slowly off the start line of a long gravel  event that’s going to take 8+ hours, but it pays to go out hard – at least for a little while. With the pros leading the way, gravel  events start fast. You want to use the speed of those around 

you to put some good miles in and stay with people you can  work with later. If you start too conservatively, you’re likely to  be the strongest rider in the groups you’re with, meaning the  other riders aren’t much help. Your hard start is individualized  and needs to have some pre-planning on what it might look  like. It is based on your abilities and a good place to start is at a  RPE of 5-6 out of 10, it is a hard start NOT a max start. Keep  your ego in check and avoid “burning matches” trying to  maintain a pace that is above your ability! Matches burnt early  will catch up to you a couple hours down the road. Earlier I  spoke about time you will feel fast and times you will feel  miserable. The way you feel at any given time may not match  up with those around you. Establish your process goals and  consider actions that you can control. Process goals can include  pacing strategies like what power numbers or effort level you  want to produce in the first ½ of the event. Perhaps it is being  intentional about thanking all the volunteers that worked the  event. You determine what your success looks like and then  you get to achieve it by riding your race/event not someone  else’s. Be sure to have fun, support those around you and  honor yourself by doing your best because afterall you busted  your hump with all that training so why not enjoy it! 

Top off at aid stations and conduct a self-check 

If your finishing time is important to you, don’t spend a lot of  time in feed stations, because you’re just giving back time you  earned on the way there. You need a well-rehearsed and  simple plan at aid stations! To keep stops short, fill, and drink a  bottle of plain water, and then fill one bottle with sports drink 

and one with water, grab food and leave. Eat on the bike while  rolling rather than standing around eating at the feed station  but drink a full bottle because it’s like leaving the feed station  with three bottles (one in the gut and two on the bike). Aid  stations can have a “party” like atmosphere, DO NOT get  caught up and waste time. Lastly, be sure you have water,  food, and tools you might need down the road. A quick self check takes seconds but will save you hours of pain later. 

Get loose 

The gravel underneath you in gravel events require your  constant attention, and there will be some sliding and drifting  occurring vs riding on pavement. The more tense you are, the  more the gravel will beat you up, and the more likely you are to  overcorrect for a slight drift or bobble and make it worse. Let  the bike find the line, stay solid in the saddle, and keep your  upper body loose and relaxed. Allow the bike to float under  you, it’s ok and designed to do just this. 

Do your homework 

Gravel races are not something you want to just sign up and  show up for. Each race has different logistics to consider, and  there’s less standardization in the gravel events compared to  road, track, and cross-country mountain bike racing. Events  have slightly different rules, different philosophies on feed  stations and mechanical assistance, and of course, different  terrain. Know at what mile aid stations are located and how  many on course, know when you might pass thru a small town  to re-supply. 

Mechanical Crisis: 

Flat tires, equipment and or mechanical failures are part of  gravel events. If you trained for months, traveled for the event or this is your ONE big event for the year, take the time to  prepare for mechanical issues. This means racing with the tools,  parts, and knowledge to fix common problems. For events in  remote areas with long distances between aid stations, you will  need to carry a wide range of parts. The list can really be  endless and the blog prior to this one covers an exhaustive  parts list in more detail.  

So, what do you do when a mechanical issue happens? Stop  and take a few DEEP breaths and figure it out. If your derailleur  is making a loud noise, don’t keep pedaling thinking it will just  miraculously go away. You could rip your derailleur off. If you  realize you don’t have the tools or knowledge to fix your  problem, collaborate. Many fellow riders are also just hoping to  make it to the finish line, so ask for help and you may just get  what you need. Be sure to return the favor! Fix your problem  and then get back to the task at hand. Don’t panic or try to  make up for lost time, just go back to doing what you were  doing. Rushing the repair or rushing to make up time will  usually create additional issues and stresses anyway. 

Weather Crisis: 

Hope for great weather and plan for bad weather. Know what  you will need to do if it ends up being hotter than expected or 

pouring rain, and how that will change your race plan. If it does  get hotter, you’ll need to ride slower and drink more. Rain  might warrant different tires or different air pressure, and potentially a jacket at the start. Bad weather almost always  means your event will take longer, so pack more food and don’t  go as hard at the start. 

Crashes: 

Crashes happen. If you have one: STOP! Don’t immediately get  back on the bike, take a second to check yourself over. Often  an injury can be hidden, or you are in a bit of shock and so you  

might not even know you’re bleeding. Rub your hands over  your body and look for any blood. Inspect your helmet and look  for damage. Make sure all your joints are moving how they  should. 

Now do the ABC check of your bike: Air, Brakes, Chain. Check  your tires to make sure you didn’t flat, this may have caused  your crash, and check the wheels to make sure they spin and  

are still tight in the frame. Brakes: Are they still working, are the  levers where they should be, and are your rotors straight?  Chain: put your chain back on the crankset, if it has fallen off,  lift the back of the bike and spin the crank with no pressure on  the chain. This will tell you whether you have a bent chain link  or bent derailleur hanger. 

If your bike, body, and head all check out, get back on the bike  and take it easy as you check your body and bike while in  motion. If everything is working well, gradually accelerate back  to your goal pace. If there are any red flags, don’t ride through 

them; address any medical or mechanical problems. Again,  don’t try and make up for lost time, it usually backfires.  

Nutrition Crisis: 

Nutritional strategies were covered in a prior article, but even  with a great nutrition plan, your stomach can still give you  problems. If you run into problems, back off the pace, slowing  down is better than stopping altogether. Look back to see if  you have overeaten, not eaten enough and what you have  eaten along the way. You NEVER want to try new foods on  event day unless it is a must, for example you stop at a C-store  and they do not have sports nutrition foods or they do not have  the candy bar you usually get and are forced to get something  you may have never had, or at aid stations do not grab the ham  salad sandwich provided by the local rotary club if you are not  accustomed to this delicatessen. No offense to those that  volunteer their time and homemade goodies for aid stations, I  love this community support of gravel events, but please be  smart when purveying the “buffet” at aid stations.  

Cramping 

Cramping is a common issue faced in long gravel events, but  muscle cramps don’t necessarily mean your race is over. The  latest science is now telling us that cramping probably isn’t a  

nutritional or hydration issue as much as it is from overexertion  or excess fatigue. However, some nutrition and hydration  strategies may help alleviate them: slow down, cool down, eat, and drink a little more, and try eating mustard packets, drinking  pickle juice (vinegary and spicy foods/liquids can help). 

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Upset Stomach/Gastric Distress 

“Gut rot” is a real thing, and you need to be aware of the  consequences. Usually, gastric distress is caused by having too  much food and not enough water in your gut, which slows  digestion. Gut motility drops when athletes are overheated as  well. If you encounter this, stop eating food and start sipping  small amounts of water more frequently. This will help dilute  the solution in your gut and restart absorption. 

Mental crisis: 

Endurance sports can take you to some dark places. Most have  probably heard the phase “and this too shall pass”. This is true  when you are feeling terrible and when you are feeling great,  both will happen and probably multiple times thought-out your  event. Your first strategy is knowing it’s temporary. Whatever  you are going through, it won’t last forever. It will likely last for  less time than you think.  

Your second strategy for getting out of a mental funk is  redirection. Start counting fence posts, sing, whatever you  must do to distract yourself, heck, we are in Nebraska for Pete’s  sake, evaluate the corn alongside the road- it should head high  and the most beautiful green you have ever seen! Focus on  things like pedal cadence, pedaling as smooth as possible, look  for a new line to ride, focus on your breathing, listen to your  surroundings- what do you hear? Making up a mantra can be  powerful; it can be corny or motivating. By now, you all know 

mine: Ride! Fight! No Surrender! This has become my mantra  and it was thought of during one of my dark places in a gravel  event a couple years ago.  

A third strategy to get yourself out of a mental funk is to get  social. Positive self-talk is one thing, getting lost internally  talking to yourself is another thing. Talk to the person next to  you, ask them how their ride is going, where they are from- get  them to talk back, crack a joke, lifting their spirits will lift your  as well. 

Don’t Surrender; find a new focus 

There might be a point when your goals for your event have  come completely off the tracks. You’ve lost time fixing your  bike. You’ve flatted. You have encounter gut rot- Sh*t  happens, but rather than surrendering, try changing your focus. 

You can work too hard trying to stay with the lead group or a  group who is just 3-4 levels above you and must stop  completely to recover. You think about surrendering, but then  you remember you have a friend who was riding further back in  the field, and you make it your focus to help them finish as  strong as they can. Or maybe you just become super unselfish  and look for opportunities to help your fellow riders, the  possibilities are endless when you give of yourself and focus on  others. Your race might be over, but it doesn’t mean you can’t  help someone else have an epic day they will never forget! 

Problems, issues, call it sh*t is gonna happen in gravel events, it  is part of the adventure and it’s what you do when you are 

faced with adversity that determines how the rest of event will  go. A former RAAM participant (Race Across America) once put  it this way: “Take adversity and make it into an opportunity “.  Be forward thinking of what problems or issues might arise.  Play out scenarios in your head of what you are going to do  when those things happen and what skills are necessary to take  adversity and make it into an opportunity. Every time you zip tie a number plate onto your bike or pin a number onto your  jersey there are always takeaways that you learn from and  grow as an endurance athlete.  

I wish each of you the best Gravel Worlds event day! Go out  and race your race, ride your ride, and make a memory! 

Ride! Fight! No Surrender!