Eat Your Brussel Sprouts

Georgia and I went out to Horsetooth yesterday for a final intensity session before the first World Cup in Houffalize this coming Sunday. Goodness gracious, there are not too many things that can make a fellow feel slower than trying to follow Georgia up a 20+ % grade at race pace. We climbed up Towers Trail for 10 minutes, traversed Loggers, and came down Sawmill, which is a pretty technical descent. It was perfect for spotlighting my current major weaknesses - steep climbing and technical descending.
After getting over the initial bummer of being immediately dropped, I was able to settle in and maintain a good pace and a full effort up the climb and then push my comfort zone on the downhill. I definitely felt that I made some small improvements – which I hope will add up over time into big improvements. All in all, it was a very productive day.

Practicing the things that you feel incompetent at rarely tops the list of fun things to do. If “bread and butter” is a metaphor for things that you excel at, then working on your weaknesses is like eating brussel sprouts. They taste sick, but you know they must go down the hatch because they will improve your health. That being said - to truly become a well-rounded racer, working on your weaknesses is one of the best uses of your time. The long-term goal would be to improve to the point where a given skill is no longer a weakness at all. Maybe it even becomes a strength.

Think about it - what if you improved yourself to the point that you had no weaknesses? What if you ate those nasty brussel sprouts until they tasted delicious?

You might still be better at some things than others, but imagine if there was nothing that specifically holds you back.
There would be no race courses that "don't suit you," no pigeon-holing yourself as a certain type of rider, and far less opportunity for making excuses. (I will save my “excuses” soap-box for another time.)
Here's my point - if you just go out and race your bread and butter events all the time and only do the things that you know you are good at, you are missing out. Putting yourself in a situation where you feel incompetent is a hard and sometimes embarrassing thing to do - but it is certainly a very important part of the process of becoming a better athlete.

SO - to begin, think of the weakness that makes you cringe the most. Next, figure out specifically what it will take to improve in that area. Then, bring along a patient attitude and some elbow grease and get after it!