By: Kyle McGrath

“Preparing to Win, Are You Ready?”

Kyle McGrath

So you have put in your motos, hit the gym every day, and stuck to a strict diet to focus on the upcoming race.  You have done everything to prepare that you can possibly think of.  Yet, come race day you fall short of energy, your body cramps up, and you can’t get comfortable on the track.   Your opponents that you know you can beat shower you with roost before leaving you behind.  How can this happen?  You came prepared to win right?

There are thousands of elements that are intricately involved in winning a race, and one of the most important and often overlooked components is race preparation.  Most motocross racers know as much about race preparation as Ricky Carmichael knows about losing.  The truth is if you’re not prepared correctly for your motos, you are at a disadvantage before the thirty second board goes sideways. 

To help me bring this topic out of the dark I turned to the 2001 San Diego SX winner, 2000 Prince of Bercy, multi-time amateur national champion, and head of Buckelew Motocross Training based in Phoenix, AZ--Justin Buckelew.  Buckelew’s lists of credentials are numerous and he is an accomplished racer who knows how to win.

For clarity, race preparation will be defined starting from the day before the race up to the drop of the pin, marking the start of your first moto.  A very important part of getting ready for a race is diet.  Buckelew explains, “The day before your race you want to increase your caloric intake with meals packed full of carbohydrates as well as some protein.”  He recommends foods such as chicken, pasta, fish, vegetables, and my personal favorite--potatoes, among the plethora of choices available to fulfill your pre-race needs.  Why?  “Good” carbohydrates provide consistent energy, and protein helps muscles repair themselves and stay healthy.  Your body needs an abundance of both to sustain itself through the upcoming day of racing.

On race day, however, your diet needs to be altered and Buckelew suggests sticking to foods low in fat and easily digestible.  You don’t want to overeat but keep yourself full and eat multiple small meals through the day to keep your energy up.  Some of Buckelew’s favorites include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and bananas.   

Now that you know how to maintain the energy to race, what other way should you prepare your body?  According to Buckelew, rest is crucial to prepare yourself the day prior to the race.  Stay relaxed but don’t be afraid to squeeze in some undemanding exercise such as an easy bike ride to get your heart rate up a bit. 

Before you line up to do battle, it is essential to warm-up.  Buckelew runs his students through a routine of jumping jacks, squats, and other exercises to get their blood flowing.  Also included in the warm-up are stretches to get muscles loose and ready.  It is very important to have your body awake and primed before the race but stay conscious to not wear it out. 

With your body ready, there is one last major piece that needs to be prepped--your mind.  Having “mental toughness,” as Buckelew states, “is probably one of the greatest assets a racer can have.”  Justin works with large amounts of different riders and at all different levels and says that one of the biggest mistakes he sees racers make in preparing for a race is worrying about how fast the competition is.  “You cannot control them, only how well you ride, and the decisions you make during the race. Usually, worrying about the competition does not help you ride faster,” says Buckelew. 

Focusing inward is the key.  Buckelew prefers to visualize his lines and how he will ride the track, sometimes accompanied with motivational music to help him zone in on the task at hand.  Every racer is different, but in order to be successful he or she must have confidence.  If you are prepared, it makes you confident which is why every part of the preparation discussed in this article is important.  They are all critical building blocks of the strategy of building a winner.   By applying all this information, you can now line up feeling ready, confident, and prepared to win. 

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What is the one thing that all racers desire more than anything?  Speed.  Plain and simple, it is what this sport is all about, going fast.  This one syllable word, speed (Clap it out if you don't believe me), is the hardest thing to find in motocross.  People say that all you need is talent and dedication to be successful in this sport.  I disagree.  What I have been able to deduce from this epic and never ending hunt, is that speed is the product of of two variables.  (*Please see my extremely accommodating mathematical translation at the end of this enlightening article.)  It takes talent and dedication plus support and confidence to make speed and nothing less.  I will be proving my ingenious theorom in the following paper.  My whole career has been about finding speed.  Unfortunately, the only way to do this is through trial and error.  The error happens to be the laws of physics reaching out its colossal and almighty hand to smack you in the face with a taunting and hearty laugh.  This "smack" sends your body hurtling into the tera firma in an often contorted and painfullty uncomfortable position.  Still, after the plates have been set in place and the bones are healed, we continue our exploration for speed. 

                I still know next to nothing about the best way to unearth speed.  I usually peek around the corner in just enough time to catch sight of it laughing and pointing at me before it disappears into the abyss.  Kind of like Elmer Fudd hunting Bugs Bunny.  "Oh this rascawy spweed!"

                This brings me to my first discussion on speed, support.  I am omitting the variable of talent and dedication because everyone knows that part of the equation, duh!  I am discovering, and very frustratingly I might add, that my view on speed might be a little off.  I still hold firm that speed is an elusive idol that only a select few are ever able to detain.  Yet, the more I think about this topic, the more I am finding that it is not just about talent and dedication.  No matter what, a person needs financial and emotional support.  In my situation, I am trying to track down speed by myself and on foot with my head to the ground listening to its foot prints, and sniffing the wind.  Meanwhile, the kid pitting next to me with his track crew and his unecessarily large and expensive RV has a hummer, GPS, and an Australian in a safari hat to help him locate speed.  All I can do is look over and give the expression that says, "Dude, come on.  Are you serious?"  You have to have support, to make it in motocross regardless of your level of talent and dedication.   Speed and support seem to be really good friends.  Think of it as networking.  If you get to know support then you inadvertently get acquainted with speed.  

Support is half of one of the two variables that is speed.  It just so happens that the other half is confidence.  They go together like lamb and tuna fish…or  spaghetti and meatballs if you preffer that analogy better since we are in America.  If you can get to know support and confidence, then you may as well have broken open a fortune cookie that says, "Happiness is in your future.  Learn Chinese..."  Nothing helps confidence like support.  A compliment can pack your ego with confidence even if you aren't riding any better than you custimarily do.  After that compliment, you go out and start pushing harder and riding with more…ding! Ding! Confidence!  Then bam! Your talent and dedication have been supplemented by support and confidence and with their powers combined you get…Captian Planet!! Rrr..uh, speed.  Now you have speed locked in your sights like Luke Skywalker bulls-eyeing womp rats in his T-16.  Thus, completing my genious equation's proof that talent and dedication plus support and confidence equall speed.   

It has taken me a lot of trial and error to come to these conclusions, and now I know how Einstein must have felt when he discovered his equation.  What it comes down to is that every racer must have talent and dedication.  The problem however, is that talent and dedication can't do anything without support, and confidence; all of which put together lead to the goal. Speed.

*(Talent and dedication) +(support and confidence)=Speed