For 2012 we’ve got digital chips on your timing plate. That means:

Quick Check in, lap times, and real time results…does it get any better?

This year your number plate will include a digital RFID timing chip. We’re excited about the upgrade and have invested heavily in the new timing system.

What it means to you? All the benefits of chip timing for a one time $5 number plate fee.  Rather than raise entry fees, we’re simply charging a one time number plate fee of $5 to offset some of the costs of RFID.

Have that “She/he has everything already!” person in your life?

We’ve added one more reason to Cyber Shop!

Over the Hump  Season Pass is only $20 a race. We throw in a free T-Shirt event t-shirt and all fun of Over the Hump you can squeeze into May through August.

2012 Dates- Tuesday Nights: May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26, THEN July 24, July 3, August  7, August  14, August  21, August  28

Click Here to get a $370 value for $240! Buy the 2012 Over the Hump Season today!

IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO MOVE UP A CLASS WHEN:

• You finished on the podium last year (top 3 series finishers are moving up)
• You finished 1st in 2 or more races in your class last year
• You’ve seen a marked improvement in your efforts of the off season, or need a challenge.

We appreciate your help keeping OTH fun for everyone. The only way for newcomers to have the same thrill you have, is if they are able to compete at a level that’s appropriate for them. (in other words you moving up, helps keep Beginner truly beginner racers and keep Sport truly sport.

For class descriptions and details visit: OTH Class page

By Craig Hopps: Craig runs Efficiency Coaching, specializing in customized Cycling Specific training and nutrtition

On May 24th the 2011 Over the Hump Mountain Bike Race series is going to start. That means you only have 5 weeks left to get ready!  There are several classes and age groups to choose from so you are sure to fit in! On August 30th there will be an awards ceremony to celebrate the top 3 achievers in each class.

Here is the question; are you ready to come out and play? With daylight savings time in your favor now, I’d like to share some specific Over the Hump training tips to help you get race ready.

Before we jump into the tips I need to throw out a disclaimer and commercial.  As a coach I get asked,   “What do I tell all my athletes to make them faster?”  The truth is “what I tell each athlete” is invariably variable! Of course there are general principles that carry over to most of us like I’ll offer in these tips, but the specifics of any Efficiency Coaching training program are customized to the individual. For example, a 20 year old is going to respond to training much quicker than a 50 year old, so the training will vary accordingly. Additionally, many athletes make the mistake of self-coaching through general published truths like doing intervals or doing long hard climbs each week. The question is how many intervals should you do, or how long and at what intensity should your climbs be? Please appreciate that I am attempting to speak to all classes and ages with these general tips and getting the specifics of your training comprehensively “dialed in” will require an individual interaction with a good coach. (That is my commercial) So that being said, let’s get into the tips.

Tip #1: Begin to sequence your training to match the Tuesday night race efforts to come. In other words, do two things here. One, if you can, train in the evenings after work. This will help adjust your biological clock to going fast at about 6:00 PM. And two, make your Tuesday training sessions race pace for about the same sustained time your race will take. I have said it many times, “train like you want to race!” So on Tuesday night, if your race is going to take you 40 minutes, go out and do two separate 20 minute sessions at race pace. If you find that one 20 minute session wipes you out, aren’t you glad to discover that weeks in advance of your race? Build up to your race time in roughly 20 minute increments. This is a hard anaerobic training night that will mimic your race. So on the night of May 24th you will line up at the same time for the same type of intensity, only the Hump will be way more fun than your workouts!

Tip #2: When you follow tip #1 you will discover what nutrition works best for you on race day. If you eat a huge pizza at 3:00 PM, perhaps it will revisit you during your Tuesday night training efforts! On the contrary, take the coming weeks to discover what nutrition works for you and what does not. Consider visiting one of your local bikes shops (Preferably one of the Hump sponsoring shops) and discuss what you should consume in your pre-race hours. I do know that 6-time Australian National Champion Sid Taberlay really enjoys H2O Overdrive prior to, and even during his races. Again, use the “train like you race” mentality to check out what is going to work best for you.  In general, the Hump races are short enough to be a little hungry on the start line. Your body’s glycogen stores will carry you through the race without a problem, and a full stomach makes for a potentially messy race experience. Last part of this tip is stay hydrated always, not just on race days.

Tip #3: Take Wednesday off, or pedal easy for a short ride to actively recover. Your Tuesday “race pace” training should be VERY hard! Consider that the top pros in Europe are fearful of 60 minute TT effort. Go as hard as you can for 60 minutes against the clock with no drafting, well, that’s just plain tough. For the most part, the Hump effort resembles a Time Trial in that you go as hard as you can for the duration. It is a maximum sustained effort and you’ll be tired the next day for sure. Even if you “feel” good on Wednesday, chill! Yup, I said it out loud, chill.

Tip#4: Now to discuss a potentially too specific training protocol for Thursday-Saturday.   If time allows, I would recommend you do a “base” ride on Thursday. This ride is simply an aerobic 1.5-2.5+ hour ride, where you go relatively easy. (Perceived 70-75% effort) No jumps, bursts, or otherwise hard efforts.  If you happen to own a road bike, break it out for this ride. Go light and steady on those pedals keeping your cadence at a 90+ rhythm.
On Friday you can repeat this ride, shorten it, or not ride altogether. What you do Friday has to do with your overall weekly volume of riding. Please do not increase your volume and intensity all at once in order to get faster at the Hump. This is a BIG mistake for most. You’ll find yourself over-trained and a beautiful race will get less enjoyable for you. Go hard on Tuesday and on Saturday. Make the rest “base” days up to your normal weekly volume. With this approach you should be generally pretty good!
On Saturday do your interval training.  Start by going out for a 30 min warm up with a few good efforts to pry open your physiology. Then drill out 6 X 1-2 minute all out explosions where you go as hard as you physically can. These short 1-2 minute efforts are “Rip the pedals off your bike and eat them” type of animal grunts. The more pain, the more gain today. Yup, time to really pour yourself into the work out. If you do these right, no one will want to train with you on Saturday! J Take 4-6 minutes of easy granny gear type of pedaling between your efforts to get a complete recovery.  During your rest period let the kid on a tricycle pass you! You’ll love what intervals will do for your Hump performance. And you’ll cuss me out after your first one! J

Tip #5: Skip riding on Sunday and do a short “warm up” type of ride on Monday. Like prepping your car for a long trip, prepare your body to perform well. Let your body recover and load up its energy for the race on Tuesday night. Make sure you get plenty of food and sleep on these two important days. If it is hot out, make an effort to drink more fluids. If you’re a vitamin taker, remember to take them! Practice “full sleep” nights as that is when you get stronger! Lastly, on Monday, make sure your ride includes some “leg openers”. This is where you press the pedals just hard and long enough to feel the lactate begin to accumulate, and then back off. Monday’s ride is like a good warm up should be. You need to warm up both your aerobic and anaerobic systems. Should take about 30-60 minutes and is one of your most important rides of the week. It wakes up your body to perform on Tuesday.

Tip #6: While following any of the training tips above, you will come to know your bike very well. You will also come to know that moving parts need maintenance. As a coach, I am amazed at what some athletes are willing to tolerate from their bikes before they finally cave and get it fixed. Here is my best advice, don’t wait till just prior to the first race to take your bike in for a tune-up. You may find that the shop cannot get your bike done for a week! Additionally, you may discover that post repair your bike needs to be fixed again. I am not bagging on the shops here, I am merely stating that after your bike has been overhauled it should be trail tested before the race. It is best to line up with a “dialed in” bike.

Tip #7: Hire Craig Hopps at www.efficiencycoaching.net  to optimize your progress over the next weeks.  He will structure your customized program around the same hours you currently train and you will arrive at the series a much faster rider! Please call or shoot Craig an e-mail and ask about the Over the Hump Coaching Special. Additionally, here are two athletes that Craig has coached who have improved beyond their expectations.

1. Bow Lemp owns Estate Services AV (http://www.estateservicesav.com/ ) and trains 3-4 days a week. He placed second in the Men’s Beginner 3 Class last year. Here is what he has to say:

“All I can say is WOW regarding the results I have gotten from your training program. Recently, I competed in the Over the Hump Race Series.  After looking over my finish times between the first two races, I noticed I had improved more than 3 minutes. On a short 11 mile course, 3 minutes is a huge improvement. Considering that the two races were only about 2 weeks apart that is quite an improvement in such a short period of time.” – Bow L., Mission Viejo, CA

2.  Josh Kompa won the Sport 1 class last year and is coming back this year even stronger:

“Craig Hopps’ (Efficiency Coaching) personal and professional experience and knowledge is clearly evident.  He personally tests every method and product.  He quickly recognized my needs and customized a program to help me succeed.  His passion for my improvement is contagious and motivating and will no doubt play a large part in my advancement for years to come.” – Josh Kompa.

Remember last year? This is going to be fun!
Online Registration open till 7pm on Monday, may

Online Registration closes at 7:00pm tonight. Additional registration onsite starting at 4:00pm Tomorrow Tuesday, May 25 at Irvine Lake

There’s some great course features, new single track, Thanks to our hard working volunteers, and as the water drops we’ll have even more course options to vary the course through the season.

Many have been asking, “What’s the course look like?” Along with the single track, the ingenuity of Irvine Lake has creatively created the new, most talked about trail feature:  a one-way floating water bridge to start the season.

Here’s a brief course description, and though not exhaustive (and may change from week to week in length, laps or included features), is a quick idea of what to expect when you come out to the race course.

As you arrive, remember there’s a $2 parking fee / car entering Irvine Lake this year, so pack a couple bills.

Like last year, we’ll start off for the first mile down the fire road headed East up the broken asphalt climb, and then wind down the fire road to a steep descent towards the lake.  A hard off-camber right (careful or you’ll swim as the water’s higher at the beginning of the season than later last year) takes you to a single track climb for a 1/4 mile and then quickly swings right for a truck trail climb.

Added this year (some of our previous single track is under water for now), we’ll climb up to the road take a left and head down the hill over gravel and asphalt rejoining the first fire road and back toward the staging area.

At the staging area, the real adventure begins…bank left and cross the floating bridge.  Keep your sea legs under you for 500 feet and bank left on the fire road for some land-loving pedaling, up the bank and through our S-turn section on the hill.  That will take you down toward the beach on truck trail, headed for the new 1/4 mile of single track that cuts through the cottonwoods and a  of along the edge of the lake.

After you exit the single track you’ll head right, through the fence and race back in, on flat ground and back for another lap.  Only danger for beginners is you may wish you added another lap…for the first race the distance/elevation stats are:

• Course distance: 3.76miles (may vary from week to week)
• Elevation gain per lap: approx 380+ feet Vertical
• Beginner & Junior Course: 2 laps (approx 7.52 miles, 760+ vertical)
• Sport Course: 3 laps (approx 11.28 miles, 1,140+ vertical)
• Expert & Pro Course: 4 laps (approx 15.04 miles, 1,520+ vertical)

Looking forward to a great season!

See you Tuesday at the races- John, Matt and the OTH Team.

Remember your summer racing  Over the Hump with an Event Jersey and T-shirts.   We’ll have a jersey for your to try on to determine your size.

Season kicks off on Tuesday Night, May 25. This season there will be 12 races.

Discover out why Over the Hump sells out and is Orange County’s Mountain Buzz.

Join the race. Click here to Register See you at the races!

Want to see your mug during the race!  Please see IHarris photos he’s shared.

Pics posted here, there’s about 500 he took 2 full laps so everybody should be in there at least once, feel free to use as you like http://picasaweb.google.com/IHarrisP…eat=directlink