Alexi Grewel in training for comeback at 50! Inspiring or Unwelcome?

[BotanyBay]

I think Alexi's comeback is related to low self-esteem. Despite the massive amount of accomplishment he has under his belt, he does not feel much (if any) of it. It didn't "stick". The narcissism required to achieve the top level of this sport is something not easily shaken. Even though it is entirely possible to have and feel success as a human being (and father) post-cycling, I think Alexi is having difficulty with that. I'm not sure that even winning Quiznos would do anything but provide for a temporary high.

He speaks of child support payments, etc. One of the reasons I do not race anymore is because of the struggles I had with being an athlete and being a "proper father". Bike racing just had to go. It was fun, and I miss it. But it's not something that can be adequately balanced with being a dad to young kids (in my view).

 

[jimmypop]

Please read the velo-news article about grewal. It is in the magazine. Whenever I think of Alexi I think of the Neal Young song where it goes " I seen the damage that the needles done, every junkies like a setting sun".

Funny, I think the same about today's dopers. Trail of tears left there as well, for both the clean and the dirty.

 

[fatandfast]

I think Alexi's comeback is related to low self-esteem. Despite the massive amount of accomplishment he has under his belt, he does not feel much (if any) of it. It didn't "stick". The narcissism required to achieve the top level of this sport is something not easily shaken. Even though it is entirely possible to have and feel success as a human being (and father) post-cycling, I think Alexi is having difficulty with that. I'm not sure that even winning Quiznos would do anything but provide for a temporary high.

He speaks of child support payments, etc. One of the reasons I do not race anymore is because of the struggles I had with being an athlete and being a "proper father". Bike racing just had to go. It was fun, and I miss it. But it's not something that can be adequately balanced with being a dad to young kids (in my view).

Alexi says he went to see The Rookie. I wonder how crushed he will be if he can't do Quizno's or if he does and gets smooshed. Hollywood can make you win when you shouldn't but the Rocky Mountains are not so sentimental. Good luck Alexi but if you are looking for self esteme don't try to find it racing in Colorado. You have to show up with lots and you will leave with less than you came with.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Apart from struggling to find a previous venue of self-actualization, I can't really see the point. Psychologically speaking, this could be a recipe for disaster...

 

[tubularglue]

Hey Alexi,

If you are reading this, hope the training is going well, you have some work, and you are able to ride a little with your son and family. Hope you are mending some burned bridges in the process and gaining some fitness.

Enjoy reading your blog. Hope you are enjoying the process of getting back in shape. All the luck.

Seems you are getting a lot of feedback from this thread. Good,bad,indifferent.

If you are eligible for the race and become part of a team, so be it. It's in the process, I think, where you will find the rewards. I would assume you will be racing quite a bit in the spring.

good luck,


TG

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Apart from struggling to find a previous venue of self-actualization, I can't really see the point. Psychologically speaking, this could be a recipe for disaster...

That being said...

If you can pull it off, that would be outstanding!

I can only colour my post with my past and present, and that would be that of another old-schooler with a family (and the attending demands). I can't even begin to think about how hard I was racing when I was young and stomping, and the contrast of where I am now.

The biggest thing for me is the thought of me racing against the me I was when I was racing. That's daunting! At twenty, racing can be everything for you, and it should be. And it was for me, but now? It seems like a distant alien planet.

The luxury of the hardest part of the day being going to the market to get groceries (after a 200km training ride), that's familiar and 'normal' for my past. And in a lot of ways I do miss that.

Now, dealing with an entire family (wife, kids, and our collective life together), I can't even imagine trying to race seriously - not to say I don't like going out and stomping the kids now and then, but REAL racing? Not even close.

If I could get that feeling back, the winning races type of feeling I would, but those days are done. And not only for me, for any ex-racer. Think about racing yourself at your prime. Scary. No one wants to win like a young guy with no fear, and that's a brief period in your life.

Like most things in life, the idea may be whole lot more romantic than its actual application.

As I like to say, "Life's hard, get a helmet".

PS; If you're young and talented, take a chance on yourself. Go somewhere to train in the winter, and actually try to win some races. No one really cares about someone 'racing hard' and coming up short. Throw it down...

 

[BotanyBay]

In the break everybody rode, Davis harder than anyone. Two laps to go Davis asks me for food. I lied, said I don’t have any, I justified it in my mind by thinking I might need it myself. But really I knew it all went back to the skinsuit. One pocket Davis, it is not enough. I believe all it would have taken for Davis to have won the Olympics was to have worn a jersey and carried enough food.

Alexi, you owed Davis nothing. That food you had was for you. That's why you brought it. You know he would not have offered you any.

Davis probably could have won that race, but his desire to look good for his victory arm-throw trumped his judgment.

 

[BotanyBay]

Folks, go to Alexi's website and check out the gallery. It's so funny to see him on his mtn bike wearing hiking boots and a baseball hat. He beat most of the guys on road bikes:

http://www.alexigrewal.com/index.php/gallery

 

[Bag_O_Wallet]

Folks, go to Alexi's website and check out the gallery. It's so funny to see him on his mtn bike wearing hiking boots and a baseball hat. He beat most of the guys on road bikes:

http://www.alexigrewal.com/index.php/gallery

Will he be racing against any of them at the Quiznos race?

 

[Race Radio]

Alexi putting in the big miles

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/03/news/a-conversation-with-alexi-grewal-off-and-running_162280

 

[flicker]

Alexi putting in the big miles

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/03/news/a-conversation-with-alexi-grewal-off-and-running_162280

Alexi, typical pro even at 50+ he knows what time it is. Obviously he has an advantage over many of his younger competitors.

 

[Oldman]

Alexi, typical pro even at 50+ he knows what time it is. Obviously he has an advantage over many of his younger competitors.

It'll be interesting to see if he can keep that up. He had told of starting other seasons with this type of regime and falling apart. More power to him if he can do all of this and be fast.

 

[BotanyBay]

Old habits die hard. He's over-training again. That's what caused him so much trouble in his first crack at the pros. Racing today is all about accelerations and being able to recover from them to be able to do them over and over again. He's still obsessed with surviving the mileage. Dude needs a coach, but he's not one to listen to other people.

 

[flicker]

Old habits die hard. He's over-training again. That's what caused him so much trouble in his first crack at the pros. Racing today is all about accelerations and being able to recover from them to be able to do them over and over again. He's still obsessed with surviving the mileage. Dude needs a coach, but he's not one to listen to other people.

I love his epic old school training program. I think it was Pozatto doing the same thing with Katusha prior to the 2010 worlds.' Grewal I hope is working with a doctor, who monitors his fitness on a daily basis. If Grewal overtrains and tries to push through the overtraining for even one week with yet more training, it is likely he will get sick. Who knows how long a sickness, brought on by overtraining would take for him to recover from. Mono is common among cyclists. As an old fart I am rootin for Grewal go team AARP.

 

[fatandfast]

Old habits die hard. He's over-training again. That's what caused him so much trouble in his first crack at the pros. Racing today is all about accelerations and being able to recover from them to be able to do them over and over again. He's still obsessed with surviving the mileage. Dude needs a coach, but he's not one to listen to other people.

Building that mileage bank account is cool for selection races but most of the US offerings are short and fast. Alexi is on some memory trip about the Coors Classic. If he does get into Quiznos the sky will fall on his head...I would love to see him on a tech support line for an SRM product. The person on the other end would think it was a prank phone call. Grewal should go on the Adam Carrolla show

 

[runninboy]

Old habits die hard. He's over-training again. That's what caused him so much trouble in his first crack at the pros. Racing today is all about accelerations and being able to recover from them to be able to do them over and over again. He's still obsessed with surviving the mileage. Dude needs a coach, but he's not one to listen to other people.

Exactly right, he is doing things old school, but we know that what is needed is intensity. He is buiding a mileage base like he is doing the old Giro, piano for a few hours and then start racing. Here in the US nowadays everything is like a crit. Jump hard, get on a wheel, then try to be as efficient as possible until the next jump. The fact that he gets dropped repeatedly and gets back on shows he is training the wrong way. He is like a plowhorse, he can go all day but won't have the top end he needs to succeed. He is losing to alot of guys who might not have the "fitness" he does, but they don't need it, they are used to the style of racing and have trained for it. And by overtraining he is in danger of breaking down. Since he did not make alot of friends previously i doubt there are many people who will help clue him in. Thurlow could certainly give him some good advice but i don't know if he would take it either.

 

[BotanyBay]

Exactly right, he is doing things old school, but we know that what is needed is intensity. He is buiding a mileage base like he is doing the old Giro, piano for a few hours and then start racing. Here in the US nowadays everything is like a crit. Jump hard, get on a wheel, then try to be as efficient as possible until the next jump. The fact that he gets dropped repeatedly and gets back on shows he is training the wrong way. He is like a plowhorse, he can go all day but won't have the top end he needs to succeed. He is losing to alot of guys who might not have the "fitness" he does, but they don't need it, they are used to the style of racing and have trained for it. And by overtraining he is in danger of breaking down. Since he did not make alot of friends previously i doubt there are many people who will help clue him in. Thurlow could certainly give him some good advice but i don't know if he would take it either.

I'll admit, when I took 13 years off and then came back, I was stunned at how different racing had become. The accelerations were bat-guano crazy, followed by long periods of tea-totalling. But man, those accelerations were fast and you had to learn how to recover from them. With this kind of mileage, he's going to get anemic really fast. No way will he be able to recover enough.

He could get much farther, much faster with 10 fewer hours per week on the bike.

 

[runninboy]

I think Alexi's comeback is related to low self-esteem. Despite the massive amount of accomplishment he has under his belt, he does not feel much (if any) of it. It didn't "stick". The narcissism required to achieve the top level of this sport is something not easily shaken. Even though it is entirely possible to have and feel success as a human being (and father) post-cycling, I think Alexi is having difficulty with that. I'm not sure that even winning Quiznos would do anything but provide for a temporary high.

He speaks of child support payments, etc. One of the reasons I do not race anymore is because of the struggles I had with being an athlete and being a "proper father". Bike racing just had to go. It was fun, and I miss it. But it's not something that can be adequately balanced with being a dad to young kids (in my view).

BB i agree to a point but think about Alexi's situation. He won his gold medal long before his children were born. He knows what he was capable of back then and how he threw much of it away for whatever reason.
Now he has kids, he wants them to look at him and for them to see the good. For him his most productive times were as a cyclist. I think he is not doing this so much for his ego, but as a way to give his kids something to hold onto about their father. Here is a gold medalist, a man with a huge ego, willing to be ridiculed, mocked, to set an example that you are not a failure if you just try. I think in that sense Bike racing makes Alexi a better father, he can take his kids to a race, everyone knows who he is, people shake his hand and tell stories etc etc. It is a much better memory for the kids than a recovering addict. In my view both have alot of value but i think the kids are just too young to understand.

 

[flicker]

Alexi doesn't even need to speak to anyone. He can go and buy the Chris Carmicheal training book, Eric Heiden book, or the Greg LeMond training book.
All successful American racers. Once the base and circuit training is in it is all interval work, and speed. Well, maybe Grewal is interested in being a participant in races, not a leader.

 

[runninboy]

I'll admit, when I took 13 years off and then came back, I was stunned at how different racing had become. The accelerations were bat-guano crazy, followed by long periods of tea-totalling. But man, those accelerations were fast and you had to learn how to recover from them. With this kind of mileage, he's going to get anemic really fast. No way will he be able to recover enough.

He could get much farther, much faster with 10 fewer hours per week on the bike.

Exactly! I experienced similar problems, i got into really good shape and then all my races followed the same pattern, hammer like the devil then find a place out of the wind, repeat. I remember getting dropped from a race checking my computer and seeing the avg was 31.8. The next race i looked down and was amazed how many times i had to make a 35 or 36 mph jump, of course this is the way to burn off the lesser riders, let the speed drop and some idiot jumps and hammers OTF. You jump, keep him in control, let him dangle and then someone else jumps. all day baby.

 

[BotanyBay]

Alexi says he went and saw "The Rookie".

In that movie, Dennis Quaid is really trying to win the love of his own father (through sports). His father ignored him his whole life and then only began paying attention once he got scouted for big league ball.

If Alexi is using that film as a parenting model, he's telling his son that sports success is the key to daddy's heart. Not sure if Alexi is chasing that with his own father. If so, it's a really sad story that's only continuing in its sadness.

Perhaps Alexi might consider throwing a baseball back and forth with his kid. The memories last longer.

 

[BotanyBay]

Exactly! I experienced similar problems, i got into really good shape and then all my races followed the same pattern, hammer like the devil then find a place out of the wind, repeat. I remember getting dropped from a race checking my computer and seeing the avg was 31.8. The next race i looked down and was amazed how many times i had to make a 35 or 36 mph jump, of course this is the way to burn off the lesser riders, let the speed drop and some idiot jumps and hammers OTF. You jump, keep him in control, let him dangle and then someone else jumps. all day baby.

But unlike in my younger days, I'd get home from the race and have to lay on the couch all afternoon. I couldn't even mow my lawn, I was so tired. Intensity is the name of the game. Weight rooms, "Big gear" riding and less overall time on the bike.

 

[jimmypop]

Alexi doesn't even need to speak to anyone. He can go and buy the Chris Carmicheal training book, Eric Heiden book, or the Greg LeMond training book.
All successful American racers. Once the base and circuit training is in it is all interval work, and speed. Well, maybe Grewal is interested in being a participant in races, not a leader.

My cat knows more about training than you. Also, my cat's a much better troll.

 

[flicker]

My cat knows more about training than you. Also, my cat's a much better troll.

My cat is a Siamese, is on the honor roll and knows kung fu. How about them apples. Don't be a sock puppet, it is unbecoming.

 

[hwyrngr]

Thurlow could certainly give him some good advice but i don't know if he would take it either.

Thurlow never gave anybody any advice.