In today’s athlete profile we sit down with Data Driven Athlete Cam Juarez to discuss napping, whole wheat pancakes, and zen.
Q- How long have you been riding, and how were you introduced to cycling?
- A little over 2 years now. I’m one of those messed up people who enjoys running so when I was sidelined with a knee injury it was only a matter of time before I discovered cycling. Haven’t looked back since.
Q- What is your best memory on your bike?
- Oh man.. so many great ones to choose from. Probably not getting dropped in the Patterson Pass race this year. I finally felt like a skinny climber.
Q- How has training with a coach changed cycling for you?
- I used to waste hours each week scouring the internet for the best training advice (I pretty much only rode at sweet spot those days), now I can focus on riding my bike and rely on Matt’s expertise. He’s really great at managing my fatigue levels, I think before we started working together I dug myself into some pretty deep holes. All you can do at that point is sleep and eat. I guess life ain’t so bad.
Q – You have a 3 hour hall pass to ride, where do you go?
- My favorite 3hr ride is a route that includes Marion, Pantoll, and Mt Tam (East Peak) climbs- great for intervals and after about an hour of climbing it’s all downhill. The views are pretty next level too. If the hall pass includes travel, I’d ride somewhere in Europe.
Q- What is your favorite workout and why?
- Threshold intervals outside. I find this to be a nice intensity, it’s hard enough to feel like you’re accomplishing something but not so hard that you start to question your life choices.
Q- What have you focused on “off the bike” this year that has made a difference in your performance?
- Nutrition and sleep. Work hard. Nap hard.
Q- What is your favorite breakfast on a day with a big ride?
- I’m a sucker for whole wheat banana pancakes (I’ll settle for half wheat) but typically go with oatmeal topped with banana, walnuts, flax, and cinnamon.
Q- If you had to choose one of the following to be without on a long ride – which would it be?
A)Garmin
B)Food
C)Bottles
D)Jersey
- What kind of sick person would choose food? Definitely the garmin because I’m so zen.. or whatever.
Q- What was your biggest accomplishment this season?
- In the middle of a training ride a cop pulled me over and handed me a speeding ticket. I took this as just another sign of the progress we’ve made this season. Jokes aside it was probably making it out to 30 races in my first season, I made a lot of good memories and picked up some invaluable experience along the way.
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Matt Chatlaong
Associate Coach
Data Driven Athlete