Training productivity is often closely tied to your level of engagement, motivation, and how much you enjoy the training process. In the warmer months it can be easier to nourish these aspects of your training, but the cold, dark, and seemingly unending winter months often test our motivation. Check out these 5 tips to stay motivated while training this winter.
The term “marginal gains” has become a prominent buzz word in cycling media over the years. Shave a couple grams here and there, increase aerodynamics by a fraction of a percentage, utilize the latest nutritional breakthroughs, all with the goal of adding up a few tiny gains to the sum of an overall noticeable increase performance. For professional athletes in the pro peloton or athletes at the highest level of their sport, chasing these gains might be worth it in the long run. For the vast majority of athletes, however, becoming a successful athlete lies in the creation and maintenance of successful habits…
After a race season devastated by COVID-19, many triathletes and roadies have flocked to the promising lure of gravel racing. With the ability to ride more socially distanced, stay away from traffic, and the added benefit of riding in some of the most beautiful locations, it’s safe to say that gravel is here to stay. More than any other year, the 2021 calendar is being filled with gravel events like The Wasatch All-Road, the iconic route of the Stupid Pony, Crusher in the Tusher, SBT GRVL, and Unbound Gravel (formerly Dirty Kanza). Distances range from 30 miles to staggering 200-300 miles…and even 300 mile tandem categories…for people who ride tandems…on gravel. With a new realm of bike racing comes the common question: “How in the world do I train for this?” This article will offer a high-level view to the chasm of information and advice surrounding the gravel scene.
As odd as it may sound, from a coaching perspective, winter is one of my favorite seasons. Athletes are typically coming off a brief window of recovery following a season of intense training and racing. The tail end of race season for many athletes is a time marked by physical and mental exhaustion, burn out, and feelings of either success or failure looking back at the season. Winter, however, is a fresh start. It’s the time of year where the successes or shortcomings of the previous season are behind us, and ahead lies the promise of new races, new results, and new opportunities.
24 HOURS, 1,440 MINUTES, 86,400 SECONDS: Those numbers make up a single day, and every one of us have to work within the confines of those limitations. So how is it that some people seem unphased by time? We have all seen those athletes that seem to balance training, work, family and everything else thrown at them with ease. The most common concerns I have heard from athletes over the years is the need…
As an athlete, I have trudged my way through many, many injuries: finger injuries, sprained ankles, broken bones, you name it… But, the injuries that were most common, and sadly the most preventable, were those due to my lack of mobility and flexibility: injuries such as hyperextensions, back issues, hip pain, and even minor muscle tweaks…All of these were due to my lack of mobility, not my lack of strength.
If you’ve been hanging around other endurance athletes for any bit of time, you may have heard them reference their “off season”. But what exactly is an off season? When is an off season? And most importantly, do endurance athletes need an off season?
As endurance athletes, our calendar is typically broken down into four seasons…
Often times, people assume there’s a major genetic difference between themselves and professional athletes, and in some cases this true. I have been fortunate enough to work with athletes of all caliber, from the off-the-couch amateur to world cup gold medalists and Olympic hopefuls, and from my experience, the only thing that separates a pro from a novice is the way they approach and execute their training…
As an athlete, I have trudged my way through many, many injuries: finger injuries, sprained ankles, broken bones, you name it… But, the injuries that were most common, and sadly the most preventable, were those due to my lack of mobility and flexibility: injuries such as hyperextensions, back issues, hip pain, and even minor muscle tweaks…All of these were due to my lack of mobility, not my lack of strength.
I either have the worst friends or the best, but late one night fellow White Pine athlete Jennilyn was texting me about a timed trail running event that amounts to summits of Mt Grandeur on a fairly steep and snow covered trail just outside of Salt Lake City. 15 minutes later, I signed up to run repeats for 12 hours on the 6 mile out and back with 2600 ft of gain… in the winter… in the Wasatch.
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