Every time you start training for a race, whether it is a marathon or an Ironman everyone says “you’re going to do some track work right? It’s the only way to get faster!” Then you get tons of free advice on what track sets to do and when to do them. Trouble is that advice […]
Before we start throwing numbers around let’s start with a simple definition of Functional Threshold Power (FTP) as it pertains to the bike: The amount of power, expressed in watts, a rider can hold for 60 minutes. Pretty simple sounding but a little tough to nail down because a) it is not a static number […]
Triathlon racing, which lacks the teamwork and peloton components of road racing, is an individual experience and relies solely on the abilities of the athlete. Add to that more affordable power meters and the cycling leg of a triathlon, for better or worse, has become a numbers game. For a faster bike split you need to […]
Let’s be blunt about this: If you don’t consume carbohydrates, and lots of them, while you are racing you will not go as fast as you could, period. Don’t give me your anecdotal evidence of how you went fast in a recent 5k fun run. I am talking about events lasting more than 90 minutes and up to 100 milers. There is study after study showing this to be true, it’s not a deniable fact, yet getting athletes to eat enough during their races is a daunting task. Why?? Mostly athletes worry about gastro intestinal distress and it seems they would rather try and to suffer through a race instead of getting an upset tummy. Let’s explore what’s really happening.
I don’t know about you, well actually, I do, and you are like me! We are always looking for ways to improve our times. Drink a new special shake, wear an ugly new helmet or even sleep in an altitude tent all by ourselves, we will try anything! Well let me tell you about something […]
I frequently get into discussions with athletes about how to achieve optimal mental focus in endurance sport racing. As endurance sport athletes we have a lot of alone time. Whether we are staring at a black line at the bottom of a pool while swimming, staring at a white line on a roadway while cycling, […]
As I sit here about to compete in my second Ironman in a month and having the 70.3 Worlds just a few weeks after that my mind naturally turns to race day execution. In other words how can I make the most out of the my training cycle. As racers you will do not better […]
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Fast swim starts is our training tip this week! A LOT of athletes get to race day feeling prepared, a little nervous and excited about what lies ahead for them. You get in what warm up you can and then gather up with those who have the same color swim cap as you. Toeing the […]
We are going to keep it simple for you this week with some nutrition advice. I use Spiz, Coach Jim is a PowerBar man and a lot of folks love E-gels. But how do you know whats for you? You need to use your chosen nutrition on every workout! Every time?? YES!! Every time. Listen […]
Tempo pace is a term that is thrown around a lot but not often defined. In general terms a “tempo” effort is a workout to be performed at a specific “race” pace (depending on the race you are training for). For example if you are training for a Ironman your long rides should be ridden […]
As my athletes know I love race reports. I mean I LOVE race reports!! I want all the gory and not so gory details. So RED athlete Josh Nordell sent me a little blog report about his latest marathon race. Read it over and learn form his mistakes so they don’t become yours…Thanks Josh! While […]