training Archives - Page 25 of 27

Coaching: The Myth of More Miles?

Fall easy miles

[dc]F[/dc]all has hit, il Lombardia is in the books, Paris Tours has come and gone, and cyclocross is in full swing. For those riders who have been training since the dark hours of January, the season has wound down and rides consist of trips to the coffee shop amid the crunch of fallen leaves. If not for a double espresso run, it's time to put feet up on the coffee table, read the gossip (USADA decision anyone?) and recover while starting to plan for next year.

Regarding planning for next season, one of the biggest fallacies that I've run across lately is explained by the post below:

I've been thinking about racing this coming year, but I live in (northern state that gets a lot of snow). I'm worried that I can't get enough miles in during the winter to keep me fit and get me ready for next year. Should I go out during the winter and try to build up my miles in the cold and snow?

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Tags: Coaching, off season, training|

2013 Tour of the Battenkill Route Released

While I've long talked about riding dirt roads and getting out into the back roads of east rural nowhere (all in an attempt to find your inner child and just plain enjoy riding your bike) there's something special about racing on dirt. There's a modicum of uncertainty as the tires slip, the increased resistance ratchets up the pain meter and your face cakes with dust (or mud, depending) and sweat. It's a thrill like nothing else, unless you're heading over for the Tour of Flanders or Paris Roubaix. Since most of us aren't pros, and we don't generally have the time to fly to Europe just for a sportive….

Enter Tour of the Battenkill. The toughest one day race in America. America's Queen of the Classics. America's answer to the Hell of the North.

It's 63 miles of pain, 5,000 feet of grinding elevation, and about 25% dirt, gravel or broken up, nasty roads. Combine that with an early April race day, and you could have anything from a beautiful sunny day to a greasy, nasty, gritty fight for survival.

Oh what a race it is!

It's no secret that this week was the release of the 2013 route, which you can see below:

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Tags: battenkill, classics, Coaching, racing, road bike, training|

Coaching: Back to Fundamentals

At a time of year when the leaves are flying, centuries are calling and fondos are in full swing, many cyclists struggle with holding their hard earned summer fitness in the waning daylight of the fall. In the past couple weeks, I've seen (and received) a number of questions about maintaining form and fitness “for just a few more weeks.” I'm going to let you in on a couple of secrets for your end of season woes.

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Tags: Coaching, Motivation, physiology, planning, training|

Stress, Training and Real Life

Stop and think for just a minute: how long has your season been? 6 months? 7 months? 8 months? Here in the northeast, we were blessed (or maybe cursed) with a lack of winter, so we've really been riding and training since December of last year. That's a LONG season, especially when you consider that many cyclists are just now gearing up for the impending cyclocross season, which will extend through December in most places. Imagine a periodized training plan with peaks and valleys, builds and tapers, for NEARLY A YEAR!! That's a LONG season, and it's not easy to pull off. In fact, I found that to be the case in recent weeks.

Why do I bring up this topic? Well, today I spent quite a bit of time thinking about it while on a training ride. I had enough time to think through the last few weeks and gained some insight into my training and life.

Maybe you'll gain some insight into your own training and stress as well….

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Tags: Coaching, injury, planning, training|

Coaching: Finding Your Lactate Threshold

[dc]Y[dc]ou've all heard about anaerobic threshold, lactate threshold, threshold, red line, Zone 4, “the burn” and plenty of other terms that relate to the upper limits of your aerobic engine. But what a lot of people don't seem to understand is how to find that magical number, and what to do with it.

In this article, we'll examine the physiology behind anaerobic threshold and then you'll learn how to figure out what it is. I'll also discuss (very briefly) how you can use it to train towards becoming a stronger cyclist.

So without further ado….

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Tags: physiology, power, training|