So you’ve run a marathon or two, and you’ve “caught the bug.” You are now looking to finish with a faster time. How can you run faster marathons? If you asked me this question, the first thing I would want …
Three Essential Training Components to Run a Faster Marathon Read More »
Cyclists and triathletes want to be ready for a peak performance at their ‘A’ race. It’s common practice to attempt that by doing a period of “overload” or extra hard training ending 1-3 weeks before the race, and then a period of …
Overreaching During a Peak and Taper May Make It Worthless Read More »
“My legs felt like lead!” I told my dad. It didn’t make any sense at all. I had been training for a full year for the Junior National Cycling Championships. I hadn’t missed a single day of training and had …
For some racers, the upgrade from Category 4 to Cat 3 on the road, for instance, may happen as quickly as a few months. For others the challenge to break out of the same category may take years. It may seem …
Learning to Win – Waiting to Upgrade Your Road Racing Category May Pay Off Later Read More »
Cold, wet weather in late fall drives athletes indoors, making it easy to decide when to start weight training. Knowing when to end regular lifting in the late winter or spring can be more of a challenge. Following a weight-training …
Putting Down the Weights — When to Transition from Off-Season Weight Training Read More »
Keith has great aerobic power. He can ride a flat 40-kilometer time trial in less than 56 minutes, making him quite competitive in his master’s category. He’s been training an average of 12 hours per week on a periodized plan …
Healthy Weight Loss Part II: Shedding Excess Muscle to Make Race Weight Read More »
Tips for Altitude Training and Racing Preparing for an event or racing an event at altitude can be intimidating to the sea level athlete. Fortunately, the science is quite definitive on the tactics for the best chances of success in …
The Basics of Training and Competing at Altitude Read More »
by Jami Min That’s right. You’re going over your season in your mind, reviewing all those spots where if you’d just been a little stronger, a little faster…if you’d had just a tiny bit more endurance it would have made …
Peaking is a cyclist’s nirvana. If training has gone well, you are strong on the bike, riding fast with little effort, recovering quickly enough to attack several times in a race or race several days per week and your head …
The end of the road-racing season has arrived. Even the most serious roadies are relaxing, having the annual beer, and taking a few easy weeks before resuming training. In the coming months, they will connect with teams and coaches as …
This article is for people who haven’t trained as well as they might have for the new season. It is also for anyone with underprepared friends. Good friends won’t encourage the undertrained to race or do hard club rides. Read …
Ready for the First Races of the Year?: How to know and why not to race too soon Read More »
On May 25, 2013, Jade Wilcoxson was crowned National Champion at the USA Cycling Pro Road Race in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has been racing only five years altogether, and only two years as a pro. That’s a pretty quick trip …
Upstart Wins Nationals: How Did Jade get so good so fast? Read More »
In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it.- Johann Wolfgang von Goeth Several years ago, the training blogosphere was atwitter with posts from …
The Big Picture: Today’s Performance Reflects Years of Diet and Training Read More »
Aspiring elite bike racers must prepare for success over several years. Elite-level performance requires numerous specific skills and aspects of fitness, each of which takes time to develop. Some, such as aerobic power or descending skills, will develop gradually over …
A peak is a period within a racing season when a rider is at his or her competitive best. Most serious riders plan to do many races during a season, but have a few particular races or periods of racing …
