In cycling, accurate data can maximize your training efficiency, help you plot out specific race strategy, or give you something to mull over during a slow day at work. Heart rate, normalized power, left-right balance, gear selection; the list of real-time data streams expands every year. Data is here to stay, but how much is too much?
You’re riding along in a group when some all-star at the front launches a blistering attack forcing the group to surge in response. Your buddy next to you pants in disgust, something about how dumb it is that guys are riding so hard, so early.
Read More “How Hard Should You Ride During The “Off-Season”?”
November is a great time to begin sketching out a master plan. We’re a few months removed from the intensity of the road season but quickly approaching the New Year. Whether your goals include competing at nationals or surviving your first century, now’s the time to take an objective look at the calendar and create a road map for the upcoming season.
In the last post we focused on the concepts of overtraining and overreaching. It might be helpful to give that post a quick read before digging into the tips below, where I discuss five specific strategies to prevent overtraining and burnout next season.
The end of the road-racing season is around the corner, bringing with it burnout and symptoms of overtraining. Most of the NorCal contingent is attempting to wrestle every bit of fitness out of their bodies before they march into the bitterly cold, and inhospitable Northern California winter.
Read More “Overtraining, Overreaching, and Planning For Next Season”
In the last post we explored the concept of the Lactate Threshold (LT2) and why it is of interest to the endurance athlete. It might be helpful to read through that post as a quick refresher for this column where we’ll discuss utilizing the LT2 to impact training and performance.
Read More “The Tour, Alpe D’Huez, and Getting Faster with Strava”
Lactate Threshold. What is it and why does it matter? In this post I’ll seek to answer these two questions with the hopes of clarifying a somewhat confusing topic. Warning: A slight bit of science and data wonkery ahead.
It’s that time of year when hot weather begins to drastically change your experience on the bike. Targets easily nailed while riding in mild 65-degree weather feel completely different at 95. While the body is masterful at regulating skin blood flow and sweat rate to control your core temperature [1], high heat environments present an immense challenge to the endurance athlete.
Toward the finish of yesterday’s first stage of the Amgen Tour of California riders were dropping like flies while they melted in 100° temperatures around Escondido. Phil and Paul continued to bring attention to how hot weather was dragging down some of the strongest contenders in the stage. Reference was made to the cooler temperatures in Europe and the lack of riding in the heat for most of the peloton.
Roughly 3 years ago I made the decision to go back to school to pursue my Masters Degree in Exercise Science/Physiology. Around that time cycling had begun seeping deeper and deeper into my bloodstream. Cycling seems to have a similar impact on just about everyone it encounters.
Read More “4 Things Graduate School Taught Me About Coaching”
