Observations on motivation

When I coach triathletes, I don't give them the usual plans. That's
because there is no usual triathlete. I have them tell me what
motivates them and then build a plan around that.

People are more inclined to work harder when they enjoy it. In fact,
it's best if they don't see it as work at all.

For example, a client may say that they don't enjoy hill repeats so
much. Instead, a hard and fast workout they are more inclined
(incline, get it?) is fast negative splits. I give them that instead
because they will go harder and get the real workout they needed.

When you look at your plan, don't just read what's on the paper. If
it says to do an easy bike ride, that really means you could ride with
friends, go mountain biking, or just sight seeing.

You should take the effort level asked and then apply it to how YOU
want to do that sport.

The world is littered with athletic burnouts. I've been one myself.
Using the same equipment in the same location for an extended period
of time is a formula for quitting. You have to mix things up and ask
yourself how you really want to do it today.

Some great alternatives to the norm:

Trail running - go to your local mountain bike trails and run them.
Mountain biking - feels organic and improves bike handling skills.
Swim with different people - get a guest pass and swim at a different pool.

If you're not motivated, you don't give a solid effort. Be mindful and
pay attention when working out, identify what makes you go really hard
and feel fulfilled, and do more of that. And remember that it could
change over time.

A Bike Wreck Deconsructed

I had a sweet wipeout this weekend, essentially hitting a bump, going
airborne, and then using the left side of my body as a skid pad and
ending up in the middle of the street.

Every wreck is different, but I thought I'd post the events that led
up to mine so maybe you can avoid what happened to me.

1. Increase in volume. Whenever you do more biking than usual, you
drop your guard because you are trying to fit more in. Be vigilant
for accidents when pushing your limits. I was trying to get in 20
hours of training that week; a personal record.

2. Repairing bar tape with too much electrical tape. A quick fix for
repairing bar tape that is coming loose is to wrap it with electrical
tape. Problem is, electrical tape is very smooth, even slick when it
gets wet.

3. Humidity and sweat. Summer training leads to sweat-soaked hands,
making it impossible to hold on to slick handlebars. When I hit that
bump, the bars literally flew out of my hands. I had no chance of
holding on.

4. Obstructed vision. I was wearing sunglasses I hadn't worn in a long
time. Now I remember why: that model gets caked in sweat and it's like
wearing double cataracts. I never saw that bump coming. I'm throwing
them out.

5. Don't forget to get the heck out of the road. I've seen countless
bike wrecks where the individual just sits there and picks his/her
butt while cars keep coming. Get out of the road! Save yourself
first, then drag your bike and gear to the shoulder as soon as it is
safe.

I'm taking my bike to the shop for them to wrap my handlebars properly
to minimize the chance of this happening again. If you can't do
something right, find somebody who can! I also busted a bunch of
spokes and building wheels is way out of my league.

Don't Swim During Lightning Storms

And stay away from guys in full deep-diving getup in a creek.

The Bike Commute as Your Recovery Ride

You should have hard days and easy days. The easy days act as recovery
so you can attack your hard days even better. There is nothing
better to help flush the crud out of your legs from a hard bike or run
like a nice, gentle bike ride.

Bike commuting to work or to run errands does a great job of this. The
average commuter only rides about 12 mph because of all the traffic.
You also slow your pace down so you don't arrive drenched in sweat.

If you go easy and enjoy yourself, you'll find that much of the
soreness you previously had is gone. Coach Mike Ricci (and myself)
recommended an easy bike ride for an hour at the end of hard training
weeks to aid recovery. I did it and it works.

Most of us are hard-pressed for time and should always look for ways
to improve time management. A great idea is to treat your commute as
recovery, bike harder on your other rides, and spend your saved gas
money on the stuff that matters - more tri gear!

The benefit of the weekly HARD bike ride and using HR.

We have a weekly time trial here in my hometown during the summers.

The course is 20k, which equates to 12.4 miles. These
races are fast, all-out efforts for half an hour or more. Riders are
fired off one at a time at one minute intervals. You want to catch the
guy in front of you and you don't want to be caught be the guy behind
you. A proper effort has you nearly collapsing after the finish line.

I've noticed that doing the race weekly leads to dramatic improvements
in performance. Speed can vary due to wind and sometimes I'm pulling
my 4 year-old on a trail-a-bike, so speed isn't a good indicator;
Heartrate is.

Week after week, the max heart rate you can acheive keeps climbing.
The muscle memory for fast and powerful turnover improves and allows
you acheive a higher RPM. Miss the race for just a few weeks and the
highest HR you can get is a good 5 to 10 BPM less than before.

The results also show up in your other workouts. Because you have a
higher max HR, everything else seems easier. MUCH easier. Because it
is.

If you're looking to increase your performance, give the weekly sprint
a try, just for about 30 to 35 minutes. As the saying goes, "Start of
going as fast as you can. Gradually increase speed."