I’ve had the good fortune of speaking to a group of newbie runners recently as part of the “No Boundaries 5k” training program hosted by the folks at Fleet Feet Hartford, and I’ve also been coaching a group of high school age cyclists who are members of the Mystic Velo Junior cycling team, as they prepare for their upcoming season of racing. These are anxious and exciting times for both of these groups to be sure, as they look forward to an exciting journey that will be both challenging and rewarding, this year and beyond!

Whenever I’m working with novice or young athletes, I’m reminded that in sports like running or cycling, that can seem so complicated at times, it is so easy to look beyond the fundamentals (such as basic skill development, basic workout execution, and most of all, keeping it fun!), to things like expensive or fancy equipment, lactate threshold or VO2 max, and perhaps even “breakthrough” workouts or training sessions that carry a certain aura or “WOW” factor with them…

While there is value in those other things to be sure, the reality is that it’s the seemingly insignificant little things that we do every day, the basics and fundamentals, which truly lead us to our greatest successes. Those little daily “challenges” that we all face give us the opportunity to build true resiliency and strength. The bigger challenges that follow as we forge ahead, give us the opportunity to make valuable use of that resiliency and strength.

Success in endurance sport, be it running, cycling, swimming, or multisport, comes down to small, simple efforts, repeated over and over again, that give us the ability to undertake the bigger, more complicated efforts. Making the most of every moment puts you in a position to achieve the very best with each day. Despite our years of experience or lack of it, or the number of ironman finishes or double centuries on our resume, we can NEVER ever forget this!

In his book, “The Nuts and Bolts of Psychology for Swimmers,” Dr. Keith Bell talks about making the most of every opportunity we have by relating it to a favorite food of mine: popcorn!
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He says: “I recommend you think of training as a jar full of unpopped popcorn where each kernel represents one repetition, a practice drill, or a complete (workout) day’s practice. Your best chance (your ultimate goal) is to have a jar full of popcorn. But if you remove only one kernel it probably will have no effect on your chances of future success. Certainly, there would be no visibly noticeable difference. And it doesn’t really matter which kernel you remove. Remove one. Replace it. Remove another. The jar always appears just as full. Even if you take one out, leave it out, and remove another, it is difficult to notice any difference in the level of the popcorn in the jar, especially from a distance. If you continued to remove kernels from the jar and threw them away, the removal of each one still would be hard to notice. Only as they started to add up, would the difference become clearly noticeable. But then it would be too late. You can’t put them back in the jar if you already have thrown them away. If you wanted to reach your goal (a full jar of popcorn), you would hardly choose to throw the whole bunch away at once. But throwing them away one at a time makes it hard to see any effect at all. So, the next time you find yourself faced with a decision to get after a drill or coast (or skip a session without a really good reason), just say “popcorn” to yourself. You’ll know what it means. Then, use that signal to make that opportunity count.”
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By doing your very best every day to pay attention to the seemingly insignificant details, you will discover and develop ways in which to positively and successfully influence the big picture - your long term dreams and goals that may seem so far off, as you sit here right now.

By making sure that the mundane and tedious tasks are taken care of, you open the door to the opportunity for some exciting, impressive and spectacular results in the near and distant future.

Meaningful achievements on any level are always composed of many, many smaller achievements. In a very real way, that simple fact is what makes true, substantial success, however you define it, available to anyone including you!

You know that in every moment of your daily life there is some small detail you can attend to, some small challenge that you can embrace. At first your gut may tell you that it isn’t that important. Stop and think, and remember the popcorn.

Start today, to make a habit of always giving whatever you can with whatever you have available to you at that moment, in a sincere and honest way, and I believe that you will be closer to the point where you can truly achieve whatever you wish for.

Of course, any discussion about dedication and achievement has to, on some level, come down to one word: SACRIFICE.

I don’t know who originally said this, but it is worth repeating and reading twice through:

Most people’s dreams don’t match their perception of the reality of what it will take to get there.

What does it take? Sacrifice.

My definition of sacrifice is to forfeit one thing for another thing considered to be of greater value. So the questions for us become, what do we value the most...and what are we willing to sacrifice to get there?

The answers to those two are worth some consideration, don’t you think??

Those of you who know me, know I am a big fan of the Computrainer (despite its limitations) for its pure ability to allow cyclists to train effectively indoors on the bike. Despite its little “quirks,” and what is some very dated software in many respects, its a great bike training tool (when used correctly of course).

One of the best ways to use the Computrainer is to utilize the Coaching Software (aka CS - one of RacerMate’s computrainer software packages) and Cycling Peaks ERG (another different yet powerful software for creating workouts to be used inside of CS).  These different software packages allow me as the coach, to very progressively and systematically manage a cyclist’s training load from week to week, and also and most importantly, to very specifically write workouts that target the cyclist’s weaknesses, whether it be threshold power (muscular endurance), V02max power (aerobic capacity), or peak (anaerobic) power.  When I say “write,” that is just what I mean. In this instance, the Computrainer isn’t acting as a power meter - its acting as an ergometer, where the power levels and force requirements are pre-set by the data I’ve input into the software.

As I have the cyclist perform a series of fitness tests and time-trials, to estimate their threshold and Vo2max power levels and learn more about their ability and fitness level, with CPErg and CS, I can very specifically write workouts that help “lift” a particular capability to a new level.  The analogy I love is one from Phil Skiba - building a house, where the ceiling is threshold, the top of the attic is V02max power, and the peak of the roof is peak power, or sprinting ability.

A recently developed new software/video series, called ErgVideo, has me really excited, because ErgVideo is the next step in the evolution of how to use the Computrainer coaching software in a new, and absolutely ingenious way, that makes training indoors a lot more fun and a great way to improve!

I’d highly recommend those of you who own a Computrainer to check out the ErgVideo series.

One of ErgVideo’s recent developments that enhances the effectiveness of the ErgVideo series (especially for coached athletes) is the “Intellicoach Profile Toolbox for ErgVideo,” developed by ErgVideos owner and founder, Paul Smeulders.  This online tool actually allows the coach (or anyone for that matter) to modify and edit individual ErgVideo workouts, for BOTH intensity AND duration, in a multitude of ways.  I can now completely customize any ErgVideo workout to the very specific needs of a cyclist, on any given day or in any part of their training progression. Here’s an example of what I mean:

I coach a triathlete who’s goal is to continue to improve at the ironman distance.   One ErgVideo session that she is doing on a regular basis is the “long threshold” intervals video.  The first time I had her do this session, I set the intensity of the workout at 86% of her threshold or critical power.  I wanted the session to be challenging, but I also wanted her to be able to accomplish it without much stress, to build a positive mindset and allow us to progress steadily from there.  After that first session, she had a normalized power of 148, at 143bpm avg. HR.   I’ve had her do the session 2 more times since then, and progressed it steadily moving up in intensity to this most recent workout, where I had her at an intensity of 100% of her threshold. For that session, she had a normalized power of 147, but a HR avg. of ONLY 138.  The bottom line here is, the ability to tweak the ErgVideo session (among many other workouts, videos, and coaching software workouts she’s doing in her progression) steadily and progressively has produced clear improvement in her ability to sustain threshold watts at a lower intensity.  That’s just what we are seeking, and what every cyclist should be seeking: steady incremental progress in the key areas of fitness including and especially threshold and vo2max power.

This athlete is now ready to re-test threshold and establish a NEW benchmark, where we can begin again to integrate ErgVideo sessions into her progression, keeping her indoor training fun and interesting!

I also used the ErgVideo “Threshold TEST” workout for some testing I did recently for the Mystic Velo Junior Cycling Team, at Niantic Bay Bikes.  Here’s a couple of pictures that were taken during the TESTING.

I used my projector to display the video and coaching software image up on to the screen!

Mystic Velo junior team member, John Harris, is ready to suffer!

I should mention that without the help of ErgVideo and Intellicoach owner, Paul Smeulders, and his superior customer service and willingness to help, as well as the help of fellow coach Richard Wharton, I would still be learning my way around the software. Both of these guys love to share their expertise and help other coaches and cyclists, and because of their willingness to help, we all benefit!

Find a Computrainer near you and take advantage of a very cool, and very smart, way to train to get faster and stronger on the bike…

Be great!

So….I coached an indoor cycling class last night at the Mystic YMCA. That’s a great facility, with some great people who love life and who love being fit!  Despite the horrible weather, a whole bunch of them still showed up to ride and suffer!……it was GREAT.  The cyclists really gave everything they had, and they got the most from their time in the saddle.  That, is what makes coaching so much fun and so rewarding for me! Thanks folks!

As I was sitting down last night at the computer late in the evening to answer some email and finish up some last minute business before hitting the sack, I wondered to myself whether or not those folks occasionally have the same doubts as I do, and so many others do - doubts about whether or not their effort to just get there, with all of their gear in tow, and train so hard, is really worth it, or not.

Yes, it IS worth it!

Worth EVERY Trouble, and Difficulty….

Becoming the best athlete you can be regarding of your sport, IS difficult in so many ways, but the rewards that come with the commitment and dedication to a goal and a dream are worth every difficulty that challenges you.

Even if the daily trials and frustrations every one of us experience, as we strive to BALANCE our lives and get our daily training in, were multiplied by ten or by a hundred, they would not exceed in magnitude the fulfillment, the joy, the possibilities, the experience, of being an endurance athlete……….of being truly alive!

The only reason troubles or frustrations come along is because - well - life has already come along. This is life! It would be impossible to even recognize any difficulty if you did not have the extreme blessing of being alive with which to compare that difficulty.

Accept every challenge and the difficulties and the frustrations, and work your way through them, and in the process, you will receive life’s priceless abundance in the bargain.

When it seems like you have more than you can bear or that you cannot keep at it, keep at it anyway. When it seems that it’s simply not “worth it,” remember that it IS worth it.  When you do, you’ll find a treasure bigger than you ever could have imagined, a treasure that will make the difficulties truly trivial by comparison - you will empower yourself and others in ways that you can’t even imagine right now.

Enjoy your day today, and train safely!!