The start of the season is right around the corner, so this week we’re putting together an extended list of things that you can do to be ready to hit the ground running (and swimming and biking) once it all begins. We cover mindset and mental prep, balancing your nervous system, organizing your life logistics, hitting the gym, getting back into Zone 2 aerobic training, addressing recurring injuries, sprucing up your pain cave, and a whole lot more. We offer cover several coaching and training insights related to gravel biking, strength training, turning off Strava AI, days off, stress management, and the Ironman World Championships in Kona. This is a jam-packed episode — check it out!
Coaching and Training Insights
Katie: Gravel biking on some MTB trails as a great off season adventure
Zone 1 HR (at least in the trails I am on); often averages out 100-120 bpm for 1.5-2.5 hours
Pace/power data completely thrown out the window which feels awesome
Enjoying fall weather, getting outside, exploration mindset
Mindfulness on technical terrain, similar to trail running
Focus on a new skill (very technical bike handling) which will translate to even better bike handling on road/TT later on
Position of gravel bike doesn’t strain upper back in same way as aero position does
Outside of comfort zone → flexing self belief muscle
In the self-belief episode we talked about how for many people, self-belief is highest when you first start a sport; that has definitely been my experience. Giving myself a little “wow you crushed that!” when I eek out a 0.1 mile downhill scary section and make it through just fine.
It has also helped that I’ve been doing a lot of this adventuring solo so I have really no concept of what it means to go fast or be skilled; completely on my own terms
Broader reflection: If I had to sum up how I approached the off season, it was 4 weeks super chill into 8-12 weeks of mainly unstructured trail running and gravel biking Z2. Once it gets cold and I can’t get outside on trails as much, will be time to get on the trainer for intervals, get back in the pool, run on roads, etc., and I think it will be ready. There’s a lot of joy and power in letting the weather, seasons, and access shape your yearly calendar
Something else I am focusing on now -- hitting it HARD in the gym
“General prep phase” as part of a macrocycle
Heavy weighted strength, where 2x per week in the gym is the big rock of a given day → all Z1/2 trail stuff otherwise since this is a hard and sometimes anaerobic stimulus that can leave me sore
Some cool things I am noticing:
Strength gains happen fast and a little goes a long way. Two weeks in (total of 4 sessions) I was like “wow I have deltoids! And lats!”
Plug for doing this at the end of the fall to kick off your season → you will be bullet proof when it’s time to layer on volume.
To progress, you need to do progressive overload: increase weight/reps over time. If you need help, work with a strength trainer, or there are many great programs online that can help you get started.
Keep in mind that heavy lifting, while it doesn’t always seem like a huge stimulus, can rev your metabolism so be sure to keep up the great fueling if you want to get muscle gains
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good”
This came up in our nutrition episode with Megan
Also relevant to training as many of us start to get back into it
The 20-minute bodyweight strength session that you do at home is better than the 60-minute heavy weight progressive overload strength session at the gym that you don’t do
The 20-minute walk that you do is better than the 4 mile run that you don’t do
Don’t get paralyzed by not being able to optimize for everything all the time - if your schedule is too tight to make the perfect happen, see what you can fit in that’s still “good” rather than skipping perfect and good altogether
A tip from J Smitty: We learned how to turn off Strava AI!
Go to the feedback page and hit “leave beta”
Jim:
Check out this latest article from Alex Hutchinson Aging Athletes Need to Stay Explosive. Here’s How. Key takeaway from the study he cites: “A typical estimate is that you lose 0.5 to 1 percent of your muscle mass per year once you’re on the wrong side of 40. Strength generally follows a similar trajectory. In contrast, muscle power drops by 2 to 4 percent per year.”
Sports, in its simplest form, is the transfer of power. Power is equal to force times velocity. As Alex says, keep doing your hill sprints!
On a Day Off, try to take a couple of walks and/or mobility. I have found that the first walk / active recovery activity feels OK but the second one, later in the day feels fantastic. You can really feel the recovery happening. And that second movement of the day will help keep your recovery going through the evening / night as you roll into your next day activities.
I came across these nifty eight strategies to boost your day-to-day well-being from NPR’s Stress Science 101 series. The 8 skills to manage stress are:
Positive events: Notice when positive things happen in your life
Savoring: Relish the positive things in your life
Gratitude: Appreciate what brings you happiness
Mindfulness: Focus on the present moment without judgment
Positive reappraisal: Find the silver lining
Self-compassion: Be kind to yourself
Personal strengths: Recognize your unique abilities
Attainable goals: Make plans that set you up for success
I didn’t intend to watch the men’s race at Kona but the timing worked out that I did! It’s been a couple years since I really watched the pros race. It can be problematic to try to apply what the pros do back into age group athletes, particularly many of our Level 1 & 2 athletes (folks learning the fundamentals of the sport). With that said, I did take a bunch of notes on what I saw which I will share below (in the show podcast notes) but not cover verbally now. If you are curious, hit up our show notes page.
T1 Transition:
Ice in helmet - Sam Laidlow. He started the race with a cool head, particularly after heating up the body in the swim. Smart.
Bike:
Two bottles stacked on top of each other on aero bars. Filling the space between the hands/forearms and the body reduces drag. They banned water bottles down the front of the suit so this is a smart adjustment.
Full forearm aero bars (probably custom for many) (Drag2zero)
Praying mantis arm position. Reduce space between hands and head.
Single water bottle mounted behind the seat for most. Note position.
Straps for water bottles (prevent launch of nutrition)
Stretched out to get more aero, less drop
Sam Laidlow with a near disc wheel. Light wind day.
Magnus Ditlev - deep disc rear wheel, 3 water bottles in the back.
Chevalier - deep disc rear wheel (HED JET 180)Kona has very few turns. It is a pure aero test.
Fueling:
Carb bottle in T1
Importance of early carbs on the bike
Tri suits:
White on top for most
Sleeves to elbow (skin is slower)
Aero calf sleeves (race leaders not wearing them)
Core body temperature unit on HR strap to control thermoregulation.
Run:
Ice chunks in hands, down front and back
Ice in headband
1 gallon water bottle over head.
Jug of Coke drinking! The pros know how to chug! Quickest endurance fuel.
It’s all about the run. Patrick Lange 8-9’ behind Sam Laidlow off the bike.
Many athletes ran themselves into the top 10
Run patience wins.
Here are interesting articles on the mental prep for Patrick Lange and Magnus Ditliev at Kona.
Encourage everyone to check out Lawrence Van Lingen new runner / movement website. I’m excited to re-invent my running this winter with his help. Lawrence has a holistic approach to running and overall well being. He works with many of the top pros in Boulder but more importantly he is very invested in bringing his run education to the masses. His approach is unique and goes well beyond a run form/drills approach. His Instagram account is my top follow.
Main Content
How to set yourself up for success approaching a new season:
Now that you’ve had some time away from race season, what are the limiters / new skills you want to tackle this upcoming season? What are the things that feel sticky to you and you’d like to break through next year?
Develop a daily, nervous system management skill. Examples are breath work, meditation and mindfulness. These are broad categories and each one has many variations. Explore which method resonates with you and develop the skill and habit of returning to your center throughout the day. Some of my favorite methods are from the HeartMath Institute. Kimberly Snyder offers a couple free heart aligned meditations. Check out her book: The Hidden Power of The Five Hearts or free audiobook with Spotify Premium.
Get mentally refreshed → this can take many forms, but you want to prioritize self-care to the point where you are feeling really excited to get back into a structured training plan.
Related - settle your nervous system; if you are sleeping really well, that is a good sign.
Start to build your aerobic base (more specifically: avoid gray zone).
Get comfortable in the gym and develop your strength training routine.
Address niggles and/or other recurring injuries with a PT / body work:
Set up your Pain Cave:
Clean up your pain cave, make it super comfortable and a place you want to spend time. If it’s in the garage on a cement floor, consider an indoor/outdoor rug to warm up the floor.
Get Fan(s)
Smart trainer / Zwift subscription
Address concerns about nutrition/hydration by establishing a relationship with a registered dietitian:
We get this question all the time: people who have body comp goals, you cannot optimize for body comp and performance at the same time. If you think you want to pursue body comp goals, meet with a registered dietitian who can help you come up with a strategy to do so safely and not at the same time as optimizing for performance -- don’t go this alone!
See Episode 9: Nutrition for Athletes with Cate Ward PhD, RD and Episode 53: Performance Nutrition with Chef and Registered Dietitian Megan Chacosky
Set up your memberships and identify weekly schedule for, e.g., pool, gym, track, etc.
Routine/baseline blood work and supplementation routine as needed: CBC, CMP, TSH, Vit D/25-hydroxy, Iron, Ferritin, B12, magnesium etc. Many of us have deficiencies that we may not be aware of and building stores back up takes time!
Get your bike serviced post season, especially before bringing it inside for a winter on the trainer.
If you have not had a bike fit, this is a good time of year to do it.
If you have a different bike in your pain cave than your normal training/race bike, ensure the fit is similar between the inside and outside bike.
Get your gear in order. If you are planning to invest in, e.g., new bike, smart trainer, etc., now is the time (and you might find good end of season / Black Friday deals).
Have conversations with your primary support peeps about what the season is going to look like and manage expectations
Goal mapping and identifying your purpose (see Episode 49)
Listener Questions
How do you maintain low HR zones on technical mountain bike climbs? My HR will spike pretty easily and I find it hard to mitigate unless I completely stop and let my HR come down. It ends up feeling like a high HR ride for the whole climb. What is the approach to improving this? Example: Hurricane mountain zone in North Conway.
Katie: For some grades of hills (and this is true for biking, trail running, etc.) it’s pretty hard to do the climb in Zone 2. While more Z2 is always helpful for building aerobic base fitness and the 20% of high intensity can help raise the ceiling of your threshold, I think my advice for technical and steep stuff like this would be to go in assuming that this ride is going to be an intense session/workout of the week that goes into the 20% bucket, and then you can balance out the rest of your week of training with easier terrain and gentler stuff that doesn’t spike your HR as much/ where it is easier to remain in control.
Jim: On any bike climb, I focus on very relaxed feet/ankles and think about a very smooth pedal stroke. The game is how little can I push to get up this hill while still moving forward and not falling off the bike. Practice this enough and you start to see hills as a place to relax and not feel like you need to push watts to get in the work. The hill is doing the work for you.
While your HR may be spiking during certain sections, check out your average HR at the end of such rides. You may be surprised that your HR averaged out to an aerobic ride.
Any tips for managing nutrition when you just can’t eat anymore? I try to eat a lot the first hour or two but then I am just repulsed by food for several hours. Sometimes it comes back but not for a while if I’m in a big effort.
Katie: Liquid is key. In every Ironman I’ve ever done, I have a plan for my run, but then I devolve into just flat coke by the end (which is an amazing source of carbs). If you are doing trail stuff/ultras, you can put coke in a soft flask. Also, plan to switch up your nutrition sources so there is something to look forward to. (Recalling Jim sending brownies/marshmallows to run special needs.) At a certain point, it is valuable to even just force yourself to nibble a little bit of something, and odds are your body will start to feel more energy and your appetite may come back a bit.
Jim: The GI gods like to play tricks on us, particularly on race day. What was awesome in training is now repulsive at hour 4 of a long day. I try to have a variety of foods with me (or in the special needs bag) so if sweet isn’t working, I go to savory. A crushed bag of potato chips is a favorite go to for salt/savory. In training, I try to eat a variety of foods, solid and liquid, sweet and savory, so I have many nutritional tricks in my bag on race day as there will always be curveballs.
Challenge of the Week
Katie: Thanksgiving is coming -- gratitude practice, endurance edition! Write down something you are grateful for in sport. I will share one -- grateful for the extended summer weather we have had and the ability to get outside and enjoy it!
Jim: Two walks a day, one morning, one late afternoon, on Day Off day.
Gear Pick of the Week
Katie: Assos UMA GT Spring Fall Half Knickers C2 (women); Assos MILLE GT Spring Fall Bib Knickers (men)
Jim: Lezyne Lite Drive 1200 - front bike light. Highly recommend a Garmin Varia for the back light. It’s a light and radar system to detect approaching vehicles. Might be the single best investment you make after purchasing a bike!