First off, thank you to those of you who signed up to receive my little newsletter! It means a lot and I promise to attempt to provide you with some quality reads from time to time. I have a whole lot of opinions on the current "quantity culture" of mass production.. but I won't get into that just yet. My aim has always been to speak/share only if it improves the universe and my values revolve around spending most of my time listening, learning, leading by example, and supporting from an action standpoint instead of just talking about it. I am not always successful here but I do my best. 

I am SO proud of Ida Jonsen! While I was so hoping for a race that was full of the expected challenges (delving out appropriate pain, fatigue, staying present in mind, etc), what she received was a race with the unexpected challenges- and largely out of her control. I won't share too much since we haven't had a chance to debrief but the short is that she navigated the day with what was likely a bug, virus, or food poisoning - something was amiss and it started well before the gun went off. Watching the tracker and staying in touch with her husband I got some brief details - essentially she was not 100% race morning, sick during the swim, sick on the bike, and got onto the run and watched her heart rate sky rocket. It became a problem solving, pull the effort back, one foot in front of the other sort of race. And what I got from her post race "while I am disappointed in my performance, I am proud of myself for gutting it out... literally." And this is it. I said this before her race; she has the mindset of a champion and she demonstrated it again on Saturday. While we love to celebrate champions when they are winning, they are literally made during the hard races and hard times.. it's the challenges that provide the wisdom and allow them to show again and again how strong they are. The reality is that maybe 30% of the races are the ones we LOVE to celebrate- those that we can execute and show our true fitness, 30% are fairly "meh" got it done.. on to the next, and 30% are pretty terrible.. the ones that we struggle to stay present, we struggle to stay in it, and we often do not meet the mark of our expectations. The rule of 3rds applies to training as well- described by the wise Alexis Pappas. But if we're a champion, like Ida,  we stay in it and we finish what we started. Well done Ida and many congrats!!

In addition, Meg Henderson toed the line at a local 1/2 marathon after several weeks of what we were worried may have turned into a stress fracture after fairly severe shin splints earlier this season. We took time off running, she was diligent beyond diligent on PT, strengthening, recovery, nutrition and so mindfully got back into running. And as a previous elite runner, embracing a run/walk to make sure she was keeping the stress low.  Well, when the shins started to bark again, she wisely got in for an MRI to double check! SO WISE! This woman is in it for the long haul and is so smart in her navigation of training and health. The MRI came back with no indication of stress fracture and so we did a couple trial runs and decided to go for it this past weekend using a very conservative approach (run/walk). Her post race TP update included " I had no expectations for this other than to hopefully finishing without getting into so much pain that I had to walk it in. So on that front, it was a very good day!". While the pace was slower than maybe she would have liked- coming off the last few weeks and a very very conservative run build at that, this was a huge success. AND following up today after her easy swim (and like always- nailing her recovery), her update "Legs and hips are a little bit sore bit not as bad as expected!" - HUGE win! Meg's mindset and commitment to navigating life's ups and downs is next level commendable. We learned some stuff, we practiced some nutrition, we have more evidence that we can build a TON of fitness on the bike and swim and still have a good run! Well done Meg and many congrats!!

I'm going to take a couple weeks and share with you all some of my absolute favorite trainer sessions. You can do these using SIMPLE methods- perceived effort, counting your pedal strokes, heart rate, power meter, "dumb trainer", "smart trainer".. rollers! And I have been doing these for years. 

So the reality for me these days is that I CANNOT stand doing easy zone 1-2 rides for hours on end on the trainer. There was a time and place in my life that I could wrap my head around this and it made sense to me. Not so much anymore. If I need to build aerobic capacity - I'd much rather do that in the mountains with my dogs snowshoeing, skiing, hiking, jogging/hiking... I believe strongly that for me, and for most people, there is adequate cross over for aerobic endurance. So if your preference is to spend time with your dogs in the mountains or in nature, instead of on the trainer staring a screen or out the window, wishing you were outside - I guarantee you will be JUST FINE for that summer or fall IM, 70.3, ultra, gravel ride/race, etc by doing what you WANT to do in terms of aerobic endurance this winter.  

Now, if you are training for an earlier spring race you may need to spend some quality aerobic time on the trainer.. doing the thing you want to be good at, also matters (as does appropriate zones/efforts/fueling and metabolic efficiency). But these sessions that I will highlight in the next few weeks are for those in either group. I strongly believe that doing "work" on the trainer is 1) very effective for building strength, power, speed, and endurance and 2) much more mentally stimulating than easy rides for hours - even if you are SUPER into the online gaming virtual riding/binge watching shows. 

Okay, so my first highlight of a super effective trainer modality: muscular endurance! Yep.. of course the mountain gal is going to highlight the training modality that she has everywhere and has the most familiarity with.  BUT.. this is also because I have seen not only in my cycling but the athletes I work with- BIG gains in power, efficiency, power at the back end of races, and more comfort in climbing. 

So what is muscular endurance? The formal definition is "the ability of a skeletal muscle to perform repeated contractions for an extended period of time". The goal of muscular endurance is to improve "time to fatigue" and  "fatigue resistance". There are many ways to accomplish this that revolve around zone based efforts, long intervals, essentially the fitter one is, the better their "time to fatigue" is. AND there is also a strength component for cycling AND running.. here I am only going to focus on cycling. Strength work (whatever the modality - high reps, low reps with heavier weights, full body, splits, group focused, etc) plays a huge role and that is also a topic for another time. I want to focus on strength training WITHIN the sport of interest- cycling. And while I refer to muscular endurance work in many of my sessions, perhaps more specifically I should refer to them as "muscular strength" sessions - referring to low cadence work, or "big gear work". 

How does slowing down the cadence to mimic climbing improve fatigue resistance? 1) improved/increased muscle recruitment. Similar to strength training, pedaling at a low cadence requires more force and thus recruits more muscle fibers. E.g., if you are pedaling zone 3 (a typical effort/power level to execute this type of training AND when climbing comfortably) and you spin at 50-60 rpm, you can recruit more of your Type II muscle fibers than if you spin at 80-90 rpm. By recruiting more Type II, you can train them to become more aerobically efficient. I have also personally noticed an increase in threshold power by including strength work like this in builds. 

2) In addition to raw strength and improved aerobic efficiency you will also improve core strength AND pedaling efficiency. The slower cadence forces you to think about the pedal stroke and i always include guidance to "feel" all aspects of the motion, from the pulling up, to pushing down, to thinking of a box, to thinking about activating glutes and hamstrings - as well as quads. Thinking about posture, core activation, relaxed in your shoulders, not gripping (and occasionally including some standing efforts too and making sure you are comfortable there). When we want to do things well, sometimes we have to SLOW down the process to focus in on different components. 

So- how low and what efforts should these be done at? It really depends!

- Most efforts would be done in a zone 3/tempo effort. But if you are new or perhaps have taken some time away, do these in zone 2. If you are an elite (or a mountain goat), try these in lower zone 4. But most of the time a zone 3/tempo area - either by PE, HR, or power is where most people would execute these intervals. (76-90% FPT or PE 5-6)

- For cadence, it depends on where you "normally" fall. And I have a whole lot of opinions on that as well- but for now;  If you are someone who feels comfortable at 80 rpm, perhaps low cadence work would be somewhere in the 60 rpm area.. if you are higher - say 90+, then low cadence may only be 70 rpm. Most people start to struggle much below 50 rpm.. And again, if you are new to the modality, start with a slight drop in cadence and see how that feels. 

Another benefit of this style of riding is that it tends to allow higher power output with lower HR- so overall less stress on the energy system, although typically higher stress on the muscular system. These sessions can be done once a week and while they are beneficial for everyone who is looking to improve their cycling, from my observations over the last 15+ yrs of coaching is that some women benefit more than others. Why? Women that come from a run background OR swim background, tend to have less cycling specific muscular development and these sessions allow them to build that strength FAST. Also, while we are inundated (or maybe that's just me, given my age and who I follow on the socials) with peri-menopause/menopause specific guidance (mostly from people who have no business giving guidance), my opinion is that as women lose muscle as we age, sessions that focus on strength work become slightly more important than they were in the past. Even if we have well developed and deep aerobic fitness, if we don't have the strength and power to express that fitness, it's a diminishing returns situation. And I see that pretty commonly - we may be able to go all day (that's great!) but can we go faster and stronger all day?? YES that is what we want! And unpopular opinion, we can build muscular strength and endurance without lifting heavy (although that may be appropriate for certain people at certain times of the season). 

Okay- so enough blabbering! Get to the session coach! 

Muscular endurance/strength work 

Warm up 10 mins - largely unstructured but generally moving into zone 2 (from 40-70% FTP, PE 1- 4))

ramp up

1 min 70% FTP, zone 2, PE 3

2 mins 75% FTP, zone 2, PE 4

3 mins 80% FTP, zone 3,  PE 5

4 mins 85% FTP, zone 3, PE 6

3 mins recovery 55% FTP zone 1, PE 1-2

10 x 

30 seconds HARD, 100% FTP, zone 4, PE 8

30 seconds EASY, 40% FTP, zone 1, PE 1

3 mins recovery 55% FTP zone 1, PE 1-2

Main Set: 

4 x 

Big gear work

8 mins 80-85% FTP, zone 3, PE 5-6, cadence 50-70 rpm

1 mins 60-65% FTP, zone 2, PE 2-3, high spinning cadence 90-100 rpm (spinning high cadence helps recovery and to flush the legs directly afterwards)

2 mins 65-70% FTP, zone 2, PE 3-4, normal cadence 80-90 rpm,

Cool down 10 mins

Total time 90 mins. If you'd like a workout file, drop me an email and I'll send it your way! (let me know what type of file you'd like). 

* if you are new to Muscular endurance/strength work, drop the power and time on these intervals. Start small and work your way to 8 mins. If you start these and experience knee pain or hip pain- STOP. Do not do these as there could be some underlying issue or bike fit that doesn't allow you to yet include big gear work. This session would be a great tempo session done in your normal cadence range. 

If you are a triathlete: To be in aero or not to be in aero?? Honestly, I would switch it up and do a little of both. There are benefits to improving your strength and pedal stroke IN the aero position, but it is sometimes pacts more of a "punch" to the knees, hips, joints. So work into these slowly and cautiously and if you need to sit up, do so! When climbing outside, there is very little benefit of the aero position if you are going slower than ~14 mph (that depends on the conditions, person, and bike) but often we can get more power if we sit up (and easier to take in nutrition as well!). So often I pass people (okay mostly AG men) with the big disk wheels, grinding away in aero position, while I am sitting up and having a snack, with HR in check, and feeling great - taking in the views and LOVING the climb. Reality - You don't need to ALWAYS be aero to be efficient! 

Next week - Sweet Spot, the benefits, why we all love it and also slightly fear it when it's on the schedule!  

I am starting virtual rides on the velocity platform the first full week in January! 10 days free trial to test it out. I will send more thoughts on the platform in the next few weeks but after checking out nearly all the virtual platforms over the last 5+ yrs, I like velocity the best. It comes closest to "true" coaching on a virtual platform- allowing the coaches to give immediate feedback on power, HR, cadence, etc. Coaches can turn on or off ERG mode (FINALLY!), we can use ranges for power, cadence, heart rate, ect (FINALLY), and force some "blind" intervals (AWESOME). It will take your cycling to the next level.. honest opinion and I am not sponsored! If you are interested- check out the website for more details or drop me a note. 

Thanks for reading! I appreciate your support. If you found anything useful in this newsletter and think  someone else in your life would benefit, would you forward them this email? They can subscribe on the website using the link below! Many thanks! 

Happy training and racing!

~Coach M.