Coach Athlete Relationship

Over the years I have worked with many athletes of varying levels and have learned many things about training, people, communication and friendship.  When I first began coaching I was excited to help people not only meet their goals, but meet them more quickly than they imagined and even exceed many of the ones they set for themselves.  The last thing that I had consider was the friendships that grow from the time on the phone as well as riding together. Not until recently had it really become more of a reality when one of the athletes that I worked with several years ago passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at 48.  This shook me to a point that I have not been to in a long time.  This made me realize several things.  First, how much my athletes (current and former) mean to me but also the fact that this relationship is very important for great success. In American society we tend to be very closed in and it takes us a very long time to open up to someone.  As a coach the people who I have seen be the most successful in their training are not always the ones with the most time to train but are the ones that see the most improvement are the ones who are willing to open up and communicate the things that are often hard to verbalize.  We don’t often realize, or want to admit, the fact that whether at work, at home or on the bike our stresses and strains are not often localized and every aspect of our life affects our performance. 

We are Thankful Athletes and Coaches

Many athletes start their mornings off with a good hard run or maybe that nice long swim.  How about wrapping the day up with a nice fast paced group ride to really test your limits?  No matter what your workout is the test is always there.  Pushing your limits, bettering yourself and achieving that much loved endorphin rush from your workouts. This Thanksgiving day, nationwide, people are showing thanks for many different things and we at SoS are thankful for many of those great things that include: family, friends, a roof over our head and food on our tables. We are also thankful for each and every one of you.  The athletes that inspire people to be a part of the lifestyle that you have.  The people who drive the events in communities, lead beginner rides and runs and guide people through the first stages of what your sport really is about.  Thank you for your dedication and devotion and we look forward to continuing to support you to the next level in 2014!  Happy Thanksgiving and Thank you for all you do!

Science of Speed Update

This December we will celebrate 3 years of cycling and triathlon coaching in Tallahassee, Florida.  We have had many great successes from creating a name as “The best bike fit around” FREE 30 minute consultation Basic Coaching

Variety in Training Can be Important

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

Albert Einstein

Year after year, person after person we see many athletes do the exact same thing.  They log their base miles, begin their steady intensity, join in on the exact same group rides and then slowly build up to an event.  Some athletes participate in the exact same event which may be a century, a bike race or some thing as grandiose as an Ironman triathlon.  With the thought of the same course or same type of intensity we know of some athletes who even utilize the exact same training plan year, after year, after year, after… well, you get the point!

In 2016 we want you to challenge your status quo, we want you to test your limits and we want you to reach new goals.  Over the years we have found a rhythm with our coaching and that rhythm is much like our athletes physical abilities, our approaches to increasing performance and fitness must change.  The workouts might be similar in philosophy and name but the timing, frequency and quantity are always modified to help each athlete reach their peak performance when best possible.

So, have you just come off of your base training?  Are you looking at an early season event where you hope to perform well?  What are you doing now to guarantee the best results for that event?  We hope it isn’t the same thing that you did last year!

You might be a triathlete, a cyclist, a runner or a general fitness enthusiast looking to shed a few pounds but we challenge you to break that Insantiy loop and mix your early season training up with one of these workouts:

RUN: THRESHOLD LADDER

Warm up: 5 minutes (rpe:5/10) 4×7:30 Run Ladder w/5min RBI: 2min Steady State Run (rpe: 7/10), 2min Tempo Run (rpe: 8/10), 30sec Fartlek Run (rpe: 9/10), 1min Tempo Run (rpe: 8/10), 2min Steady State Run (rpe: 7/10) Cool down: 10min (rpe:5/10)

BIKE: VO2 INTERVALS

Warm up: 10-15 minutes at Endurance pace(rpe:5/10) with several 30 second Threshold Intervals (rpe:8/10)

Intervals: 8x2minute VO2 intervals (rpe:10/10) w/2min RBI

  • Be sure that these are a maximal effort from the very start. Your legs might fatigue but that is no reason to decrease the intensity.

Cool down: 5-10 minutes

  • Take ample time to allow for core temperature to decrease.