Kona. The name alone inspires both fear and awe in endurance athletes around the world. Norman Banick headed to Kona for the 2019 Ironman World Championship with lofty goals—finish under nine hours and place in the top 100. After being battered by Hawaiian sun and wind, Norman finished 102nd overall with an incredible time of 9:11:09.
Come every August, hundreds of athletes gather in the small town of Leadville, Colorado to test their abilities and challenge their endurance at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB. For many athletes, the objective is to conquer the course and get across the finish line, an incredible accomplishment in and of itself. But for a subset of athletes there’s an added challenge – to finish the race in less than nine hours.
On the slopes of Empire Pass, Utah, Stans Pivot’s and Monster Hydro’s Keegan Swenson set the world record for Everesting with a time of 7:40:05. Repeating the same 1.8-mile segment to amass 29,029 feet of elevation gain was no easy feat, and Keegan has some pro tips to share that can help you in your next endurance event.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) is a subjective assessment of how hard you feel like you’re riding. It’s a great way to maintain structure during outside rides when a power meter is not available. TrainerRoad offers all of our Outside Workouts in an RPE-based version.
For many cyclists, short, high-intensity efforts are fairly comfortable and cause little fatigue. These riders may be tempted to train only with short intervals, even if their goal events require more sustained power. For reasons both physiological and psychological, this isn’t the most beneficial path.
There are a number of steps that cyclists can take to make their rides safer. If you’re going to ride outside keep your rides as safe as possible with these additional precautions and appropriate safety measures.
Techniques to improve recovery and get the most from your rest week, how to transition to cycling from powerlifting to be fast and strong, why you should be using an electrolyte or carbohydrate sports drink while cycling and more in Episode 256 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast.
When you have extra time to train, you can enhance your training plan with additional workouts and maintenance activities. Adding extra training can be beneficial when added appropriately.
When you don’t have events on the Calendar, attempting to get the fastest time on a Strava segment can be a fun and motivating training goal. As long as you can do it safely and in compliance with your local ordinances, here are some tips to help you grab that KOM or QOM.
Finding the right route makes outdoor interval training much more effective. Match your route to specific types of workouts with these tips.