Training Tips

Everyone is excited to finally pin on a number and make use of all the training during the winter months. But in order to have success, you should be well prepared for race day. Ideally one should have a race day routine and maybe even a checklist that will help get the mind into the game.

"The Holidays are here! It's that time of the year to enjoy time with family, friends, and loved ones. The holidays are joyful and exciting, but can also bring on stress. It's easy to get out of your normal rhythm and routine with overindulging in bad eating habits and neglected training. It's also a prime time to get sick with flu and colds."

It's easy to think that riders that stand atop the podium are an overnight success. That somehow, they've magically discovered the sport of cycling, flown through the ranks and appeared as though granted a wish and stand smiling, hands waving, champagne being sprayed and flowers tossed to the crowd afterward.

 Mid-Season break is a time to take (literally) a break from the daily training/racing routines and usually occurs around June/July. Similar to "half-time", it's a time to re-set physically and mentally.

"Sitting behind the motor itself is soothing and calming - it's getting to that point that can be the challenge. If there's someone in front of you that's tense and surging, it will ripple throughout the group. Similar to riding in a group on the road - if you find yourself around someone who is moving erratically and unpredictably, it's only a matter of time before something disastrous happens. The best thing to do is to put some distance between yourself and that rider."

"Getting back to racing this year taught me some good lessons. It was a modest re-introduction, don't get me wrong. There have been some issues in the last couple years that certainly didn't help, but a lot of it was on me. I just needed to make the time and commit. That took more than I expected."

Summer is winding down and many parts of the country have already seen a shift of weather, signaling the end of a long road season and for others, the start of the cyclocross season. Whether you take a break now from structured training and racing or do it after cross, it's important to get the most out of your off-season. This is where the biggest gains can be made.

While working at the team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank Pro Women's Cycling camp this spring, I had the chance to go to the FASTER AZ wind tunnel in Scottsdale Arizona. I spent a whole day at the wind tunnel with 3 of the TIBCO riders. I never had the chance to test my bike position/ equipment in a wind tunnel during my own racing career.

As a coach, I'm always looking for ways to improve my coaching game. I read anything sport psychology I can get my hands on, study race tactics, share information with other coaches and I also get to apply self-coaching to see if what I'm sharing actually works.  I'm also blessed to be married to a coach and we frequently bounce ideas off of one another. When I found myself floundering in the national level crits this season, struggling with how to surf the front of the field verses tail gunning the back, Benjamin had some suggestions.

Fall is right around the corner. The road racing and MTB season is coming to an end, many of my athletes have already completed their last race for 2016 or then they maybe have 1 or 2 races left. The question is now what? Taking an off season break already is a bit early- even though your mind is probably tired and the motivation not as big anymore.

“Race season is here!” by  Jennifer Sharp, ALP Cycles Coaching As winter becomes a distant memory and spring arrives with a bang – you can look back and reflect on the dozens of intervals, hours of gym workouts, and mental preparation you’ve devoted to the dark winter months. Race season is here! Whether you’ve been […]

“The worst part about having a job is how it affects your training. Let us be really realistic here – the majority of cyclists in the United States work some type of job.” by Raquel Miller, ALP athlete who works with Coach Alison Powers April 2013 was my first month of coaching with Alison Powers/ALP […]

“…when you can’t quite get to everything, do what you can when you can.” by Mia Cheeseman, Athlete that works with Jennifer Sharp, ALP Cycles Coaching This week’s blog post is written by ALP Athlete Mia Cheeseman who works with ALP Coach Jennifer Sharp. Too often, life gets in the way of our cycling training. If […]

Surround yourself with people you look up to and that are positive. by Jennifer Sharp, ALP Cycles Coaching When I first started racing a decade ago, cyclingnews.com had a section in their website dedicated to mental training. I gravitated to this section more than tech reviews or race results – I wanted to know what I […]

The three most important things I learned this season. by Abby Mickey, ALP Athlete and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Member Every year comes with new challenges. The key is to take those challenges in stride and learn from them. Challenges are good for you. They help you grow as an athlete and, more importantly, as […]

by Stephen Gallagher, DigDeep Coaching Head Coach We are entering part of the year when all of our focus is on the first races and how we are going to fare against our peers after a hard winter’s training.  The excitement is part of the anticipation, as the sign on sheet awaits to kick off […]