The Tri Town Times: 1/24/22

The Tri Town Times: 1/24/22

Image: Last call to order your custom Tri Town training and racing kit.

This week: the specificity of fitness; suffering, sacrifice, and the characteristics of Olympic-caliber athletes; quote from Brunello Cucinelli on the things you cannot buy.

Hi all,
 
Today's your last day to take advantage of 20% off your custom Tri Town racing and training kit. We place an order once per year, and this is the best opportunity to secure a kit for the coming season.
 
Some helpful ordering details:

- Place your orders on our website before the end of today and receive a 20% discount (use discount code "TTKIT20%" at checkout. 

- Want to put half down, and the remainder upon delivery? Please call us (208-297-7943) or email [email protected] to do so. Only order kits online if you want to pre-pay for your kit in full.

- We have many pieces available now, and expect delivery of any out of stock items by late February.

- Made by Louis Garneau.

- You don't have to be a pro or elite athlete to wear our kits! 

- Any questions or concerns? There's nothing like talking to a real person... please give us a call at 208-297-7943 or stop by the shop. 

 
 
And now here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:
 
Training thoughts and updates:

- I regularly hear from athletes that they are training "for a sprint triathlon" or a "half ironman" event. As if training for one distance is mutually exclusive from another. If this were the case, how would athletes like Lucy Charles be able to podium at a Super League sprint distance race one weekend, and win the 70.3 World Championships a couple months later? The same can be said with Kristian Blummefelt, who won the Olympic gold medal in under two hours, and only four months later set the fastest time ever for an Ironman in ~7.5 hours. The reality is that there are benefits in training for short AND long events, and we seem to be in a time where the world's best athletes are proving it by competing and winning at a variety of distances. This article from Alex Hutchinson (author of the excellent book Endure) explains that "...longer, slower efforts with less rest increase fitness through central adaptations, while shorter, faster efforts with more rest trigger peripheral adaptations. Of course, it’s not all or nothing. All types of training will produce both central and peripheral adaptations." Remember that being fit means you're not only able to go for hours on end, but you can also change speed and direction at the drop of a hat. As you approach your key event you may want to tune your fitness for a specific event, but avoid the trap of only working your aerobic or anaerobic system.

- Last week I touched on sacrifice as a key ingredient to success, and suffering as trainable. A key to 'suffering well' comes down to your mindset- essentially you can choose to make something of it and use it to your advantage, or you choose to be defeated by it. This interesting study looked at the characteristics of Olympic gold medal winning athletes, and found that 2 of the 7 key indicators of Olympic success came down to overcoming injury and/or loss. Possibly overcoming a major life hurdle helped give them the dogged determination and focus needed to practice for 21+ years (on average) before reaching the top of their respective sport.

 
Gear that caught my attention:
The bicycle supply chain continues to be in rough shape, and industry expectations forecast this to be the case for at least another year. Nonetheless, we are starting to receive our 2022 stock of road, gravel, and mountain bikes with more anticipated in February.
 
 
Quote that struck a chord:
This week's quote really rung true to me, and is from the famous Italian clothing designer/philosopher Brunello Cucinelli:
 
"There are three things you cannot buy:
Fitness: You have to keep fit, whether you’re rich or not.
Diet: You cannot pay someone to be on a diet for you. I think that diet is the biggest sacrifice in my life.
Then, looking after your soul. No one can possibly treat your soul but you yourself. This is something you can do through culture and philosophy."
 
 
If you have a moment to spare:

- Calling all endurance athletes: female, male, young, old, amateur, professional. Help research on training and health characteristics of endurance athletes by taking this 10 minute survey.

- Electric mountain bikes are making videos of riders climbing impossible things as much fun as watching them descend it.

 
Have a great week!
 
Antonio Gonzalez
Tri Town Bicycles
 
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