The Tri Town Times: 12/11/23

• Posted on 12 December 2023
• By Antonio Gonzalez
• Posted in the tri town times
• 0

This week: Indoor training, thoughts on cadence, learning to walk.

Hi all,

Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:

Training thoughts and updates:

In this video professional triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay describes how she trained almost exclusively indoors to win the Ironman World Championships in record time. Key insights include:

- Indoor training builds mental toughness in a way similar to pool swimming (see my prior post on research showing the best athletes are masters at finding joy in the mundane).

- You have complete control of the environment (climate, intervals, etc).

- No stops or interruption within the session.

- Lucy tends to ride at a low cadence, and used the indoor sessions to focus on bringing that up a bit. Note: when it comes to cadence, higher is not always better. See my notes on the pedal stroke and cadence.

- Indoor training is great for non-technical bike courses. A technical events benefit from focused outdoor sessions to build bike handling skills.

In regards to indoor training:

- Stay posted in the near future for updates on Tri Town Club rides on Zwift.

- The Wahoo Kickr Core is in stock and is a great deal right now.

Gear that caught my attention:

Holiday shopping for the endurance athlete can be tough. Take the guesswork out and consider a Tri Town Gift Card for the athlete in your life. Our gift cards can be used for products of course, but also services like bicycle repair, bicycle fitting, coaching, and more.

Quote that struck a chord:

A beautifully insightful passage from architect and TED (conferences) founder Richard Saul Wurman on the failure and why we must be willing to accept the risk of failure if we are to succeed:

"When I was a child, I once saw someone in a wheelchair. My mother told me that the person in the wheelchair had been in an accident and would recover, but would need to learn to walk again. That was a revelation to me because it seemed that once we’d learned to walk, we’d always know how to walk. The notion of learning to walk has lingered in my mind, and I’ve contemplated the process of teaching someone to walk again. I realized that this process has a lot to do with thrusting a leg out into the terror of losing your balance, then regaining your equilibrium, moving forward, and then repeating with your other leg. Failure as loss of balance, the success of equilibrium, and you move forward. Terror of falling, confidence, regaining your balance — it’s a fascinating metaphor for life. Risk is half of the process of moving forward. The risk of failing is inherent in achieving a goal."

If you have a moment to spare:

Local World Tour rider Matteo Jorgensen promised the chance to win races as part of his transition to the stacked Visma-Lease a Bike team.

Have a great week,

Antonio Gonzalez

Tri Town Bicycles

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