Racing Multiple Disciplines with Juliet Elliot + Bonus Colorado Classic Interview

Posted on by Peter
Today we compile two interviews with two amazing women. One with Juliet Elliot on Racing all sorts of bikes and one with Lucy Diaz, the COO of the Colorado Classic race, talking about this women’s only race. 
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

Colorado Classic COO, Lucy Diaz

  • August 22-25th, 2019 will see the Colorado Classic presented by VF Corporation return to the roads of Colorado. This year, however, is for the women.
  • Take the pledge: https://www.coloradoclassic.com/pledge

Juliet Elliott

  • When someone not in the industry asks what you do, how do you explain? (everyone should read your about me page, because it’s amazing. https://bikes-n-stuff.com/about-me/)

 

  • How has the digital landscape changed since you started?

 

  • First race in 2015, but you were already a pro snowboarder, then a messenger-how did it translate?

 

  • Current favorite cycling discipline

 

  • How do you stay race ready for so many different disciplines?

 

  • What does a week home training look like? Strength (crossfit) core yoga walking

 

  • tips for: fixie -gravel -bikepacking -cx -MTB -road -dirt jumping, multi-way events

 

  • Nutrition practices

 

  • Tips for traveling to events and being race ready? Best travel accessories?

 

  • Any daily rituals you’ve stuck with for a long time? (In the Bicycling mag cover story, it opens with you sitting down once a week wiht a weekly planner—do you still do that?)

 

  • How has becoming a parent changed training ?

 

  • Your partner is also a cyclist—how have you balanced your training racing and goals with his?

 

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Retirement, Zones, Weight Loss, Running while Riding

Posted on by Peter
Peter and Molly discuss your questions today:
– What to do when you stop competing!? Imposter Syndrome etc.
– What are my HR Zones, how to set, race maximum vs. training max?
– weight loss – loose 5 lbs?
– How to run and ride at the same time?
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

1-I was wondering if perhaps you could in the future bring up the subject of quitting the competition and dealing with that?  body image, FOMO, imposter syndrome, etc for people that have to stop competitive sports in general.

2-Anybody who is a runner also juggles running with cycling? How do you know which days to ride and when it’s okay to be running?

3- HR ZONES

Is there a difference between racing maximum heart rate and training maximum heart rate.  I know the adrenaline during the race can play a role, just not sure how much. While out riding, I don’t reach the maximum heart rate I see some times during a race. So the question is, which maximum HR should I go by when training?

4- WEIGHT LOSS

As for my weight, currently I’m at 160 lbs and for next season I would like to be at a hydrated weight of 155 lbs (or less).

 – assess time line and what you have to loose and why 5lbs (vs. gain muscle?)
– what will you change in your day to day for nutrition and exercise/movement/habits (think small over time!)
– find things you enjoy that make for better habits!

RANGE – Being A Generalist – David Epstein

Posted on by Peter
Author David Epstein joins us to talk about being a generalist. Someone who has a variety of experiences in athletics, school or areas of life that allow them to make connections that a specialist may not make. As a Consummate Athlete listener, you should be very excited about this topic and David’s Book – Range –
range david epstein
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

  • David’s Athletic Background

  • Sport specialization- 

 

  • Sampling jobs like dating

 

  • Fun Friday’s / sampling Saturday’s and Monday Notes

 

  • Sport centers/teams/coaches where best athletes seem to cluster … is it in the water? 
  • Dropping tools analogy “It is the very unwillingness of people to drop their tools that turns some of these dramas into tragedies.”

  • In the book a quote from Oliver Smithies = “Take your skills and apply them to a new problem, or take your problem and try completely new skills
  • advice from book – “So, about that one sentence of advice: Don’t feel behind.””Compare yourself to yourself yesterday, not to younger people who aren’t you. Everyone progresses at a different rate, so don’t let anyone else make you feel behind. You probably don’t even know where exactly you’re going, so feeling behind doesn’t help.”
  • On enthusasium when attending something, getting coaching = “You have to carry a big basket to bring something home.”
  • On getting Old

  • What advice would you give a masters aged athlete trying to stay competitive?

  • On Reading Research

Are you in a Plateau? Supplements? Post-workout for busy people

Posted on by Peter
Today we discuss:
– How to know if you are plateauing and what to do about it
– Supplements – are they good?
– Post-workout for Busy People?
gauging improvement, post-workout easy recovery, quick fixes + potions
Please consider supporting it by:
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

UPDATES

plateau

 

 

SUPPLEMENTS

Past podcasts that are relevant to supplements and studies

 

Position Stands and resources to learn HOW and WHY and WHO

Globally on Supplements

  • Additive effects (Trent Stellingwerff)
  •  magic pill – looking for quick fix vs. longer-term focus – ignoring the skill/mental/tactical aspects
  • Enjoy benefits of linear gains / being a beginner – well thought out training should elicit benefit

Things to ponder when considering a supplement

  • Think who am I and what am I trying to do ? do you need more muscle? Are you not recovering as fast as you could be
  • Is there a way to get this through diet? (ie. sleep!, whey / bcaa in dairy protein, improving the balanced diet of fats/proteins vs. high sugar/low quality)
  • is there a mechanism for why this should work? (ie.
  • Is it practical to use in your life/sport (ie. Side effects and time to use/apply)
  • SIDE EFFECTS – GI distress, BLUNTING of adaptations, no/negative responders,
  • Is this company selling something? influencer?
  • Is it a proprietary blend or something odd or do you recognize the active ingredients (or the ingredients in general)
  • Is it banned or from a reputable source (quality control / NSF)

 

Trent Stellingwerff supplement recommendations what works

  • http://www.runhilaryrun.ca/Trent/GeneralInterestArticles/Stellingwerff-%20SupplementationRecommendations.pdf
  • The vast majority of training and competition load and recovery is achieved through proper diet and recovery practices (such as recovery nutrition immediately post-training, quality sleep, afternoon naps, low surrounding external stresses and paramedical support). To aid in this process, athletes have looked towards supplements. However, only a hand-full of supplements have been shown to possibly aid in this process during very intense training and competition schedules. The majority of the supplement’s have no scientific support and just result in added and unwarranted expenses to an athlete. However, there are a few supplements that do have scientific support, which can be utilized by an athlete already exercising good general nutrition and recovery practices— this needs to be taken care of first! A poor diet and recovery practices cannot be compensated for by a supplementation regime. Further, regular blood analysis should be completed to check for any abnormalities. Finally, it cannot be stressed enough that when purchasing supplements the athlete needs to be extremely cautious regarding potential inadvertent doping. Look for 100% pure-products from reputable companies that have also been certified by either NSF: http://www.nsf.org/consumer/athletic_banned_substances/

 

Lying to Win—Placebos and Sport Science

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a515/112a3a2b0d08e9b1ae66e10ed9102ffaf218.pdf

  • Trent Stellingwerff addressed an inconvenient truth in sport science; when it comes to performance-enhancing effects of popular ergogenic aids, marginal gains do not aggregate. The 1% to 3% improvements observed with many ergogenic aids are rarely additive.7–9 Why might this be the case? One possible explanation is that that many ergogenic aids ultimately act on a central mechanism that regulates performance. As a result, most evidencebased supplements merely allow an athlete to “dig a little deeper.” Sport scientists have often observed that just believing in a novel and exciting performance-enhancing treatment can produce improvements in performance regardless of introducing a real treatment effect

 

 

Science of sport  https://www.scienceofrunning.com/2013/10/the-placebo-response-belief.html?v=3e8d115eb4b3

  •  the same article, I found the statements by a good friend, Trent Stellingwerff, very intriguing.  Stellingwerff brought up the fact that the effects of proven ergogenic aids don’t aggregate.  Meaning that if we get a 2% boost from caffeine, another 1% from beta alanine, and 2% from beet root juice, if we took all of them, we don’t get a 5% bump in performance.  They all act on different physiological systems, so why is there no additive effect?  The authors speculate that, they all act on a central mechanism that regulates performance (i.e. like the one talked about with fatigue above).
  • What it means to me is instead of telling an athlete to take this drink that you know is a placebo to improve performance, give them something that actually seems to, and sell it hard that it does.  Don’t just say, this may or may not work, or give the research speak that in 10 studies it improved performance but in 3 it didn’t so hopefully you are in the 10.  Say that this stuff works really well, it’s strongly research-backed (10 vs. 3 is strong!), and it works because of X, Y, and Z.

 

3) Runner waking up early to run, what to eat after for recovery while busy with kids and getting to work?

Trail Running, Camping & Cooking – Morgan Sjogren

Posted on by Peter
Morgan Sjogren talks to Molly about Trail Running, Camping, Cooking while camping and … Living Outlandish.
Morgan Sjogren on Trail Running, Camp Cooking + Living Outlandish
Please consider supporting it by:
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

  • When people ask what you do, how do you describe it?

  • What inspired writing Outlandish? Have to ask, how did the writing process look from the road?

  • A lot of people have the urge to do what you’re doing but can’t make the leap: how did you get going?

  • Why trails from track?

  • Trail and distance running tips?

  • What gear comes on every trip? How did you pare down to just what fit in the jeep?

  • I love your lists of backpacking and car camping tools—what are 5 tools you would never travel without?

  • A lot of the recipes in the book are perfect for super-active days, and it’s actually really refreshing to see a cookbook that isn’t vegan or paleo or ultra-clean… but what does a normal day of eating look like for you?

  • Out of every story you wrote about in the book, which was the most fun to relive?

  • Best and worst parts of living out of the jeep?

  • Your photos are gorgeous, and I know some are from a photog, but any great photo tips for the rest of us?

Time-Limited Cx Training, Healthy Veg, routines, getting old

Posted on by Peter
Today we discuss: 
 – Stand-up desks and recovery
– Training for cyclocross with limited time
– sticking to routines – any tricks?
– healthy eating while vegetarian?
– Aging Athletes – strategies and changes needed?
Training for CX, Sticking to Routines + Healthy Eating for Vegetarians
Please consider supporting it by:
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

  • Michael How do standup desks affect recovery? I’m a 53 yo male CXer. I have an office job and stand until my legs get tired and then sit until my back hurts. Mon and Fri are easy days, Tue, Thu & Sat are hard days. Wed&Sun are usually endurance. WAP Subscriber BTW.
  • Alex: If i race 40 minute cross races and can get on the trainer 4 times a week but can’t get the seemingly mandatory 3 hour weekend ride in am I doomed?
  • Joe: Vegetarian and trying to eat “good”. Suggestions, pointers, steer-clear, etc. Willing to cut back on cookies and beers.
  • hanna: how do you manage to stay focused on training when first starting a full time job?
  • Jes: Any tips on getting into a consistent routine and sticking with it, i.e the morning core?

– Try Molly’s Core 

–Try peter’s anwhere core http://smartathlete.ca/new-anywhere-core-video/  

-Pair habits

-Listen to Getting things done episode 

  • Steve: How do nutrition, training and recovery need to changed after the age of 50?

Athletes and Anxiety – Kathy Herzog

Posted on by Peter
Kathy Herzog Psy.D.; Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts who discusses anxiety and athletes with us on this episode.
talking athletes and anxiety with kathy herzog
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

  • anxiety and athletes—how it can manifest

  • how we can recognize it early

  • how real life can impact our workout/training lives,

  • actionable steps to take when we’re feeling out of control (cognitive behavior therapy). How can we best tell a therapist what we need if we seek more help?

  • when sport / training becomes more of an escape/addiction.

A few extra notes from Katherine E. Herzog, Psy.D.; Licensed Psychologist:

1) Getting Rid of Anxiety
“One of the most common, but mis-guided things I hear from people suffering from anxiety is that they want to get rid of it. It’s an understandable reaction to something that is uncomfortable, and sometimes debilitating. However, I always counsel people that rather than trying to rid oneself of anxiety (which is pretty impossible anyway), one’s time is more fruitfully spent on accepting it (here’s that acceptance thing again). So, telling one’s self when you feel butterflies in your stomach, or other bodily sensations that herald anxiety, “this is exactly how I should feel,” or “this is going exactly the way it should.” Just as one expects to feel out of breath or have complaining legs during a demanding effort, one should meet anxiety as part of the normal course of our experiences in both training and at races or competitions.”
2) Regarding stress and anxiety-  (see Peter’s 80% is a passing Grade for more)
As we discussed, there is a lot of overlap in regards to how these feel. However, I will reiterate that stressors are usually coming to us from the outside. Just as we need to stress the body (carefully and strategically) in order to make gains in regards to fitness, successfully managing emotional stressors can cause us to be more resilient and mentally tough out on the road or the field. Over the past 5 years of doing my own training, I have come to value trying to be cognitively flexible in the face of stressors– trying to allow one’s self to take different perspectives on whatever one is bothered by. For example, I am a bit of a rigid perfectionist when it comes to carrying out each workout just as it was written, and I tend to plan ahead. So, I often will plan a particular running or riding workout for a route I have in mind days in advance…but sometimes completing a workout this way is not possible…the road is closed, my schedule had unexpected changes in it, etc. I find this sort of thing extremely stressful, and it can threaten to wreck my motivation to get any exercise at all– so I have been learning to be more flexible about this sort of thing– most of the time I get to do things as planned, but if I don’t, the world has not ended. Managing stress is often about teaching one’s self to be flexible and to be able to take radically different perspectives if needed.
3) Are you willing to Vs. Do you want to
Something we did not get to was the concept of willingness and how important this is when considering anxiety. As athletes, I think we can all agree there are lots of things we don’t necessarily want to do (I find lifting weights really dull, for instance, but know it is an important part of my training plan). A key question to ask one’s self might be “you don’t want to, but are you willing to?” Learning the difference between the desire and want to do something (it’s fun, I like it, it makes me feel good) and the willingness to do something is important in regards to managing avoidant behaviors, which are a common result of experiencing anxiety. Also, don’t confuse willingness with trying. Willingness is jumping (as high and hard as you can) with both feet and not knowing exactly where that will take you (a bit of a risk); whereas trying is much more tentative, and less scary. I will again use my own experience as an example: I find testing to be something I rather dread, but know it is important in terms of helping my coach determine my fitness and training needs. So, do I want to do testing on the bike (no), but am I willing to do it (absolutely yes). It’s good to consciously differentiate these things so that when we are confronted with parts of our lives in sport that we would rather avoid, we can manage those feelings without avoidance and with more honesty with ourselves.

Fueling Exercise for Females, Adding Races, Training on Vacation

Posted on by Peter
Today we discuss: 
 – differences in fueling workouts for women vs. men
 – suggestions for daily core routine
– should you add races to the schedule?
– training while on  vacation
NEW male vs. female training nutrition, extra races + vacation training (1)
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

Shred girls merch = www.shred-girls.com
Cucumbers w vinegar
Beach time/making time for summer stuff
Cooling down bedroom at night

Nutrients in exercise for men vs women?

From ROAR by Stacy Sims:   
 –
Why? For one, estrogen reduces your carb-burning ability, likely to help you save those limited glycogen stores in case of pregnancy, famine, and emergency, while it increases fat burning and fatty acid availability. This is great for endurance activities, but you’ll need to eat more carbs for high-intensity activity. It also explains why you crave more of these foods during the high-hormone PMS phase of your cycle.
GI issues may occur. Many women report having GI issues such as gas and diarrhea when their periods start. This has less to do with estrogen and progesterone (though progesterone, and to a small effect estrogen, slows the contractility of the smooth muscle of the digestive tract) and more with the prostaglandins that cause the uterine contractions and shedding. If you make more than you need, they can float around your body and trigger other smooth muscles (like your bowels) to react similarly—hence the unpleasant GI distress. In extreme cases, they can also cause nausea and vomiting. You can head off the effect of prostaglandins by following the same anti-cramping strategies mentioned earlier.
Getting more branched-chain amino acids (especially leucine) can help mitigate some of these unpleasant effects. Leucine crosses the blood-brain barrier, slows down the effect of serotonin, and fends off central nervous system fatigue.

Daily Core Routine suggestions

  •  remember your ‘therapy exercises’ and working on any limiters/injuries/soreness daily
  • Peter Core

Adding in races that aren’t on the calendar

 

Vacation tips for getting in workouts/having fun/eating right

Heat Adaptation, Hormones, Diet Trends – Stacy Sims

Posted on by Peter
Dr. Stacy Sims discusses the latest research around heat adaptation and performance in the heat, hormones and diet trends that may not be providing the magic they are touted to.
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

Update:

What research are you really excited about?

Trend you wish would just die?

Tailoring training for ectomorph/endomorph/mesomorph types—how can you tell which type you are, and how can you make it work for you? can you be a hybrid type>

Cooling strategies: what works, and what’s a dumb idea? (ice vs water)

Guide to Summer Hydration: what’s the current stance on thirsty vs ounces per hour? As it heats up, how do we adjust? What should we look for in an electrolyte drink?

If someone were to do a summer 100-mile road Fondo what are the challenges to their body?

Hormone q: so many women are on birth control and unwilling to stop it – what can we be doing for our hormone health?

Fueling in Heat, Race Season CTL, Fading

Posted on by Peter
Today we answer your questions! Get your questions in for the next Q &A using the contact form on http://www.consummateathlete.com
Topics Covered:
– Fueling in the heat
– Cyclocross bike fit + numb hands 
– Fueling after Late night training
– Race season Training Load Decrease, Will I lose all my fitness?!?!
– In season strength options
– Is it bad to Fade in intervals (or races?), when to fade when to go steady?
fueling in the heat, CTL, interval efforts + more
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it by
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TOPICS AND LINKS FROM TODAYS SHOW:

  1. Choosing your food/fueling in hot weather?

Food for when it’s hot on the bike that won’t melt (that aren’t gels/chews)
—How to change food/drink as temps rise

  1. CX fit makes hands numb

Hand tingling/numbness on CX bike not on touring bike

  1. fueling TRAINING AT NIGHT ???  milk + fruit

  1. Not training as much during the week

– I have noticed that my CTL score has gone down a bit in the last few weeks. I just wanted to make sure that I was putting enough efforts and that I am where I should be?

5. During weight/core sessions, as I progress, should I keep reps at 12 and increase weights or focus on doing more reps with the same amount of weight? in season

6) with intervals (or races) is it better to have the last one be the best or better to have it be the worst?