Riding for Young Hearts: My Gravel Racing Journey to Support Children’s Hospital
On West 3, the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, the glass of every child’s room gets decorated with what they love, motivational sayings, drawings of heart valves, milestone celebrations, and, especially, celebrations of Happy Heart Day, when kids waiting for new hearts get the good news. While the ICU unit […]
Base Training for Cyclists, Runners, and Triathletes: How to Build Endurance, Strength, and Recovery for a Successful 2025 Season
As we look toward the 2025 season, it’s time to lay the foundation for your best year yet. This begins with a structured base period, a crucial phase in any endurance athlete’s training plan. Base training builds the aerobic endurance, strength, and durability needed to handle more intense phases later on and helps you perform […]
Caffeine Supplementation: Debunking Myths and Uncovering the Truth for Endurance Athletes
Caffeine is one of the few supplements that work. For most people, caffeine supplementation seems to benefit aerobic endurance the most, which is great for runners, cyclists, and triathletes. For most people, 3 to 6mg per kg of body weight is the dosage recommendation with more than 9mg possibly causing adverse side effects, like the […]
Seven Mental Training Skills to Help You Through a Long Gravel Racing Event
All of us have been there: The moments when we question our life choices that brought us to this really long gravel bike race. Maybe the weather was unusually tough, or there were mechanical issues, we didn’t fuel properly, or maybe the tedium of riding that many hours just got to our head. “Why am […]
Gravel Race Success As A Cyclist Over 50: A Guide to Training, Nutrition, and Recovery Changes
Cyclists over 50 are putting in some of their best performances at long gravel races. While we may not be able to compete with the 20-year-olds at the pointy end, older men and women can complete and excel at gravel races of all lengths. Whether training for improved health, competition, or personal growth, gravel racing […]
Optimizing Nutrition and Hydration for Success in Endurance Gravel Racing
If you’re going to do any kind of long gravel race, you need to plan and prepare your hydration and nutrition. Your goal is to maintain energy levels, support muscle function, and prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. You want to finish the race strong and feel good rather than limping across the line with a […]
Get A Gravel Bike Racing Edge: Why You Should Do Strength Training
One of the most important parts of your training for long gravel races should be strength or resistance training. Strength training not only improves your strength and power, but it can help you prevent injuries and improve your endurance. Anyone who’s done a long gravel race knows we need to have full-body strength to withstand […]
Boost Your Gravel Racing Performance: A Guide to Interval Training
To have your best performance in a long gravel race, it’s important to do intervals throughout the season to maintain and build muscle strength as well as cardiovascular adaptations. Intervals, riding hard for short periods, followed by short periods of recovery, prepare your body – and your mind – for the challenges of gravel racing, […]
Maximizing Your Cycling Training Plan with 80/20: Balancing Endurance, Strength, and Recovery For Your Busy Life
This week in our series on training for a long gravel race, we’re focusing on how to actually create a schedule that can work in your daily lives. It’s important to create a schedule that maximizes your training time. And we need to include endurance training, strength training, and yoga to improve our health, mobility, […]
Maximizing Gravel Race Success: Building a Robust Base with Endurance, Strength, and Yoga
If you are preparing for a long gravel race this year, laying a solid foundation or “base” right now is crucial. This base is not just about logging miles but also about incorporating strength training and yoga to enhance strength and mobility. This is a general preparation phase where you build the capacity to train […]
