The Mental Game of Gravel: How to Keep Going When the Race Gets Hard
At some point in a long gravel race, you’ve wanted to quit. Your legs felt terrible. Nothing was feeling good. Most gravel racers have felt this: Maybe you’ve had three flat tires, your shifting isn’t working correctly, and the group you were riding with disappeared up the road 20 minutes ago. Or maybe nothing is […]
When Gravel Motivation Gets Muddy: How to Keep Training When You Don’t Feel Like It
Gravel racing is supposed to be fun. That might sound obvious, but it’s easy to forget when the alarm goes off early, the workout says “VO2max intervals,” your legs feel heavy, the weather is terrible, and the couch is whispering your name. Motivation is one of those things athletes think they either have or don’t […]
The Psychology of Gravel Racing: Managing Doubt and Fear
How to train your mind as hard as your body so you can finish strong There’s a moment, or maybe more than one, in every long gravel event – you know the one. The legs are fine. The fuel is there. But somewhere around mile 60 (or 80, or 100), a voice starts whispering: You […]
How to Pace a Gravel Race: Finding Your Sustainable Speed and Finishing Strong
Gravel racing has a reputation for explosive starts, chaotic early miles, and long stretches of lonely riding. But if your race lasts four hours or more, success rarely comes from the rider who attacks hardest in the first hour. It usually comes from the rider who manages effort the best. Pacing is one of the […]
Building Mental Toughness: Training Your Mind for 6+ Hour Gravel Races
All of us have been there: The moments when we question every life choice that led you to this really long gravel bike race. Maybe the weather turned brutal. Maybe you flatted. Maybe you didn’t fuel properly. Or maybe—and this is the hardest to admit—just the sheer tedium of riding for six, seven, or eight […]
Why 130-150 Mile Training Rides Matter for 200-Mile Races: The Science of Ultra-Distance Preparation
by Coach Paul Warloski When you’re staring down a 200-mile gravel race like Unbound, your longest training ride isn’t just mileage; it’s scientific preparation for the biggest physical and mental challenge of your season. While I couldn’t find specific research on long gravel events, here’s what the latest research on ultra-endurance performance reveals about why […]
Stronger Breathing, Better Racing: The Benefits of IMT and Breath-Hold Training
As a lifelong asthmatic, I’ve always had to work on my breathing—mostly with medications that helped sometimes, but not always. Asthma has unquestionably limited my ability to reach my peak performance on the bike. Lately, I’ve been exploring new approaches that are gaining traction: breath restriction tools like the Powerbreathe and breath-hold training techniques. Both […]
Eat, Sleep, Race: Peak Performance Strategies for Tour of America’s Dairyland
Several Simple Endurance Coaching athletes have signed up for the whole Colby or Cheddar series at Tour of America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin, as well as the Grit series in Chicago. We’ve been talking a lot about how to manage five days or more of daily racing. The three most important elements for a successful race […]
Mental Toughness for Endurance Athletes: 5 Research-Backed Strategies to Build Resilience and Peak Performance
by Coach Anthony James Mental toughness is what allows endurance athletes to keep going when everything hurts and quitting seems easier. Whether it’s pushing through the last miles of a race, battling headwinds, or confronting the voice of self-doubt, mental toughness helps you go farther than you thought possible. And like endurance itself, it’s a […]
Boost Your Cycling Performance with Affirmations: Strengthen Your Mindset for Confidence and Mental Toughness
This is the final installment in our three-part series on mental skills for cycling, inspired by Running Within by Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott. We’ve already explored relaxation and visualization-now it’s time to focus on affirmations, a powerful mental tool that shapes our mindset and performance on the bike. And while these articles are geared […]
