Training Peaks: Fruitcake or Fast-Pace Work?

3 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Train This Winter
December 15, 2017/Andy Blow, Training Peaks


On the whole endurance athletes are a pretty self-motivated bunch. But even endurance athletes are only human, and as a result we suffer from the same fluctuations in “get up and go” as everyone else from time to time. These dips in motivation can range from the nagging desire to skip training for a day or two to full on slumps where you lose your workout mojo altogether for extended periods of time.


And this time of year can be particularly challenging from a “mojo” point of view because, for the most part, the “A” races for the year have disappeared into the rear view mirror but next season is still a good way off over the horizon. There are also dark mornings and evenings with often colder, wetter weather to contend with (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere at least). At this time of year it’s easier than ever to just skip training altogether.


Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in taking a decent end-of-year break if you’ve had a long, hard season. This is crucial for mental and physical recuperation. But, assuming that your planned downtime is coming to an end sometime in the near future, I thought it might be a good time to offer up a few tips gleaned from more than 20 years of tricking, cajoling and persuading myself to go out and train when frankly I’d much rather have hit the snooze button or spent more time working on the Homer Simpson-esque butt indentations in my sofa instead.... (link to article...)

CTS: Only Four Things. Cool,

4 Things Cyclists, Runners, and Triathletes Do Poorly
Carmichael Training Systems/June 15, 2017


You’re a smart person and endurance training isn’t rocket science. To be perfectly frank, you could probably figure out most subjects if you had the time and motivation to do so. So we understand if you’re looking at a bunch of training manuals, websites, and magazines and figuring you can handle this training thing on your own. But as good as you are on your own, here are 4 important things most athletes are not very good at...


(Link to Article)

Outside Online: Apparently Everybody Loves Ed Sheeran

The Most Popular New Spotify Songs by Sport

Turns out runners and bikers both love Ed Sheeran, while CrossFitters can't decide whether they want to turn it up or get angry
By: Dan Roe//Outside Online Apr 7, 2017

Every month, 50 million people listen to more than 2 billion playlists on Spotify. While some would argue that working out with music is sacrilege, many of us turn to our Spotify playlists for extra motivation to finish that last rep, power through the final pull-up, or send that ten-footer.
(Link to Article)

Outside Online: My Past Propels Me

Why I Run in Prison 
Rahsaan Thomas is incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where he found running while serving a life sentence 
By: Rahsaan Thomas Apr 2, 2017//Outside Online

I run inside San Quentin State Prison, around a quarter-mile track surrounded by gigantic walls and barbed-wire fences. The track is half dirt and half concrete. It circles the “Field of Dreams,” a baseball diamond with a tennis court, basketball court, and pull-up bars nearby.

My past propels me to chase acceptance and freedom.
(Link to article)

Fusion via Outside Online: Her Training Partner Was Deported...

She was training with her dad for the LA Marathon. Then he was taken away by ICE. 
Jorge Rivas//Fusion Mar 20 2017

LOS ANGELES—It took 13-year-old Fatima Avelica exactly six hours and 48 minutes to run all 26.2 miles of the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday.

She didn’t struggle until mile 18. She says what got her through to the finish line was picturing her dad cheering her on and yelling, “You can do it!”

Fatima had trained with her dad, Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, who often didn’t get to bed until 3 AM after working a restaurant night shift, but still dutifully got up at 5 AM to drive to the beach and ride his bike alongside Fatima and her sister as they trained. “

The training was fun because my dad was always there motivating us,” Fatima told me ahead of the marathon as we sat in a lobby by the main entrance at her high school.

That ended on Feb. 28, when Romulo was arrested by immigration agents moments after he dropped off Fatima’s younger sister at school. (Link)