By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning, Author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning“, Host of “Koopcast” podcast Run training has historically been driven by training paradigms rooted in its past. Alternating hard and easy days, long runs on Sundays, 7-day training cycles and even shoe rotation. These all made their way into runners’ …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Ride Inside“ and “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” High school mountain bike leagues are transforming the landscape for Junior (racing age 18 and under) cycling in the United States. As cyclists ourselves, we are motivated to share our love for the sport with our …
By John Fitzgerald, CTS Ultrarunning Coach The Tor des Géants is an annual 330-kilometer (205 mile) footrace held in September in Italy’s Aosta Valley. This steep and technical race features more than 24,000 meters (78,000 feet) of elevation gain. In terms of distance, duration, and elevation it’s equivalent to doing two Hardrock 100s or …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach and co-author “The Time-Crunched Cyclist“ Car enthusiasts long derided American muscle cars for being great in a straight line and useless in corners. European performance cars, they argued, were designed for drivers. They had power for speed but also advanced suspension, steering, and weight distribution for superior handling. …
by Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “Ride Inside“ and “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” We received a question about short or long rides and thought we’d answer it for everyone. Here’s the question: “Would it be preferable to ride 6 hours in one day with a day off following, or 2 days back to back …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Updated 2024 If you are an ultrarunner and you’re considering two-a-days or double days for your training, you’re going to want to read this first. Training twice in one day can have its place in ultramarathon training, but the practice should be used sparingly and in …
By Addison Smith, CTS Expert Coach Everybody sweats, but how we sweat is very individual. Sweat rates can be affected by your fitness level, how acclimated you are to the environment, and even the medications you’re taking. And the composition of sweat changes, too. If you learn more about your individual sweat response, you …
By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Performance is never just about fitness, or even determination. Your performance in specific events often comes down to how you use your energy. Many cyclists are used to riding 2-4 hours, but rarely get the opportunity to go really long and stretch themselves to 6+ …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning, author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” Determining fatigue and state of readiness has long been a holy grail for endurance coaches. Accurately gauging these aspects would allow athletes to push harder when they are more ready and back off when they are more fatigued. Among the dizzying …
by Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “Ride Inside“ and “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” Normalized Power® (NP) is a valuable training metric used to account for the variability of power output during different types of rides and races. It is also used in calculations for other common training metrics, including Training Stress Score, Intensity …