knee replacement

Knee Replacement Training Plan: One Year Post-Op Report

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer One year after a total knee replacement surgery on my right leg, and 21 months after surgery to replace my left hip, I am finally feeling strong and durable as a cyclist again. As I near my 63rd birthday, I know I am one of …

off season

Creating a Successful Off-Season or Transition Phase for Ultrarunners

  By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning “Where did all my fitness go?” When athletes invariably ask that question in January, our coaches and I typically point people back to the drop off in training hours they completed between September and December. It’s really a shame to see athletes let so much of …

How to Overcome Cyclists’ Top 6 Fears

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer There have been times in my life when I’ve envied athletes and coaches in stick-and-ball sports like baseball, football, hockey, and basketball. Even combat sports like boxing and mixed martial arts. There are risks involved in all of them, but they’re also safely ensconced in …

fall ultramarathon training

Take Advantage of These Fall Ultramarathon Training Strategies

  By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Fall is a transition season for many athletes. The hot, hurried and event-filled summer has wound down, ushering in the quiet, darker months of fall and winter. Autumn is a great time to enjoy and address many aspects of trail and ultrarunning, from testing new gear and …

ride faster uphill

Top 10 Ways to Feel Better and Ride Faster Uphill

  By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Over the years my coaches and I have written countless cycling workouts designed to increase riders’ fitness and power output for riding uphill faster. If you’re reading this blog you have probably done some of them, or something similar. But there’s a difference between being …

end of season review

End-of-Season Review: Are You Asking the Right Questions?

As  many athletes wrap up their competitive seasons, there’s a tremendous opportunity to comb through the year’s achievements and shortcomings. It’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. Each fall I set aside time for comprehensive season reviews with my athletes. This guided reflection process creates an historical reference, and it’s a key tool for really …

masters cyclist dean pierson

Fast, Fit, and Winning at 59: Meet Masters Cyclist Dean Pierson

  By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”, and “Ride Inside“ Dean Pierson knows the value of a strong foundation. His company, Culver and Pierson, builds top-quality homes throughout the Delmarva Peninsula (includes Delaware and some of Maryland and Virginia), and Dean applies the same attention to detail to …

utmb hug

Do You Have These Valuable Traits for Ultramarathon Performance?

  By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning For years I have wanted a fantasy football-style league for trail and ultrarunning (come on, you know you want one too). It would be fun, good for the sport, akin to the annual iRunFar Western States prediction contest that draws international acclaim and fun banter all …

failure into opportunity

Turning Failure Into Opportunity, with Sports Psychologist and Coach Neal Palles

  By Jim Rutberg with CTS Ultrarunning Coach Neal Palles CTS Coach Neal Palles is living proof that more knowledge doesn’t always improve sporting performance. In addition to coaching for CTS, Neal is a mental performance consultant and licensed psychotherapist and has earned a UESCA Coaching Certification for Ultrarunning. And yet, as an athlete he …

The Best Cycling Workout to Boost Late-Summer Speed

  By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Being a strong athlete and being a fast athlete are not necessarily the same thing. There are a lot of athletes who have great endurance and can maintain a hard and steady pace hour after hour. This is especially true late in the summer when athletes …