Weekend Reading: Results matter, and so does the journey

There are certain times of year when there’s a lot of work being done, but few results to seen. In the winter and the spring, athletes all over the country are working their tails off in interval workouts and long endurance sessions, frequently alone, with little to no recognition for their efforts. And there are other times when the results of that work come flooding in. This is that time of year, and it’s the most fun and fulfilling part of the year!

Leadville 100
Last weekend 56 CTS Athletes started the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race. By the end of the day, 54 of those athletes reached the finish line, and 52 of them finished in under 12 hours. That’s a 96% overall finishing rate, and a 93% finishing rate for under 12 hours. Twenty-four CTS Athletes earned the big gold belt buckle awarded for a sub-9hr finish, and 8 CTS Athletes stood on the podium on Sunday morning. The span of finishing times for CTS Athletes ranged from 6:36 (Cameron Cogburn in 4^th place overall and winner of the M2 division) to 13:10 (Fred Schmid, the first 80-yr-old ever to finish the Leadville 100). In recognition of everyone’s great achievements, I’ve posted the names, times, and coaches of all those CTS Leadville 100 Athletes further down in this weekend’s blog. Congratulations to everyone on an incredible effort!

Mara Abbott
Earlier this summer, CTS Athlete and Team Exergy pro Mara Abbott captured a really meaningful victory, a convincing win at the Giro Rosa in Italy. For those who are not familiar with the race, it is arguably the biggest stage race in women’s professional cycling, and as with the Giro d’Italia the winner earns a pink jersey. This was Mara’s second pink jersey; she earned her first in 2010. But her journey between 2010 and 2013 was full of twists and turns, and was anything but easy.

Many athletes think that wins solve all problems, much like the old saying in business that “profits fix problems”. But the truth is that success can sometimes lead to problems you never thought you could have. In Mara’s case, success opened the door to new opportunities to race bigger and bigger races, but the success was creating the pathway rather than her intrinsic goals. She struggled to find purpose in being a professional cyclist. She also struggled to put a voice to that conflict, and as a result it expressed itself through an eating disorder.

During the 2011 season, Mara lost a significant amount of weight. Already a very lean competitor, this weight loss gradually robbed her of the power necessary to perform at her best. It was – in a way – a form of self-sabotage. She grew weak enough that her performance suffered, and she decided to quit professional cycling at the end of the season.

CTS Coach Dean Golich has been her coach through her early career, during this period of turmoil, and in the years since. He worked hard to support her, steer her toward resources that were helpful for her, and made it clear that his first priority was her health and happiness – in or out of sport. Mara’s decision to return to cycling was purely her own and on her own terms, and the 2013 Mara Abbott is a happier, more confident, and more centered version of her old self.

To me, Mara’s story epitomizes the value of coaching and the perfectly illustrates the role of a coach. A coach has an athlete’s back through thick and thin. We cannot create anything that the athlete doesn’t already have, but through guidance, support, and inspiration we help athletes achieve goals they’re not always sure are within their reach. And out of all the things that coaches provide, I believe inspiration is the key. We believe in you. We see your potential and the pathway to achieving it. I’m proud to call Mara Abbott a CTS Athlete, not because of the pink jerseys she’s won, but because of the road we’ve walked with her along the way.

When Mara was in Colorado Springs recently, we asked her to sit down and talk about her experience with coaching. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch the video below, because Mara does a better job than I’ll ever do of explaining what coaching really is.

USA Pro Challenge Race Experience
Starting Monday, I’ll be on the road again, this time with the USA Pro Cycling Race Experience. Team CTS will be riding every stage of the race with a head start on the pro peloton. If we work cohesively as a team and we’re fast enough, we’ll make it to the finish line before being forced off the road by the chasing pro peloton. You can follow our progress on our social media channels and we’ll be posting video updates every evening. I hope our experience inspires you to apply to become “Bucket List Qualified” and join me for a Bucket List event later this season or join me for an even on the 2014 CTS Bucket List!

Here are those Leadville 100 results I talked about earlier:

Name Time Category Coach

Cameron Cogburn*   6:36 M2 (1st) Andy Applegate

Gerry Cody                 7:07 M3 Daniel Matheny

Ryan Geiger*              7:12 M1 (1st) Andy Applegate

Clayton Feldman       7:16 M2 CTS Coach

Rebecca Rusch*         7:35 F4 (1st) Dean Golich

Ricky Creel                 7:38 M2 Jason Tullous

Luis Creel*                 7:43 M1 (3rd) Jason Tullous

Brian Tallmadge        7:48 M4 Jason Simon

Alfredo Peralta          7:50 M4 Clayton Feldman

Shawn Harshman     7:56 M4 Jason Tullous

Andrio Abero             8:21 M3 Clayton Feldman

Morgan Murri*          8:21 MS (3rd) Jason Koop

Fernando Salazar      8:23 M4 Clayton Feldman

Kent Carlson              8:35 M4 Renee Eastman

Alvaro Lang                8:39 M4 Clayton Feldman

Gerry Forker              8:43 M5 Jason Siegle

Brian Vaughan          8:48 M4 Jane Rynbrandt

Ted Tapfer                 8:48 M5 Andy Applegate

Mike Hillenbrand      8:49 M4 Jim Lehman

Angelo Brunacini       8:50 M4 Nick White

Mike/Laura Morris* 8:50 TAN (2nd) Andy Applegate

Ben Swenka               8:53 M4 Jim Lehman

Neil Bremner                         8:56 M5 Jim Lehman

Todd Geer                  9:05 M0 Jane Rynbrandt

Stephen Lebovitz      9:09 M5 Adam Pulford

Rachel Beck                9:17 F3 Jane Rynbrandt

Jim Rutberg               9:24 M3 CTS Coach

Doug Brown               9:41 M4 Rebecca Kurtz

Federico Leon            9:41 M4 Charlie Livermore

Dennis White                         9:46 M5 Julia Gieschen

John Battista              9:50 M5 Jason Koop

Morris Denton           9:55 M5 Dean Golich

Julia Gieschen            9:57 F2 CTS Coach

Harold Alfaro             10:02 M4 Clayton Feldman

Tim Oreilly                 10:12 M4 Jason Tullous

Leah Zeringue           10:16 F2 Andy Applegate

Allen Yip                     10:31 M4 Jane Rynbrandt

Tom Pattee                10:34 M5 Jason Siegle

James Williamson      10:39 M4 Nick White

Mary Dannelley         10:42 F4 Jane Rynbrandt

Scott Dalecio              10:48 M5 Jason Tullous

Dallas Eakins                         11:03 M4 Dean Golich

David Rubenking      11:06 M5 Jane Rynbrandt

Doug Tice                   11:11 M4 Andy Applegate

Matt Culp                   11:12 M4 Renee Eastman

Michelle Thiry           11:14 F4 Natalie Bojko

Janelle Blessing         11:22 F4 Clayton Feldman

Erik Davis                   11:26 M4 Renee Eastman

Krista Baumgartner 11:26 F3 Julia Gieschen

Rick D’Amico              11:31 M5 Jane Rynbrandt

Aaron Georgelas        11:37 M3 Jane Rynbrandt

Jay James                   11:37 M5 Andy Applegate

Greg Duckworth        11:55 M4 Tristan Cowie

Faryar Shirzad           12:13 M4 Andy Applegate

Fred Schmid*             13:10 M7 (2nd) Kirk Nordgren

Matt Ford                   DNF M4 Renee Eastman

Charlynn Porter        DNF

*These athletes finished on the podium (top 3) in their category!

Have a Great Weekend,
Chris Carmichael
CEO/Head Coach
Carmichael Training Systems