The Longest Walk In Sports
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 11:30AM When I played Professional Golf I learned a very important lesson. The toughest challenge was walking from the practice tee, to the first tee! More about that later.
The other morning in our Computrainer Studio, one of our coached athletes had a kick ass workout. She was excited about all the hard work she had done and her level of fitness which has improved immensely over the winter. She said after her workout "I am going to get out on the roads this spring and surprise a lot of my friends I rode with last year". Instantly I thought back to my competitive days playing golf and my (sometimes unhappy) realization that while hard work and practice do pay off, there is no substitution for the real thing!
Without being de-motivating or deflating to this athlete, I asked her if we could spend a moment to chat about the transition from inside to outside. She agreed and we talked for quite a while. I related my story and explained that she should do some rides outside and to capitalize on all the hard work shes done she should take a few rides to ease into the outdoor season. Specifically I spoke about the static nature of her bike on the trainer; the recruitment of different muscles outside; and the uncontrolled environmental conditions of wind/heat/cold/humidity which would play into performance for the first time since last fall! The good news is that it just takes your body a bit of time to get used to riding outside for the hard work to pay off in spades. It will not happen the first ride for sure!
I told her its a long walk from the Computrainer Studio to the open road, just as it is from the batting cage to home plate; the swimming pool to the lake; the track to the road; or the practice tee to the first tee!
Don't get discouraged if your first outdoor ride isn't your best. Set realistic expectations and give your body a chance to acclimatize itself to the new environment and you will be amazed at how great you do!
Safe riding and see you out on the road.
Reader Comments (1)
Good blog, Al. I've been training in the winter and riding mountain bikes in the summer for many years now. Every year on my first mountain bike ride outdoors, it never fails but surprise me how hard it is. I'm exhausted at the end of the ride and left wondering about all that good training I did over the winter. Where did it go? Your body and mind need to adjust to the conditions outside. There is so much more to think about and deal with than in any training session. Luckily, the adjustment is quick and after 2, 3 or 4 rides your training kicks in again and really starts to pay off.