Enhance Your Weaknesses! Vol 4 1/2: A parody

A parody of my last post by my friend, Eric Hankins – teacher extraordinare and one of the funniest people I know. Too bad I can’t post the original – alas here’s the toned down version.
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Enhance your Weaknesses, Vol. 197
 
As time goes by, I find myself contemplating what it takes to be a failure as an [...]

Race Your Strengths! Vol. 4

(Vol 4: Rewind – this post is the latest in a long sequential story: Parts 1 through 3 chronicled my testing failures as an aspiring Olympic athlete in my first full time training camp in 1990 with the national speedskating team. As a reminder, here were the “tests” and my “grades.”)
 
Test #1 – Heavy Training: [...]

Race Your Strengths! Vol. 3

Next up, Tests #4, 5, 6: Max Squats, Vertical Leap & Max Power (Wingate Test)
 
Flashforward – 1 year to 1991. Back at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for another camp. The Junior World Cycling Championships are taking place at the same time, and I catch up with cycling friends Jessica Grieco and George [...]

Race Your Strengths! Vol. 2

Colorado Springs, July 1990 continued…
 
Tests #2 & 3: Body Fat & VO2 Max
 
Over the coming days I eventually recovered from that initial breakdown from the heavy training and started to rejoin the competitive fray in the workouts. Sprints, jumps, reaction drills, low walks, lunges, hamstring curls, hip sleigh, bike rides, inline skating, weights, circuit training, “fartlechs”, stairs, [...]

Race Your Strengths! Vol. 1

Race Your Strengths! Vol. 1
 
THE core principle of the Walden school of thought: more than just a ‘race rule’, this is the essential philosophy of my coach Mike Walden’s approach to training – and to life.
 
What I didn’t know is that this refrain would serve as a protective layer from the good intentions and unintended [...]

Walden Race Rule #4: Get into Position to Win.

Walden Race Rule #4: Get into Position to Win.
This principle is really the predecessor to Race Rule #3 – “Win it at the Line”.  You can’t ‘win it at the line’ from 60th place. 
So, what are the key mechanisms that enable the Walden rule of “Get into position to win?”
1)      Shift down. This [...]

Walden Principle #2: Racing is the best Training (Sleeping in a Haystack)

 
 
 
Racing is the Best Training  – or, Sleeping in a Haystack
 
Spring 1990.
 
Life was golden: A senior at a northern California University , I was enjoying the sun and elegant architecture of campus life in California and reveling in my lot as an upperclassman close to graduation. I was in love with my remaining classes in [...]

Walden Race Rule #3: Win it at the line!

Race Rule #3: Walden says: “Win it at the line!” 

Translation: in a sprint finish, master the timing required to come around or just get caught at the finish line.
The Science:
1) As the level of competition increases – from local to state to national to international, the differences in abilities between riders becomes more compressed, and winning [...]

Walden Race Rule #2: Shift Dammit!

Race Rule #2: Walden says: “Shift down at the bottom of the hill, Shift up before the top!” 
Translation: always, (always!) “be in the right gear.” Another shouted Waldenism full of meaning.  
The Science:
1) shifting under massive torque results in mechanical failures (translation – shifting while pedaling hard may result in dropping, breaking or tangling your [...]

Walden Race Rule #1: Get on a wheel!

Race Rule #1: Walden says: “Get on a wheel!” 
A variation: “Close the gap!”
Translation: Always, (always!) “Be in the draft.” (unless trying to break away, or trying to win the final few meters of the sprint).
Like all of Walden’s pithy phrases, there can be an entire art and science to discover the full meaning behind [...]