belated happy birthday to NYX Endurance
August 1st marked 3 years of NYX Endurance! We so appreciate all of you being on this journey with us – we very literally wouldn’t be here without you. And a very special shout-out to the twelve athletes who’ve been with NYX since day one. You know who you are – we do too. 😉
what to read / watch / listen to:
Coach Kristin:
Read: The International Society of Sports Nutrition released its official stand on nutritional concerns related to female athletes and it’s worth a read! There is a lot of technical information but the authors (including Stacy Sims, of course!) did us all a favor and summarized key recommendations for each topic, including how to maintain energy availability during the menstrual cycle, carbohydrate replenishment post-exercise, and recommendations on adjusting protein ingestion after training based on menstrual cycle considerations.
Listen to: I loved listening to the July 3 episode of The Rich Roll Podcast. He spoke with Cam Wurf and, though I’d heard the name and know he’s a pro triathlete and an elite cyclist, I didn’t know that he also competed as a rower for Australia at the Athens Olympics in 2004. He loves to train, and his affinity for exercising is very apparent, illustrating that you’ve got to love the process in order to be successful.
athlete win of the month:
Coach Shana: Vicki Briner
After Vicki completed her target 70.3 race in early June she wasn’t sure what was next. But she kept training all summer, getting the work in consistently just like she had earlier in the year. Her routine is to get the training done at the start of the day, before work. Those early mornings can be tough, but that consistency is like a superpower!
She ultimately decided to try an Aquabike. At the recent Boulder Sunset event she pushed hard and placed Women’s 2nd Overall. A well earned finish to her 2023 racing season!
what makes us better:
Coach Darbie: A Case for Having a Choice
Pacing is a large part of success in endurance sport. Studies have found that athletes, specifically in cycling to task failure, perform better when given more choice. This choice includes position and power output. As fatigue increases, our body naturally changes position and form to maintain efficiency. Natural fluctuations in power result in longer time to failure instead of being forced to hold power consistent. Psychologically, choice improves performance as well. “Choice or the anticipation of the opportunity for choice has been associated with increased activity of brain regions directly involved in reward processing” which in turn can increase the psychophysiological capabilities of the athlete.
In summary, allowing for more natural fluctuation in pace, power, and position instead of strict adherence to set metrics might help you hack into your potential and give you a mental boost to push harder as well.
did you know?
Coach Julie: Strava Paid Members get 1 year of free Sunday's Insurance
You MUST activate the insurance for it to take effect.
Device damage : $600
If your Strava-compatible fitness device is damaged as a result of an accident while tracking your cycling activity on Strava, we’ll give you up to $600 to repair or replace it. (NOTE: Device must be less than 2 years old)
Taxi fare: $50
We’ll reimburse you up to $50 for taxi fare if you’re left stranded due to a bicycle accident or mechanical failure.
Running race entry fee: $100
Missing a running race due to an illness or injury is frustrating, but at least now your entry fee won’t go to waste. We’ll pay up to $100 to cover these costs.
*Note after 1 year it will auto renew and you will be charged
random musings:
Coach Alison: Where are all my MP3s?
I just read a spectacular review of the new Coros Pace 3, a full-featured (as in: ALL the necessary triathlon features) multisport watch for only $230. TWO HUNDRED THIRTY DOLLARS. The review was positive enough – and some specific details of the watch tempting enough – to have me reconsidering my decade-long loyalty to the Garmin ecosphere. The one drawback: it does have music, but instead of the music being app-based, it’s mp3-based. As in, you connect your watch to your computer and transfer mp3 files.
Which made me wonder: what happened to all that music I bought on iTunes in the 2000s? And do I still have the iPod that I bought to replace the one that went in the washing machine before I got my Garmin-with-music watch? If so, does it matter that I likely cannot update the playlists since I don’t know what happened to all my music on iTunes? And what charging cord does an iPod use, anyway?!
More (or less?) practically: is it crazy to have TWO triathlon watches, one for running with music and one for all the other things? For only $230, I’m thinking not so crazy.
meet a COACH:
Teammate: Coach Kristin resides in Boulder, CO with her husband Michael, their 3 month old daughter Mara, and their English Springer Spaniel Lainey
- Favorite race: Ironman Boulder and Grandma’s Marathon… likely because of the scenery and I have PRs at those races 😉
- Walk-out song: Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve
- 3 Words that family/friends would use to describe you: (as listed by my sister) Motivated, strong, intentional
- Worst style choice you’ve ever made: Wear testing a race kit that looked sick but ended up cutting into my legs so bad I still have scars from it
- If you could have an unlimited supply of 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? (besides chocolate and more time to work out, obviously): On-demand childcare (so I have more time to work out!)