Chickleta - My SBRing and other Adventures

When outside mother nature is storming - it's cold, snowing or raining. The roads are covered with ice. The single-tracks are all muddy and the days are short. Do you really feel like going outside for a ride (if it's even possible)? Same goes for the hot and humid days of summer. Riding outside does not sound really inviting or conducive to a good interval workout. What's the solution? get on the trainer or roller and spin ourselves crazy on the way to nowhere? Recent development in the "Pain-Cave" World   Indoor riding creates negative connotations for many of us riders (myself included). It’s boring, it’s so much harder, mentally and physically. It’s monotonous, the heart rate is much higher and all of a sudden everything starts hurting due to sitting on the saddle in the same position for a long period of time. In the past I’ve written about how I survive the cold winter in the Midwest ( here ). This time I will expand on what I started there and will...

Winter: it's dark outside, rainy and cold, the sidewalks are covered with ice and puddles. You really don’t feel like heading outside for a run. Summer: it's 100F and 95% humidity. Running outside will be a nightmare. What's the alternative? The treadmill again - ouch, you think to yourself . I know what I need to do and I am just dreading the moment. I guess this is why it is nicknamed the Dreadmill.   Weather aside, running on the treadmill has its advantages. Many elite athletes now incorporate at least one weekly workout on the treadmill, even if the conditions outside are ideal. Why? The running surface is more forgiving than asphalt; It allows us to maintain a consistent and controlled pace which is optimal for interval work; You can use the incline when there are no hills to  be found outside, and so on. Using the treadmill correctly is KEY to maximizing  your training. Here are a few tips that I collected over the years on how to take the DREAD out of the MILL an...

Red Bull gives you wings, at least that's what the commercial say. Perhaps it's true, I don't know, as the Vodka that is mixed in usually creates the opposite effect on me. Running, however, gives me just that - wings, I mean. The freedom to discover new places, to disconnect from reality, find my zen moments. Finding the balance between the crazy pace of life in general and my work travel schedule. Those moments of sanity come among the different time zones, geographies and cultures that my work takes me to. For a billion Chinese, 2016 was the year of the Monkey, for me it was the year of the Travel. At least once a month, and in most twice - I found myself packing my suitcase and heading to the airport. Traveling for work is fun, at least in the beginning, but soon after it becomes just another routine, or more like routine killer. Messing up the day-to-day routine and even worse my training routine. So how do I maintain my training routine in my non-routinish life? ...