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FEATURED BLOGGER: Alison Powers - Triple National Champion

Motivation

Alison Powers - Triple National Champion Now retired from racing, Alison Powers is the only person, in history, to win all three road discipline National Championships in one year (Road, Criterium and Time Trial - 2014). These go along with two previous national championships (Time Trial 2008, Team Pursuit 2008), 2 National Racing Calendar titles, and a 2nd place at the Leadville 100 mountain bike race (2013, 7:26hrs). Today she coaches road, cyclocross, and mountain bike skills clinics, and high performance race preparation and tactics. Learn more at alpcyclescoaching.com

Staying Fit. Staying Connected.

by Alison Powers

In the past two weeks, life has drastically changed. We’ve gone from excitement for the race season and ready to test our fitness and hard work, to being holed up at home and unable to see our friends and family. Our lives have been turned upside down.

Tagged: Inspiration Motivation Nutrition

Want to Improve as an Athlete? Find Your Self Confidence

by Alison Powers

"At a recent event, to talk about and grow women's cycling, I was asked what the biggest limiter I see that athletes have to overcome to achieve success. My thoughts went right away to things like; kids, a demanding job, lack of financial resources, living in a place that's challenging to get quality training, etc. But the more I thought about it, I realized motivation can overcome hurdles like these."

Tagged: Coaching Inspiration Motivation

How to Get The Most Out of Your Off Season

by Alison Powers

Summer is winding down and many parts of the country have already seen a shift of weather, signaling the end of a long road season and for others the start of cyclocross season. Whether you take a break now from structured training and racing or do it after cross, it's important to get the most out of your off-season. This is where the biggest gains can be made.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation

SBT GRVL: Dialing in the Final Details

by Alison Powers

Triple national champion Alison Powers prepares for the premier Colorado event SBT GRVL, a 141-mile race with 100 miles on dirt/gravel roads.This close to a big event, it isn’t really about the bike or the training anymore.

Tagged: Events & Races Gravel Motivation SBT GRVL

SBT GRVL: To Rest is to Recover

by Alison Powers

Triple national champion Alison Powers prepares for the premier Colorado event SBT GRVL, a 141-mile race with 100 miles on dirt/gravel roads.

Tagged: Events & Races Motivation Racing Tips SBT GRVL

SBT GRVL: A Week to Go

by Alison Powers

Triple national champion Alison Powers prepares for the premier Colorado event SBT GRVL, a 141-mile race with 100 miles on dirt/gravel roads.

Tagged: Events & Races Gravel Motivation Racing Tips SBT GRVL

SBT GRVL: Getting Everything Dialed

by Alison Powers

Today was my last big/hard training ride before SBTGRVL. The last day to get everything dialed in. I tried a different approach with my dynamic warm-up and activation this morning. Since I did core yesterday, I felt pretty “activated”, but tight.

Tagged: Events & Races Inspiration Motivation SBT GRVL

SBT GRVL: 4 Weeks to Go!

by Alison Powers

I used to be a full-time professional athlete. So, in my opinion, my training thus far has been just "ok". To some, it would be quite good, but because I know what it's like to train 100% for an event, I know I have not done what should be done (I have yet to get a ride longer than 4.5 hours and have no plans to pre-ride the course).

Tagged: Events & Races Motivation SBT GRVL

Summer Cycling Motivation

by Alison Powers

It’s finally summer time. The weather is nice and the days are long. However, for many bike racers, June is a tough month, motivation wise. Early season races have come and gone, goals have either been met or not quite achieved, you pretty much know how your season is going to turn out.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation Training Tips

Team Bonding, Exiting Your Comfort Zone, and Views, Views, Views

by Alison Powers

"We Alp Cycles Women's Racing Team headed to Leadville, Colorado for #alpfatcamp - three days of fat biking, Nordic skiing, yoga, and team bonding. Some teammates were meeting for the first time, and others were completely new to fat biking and Nordic skiing. At 10,000ft with cold temps and new equipment, we were all in for a great adventure."

Tagged: Coaching Motivation

The Limiter

by Alison Powers

"I'm 100% sure I can't do this." I told the yoga instructor after she showed us the next pose we were supposed to get into and hold. With tight shoulders and a delicate elbow, I was sure that my body would not get into or like the pose. The nice instructor came over and, in less than a minute, I was in the pose doing something I was convinced my body couldn't do and it actually felt good.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation

What Does Team Mean in Cycling and Life?

by Alison Powers

Riders who, in my mind, were on better teams, who had better equipment and who being provided better opportunities, were beating me. After years of pushing back weakness, I had no idea I was the one holding myself back. Relying on myself was causing me to not grow as an athlete or teammate- and thus as a person.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation

The Art of Being Prepared

by Alison Powers

The art of being prepared comes down to one simple thing—no surprises on race day.

Preparing for race day is more than training and recovery. Success on race day requires precise preparation. This means the things you can control should be dialed in, ready, and give you confidence to have the best performance possible.

“Fail to prepare and prepare to fail”—famous quote by someone who inspires people to get their sh*t together.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation Training Tips

Quality Over Quantity

by Alison Powers

For most of us, we don’t have 15-25hrs each week to train and ride our bike. We have to make the most of what time to train we have. For this reason each training ride or workout session must be quality. The secret, then, is knowing if your ride or workout really was good quality, or if you were just going through the motions.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation Training Tips

Turn Strong Into Powerful

by Alison Powers

Over the past 4-6 months, many of us have spent time in the gym, or home gym, strength training. We're making our cycling bodies strong, well rounded, and ready to hammer out a strong and long lasting cycling season. However, no matter how strong you are in the gym, it doesn't necessarily translate into a fast bike rider. In order to make that strength transition to the bike, you need to transition those strong muscles to powerful and quick muscles.

Tagged: Coaching Motivation Training Tips

Strength Training, Cyclists & DOMS

by Alison Powers

After spending 4 hours re-creating our Off Season Strength Program last month, I was sore. My glutes, upper back, and hamstrings all had signs of DOMS. DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) is a common result of physical activity that stresses the body...

Tagged: Coaching Motivation Training Tips

How to Stay Motivated for Racing in the Summer Months

by Alison Powers

“Before training for Goal #2. it’s really important to take a mid season break.” by Alison Powers, ALP Cycles Coaching It’s finally summer time. The weather is nice and the days are long. However, for many bike racers, June is a tough month, motivation wise. Early season races have come and gone, goals have either […]

Tagged: Motivation

What Does it Take to be the Best?

by Alison Powers

“For me, my hard work, focus and sacrifice were 100% every day.” by Alison Powers, ALP Cycles Coaching While visiting my parents a few weeks ago, my Mom asked me to clean some of my old stuff from the closet. I found many notebooks of old training logs, on snow training plans, workout ideas, and […]

Tagged: Motivation Training Tips

How to Stay Motivated for Racing in the Summer Months

by Alison Powers

My favorite way to keep training fun is to ride different bikes. by Alison Powers, ALP Cycles Coaching It’s finally summer time. The weather is nice and the days are long. However, for many bike racers, July is a tough month, motivation wise. Early season races have come and gone, goals have either been met […]

Tagged: Motivation

New Year’s (Bike) Resolution

by Alison Powers

‘Tis the time of year for us to make New Year’s resolutions… by Alison Powers, ALP Cycles Coaching How about making this year’s resolution about your bike riding? Pick one thing that you know you need to do to make yourself a better bike rider and/or faster bike racer. This one thing usually isn’t something sexy […]

Tagged: Motivation

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