August 5Ks, and Overthinking Your Workouts?
And suddenly August is here! It’s been quite the summer for record-breaking racing (along with temps) and FOMO-inducing coverage of multi-sport events. From the track to trails, we’ve seen the mile world record, a fastest-ever Western States 100, and top performances at the infamous Badwater 135. Scenes from the Tour de France and Hardrock 100 have us itching for some adventure travel and energized to keep training. On now: Le Tour de France Femmes, and up next: all the glory of UTMB racing from Chamonix.
The Racecenter calendar lists events by sport, distance, and location to help find your next event. Reach out to have your event featured on the calendar and in our biweekly newsletters.
Upcoming 5K and 10K events in the Pacific Northwest
August 15 Twilight at the Bay 5K, 10K Tacoma, WA
August 22 Run the Night Glow 5K Spokane, WA
August 29 Stagecoach Run 5K, 10K Phoenix, OR
August 29 Bend Beer Run 5K Bend, OR
September 5 Painted Hills 5K, 10K Mitchell, OR
Are you overthinking your workouts, or relying heavily on devices and data to drive your training? Are you still having fun? A coach or simple training plan can help reduce questioning the process. Or, try going back to basics and ditching the heart rate monitor, GPS, power meter, or Strava - just for a while. Endurance sport is hard, and we love it for the challenges, but there should always be some FUN in there, too!
“Champions have a clear sense of what’s directly relevant to their performance, and what’s simply interesting, and they treat that difference as important. The modern world will always offer talented athletes a thousand things to engage with. Champions engage with far fewer of them, and instead do the fundamentals at the highest level.”
Overthinking Makes You Slower
“It can be easy to fall into the trap of excess in this sport. If you do, you may find that it isn’t as fun as the days when you were just getting started and riding that cheap bike and wearing the simple shoes. You don’t have to go all the way back to the basics, but it is possible that making things simpler in training and racing could lead to you having more fun.”
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Your Way To More Fun with Your Triathlon Training and Racing
“‘It can easily become paralysis by analysis,” said Mario Fraioli, a running coach in the Bay Area who works with athletes of all levels. “There’s an overwhelming amount of data, and people don’t know how to make sense of it or have a healthy relationship with it.’”
To Get More From Your Run, Try This Training Strategy
Our Favorite Gear: If you are a woman new to cycling or just having a hard time finding gear that fits and holds up over time, my number one piece of advice here is to invest in Velocio’s LUXE Bib Short and LUXE Ultralight Long Sleeve jersey. Yes, cycling bibs are like running shoes, very particular to unique individuals, but the fabric and drop-fly (so you don’t have to take off your jersey on a “nature break”) are extraordinary enough to recommend across the board. The Ultralight jersey has been a fantastic summer SPF top, bearable in Arizona’s 90-degree rides, and enough coverage for cooler fall temps. Velocio also offers Renewed items, which, if you choose the “like new” filter, often come with tags on, at half the price: The Renewed collection is a quality-controlled selection of revived, repurposed, and reconditioned apparel that is ready for a second life in the saddle. Extending the quality and durability Velocio is known for, Velocio Renewed answers the question of how to get the most from every piece.
