Women Empowering Women – Ready to Ride Top Tips
Cycle The WAVE is an amazing women’s ride against violence, benefiting The WAVE Foundation. I am grateful to have been asked to speak at their event at the University Village, Seattle Athleta store this past week. I wanted to share with you, some of what we discussed. Many new and experienced riders are getting Ready to Ride, Cycle The WAVE and we want to make sure they are ready for this wonderful event.
I have had the opportunity to coach all levels of cyclists and triathletes for several years now, and it brings me such joy to empower all ages of women and girls, to overcome fears, create and achieve life changing goals. When I think about those who are getting Ready to Ride & Accomplishing new Goals there are a few simple tips that come to mind I would like to share with you.
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Celebrating Women – Fueling AMAZING
With Seattle ATHLETA and Cycle The WAVE
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Ready to Ride & Accomplishing Your goals – Women Empowering Women!
Trust your Equipment: Before beginning any longer ride or event make sure that your bike is tuned up, safe and ready to ride. Tires, brake pads, chains and cables need to be replaced when worn. Your chain needs to be lubed every ~100 miles. It isn’t worth your life, or injury to ride anything unsafe. Take the time to get it check it out!
Get out and Ride: Time on the saddle is often underestimated. It doesn’t mean that you have to go fast or even put in a certain amount of time on each ride. Even starting with 10, 30, 60 minutes works, just that you are out on your bike getting used to riding for longer times.
Fix-A-Flat: Know how to change your own flat “tube”. Even if you aren’t completely comfortable doing this, carry all the supplies with you to do so. Then someone can stop and help you, if you ever are in need. But take a class, and practice it a few times a year, so you are ready when you need to be! Click here for step by step printable instructions.
Training Plan: Choose the distance that you are training for and make sure you are getting in two shorter intervals rides during the week and use your weekends or day off, for your longer endurance ride. You can even ride indoors on a trainer if you don’t like inclement weather. Start where you can and add mileage each week until you are able to ride the distance, by your goal date.
Nutrition: While you are riding most cyclist need to consume 200-300 calories per hour (mostly carbohydrates and easily soluble glucose) to prevent you from “bonking”. After ~2.5 hrs of riding, you need to add some protein into your fueling, but no fiber. Too much fiber or protein will slow down your system requiring your stomach to use more blood supply for digestion taking it away from much needed muscles and increasing your rate of fatigue. Not to mention giving you a stomach ache or worse.
Electrolytes: Are a combination of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and phosphate. You need to replace these during and after exercise, to eliminate dehydration in your body. On warm days I use the rule, 1 bottle of water per hour, and best if you can add electrolyte replacement tablet (such as Nuun) into your bottle. Easy and tastes great too! Cooler days you can get away with less, but make sure to keep up with your hydration.
Community: Ride with Friends. If you don’t know anyone else who enjoys what you do. Find a local group or team to train with and get out and meet new people. Training with friends is also great for accountability to make sure you are getting your rides in. There is nothing better than enjoying greater fitness with others.
Have Fun: If you road a bike as a child you remember the freedom it gave you and the carefree nature that you road. Once a week, ride for fun. Look at the trees, look at our beautiful lakes and water ways, enjoy the sound of birds, and breathe in the fresh air. Ride for the fun of it, with no speed requirements, just pure joy.
Visualize Your Goal: When we close our eyes and see ourselves crossing a finish line, ascending a challenging hill, accomplishing a new distance, or completing a big ride – we then have a greater sense of Belief that we CAN truly accomplish our goal. Know your reason “WHY” you set your goal. What will it give you? How will it make you feel? Don’t underestimate the power of Believing in yourself. You are an ATHLETE, now start Living like one!
“What would YOU do if you knew you could not fail?” – Schuller
I hope you will join my 12yr old daughter and I, at Cycle The Wave this September 14th in Bellevue, WA, where each of us can make a difference in a woman’s life. A woman who currently doesn’t feel strong, confident, inspired or loved. But we can help. Woman to Woman, Athlete to Athlete
Have questions or comments about this post or want more information on coaching with Mary? Send her a message!
EVERYONE deserves to truly LIVE ALIVE FIT!
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