My thought is that anyone that violates the anti-doping rules set forth by any particular group should be caught whether in first or last. It should be a level playing field for everyone involved based on the governing body’s regulations. I don’t agree with all things the governing bodies do but I have faith that the intent works fairly. It’s great to see that former 400 lb person finish a grueling event but if it was dirty, it was dirty.
@Nate_Pearson brought up an interesting point about cycling renewal of an athletes membership to work around doping. First thought, stop allowing that somehow…question is how, require being in a doping pool for a longer period before their first competition after the initial membership ended? Second thing that came to mind in a strange way, Dr. Rachel McKinnon.
Interesting that my A Race is based on the same premise as Chad’s “outcome-ish” goal – I got a good result w/o putting out that much power, therefore if I put out more power…
I “trained” for 3 months last season and my Nat. TT result put me in the bottom of the P/1/2 (which was were my w/Kg said I should be). I calculate if I can raise my power by 15% and lower my CdA by 10%…
I should be able to do both with 5 more months of TR training and that goldmine Specialized podcast!
Great podcast as always fellas. I listened as I was working through the Clark workout on SSB mid volume.
Following on from the earlier talk about strength training, and then the section about rest weeks got me thinking…
Following the advice I picked up in previous podcasts about incorporating weight training with cycling, I’ve been doing the StrongLifts 5x5 workouts three times a week, usually in the evenings after completing TrainerRoad workouts in the morning. So what should I do during a rest week?
I cant comment on the carbon steerer, but I use the pump with the EDC inside it, and it’s no harder to pull the EDC out and get the multitool out than it would be to unzip your seat bag and dig around for it in there.
Reduce volume but keep the weight the same. This is what people do in a “de-loading” week in weight training.
Maybe do one set of five reps and call it good.
Some people like to just reduce the weight of what they are lifting but I’d like to see a large reduction in volume. Maybe in volume and weight in a cyclists choice. I’m not really sure if there’s a “proven” way for this.
We do have +1, +2, and +3 versions of a lot of our workouts if you have more volume and another interval set but this could be a cool feature! I’ll post this up in our feature-request channel for review!
I appreciated the Kanza discussion. The 200 is my A race for 2019; I already have an entry. Based on anecdotal evidence around me, the number of people using TR to prepare for stupid long endurance events like this or bikepacking is growing. It’s great hearing about pacing with power for these kinds of efforts.
FWIW I was using TR for workouts without a solid training plan or a good pacing strategy when I finished DFL in 2017 in 20 hours 59 minutes, & DNF’d in 2018. I’m sticking to the plans & should be finishing the Century mid-volume right before the race in June. My goal is to get through it in 18 hours. I’m currently at 2.78 watts/kg.
DK200 is truly a unique & amazing event. It would be great to see the TR team on course!
@Jonathan and @chad touched on a area of tension in dealing with dopers that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. Particularly, I took one of Jonathan’s points to be that he has some discomfort with the “pitchfork” reaction from other athletes and the cycling (or triathlon) community when someone gets punished for doping. I also understood Chad’s response to be that dopers deserve what they get because they knowingly broke the rules, and thus he has no sympathy for them.
I’ll try not to bury the lead and just say, I’m with you Jonathan. The trash talk, the personal insults, the total lack of sportsmanship that’s on display when it comes to dopers who are caught doesn’t sit well with me either. For me, the reason it doesn’t sit well is that it’s got the flavor of mob justice. As I understand it, we have sanctioning bodies and anti-doping authorities that make rules regarding performance enhancing substance use, and those rules also prescribe the penalties/punishments for violating those rules. Athletes who get caught under those rules end up with a punishment based on those same rules. I have a pretty high level of comfort with that approach to enforcement and punishment.
However, over the last few years, it seems that even after an athlete serves whatever punishment he receives under the rules, other athletes and stakeholders in the sport feel like they have carte blanche to treat those folks like garbage. There’s no thoughtful relationship between the verbal abuse being doled out and the original infraction. Put differently, no one seems to care if the punishment fits the crime at that point. I’m also really uncomfortable with the possibility that the reason folks like to trash athletes caught doping is for some personal catharsis.
I could keep going on the reasons that the “pitchfork” approach doesn’t sit right with me, but this is going to spiral way beyond the length of a normal forum post if it hasn’t already.
To Chad though, I hear you, man. These people cheated and got caught and I totally agree that no one needs to sugar coat that or give those people a pass. They should be punished, for lots of reasons like deterrence, just desserts, and to demonstrate to the rule followers that fair play isn’t taken for granted. But, I just don’t think the punishment should be a free for all of abuse from other athletes and stakeholders. And if the problem is that the types of punishments coming out of USADA, WADA, etc. don’t fit the crime, and that’s why the cycling community feels the need to pile on after the suspensions have been doled out, then let’s focus on tuning the punishments prescribed under the rules to better fit the cheating.
Just finished listening to this podcast and I was a little surprised by the discussion on doping that was had. I believe USADA have it right when they say “every athlete has the right to compete on a clean and level playing field, free from the pressures and influences of performance-enhancing drugs”. As such I believe it is every athlete’s responsibility to report any know doping violation whether the doped athlete comes first or last. It is USADA (or whatever sanctioning body applies) responsibility to make the decision as to whether the doping violation is serious enough to merit sanction or not, not yours. If athlete’s require medication and still wish to compete then the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) process applies. The TUE process is clearly defined on the USADA website and can be completed on line.
While I understand mistakes can occur; contaminated supplements, meat etc it is every competing athlete’s responsibility to comply with the rules and ignorance is not an excuse. It is no (and should not be) different to the laws of the country you live in - if you turn a blind eye then you are seen as complicit and ignorance of the law is no defence.
Maybe a bit black and white but I do see two types of cheating, those who cheat just to get the benefit during the event (e.g. mechanical doping) and those who gain forever more (Physical changes mainly with drugs). All should be banned for a length of time and bans should continue for any period where they would benefit from the way they cheated.
Therefore those who have altered their body, which remains altered, with substance abuse should never be allowed to compete again. They are not on an equal playing field anymore and never will be, thus those athletes out there who have been banned and are now competing and fall under this, I can see why there are treated like garbage, IMO they shouldn’t be there and the system of allowing them there is wrong.
In the discussion about fixing punctures - the main reason to put it in the small ring is so that you can easily line up the cassette when putting the wheel back in. If you leave it somewhere mid block when you take the wheel out, it’s hard to remember exactly what gear you were in so putting the wheel back is harder.
I find it easier to shift down once I have taken the wheel out as there is no need to lift the rear wheel etc while changing.
Come on @Nate_Pearson, lights get washed in warm/hot water and darks in cold water . Your lights are getting dingy and your darks are getting faded! I bet @Jonathan is losing his mind with that statement!
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. Your lights are getting dingy and your darks are getting faded! I bet