The Long-Game: Endurance is Not the Place For Instant Gratification
It’s tempting to think differently, but there never has been and never will be a substitute for hard work, dedication, and consistency in sport.
But can you really blame us for trying? I mean, it’s everywhere we look… You can push a button and receive almost whatever you want, delivered to you, at your front door, by 4 o’clock. Need groceries? Push the button and you’ve got them! Need childcare? Download the app and push the button! Need new clothes? Go online and push the button. You get my point.
I’ll be the first to share my experience firsthand at this. I came into endurance sports pretty late in life and wanted to make up time by working extra hard at it. I learned, the hard way, that this simply doesn’t work. Muscles take time to develop. The composition of our blood takes time to change. Even our cells need time to morph into more efficient energy-producing structures.
We (coaches and the body of sport science) also never know how each individual athlete will respond to their workouts and training regimen. Sometimes, this can involve a bit of experimentation until we learn what works best. Most often though, the methodologies we use are based in science and what we know to be “tried and true”, but since we aren’t robots, a little trial-and-error can take place.
And on that note, it is true that science changes, and is yet another reason why I’m so excited to be a part of the cutting-edge era of women biohacking our hormones in sport. It was just in 2016 that Dr Stacy Sims released her book, ROAR, which, if you haven’t read, you should. Although she’s not the first to study hormones and how they function, she is the current lead researcher in the science of leveraging women’s hormones in fitness and sport. Come work with me and see what this methodology can do for you!
Talitha Vogt is a certified endurance and behavior change coach with an elite racing background. She has 22 years of experience as a mountain biker, including 13 total years of racing and other endurance events including Xterra triathlons, uncountable cyclocross races, a little dabbling in road racing, and even some trail running. She provides custom-tailored, accommodating coaching locally in the front range of Colorado and online internationally.