Mikaela Shiffrin has Raised the Bar for Everyone
Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed quite a bit of concern expressed in the ski racing community about whether Mikaela Shiffrin, the G.O.A.T. of alpine ski racing, still “has it.” She was beaten in two of the first four World Cup events this year (including an uncharacteristic 6th in the opening GS in Soelden […]
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Effortless Swimming podcast: 3 Mental “Muscles” to Maximize Training and Race Performance
I was recently invited by Brenton Ford for a return visit (see my previous four previous visits here) to the Effortless Swimming podcast on YouTube. If you’re not familiar with Brenton, he is a rock star in the swimming world with a following of almost 300,000. His instructional videos break down swim technique so that […]
Read MoreRace Like You Train or Train Like You Race?
One of the first questions that I ask racers and coaches I work with is: Should you race like you train or train like you race? By far, the most frequent response is: You should race like you train. This answer seems perfectly reasonable if you think about it. When you train, you’re relaxed, feel […]
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I Practice What I Preach: Preparing for the 2024 Triathlon Season
Note: I’m pleased to co-author this article with my exceptional coach, Dr. Greg Rhodes. Greg is Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology and an accomplished age-group endurance athlete in his own right. How you perform next season depends on what you do between now and then. The fitness gains you make and the technical, tactical, and mental […]
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I Practice What I Preach: Reflections on the 2023 Triathlon Season…And Getting Ready for 2024
My 2023 triathlon season is now officially over. After the World Championships in Spain in late September, I had several races on my schedule leading to the end of this year, but I just wasn’t feeling them. So I decided to relax for a month or so (that doesn’t mean not training!) and just do […]
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8 Reasons Why an Injury Can Make You a Better Triathlete (and Person)
What two things do these triathletes have in common: Lucy Charles-Barkley, Jan Frodeno, Kat Mathews, Taylor Knibb, Sam Laidlow, Ruth Astle, and, well, Jim Taylor (athletic giftedness is not one of them for the last guy on the list!)? They all have sustained serious injuries that kept them away from our sport for an extended […]
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Don’t Do These Five Things in Your Ski-race Training
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over my many years in our sport as a racer and as a mental coach, and one that many young racers don’t seem to get, is that training really does matter. Too often, I see racers pretty much wasting their time in training; all the things that are […]
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Should You Follow Live-Timing When Your Kids Race?
This article is my third and final in a series on the role of technology in ski racing (here’s #1 and #2). Today, I will focus on one particular technology that has become ever-present in our sport and is changing the way parents (and kids) follow races. I’m talking about Live-Timing, an online platform that […]
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Dr. Jim Taylor on The Daily Tri Podcast with Travis Mundell
It was both an honor and a pleasure to have been invited by Travis Mundell to appear on his The Daily Tri podcast. Travis and The Daily Tri have quickly become a “must-watch” YouTube channel. In this episode we talk about, not surprisingly, the psychology of triathlon, what it takes to be a professional triathlete, […]
Read MoreDoes Tech Use Hurts Ski Racers?
I have a lot of pet peeves when it comes to ski racers when they’re training including leaning on their poles shortly before a training run (no intensity), chatting it up with teammates when they’re in the starting gate of a training course (no focus), and half-hearted effort to the first gate (easing into the […]
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