Set S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals for the 2023-24 Ski Race Season
Goal setting is a simple and practical mental tool you can use to maintain a high level of motivation in your ski racing. For some very elemental reason, people respond to goals in a very deep and personal way. The experience of setting a goal, working toward a goal, and achieving a goal has a […]
Read MoreNow is the Time to Start Your Mental Training for Ski Racing
It happens every winter. In December, January, and February, I get calls from national team athletes and parents of young racers who are struggling mentally in their ski racing, and they have big races coming up. They want me to somehow fix them quickly. Though I think I’m pretty good at what I do, I’m […]
Read More
2023-24 Ski Race Season Has Already Begun!
Yes, the 2022-23 race season is over and you are looking back at it with either pride or disappointment. Whichever emotion you feel, please do feel it (deeply) for a little while, then put the past behind you and turn your gaze to the future, meaning next season. Being the best ski racer you can […]
Read More
Great Review of The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology
Road.cc, the highly respected cycling website, just published a very complimentary review of my latest book, The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology, co-written with Mark Beaumont, the world’s greatest adventure cyclist. Highlights of the review: Insightful read for both recreational and competitive cyclists, combining theory and real-life examples Well structured – split into manageable sections […]
Read More
Lessons Learned from Last Season That Will Make You Faster Next Season
With COVID-19 in our rearview mirror this past race season, ski racing in the U.S. and worldwide returned to some semblance of normalcy, with training and race opportunities again in abundance. Unfortunately, at the same time, another global problem, namely, climate change, has made training and racing more challenging, with too much snow in the […]
Read More
I Practice What I Preach: Tempering Expectations
Let’s begin with an exercise: I don’t want you to think about a pink elephant. What did you do? Well, you thought of a pink elephant, of course. But don’t think about a pink elephant, don’t think about a pink elephant, don’t think about a pink elephant! Does that help you not think about a […]
Read More
I Practice What I Preach: Listen to Your Mind
In two recent posts, I discussed the training and race situations in which you want to listen to your body and when you want to ignore your body. In this article, I’m going to share with you some ideas about listening to your mind. I’ve just finished my fifth week of a six-week high-volume, high-intensity […]
Read More
I Practice What I Preach/Psychology of Sports Technology: My Latest FTP Test
This article offers you a “two-fer!” I will describe my own personal experience with bike fitness testing while also highlighting the psychological benefits of the technology behind it. I’ve been doing FTP testing for three years now. Since beginning to work with my coach, Dr. Greg Rhodes, the last two tests involved a more sophisticated […]
Read More
I Practice What I Preach: Our Love/Hate Relationship with Training
It’s 5:15am. It’s cold (around 42 degrees), still dark, and I can hear the rain pummeling the roof of my house. I have a challenging swim workout planned (6×75, 5×200, 8×50 hard) at the local outdoor pool. How much do I want swim at this moment in time? Well, you can probably guess. This experience, […]
Read More
I Practice What I Preach: Mental Marginal Gains
In my last segment of my “I Practice What I Preach” series, I explained that you don’t always want to listen to your body when you’re training and racing. The reality is that, if you did, you would slow down or stop when you started to experience high perceived effort or exertion pain. Instead, you want […]
Read More