07/20/2026
*This was originally posted in May in our WRA coaching group.*
One of the hardest things as an athlete and coaching is having the confidence to back off for a few days or even a week or more.
It feels like we're failing if we can't squeeze in the workout or efforts. We beat ourselves up for not being disciplined or something.
So, we either get in a ride, and it isn't up to what standards we have for ourselves, so we feel like we're failing, or we miss/skip a ride, and then we feel bad for that.
Let's reframe it.
Aim to make yourself better every day. To do that, some days need to be rest and/or recovery. That has to happen. Sure, those days are built into your plan, but even with all the gadgets and widgets and bells, if training for bike racing isn't your main thing, IT ISN'T YOUR MAIN THING.
We know, we KNOW...you have a coach. You pay money. Your bike is expensive. Entry fees are expensive. And, dammit, you want to keep improving!
The coaching part of this, though, is that if squeezing in a ride adds more stress instead of takes some away, then you're better off missing that day. Oh, and we know that if it turns into 2 or 3 days missed, we beat ourselves up even more. But sometimes the world we have to deal with to be able to ride is just heavier than we can lift at the moment.
I don't mean to sound philosophical about it, but most everyone here is philosophical about getting the work done, so you need to be so about when you miss it.
And if you are seriously loaded with real world, serious stuff, then don't let cycling make those things even harder.
In my world right now, my wife is opening another store in another town, and while I don't have a lot of serious daily duties with the stores, I do help. And right now, there's big stuff happening at both locations, and of course, I have my job here that I'm not just serious about, I'm passionate about it. I can't not coach. Heck, I look at files and comments when at stop lights while driving somewhere. And I need to be there for her, just like she's there when I'm spent from training. It is a lot.
I have a surgery scheduled for Monday, and on top of everything else going on, I have to work ahead for a bit, because I have some necessary downtime next week...just as things are getting busier with the new store.
I'm feeling overwhelmed, and I still have so far to go to get where I want to be on the bike, and I can't even muster the mental juice to think about what workout I need to be doing (if I existed in a bubble).
Now, this isn't me saying to take a day off the bike because I've been off the bike, but if I have all of this going on and miss a ride or two or three, I'm not being lazy. You almost certainly aren't being lazy, either. And even if you were, THAT is something we can talk about from the coaching side of things. Good coaching is discussing why that is, and reshaping the goals, or more likely, just reworking the objectives to get to the goal and adjusting the timeframe.
You've probably heard me say, "work with grain." It is a woodworking term, but it can be applied anywhere. Sure, going against the grain can give you a Stoic type boost in a moment or so, but you can't lean on pushing yourself through life's fatigue. YES, you can push yourself and fight for it in a workout, but it needs to be a fight that you feel like you have a chance to win.
If you can't win the fight at all, it isn't a fight. It's an ass whuppin', and there's little in the way of merit of being in a fight where you only take hits and don't give them.
I'm leaning hard into metaphors now.
Something less than perfection isn't failure when we're talking about training for performance cycling.
Sometimes not riding, even for several days, IS the right thing.
Besides, you don't really lose anything over a few days, but you can set yourself back if you force a ride while real life is particularly heavy.
There's loving yourself by giving yourself grace to take the day off of the bike.
There's loving yourself by pushing to get out the door and on the bike.
But if you are angry or hating on yourself for a missed ride or workout, then that isn't benefitting you at all. If tough love isn't getting you out the door, it is abuse, not tough love.
Be a good teammate to yourself. Fire yourself up if that's what you need. Celebrate the small wins. But tearing yourself down or stressing over it all isn't going to make things better.
Talk. With. Your. Coach.
Love you all-
Christian
