180: Transformative Endurance Challenges

In 2021, four of us on the Fast Talk Labs staff—our producer Jana, Head Coach Ryan, Trevor, and me—chose an N1 Challenge. You’ve hopefully heard us speak about it previously on the show. It was meant to be an experiment of one—each of us—offering lessons for all, particularly you, the listeners.     Today, we explore that last bit, those “lessons for all” that each of us gained from our respective events. The most common term used to describe our events was “transformative...” That’s a big word. Yet, in each case, the adjective is appropriate. In the case of Jana, for example, it’s so appropriate that she up and moved to Spain and is traveling indefinitely, with her bike in tow wherever she goes.    Personal challenges, races, events of all kinds are meant to teach us not just how to train better or more effectively, to progress as athletes and hopefully people, but also to gain a greater understanding of what’s possible, what it means to be alive and healthy and able to do the things we love. That’s transformative. And that’s what we’ll discuss today.    One final note: Sadly, Trevor has had to call an audible several times on his N1 Challenge, after health issues and race cancellations disrupted his plans. Still, he learned lessons along the way that everyone can benefit from, and he shares those today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

The Fast Talk podcast offers the best guides to cycling performance and endurance sports training from world-class experts. Cohosted by cycling coaches and sport scientists Trevor Connor and Rob Pickels, Fast Talk episodes feature fascinating conversations with world-class experts discussing the endurance sports topics they know best: the best ways to train, effective workouts, questions on polarized and interval training, sports nutrition, physiology and recovery, and sport psychology. Fast Talk guests and regular contributors include Dr. Stephen Seiler, Joe Friel, Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, Sebastian Weber, Jim Miller, Dr. Andy Pruitt, Dr. Timothy Noakes, and elite professional athletes like Kristin Armstrong, Sepp Kuss, Brent Bookwalter, Kate Courtney, and many more. Fast Talk is part of Fast Talk Laboratories, a new endurance sports knowledgebase for endurance racers and adventurers.