Scribble Outside the Lines: How Imperfect Training Makes Faster Cyclists (#274)

OVERVIEWTimed-segment racing might be your new favorite competition format! Coach Adam Pulford and CTS Athlete Camilo Lopez discuss their experiences at Gran Fondo Maryland, which featured five timed-segments rather than a start-to-finish competition format. They reveal the key differences in effort level, physical demands, strategies, cycling skills, and even nutrition and pacing between timed-segment racing and start-to-finish racing. NOTE: The 2026 Gran Fondo National Series Calendar is live and registration is open for all six of their annual events, including the 2026 Gran Fondo National Championships.Topics Covered In This Episode:Demands of timed-segment racingDemands of traditional start-to-finish racingRace-winning strategies for timed-segment competitionsWhy timed-segment races are more inclusive for many ridersTraining for success in timed-segment racingTraining for success in traditional start-to-finish racingResourcesGran Fondo National Series: granfondonationalseries.comGran Fondue: BDF Grand Fondue | Dirty Kitten GravelTCC Durability PodcastGuest Bio:Camilo Lopez is an accomplished cyclist and triathlete and winner of the 2025 Gran Fondo Maryland Gran Route competition. He is a CTS Athlete coached by Adam Pulford.HOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWThe end of the summer cycling season is the best time to leverage a season's worth of fitness and training without the pressure of upcoming goals. It's the time when you can go have epic adventures, work on performance limiters, go hunting for Strava PRs and KOM/QOMs, complete end-of-season performance tests, and much more. Coach Adam Pulford helps you decide whether to take a break (some people need it, others don't), and how to make the most of the days when the weather is still warm and there's still abundant daylight.TOPICS COVEREDWhat to do if you still have energy and motivationHow to tell if you need time off instead of pushing throughExamples of late-season training challenges and adventuresASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTRESOURCESPodcast: Different Types of Field TestingTraining LimitersHOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWFollowing a training plan is better than training haphazardly, but how closely do you need to follow the letter of the plan? In Episode 274 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast", Coach Adam Pulford discusses the benefits and necessity of not following the plan to a T, when that’s ok, when it’s not, and how to adjust daily training sessions based on how you're feeling while still sticking to the vision and progression of a bigger plan.TOPICS COVEREDWhat flexibility means in endurance trainingExamples: hard day planned and don't feel greatExample: easy day planned and feel greatExample: had day planned and feel greatShould you push through a hard workout if you don't feel good?How to modify your workouts on any given dayAutonomy of trainingASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTRESOURCESRigid vs Flexible Training:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23881116/Planned vs Self Select: https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.02061?utm_source=chatgpt.comTime in Zone vs Just HIIT:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-018-3910-3Specific vs General Training Programs:https://sportsci.org/jour/05/amt-m.pdfHOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEW95% of the cyclists and runners coached by Sarah Scozzaro and Adam Pulford incorporate strength training. Scozzaro is one of our top strength and conditioning coaches and in Episode 273 she and Coach Adam discuss how cyclists should blend strength and endurance training throughout the year.Topics Covered In This Episode:How different endurance athletes leverage strength trainingHow strength training changes throughout the yearWhen to back off strength training volume during event/race seasonHow to reintegrate more strength training in the post-seasonResources for self-coached and time-crunched athletesResourcesStrength Training for Endurance Athletes: Key ExercisesHow to Program Strength Training: An Endurance Coach’s GuideGuide: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes » UESCAGuest Bio:Sarah Scozzaro is a CTS Pro Coach who specializes in strength training and  ultrarunning. A coach within the CTS High Performance Program, she is on the performance teams for Western States Champions Katie Schide and Abby Hall.  Sarah has her Masters's degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in performance enhancement and injury prevention. She has a long list of qualifications and certifications after her name, including being a National Strength and Conditioning Association certified personal trainer (NSCA-CPT) and National Academy of Sports Medicine performance enhancement specialist (NASM-PES).Guest Links:Coach Bio: https://trainright.com/coaches/sarah-scozzaro/IG: https://www.instagram.com/drtyrunner/Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWAlmost anywhere you go these days, you're likely to see someone walking, running, or climbing stairs wearing a weighted vest. Popularized by Crossfit boxes, mixed martial arts gyms, and boot camp-style exercise programs, “rucking” is a new name for the old concept of an “overloaded training intervention”. The question we get is whether training with a weighted vest (off the bike) will improve cycling performance. CTS Pro Coach Sarah Scozzaro, one of our top strength and conditioning coaches, breaks down the details of whether weighted training works for cyclists. Topics Covered In This Episode:Weighted Vests: Are they effective for:Increase Core Strength?Improve Strength-Endurance?Increase Bone Density?Improve VO2 Max?Increase Motivation?History of overloaded training interventions in cyclingSeparating strength from endurance trainingHow to use weighted vests safely How much weight to carryResourcesShould Runners Train with Weighted Vests? - CTSGravel Racing Gear Guide for Cyclists - CTSWeighted Vests Are Now A Fitness Trend. Here’s What You Need To KnowHydration Backpack Market Size | Industry Report, 2030Guest Bio:Sarah Scozzaro is a CTS Pro Coach who specializes in strength training and  ultrarunning. A coach within the CTS High Performance Program, she is on the performance teams for Western States Champions Katie Schide and Abby Hall.  Sarah has her Masters's degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in performance enhancement and injury prevention. She has a long list of qualifications and certifications after her name, including being a National Strength and Conditioning Association certified personal trainer (NSCA-CPT) and National Academy of Sports Medicine performance enhancement specialist (NASM-PES).Guest Links:Coach Bio: https://trainright.com/coaches/sarah-scozzaro/IG: https://www.instagram.com/drtyrunner/Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWCody Stephenson, the Education Program Manager at TrainingPeaks, is back on the podcast to talk about the current state of artificial intelligence in cycling coaching and how TrainingPeaks' developers are using models to improve the accuracy and usability of athletes' training data.TOPICS COVEREDA.I.'s current and future role in cycling coachingHow auto-updates of FTP work and when to pay attention to themAbout TrainingPeaks' Fueling Insights ToolTrainingPeaks Virtual: Ultimate Indoor Cycling App What's coming next from TrainingPeaksASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTGuest Bio – Cody StephensonCody grew up racing mountain bikes in Durango, Colorado where he developed a passion for endurance sports, science, math and technology. He switched to the road and track while racing for Fort Lewis College, where he also managed to get a couple of science degrees. Now he gets to write and talk about his favorite topics every day as Education Program Manager at TrainingPeaks. When he’s not helping coaches learn to leverage technology to reach their goals he’s trying to become as good of a mountain bike racer as he was when he was 13 years old.Resources:- Cody Stephenson LinkedIn- Articles: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-blog/how-to-coach-athletes-who-arent-racing/- CP W’ vs FTP alone- Analyzing FTP by Joe Friel- Power Training with WKO:- Why Train Submaximally? WKO Case Study - Targeting Specific PDC Improvements - Learning More about LLM’s and AIHOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWCody Stephenson is the Education Program Manager at TrainingPeaks, meaning he teaches coaches how to properly utilize training data to improve performance. He's the perfect sports scientist to discuss the similarities and differences between Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and Critical Power (CP), Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC) and W Prime, and how all these training metrics and methodologies relate to each other. Best of all, he and Coach Adam Pulford are pragmatists, so they explain the strengths and weaknesses of each, without bias or hidden agendas.TOPICS COVEREDIs FTP dead?What is Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC)?Explaining P MaxAre Critical Power and W Prime better than FTP and FRC?How to choose between FTP/FRC vs. CP/W PrimeWhy is "clean data" so important?ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTGuest Bio – Cody StephensonCody grew up racing mountain bikes in Durango, Colorado where he developed a passion for endurance sports, science, math and technology. He switched to the road and track while racing for Fort Lewis College, where he also managed to get a couple of science degrees. Now he gets to write and talk about his favorite topics every day as Education Program Manager at TrainingPeaks. When he’s not helping coaches learn to leverage technology to reach their goals he’s trying to become as good of a mountain bike racer as he was when he was 13 years old.Resources:- Cody Stephenson LinkedIn - Articles: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-blog/how-to-coach-athletes-who-arent-racing/- CP W’ vs FTP alone- Analyzing FTP by Joe Friel- Power Training with WKO: - Why Train Submaximally? WKO Case Study - Targeting Specific PDC Improvements  - Learning More about LLM’s and AIHOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWChristie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist and author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery. In Part 2 of her appearance on the "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast" we take a look at the evidence behind recovery scores from wearable fitness trackers. Christie also weighs in on the whether science supports the idea that older athletes need more recovery time. TOPICS COVEREDIs data from wearable sensors really accurate? Are "recovery scores" from fitness trackers accurate/meaningful?The effect of aging on recoveryThe benefit of stillness and relaxation for recoveryASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTGuest Bio – Christie Aschwanden:Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist. She was the lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight for many years and is a former health columnist for the Washington Post. A finalist for the National Magazine Award, her writing has appeared in Outside, Discover, Smithsonian, and Oprah Magazine. She’s also co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast about the creative process. She was a high school state champion in the 1,600-meter run, a national collegiate cycling champion, and an elite cross-country skier with Team Rossignol. She lives and occasionally still races in western Colorado.Read More About Christie Aschwanden:https://christieaschwanden.com/https://twitter.com/cragcrestBook Link – Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of RecoveryHOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWChristie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist and author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery. With all the hype and marketing dollars being thrown at recovery modalities like tart cherry juice, ketone supplements, ice plunges, and the timing of post-recovery meals, we brought Christie back to "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast" to take a look at the evidence behind the claims. Which recovery products work? How do they work and are they worth the expense? RECOVERY METHODS/PRODUCTS COVEREDTart Cherry JuiceIce plunges/Cold water ImmersionIs inflammation bad for athletes?KetonesPost-workout recovery windowASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTGuest Bio – Christie Aschwanden:Christie Aschwanden is an award-winning science journalist. She was the lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight for many years and is a former health columnist for the Washington Post. A finalist for the National Magazine Award, her writing has appeared in Outside, Discover, Smithsonian, and Oprah Magazine. She’s also co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast about the creative process. She was a high school state champion in the 1,600-meter run, a national collegiate cycling champion, and an elite cross-country skier with Team Rossignol. She lives and occasionally still races in western Colorado.Read More About Christie Aschwanden:https://christieaschwanden.com/https://twitter.com/cragcrestBook Link – Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of RecoveryHOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete

OVERVIEWWe receive a lot of listener questions, so we're batching a few of them together into one episode. In Episode 258 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast", Coach Adam Pulford and co-author of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist" book, Coach Jim Rutberg, rip through questions about the fear of descending, how to increase carbohydrate intake, preparing for big mountain days, and making the best of events when you're under-prepared.TOPICS COVEREDQuestion 1: How do I get over my fear of going downhill on a bicycle?Question 2: I understand I should increase carbohydrate intake on the bike, but how do I do it and how much should I consume?Carbohydrate scaling for different types of rides and racesQuestion 3: How do I prepare for a big ride (RAMROD: Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day) of 160 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing, more than half of it in the first 50 miles?Training by VAM (average ascent velocity) in elevation gain per hour.Long range vs. short range training Pacing and nutrition adviceQuestion 4: How should I make the best of an event if I'm going in under-prepared?ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCASTGuest HostJim Rutberg has been an athlete, coach, and content creator in the outdoor sports, endurance coaching, and event industries for more than 20 years. He is the Media Director and a coach for CTS and co-author of several training and sports nutrition books, including Training Essentials for Ultrarunning with Jason Koop, Ride Inside with Joe Friel, and The Time-Crunched Cyclist with Chris Carmichael. He writes for trainright.com and his work has appeared in Bicycling, Outside, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Velonews, Inside Triathlon, and on numerous websites. A graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology, Jim resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his two sons, Oliver and Elliot. He can be reached at [email protected] or @rutty_rides on Instagram.HOSTAdam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platformGET FREE TRAINING CONTENTJoin our weekly newsletterCONNECT WITH CTSWebsite: trainright.comInstagram: @cts_trainrightTwitter: @trainrightFacebook: @CTSAthlete