My season has finished and I wanted to thank my training partners and pass along an old article from the NY Times, "To Train Harder, Consider a Crowd". To the pro-swim group, riding partners, P-Ride cyclists and running friends, thanks for making me faster! I could not have done it without you.
See everyone out there.
Group training is an aspect of performance that has never been scientifically studied. Exercise physiologists say it can be impossible to demonstrate its value because usually too many things change simultaneously when people start to run in groups: the coach, the location, the training regimen. To do a proper study, it would be necessary to assign athletes at random to train alone or with a group, assessing their performances after a period of time — something that would be extremely hard, if not impossible.
But despite the lack of solid evidence that group training helps, more and more athletes are starting to think it does. And, they say, there are lessons for amateurs who want to run or swim or cycle faster. The right workout companions, they say, can make all the difference.
“In sports, you need to train at race pace,” said Edward Coyle, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas at Austin. “To do that, you need a coach and you need teammates to push you.”
The article makes it simple, to go faster, train harder and train with a group.Recreational athletes can benefit, too, Dr. Coyle said. Many run by themselves or without a specific program. “They probably underestimate their ability,” he said. Group runs “would help them tremendously.”
See everyone out there.
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