Robbie Ventura's Blog

Greetings Everyone,

This is VQ’s ten-year anniversary and I am blown away that VQ has grown to where it is today. I want to thank everyone who has ever touched VQ and a special thanks to the VQ staff who make this place run better and better every year.

I started this business back in 2000 when I wrote a training plan on the back of a napkin for EJ Lenzi while we were training together in Lake Geneva. I was still racing for Saturn Cycling Team at the time. Over these ten years the VQ athletes and staff have brought me so much excitement and happiness–I cannot believe how it all turned out!

When you are in college, you really have no idea what your path will be. In a million years, I would never have predicted that my life would have turned out this way. It has not been an easy road, but nothing great in life ever is.

The holidays are here and consistency will be difficult to maintain as vacations, parties and social commitments start to change your timelines a bit. I think this is a good thing and, although the balance gets tougher, the joy that comes with these times far outweighs the lost consistency in your training. The important thing is to be present in whatever moment you are in. Make sure you are able to commit 100% of your physical and mental energy to “zone” you in. A past coach of mine, Doug Close, once had me read Embracing Your Potential by Terry Orlick. This book helped me really focus on the people/tasks in front of me. This is not as easy as you might think! I am sure many of you pack your schedules so full during the holidays that while you are training, you are thinking of your next appointments or while you are at family parties, you are thinking of your AM workouts. This is not ideal. You never get the most out of any event. Better to try to lighten the load a bit and really maximize your experience both in training and socially.

I would rather have my athletes pull one or two workouts (least important workouts) a week from the schedule than try to get everything in and “half-ass” them all. But plan that before you get too busy so you won’t feel guilty when you cannot get everything in. The bottom line is that you should plan ahead for the holiday push and if you know your social commitments are going to go up, figure out what are the most important workouts and plan for them. Remove the workouts that mean the least and really be 100% engaged in the social and training commitments you have. This is far more healthy, fun and productive than running like a mad man through the holidays and never “truly benefiting” from the joy the holidays bring to all of us.

I want to wish everyone a great holiday season. With a dog and four kids ages 3-10, you can imagine how much fun it is at the Ventura house this time of year. These are the most exciting times for them, which in turn allows me to relive some of my childhood experiences. I am grateful that our house is crazy and will be crazy for many years to come. Crazy is difficult to manage sometimes, but in the end I love crazy and I am sure when they are older I will miss it more than anything.

Ciao~
Robbie