Courage, Dear Heart
Beth Peterson has three words tattooed on her forearm: Courage, dear heart.
It's a line from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and she leaned on it hard during September’s Gravel National Championships, on every climb where, in her words, she "barely held on for dear life."
But she held on – Beth is your new USA Cycling 45–49 Masters Women Gravel National Champion.
Here's what the results sheet doesn't show. Beth works 10-hour shifts a few times a week, on a schedule that moves around. So we built her training around her life instead of the other way around: two strength sessions a week, structured intervals, long endurance rides, plus group rides and a season of races that served as rehearsals for the one that mattered.
Her favorite workout? Tempo, "all day long." Her least favorite? Strength (also all day long!) – but she didn't miss a single session.
"It made training 'easy,'" Beth told me, "because I didn't have to think or overthink what I was doing. I just had to follow the plan."
That's the real value of structure. Every decision the plan makes for you is energy you get back for the things that matter. Beth didn't spend hers picking workouts. She spent it on execution, recovery, and eventually, the climbs at Nationals.
A few things worth borrowing from her season:
Build around the life you have. A plan that fights your schedule loses. One that fits it gets followed.
Keep the sessions you'd rather skip. Beth's least favorite workout may have been her most important.
Practice makes progress. Every start line before the big one is a chance to learn how you race.
What’s up for Beth in her off-season? "Long rides with no particular purpose in cool, crisp weather and stopping at the apple cider donut stands along the way!"
See ya next week,
Steve
P.S. Beth built her championship season on a series of Bell Lap’s 3-Month Custom Plans, structured around her schedule and targeted at her goals. If next season has a goal circled on the calendar, that's a great place to start.