When power couple Haley Hunter Smith and Andrew L’Esperance headed to Tasmania in early January, you can be sure it wasn’t for a bit of R&R. It was just a little pre-season training trip involving seven days of bikepacking. 850 kilometers. 17,000 meters of elevation gain, with gear. This is what it takes to win races. And in a recent video Haley revelaed that, “what we do is travel the world, train really hard and race in cool places.” Sounds sweet. Exhausting but sweet.
After finishing their tour through Tasmania they didn’t quit riding. They managed 22 training days total on their trip down under, which includes racing the Radl Grvl event in Adelaide, South Australia. Haley managed an 11th place finish and Andrew finished fifth.
The Smith Readiness Scale
Watching these two train, makes the most ambitious ‘regular person’ feel lazy. But don’t worry; there are some cracks in the facade. Despite their incredible discipline and rigourous scedule, they are mere mortals. And on a recent Instagram post, Haley revealed her weakness: Disney World.
“We just wrapped up our annual January volume training camp, and it’s got me thinking about optimal loading and resting. And despite all the info you can get from wearables and algorithms, I really, don’t think there’s a more foolproof way to decide if you’re optimally loaded than a simple subjective measure. So if you’re like me and you’re always wondering, am I training too much? Am I training not enough? Should I keep going? Should I rest? I decided to make an assessment tool that I use for myself. And it honestly boils down to this one simple question: how badly do I want to go to Disney World right now?”
What now?
Applying the Smith Readiness Scale to my life looks like it’s gonna work out just fine. Seems like I’ll be sleeping in today. I’ll pound a couple coffees for breakfast then have a burger for lunch. An ice cold fizzy drink will wash that down real well. Then maybe, I’ll consider an easy ride. Thanks for the advice Haley! Or should I call you coach?
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