Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast

What’s your burnout rate? Do bad race choices make it worse? Today is all about picking the right races for you. Not only course wise, but time of year and so they don’t tangle with stressful life events. Don’t let revenge on a race course or someone else’s goals impact your decisions. Stay fresh, connected and happy with your triathlon lifestyle. 

We all have those little moments in training that give us thought that we may have the greatest race of our lives. Then, just as quick we think we may DNF. It's a constant battle and the true win comes down to understanding and appreciating execution. It's not about pace on a random Tuesday, it's about building fatigue, recovering, then nailing restraint so that you can execute a race to the best of who you are. 

Off-season is not really a thing if you want to get better. That doesn't mean you have to thrash and burn all year, but what can you do to get better today. How do you come to terms with "boring" workouts and figure out ways to make them part of an exciting result. Today we talk a lot about patience and restraint, both in training and racing. Plus give a lot of good thoughts think and attack your big race. 

Taper is the ultimate test of patience and while you're not training as much, most athletes waste a tremendous amount of mental and emotional energy. As the race closes in, it's time to focus on confidence and visualizing what might go wrong and how you are going to get through it. Thinking through solutions not problems. The athlete who makes the fewest mistakes is the one who wins their race.

The biggest workouts in the hottest part of summer and a race that's close but never seems like it will be here. Sometimes the toughest part of training is staying fresh and sharp as your race approaches. Today we look at ways to take the last month or so before a race and turn them into our biggest mental asset.

What's it take to go from beginner, to intermediate to an advanced triathlete? How do you define that and/or your personal journey? The process is the purpose and we all define that differently. Which lens are you looking through when you judge your progress and how will you write your own success?

Triathlon is a long, complicated process that doesn't always give us clear answers. Today we look for ways to take positives away from "bad" workouts, how to use hope as your "why," and maybe even how to keep this training thing simple (or simpler). We're all a work in progress and paying attention to your life and stress matter in training. 

Do you practice thinking about decisions you'll face on race day or lost in a world of Swift and Neftlix? If we go through the motions in training, race day stresses become a lot more challenging. What are you doing to prepare for thousands of decisions you'll have to make on race day? Also, distraction by IronTracker, bike handling, and changing how you feel during a race. 

The swim set the tone. We could see it in their eyes as they got out of the water. Then conditions seemed to get worse. Tough winds on the bike and a hot sunny day made for a tough reality at Ohio 70.3.  Triathlon is an endless puzzle and just when you think you mastered it, there will be another big lesson. Do the best you can and have fun.

Should you put more weight on your great workouts or bad? Probably neither because it's a process and everything is a building block. As the pressure builds it's more important to stay level when evaluating yourself. Take a look at where you've come from and figure out how a bunch of "good" workouts are the best way to great. 

Are you piling on mileage just to make sure you're ready? Today we look at Peak Phase and why too much volume can be your worst enemy. Fatigue is a slippery slope and it's important to listen to your body first and understand the true demands of a race and how to train for them. Today, the fine line between volume and intensity. 

Do you look at the big picture of your triathlon journey? For many it becomes an endless cycle of similar results and a lot of struggle. Today, we look at things like, why feeling good could be a sign to reign it in and why your upcoming race may not be the thing to hang your hat on. How does today help your tomorrow? Getting unstuck and looking at your Taper in a totally different way

A mantra we like to remember for racing is, “Don’t believe how you feel at any minute, because it’s bound to change.” The same goes for training. How many times have we been on top of the world one day and talking about quitting the sport the next? Training is all about not getting too high or too low. Today we look at ways of staying positive on the emotional roller coaster of triathlon training. 

"Watches are like the weatherman.” – Coach Robbie  FTP Tests, Heart Race, Pace . . . do you look at them honestly, or lean toward the perfect answer? Today we talk about how to be smart (and realistic) when you look at data and maybe why you shouldn’t look at all. We’ve said it before, Long Course racing isn’t about who’s fastest, it’s about who slows down the least. Is this how you race?

Are you drinking too much water? Training for the wrong course? Pushing hard at the wrong times? Today, it’s all about why races fall apart, both because in-race decisions and lack of race specific training. We look smart heat acclimation, sweat tests, replicating your race course, and how to nail nutrition. The difference between a decent race and a great one comes down to the little things.