Author: Crushing Iron

Key Question: How often should I test my FTP (Functional Threshold Power)?

Crushing Iron podcast #369 is taken over by the athletes from our Facebook group. Are you being too hard on yourself right now? We start with a look at adjusting your workouts for success. Then get into why FTP tests may be the most overrated thing for long course racing. Can you get away with doing your own bike fit? Bike injuries that affect your run. Unsupported races. The most useless things in triathlon. And how to ride intervals when you’re outside. 

Topics: 

• Are you being too hard on yourself during this pandemic?
• What are you reading?
• Our own life is the toughest to navigate
• People will find a way to figure this out – a discussion of trust and patience
• Do we have faith in where this is going?
• Are you getting stronger during this time? Mentally, physically, emotionally?
• What’s the best thing we’ve seen during all of this?
• The small things are what matters
• Selfish or Selfless?
• How often should I retest my FTP?
• Why FTP tests are overrated
• How most athletes RUIN their race
• Which Race would Mike and Robbie Relive?
• Which one would you do over?
• Do you carry too much on the run/bike?
• Self fit a bike or bike shop fit? Save money or no for first true road bike. New to biking.
• I’m finally getting the hang of pushing intervals on the trainer. How do I best translate this to outside…seems harder to control effort.
• What is your insight and advice for athletes participating in or adding their own virtual run/bike races during this time and what can we learn from these results?
• Lots of talk about unsupported (i.e. bring your own hydration/nutrition) races. Thoughts? Is it even possible for a FULL IM?
• What’s the most useless thing triathletes often try to force into their training?
• Would you be open to regional training camps? How many people do you need for it to make sense?
• Can you get stronger without a trainer? How often should recovery work – stretching, foam rolling, etc be incorporated & when? Like shortly after a workout? Later in the day? Before?

The C26 Online Hub is now open to the public! Click here to learn more about what’s in the Hub and take advantage of our “Pay What You Want” for a limited time.

Looking for an awesome coach this season? Former Professional triathlete, Jessica Jacobs is now coaching for C26 Triathlon. Check out her bio and contact information at our Coaching Page on C26Triathlon.com 

If you’re looking for a great custom coaching plan, please check out the new C26 Systems Plan for 2020 at the new c26triathlon.com. Coach Robbie will lay out your entire season (from 12-40 weeks) culminating at your A-Race. Take the confusion out of your entire year for only $499. The package includes team events, access to our online hub resource library, priority camp registration and more. 

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You can also slide by www.crushingiron.com which is now the official blog page for the podcast. Community and coaching information are at www.c26triathlon.com 

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Robbie Bruce – [email protected]

This was taken from a list of 20 things in the Beginner’s Guide to Triathlon – Chapter 9 – “How to Keep it Fun.” It’s an accumulation of C26 Philosophies and a good reminder for all of us as we go through this lockdown. Good points to keep in mind regarding training, racing, and life.

1. It’s not about who’s fastest, it’s about who slows down the least – One of the ways we like to keep things fun is remove self-imposed pressure. In triathlon it’s not about “sprinting” (even if your race is called a Sprint) it’s about pacing and doing the best you can to be strong at the end. Over the course of training, you will begin to understand pacing and how it relates to everything in life. There is a concept called the “negative split” and we talk about it a lot. This means your second half is faster than your first. This takes patience at the start, but starting slow always sets you up for a better finish.
2. You need energy to be motivated – Movement is medicine, but getting over the hump is not always an easy task. Do things you love and enjoy and create a good momentum. self-imposed stress is one of your biggest challenges and it can suck the life out of you. Another thing we always say is, “Stress is stress is stress.” Good stress, bad stress, it doesn’t matter, it takes energy. And the core principle of living is: It’s hard to be motivated when you’re tired. 
3. Don’t get caught up in the numbers, and remember to play like a kid – If you remember one thing, remember this . . . you are getting stronger and healthier, but sometimes it’s hard to remember when you’re in the thick of it. Your speeds and times will vary throughout training. Step back, appreciate your gains, and run free like you’re a kid.
4. Attachment breeds Anxiety – Don’t attach yourself to goals like they are the final answer. Enjoy the process of being in the moment. Train like you know you are doing something good for yourself. Goals appear when you continue to take steps in the right direction. Show love and appreciation for your positive journey.
5. Look at data from the right perspective – Don’t get caught up in the numbers. Triathletes tend to lean on their watch scores or bike computer results. But they don’t tell the whole story. There are many variables in training. You accumulate fatigue and that’s a GOOD thing, so don’t always expect yourself to be faster with every training session.
6. Getting slower in training isn’t really a thing – If you’re training for triathlon, you’re getting faster. Your times may be slower, but as mentioned above there is an accumulated fatigue. You have to trust the process. There is a thing called “taper” where you let your body recover and heal before the race. You are fresh and will do things you never imagined, if you follow the plan. 
7. Getting out of yourself – Look, this is a process. Don’t get too hung up on yourself or who you feel like now. Know where you’re going and let that other you take over. It’s free and freeing to go down a path you know is the right direction.
8. Don’t feel sorry for yourself – There are times when you may want to cry and quit. That’s a signal that you’re about to make a breakthrough. Even though it will seem scary, intimidating, and maybe even hopeless, don’t stop. Blow through that wall and see what’s on the other side.
9. How do we get from THERE to HERE? – This is a very Zen way to think about your life and training. Most of us spend our time trying to get somewhere else, but what’s wrong with where you are? We all have goals and places we think we want to be, but all we have is what is here right now.
10. Remembering what it’s like to be a kid – Again with the kid analogy, but if you think about it when were you most free? When you went out to play and we believe that is at the core of why we want to “play triathlon.” We’ve seen hundreds of examples. The joy, the pain, the smiles. It all feels right when you do it for the fun. 

This is from Chapter 9 of the C26 Beginner’s Guide to Triathlon. It’s a totally free 10 Chapter resource for anyone looking to get into triathlon. It also includes a 12-Week Spring or Olympic Plan. Please check it out and share with friends or family if you think they might be interested.

By Mike Tarrolly, Co-host of the Crushing Iron Podcast

I like to joke that I’m most comfortable in isolation, and while that’s true on many levels (I suspect this is the case with a lot of triathletes) – I also know in my heart, that it’s bad for my health.

We’re all training for the “race unknown” and while that’s a challenge in its own right, I want to make sure we all understand how difficult this quarantine really is for our training.

Controlling the variables

One of the main reasons I lean toward my own world is . . . control. 

I don’t think this is unusual for many of triathletes because we like to make sure everything is perfect for our training. No interruptions, pristine weather, unyielding gear, etc . . . but that’s not reality. 

Training (and life changes) take a lot of focus and triathletes like to control the variables so they don’t get off course. This seems like a good plan, but the desire to control our environment should be sought in small doses.

A way of life

I’m also very big on things like meditation and yoga. Both calming practices that bring you back into the body and your breath. But when you hear “real” practitioners talk about these things, they will say, “sitting alone with your breath is really good practice for . . . sitting alone with your breath.” 

They will tell you that meditation should be a way of life . . . around real people.

I’m fucking great at being peaceful while sitting in my quiet living room in the morning. But when I actually have to go out and interact with a bunch of people (a random and uncontrolled environment) my anxiety is ready for its time in the sun. 

Anxiety

There have been times when I’ve driven to meet a very good friend, someone I’m very comfortable with, at a public place and I can feel my chest tighten. This is a totally irrational response, but also very real and I think the more we are away from people, the more pronounced this can be.

It’s no secret that chronic anxiety can lead to depression and we also know that depression can have a dramatic impact on our immune system. When our immune system is low, it’s tough to have energy because we’re closing in on ourselves. 

Which leads me to the big point. Social interaction and community are the best remedy for depression. 

Depression

Even if you don’t struggle with depression, it’s likely that not being around people you love during this time is taking a mental and physical toll. And yes, that directly impacts your workouts . . . and more importantly, recovery. 

I’m talking with a lot of athletes that are posting, “Just didn’t have it today,” or “struggle bus,” or “didn’t sleep well,” etc. I’m spending a lot of time reenforcing the fact that this is a time to give yourself grace and “aim low” with your training.

Not only do we not have race dates, we are dealing with a massive amount of undetectable stress. 

This is stress

This is a different world and we have to recognize how that affects us. 

I’ve done nearly twenty Full Ironman or 70.3 since I turned fifty and in the weeks leading up to every one I was unsure about my training. But once I got to town and was around other athletes for a day or two, the anxiety and uncertainty melted away. I was ready whether I liked it or not, and you will be too.

Much of our training is in isolation to begin with, but now we have a completely new layer that’s forced us to stay away from others. It may be “comfortable” on some level, but it’s not good for us. Keep that in mind when you’re not hitting your FTP or feel like you’re fatigued for no apparent reason. 

There is a rock solid reason.

You’re carrying far more stress than you realize, and I don’t think any of us can hear this enough.

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Thanks for listening to the Crushing Iron Podcast. For more information on our Coaching, Community, and Camps, visit C26Triathlon.com.

If you told two us when we started the Crushing Iron Triathlon podcast that we’d have someone like Mike Reilly, “The Voice of Ironman” want to hang out with us for an hour, we would have probably laughed. But, then again, we have really believed in what we’re doing and the mission, so it’s more proof of Ironman’s motto, “Anything is Possible.”

Mike Reilly needs no introduction to triathletes and today we had the pleasure of learning what Ironman means to him. He told moving stories, funny anecdotes, and took us on a humble journey of how it feels to be an inspiration to so many athletes.

He’s uttered the phrase “You Are an Ironman” hundreds of thousands of times and shares what those special, life-changing words mean to him. He also shares his positive perspective on what we’re all going through and the unwritten rule he has with IRONMAN.

Mike’s self-published book, “Finding My Voice,” is available at www.MikeReilly.net.

Some of the topics we covered in the interview:

• How many days is he on the road
• The unwritten rule between him and Ironman
• His emotions on the finish line . . . 
• What it’s like when he steps on the red carpet near midnight 
• His awesome story about Frank Farrar
• 3 Young Girls at the Finish Line that Cried
• Will he back at the first return Ironman?
• Will He Tell Us His favorite Ironman?
• Where would he like to see another Ironman?
• His morning before the race routine 
• His philosophy on race day morning 
• Crazy weather scenario at Ironman Wisconsin 
• His Race Wisdom . . . 
• Why he wrote and self-published his book 
• What he thinks of when you says “You are an Ironman”
• His perspective on how some positives may come out of the pandemic
• Coping, staying fit, working out and the stress relief 
• It’s a new game every morning 
• What IRONMAN means to him 

Thank you for listening. Please subscribe and listen to the podcast on iTunes

For more information on our Coaching, Camps and Community, visit us at www.C26Triathlon.com

By Mike Tarrolly, Co-Host of the Crushing Iron Podcast

I just broke rule number one from the Crushing Iron Podcast. Seems odd since I’ve probably heard and said it 100s of times, but what’s life without breaking a few rules?

This year is off to a rough start and I haven’t done a whole lot of “triathloning.” And outside of Run Camp, I probably haven’t run more than 5 times. The longest was about an hour.

Somehow I just talked myself into a walk/run that lasted 1:43. How does this happen?

RULE #1 – Err on the Side of Caution

The weather was perfect and I cinched my hydration belt tight around the top of my waistband. I felt good and ready to roll out a few miles. The mistake I made was pulling up my shirt and looking in the mirror. That’s when I saw it . . . a cute little roll of flesh, softly draping over my belt. 

Years ago I wrote a post called “Picture is worth dozens of pounds” and it is the epicenter of how I wound up in triathlon. We’ve all been there. That moment of truth when we think, “I’m gonna go out there and get in shape right now!” All those pesky pounds and revolting lung tissues will learn the hard way. I’m not playing around this time! 

As jacked as I was to restore my fitness to Ironman level in one day, I did err to caution with the style of run/walk. Three minutes running, one minute walking. I played the whole thing by ear and the recovery cycle was quite intriguing.

Truth is, it wasn’t that difficult and the result gave me confidence that, despite my slacking, I could probably run a decent half marathon right now. A good reminder for that general paranoia we have about “losing fitness.” 

RULE #2: Be Consistent

Yeah, I broke this one, too.

There has been nothing consistent about my training since my father went into hospice care in late November. Consistency is tough, especially when life gets in the way, but any win is a step in the right direction.

Thank goodness for my mom.

Mom was in town last week and she gave me a large dose of consistency. We cleaned, organized and polished this house into a good old fashioned home. She gave me a list of things on her way out the door, and the minute she left . . . I was back to being good ole’ Mike.  

Well, not totally, but with all this crazy going on it’s a struggle.

This run gave me hope. It felt great to be out there and good at the end. Now it’s just a matter of stringing some things together and trusting the process. 

RULE #3: Be Patient 

If you think about it, patience is the balance in our lives. Worthwhile things don’t happen overnight and trying to force our lives into a box creates an anxiety loop.

I’m still about 90% sure I’ll tackle a Full Ironman this year, but haven’t quite found the juice. I’m trusting it will appear like one of these lemons I’m squeezing into hot water for my immune system.

And this whole quarantine thing might be the ultimate test of patience. So many things just waiting to happen, but the uncertainty weighs like a rain cloud. 

This period of slow-down has actually been good for me. I’m just staying in the moment as much as I can and working on little things. It’s actually quite nice when the world slows down for you. 

Rule #4 – Keep Learning

This is the rule I followed the most today. I still contend that writing things down is the best way to learn and grow in this sport. Remembering what you already know goes a long ways. 

With that said, here are:

7 Things I learned (or remembered) from today’s run:

1. The Importance of exhaling – How quickly we forget the importance of breathing OUT. That goes for swim and bike as well. I’m a well-known-non-scientist, but for me, I just feel like a lot of our inflammation and lactic acid build up happens because we are tense and don’t exhale. I especially focused on this while walking and there was a crazy since of small recovery before each run segment. Like a lot of things, good exhaling is a habit. 
2. Slow is Slow – There’s this thing called a “gray zone” and in my experience, most triathletes live there. It’s that pace we think is easy, but just creeps into Zone 3. It’s the, “I felt great today, I’m sure I can hold it after 56 or 112 miles on the bike.” Wrong! Today I truly ran slow and I think that’s the reason I actually didn’t feel that bad.
3. People Still Aren’t Looking at me on the greenway – This is an emotional thing for me. I wish people would realize this is a time to embrace humanity, not ignore them like they are the walking plague. I literally watched a woman reach out, grab her teenage daughter’s arm and yank her away as I ran past them. Don’t let this thing drive us to insanity! 
4. Heal Cups may be helping my plantar fasciitis –  This is TOTALLY an old man’s thing. My buddy’s dad always used to tell us heal cups were the solution to foot pain and take us down to the old pharmacy and hook us up. We always thought they were dumb but now I’m seeing his point. My left heal has been bothering me, which is one reason I’ve been inconsistent, but I think they are helping. Edit: The pain was certainly not any worse, which I’m taking as a good sign after such a long run.  
5. Negative splits are negative splits – This is my training motto. The negative split is all about finishing strong and I believe it’s a good habit to build. On a day when I ran for 40 minutes longer than I have in months, I tried to keep way under control on the way out. I did the same thing on the way back and negative split the second half by 30 seconds. That’s about 4 seconds per mile faster and a huge win in my book. 
6. Operation Hamstring must start in earnest – Will he ever stop talking about his f&*king hamstrings? I know, it’s annoying. Are they weak or are they tight? I am leaning toward tight and I really have to take this seriously. Yoga has worked wonders for me in the past, but I also think it could be sleeping on my stomach (this after talking with a body mechanic). There’s just no reason I should feel like I do in the morning. Hunching over like an old man with tight hammies. But then again, I am an old man, so maybe I should just live with it. 
7. No chance in hell – I am not “accepting age” as I get older. For me it’s about throwing your hat in the ring over and over. Doing hard stuff that keeps you young. If I do something today that is hard, there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to do something tomorrow that is similar. That one day at a time approach is my other mantra. In fact, I believe this to the core. You know how some days you just feel great? Well, if that was just yesterday, why can’t it be tomorrow, too? Sometimes I feel 20 years old. That’s the feeling I go for, until 30 is the best I have . . . and I hope it’s a long ass time before I feel like I’m in my fifties.    

For more articles like this, bonus podcasts, triathlete conference Q&A’s, coaching articles, and tons of instructional videos, please check out the C26 Online Hub Preview. We currently have a “pay what you want” program through September 30, 2020. Thanks for supporting the Crushing Iron Podcast.

Here are some great ideas from C26 Athlete, Jennifer, for staying busy at home and doing body work that will pay off big time down the road. If you have more time on your hands, dive in and be in better shape when you turn things up as race season returns.

For more information on our Coaching, Camps and Community, please visit our website at C26 Triathlon.