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How Workouts Link Together

For more information on our community and coaching, please visit C26Triathlon.com

Today’s podcast is all about how workouts link together and why life outside of training is an important factor in the decision process. Your mind and body aren’t always telling the same story, so it’s important to truly understand effort and its relationship to the big picture. When you trust the purpose of today’s workout, that sets you up for more consistency tomorrow and the week, which leads to more success in both training and racing. Managing stress (good and bad) is at the core of happy and healthy training. 

Check out the full podcast here:

Key Takeaways from this podcast:

  • Topic starts around 8:00 mark 
  • Quick Super Bowl talk – Neither Mike or Robbie had much interest in the Super Bowl but they are happy for Andy Reid and the people of Kansas City.
  • Mike’s meditation group – In lieu of watching the Super Bowl, Mike attended a meditation group that talked about finding your refuge. This is not in the podcast, but the big lesson was, we always have a choice when we face tough moments. We can either slide into a familiar place with often bad habits (think addiction) or we can sit with the suffering and learn from the moment. This is also a great reason to build community in triathlon.
  • Today’s Session’s Impact on Tomorrow – When Coach Robbie designs your training week, each session has a purpose and understanding that purpose goes a long ways toward stringing together a succession of positive workouts. The key here is to not reach out of your box just because you might feel better than normal. Stay on the plan with tomorrow in mind.
  • Gauging effort as you go – The more we train, the more our body can trick us into believing we are fatigued when the reality may be we just need longer to warm up. This is a key distinction and amplifies why it’s so important to let your body warm up and settle into what it’s about to do.  
  • Decisions are connected – Forcing a hard workout when your body is saying no can put you behind the 8 ball tomorrow or this weekend. A lot of us have the tendency to push harder than the body is willing to go so think about your hard intervals in a negative split mentality. Take inventory of where you are at the beginning and allow the workout to unfold to “right effort.”
  • Not negatively impacting the next session – Think about tomorrow, especially if your life has been stressful or you haven’t slept, etc. . . and you have two tough days in a row. It’s really easy to blow up two days when you can pull back today to protect tomorrow.
  • Digging a hole and recovering – Triathlon is all about creating stress and allowing ample recovery. If you dig too deep it may impact multiple days. Respect Recovery.  
  • Decision Making – Coach Robbie is your guide, but it’s important to learn and make your own decisions. It’s your life and body. Learn it and be ready to make decisions on your own before, during and after workouts.
  • First, Understand the purpose – Is today’s workout scheduled to help you be rested for tomorrow? Or, is today scheduled to push your limits knowing that the next couple days will be “easy.” Knowing the purpose of your workout simplifies the process today. 
  • Looking at your week as a meal – If the “meat” (ie. big calorie sessions) of your week is served on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, realize that the other days are appetizers and deserts.
  • What to do if you’re fatigued – If you know you are fatigued in an overall sense, we always advocated a day off or backing way down. This can hold true for every day of the week. Get into your workout, assess how you feel after 10 or 15 minutes, then either back down or go after it. 
  • Decision making in training is the most exhaustive part – We have to make so many decisions, both inside of and outside of workouts. When to eat, when to go hard, when to “sneak in” workout. It really adds up. It’s also a huge part of racing. Do I push now or hold on. Do I fuel now, etc. Write these things down, remember them and make it second nature.
  • Consistent training means longer warm ups – One of the strangest parts of triathlon training is that the deeper we get into it, often the longer it takes us to “feel good” or warmed up. It’s not uncommon to ride an hour or two before you actually feel warmed up. This is because our muscles are getting stronger, lactic acid is in full build up and we have to work a little harder to get things going. Don’t always believe what your body is telling you, especially if you know you’ve put in the work.
  • The difference between fast and strong – You know the feeling. You may not feel super fast at the end of a workout or race, but you know your legs and body are solid. For most of us in long course racing, strength is the objective. Speed is obviously important but it can be a relative term and if your body is not built up properly to train for speed, it could be a long term problem.  
  • The Global picture of an athlete’s week – Look at your next week in Training Peaks and work on understanding how it fits into the big picture. Learning the reasoning behind your sessions takes a weight off and gives you clarity in the moment.
  • The sponge analogy – If you throw a sponge in water, it will float. But if you squeeze it into the water it will absorb the water. Prime yourself to soak it in.  
  • Getting out of your head – Let’s say you feel great when you get out of bed or before a workout. You’re ready to rock! This can often be your mind cashing checks your body isn’t ready to cash. We’ve all felt terrible before hitting the road only to have a great run. The same works in reverse. Be careful when you feel great. This is often when we go way out of our traditional warm up zone and suck the life out of the quality session.
  • Don’t look back – every season of life is different – Don’t look at someone’s successful race post and feel bad because you’re not in the same place as them. Your in a different place . . . in a different season. Respect who you are right now and train to that person. It does no good to remember how strong you were 8 months ago and try to replicate those efforts if you’re not in that kind of shape.
  • PRs can be over valued – The reason we caution against a “PR mentality” is the variables. So many things can be out of our control at races. The weather, who shows up, how you slept, etc. Chasing PRs can be the root of a long-term problem that we talked about today. Sometimes PRs don’t happen, but we race really well.

For more information on C26 Triathlon and what our community is all about, please visit C26Triathlon.com.

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Love The Sport

For more on our community and coaching, please visit C26Triathlon.com

Many of us get into triathlon to figure out who we really are and that process is more effective and enjoyable if we love the sport. And loving the sport is a process. Today, we reflect on Kobe Bryant’s life and his passion for, not only the game, but everything he did, and tie it into our daily approach with triathlon. Kobe’s death is a painful reminder that life is fragile and triathlon is much more than just the numbers – it’s about community, connection and helping others. Today is about finding your sweet spots in training and appreciating the little things to make net gains.

Takeaways from Podcast #342 – Love The Sport

  • The power of a little break – It’s impossible to keep the intensity for 365 days a year. It’s important to be around people who will remind you that it’s okay to take a break and step back from the grind. In fact, it’s essential.
  • Goaded by peer pressure – On the other hand, we find benefits of giving in to occasional “good peer pressure” if your friends have your best interests in mind. And as Mike points out, it’s not a bad thing to find a little kick start once in a while.
  • Kobe Bryant’s impact on us – Kobe Bryant was Coach Robbie’s favorite player, and while Mike is a Jordan fan, both respect and love the passion Kobe brought to basketball and his life. His death is one of those events that make no sense but certainly give us a wake up call.
  • Painful reminders of how fragile life is – We tend to go through life in a haze, focused on numbers and results without the big picture in mind. When someone seemingly immortal as Kobe Bryant dies out of the blue, it always gives us pause and it is in this pause that we should remind ourselves to appreciate the little stuff.
  • Overcomplicating what matters – There’s a lot of data out there but there’s no substitute for hitting the road or water and going. Pre-optimization is a flourishing disease. Lace em up and go.
  • Combining love for the sport with wanting to be the best we can be – How often do you have that “kid feeling” when you are staring in the fact of a workout? That is the one you want. So, whatever it takes, find the part of swim, bike, and run you love the most and start there when things seem rough.
  • Burnout rate – As we’ve said many times on the podcast, “Expectations are future resentments.” There is extreme power in moderating your approach and training. Listen to your body and it will tell you when it’s time to break or swing toward one discipline or the other.
  • Type-A Celebration – Nobody can be “on” all the time and there is always use for good balance. Triathlon has a reputation for being full of Type-A athletes, but that doesn’t have to define the sport.
  • Becoming your best, not “the” best – Imagine the intensity you would have to train for the Olympics. Years and years of work for one bright moment. In a way, we are a little that way. Days and days of training for one big race. The majority training for Olympics don’t win the gold and the same is true for triathletes. Just work to be your best and let the rest take care of itself.
  • Is Triathlon a “net gain” for you? – Are you moving in the right direction? This is and should be a slow process. Not every day will be a breakthrough, but often those “bad days” are necessary to create the next advance. Embrace it all as a learning and growing experience.
  • Slowing down the least – Triathlon isn’t about who goes the fastest, it’s about who slows down the least. This amounts to strength and durability. Think of that next time you are invited to do a track workout.
  • Chasing PRs – This is a trap most of us fall into, but eventually you realize that continual PRs is unrealistic. Not that you can’t get faster with age (we for sure see this all the time) it’s just that you have to temper your expectations and find hybrid successes that may not always amount to a PR.
  • Figuring out who you are as a person – This is why a lot of us come into triathlon – to figure out who we are. Ground yourself in that path and listen to your mind and body. Bring them together in a peaceful union to let the true you come alive.
  • Breaking up the rocks – Uncovering your the truth is often painful and this is what a lot of us experience as we evolve in triathlon. We learn to sit with the pain and realize just because it’s the opposite of joy doesn’t mean it’s bad. It is what it is and often it’s a gateway to uncovering parts of ourselves that we know are being starved.
  • Love what you love.

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Thank you for listening to the Crushing Iron Podcast. We have been recording podcasts for over 3 years on Monday and Thursday. We’ve explored many issues both in and outside of triathlon. We appreciate your support and look forward to meeting you out on the course one of these days.

For more on our community and coaching, please visit C26Triathlon.com

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How Our Insecurities Affect Our Training

For more information on our Community and Coaching, please check out C26Triathon.com

Crushing Iron Podcast #341 – How Our Insecurities Affect Our Training

We get into the sport to grow and become more confident, but . . . what do we do in those weak moments? The best athletes (and people) are always learning. Today, we look at a lot of examples we experience in coaching and how we approach insecurities that pop up in training. The stress of missing workouts, injuries, worry about not being ready, judging ourselves too harshly, etc. Training should be a way to become more whole and not judge ourselves by comparison. Learn your limits and how to approach them in a positive way.

Key Takeaways from this podcast:

  • Do you think you’ll be ready for your race? This is always a mystery and while we don’t know for sure, we suggest that you answer “yes.”
  • The obsession with wanting to know and predict. We all want to know our times or performances ahead of time, but remember, you could be selling yourself short by convincing yourself you’ll race at one pace, but possibly be ready for something faster.
  • Adding “judgements to our plate.” The object is to improve and putting too much unnecessary weight on ourselves can cause tension that is only counter productive to the big picture.
  • Do you need to do MORE? It’s easy to get caught in the trap that more is better, but training is like building a recipe. You want it to be consistent and wouldn’t add a bunch of extra ingredients to the mix.
  • Making up missed workouts. Missed workouts is a huge source of stress for many athletes. Many times they can be made up, but not at the expense of putting too many hard workouts together. It might be best to think of making up with a recovery workout.
  • Does not getting a PR mean you’re slower? Race times can be affected by many variables and just because you didn’t set a PR doesn’t mean you’re getting slower. Sometimes teams lose games because they played bad. They try to learn what they did wrong and get better.
  • Was this session good enough? How do you judge your sessions? Harshly? Against yesterday or some target you cooked up in your mind? There’s really no sense in worrying over something that is already done.
  • Who are you letting down? You should never have to worry about letting down your coach. A coach/athlete relationship should be a bond focused on getting better together.
  • Do you think that race is a good idea? Are you loading your calendar because you are bored and need the excitement or because it makes sense? Look at what’s going on around you and decide it a race fits into the big picture.
  • The endless puzzle. Most puzzles come to an end, but triathlon is an endless equation of problem solving. The problems may change each year, but they will always be there and your best mindset is to accept and appreciate learning mode.  
  • You just don’t know. Expectations are future resentments. Do the best you can today because you never know what race day will hold. Cross that plank when you get there.  
  • Are you where you thought you’d be? Life has a way of throwing curveballs and it’s best to adjust and go with the flow. It’s very hard to predict how much we will improve over time. Often we end up right where we should be whether we think so or not.
  • Over judging yourself. You likely have enough going on without treating yourself too harshly. Think of this as the reverse of the Golden Rule. Many times we treat others with more forgiveness than we do ourselves.
  • You shouldn’t be stressed about something that gives you joy. This is the cornerstone of “playing triathlon.” It is our hobby and should make us feel better and happier; not add stress. Workout in a way that brings you joy.
  • The ability to take days off. Simply put . . . when you think you need or want an off day. Take one. Especially if you are getting sick or feel deep fatigue or there is a lot going on in your life. This is a key to success and a good indicator of confidence.
  • The three P’s of stress. Physical. Professional. Personal. All stress matters and should be valued in the equation of being a successful triathlete.
  • Training to heal or be whole.  This is the epitome of training by feel. Sick or have a niggle? Train to an effort that helps the blood flow and works to heal your body. It’s a fine line and this can be the equivalent of Zone 0 for a lot of people. Movement as medicine.
  • Learning from overtraining. Sometimes we have to push the limits to figure out what we’re capable of and this can leave us on the ground gasping for breath. But worse, it takes us out for a few days and disrupts training. When that happens, it’s our job to learn and remember that feeling so it doesn’t become a habit.  
  • Leaving wiggle room for life. The lesson here is to recognize that life takes energy and you have to save some for things like work, family, and other personal interests. Overtraining or stressing about training can really take a toll on things we love to do outside the sport. Respect yourself in the whole.
  • Depression and anxiety.  Many of us came to triathlete to be happier and healthier. If it’s adding more stress and making you unhappy, now is a great time to step back, sit with yourself and figure out how to find better balance.

For more information on our Community and Coaching, please check out C26Triathlon.com

Email: Coach Robbie: [email protected] Mike: [email protected]

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Negative Split For Life

For More information on our Community and Coaching, please visit C26Triathlon.com
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By Mike Tarrolly for Crushing Iron

I’ve long been consumed with the concept of a negative split. When I started running at 48 years old, the idea of actually going faster at the end of a race (even a 5K) seemed ridiculous.

I was always too gassed at the finish line, but the simplest explanation is probably that I always started too fast my actual fitness.

The more I thought about the negative split, the more it made sense, and occasionally it really locks in.

Intervals

Over the weekend I slid into an interval run that broke out like this:

– 15 minute warm up
– Then 10 x one-minute-intervals broken into 20 seconds “fast” and 40 seconds “easy”
– Go through that twice with a 5 minute easy in between
– 10 min cool down

My first thought was, I’m not in great speed shape, so my “fast” will be more like a Freddy Kruger chase. And then, I broke it down even further.

I would try to negative split segments of the ten minute blocks. In other words, my first interval “fast” would be the slowest of the ten with my 10th hopefully being the fastest. Then, I thought, let’s make the first 10 block slower than the second.

I’m no scientist, but logic says the payoffs from negative splitting a workout seem big:

  • You micro train in negative split space to embed the concept in your training DNA
  • You work on patience in training and hope that carries over into races
  • You feel better at the end of the workout than you do at the beginning
  • Not being wiped out is a good thing

You can drill down even further.

I started willing myself to negative split the 20 second segments. Start out “fast” but end “faster.”

Then ramp down slowly and back into the slow pace for 40 seconds.

The interesting part of this is that those 40 seconds started inching up with less effort and by the end, what may have started at a 10 minute mile pace was 9:30 with less effort.

I think this may be the secret: If you let your body ease into whatever you are doing, you have a much better chance of finishing strong.

It’s like waking up in the morning.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up late, scrambled to get dressed, then drove to work for a meeting with a brain of mush and one minute to spare. I was ruined and it took everything I could do to get my head straight for an hour of “big-boy-pants.” The problem was, that adrenaline spiked and the rest of my day out of whack.

On the other hand, when I wake up slowly, meditate, move around a little, eat a good breakfast, etc. the day seems to come to me.

This is usually the case with training and racing as well. My best days are when I’m mentally and physically ready to work.

When I blast out of bed and right into a workout, it’s a sensory overload that typically ends with a crash the minute I’m done. Can I do it? Yes. And often it feels good in the moment, but by the end it’s a struggle to hang on.

In our Crushing Iron Podcast, Train To Your Current Fitness, I went on a little tangent about negative splitting your entire training season. Most of us seem to struggle in the Winter months and when you look at an entire year as a race, it makes you feel a little better.

For a lot of us, this time of year is the “getting out of bed phase.” We have to be careful of the demands we put on our body. It’s so much better to take it slow, and simply keep moving.

This can translate into short swims, bikes, runs, or whatever feels good. For me that’s often yoga or some other mobility stuff to keep my body fluid and flexible after a long year of tension.

And really, that is the key to training at this time of year. If you bury yourself in a hole, a long race calendar is daunting. How can you keep this up for 9 more months? You probably can’t.

So, I think it’s good to take some solace in the fact that you’re rummaging around for the snooze button right now. Sleep a little more. Get in tune with natural cycles of life like sunrise and sunset.

You only make gains while the body is in recovery. It rebuilds and you come back stronger. Believe and trust that process.

Embrace the negative split in everything you do, including another long and demanding year of training for your big race.

If you’re interested in Coaching or our community, please contact us at: [email protected] or visit C26Triathlon.com for more information.

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NUTRITION, HYDRATION, TRAINING FOR CONDITIONS

NOTE: This is a sample of the type of content we will be offering in the C26 Online Hub. Currently the content is only available to our active and Systems Plan athletes. For more information on our community and coaching, please visit: c26triathlon.com
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Struggling with motivation? Always need something to train for?

Find a story that will ground you, like the one at the beginning of this podcast. 


“I had GI issues” might be one of the most commonly uttered phrases in triathlon, but why does it keep popping up? Probably because we don’t train enough to our NUTRITION and HYDRATION. We hate to say it, but Nutrition takes practice and there are hundreds of variables, like did you have spicy food and 3 margaritas last night? Today, we give you some better ways to keep your energy and stomach solid on the way to a great race. For more detail, please check out the podcast. 

Liquid vs solid nutrition on the bike? Benefits of each? 

Coach Robbie is a fan of as much liquid as you can over solid because it’s more digestible. But, it’s also personal preference. Some athletes can’t do solids, but others get hungry and need to change up. On a half, Coach goes all liquid. On a Full, he will bring Clif Blocks to satiate what seems like a hunger, but isn’t. Liquid is easier to take in, but it’s also very dependent on effort. If an athlete is going at a very high effort level and intensity for say a Half, it’s much harder to take in solid food. A full Ironman gives you more opportunities at “less effort” to take in solids. 

How do you experiment with nutrition throughout training?

If you’ve found something that works, then we don’t see the point in experimenting. But, if you don’t feel like you know what works, you can try different brands. A great way to experiment is on the trainer. You can figure out if you’re not getting enough and will bonk. A good time to do this is before it gets super hot out because there are many more variables. GI issues are one of the biggest things. Don’t get too scientific, but your “experiments” need to be consistent. Is it because of the nutrition or the fact that you had Mexican food and 3 margaritas last night? Try to have the exact same meal the night before a big ride or run. This helps you pinpoint the problem. Work backwards and figure out what changed from the last time. Make things consistent or your experiment isn’t an experiment. Start on the trainer so if you fail you’re not stuck somewhere. Also, the winter is a great time to train your gut to take in more calories. It’s how many calories can I take in per hour and how does that make me feel? Can I add more? There’s a lot of ways to do it. Just pay attention and remember that a lot of what you’re fueling for on the bike, is the run.

Is there a good way to calculate liquid needs in training to thread the needle between over/under hydrating?

This is what Coach Robbie does. He takes in straight liquid nutrition. Two weeks before a race he’ll do his last long ride in full race gear to simulate things like an aero helmet, or full kit. That may make you feel hotter and your perceived effort feel different. So, you may sweat more because you’re coming out of the water hot. Every 15 minutes his Garmin goes off, alerting him to take in liquid calories. One swig of mixed nutrition with 2-3 big swigs of water. Other than that, he simple drinks to thirst. One, the mouth and stomach are the north and south. If the mouth asks for fluid, feed it. If the stomach is saying it’s too full, listen. It takes energy for your body to digest. Your hydration intake for a race depends on your preparation temps as they apply to what the race conditions will be. 

How to train for a race that is no where close to the conditions you have to train in? (IE a hilly course when you live someplace with no hill access. Training for heat in a cooler climate)

Create your conditions. It’s honestly that simple. Replicate as close as you can. If it’s a hilly course, get on your trainer and do big gear work. If you’re training for heat, put on layers or work the trainer/treadmill with no fan. These aren’t recommended when you’re doing quality sessions, however. The trainer is one of the most valuable tools you can use. If you’re in a hilly place and doing a flat, aero necessary course, practice aero on the trainer. If it’s a flat run and you live in a hilly place, keep the hills for running, but vary at a track or on the treadmill. 

Is your heart rate monitor slowing you down? 
Yes. 

Would you ever consider trying to start your own triathlon event?

We’ve thought about it, but dealing with politicians and city officials is too much and it takes away from what we love, the answer is no. Camp is stressful enough.

Should I or shouldn’t I do this race? What factors do you recommend taking into consideration?

The number one factor is . . . your gut. What is your gut saying and how many validating excuses does it take you to eliminate that gut feeling? It’s not easy to say no, but you really have to do it if your gut is saying it’s a bad idea. “Yeah, but’s” are a great indicator. Does it feel right and make sense? So often we force things. Monday’s are my “post-race-must-race” discussions. Don’t overeat on racing. Let it digest. Don’t get caught in the moment. 

NOTE: This is a sample of the type of content available in the Online Hub for our Active and Systems Plan athletes. For more information, please visit: c26triathlon.com.

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Race Weight – Go With Your Gut

For more information on our community and coaching, please visit www.c26triathlon.com

In Crushing Iron podcast #340, titled Race Weight, we tackle some of the issues triathletes deal with regarding weight loss and diet. We are by no means experts, but we believe there is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. Everything is on the table including body image, guilt, shame, binge eating, strength vs. optimum weight, and power per kilo. Triathlon is often a road to weight loss, but changing a lifestyle comes with a lot of stress and cutting calories is a slippery slope. We talk about finding your race weight and when to be at it. So many diets, so many choices, but what works best for you?

This Podcast covers the following topics: 

  • Going too hard too soon
  • Proving yourself in practice 
  • Weight Control
  • Body image
  • Strength vs Weight
  • Power per kilos
  • Comparing to other people
  • Binge eating
  • Hydration and diet
  • Stress and pounding and weight
  • Periodizing your training
  • “Perfect” Race Weight
  • Giving the body time to adjust
  • Changing too much at once
  • Societal categories
  • Intuitive eating
  • What’s best for you?

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. 

Big Shout out to podcast listener and WordPress designer Bobby Hughes for helping get the new c26triathlon.com off the ground. If you like what you see and may need a website, check out Bobby’s work at https://hughesdesign.co/

Also a big thanks to Tom Stewart and Ross Kaffenberger for their technical support as we went through the process of launching the new site!

Also Somer Scandridge, Sam Browning, Jenny Machlin, and Scott Donald for their input. And of course, Stuart Rogers for his incredibly DETAILED reports regarding layout and copy. Love you guys!

Registration is NOW OPEN for 2020 C26 Camps. Find out more on our Camps Page. 

If you’d like to support the Crushing Iron Podcast, hit up our Pledge Page and help us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance!

Are you thinking about raising your game or getting started in triathlon with a coach? Check out our Crushing Iron Coaching Philosophy Video

Please subscribe and rate Crushing Iron on YouTube and iTunes.

For information on the C26 Coach’s Eye custom swim analysis, coaching, or training camps email: [email protected]

Facebook: CrushingIron
YouTube: Crushing Iron
Twitter: CrushingIron
Instagram: C26_Triathlon

www.c26triathlon.com

Mike Tarrolly – [email protected]
Robbie Bruce – [email protected]

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We Have A New Website!

You have reached the blog page at CrushingIron.com but we have a whole new experience waiting at C26Triathlon.com.

We have decided to keep this page active for now because there are 800+ blog posts available, but the new site has information on our Coaching, Camps, and Community. We are not replacing “Crushing Iron” but adding to it!

Along with our popular Custom Coaching, we have just launched an awesome new Coaching Program for athletes who tend to self-coach, but would like support and guidance. It’s called the C26 Systems Plan and it is a customized training program for your entire 2020 race season. For more information, including pricing, please check it out, here.

As part of Custom Coaching and the Systems Plan, athletes will receive access to our NEW C26 Online Hub. The Online Hub is a continually growing information source for triathletes. There is already 100+ videos on swim, bike, and run. The Hub will also include bonus podcasts, coaching articles, and community events.

But that’s not all . . .

In 2020, C26 Triathlon will introduce a “physical Hub” for its athletes. Located in Chattanooga, the C26 Hub will be a learning facility that helps our community of athletes dial in their approach to triathlon. With an endless pool and other high-tech equipment, we will be able to test athletes and set them up for their best performance yet. The Hub will be the epicenter for all things C26 Triathlon, including future videos and podcasts.

If that’s not enough . . . we will soon be offering our first publication, titled: How To Not Suck at Swimming.

Coach Robbie has helped hundreds of triathletes become more powerful and purposeful swimmers and this program will give take you deep into swimming with 40 pages of information, over 30 videos, and 50+ great workouts to put your game plan in action. For more information, check out the news page at C26Triathlon.com.

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My 12 Things Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga: Inside the Mind of an Aging Man Who Doesn’t Really Like Gadgets

By Mike Tarrolly for Crushing Iron

I think it’s important for people to write race reports. It helps you remember where you did well and what you need to do better next time. Over the years my recaps have morphed from flowing gibberish about every hotel lobby conversation into something more like “things I learned” with the hope that someone else can pick something up. So, yes, there are little things that happened but mostly this is about how my training for this race unfolded when I got onto the course. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the first time I didn’t feel obligated to buy a “Ironman Name Shirt” so I might be on the right track.

  1. Age Is Just a Number – I started triathlon at age 49. I’m 56 now and have done seven Half Ironman races. This was my best performance to date. So, age is definitely a number . . . but most everything that happened in this race began back in December. My running has been very consistent for 5 1/2 months, including a C26 run camp that was a bit of a game changer for me. We talk about it non-stop on the podcast, but consistency is king.

  2. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – If I’m totally honest, I thought I was going to race faster. Isn’t that always the case? But, it was mainly because of how I’d been running. The consistency was one thing, but I was also throwing down some intense work, including tons of hills, even on recovery runs. I guess the reality check is always the race. The hard bike followed by the hard run. The good news is, even though I closed pretty hard in Chattanooga, I think I would have been able to hold the general pace of my run for quite a bit longer. That’s what gives me the most optimism moving toward Wisconsin. #trainingday

  3. Sleep Might Be The Hardest Part of Race Weekend – We had a TON of C26 athletes hanging around and while that meant a lot of mental juggling, I loved it. Friendly faces and good conversation is a really good way to take your mind off the race. That said, somewhere in my subconscious I was concerned about that Saturday night sleep……… but great news! I fell asleep around 7:30 and remember feeling very excited about that as I drifted off. After some wicked dreams, I woke up naturally, reached for my phone to check the time and it was 9:00! I’d slept for 1.5 hours and was now royally f*cked. Yep. I turned on basketball for a while and eventually resorted to reading the Bible because, frankly, I don’t understand it and I thought it would fatigue my brain. No such luck as I got swept away by the book of Revelation and the only true revelation I had was that I had fall asleep again, then wake up in about 3 hours. One of these days I’ll get rest before a race.
     
  4. School Bus Nerds – There’s something very appropriate about shuttling triathletes to the swim in yellow school buses. There is a first-day-of-school awkwardness that makes everyone on the bus seem like a child. And isn’t that that point? We all do this sport to reclaim a bit of our youth, right? And I can’t help but wonder why we are so driven to feel this way? Maybe it’s simple. We want to feel young and the idea of chasing money and cars and power really starts to get old after a while. So, after standing in line, I hopped in the front seat of the bus. Prime territory. Hot seat. Podcast host. Ready to share all his knowledge about this race. And one by one, people blew by me like I was cold product. Finally the very last guy getting on plopped down next to me and fiddled with his goggles the whole ride.

  5. The Look in Their Eyes – Swim starts fascinate me. I strolled through the throngs of lycra listening to the patented Ironman morning mix tape and surveyed people’s eyes. I love wondering what’s going on in people’s minds. There is so much nervous energy before a swim because it’s one of those moments that creates a looming danger. I think that is good for us, but so many things these days are getting soft and protected. It’s the main reason I’m so adamant about the mass starts in triathlon. They are great opportunities for us to test ourselves. When we do hard things, day-to-day life seems a little bit easier. I was genuinely excited to take Mother Nature’s latest test. As I surveyed the course, I noticed a few orange buoys tucked up against the shoreline and my first thought, “these mother f*ckers are going to shorten the swim.” They’re going to take away an opportunity. But … the pros went off and it looked like they were doing fine. Yeah, they struggled a little, but it’s an upstream swim for 200 yards. Harder is the point. I put my ear plugs in and started to get a lather going in my wetsuit. Then, Tracy tapped me on the shoulder. I pulled out my ear plugs and she said, “Did you hear the announcement?” Nope. “They are shortening the swim.” WTF. Yep…First Louisville… now this one. That’s two in a row for me and I’m not a happy camper at this moment. I grunted a bit, then swore a couple times for effect and tried to re-group. The one thing I always tell myself in that situation is “DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE SWIM JUST BECAUSE IT IS SHORT.” Anything can happen and if you take it lightly, the next thing you know you’ll be getting run over and way off course and filled with anxiety. Focus, Mike. 

  6. Maybe Gadgets Aren’t So Bad After all – I have never been a gadget guy, but about 15 of my training rides for Chattanooga were done with a power meter. That doesn’t mean I actually “used” it as in set up my next workout based on power, I just used it . . . and paid a little more attention to this mystery called power. The thing power helped me with most was my pedal stroke. I finally saw in black and white what it felt like to push 300 watts vs. 250. It was things like that that helped me take it just a little bit easier on hills. And maybe even more important, it showed me how much I was leaving on the table for flats and gradual declines. Dear Mike, Just because you’re going 23 mph doesn’t mean you’re actually pedaling hard. It’s hard to push your power on declines and I gained confidence with bigger gears and “stealing speed” at different points on the course.

  7. Riding By Feel – All that said, I still didn’t feel comfortable enough to race with the power meter, well, that and I had a brand new Flo 90 that was sitting in the corner flirting with me for for the month leading up to Chattanooga. So, about 2 weeks out, I started riding with Flo instead of the power tap wheel. It felt amazing from the minute I pushed play. I was definitely riding differently and frankly my favorite part of riding with Flos is the sound. People can hear you coming from a block away. My plan for this race was pretty simple. I would use general MPH targets, but in a way that married the feel of my internally calibrated power meter. Stay under control and in the 20-20.5 mph range until the top of that short steep hill around mile 27, take the effort up a notch for the next 15 miles (which seem mostly downhill), then finish strong but under control for the last 12 or so. My goal was to use that fast section to get my average pace right around 21 mph by the top of that two mile climb at the 44 mile mark. I pretty much nailed it to perfection and rode the last stretch really strong. My bike computer said I finished at 21.69 mph, but I later noticed the distance read 58.5 miles, so something must be set wrong considering my race speed was 21.2 mph. 

  8. Old Guys Are Fast – So, in my mind I’m thinking, hmm… 21.69 mph… I have to be somewhere close to the running in my age group off the bike, but as I ran past several people I know who would have pointed that out, they kinda looked at me like I was Hines Ward in the Energy Lab. Well, maybe they just didn’t want to say anything because of how people are spread out on the course and Ironman Tracker can be tough to read like that. So, I just ran. *As it turned out I was 21st off the bike out of 136 in my AG… some of these guys are fast!

  9. Stay Cool Young Man – I knew the one thing that could bite me hard on this run was the heat, so I made cooling priority number one. I actually used a shoulder bag cooler as my gear bag that morning and put two small and one medium sized ziplock bags of ice in there before the swim. Oh boy I thought that was clever! I also pre-loaded my run belt with two small flasks of Skratch and 3-4 gels in the zip pocket. When I left T2 I slid the small ice bags (now somewhat melted but still cold) into the back pockets of my kit (which hit the damn spot on my lower back) and slowly dripped the big bag of ice water over my head as I ran out of transition. My goal was to be cold (blooded) as I hit the course and this really helped. Of course this process started on the bike at every aid station where I always grabbed and extra bottle of water for cooling and grabbed two for the last 12 miles of the bike.

  10. Running Blind – It didn’t turn out to be as hot as we’d thought, but the heat was another reason I wanted to get in and out of the water as soon as possible. The bike was surprisingly shaded and while I never felt that hot out there I forced myself into a constant stream of cold water on my head, neck, and legs. As I left T2 it seemed to pay off as I felt pretty solid, even after climbing the first hill. I stayed controlled and waited for one thing . . . that unforgettable feeling you get when bike legs turn back into run legs. Be patient, homie! Yes, I was pretty patient, and felt pretty good, but was still in a weird limbo about mile 4. Not tired, but not explosive. I didn’t wear my Garmin for the race, but reset my chrono on at the first two aid stations to get an idea of my pace. After doing this twice, I said, “F*ck it, just run, dude.” And that’s what I did. Besides, the face of my watch had fogged up and I was wearing contacts, so I couldn’t read it anyway. 

  11. Where Are My Run Legs? – I guess it’s around mile 5 where they have the out and back double aid station, I slowed down at the end to get enough ice and took several cold sponges. The freezing water hit me like a shot of adrenaline and my run stride hit me like lightening. I ran freely to the bottom of Battery Lane and had to reign it in for my first time up the hill. I felt strong and was starting to build confidence, mainly because I knew I’d done this in training and I was feeling things more in my lungs than my legs. 

  12. Let It Rip – At the end of my first loop I saw coach Robbie on the pedestrian bridge and he gave me the ole, “Let it rip” command. I agreed, but those kind of thoughts are relative. I’d love to say that second loop was a joy and I kept getting faster and faster until I did cartwheels across the finish line, but it started getting hard. I had to really focus and turn up my effort. I don’t want to say I ran that “hard” but I was strong. My new goal was to be steady, not stop, and get to the top of Battery again and THEN let it rip. That’s pretty much what happened, but it was a fight. I passed a shit load of people on both bridges and by the time I saw Coach again, I thought, yes, I made it. I’ll just coast down the big hill to the finish with a nice race. But, he had other ideas . . . “You gotta pick it up, finish strong!” Ugh… I had no clue what that meant, but . . . was I back in the running for something? No watch, no time, no nothing and he’s telling me to leave it all on the course for the last 3/4 of a mile. So . . . I did. And believe me running hard down that last hill isn’t as fun as soaking in the sights. It was the toughest part of my day and in my mind I figured out that I wasn’t in the running for a podium, but I had a shot at sub 5 hours. I finished right with Scott, C26 teammate, and asked if he could read my watch… he got real close, squinted and said, “4:58, I think.” And that’s what it was. While I felt really good about that and knew the sub 5 time would deceive a lot of people into thinking it was a great race, I knew that shortened swim gave it a major asterisk. 

Conclusion: Even though it was my best Half Ironman performance to date, it technically wasn’t my fastest. Back in 2014 (when I was practically a teenager) I did Muncie in 5:05 but my swim was around 36 minutes that day (vs. 19 minutes at a shortened Chattanooga swim). My bike and run were faster at Muncie, but my bike and run at Chattanooga were better. I was in control the entire day and never cringed when I saw a mile marker. It was more like they were blowing by than they were a nuisance. And I felt much better afterwards at Chattanooga. Now, some could say I didn’t leave it on the course, but Chatt’s bike and run are a little bit harder, and well, I’m a little bit older. So, don’t let age determine how you feel.  

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Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga Recap 2019

C26 Triathlon hit Chattanooga 70.3 by storm with 44 athletes racing and dozens of friends and family members along for the ride. In all we had 44 athletes start and finish. 19 crossed the line with a 70.3 PR. And 12 were first time finishers.

On top of the race we had a blast with around 40 rooms at the Holiday Inn downtown filled with awesome people. We spent a lot of time in the lobby meeting people who listen to the podcast and had an open invitation to our C26 Pre-covery lounge with 4 sets of Normatec boots on hand.

Chattanooga is a great host city for Ironman events and we took advantage of the hospitality, even offering our team a full buffet spread on Friday night in the hotel banquet room. We followed up after the race with tons of pizza as well.

Unfortunately they wound up shortening the swim . . . again and we weren’t sure the move was totally justified. While organizers said the decision would be made after watching the pros swim up stream, it was pretty clear they were planning a downstream swim for the age groupers.

Needless to say the swim was very fast again and it robbed many athletes of going after their true 70.3 PR. Hopefully there is a change of tune with Race Directors, but we’re not holding our breath. For more on our thoughts, see “Ironman Has Gone Instagram” podcast which is embedded below.

We had to depend on our athletes and their families to shoot video and take pictures for our team video. Once again, they did a fantastic job and this gives you a great look into our community and the support everyone received on and off the course.

For more information on coaching, camps or swim analysis, please email Coach Robbie: [email protected]

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C26 Triathlon Camp Video May 2019

There’s something truly special about having such a great group of people come to town and work on getting better. Not much is more inspiring or magnetic than effort and everyone that came to the C26 May Camp gave it their all.

Our camp motto has always been “No One Left Behind” and this year we added a new phrase, “Never Alone” because that’s at the core of what C26 is all about. Giving triathletes a community to meet new friends, grow, and become better triathletes.

Here’s the video highlights from another awesome camp in Nashville, TN. Special thanks to everyone for great energy and inspiring us to keep going.

Video highlights from the C26 May, 2019 Triathlon Camp

Below is the podcast we recorded the day after camp. We called it “Testing Your Limits” because many people come to camp do things they never believed they could do and always leave with more confidence.