Crushing Iron Podcast #716
By Mike Tarrolly – Co-host of the Crushing Iron Podcast
Topics:
- Even perfect days are messy – We always like to think about that one perfect brick workout two months ago where we felt like we could run forever, but stopped after 4 miles. That’s the illusion. Nobody gets on that Ironman run and cruises. Even the top athletes. Watch their faces when they lap you on the run. Digging deep into their cringe face as they try to hold on. Something always goes wrong. How are you going to solve it on the fly?
- New York, Chattanooga, Augusta – Big racing weekend again for C26 with athletes at over a dozen races including New York 70.3, Ironman Chattanooga, and Augusta 70.3. Best of luck to everyone who is racing. As of this writing, New York weather looks like it might be a tough one. We’re curious to see how the race pans out.
- Sundown Swims – Since finishing Ironman Wisconsin I’m back at the lake and relishing in cool water sunset swims followed by saunas. It is absolutely hitting the spot and I’m hoping this is the way to “stay in the game” considering most of the time I shut it all down for a couple months after Ironman. The cold water practice is getting easier even though the temps are falling. Adaptation at its finest and we know that’s what this sport is all about.
- Louisville is Back – Coach Robbie and I have tons of memories from the old Ironman Louisville. That’s where C26 all began. Along with Wisconsin and Chattanooga, Louisville is the third piece of the puzzle for building our podcast and coaching. We’re excited to have it back and hope they decide to alternate the 70.3 with a Full every other year. One can wish… and definitely in August. It is so damn hot there and that is why we another crack at it. We did the last August Full in 2016.
- Every race is hard – We train and stack workouts along with fatigue. We hope that everything is making sense and our body is ready to roll on race day. But, no matter how hard you’ve trained there is nothing easy about a race. It’s putting three disciplines together at a distance (especially long course) that you likely haven’t done in training. You should be fresh, but that’s in hopes that you can dig deep when things start getting ugly out there. It seems like everyone who finishes a race looks back and thinks they “had more” to give. THAT is the fine line of racing. Did you truly dig as deep as you could?
- Seasonal EPO – If you’re done racing, this is absolutely the best time to build your run or bike. If you’re still racing, enjoy the affects of Seasonal EPO as temps fall after training in the heat all summer. Either way, you should get a little more juice in your step and we say take it and run.
- Late Season FOMO – One of the worst parts of racing late in the season is looking over at your neighbor’s fire pit party while you know you have to get up at 6 and do a long ride. You hear the cheers of a football game and wish you could be kicking back on the patio joining the party. But, FOMO is an illusion in the moment. It’s a disciplined skill and the best athletes get over it quick. Get up at 6, get your work done and you will always feel better.
- The hardest Ironman you’ll do is the one you’re training for now – I think of this as a sliding scale of “fear and desire.” When you first do Ironman there is literally doubt over whether or not you can finish. That drives you when it would be easy to skip a workout or not train as hard as you can. The more you do, the more you realize you are not worried about getting it done, but it’s harder to push through tough patches on the course. The medal isn’t quite as shiny anymore. You are more skilled, but can be overconfident. How we find our drive as they races pass is one of the most difficult things to do in this sport. We think the best solution is to create discipline and consistency and let your work take care of itself.
- Healthy level of fear and self doubt – Nothing can drive us like fear if it’s channeled in a calm way toward the right goal. Sebastian Keinle once said, “If you’re totally confident about a race, you’re probably overtrained.” We love that quote because a big part of this sport is the mystery. As I mentioned above, you need to have fresh legs and we also say it’s better to be way undertrained than 1% overtrained.
- 100% jacked – It’s good to be pumped, but Ironman is a long day. It’s like slowly unwinding a long ball of string. A game of attrition. Your body can do it, but we have to let the air out slowly.
- The blame game – Next time you catch yourself complaining about something that someone did to you in a race, stop. Nobody wants to hear it and people are just doing their best. It’s not an attack on you. Things happen. Volunteers drop water bottles. People get punched in the swim. Nothing is personal. It’s all part of the sport.
- Overly ambitious Goal? – go for it – Why not go for it? Have your sites on the podium? Change that goal to first place. Thinking sub 15 Ironman, shoot for 13. I guess the catch is, you might want to set that goal early in training, and . . . while you’re at it, tell someone else so you can feel more accountability.
- Greatest time of year for training – Obviously this is the fall… and it’s also time to stay in the game and get your aerobic engine as powerful as possible so you can come out swinging after the new year.
- Isolating sport to the 10th power
- Emotion and motivation levels
- Excitement vs. Fulfillment
- Something new always gets old
- How to find new in the old?
- When you’re tired you need more
- The mood swings of peak training
- You’re doing it for the right reasons. . . remember that
- Hard things create breakthroughs
- Trains and training
- Slow Burn
- Reaping rewards from the journey
- Race day is graduation
- Body of work – Remember what you went through
- The leverage of a completion of a race
- No one’s guaranteed a good race day
- We’re hardest on ourselves
- Chasing EPIC
- How many highs and lows you go through
- There’s no hiding from race pain