I’m about as old-school as they come, and have spent most of my triathlon career dreaming bout racing in Hawaii, but a conversation with my coach on the latest Crushing Iron podcast just changed my mind on the World Championship.  Is it time Ironman moved KONA off the Island?

At first I thought it was preposterous, but the more I listened, the more it made sense.  Not only could it be a huge financial win for Ironman, but so many more people could actually experience it, both as a racer, and spectator.

One of the points is obviously the expense of going to Hawaii for a week.  It limits family members and friends that can support you, plus it likely forces some qualifiers to turn down the slot.

The size of the island comes into play as well.  It would make it very difficult to have a separate woman’s and men’s race on different days, which Ironman is now doing for the 70.3 Championships.

There is also the question of: Does Kona really decide who is the best, or is it simply who is best in heat and wind?  Moving to different climates with more challenging terrain would open the door for different triathletes and give a better overall sense for who are the best racers in the world.

I’m personally a huge fan of Ironman Wisconsin and thinking about Madison hosting a World Championship sounds incredible.  The crowd support is already off the charts and the thought of how electric that city would be for an event of that magnitude gives me chills.

We discuss this starting the 25 minute mark of the Crushing Iron podcast, but also talk about a lot of other stuff regarding the broadcast.  The men’s battle between Frodeno and Kienle, Ryf vs. Rinny.  We also talk about how the broadcast, and specifically women are making this sport so popular.  We talk about the human interest stories, the advertising, and the 83 year old who is the oldest man to finish.

Please give us a rating on iTunes, and as always, follow Crushing Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Honestly, I probably don’t listen to my coach as much as I should.  Since the beginning I’ve always had self-concocted approaches to training, most of which center on finding the best short cut.  But after doing 9 podcasts with Coach Robbie, I think reality is starting to sink in.

My first Ironman was in 2013 at Wisconsin and was roughly 18 months after I started running for the first time in my life.  I raced as a 50-year-old that year and, while I didn’t tell anyone, I secretly thought I would pull a rabbit out of my hat and qualify for Kona.  Wrong.

I did pretty well and wound up around 30th in my age group of 200, but that is exactly where I have remained for the last 3 Ironman attempts.  I can’t break that Ironman Ceiling (or wall as displayed in this graphic).

Four years later, I’m starting to get the picture.

In reality, I probably trained the hardest for my first Ironman.  It was all about building a base and that’s exactly what I did.  In the years since then, I’ve started my base-building-phase way too late and put in far less mileage.

I’ve also put in a ton of “in the middle” type pace efforts which are neither slow nor fast.  Most of my runs for example are targeted to be around 8:30’s because I thought if I could make that feel easy, I could do it in the race.  Wrong.

So, what about being in solid shape before you start building your base and actually taking advantage of that base with focused training to get to the next level?  There’s a concept.

My goal this year is to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.  I hope to do so in May on the same course in Chattanooga.  Typically I’d wait for my 8-10 week wake-up-call, then go down and hope it comes together.  Not this time.

It’s early December and my entire focus is on building up to base training so I can put in some heavy chassis work starting in January.  The question is, how?

On today’s podcast, Coach made it simple.  He said, “Just do something every day.  It can be in a swim, bike, run rotation, with some strength training.  Take a day off if you need it, but also start adding two-a-days when you feel up to it.”

I do think a lot of time we get caught up in the numbers but in reality, it’s about being in position to build yourself to the next level.  And that probably never stops if you want to reach a place you’ve been talking about but can’t seem to get there.

We go into that a lot deeper in this podcast.  You’ll also find out:

– How To Win A Free Coaching Consultation
– How To Prep Your Body To Start The Season
– If Your Base Training Has Plateaued
– How to break through 15+ Slots In Your Race
– What it really takes to make an Ironman Podium
– To Prepare Your Body For the Next Phase
– If you’re lost in the numbers
– To Break Race Prep Into Blocks

• Subscribe, rate, review on iTunes (stitcher and google play)
• Robbie’s Consultation
• Friday Five
• Email us: [email protected]

Here’s the second Crushing Iron “Squadcast.”  There are several topics and we’ve given you time codes so you can find everything easily.  Today, Coach Robbie and Mike get into:

• Planning your 2017 Triathlon Race Calendar
• Ways to keep off-season training fun but focused
• Overall body workout balance
• Why a training plan has little to do with coaching
• “Speeding up” versus “Slowing Down the Least”
• Mental and physical hurdles of the Marathon in Ironman racing
• Good ways to ruin your race
• Calibrating your internal power and pace meters.

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“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” –Ghandi 

I’m not really going to talk about politics.  But I’ve noticed something missing on my Facebook feed this week and think it’s important.

Like you, I have been bombarded with chaos.  Gloating posts from the elated, and scathing retorts from disappointed.  But what really stood out was . . . how little of this banter is coming from my triathlon friends.

Triathletes haven’t been immune, but for the most part they seem to have abstained; and I think it’s because they understand who ultimately controls their outcomes.

This certainly applies to more than triathletes, but this is a triathlon website and I know that training for Ironman creates ongoing challenges that force us to face problems and dig for solutions.  Only one person can stop us, and that person is in the mirror.

I’ve never believed the president impacts my life.  I’m the one who gets out of bed and decides to kick ass or wallow in illusion of pending doom.

Maybe it’s easier for me to say because I’m a middle-aged white male.  But, I’m not immune to obstacles.

I’ve always dealt with depression and addiction.  I’ve always struggled with money and relationships. I come from a long line of alcoholics.

Because of these things I tend to turn inside.  I also isolate and that usually makes things worse.

But without darkness, there is no light.

It is easy to project negativity on the world when things aren’t going my way.  I’ve worked hard to keep that in check because selfish reactions have consequence on more people than me.

Regardless of how I feel, I always know the truth in my heart and do whatever it takes to “get myself back.”  To remain positive.  And most importantly not blame other people for my situation.

For me, that’s at the core of what’s going on right now.  Raging on Facebook or Twitter is simply another form of quick fix.  It’s an addiction that makes people feel better in the moment, then ultimately worse.  And, it’s selfish.

I think most people understand this because the posting is losing some edge.  There have been a lot of apologies.

Maybe it’s because the world didn’t end, but it’s more likely because “the rush” from the outrage wore off.  Their lives remain the same and they still face the real work inside.

We’ll be a lot better off when we realize telling people to change never works.  The only thing we can do is “be that change” and hope they notice.

Speaking of politics, check out the Crushing Iron podcast, “Triathlon: The Good, the bad, and the ugly,” for honest discussion between an age group athlete and his coach.