Thanks to our awesome listeners, we were able to build out an entire episode worth of content requested by our community! We skip a single big topic in favor of a medium-dive on a bunch of really awesome ones: a six-step emotional regulation strategy to use when workouts feel rough; how to distinguish between training fatigue and "deeper" fatigue; more examples of mental work in practice; how to crush Ironman and 70.3 spectating; our favorite endurance adventures in New England; when to get a TT bike and what to be thinking about; tips for dealing with plantar fasciitis pain; and a whole lot more! Check it out.
Extended show notes:
Coaching and Training Insights
Jim: How to identify when the workout isn’t going well and what to do
In this heat and humidity, this internal dialogue may sound familiar:
“I’ve worked too hard to run at this pace and HR.”
“I guess I’m not fit.”
“My race is going to be a disaster if I perform like this.”
“Maybe this sport isn’t for me.”
If this, or something similar is happening to you, here’s a quick way to recalibrate your emotional state:
If you are running, stop your watch, start to walk and find some shade.
Take a few deep breaths. It’s really effective to say to yourself, “I breathe in and I breathe out”. Focus on breathing for 5 - 10 breaths. This will bring your body and mind into alignment quickly.
Name the feeling: Anger, frustration, just feeling awful from the heat.
Notice the feeling: Is it in your head, heart, stomach or other places. Don’t judge it, just notice where you are feeling your emotion.
Listen to the feeling:
What message is my body sharing with me about what it needs?
What action is called for?
What connection does it need?
Maybe the need is physical (stop, rest, walk, run/walk or slowing way down), or maybe it's emotional (care, validation or love from your support network and/or coach).
Either way, you don’t need to judge the feeling. Take a couple of seconds to ask how you might support, or seek support. Don’t overthink it. If there’s no obvious answer, that’s okay! The practice of listening is enough. And feel free to journal this in TrainingPeaks for yourself and support from your coach.
Let the feeling go. Feelings are meant to share their message and then leave the body. Usually this happens in 90 seconds or less. Then continue on your way, whether that is running, walking or heading back home to a cool place.
In sum, this strategy is aimed at achieving emotional stability. Getting good at this practice will serve you at home, at work, in your relationships, etc. Endurance athletes are some of the best at practice so add this to your toolbox for even more baller status.
*How to handle the rest of the summer of heat and humidity:
At this point in your season, all of our athletes are fit and race ready. We don’t need to chase fitness in this heat and humidity. We have worked for months (and years) to arrive at this place. It’s much more about maintenance now and refining our race skills and tactics.
The take home message: if you are suffering in this heat/humidity for the next few weeks, no stress. You are exactly where you should be as we have planned it this way!
Katie
Distinguishing between workout fatigue and deeper fatigue
As athletes we live in a state of fatigue, which makes it hard to tell when something deeper is going on (sickness, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, etc.)
Some tips for distinguishing:
If a few days of rest doesn’t make the fatigue go away, could be something deeper
If you have three days of workouts in a row where you feel really tired / get outside of the rule of thirds, could be something deeper
If you feel exhausted when you wake up even after getting enough sleep, it could be something deeper
If you feel like the exhaustion is paired with mental health dips/symptoms, issues concentrating/focusing, etc., could be something deeper
What to do: take some rest days, take note of your symptoms and how you feel (TP comments can be a good place for this), get some blood work, check in with doctor, be more intentional about fueling, loop in your coach
Jim: Sometimes the TSB indicator in TrainingPeaks can help validate when you are overtrained and need a true recovery week.
Two examples of specific strategies for mental work in pros
Mark Cavendish: 39 y/o professional cyclist, famous sprinter, famous for winning a record 35 Tour de France stages over his career
Has raced at TdF 15 times
“Has trouble staying happy while racing” → has a word/phrase that can make him smile and help him stay happy
“Bibbity bobbity boo” which is a lyric from a Cinderella song -- reminds him of a video of his 2 year old at dance class in a tutu; reminds him of why he does what he does
Jim: There is a recent Rich Roll interview with Dr David Spindler.
Allie Wilson: women’s 800m runner; qualified for the Olympics at the trials; works with a mental
“Burn ceremony” → write down all your negative thoughts on a piece of paper; reframe each one into a positive thought or the opposite on a separate piece of paper; burn the negative ones, say the positive ones out loud
An interesting experience on fueling
Shout out to athlete Gigi for sharing this -- “the devastating reverse bonk”
Had hyper concentrated carb drink in a front bottle; very thirsty coming out of the water which is normal; ended up taking in 150 g carbs in the first 45’ which was a lot of her nutrition
Then had a lot of trouble fueling for the rest of the ride with liquid sources because stomach wasn’t happy
Saved the day by packing extra bars which settled better
Three lessons:
(1) Pack plan B fueling strategy if possible (or rely on aid station options as a backup if your nutrition isn’t working or if you lose it like in Jim’s rabbit story)
(2) You do have to pace yourself with liquid carbs -- make this part of your race plan
(3) Having some hydration in T1 (even a few sips) can help with the post swim thirsty feeling and give you a quick hit of carbs to start off
Jim: Weirdly, I have found salt pills as a great remedy for a sloshy stomach in a race.
How to crush IM/70.3 spectating
Broader point about spectators for athletes:
As athletes we do so much of our training alone; it can be great, but it can also be a lot to have a bunch of people enter your circle on race day
Best way to ward against any tension is (1) communication about what you expect to need; (2) pre-planning spectator logistics so you don’t have to think about them on race morning or day before race; (3) if possible, designate a spectator captain who you trust and who can delegate/answer questions.
Broader point for spectators:
IM spectating is HARD and exhausting work (almost as hard as doing an IM). Don’t underestimate how big of a day this will be for you and be sure to take care of yourself and rest when you can so you can show up for your athlete when it is most needed
For athletes: Make a schedule of events for your spectator squad (not everyone knows that a triathlon is swim/bike/run) and walk them through what will happen during the day
For athletes: Communicate what you expect to want/need at different times (e.g., want or do not want people cheering for you up the Lisa G’s hill)
It can be fun to give people different “jobs” to keep them busy -- e.g. Colleen has always crushed social media for us, Jim in charge of strategy and real-time race updates on positioning, Connor there for primary emotional support, etc.
If you have many spectators, encourage them to spread out especially along the run course so you have people to look forward to seeing at different times
For older/less mobile spectators: park them somewhere where they can see a lot but are able to sit and don’t have to move around so much. IMLP ideas:
In town, several restaurants overlook the swim
Set up a chair on Mirror Lake Drive in the shade
Question for Jim: was VIP spectator pass worth it at IMLP?
For spectators at Ironman and even half Ironman:
Be with athlete pre-race if they want you there; helpful to take their morning clothes, phone, etc. if they don’t want to check a morning clothes bag
**You are there to support; do not ask them too many questions on race morning, especially about their performance; sometimes being a calm, quiet, and steady presence is the best thing you can do.***
Watch swim start and finish; then go get brunch, rest, chill out for most of the bike. You can use the tracker to see where they are on the bike and make sure to be in position for the run; save energy by not being on feet/outside while bike is happening
Spectator bag of essentials:
Comfortable backpack (possibly with hip support containing): Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, water with electrolytes, LOTS of snacks, warm layer(s), raincoat/umbrella
Portable phone charger
Comfortable shoes, dry fit clothing
Pack and dress like you are going on an all-day hike
Bonus points: ultralight camp chair
For athletes: THANK your spectators!
Listener Questions
“I would love to hear more ideas and suggestions for fun and unique adventures that people could do… Across range of abilities. Being in a relatively urban place, I don’t always know what cool things I might like doing or places to explore… Would love to get Katie and Jim ‘s top 10 list of best adventure workouts Or trips or activities!”
As a starting point, check out our Episode 6: ADVENTURES AS TRAINING and the podcast notes.
Trail/mountain adventures in New England:
Franconia Ridge
Mount Chocorua
Mount Katahdin
Maine’s Bold Coast - Cutler Coast Public Preserved Land
Presidential Traverse (and Presidential Picnic)
Multi-sport adventures in general -- we’d love to do a traverse over Katahdin and gravel bike back on the park road
Pemi Loop
Hut Traverse
New England 67
AT in VT, NH, Maine; the Long Trail; The Dartmouth Fifty; Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness (backpacking)
Bike adventures:
White Mountains Century (work up to it with Bear Notch cutoff)
The LAMB Ride (work up to it with any combo of Gaps)
VT 6 Gap Ride (LAMB + Rochester and Roxbury)
The East Coast Ride -- riff on the idea of doing a point-to-point ride with friends and SAG support. The Peter Fuller van!
Or Acadia National Park alone; sunrise bike up Cadillac Mtn
200 on 100
Adventures I want to do:
Open water swim at Crystal Lake in Barton, VT
Open water swim at Lake Willoughby and hike of Mt Pisgah and Hor
Climb all VT 4K peaks and bike between
“This might be a controversial topic, but how would you approach weight loss while adhering to a training plan?”
You can’t optimize for performance at the same time as weight loss
Nutrition interview with Cate Ward -- recommend (1) working with a dietician and (2) only focusing on weight loss goals when you are not actively focusing on performance goals
Especially don’t recommend weight loss goals for our young athletes; focus on fueling the work with our principles of triathlete nutrition and your body will likely settle where it needs to be
“Question for extended listener questions episode, kind of gear-oriented: I'm curious about what stage in your triathlon careers you both were at when you got your first TT bike! Was it a big decision, or kind of a given? What factors played a role in you deciding it was time to get a TT bike? And what was the shopping process like? I.e., more word-of-mouth recommendations or lots of online reading? Did you try on multiple bikes or just one and then got it fit?
Jim: The first year or two, I used a road bike with aero extensions. When I was sure this was my sport, I went to my local bike shop who sold Felt TT bikes. My local bike shop was able to provide a basic fit and the relationship with the local bike shop makes maintenance sometimes easier/faster. Local bike shops are very important to our sport (and cycling) so it's good to support them.
TT bikes I like are Felt, Cervelo and Canyon but also other manufacturers make great TT frames, too. The most important item is a proper frame size/bike fit and the color of the frame!
How much do disc wheels matter (in your opinions)?
Jim: They matter in very competitive age group / cycling TT competitions. Plus they just sound cool when you ride by a guardrail. Also deep rim wheels like Zipp 808 are just as effective. With that said, a nice training and racing wheel is a Zipp 404 or equivalent.
Any amazing bike shops or fitters in the New England area to recommend?
Jim: My go to bike fitters are FitWerx in Waitsfield, VT. They also have a location in Peabody MA.
Recently heard good things about Grace Bicycles in Holliston, MA.
Related: can a triathlete be "competitive" (podium-material) at Olympic and 70.3 distances without a TT bike?”
Jim: No. Unless you are a professional cyclist, you will need a TT bike or a very good aero fit on your road bike with TT bar extensions. If you have access to a wind tunnel or a very good bike fitter you can make a road bike just as fast as a TT bike. But if you are that into the sport, you should own a TT bike.
What to do about plantar pain?
Consult with a physical therapist
New shoes, go to a speciality running store
Frozen plastic water bottle rolled under your feet
Stay hydrated
Theragun
Challenge of the Week
Katie: Annual physical and blood work! Common deficiencies in athletes: iron/ferritin, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc. And/or get a PCP that you trust if you don’t have one
Jim: Do the above emotional stability exercise the next time you have a bad run (or bike).
Request from Seb: Article/book/movie of the week
Jim: The Opposite of Trying - The Art of Accomplishment podcast
Gear Pick of the Week
Katie: trail shoe, unisex Salomon S/Lab Ultra 3
Jim: Giro Imperial Shoe