In this week’s episode, we’re talking through our top tips for making triathlon—arguably one of the most expensive recreational sports—at least somewhat more economical. We cover non-negotiable must-have gear and equipment items, nice-to-have but not necessary items, gimmicky items that you shouldn’t waste your money on, hidden costs to be aware of, and how to budget more effectively. We also deep dive on a bunch of fun coaching and training insights including Life Stress Score (LSS), not letting Garmin health data gaslight us, gear and strategies for cold weather running, mental imagery, and setting a ‘theme’ or intention for your day. Check it out!
Coaching and Training Insights:
Katie:
LSS is on the rise: LSS has been hitting hard for a lot of athletes already! Work stress, family stress, relationship stress… it’s all stress. Gentle reminders:
Be gentle with yourself and your workouts! You are already dealing with a lot, and beating yourself up about it will only make things worse.
Ask your body what it needs and then modify or skip as needed. It can help to lie down and do a quick body scan to see where you are holding any tension and what might make it feel better.
Be extra cautious about doing any physically or mentally intense workouts. A 4-mile run with no pickups may be a better choice than 4 miles with 8 x 20” pickups on a high LSS day.
When in doubt, inform your coach who can be an accountability partner in reminding you that skipping or modifying is not just ok -- it’s encouraged.
Jim: A reminder that triathlon training is extraordinary. You are juggling A LOT. You are learning A LOT. You are adjusting to a structured approach to training. You are living a lifestyle that is often at odds with the rest of the world!
Thoughts on sleep data and other metrics
We all have gadgets that give us a report card every day on how well we slept
Personally and in athletes, I often see stress and anxiety coming in when sleep is not as good as we think it is
Conversely, many of us have had the experience where we think we didn’t sleep well and Garmin says we did
Be careful about letting the data guide how you feel -- helpful to check in with yourself first and ask subjectively how tired you are/how energized you feel, and then check. Moreover, if the data is making you feel any worse about yourself / your sleep, consider a few nights with no watch to see how that makes you subjectively feel
“Feel” is a more powerful data point than any of these one-off subjective metrics!
Same goes for RHR / HRV
When it’s cold out, be more intentional about your warmup miles
Freezing temps = body is much tighter moving into speed work
Recently did strides after BoMF and felt some hamstring twinges because I’d been running in Z1 for an hour and legs weren’t fully warmed up
Would have been smarter to do some 75-80% intensity pickups first and then transition into faster strides if the body felt OK
Jim: yes on hamstring twinges from cold legs!
Also related to cold - what do we do about cold legs/butt?!
Some hacks -- spandex shorts under tights; two pairs of tights; thermal tights; joggers on top of tights; Patagonia wind shield pants
Shout out to athlete Katie B for her recs for cold weather running:
Fleece-lined leggings (I have Athleta and Oiselle)
2-3 layers up-top: usually a long-sleeve Craft base layer that is at least 5 years old, a Nike quarter-zip long sleeve, and a windbreaker. The windbreaker keeps me very warm, no matter if there is wind or not.
Craft hat and hybrid gloves - or their mittens are awesome when it is below 20.
Darn tough socks
Light-up vest - Nox gear
Jim:
Mental imagery
I have a new triathlete learning how to swim. She made the remark that her swim video looked nothing like what she thought it would; she was imagining how Katie Ledecky swims and wanted to replicate that in the pool.
All kidding aside, this type of imagery / visualization is a valid learning tool. One way to improve your skills is to play a role and pretend you are a pro. While you are practicing your sport, you imagine how the pro looks doing it and try to replicate that.
This is very effective with swimming, or sitting on your trainer watching the Tour de France replay, trying to imitate and channel your inner Tadej Pogacar. Or while out running, pretending you are Eliud Kipchoge.
From Lawrence van Lingen - “Visualization: When you vividly imagine achieving a goal, your brain reacts similarly to experiencing it in real life. This strengthens neural pathways, making the required actions feel more achievable.”
Swimming in January
Speaking of swimming, I’m getting many comments that January swimming, after an off season, can be a hot mess. No worries. That’s completely expected and understandable. My advice is don’t judge your current swim fitness or technique. Just get 6 - 8 swims in and then see how you feel (probably a lot better about your swimming).
Make each day about theme(s) to bring you in alignment with your goals/purpose.
We talk a lot about knowing the intention of the workout to help you stay aligned with your fitness goals. We can extend that out to reminding ourselves of our purpose or goal every day, particularly before going to bed or first thing in the morning. I’ve been playing around with themes of the day to help me stay grounded and keep a higher level perspective on my daily/weekly actions. For example:
Monday: Day Off theme is Restoration. You can get an active voice and say to yourself, “Today is about restoring my body and mind”.
Tuesday: This is a run speed and strength day for a lot of athletes. Your theme could be Speed. “I am speedy and strong today!”
Wednesday: Maybe this is a hard bike or swim interval day. “I am Strong and Smooth today.”
Thursday: This is a run speed and strength day for a lot of athletes. Your theme could be Speed. “I am speedy and strong today!”
Friday: You volunteer on this day. Theme: Service or Community. “I am part of and of service to a community.”
Saturday: Maybe you do a masters program or group ride / run on Saturday. Your theme is Community. “I value my friends and community.”
Sunday: Could be a more family oriented day. Family is the theme.
And you may find some life and training/racing mantras from all this active voicing.
Dashboard in TrainingPeaks
A tip that you can create all types of fun charts in TrainingPeaks Dashboard. It’s a quick way to get an overview of your, for example, Time In Heart Rate Zones: All Workout Types over the last 90 days. By the way, this particular chart should be a big bar for Z1, lower for Z2 and so forth. If you were to turn this chart to the left, it would form one half of a sweet looking HR pyramid.
You can make all kinds of charts for max power per month, the Performance Management Chart will display your increasing fitness. Or track single sport fitness / power / pace over ‘x’ period of time.
Calling all runners / adventure racers / cyclists
A reminder that we have a very diverse range of training and racing backgrounds as coaches. We don’t just train triathletes. If you are, or know someone who is training for an adventure race, single sport like running, ultra running, cycling, we have a deep knowledge base to help.
Main Content
Roll-down of things to spend money on
Non-negotiables:
Running shoes every 250ish miles that fit you well; helps to rotate a few pairs
A safe road or TT bike that (1) works and (2) fits you well
With clip-in pedals, bike shoes, helmet, and a bike light
Professional bike fit ideally
A sports watch (we like Garmin) with a HR strap (wrist HR is unreliable)
Goggles, cap, swimsuit. Your pool may have swim toys, but at a minimum we also want you to have paddles and buoy.
Wetsuit for most triathlon races, but you may be able to get around this by strategically selecting races.
Tri kit for racing; general apparel for training
TP Premium membership if you are being coached by us. Otherwise, you can keep track of your workouts in, e.g., a google spreadsheet.
If you live anywhere that has cold weather, either a bike trainer or access to a spin bike/Peloton. (70.3-140.6 athletes definitely need a trainer.)
Access to a gym with heavy weights.
Resistance bands and a foam roller for glute activation and mobility work
FUEL and HYDRATION. Both in training and outside of training.
Race registrations -- register early to get discounts
Nice-to-haves / splurges:
Power meter → dual-sided power meter (we highly recommend a power meter for Level 3+ athletes)
Clip on aero bars for road bike
Aero helmet
Electronic shifting
Carbon race wheels
Fancier recovery tools (i.e. massage gun, Normatec)
Body work such as sports massage
Don’t waste your money on:
The ice headband
Ketones
Hidden costs of triathlon
Nutrition and hydration (both sports nutrition products and general volume of good and healthy food)
Bike shop trips
Things you use up -- chain lube, bike wash, chamois cream, etc.
Travel costs associated with races
Recurring charges for subscriptions to e.g. TP Premium, Zwift; USAT membership
Ways to budget more effectively
Used bikes discussion. Pinkbike & buycycle. Check the bike manufacturers website for the correct frame size for you.
Many local bike shops have Spring used bike sales.
Related, if you buy an entry level bike from a local bike shop, many will include a general bike fitting (which can be up to $500 value)
Don’t buy a triathlon bike as your first bike. Buy something comfortable.
Insurance for body work
Jim: my economical massage is a) easy swim or b) time with a massage gun.
When it’s OK to go with the cheap Amazon version of something vs. when you should pay for something fancier. Examples?
Foam roller
The Feed - wait for regular sales
Sports nutrition products that have a cheap analog discussion
E.g. untapped maple products vs. maple syrup in a squeezy bottle.
Homemade cookies, brownies, cake, leftover pizza, etc on the bike.
TrainingPeaks Virtual (free for TrainingPeaks Premium users) vs Zwift
Wahoo Snap (super cheap) vs Kickr. Snap is out of stock but you can find it on a reseller site. Or even free, cheap dumb trainer (trainer that does not have Bluetooth or ANT connectivity)
Garmin 245 ($280) vs Garmin Forerunner 965 ($600). And use a wrist watch as your bike computer.
If you already have an Apple Watch, use that for your sports.
Good pair of run trainers vs super shoes.
Don’t buy the super expensive wetsuit. Buy a good brand, lower level wetsuit (always full sleeve, too) like Roka Maverick Comp. Very economical wetsuits: XTERRA Middle ground between Roka and XTERRA is Orca.
Use the same type of swim goggles for both pool and open water. My favorite dual use goggle is Aquasphere Kayenne.
Sign up for local triathlon races not expensive IM branded races.
Your big “A” race of the year could be a self-curated adventure where you determine the race date, place and no entry fee.
Challenge of the Week
Katie: One social workout per week (and it’s OK if this means deviating from your training plan)
Jim: Make one of your easy (or longer runs) as hilly as possible even if that means lifting your HR a bit.
Gear Pick of the Week
Katie: Lululemon Scuba Mid-Rise Oversized Jogger (sweatpants) for recovery lounge mode after your chilly workouts
Jim: Koia protein shakes On-the-go! New version of our favorite supermarket protein drink. Order from Amazon.