This week’s episode is a grab bag full of fun insights related to: the how and why of training camps, considerations for buying a new or new used bike, navigating race-day uncontrollables, impulse control in racing, how and when to “burn a match” in workouts or races, GI issues on long runs, the post-race blues, and lessons from interval training. We also debrief Jim’s recent bike trip in Europe, answer some questions related to “hitting the wall” after Katie’s recent marathon (hot take: there is no wall), and cover some fun tech-y gear picks of the week. Check it out!
Want to put all of your big fitness to a good cause? Check out the Bike MS: Cape Cod Getaway 2025 or consider donating to support!
Coaching and Training Insights
Katie:
Thoughts on buying a new bike
Pros and cons of new vs. used
Places to look for used bikes: BuyCycle, PinkBike, The Pro’s Closet, Craigslist/Ebay
Frame – carbon is best
Components – learn the tiers, get Ultegra (Shimano) / Rival (SRAM) or better
Wheels – easy to upgrade, one of the best ways to make you faster
Nice to haves:
Power meter
Electronic shifting
Partnering with a local bike shop for assembly / fit
Two extremely important and sometimes overlooked variables:
The FIT and the COLOR
Navigating race-day uncontrollables
Race day story from one of my athletes at Oceanside with major bike mechanical
Pre-race call where we said that “if the only thing you are worried about is a bike mechanical, you are in a good place!”
What to do: start trying to fix yourself, and if that doesn’t work, flag down a mechanic; they will find you eventually especially in big races
Emotional regulation – being able to regroup is really hard when you get shaken by an uncontrollable. Remind yourself that getting upset won’t help the situation and focus on what you can control in that moment
Example recently of not choking in the face of disappointment/major pressure: Rory McIlory
Mindset shift: mentally, subtract mechanical time from your overall time to get a more accurate picture of your fitness/training
Super proud of my athlete for being mentally locked in!
Post-race blues
Normal! Part of it is physiological - the endorphins/dopamine/other happy hormones wear off
Things to do:
Celebrate and enjoy what is harder in peak training (example: brunch! Triathletes can’t do brunch! Or vacation)
It can help to stick to your routine (i.e. if you normally do your workouts in the morning, consider some Z1 recovery movement during that time)
Start researching other races you might be interested in doing to know what the options are, but I recommend waiting at least 2-4 weeks before singing up for anything new
Post-Season Eval and Goal Mapping sheet can be helpful here! Especially with identifying your purpose in training and racing.
Impulse control in marathon racing (and many other races)
Shoutout to one of my athletes who had an incredible race at the Ojai Marathon in CA. A goal of 4 hours, ran 3:51
Interesting course – first 6 uphill, then most of the race downhill to Ventura, flat finish
In pre race meeting we talked a lot about how much impulse control was going to be important in this race; goal was to NOT try to be at goal race pace during the first 6 and assume that she would make up a ton of time on the downhill
This involved letting the 4 hour pacer pass her in the first six miles which can be so tough mentally, and yet she did it
“For the first 6 miles I had to go so slow to keep my HR down”
Finished strong, negative split the whole thing, and said: “I feel like I really enjoyed it because I wasn’t dying the whole time” // “It feels so good to be optimistic and excited after a race instead of just completely gassed”
Super strong mental game here and lessons many people can learn from! Hold back!
GI issues on long runs
Something is in the air/water – 6 (!) athletes reporting GI issues on long runs over the weekend!
Actually super normal and something to loop coaches in about
Some things that can help:
Trying to normalize your workout and mealtimes so your body stays on a schedule – often this is worse for late afternoon or evening runs especially if your body isn’t used to it
Also important to train your body to run at the time of day of your race – if you always do your long run at 11am and your race starts at 6am, more likely to have GI distress or not be able to go to the bathroom beforehand
Keeping a pretty plain diet the morning before your runs as well as the 1-2 days before, especially for racing; try to keep up your normal volume of food, but keep it plain like if you were recovering from a stomach bug
Watch the caffeine intake; sometimes helps people in the morning but too much can be tough on GI system
In extreme cases, consider checking in with doctor for gluten or dairy intolerances, IBS or any other related issues
Jim:
Bike Camp Lessons
Why do a bike / run / training camp:
Big bump in fitness. Compress a week worth of TSS into 3 - 4 days.
Focus on one sport which will give you more confidence and skills. We did a lot of climbing and descending on hairpin turns and my downhill cornering skills got a lot better. And due to all the climbing, my power balance (left and right leg) improved (still rebuilding after last year's accident).
Time to focus on just being an athlete and not having all of life's responsibilities. Training camps are adult play camps.
Build new friendships and renew old friendships. When you work hard with a group of people, you develop a quick feeling of camaraderie. I’ve kept in touch with people for many years after a training camp and you may get to see them again at a race/event in another part of the world. (You could work with someone for years in an office and never feel close to them but you go to a training camp for a week and you develop a bunch of new, close friends! Hard work and shared suffering brings us together like nothing else.)
Day 1: The number one rule: nothing too crazy. You're probably dehydrated, tired, and adjusting to time zones. Your only job is not to ruin the rest of the week. This might mean letting some moves go on the bike that you would normally cover. Let go of your ego on Day 1 and focus on the long game.
Day 1 mistake: I didn't eat enough on Day 1 and suffered later in the day when the pace picked up. I wasn’t sure when we would be stopping or the specifics of the route (e.g., when the big climbs or descents were coming). I had two water bottles: one with 80 grams of carbs and the other with 40 grams. I was saving the 80-gram bottle for a big climb, which left me with just one bottle to sip from, causing me to ration my water/carbs early in the day.
The day started with a 45-minute climb right out of the gate, making it tough to ease into the day and the camp.
Honestly, I ended Day 1 feeling like I hadn’t trained enough and that the next four days were going to be tough. I was a little embarrassed and disappointed in myself. Turns out, it was just the bad sleep, dehydration, and fueling that were affecting me.
Day 2: Main Mission: I ate early and often. I increased my intake by 50% over Day 1 and felt fantastic later in the day. I was able to push bigger watts at hour four, which hadn’t been possible on Day 1.
The route on Day 2 started with a 45-minute easy warm-up, followed by two gentle climbs. The bigger climbs came mid-ride, and by then, I was well-fueled, hydrated, and properly warmed up.
The effort on Day 2 was similar in mileage to Day 1, with more climbing, but the TSS (Training Stress Score) was nearly the same. Because I was fueling better (and had gotten some sleep and hydration), I ended Day 2 feeling strong and ready to tackle Day 3.
The strongest rider on Day 1 faded on Day 2 because he wasn’t fueling enough.
Day 2 lesson: Get through Day 1. Don’t judge the entire camp based on the first day. Stay well-fueled and hydrated for the rest of the week. Focus on steady, fueled watts—this will often outperform Day 1 heroics.
On a 4-day camp, the camp doesn’t really start until late on Day 2, so hold back until then.
Day 3: 2.5 hour recovery ride with one 10’ threshold+ interval up a small mountain to a monastery. Zone 1 recovery was important and it’s nice to throw in a few harder efforts these days to build confidence and keep touch with high end speed/power.
Day 4: I was a bit tired and initially, as we started the ride, I wanted to classify my physical abilities as either "bad" or "good," but I realized there was a third option: I felt like I was in the middle of the bell curve. It was a reminder that feeling neutral is also a valid choice in both athletics and life.
Physiological lesson: My heart rate was suppressed, and I couldn’t get it above 155 bpm. I was aerobically tired. On Day 1, my heart rate was elevated, while on Day 4, it was lower. Heart rate can be misleading.
This might be a situation where the Tymewear ventilation heart rate strap could be helpful. I suspect my breathing rate was the same at 155 bpm as it was at 165-170 bpm on Day 1. More to come on this topic; I am an early tester for the first public release. (Don’t go out and buy one of these yet!)
Additional Thoughts: Even in cooperation, there is competition. We weren’t there to show each other up but to ride together across some incredible terrain. However, as athletes, there will always be a natural tendency to compare strength and speed. It's human nature to categorize each other’s abilities and traits. Competition / hierarchy naturally wants to be established on Day 1 as our brains love predictability. However, if you play your cards correctly, who is strongest on Day 1 may fade later in the week (or the next day).
Post-Camp/Travel: The day after camp or travel should be an easy, active recovery day. Don’t push it—let the gains consolidate and ease back into your regular routine.
My hack: I usually don’t sleep well when I return from travel, so I’ll get up early the day after to ensure I’m tired by the second night home. This helps me sleep and get back on track with my usual schedule.
Intervals Are Compressed Learning
I always say that racing is a rich learning environment. But the same can be said about interval workouts.
Take this example: the other day, I did 8 x 1-minute bike intervals at anaerobic capacity—about 150% of FTP. These are tough efforts that mimic the demands of a group ride or race.
Back when I wasn’t training in a structured way, it might have taken me weeks to accumulate 8 x 1-minute efforts at that intensity.
But now with structured training, I compressed all of that learning into a single 30-minute session.
The main lesson: How I executed the first interval compared to the last was dramatically different. In the first couple, I went out way too hard and faded fast. Then I started experimenting—spinning a higher cadence and easing into the effort. By the 6th interval, I had it dialed in: a smooth, sustained effort for the full minute, with even a kick of power at the end. I finished that workout not just with fitness gains, but with new skills and confidence to attack short, high-intensity efforts in a race—like powering up a hill or closing a gap.
If I hadn’t been doing structured intervals, it would’ve taken me weeks—if not months—of solo and group rides to learn how to execute that effort properly.
The same principle applies to running. Take the hill on your usual route. If you only run it once on your normal run loop, you’ll eventually get a feel for it—but it might take months to truly dial in your hill pacing.
Instead, turn that hill into your interval session: do 45-second, 1-minute, or 90-second hill repeats. In one session, you’ll learn more about how to run that hill well than in weeks of casual runs. That’s compressed learning.
Then, next week, you could apply the same approach to 2- or 3-minute hill intervals on the bike. Within several weeks—or even just a month—you’ll gain effort-based skills that might otherwise take years to develop.
That’s how you become an experienced athlete. That’s the kind of racer you want to be on race day.
How and When to Burn a Match
If you’ve been consistently doing your Zone 2 (Z2) aerobic training and your interval work, as we've discussed, then you're ready to burn some matches during a race or group ride/run. But what does it mean to "burn a match"?
It refers to significant, usually short bursts of power or pace—like attacking on a hill, making a strong pass, or accelerating hard out of a slow corner. These efforts can be intense, but they're brief and tactical.
In triathlon especially, we generally advocate for even pacing across the swim, bike, and run, as this approach typically yields the best overall results. However, as your aerobic fitness improves—and you develop a good understanding of the power or pace you can sustain for 10” - 30” seconds, or 1–2 minutes—you’ll be able to burn a few matches during a race without negatively impacting your overall performance. Done correctly, this can give you a critical edge over your competitors.
Think about a running race where you're evenly matched in pace with a group of runners. Then you hit a hill. If you're able to maintain the same pace up the hill while others slow down by 5 to 15 seconds per mile, you’ll start to separate from the group. Over a hilly course, those small gains add up. On flat terrain, you might all run similarly, but your strength, hill conditioning, and pacing knowledge give you the advantage when the terrain gets tough.
The more you develop the ability to burn matches at key moments in a race, the more strategic and successful your racing becomes. It’s a huge confidence booster—and it honestly feels like a superpower. While others dread the hard parts of the course, you're thriving. See a hill in a race? Hold my beer.
Challenge of the Week
Katie: Try 5x of one of your key disciplines (swim, bike, or run) to see a training breakthrough. **Though be smart with run mileage! See also Jim’s blog post: The Power of 5x.
Jim: Go do intervals with friends or a group.
Gear Pick of the Week