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507 What did you learn this season?
118 Plays21 days ago
This week on the 303Endurance Podcast, coaches Rich, April and Lauren dive into the power of race reports and season reflections as tools for growth and preparation for next year’s race season. In the “Ask A Coach” segment, the coaches share practical advice on how to write a race report that goes beyond storytelling to become a meaningful learning experience. The “Get Gritty Tip” explores reigniting your “why” to stay motivated and intentional in your training journey. The “TriDot Workout of the Week” breaks down the anatomy of a TriDot workout, helping athletes understand how each component drives performance. And to wrap things up, Rich adds a fun twist with five get-to-know-you questions that reveal more about the personalities behind the endurance passion.
Let’s make this your strongest season yet!
Website - Grit2Greatness Endurance Coaching
Facebook - @grit2greatnessendurance
Instagram - @grit2greatness_endurance
Coach April Spilde
TriDot Signup - https://app.tridot.com/onboard/sign-up/aprilspilde
RunDot Signup - https://app.rundot.com/onboard/sign-up/aprilspilde
Coach Lauren Brown
TriDot Signup -
RunDot Signup -
Coach Rich Soares
TriDot Signup - https://app.tridot.com/onboard/sign-up/richsoares
RunDot Signup - https://app.rundot.com/onboard/sign-up/richsoares
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:22
Rich
Welcome to episode 507 of the 303 Endurance Podcast, where your hosts, coaches, Rich Soares, April Spilde and Lauren Brown. Thanks for joining us for another week of coaching questions, get gritty tips and workout wisdom. And yes, a little fun.
00:00:37
Rich
We are talking race reports and season reflections today. April and Lauren, how are you guys doing?
00:00:45
April
Well, it's always great to be here with you and coach Lauren. It has been a crazy, awesome season, and I'm just looking forward to breaking it down with the both of you.
00:00:55
Lauren Brown
And i i love being with you guys. I can't help but smile when we're together. So feeling great about the conversations that we're going to have. I cannot believe that we're at the tail end of the triathlon season, which is wild. But I'm excited to talk about what's going on up to this point and what we've got left.
00:01:18
Rich
I mean, where did the season go? It was just starting. was, I was just in Omaha.
00:01:24
Lauren Brown
It's crazy. I know.
00:01:25
Rich
Like what happened?
00:01:27
Lauren Brown
Wild. wild
00:01:29
April
Rich, we were just in Breckenridge doing the Brekkie Biner.
00:01:33
Rich
Well, that's right.
00:01:33
April
Like, that feels like it was just yesterday.
00:01:34
Rich
I mean,
00:01:35
April
yeah
00:01:36
Rich
Crazy. Yeah, it's gone by so fast, but it's been a really fun season. And, yeah, you know, and it's and it's always really good to, I think, to step back and, and reflect on it because there's always some great takeaways and that's going to be kind of our mission today is, you know, whether we're looking at a race or we're looking back at our season, uh, what are some things we can take with us to make the next race in the next season, even better.
Endurance Fuel and Vespa Power
00:02:02
Rich
Let's give a shout out to our show sponsor, Vespa Power.
00:02:04
Lauren Brown
That's
00:02:05
Rich
Vespa Power Endurance helps you tap into steady, clean ener energy so that you can stay strong, focused, and in the zone longer. Vespa is not fuel, but a metabolic catalyst that shifts your body to use more fat and less sugar for fuel.
00:02:21
Rich
Vespa comes in number of products, the CV25, the Junior, and the Concentrate. different different Different strokes for different folks. Hey, there's less sugar.
00:02:31
Rich
You're going to get higher performance. You can get a faster recovery. There's a link here in the show notes. Use the discount 303ENDURANCE20 to get 20% off very first purchase. to get twenty percent off of your very first purchase
00:02:43
April
Hey, so Vespa was definitely stoking my fire on my race this weekend. I used both the CB25 and the Junior. Yeah, it got me over that last that last little bit, which I'll talk about here later. But in today's show, we are reflecting on racing, racing,
00:03:01
April
resilience and the lessons that come when you push yourself to the edge.
Race Reflections and Coaching Insights
00:03:06
April
We are going to cover our biggest races this year and share our takeaways. In our Ask a Coach segment, we'll break down how to write a race report.
00:03:14
April
That's not just a recap, but an actual tool for growth. So I'm looking forward to that. We have our get gritty tip, which is all about reigniting your why coach Lauren is going to break down the anatomy of a try dot workout. We share these workouts, but we want to dig in a little deeper so you understand how to read them.
00:03:31
April
And then we'll wrap things up with, uh, Some questions I have for you two. I'll put you both in the hot seat, especially Lauren, because we have not put her through this gauntlet yet.
00:03:39
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:03:43
April
But they are five, yeah, fun get to know you questions that peel back that curtain on our personalities, which I'm sure you've gathered a little bit quirky. ah Going beyond triathlon. So we're going to jump now into our announcements
Ironman World Championship Highlights
00:03:58
April
and news. Over to you, Rich.
00:04:00
Rich
Awesome. You know, I'm just going to come right out of the gate here and with announcements and news. And of course, probably one of the most newsworthy things ah you know, triathletes are paying attention to was the Ironman World Championship in East France. We talked about this a little bit last week.
00:04:17
Rich
You know, we have, we've kind of gotten away from doing analysis on races and the pros and that sort of thing, but it was fun to watch. I actually was able to tune in right there at the end of the pro men's marathon and got to, got to watch basically the podium come in, which was pretty exciting.
00:04:37
Rich
you guys get a chance to watch it? I know we had a couple of our ah ah coach coaches, friends from our coach mastermind group, uh, uh, coach Stefan and coach, uh, coach K. what were your guys's thoughts about the race?
00:04:51
Lauren Brown
So I was like, quickly checking the app in the morning because i had my race that same morning. And I was like, dang, going to end up missing this whole thing. So I was waking up, checking where Coach K was.
Upcoming Races and Training Insights
00:05:04
Lauren Brown
And by the time i was done with my race, they had all been wrapping it up since they were many hours ahead. So I i caught some of the the replays and the excitement of it. And it's just always amazing to see – what is possible with these freaking splits that they pull out.
00:05:24
April
Yeah.
00:05:25
Lauren Brown
And I feel like it's always like a new record, a new record, a new fastest split and the Norwegians, man, way to dominate.
00:05:34
Rich
Wow, right? wait ah ah Way to show up and represent.
00:05:38
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:05:39
April
Yeah, I'm proud to I was going to say I'm proud to acknowledge I got some Norwegian blood in here. Yeah. Yeah. Our crew definitely represented Norway and the Viking spirit. And yes, I enjoyed i was actually getting ready to leave for the banana belt.
00:05:39
Rich
Speaking of.
00:06:00
April
So I had that playing as kind of like my motivation for my race. And it was kind of perfectly aligned because I got to see the finish right before I i headed to the starting line. So it was such a cool like like amp for an awesome day. So I loved it.
00:06:16
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:06:18
Rich
Lauren, does this have you stoked for Marbella?
00:06:20
Lauren Brown
Oh, I can't wait. I'm like, and I'm super excited because i know April, you just mentioned how Vespa was pushing you through and i have my order ready to go. And for this training block leading up Marbella and for the race, I'm going to be incorporating Vespa. And I'm just really, really excited to do as Ironman says and see that anything is possible. And yeah, I'm pumped. so
00:06:46
Rich
Well, you've got to be really pumped because one of our next announcements, I really want to ask you about your race at Tuffman 70.3 this weekend.
Toughman 70.3 Race Strategy
00:06:56
Rich
Third female overall, the time of 5-24-18.
00:07:01
Rich
What are you going to do when you're on Vespa? Yeah.
00:07:04
Lauren Brown
i know I know it's going to be wild. It was, uh, it was a tough course and I was doing it in a way to be able to prep for Marbella really was what I was going into this race with the mindset of, and I'd actually spoken to coach K before he's like, hold off. You haven't been training with Vespa. And I'm like, Oh man, I really want to try it now. And, but we know we don't try anything new on race day So there's that.
00:07:33
Lauren Brown
but Again, I didn't really get to use anything out of the ordinary for my race prep, but for Toughman, it really, was my first 70.3 of the season.
00:07:42
Lauren Brown
So had just done Olympics and sprints up to that point.
00:07:45
Rich
Thank
00:07:46
Lauren Brown
And my main focus going into Toughman, so it's called Toughman, let me say, because of the elevation. They changed the bike course a little bit, which I was kind of bummed about because it was supposed to be 4,400 feet of elevation gain. And it ended up coming in at about 3000 on the bike of elevation gain.
00:08:08
Lauren Brown
And then the run was just shy of a thousand feet of elevation gain on the run. so it was still pretty freaking hilly. That run was a monster. it felt like at the mile 10 was just like uphill.
00:08:21
Lauren Brown
Uh, but prepping for it, knowing that that's what i was going into. i was upping my, my hill work, my heavy gear work, my strength training. So it was, uh, it was a good test, a good little teaser for Marbella.
00:08:38
Rich
That's awesome. How was the weather?
00:08:40
Lauren Brown
Oh my God. It was, it was perfect. When I say perfect, I mean the water temperature 70 degrees. So for me, it was wetsuit legal, which I was really, I was happy about, but it was so comfortable. i It was a lake swim and it got a little bit hot on the run, but was like, might as well have been San Diego. I feel like it was like 70, 75 and sunny, there wasn't too much shade, but for me, I can also race in the heat and feel pretty okay. It was wonderful.
00:09:17
Lauren Brown
Like I couldn't have asked for better conditions.
00:09:18
Rich
That's awesome.
00:09:20
Rich
That's awesome. Congratulations. That's fantastic.
00:09:23
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:09:23
April
You just totally scorched it too, Lauren.
00:09:23
Lauren Brown
and it's
00:09:26
April
Just bravo.
00:09:27
Lauren Brown
Thank you. Yeah, I was, I honestly, I was really happy with the result. My goal going into it, like I said, was just prep for Marbella, go, it come out of the race knowing,
00:09:38
Lauren Brown
a little bit more about you know my nutrition strategy, because like I said, it was my first 70.3 of the season, so just wanted to dial that in I wanted to mentally be prepared for running off the bike with a lot of hills behind me from the bike course.
00:09:53
Lauren Brown
and I race X. I was like, there we go again. Race sex So on point with what I what it was expected to do. And yeah, it was great. My only one gripe with this is that the run course ended up being 13.7 miles.
00:10:11
April
Oh.
00:10:11
Lauren Brown
so
00:10:11
Rich
Oh, that's a nice bonus.
00:10:11
Lauren Brown
And we didn't know it. And then at the end, I was like, why what is going on right now? And my friend who was racing with me, she was like, what the heck? That run was not 13.1.
00:10:22
Lauren Brown
And that extra like half mile or so was like, gosh, gosh, yeah, you got to be kidding me.
00:10:25
April
Brutal.
00:10:28
Lauren Brown
But it was all good.
00:10:31
Rich
not going to give tough man away. There's no way.
00:10:33
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:10:35
April
I was going to say something's got to ring here for the tough.
00:10:36
Rich
You're going to work for it.
00:10:38
April
It's the extra 0.5.
00:10:40
Lauren Brown
but I thought got lost for a second. i was like, did I go off course? What is going on?
00:10:43
April
Oh, yeah.
00:10:43
Lauren Brown
So, but, but yeah, so it was great and, uh, good times.
00:10:48
April
Legit. Mm hmm.
00:10:49
Rich
You know, we don't talk about RaceX very much, or we haven't really covered that a lot. And you just referenced RaceX. Do you mind telling our listeners a little bit about what RaceX is and you know how it's useful?
00:11:03
Lauren Brown
Absolutely. So race sex is ah ah tool that we get to use.
00:11:04
Rich
Sorry to put you on the spot.
00:11:09
Lauren Brown
It's a, platform that is linked to TriDot. And so with RaceX, you're able plug in the race. If it's not one that already exists within the platform, you can manually add in your race. You can upload the course file. So all of the information in there with elevation gain, the location is in there.
00:11:28
Lauren Brown
So environmental normalization can come into play as well. RaceX will take into consideration your current fitness, what you're background is, right? So we also know our swim, bike, run ages.
00:11:42
Lauren Brown
it will take into consideration what your current, you know, run dot, swim dot,
RaceX and TriDot Tools
00:11:49
Lauren Brown
bike dot scores are. Everything gets taken into consideration and you are able to see what your predicted time is for each leg.
00:11:57
Lauren Brown
You can also make adjustments. You can, you know, if you're working with your coach as to like, how long is the transition going to take? is my power output expected to maybe be a little bit different than what race X estimating based on different types of, you know, if you have other things going on, but it is pretty dang accurate for me. And as I mean, again, as long as things, there's not things out of the ordinary. So it's not like, okay, well, there was a major storm that slowed everyone down. Right. So that's, that information is not included there, but
00:12:31
Lauren Brown
it will give you a really good pacing strategy too. So on the bike, for example, you can open up race X and you could see, was just reviewing this with one of my athletes where it's like, all right, at mile 10, you're going to see a 3% incline on the bike.
00:12:47
Rich
Thank you.
00:12:47
Lauren Brown
This is what your power output should be at that point and what you can expect your, even your speed to be. So it really dials it in and it allows you to have ah ah really strong sense of confidence going into the race that if you follow the plan, you're going to come out with a certain time.
00:13:05
Lauren Brown
And I think my race X time was literally, I think almost 524. It was super close.
00:13:10
Rich
That's incredible. And you mentioned some really good features. And like you said, I mean, this we're just scratching the surface here. you know, we'll come back. I think this is a good topic. Maybe we put this, tee this up here for one of our upcoming shows.
00:13:23
Rich
Come back and really do a deep dive on this. I think i think people would find this to be pretty fascinating.
00:13:28
Lauren Brown
awesome.
00:13:29
Rich
Awesome. Well, congratulations. April, banana belt. Dang it. The biggest mountain bike race you've ever done. did this, tell us about this thing.
00:13:40
April
I look like a giant banana to him wearing the race shirt.
00:13:45
Lauren Brown
That's a great race shirt.
00:13:45
April
I'm spoiled. Yeah, thank you. A spoiled banana. I'll just say that. but ah No, it was epic. There's a reason why they call longer duration mountain bike races epics because it's such a an adventure.
00:14:01
April
It's almost like Frodo carrying the ring to Mordor to...
00:14:06
April
You change, you train change in the process. I promise you, you don't come out the same person on the other side. So yeah let me break it down for you as far as my race prep.
00:14:16
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:14:18
April
So Rich knows especially that my word of the year has been courage. And one of the things that I wanted to challenge myself with is stepping outside of triathlon to give mountain biking specifically a try to get better at it, to try things I've never done before, to grow on my tactical skills, on being able to climb efficiently and all those things.
00:14:46
April
absolutely came to fruition with the banana belt being kind of the culmination of all the work that I'd put into this year. And this specifically was my longest duration race. It was 35 miles, which that might sound shorter to the lay person who hasn't done a mountain bike race, but it's It's not.
00:15:07
April
So I want you to think like going five miles an hour is your top speed versus 25.
00:15:11
Rich
Thank
00:15:14
April
And that's just kind of the way it is, right? you're You're ascending and descending some really hard stuff and different types of terrain. And that's what this was. So the race itself was in Salida, Colorado, and it's along one of the historic areas trails, the rainbow trail, and it just has this amazing feel to it.
00:15:36
April
And I've i come to find out that I didn't realize banana belt kind of stood not only for the course itself, but just the people. It kind of has this eclectic mix of people and they're called like banana belt bikers and stuff. So it's actually really cool. It has this really amazing vibe and I loved it. So Prepping for the race was amazing. it was absolutely a great first taste at long distance mountain bike racing.
00:16:05
April
And between my one of the great things that came away from this was between the time that I did my first race rehearsal, which was a about about a month prior to the race day to taking on the course, I grew so much like the amount of growth that occurred was the difference between i don't know if I can do this to hell yes, I've got this.
00:16:29
April
And yeah, rich Rich, you were a big part of that.
00:16:33
Rich
I was going to say, would you mind sharing with our audience some of the things that you changed both of in terms of your equipment and your pacing and your strategy?
00:16:46
April
Absolutely. So I found out as I was going through the race rehearsal, you can look at an elevation profile and think you know what it is, but until you get on the course and experience it, it's a completely different thing. And one of the things that I did not know was the first about 10 miles leading up to the trail was gravel road into a fire lane, which if you've done mountain bike riding and racing, that can be pure health It's just such a strain on it's like riding, trying to ride a paved road with a mountain bike tire. Right. So you're just kind of like slogging it out.
00:17:23
April
So I knew after doing that race rehearsal the first time, because a lot of the time I was hiking the bike because I didn't have the right gearing and I didn't have the right tires for it. And it felt really demoralizing. Like there were moments where I was like I don't know if I can do this.
00:17:38
April
What did I sign up for This is insane. And but Coach Rich and I talked about it in our debrief of my first race rehearsal. We just came down to the decision that, hey, I don't have the right tools. It's not that my fitness isn't there. It's that I don't have the right tools for this.
00:17:54
April
So going in with that approach, it reinvigorated me. I ended up changing my front chain ring from 32 a 30, which absolutely made... which absolutely made Such a huge difference for my climbing. I ended up not having to hike the bike at all.
00:18:11
April
In that first part, when you go from go like hiking it for almost a mile to not having to do it at all. That's a huge, huge, huge change. and then just feeling very confident that I had the, the ability to master this and stay within myself so that I wasn't completely shattered by the time that I got to the, the more technical parts or even the end of the ride.
00:18:36
April
those, those made a massive, massive impact in how I performed on the day. So,
00:18:42
Rich
Super proud of you. That's amazing. i Just the growth, you know, it almost didn't matter that you you you you finished the race.
00:18:44
April
uh,
00:18:48
Rich
I mean, of course it did, but just, just watching the transformation in terms of your confidence level from that first to, you know, the, the night before the race, you know, 180.
00:18:49
April
Yeah. Yes.
00:19:00
April
Yeah.
00:19:00
Rich
Yeah.
00:19:01
April
Just knowing I had it right. Yeah. Thank you. And I also changed the tires too. So I went from like a aggressive, like medium aggressive tire to more of a racing tire. And that again, just was everything I needed to have my, the rubber on the road, if you will. Uh, but enough for me to be able to maneuver around very quickly. And it just, it like the change in difference, I'll tell you on a specific loop that I usually do the Falcon trail on, you Safa.
00:19:30
April
I took 15 minutes off that trail in, uh, just testing out that new gear. And I was like, yep, this is right.
00:19:38
Lauren Brown
It's
00:19:38
April
Just because I had a better gearing and better tires.
00:19:42
Lauren Brown
amazing.
00:19:42
Rich
amazing. Awesome. Woo-hoo.
00:19:45
April
Yeah. Thanks teammates. Yeah.
00:19:48
Rich
Well, we've got a lot of grit to greatness racing still
Athlete Shout-outs and Preparation
00:19:52
Rich
happening. You want to give a shout-out to Sarah?
00:19:57
April
Absolutely. So one of the, uh, one of our athletes, she's been a phenomenal athlete. She's been with me just over a year now. That's Dr. Sarah Barr.
00:20:07
April
She is racing her first Ironman branded 70.3 at Ironman New York.
00:20:07
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:20:14
April
she has put in just a tremendous amount of work working on her bike power and her swim stroke specifically over the past year. And she absolutely deserves this finish line. She deserves a breakthrough performance. And we just want to send her all of our love, our well wishes and remind her to take it one stride, one stroke and one step at a time.
00:20:39
Rich
That's awesome. You know, you know, and we're talking about season reflections here, but the season is not quite over.
00:20:41
Lauren Brown
Mm-hm.
00:20:45
Rich
We still have a lot of racing coming up. I know that we've got, Chris has got her a sprint race, just a little kind of tune up but he's doing this weekend, but we've got a bunch of people doing Ironman California, October Got Caroline, Stephanie, and Paul. Amazing.
00:21:08
Rich
When's Barbada, Lauren? Okay.
00:21:10
Lauren Brown
Marbella November 8th. And then Kristen is doing Augusta September 28th. And then Laura, one of my athletes, she's doing la Quinta in December.
00:21:19
April
Love it. We
00:21:26
Rich
Amazing. And then we've got Max Davidson doing the New York City Marathon in November.
00:21:27
Lauren Brown
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:28
April
wait
00:21:32
Rich
And Chris doing the Ironman 70.3 Florida Haines City in on December 13th in April.
00:21:40
April
Yeah, we cannot forget Sasha Fierce is going to Marbella as well.
00:21:43
Rich
Oh, yeah. so
00:21:45
April
So Coach Lauren, and you'll definitely be linking up with her. She is amazing.
00:21:49
Lauren Brown
Oh, that's awesome. I can't wait.
00:21:51
Rich
You guys are going to rip each other's legs off. I just, I can see it.
00:21:54
April
Oh, it's going to be the best. It's going to be the best. Oh.
00:21:59
Rich
too fun. All right. Well, man, good luck, everybody. Happy racing. We're, you know, we're in your corner.
00:22:07
Lauren Brown
it?
00:22:07
April
We are definitely
The Role of Race Reports in Growth
00:22:08
April
cheering you on. And that kind of is perfect because we have our next sponsor for our Ask a Coach section, and that is Grit to Greatness Endurance Coaching. So off-season doesn't mean off-track.
00:22:21
April
At Grit to Greatness Coaching, we use TriDot and RunDot to keep your training purposeful, efficient, and fun, even when racing feels like it might be far away.
00:22:32
April
With personalized workouts and cutting edge analytics, you will build a stronger base and come back sharper than ever. Try it free for two weeks, then for as low as $14.99 a month after that.
00:22:44
April
You can sign up today through our coach links in the show notes. And let's make this your strongest season yet.
00:22:51
Rich
You bet it is going to be. And, you know, it's going to be your best season, not only because, you know, you're signing up with Grit to Greatness, but... you are going to be doing the right things. We are going to be talking today, ask a coach our Ask a Coach segment, we are diving into a powerful tool for growth, writing your race report. It seems like it might not be a growth tool, but it is.
00:23:16
Rich
Whether you have crushed your goals or hit some bumps along the way, having a well-crafted race report isn't just a recap, it's a roadmap to your future success, We encourage our athletes to treat race reports as both a reflection and a learning opportunity.
00:23:29
Lauren Brown
as well as the function of the right opportunity.
00:23:32
Rich
And here's how to write one that goes beyond the storytelling and becomes a strategic tool for your improvement.
00:23:34
Lauren Brown
It becomes a strategic tool. I'm going to ask what I'm going to do.
00:23:38
Rich
I'm going to kick us off guys. And we're going to go through these kind of one by one. And I'm going to ask for coach April and Lauren, your input on each of these, okay? Pre-race context, you know, obviously, you know, this is just, you know, think about this as being kind of in a form. In fact, maybe we can even make this a downloadable,
00:23:56
April
m Good idea.
00:23:57
Rich
about that? Okay. We'll figure out a way to get this as a downloadable on our website. watch for Watch for that in our social media posts. Pre-race context, you know, obviously what race was it? The name, the location, the distance.
00:24:12
Rich
If you're using TriDot, you've probably put this into RaceX because this is going to be what derives kind of what the overall race demand is going to be for the day, being the location, obviously the distance, but that terrain, the elevation, all of the environment normalization things that Coach Lauren was just talking about.
00:24:34
Rich
You're going to put in your goals. Again, RaceX will do this for you. It's a good place put in your goals, your time, your placement, your qualification, ah ah execution goals. Really, that's a great place to start. you know How do you want to execute? That's one thing that you can probably control.
00:24:49
Rich
Qualification, placement, really hard to control because that's other people controlling those things. What was your training like leading up to the race? How solid was it? You know, you look back and you're seeing, oh, you know, my planned actual bars in my training are lined up perfectly, you're probably in good shape. If you know you've you've you've missed some workouts, note that. It's actually pretty good to note that because that might explain some of the performance that happens.
00:25:19
Rich
Same thing with your taper. Did you taper well? Were there any injuries? How was travel? You know, did you arrive at the last minute? Did they lose your luck? you know, those little details can really help inform what happened during race day, including nutrition changes.
00:25:36
Rich
Coach Lauren, to start with you. what's What's your thought on this?
00:25:41
Lauren Brown
So something else to point out with race now I'm going to be harping on it today, is that you also, when you enter a race into race X, can put if it's an A, B, or C race. So that's something else that you might want to think about going into the race and when you're reflecting even on the execution and your taper might look different depending on the type of race that it is. And TriDot and your coach will also adjust what your taper might look like depending on the race.
00:26:10
Lauren Brown
the priority of the race. And then something else that I was thinking about with pre-race, so like mentally, where are you at leading into the race, which might go in line with different stressors, but I know I had a race one year where the person was supposed to be racing with had a loss in their family. They backed out at the last minute.
00:26:31
Lauren Brown
The weather forecast looked terrible. The water was like in the upper fifties. And so mentally, I just remember going into that race, like, don't want to do this race. I just, I don't And I flipped it and I was able to flip it And I actually had a really good day out there, but it's something to think about too, is what was your mental state like and then were you able to flip it? How do you flip it Just because that might be another strategy you can use in the future.
00:26:59
Rich
Love it. Coach April.
00:27:01
April
Yes. And I would just add knowing the why for this race, why did you sign up for this? Like when I think about the banana belt, i I picked a very specific reason as to why I decided to commit to that duration and that level of grit.
00:27:18
April
And I'm sure everybody, there's some excitement with a new season and you might be just like throwing down race entries. i don't know who has time for that. Cause that's a lot of money, but.
00:27:31
April
Knowing why you're committing to something versus just putting your name on a start list, I think is also a really great motivator and help.
00:27:31
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:27:38
April
It helps remind you the reasons why you're putting in dedicating time, money and energy into and into this race specifically.
00:27:47
Rich
I love that you mentioned that because I think we did actually, we asked a couple of times, was your why still intact after the race, early race rehearsals, right?
00:27:55
April
Mm hmm.
00:27:57
Rich
Remember we had a couple of those conversations.
00:27:57
April
Mm hmm. Yep. Yeah, absolutely.
00:27:59
Rich
Yeah. Great.
00:28:01
April
You brought me right back in line.
Pre-race Considerations and Strategies
00:28:04
Rich
Great pre-race context. I've got another question for you both. i i i I think that this is also a relevant consideration, that is the female menstrual cycle terms of the timing with your race. Talk about that. I mean, is that is that a consideration?
00:28:20
Lauren Brown
I'm going to say, and don't know that it necessarily is a consideration with the race. You might want to note it because to so a certain extent, yes, you can maybe coordinate things, but you also want to be able to live life, do the races you want to do and understand that you might feel differently energy wise, emotionally, physically. And that's important to note.
00:28:47
Lauren Brown
But I don't know, i wouldn't say it should change your plan. It's just another thing that's important in this race recap or race report rather, because you can have that as information and it just, it helps you manage your expectations.
00:29:07
April
Yeah, I think that's right on Lauren. I also, you know, knowledge is power. The more that you do recognize the patterns in your cycle, the more that you can prep for the highs and the lows.
00:29:19
April
And of course there's individual differences. Some folks might have super highs, some might have super lows, um, it might actually require that level of detail or attention to detail on what your race season will look like. But yeah.
00:29:34
April
For the majority, I would say just having that fundamental or functional knowledge of your cycle and how that plays into your energy and your prep is is very important.
00:29:45
April
And I think that can be a great tool to have.
00:29:48
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:29:49
Rich
cool
00:29:49
April
So great question, Coach Rich.
00:29:51
Rich
I went off script a little bit. All right. Race day breakdown. Of course, we're going to look at the numbers, right? What was our time for the swim? Was there time on the bike, time on the run compared to race X and the prediction predicted times?
00:30:05
Rich
But also, yeah really spend some time. I think this is, a you know, and when you're in the race, it's kind of nice to think about this even before your race because, you you know, anticipate wanting to pay attention to how did you feel?
00:30:20
Rich
You know, how did your pacing feel? How was your, like on the swim, you know, know you know, how did that swim start go? you know, did you feel like you positioned yourself well?
00:30:31
Rich
What was your pacing? How was the siding? Did you choose the right goggles? You know, you know, did you need a stronger tint or less tint? Yeah.
00:30:41
Rich
You know, talk about positioning on the bike. Did you execute the power to plan? As Coach Lauren was talking about in RaceX, you can actually see your segments. You can actually break them down into pretty small segments.
00:30:56
Rich
And it can be either telling it could be telling you what your target power is on that particular pitch on the course. are you doing against your target heart rates? Or how did you do?
00:31:08
Rich
Did you notice decoupling happening during the race, which is your heart rate going higher at a steady power or your power dropping at a steady heart rate? And how did you manage that?
00:31:17
Lauren Brown
which that receive.
00:31:18
Rich
Whether it was, you know, know, you're feeling some fatigue and losing some power. You know, were you fueling and hydrating right? Same thing on the run.
00:31:28
Rich
Were you able to execute to your plan pace? did you Did you follow the plan and, you know, it's easy to get carried away, but a good strategy is to build into your pacing and your power, especially on longer races where you really do need to pace yourself.
00:31:46
Rich
Then how did those transitions go? Did you have the time that you want? Did you execute the way you want? Anything, any mishap happened? Did you, you know, did you have an epic fail on the bike mount or dismount or, you know, anything like that?
00:32:02
Rich
Coach I'm going to start with you on this one.
00:32:05
April
Yes. So I was looking at this and one of the things that I really like about these questions is none of these are coming across as judgmental or like, what did you do wrong? Right.
00:32:20
April
So one of the things I would add is what was what were what was the voice? Right. What What was the internal dialogue that was happening ah during race? And I know we're going to talk a little bit about that in performance evaluation, but I do think it's important to just ask objectively, what were the, the streams of, of thought or consciousness that were happening during the race?
00:32:45
Lauren Brown
I would also note what was the weather like. That might be something that will be important when you look back and was it raining? Was it windy? Was it extremely hot? Did you prep for that?
00:32:59
Lauren Brown
And also for the swim, especially if you're an adult onset swimmer like myself, was it was it a wetsuit legal swim? So did that impact your you know your body positioning or your pace? And then The other thing that came to mind where how you mentioned coach rich about the run and with managing fatigue and mental focus.
00:33:21
Lauren Brown
I find this happens to me often, especially on the bike or on the run when, like it's like, you almost, i almost forget sometimes that I'm in a race and, there's not enough. If you're at a point on the run or on the bike where it's a little bit lonely, if there's some separation that maybe has happened,
00:33:40
Lauren Brown
were you able to maintain focus on the task and what might've helped you maintain focus? Because when you enter some of those parts of a race that aren't as busy, depending on the course and the race itself, it can be hard to to stay dialed in. So that's something that I even find with myself.
00:34:01
Rich
Yeah, love that.
00:34:03
Rich
You know, and that staying focused is really a big part of execution, you know? and you're right. It is easy to lose your focus, start daydreaming, you know, and all of a sudden you realize, but wait a minute, I'm like, my my watts are down by 50 watts or, you know, I'm um just jogging here.
00:34:19
Lauren Brown
I'm racing.
00:34:22
Rich
you know, the worst is I've actually had someone in a in a marathon say, you look like you're yeah just out for a Sunday jog. And And I thought at first I'm like, me that does he mean that I look like I'm comfortable or no, I'm really not pushing very hard.
00:34:38
Rich
That's what he really means. I'm not, I'm not racing, you know?
00:34:39
Lauren Brown
Did you get that?
00:34:42
Rich
I think that's a big part of you know kind of the the execution or evaluating your performance did you execute and were you really present during the race? I think it's a really good question to ask ask yourself.
00:34:56
Rich
Of course, there are the time goals. There are the goals of you know qualification. did you get that you know Did you get that roll down slot or did you you know did you just end up flat on the podium like ah Coach Lauren here?
00:35:09
Rich
What went well and what surprised you? What were the things that happened that maybe you didn't anticipate?
00:35:12
Lauren Brown
One of the things that you didn't anticipate is an exception that is where wisdom comes from.
00:35:17
Rich
that is and exceptional That is where wisdom comes from.
00:35:19
Lauren Brown
That's where lessons come from.
00:35:20
Rich
That's where life lessons come from.
00:35:21
Lauren Brown
That's where experience comes from. But you miss those opportunities, right?
00:35:22
Rich
That's where experience comes from. Don't miss those opportunities.
00:35:25
Lauren Brown
Those may have job like a whole lot.
00:35:26
Rich
Write those down.
00:35:27
Lauren Brown
And you know, you know, it was, you know, evaluate your work, you know, because it was mentally ill.
00:35:27
Rich
Those are really important ones. And then... kind of what was, you know, evaluate your, you know, your performance mentally, you know, how, not only were you paying attention, but how were you able to control your thoughts? I think one of you just mentioned that a minute ago, you know, how are you able to control, you know, the thoughts that are going on in your head? And, you know, when those, those, those, there will be dark times for sure, but how prepared are you?
00:35:52
Rich
Coach Lauren, how about, you how about this one to you first?
00:35:54
Lauren Brown
I love them this part where you get to reflect. And i say this often that triathlon racing is like a mirror to life oftentimes where, again, like Coach April was saying with doing the banana belt and it's like you grow, you learn, you change. And I think being able to take as much away from the experience as possible, the good, the bad, the ugly, gratitude, i think a thousand percent there always has to be in there things that you're grateful for things that went really, really well. And, and I mean, did, did you think the volunteers on the race course make a mental note of that? and if you didn't, you should make sure you do it at the next race. But like, those are little things that I still think are important to reflect on. but I, I love it. i think.
00:36:52
Lauren Brown
What surprised you? That's always fun because there's always something you're not going to expect and you can help your, another athlete, you can help, you know, your, your own athletes. So i think performance evaluation and and those questions are spot on.
00:37:10
April
Yeah, I really don't have anything else to add to that other than i i the framing of the question, what surprised you, is super important for this conversation, I would say, because that can go either way. It's a learning opportunity.
00:37:25
April
right So what surprised you? So you know you have another tool in the kit to help you so you're not so surprised next time. And if it's a good thing, like, yeah, you want to take note of that and pat yourself on the back.
00:37:39
April
Like, hey, I didn't expect this and it went better than I imagined.
00:37:43
Lauren Brown
Thank
00:37:43
April
And i learned something new about myself. So this is this is really great. I absolutely love this as well.
00:37:49
Rich
That's awesome. I'm going to blend these next two topics together, lessons learned and actionable takeaways.
Lessons from Race Experiences
00:37:56
Rich
You know, this is kind of a little bit of a recap of some of the things we've talked about. Like, what would you do differently next time? That that lesson learned, okay, what would you do differently to avoid that mistake or make that a better situation going forward? Were there any...
00:38:10
Rich
Gear issues, you know that's a great one, right? you know Boy, you know it happens, right? We don't charge our DI2 or you know we you know over-inflate our tires or you know we make a nutrition mistake. there're you know Mistakes will happen. Take note of those. Those are opportunities to turn things around the next time. Mental strategies, did they hold up under pressure?
00:38:37
Rich
what specific changes would you, what would you change in your training and race strategy the next time? Are there skills that you still need to develop? know, you know, maybe you got a little surprised with, uh, you know, uh, uh, you know, avoiding an obstacle on the bike course or a pothole or something like that. And you hit the pothole.
00:38:57
Rich
Okay. Well, what, what kind of bike handling skills do I need to avoid that the next time, the old bunny hop, you know, just a, you know, good thing. You know, what, what can you take away to the next race?
00:39:11
Rich
You know, I'm going to ask both you, coach April, coach Lauren, your races this past weekend, what was one thing each of you took away that you're carrying forward to your next race?
00:39:15
April
Thank you.
00:39:24
Lauren Brown
I'm going to go, you literally just spoke on it, but for me, it is bike handling and being okay on like a 180 turn or going downhill, not knowing exactly what the pavement looks like. And I may have been riding a little bit more cautiously because I had a little spill the week before. So maybe it was, I was a little extra nervous, but I know for myself, I can gain time by turning faster and like having better cornering skills and, being a little bit better at, or more confidence, I should say with maneuvering around potholes, debris, things that are in the road.
00:40:07
Lauren Brown
And I did want to say when, when it comes like actionable takeaways, if you can find an actionable takeaway that you could put into practice immediately,
00:40:19
Lauren Brown
That should also be goal where the sooner you can start practicing it while it's fresh in your mind and you're still feeling maybe a little vulnerable around it, like then. Don't wait.
00:40:30
Lauren Brown
don't wait
00:40:32
April
Yeah, I would say that my takeaway from this experience was more about the mental fortitude and ah that I needed to stay in it. One of the things that I caught myself doing was.
00:40:45
April
i wouldn't say I was going too dark, but there were there were questions. There were questions that came up as to why am I doing this again? And do I have enough energy to make it to the end of this sucker with as much enthusiasm as I had starting?
00:41:05
April
So I really came away with the phrase, look for the good.
00:41:07
Rich
Thank you.
00:41:10
April
as a takeaway, because there was a moment at the very end of this race that was the the best moment of the entire day, which Rich and I talked about it. There was a comment that one of the, you know, unbeknownst to him, I think he was being, I don't think he was thinking about what he was saying, but he made a rude comment to me.
00:41:29
April
And it kind of, I mean, there was a point where I actually had tears in my eyes and I was in the last five miles and I was just like, I've had it, I'm done with this, right? And then in that glorious moment, I had this after I the what tears wiped away, there was a flow that I entered because the the back half had this amazing trail that I'm actually like dreaming about going back to.
00:41:45
Lauren Brown
Right.
00:41:57
April
But it was the last 10 minutes of my ride. I just achieved this state of flow that I it very rarely happens. that you get all things lined up where you're just flying. It felt like I was literally flying and it just was like, okay, if I would have taken myself out and missed this last back half, this would have totally, yeah, it would have, I would have missed the whole point.
00:42:23
April
So to me, it was absolutely worth it to to be able to get out of that, you know, woe was me pity party that I was in to have that flow moment at the very end to remind myself too that I love this.
00:42:38
April
I love it so much and it's worth it. So yeah.
00:42:42
Rich
Coach April, Coach Lauren, thanks for, you know, helping us break this down. You know, why this matters, folks. Reflection is a cornerstone for improvement. You know, your race report is that place for you to really kind of, you know, show some self-awareness, make some data-informed decisions, and continuous learning.
00:43:02
Rich
It's not about what happened. It's about why it happened and how you're going to grow from it. So use your race report. Start a conversation with your coach, your training partners, or your community Share your wins and struggles. You never know who you will inspire or who might offer you a game-changing insight.
00:43:19
Rich
How about that?
00:43:20
April
Love it.
00:43:21
Lauren Brown
and they work
00:43:22
April
Bravo. Go coach. And that's actually kind of perfect for our get gritty tip, which is all about when we talked about earlier with the preseason or pre-race decision is understanding your why. And as we're getting closer to the back half of this year, we are officially in it now. We want to talk about the importance of reigniting that why, and it might've changed.
00:43:47
April
It might've, it might look a little different from when you started this year or when you started your multi multi-sport goals. And that's why it's important to do this reflection regularly.
00:43:59
April
But as we all know, triathlon is much more than swim, bike, run. For many of us, like Coach Lauren shared, it's a journey of purpose, growth, and transformation. It often mirrors itself in our other areas of life.
00:44:13
April
It gives us structure, goals, and a sense of identity. But what happens when that fire dims? When that person says that awful thing on the course and you're like, man, i don't know why I do this.
00:44:24
April
Yeah. Or when those early mornings feel heavy and the finish line feels further away.
00:44:26
Lauren Brown
with us.
00:44:33
April
get greedy this week is to find the why that's going to reignite that passion, to reignite your love of this sport and why we're here even talking about
Rekindling Motivation for Racing
00:44:44
April
it tonight. Right.
00:44:45
April
Because it is so incredible for our lives. So I'm going to start us off with the understanding that losing your why is very normal. Right. It's a very normal process. We have highs and lows and every athlete, whether it's a beginner or an elite hits a point where motivation fades.
00:45:03
April
Motivation is one of those things that is fli fickle and fleeting at times. Life shifts us goals, change that spark that once fueled or training might flicker or go out entirely.
00:45:16
April
And that's okay. That isn't failure. It's actually a sign. It's a signal. It's a moment to pause, reflect and realign.
00:45:26
Lauren Brown
I love that. So moving on from there and talking about rediscovering your purpose. i love, love, love being able to dig into my why or an athlete's why it is so important to keep you going.
00:45:42
Lauren Brown
And i want to share a process that can help you reignite your why. And like coach April said, your why can change and that's totally fine. so Step one, reflect honestly. So ask yourself, why did I start?
00:45:58
Lauren Brown
What did triathlon give me? What do i need now? So journaling is a practice I stand behind wholeheartedly. so journaling or talking with a coach or a training partner can help uncover deeper truths.
00:46:12
Lauren Brown
I always say when you're trying to figure out your why, ask it seven times. When you say ask why, ask again, why ask again why and you might come to a point where you're like, holy smokes, I have a different why and I just needed to dig and ask it seven times. So reflect honestly.
00:46:32
Lauren Brown
And then step number two, reframe your goals, right? So maybe it's not about racing fast anymore. Maybe it's about community, which we love community over here. Come join us if you're curious.
00:46:44
Lauren Brown
You know, we've we got a great ambassador program going on if you need some community, but maybe it's about community, health, adventure. Just try to maybe shift from solely those outcome-based goals.
00:46:55
Lauren Brown
Like you want to land on the podium, you want to PR and think about process-based goals. I love process-based goals. Think about, you know, consistency, joy, connection, or even the goal of completing, you know,
00:47:07
Rich
you
00:47:09
Lauren Brown
three workouts with above a 70 score, right? So something that's a little bit more of a process as opposed to the actual outcome after the race. Third step would be to explore new formats, which again, Coach April talked about earlier with switching to gravel. So maybe try a gravel triathlon or an aqua bike, a trail run.
00:47:29
Lauren Brown
A relay, I've been kind of curious about doing that maybe next year, but step outside of the traditional mold because new formats can reignite your curiosity and challenge you in a fresh way.
00:47:41
Lauren Brown
Fourth step, maybe focus on one discipline, right? So maybe you love biking and you want to dial it in and really see what can you do with your FTP this season, right? or maybe you want to focus on on doing specific like cycling events. Those are, it's another great challenge.
00:48:03
Lauren Brown
And if you want something simple and you want to focus maybe on open water swim races or run focused and have that be your season, do it. Do what makes your heart happy and that brings you joy because that is the purpose of endurance sports.
00:48:13
Rich
Thank
00:48:19
Lauren Brown
and specializing can bring clarity and a renewed passion. So don't feel like you have to be stuck on the idea of specifically doing just a triathlon. And then the last step would be try something completely new, right? So don't even maybe don't even think about swim, bike, run specifically. So maybe or maybe it's ultra running or bike,
00:48:41
Lauren Brown
bikepacking or even like rucking. That's something that I've looked into. you know, there's a lot of different things out there, Spartan races.
00:48:50
Lauren Brown
There's so many different things that can challenge you. And it's all, again, amazing communities of people that are in this space. So try something new.
00:49:00
Lauren Brown
Sometimes reigniting your why means stepping into a whole new arena of endurance. So give that process a go.
00:49:08
Rich
Yeah, I love that. You know, and when you're trying something new, you know, it's kind of hard sometimes because, you know, you're going from this kind of area.
00:49:12
Lauren Brown
It's very weird sometimes. I'm confident that you're going to start.
00:49:15
Rich
I'm pretty competent at what I've been doing all this time.
00:49:17
Lauren Brown
And then suddenly you'll begin again. I thought it was a new way to the beginning.
00:49:19
Rich
And now all of a sudden you're a beginner again. I felt like a total noob when I did the Xterra Lori because it was the first Xterra I've ever done. I felt like, you know, it was a little, was pretty intimidating because, you know, it wasn't my comfort area.
00:49:34
Rich
Yeah. That's where really is important to have a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. You know, fixed mindset, you have this belief that you're capable, you know, you you just can do what you but you do today. You know, that, know i'm not a you know I'm not a good cyclist or I'm, you know, you know I'm not a mountain biker or I'm you know, cross-country skiing in a triathlon, I could never do that.
00:49:59
Rich
You know, step away from that kind of thinking. Really open yourself up. I mean, you i mean you can do pretty much anything that you you decide that you really want to do. If you have purpose around this, you know,
00:50:13
Rich
yeah Find your why, and it doesn't have to be static.
00:50:17
Lauren Brown
to be scared.
00:50:17
Rich
It will evolve with you. Who you are today is not who you were 10 years ago. Who you're going to be in 10 years is not who you are today. Stay open, stay curious, stay courageous, right, April?
00:50:29
Rich
And ask hard questions and be brave enough to follow the answers. Final thought, feeling stuck, burned out, or disconnected from the sport, step back. Reconnect with your values. Explore those new paths as they come to you. Don't force it. And remember,
00:50:43
Rich
Grit isn't supposed to be a grind. It is chasing your purpose with passion and and consistency and not never giving up. It does not have to be a grind. It can be a great learning experience.
00:50:58
Lauren Brown
thank
00:50:59
April
Love it.
00:50:59
Lauren Brown
Woo. one That was a good wrap up.
00:51:01
April
Yeah.
TriDot Workout Breakdown and Training Tips
00:51:03
Lauren Brown
right. Should jump into the workout of the week?
00:51:03
Rich
Well, you take it away.
00:51:07
Lauren Brown
All right, and I'm thinking that maybe i'll I'll break it up a little bit so we can all kind of chime in here with the the workout of the week if you guys are game with that. So the workout of the week, we are going to be talking about the anatomy of a tried out workout.
00:51:21
Lauren Brown
So instead of just telling you the workout, we're going to break it down piece by piece, why it's structured the way it is and how it helps you train smarter, not harder. starting with the warmup. So something I do want to point out when you look at a tried out workout, there is purpose behind everything. So if you don't have to cut it short for some, you know, or if you had to cut it short for some reason, fine, but there's really, there's a reason for the warmup for the main set and the cool down.
00:51:48
Lauren Brown
So sit tight. We're going to dive into all them. I'll start with the warmup and then coach April, if you want to take the main set, and Coach Rich, the recovery intervals will kind of bounce it around.
00:52:01
Lauren Brown
Sound good?
00:52:02
Rich
Perfect.
00:52:03
April
Excellent.
00:52:03
Lauren Brown
and All right, sweet. So starting with the warmup, the warmup is prepping the engine. So i'm going to give an example of what a warmup might look like if you were jumping into a bike session. So your warmup might look, it typically looks like, I should say, 10 minute warmup where the majority of the warmup is going to be at zone two.
00:52:25
Lauren Brown
you'll likely see some variation of spin-ups in there. So maybe three by 30 seconds of spin-ups where you're getting your cadence up to about 115 RPMs and then three by one minute at zone four.
00:52:39
Lauren Brown
The purpose behind the warmup, don't skip the warmup. Zone two gets the blood flowing, the muscles are ready without burning energy too early. The spin-ups are a great way to wake up the neuromuscular system. So you want your legs to be responsive. You want to get that cadence.
00:52:58
Lauren Brown
And then doing those short bursts of just one minute in zone four will really help prime your body for the harder intervals ahead, like doing practice swings before a golf shot. You do not go to the tee box.
00:53:12
Lauren Brown
You shouldn't and just swing right away, right? You want to do a couple of swings, maybe hit up the driving range. So this is Another way to look at it, it's kind of like preheating the oven before baking.
00:53:22
Lauren Brown
You're not going throw in the cookies into a cold oven and have it warm up with the cookies in there.
00:53:30
Rich
I like that. Let's see if we keep that analogy going.
00:53:30
April
And you need to know yeah yeah e you need to know how to bake at altitude.
00:53:37
Lauren Brown
and
00:53:39
April
Awesome, Coach Lauren. We're going to move into the main set, which is building that engine. So we got it warmed up. We got it revving. Now we need to build it. So let's take it to the, uh, back to the bike workout.
00:53:52
April
Um, about this, this could be an interval of five by five minutes at zone four with a two minute recovery. And we're trying to maintain that effort at each five minute interval zone four equals threshold.
00:54:07
April
It's that red line between sustainable and unsustainable. You're definitely in a A line of uncomfortability, but you're not to the point where you are wanting to throw in the towel.
00:54:20
April
Repeated five minute chunks build durability right at that threshold pace where the biggest fitness gains happen. The key isn't the first interval, but it's how strong you hold that last one.
00:54:32
April
Just a note to highlight, you want to make sure that consistency, right? We hit that consistency.
00:54:37
Lauren Brown
Yes.
00:54:38
April
It's king. If you go too hard too early, you'll blow up late. The benefit is in finishing strong.
00:54:46
Rich
Yeah, totally. Well, and then that's going to take us to those rest intervals in between those, you know, those main set intervals, right? Where you've got the, yeah the focuses on that, you know, higher intensity to really get that dosing at the higher intensity and those adaptations.
00:55:03
Rich
But then you need to do those recovery intervals. This is an active rest with purpose. This is not a you know, a full-on recovery where you're catching your breath.
00:55:14
Rich
This is about teaching your body to clear lactate while it's still moving. And in this workout snippet, we're talking about, you know, it might be a two-minute rest interval or recovery interval at zone two between each of those higher-end intervals.
00:55:28
Rich
But it could also be, and and some of these workouts can also be tricky, right? it might only get you know you might be only able It might only give you a recovery down to zone three in some cases when we talk about the over-under workout. You remember that one, guys?
00:55:43
Rich
And it's teaching your body, again, to clear lactate, take a little bit of the load off, because that's going to be a real ah ah real like real- life race situation. Yeah.
00:55:50
April
Yes.
00:55:52
Rich
So, you know, think about, you know, like walking between rounds in a boxing match. You're still moving, you're just preparing for the next punch.
00:56:00
Lauren Brown
Love that. know. I've got so many good analogies in here. So the balance of the time is going to be an aerobic filler. So again, if we're we're sticking with the bike example, you will have, whether it's an hour bike ride, a two hour bike ride, three hour, the balance of the time is going to be in zone two after you get those threshold efforts or whatever the efforts are for that workout.
00:56:27
Lauren Brown
And you want to stay in zone two. You don't want to be dropping below zone two where you're again, like not staying focused on what you're doing. You want to be mindful that you're maintaining the the cadence, which we're going to go into or April will go into, but the breakdown of this balance of time in zone two is that it's going to keep the total workout volume right.
00:56:50
Lauren Brown
right So you want to make sure that you're hitting the amount of time that you're going to be training. It helps build aerobic endurance without adding unnecessary stress. So this helps with avoiding or you know, limiting the risk, I'll say of overtraining, right, you're going to still be working, but not at this high, high level.
00:57:12
Lauren Brown
And it it fills in the hour again with quality instead of junk miles of either going too low intensity or just pushing it too high into that zone three, which can be ah you know a tricky spot to fall in.
00:57:27
April
Yep. Good stuff. Coach Lauren. this, this next point, the cadence focuses, I think a lot of people do tend to slough this off and this is, this is the fine print, if you will, this is the stuff you will, if you want to take that next level, focus on your cadence. So our workout note is when we're talking about those zone four efforts,
00:57:46
April
We want to aim for that 80 to 90 RPMs, which absolutely is hard, but it's what's going to help us maintain that efficiency.
00:57:57
April
And then for those zone two efforts, we want to aim for that 90 RPMs. So we're flushing out that lactate like Coach Rich talked about. cadence really does target efficiency and a lower cadence and so forth can strengthen the legs and simulate climbing.
00:58:14
April
But we also want to be able to hold zone for at a higher cadence as well. So being able to transition between those and know how those
00:58:20
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:58:21
April
can work within our different gradients and the different goals that we're seeking is key to that fine print. So understanding how to use Cadence for those specific reasons is absolutely going to bring that efficiency up to the next level.
00:58:37
Rich
It's awesome. Yeah, you know, it's it's i you it's weird because, you know, those slower RPMs are actually really training those fast twitch muscle fibers and those higher RPMs are really training those slow twitch fibers.
00:58:46
April
Yep.
00:58:50
Rich
But you need that good mix of both be able to be a well-rounded athlete and have the power when you need it. Big takeaways today, warmup primes the body and the brain. Threshold intervals build sustained power.
00:59:04
Rich
Recovery teaches the body how to reset under pressure and clear lactate. And zone two keeps endurance steady. kate helps keep are ah sure ah sure Cadence focus sharpens technique.
00:59:19
Rich
And there is your anatomy of a tri-dot workout.
00:59:23
April
Good job, coaches. Proud of us.
00:59:27
Rich
well
00:59:27
April
Teamwork. It's like we know what we're doing.
00:59:29
Lauren Brown
all
00:59:30
Rich
I know, know, and we don't even, know, it's just like natural, you know, it just flows.
00:59:33
April
Yeah, I love it.
00:59:34
Rich
Oh,
Host Personal Quirks and Fun Questions
00:59:35
April
All right. It's the moment we've all been waiting for.
00:59:36
Rich
boy.
00:59:39
April
Okay, these these questions are truly kind of to spark some serious ingenuity and to really, again, get to know you a little bit more.
00:59:50
April
So we have introduced this as a segment before. It's one of my favorite segments. But with you, Coach Lauren, we want to take you a little deeper here. so We're going to ask a few fun off the wall questions that have nothing to do with triathlon and everything to do with you as a person.
01:00:08
April
It's our chance to peel back that layer and let us see your quirks, your stories and laughs that make us who we are. So are you both ready for the first question?
01:00:20
Lauren Brown
Ready.
01:00:20
Rich
You betcha.
01:00:21
April
and Okay. You betcha. That is a Minnesota slang right there.
01:00:25
April
like it.
01:00:25
Rich
You betcha.
01:00:26
Rich
You betcha.
01:00:28
April
Yeah. All right. Number one, if you could drop into any decade just to experience it, which one would you choose and what's the first thing you would do?
01:00:39
Lauren Brown
am i um Am I going first? I'll go first.
01:00:40
April
Go ahead, Lauren. Whoever has our answer can go ahead.
01:00:43
Lauren Brown
So I don't really have a great answer for this, but but my brain goes to movie. So this hasn't this is like not going to an historically accurate answer.
01:00:51
Rich
Thank you.
01:00:55
Lauren Brown
But like I go to like Grease or to Dazed and Confused. So so
01:00:59
April
Oh, yes.
01:01:02
Lauren Brown
I love like... If I could go back in time to either of those and like dazed and confused, I just think of like last day of school, going to a party and it just being
01:01:12
April
All right, all right, all right.
01:01:16
Lauren Brown
best line. Right. So I just, I, I love the feeling that I get of it. Like they're like misbehaving, but not like they're just totally being fun kids and life just seemed like,
01:01:29
April
Free.
01:01:33
Lauren Brown
I don't to better, but I mean, it just, it's, it seemed like a better place to be.
01:01:35
April
Slower.
01:01:38
Lauren Brown
And like my brain went right to Greece, but then i was like, no, dazed and confused. So that, I don't know that's really the right answer, but it was like the seventies. So yeah.
01:01:49
April
That was a great answer, Lauren.
01:01:52
Rich
I love that. i love the 70s, too. i you know I think I would drop into the 70s, too, and buy some Apple stock for sure.
01:01:55
April
Yeah.
01:02:01
Rich
but But no, in all seriousness, much more personal to me.
01:02:02
Lauren Brown
So practical.
01:02:07
Rich
I probably would have gone back into the eight s would have been back in a freshman in high school, and I would have not said no to the track coach when he asked me to join the track team.
01:02:19
Rich
I think that that would have made a real big difference in my trajectory as an athlete, you know, yeah and might have gotten me into the sport sooner.
01:02:20
April
Mmm.
01:02:30
Rich
so how about that?
01:02:32
April
That's good. That's really good. I think I'm going to the ninety s I love the music of the 90s.
01:02:39
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
01:02:40
April
Yeah, I just, of course, that was when I was, you know, I'm an elder millennial. So formative years of the 90s, I'm kind of in the same boat as you, Rich, as far as like, kind of directing my path a little bit more, right? But I love the culture of the 90s, too. Like, there's reasons why there's 90s rock bands and hip hop bands and stuff. And I, I miss that for sure.
01:03:02
April
was kind of like this sweet age between, having the time but before, you had CDs and all that stuff, but it was before like the internet and the cell phone took off. So you still had that innocence too. So anyway, that's, uh, that's my answer.
01:03:21
April
number two,
01:03:22
Lauren Brown
you
01:03:24
April
What's the most unusual or surprising job you've ever had or almost had before coaching and podcasting?
01:03:32
Lauren Brown
So this ties a little bit into number one, I guess, but worked as a shot girl at an 80s club. so
01:03:43
April
What shop girl? Pray tell.
01:03:46
Lauren Brown
It was called The Breakfast Club. And it was, yeah I know i was just ah walk around with my little tray of shots and listen to 80s music until like two in the morning, which it's wild.
01:03:59
April
Get it!
01:04:00
Lauren Brown
Yeah. Which now, you know, me if I stay had to stay up till two in the morning, I'd be like way stressed. But, you know, I'd be there, get home. My ears would still be ringing from the music playing. And it was very interesting crowd because it was an 80s club.
01:04:16
Lauren Brown
So it was it was a a good time
01:04:19
April
Dang, that sounds fun. That sounds amazing. Yeah.
01:04:23
Rich
That sounds like a kick in the pants. Let's go. Let's go. let's go
01:04:27
April
yeah
01:04:27
Rich
and my almost job was, was almost a pilot in the air force, uh, except for my senior year, we, uh, rules changed and, uh, anybody with a non-technical degree lost their pilot slot, but I actually was pretty darn close.
01:04:33
April
That's right.
01:04:35
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
01:04:45
Rich
I had already gotten through flight screening program. I had already gotten, uh, had an incentive, incentive ride in an F-16, which was the most violent experience I've ever had my life.
01:04:57
Rich
So that would have been an amazing career. um um but you know, hey, do the next best thing.
01:05:04
April
We get the benefit of your company now. So I'm kind of glad the Air Force didn't scoop you up, sir.
01:05:09
Lauren Brown
Okay.
01:05:11
April
Oh, my gosh. There's a lot of odds and ends that I did. Well, one of the things I was kind of, you know, my trajectory was toward journalism.
01:05:20
April
So I did go to the yeah, yeah. I went to the University of Minnesota for two years on a journalism track. And just realized that wasn't for me. i dropped out of college and joined the Air Force. And that's where we are today.
01:05:36
April
So big change. I know two two different paths there, right? Two different flight plans.
01:05:43
Rich
Wow.
01:05:44
April
All right, next up. If your life had a theme song that played every time you walked into a room, what song what would it be?
01:05:53
Lauren Brown
This kind of a tough one. Should I continue this momentum of, I'll go first.
01:05:57
Rich
Please. Yeah, please. I need i need a moment.
01:05:59
April
Love it.
01:06:00
Lauren Brown
Okay, so I literally went onto my Spotify and I was like, let me go through my playlist because when I was teaching spin, I have a bajillion playlists. And the first one I clicked on had a Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys with, and it's the version with Nicki Minaj, which I actually love because I'll always put that even when I'm running because it just, it ends up amping me up.
01:06:23
Lauren Brown
And when I did, actually Coach April, I told you about the momentum education program I did. where it was like ah ah ah ah growth program.
01:06:30
April
huh
01:06:32
Lauren Brown
And at the end of the leadership program, everyone had a song that the people chose for them. And you'd kind of sat there the song played and everyone would leave comments like celebrating you in the chat while the song played.
01:06:48
Lauren Brown
And that was the song they chose for me. So when I saw that, I was like, I'll go with that because there's a lot of great songs that'll pump me up and all the things, but that song always makes me just feel powerful.
01:06:51
April
oh
01:07:04
Rich
Love that. Mine is Long Live by Taylor Swift.
01:07:08
April
aww
01:07:09
Rich
You think about the lyrics, you know, having the time of my life slaying dragons with you, you know, it just, you know, you know, I, it just, it makes you think about, you you know, don't let barriers hold you back.
01:07:16
April
oh
01:07:26
Rich
Don't take challenge you know challenges and and lay down for them. And you can have the time of your life.
01:07:35
April
Yeah, I'm still struggling, team, to figure out what mine is. I just know that my favorite band, I'll go with my favorite band, the band that that that illustrates my so life soundtrack is Linkin Park.
01:07:41
Lauren Brown
I'm not how
01:07:48
Lauren Brown
it. it. not how
01:07:49
April
So I mean, not to get super down here, but when when Chester died, i specifically remember the date and time that I found out and just...
01:07:50
Lauren Brown
how do it. sure to do
01:07:59
Lauren Brown
it.
01:08:01
April
lost it.
01:08:02
Lauren Brown
how do it.
01:08:02
April
And that's just that's just how deep my love is for this band.
01:08:02
Lauren Brown
I'm not sure
01:08:05
April
It absolutely has like milestones in my life for specific albums and specific songs that came out.
01:08:07
Lauren Brown
how
01:08:11
April
And I'm so glad that they are making music again. And feel like I it my life kind of mirrors a lot of the things that has been taught in those songs.
01:08:21
April
So everybody has kind of like that soundtrack. Right. Well, Linkin Park is my soundtrack to my life. So. That's where i'm go to go with that. All right.
01:08:31
Rich
you
01:08:31
April
Got two more here. What's the most ridiculous thing you believed as a kid that you later found out wasn't true?
01:08:38
Lauren Brown
I'm
01:08:41
Lauren Brown
I'm not going to go with the obvious one that I was coming to my brain. So I'll go with, if you swallow gum, a bubble gum tree will grow in your stomach. I don't know if I like literally believed it, but I would always picture like, what does a bubble gum tree growing in my stomach look like? So I'll go with that.
01:09:01
Lauren Brown
And I've swallowed enough gum by accident to know that it's not true.
01:09:07
April
I've not heard that about bubblegum. I heard that about watermelon seeds. I thought a watermelon yeah would grow in my stomach.
01:09:12
Rich
Thank
01:09:15
April
That's a good one, though.
01:09:16
Lauren Brown
A bubblegum tree, yeah.
01:09:17
April
Yeah, I like it. I like it.
01:09:20
Rich
I don't have a good one here. I'm just going to i'm just going to go with the obvious, but I'm going to tell you how it went down.
01:09:26
April
Okay.
01:09:27
Rich
i was in second grade and on the playground, and i had ah I had a tooth that I lost, and I was telling somebody how I was going to put it under my pillow for the tooth fairy, and this kid told me, know, the tooth fairy isn't real. It's really your parents, and I'm like,
01:09:46
Rich
No, wait minute. Wait a minute. Really? And then I'm like, wait a minute. if If the tooth fairy is not real, that means the Easter bunny is not real. And wait a minute.
01:09:55
April
Oh, no.
01:09:56
Rich
No, it can't be.
01:10:00
Lauren Brown
It's the worst day ever.
01:10:01
April
Oh, it is it's such a letdown.
01:10:03
Rich
a know ha
01:10:06
April
Such a letdown.
01:10:09
April
Well, I would say going to kind of go in the vein with Lauren here. mine Yeah, I thought bubblegum stayed in your stomach for seven years.
01:10:20
April
I remember parents and teachers telling us, don't swallow your gum because it won't. but It will live in your stomach and just hang out in the corner for seven years.
01:10:33
April
So, yeah, that's what that's I'm going with.
01:10:33
Lauren Brown
Family feud.
01:10:35
April
Yeah. Awesome. All right. Last question. If you were invited to be a contestant on any game show in history, which one would you choose and how do you think you would do?
01:10:47
Lauren Brown
family feud
01:10:49
April
Oh, yeah. Good one, Lauren. Good one.
01:10:51
April
How would you do, Lauren?
01:10:52
Lauren Brown
and get
01:10:53
Lauren Brown
think I would do great.
01:10:53
April
Yeah.
01:10:54
Lauren Brown
I don't know.
01:10:54
April
Mm hmm.
01:10:55
Lauren Brown
I was watching it the other day and I was so upset because it got interrupted for like a news report. And i was, they were just about to give the fourth answer.
01:11:05
Lauren Brown
And I was like, I know it. And then would be i'm like, I didn't know.
01:11:10
Lauren Brown
I didn't want to watch this news report. I wanted to watch Family Feud. I was, i was in I was in a happy place right now. What are you doing to me? okay
01:11:18
April
World, you cannot interrupt my game show.
01:11:22
Lauren Brown
yeah This was wrong. So yeah, would i I would love to be Steve Harvey's great host too, but yeah, that's what going with.
01:11:24
April
Yeah.
01:11:30
April
Yeah.
01:11:30
Lauren Brown
I
01:11:31
April
Good stuff. Coach Rich?
01:11:33
Rich
I'm going to date myself and I'm going to go to the price is right.
01:11:36
Lauren Brown
love the price.
01:11:37
April
Okay, that's a good one. Yes.
01:11:38
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
01:11:39
Rich
i think I can actually do pretty good in that. I always felt like I, i you know, that was easier for me than Jeopardy.
01:11:46
Lauren Brown
Oh yeah. Yeah.
01:11:46
April
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was thinking you were going to go with Jeopardy, but I think the Price is Right it's an excellent choice.
01:11:52
Lauren Brown
yeah
01:11:53
April
I'm going all the way back. I'm going to Nickelodeon.
01:11:56
Lauren Brown
Oh.
01:11:58
April
Legends of the Hidden Temple. Oh, yeah, I think I can get that. I definitely think I can get that sucker down. Yeah. So if you don't know what it is, it's like an adventure expedition. Like you got to do certain obstacle courses and it's it's it's a hoot.
01:12:20
April
So if you, if there's some older millennials listening in our audience, they know exactly what I'm talking about. It's, I encourage you to go watch a little bit.
01:12:27
Rich
you
01:12:29
April
I think, I actually think they're bringing it back as kind of like a retro kids game. So yeah, keep your eye out. Yeah.
01:12:36
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
01:12:37
April
And that is our five questions to get to know you. We love doing this because it reminds us that endurance sports may be a huge part of our lives, but it's not the only thing that defines us.
01:12:48
April
We got some weird stories. so hopefully you learned something new, had a few laughs, and maybe even thought about how you would answer some of these questions yourself.
01:12:59
Rich
Well, I hope so, because they're going to probably have to answer when we post this out on social media this week.
01:13:04
April
yeah
01:13:04
Rich
And guys, it was a blast getting to know you guys both better here.
01:13:05
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
01:13:08
Rich
I did not know these things about you, so or at least some of them.
01:13:11
April
which Whether you wanted to or not.
01:13:14
Rich
Exactly. Folks, thanks for listening this week. It's been kooky. It's been fun, but it's been an education. Be sure to follow us at 303 Triathlon and at Grit to Greatness Endurance. And of course, go to iTunes, give us a rating and a comment.
01:13:27
Rich
We appreciate it and you. Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey.