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#509 Season Hibernation Strategy
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Even if your 2025 season isn’t over, it’s not too early to start planning for 2026—before you hit that register button, tune in for tips on how to build a season that maximizes enjoyment, growth, and results while avoiding burnout and over-racing. In this episode, we answer the question “How much time should I take off formal training?” We also explore the Power of Belief in the Get Gritty Tip, break down Cruise Intervals in the TriDot Workout of the Week, and wrap up with some fun Fat Bear Week trivia!
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Use discount code - 303endurance20
Website - Grit2Greatness Endurance Coaching
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Coach April Spilde
TriDot Signup - https://app.tridot.com/onboard/sign-up/aprilspilde
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Coach Lauren Brown
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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
00:00:01
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
Episode Introduction: Planning for 2026
00:00:22
Rich
Welcome to episode 509 of the 303 Endurance Podcast. We're your hosts, coaches Rich Soares, April Spilde, and Lauren Brown. Thanks for joining us for another week of coaching questions, get gritty tips, workout wisdom, and yes, a little fun.
00:00:36
Rich
Even if your 2025 season isn't over, it's not too soon to start planning for your 2026. Before you hit the register button, though, take a step back and tune in for some tips on how to plan your season to maximize your enjoyment growth results and avoid the pitfalls of racing to the detriment of your aforementioned enjoyment growth and results.
00:00:59
Rich
We're going have a blast today. Coach April, Coach Lauren, how are you guys doing today?
00:01:03
April
I am doing well. It's good to see you both. i am all about max enjoyment and getting the most out of your season. And I'm really looking forward to breaking down how we do that together.
00:01:13
Lauren Brown
i I love that we're talking about planning for 2026 also because I think I've been thinking about 2026 since like the end of 2024. And I'm always like, what is wrong with me? I need to slow it down a little bit, like get through the season. So now is like now is really the perfect time to be talking about it. So i'm I'm excited for our conversation.
00:01:38
Rich
Well, poking a little fun at myself because I've already hit the register button a couple of times for 2026. So I need to back up and actually put some structure and some serious thought to how I'm doing this instead of just, you know, diving headfirst without a plan.
00:01:45
Lauren Brown
but
00:01:53
Rich
So we're going to get, we're going to do that and get, get smart together and have a great 2026 result.
Sponsor Highlight: Vespa Power
00:02:00
Rich
Before we get into all of the fun stuff, let's give a show shout out to our show sponsor, Vespa Power. Vespa Power Endurance helps you tap into steady, clean energy so you can stay focused and in the zone longer.
00:02:15
Rich
Vespa is not fuel, but a metabolic catalyst that shifts your body into using more fat and less sugar as your fuel source. Vespa comes in CV25, junior and concentrate, less sugar, higher performance, faster recovery,
00:02:29
Rich
Check out the website. There's a link here in the show notes. Use the discount 303 Endurance 20 to get 20% off of anything in your cart the first time.
00:02:39
April
All right, today we are talking all about how to plan for your 2026 season with purpose, maximizing your growth results, and most importantly, your enjoyment.
00:02:51
April
Rich is going to take us through our announcements and news first. And in our today's ask a coach, we'll cover how much time to take off after your season. We have our get greedy tip, which is all about the power of belief.
00:03:04
April
And our workout of the week is cruise intervals. Finally, for our fun segment, I am going to test your knowledge with a little Fat Bear Week trivia. So stick around.
00:03:18
April
This one's going to be a memorable one for sure.
00:03:23
Rich
it's already It's already scaring me. I don't can't wait.
00:03:27
April
Just wait. Just wait.
00:03:28
Lauren Brown
No idea what to expect.
00:03:29
April
I will explain. Yeah.
00:03:30
Rich
i We never look ahead. we don't look ahead on these.
00:03:32
April
does.
00:03:32
Lauren Brown
yeah No, no.
00:03:33
Rich
We do not peak. We'd love to be surprised. Thank you, Coach April, for bringing in the fun. Awesome. All right. Well, here's some announcements and here are our announcements
Event Announcement: TriDot Pool School
00:03:44
Rich
and news. First, we are really excited to announce that we have another TriDot Pool School right here in Colorado Springs, February 7th and 8th.
00:03:53
Rich
So speaking of your 2026 planning, this is a great time to plan and get your swim straight. And we are going to, we're going to have a blast in Colorado Springs.
00:04:06
Rich
Coach April, i you know, this is our third one.
00:04:10
April
I know. And people just seem to want to come back. so we must be doing something right. no I'm really excited about this.
00:04:17
Rich
It's a great place. It's a great destination too.
00:04:19
April
Yeah, I really it's cool to see all the people when they come in and they're just so excited and and like, oh, this is such a cool pool. And just the vibe overall is extremely fun.
00:04:30
April
And I know it sounds like it's militant, but it's not.
00:04:31
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:04:33
April
We have a lot of fun on on the pool deck deck and we enjoy the atmosphere of Colorado Springs. So definitely one to check out.
00:04:43
Rich
Coach Lauren. Got to get you out here.
00:04:46
Lauren Brown
I know, I was just thinking, i mean like I need more reasons to be flying out to Colorado.
00:04:46
April
Yeah.
00:04:50
Lauren Brown
I have a list of them starting to pile up. So I will, 2026, add it to my planning. Maybe not, hey, maybe it'll be part of my race planning.
00:05:00
Lauren Brown
I'll have to look into that.
00:05:01
Rich
Ooh, we like that.
00:05:02
Lauren Brown
Ooh.
00:05:03
Rich
You know, maybe if we have a camp paired with a race.
00:05:05
Lauren Brown
to
00:05:06
Rich
Ooh, yeah.
00:05:06
Lauren Brown
Stay tuned.
00:05:08
April
think it's happening.
00:05:08
Lauren Brown
that
00:05:09
Rich
We're teasing here a little bit.
00:05:11
Lauren Brown
but we don't even know yet what we're teasing, but there's something coming up.
00:05:13
April
There's something coming.
00:05:14
Rich
There's something coming up.
00:05:14
April
We know it.
00:05:15
Rich
we we know we we are We are planning to do more camps for next season to get you ready for your race season, but we're gonna let's let's put the cart before the horse. Sorry.
00:05:26
Rich
Yeah. get the park cart no Get the horse in front of the cart and let's talk about the 2026 plan first.
00:05:32
Lauren Brown
Thank
Ironman World Championship Preview
00:05:32
Rich
Also here in October, obviously, we don't need to to tell you, Ironman World Championship Kona is coming up here just not this weekend, but next weekend.
00:05:43
Rich
Big time, Saturday, October 11th, marks the final standalone women's championship in Kona before the men and women reunite for a single day in 2026. It is going to be a hot one on the Queen K, according to the forecast. 86 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity and crosswinds are expected. Going to be a pretty packed field, too. Really exciting podium contenders. Laura Phillip, Kat Matthews, Lucy Charles Barkley, Chelsea Sedaro, and Taylor Nibb again.
00:06:15
Rich
what do you guys think of the pro field?
00:06:18
April
That's a deep field.
00:06:18
Lauren Brown
i'm sorry I'm so freaking excited. i can't wait. I honestly, I'm like, from that list of names, I mean, i i just, I always love Lucy Charles Barkley, like for from just, I think she's one of the first people that I was like, well, I guess Daniela Riff also.
00:06:23
Rich
well
00:06:35
Lauren Brown
But out of those women, I feel like I will be happy seeing any of them on the podium. So it's just going to be a crazy race to watch. So
00:06:45
Rich
You know, they are all exceptional athletes and they are all exceptional people.
00:06:50
April
h
00:06:52
Rich
You know, they're just really, you know, good, and but you know, representation and ambassadors of the sport. And, yeah, you just get your, you want to root for em all.
00:07:01
Lauren Brown
Like Kat Matthews,
00:07:02
April
I was just going to say, it's super easy to root for them. Yeah.
00:07:05
Lauren Brown
like her story and her comeback and like, it's just, yeah, I think I'll be emotional and excited no matter who's up there.
00:07:05
April
Hmm.
00:07:14
Rich
For sure. Well, so we'll we'll cover this a little bit more next week, but just put that on your radar, of course. And then we are really excited.
Upcoming Webinar: Grit to Greatness
00:07:22
Rich
October 21st, we are having the Grit to Greatness October live webinar, Staying Resilient for Late Season Races.
00:07:30
Rich
We are going to, this is going to be a little bit of a, you know, education. It's also going to be a lot of discussion and dialogue. We really look forward to you joining us. We have a link here in the show notes.
00:07:42
Rich
You're also going to see some posts on this. So keep an eye out. And when you see it come across, register, and we are going to have a great discussion. Can't wait to see you there. All right. Well, I think that's it for the announcements this week.
00:07:55
Rich
April, I'll turn it over to you.
00:07:57
April
Excellent. We're going to jump into our ask a coach section that is brought to you by grit to greatness, endurance coaching. So as we know, numbers don't lie and neither does progress.
00:08:10
April
That's why great to greatness, endurance coaching teamed up with tri dot and run dot. the platforms that turn your training data into smarter workouts and better results. I want you to think custom workouts, real time analytics, and no wasted effort.
00:08:26
April
You can sign up through our coach links in the show notes to get a free trial, and then you can keep rolling for as low as 1499 a month.
00:08:27
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:08:35
April
If you love geeking out on data or just love improving, click the link in our show notes today.
00:08:43
Rich
Love that. and And if you click the link in our show notes, it's going to take you to the Grit to Greatness endurance page. Check out the new services, all of our pricing for all of the plans, run dot, try dot, from a beginner plan to full coaching.
00:08:59
Rich
Everything's out there, nice and transparent. so Check it out and give us a blast if you have a question. All right.
The Importance of Taking Season Breaks
00:09:05
Lauren Brown
Thanks.
00:09:06
Rich
All right. So let's roll into our Ask Coach section. I'm really excited about this question. We're getting this a lot. You know, this is a conversation i think of having with all of my athletes right now.
00:09:16
Rich
when should I take my season break and for how long? As we look ahead to your 2026 season, one of the most important questions to ask is, yeah, when you take this? And and really, we're going to do this. We're going to break this down into nine points to help you reflect, recover, and reset.
00:09:33
Rich
And the whole purpose of this is to make sure, again, that you are getting the proper recovery and and kind of just And de-stressing all around, you know, because we know training all year, you're always got that, you know training schedule hanging over your head, right? there's There's physical stress and there's just life stress. And then there's also just, I got to get all my training in stress. Well, we're going to help you get away from all of that here a little bit.
00:10:01
Rich
So the very first, going to do this and we're going to take turns. going lead us off with timing is everything. You should be taking your season break right after your last race. This is when you are at your peak. This is when you've been at your peak performance and probably at your peak fatigue and pushing further can lead you to burnout and injury.
00:10:22
Rich
If you're feeling, especially if you've already had that last race and you have still been doing it you know, doing some, you know, regular training, you probably feel the fatigue. You're probably ready to say, uncle, listen to your body. It's telling you it's time to step back.
00:10:37
Rich
This is, you know, and this, the the earlier you do this reset, it can also get you back into the build phase, and the, and the development phase of your training faster for next year.
00:10:50
April
Yeah. Well said, Rich. I'm actually just heading now into my break. This was the most races I've ever done this year. as you know, coach,
00:11:01
April
So for sure, i think that there's absolute beauty in a break. so the next part of this is duration. Duration truly does matter.
00:11:10
April
We want you to aim for anywhere between two to four weeks of recovery. This really does give your body time to repair and your mind time to recharge as well as your pocketbook.
00:11:21
April
I don't know about you, but race entry fees are are expensive. And it gives you enough time to recover without losing too much fitness. It's that sweet spot between rest and readiness.
00:11:34
Lauren Brown
And moving on to the next point is that this is, it's a non-negotiable, right? Like it's a crucial part to have this rest and reset.
00:11:46
Lauren Brown
So skipping this break two to four weeks, it can lead to chronic fatigue, overuse injuries and mental burnout. So like I said, this downtime is not a luxury.
00:12:00
Lauren Brown
I think of it also like, you want to make sure you're mindful of it and you do it before you really need it. Right. It makes me think of when, if you wait until you're really, really thirsty, you're probably already touching upon dehydration. Right. So if you're waiting until You're at that point where you're having injuries and you're like, oh, I don't want to do this workout.
00:12:28
Lauren Brown
you're You're pushing to the point that you've gone a little bit too far. So remember, it's a necessity for long term performance.
Reflecting on Past Seasons for Better Goals
00:12:35
Lauren Brown
And what's really, really important is enjoyment in the sport.
00:12:41
Rich
Absolutely. Really well said, Coach Lauren. I you know you know it's like i equate it to them you know like a battery, right? You've drained your battery, right? And if you keep trying to you know use the device when your battery is low, it's just going to get critically low. you know Coach Mark Allen you know likes to talk about like thinking about a reservoir right that goes dry.
00:13:03
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:13:04
Rich
And, you know, and and you need to give it time to, you know, recover and come back and get that, you know, kind of water table back up. When you go too deep, you know, you know, how can you start off strong and get your training on the wrong foot if you're starting off fatigued?
00:13:22
Rich
So what to do during your break? Keep it light. Think yoga, walking, hiking, or easy swims. Stay active, but ditch the structure. No structure. This is like, in fact, I tell my athletes, like,
00:13:34
Rich
Do I have your permission? We're going to remove the workouts from your schedule. I want you even seeing them. Because if you see them, it's going to be, oh, I got to do that. Or you know you're tempted to do it. No structure. This is your time.
00:13:47
Rich
Just have some fun. You can still stay active. Do things you know like yoga keeps you keeps you flexible and strong without putting the stress on your body.
00:13:56
April
Yes. And this is perfect for what not to do. Avoid high intensity training. We're talking no intervals, I'm sure there's a few people that are going to be happy when I say this, no FTP tests, CSS tests, or five case, no race simulations.
00:14:16
April
You want to let go of that pressure, especially the pressure to perform. It's not feasible to always be in a performance mindset. You've got to let yourself come down from that. There's recovery for a reason.
00:14:29
April
And this phase is really all about recovery and giving yourself the ability to come down so that you when you're ready, you can come back up and come back up stronger.
00:14:38
Lauren Brown
This next point. I think can be an easy one to forget sometimes while you're in this off season and you're ready to jump into 2026. Before you do that, reflect on your season.
00:14:52
Lauren Brown
So ask yourself, What went well? What could be better? and really just take some time. like Think about the races that you had. Feel the feelings that you experienced and enjoy the reflection, right? This is going to help you set smarter goals for 2026.
00:15:12
Lauren Brown
Journal it. I know we've talked about this in other capacities, the importance of journaling, getting it all out. Talk it out with your coach. Talk it out with a peer.
00:15:23
Lauren Brown
or take a nice walk and think it through, but really set aside time to review, assess what happened 2025 so you can plan 2026.
00:15:36
Lauren Brown
plan for twenty twenty six
00:15:38
Rich
Yeah, that's awesome. You know, and kind of a similar, you know, thought process here is take a step back and think about what you really value in the sport.
00:15:49
Rich
And what I mean by that is you know does how does it align with what really gives you joy, what really you want out of this relationship with the sport? And I've had a couple of athletes this year who have you know really kind of stepped back and said, you know, I want to be a an athlete who does triathlon, not a triathlete necessarily, right? You know, I don't want to, you know, like...
00:16:13
Rich
lock myself into this one thing. And, you know, I think April, I love you and your, your mountain biking, right? Because that gives, it's, you know, endurance sport. It fits into triathlon. You get to do triathlon, but it doesn't define you.
00:16:26
Rich
And, know, think about what does define you and then pick the path in this and the, in the, in the disciplines and the types of racing and the types of endurance that aligns with your values.
00:16:38
April
Yeah, I really appreciate that, Rich. I think that staying in one specific thing for too long can absolutely lead to burnout as well as an identity crisis too, right? If you're so tied to something that...
00:16:53
April
you've been doing for years and years and years, and then for some reason, it's no longer available to you, right? That can really throw you off your, your game. it can totally uproot you.
00:17:04
April
And I think for me personally with mountain biking, it's just opened up this whole new world and new relationships and new adventures and experiences that, you I'm so grateful for if I had, uh, if I would have stayed in the same vein, I don't think I would have had the same level of joy.
00:17:21
April
So I love that idea. And I think that you, uh, shared that beautifully and, uh, going into our next tip here, this is probably one of my favorite topics is rich knows I've exhausted this with him specifically, but that is the ability to reset your habits. And I'm actually going through this with coach Lauren,
00:17:41
April
We coach each other on various topics and we've been talking a lot about different habit loops that aren't necessarily helping build the desired desired future that you want.
00:17:53
April
So I love this statement that your current habits are reflection of your past goals. They're actually relics of your past and whether you're conscious of them or not,
00:18:03
April
you create this history that is setting you up for success or failure. And a lot of times it takes conscious effort to not only identify the things that could be sabotaging you, but also working to unravel and build new habits.
00:18:20
April
So use this break. to your advantage, really look at and identify what are the routines that you've and rituals, right?
00:18:24
Lauren Brown
Thank
00:18:28
April
That you have created and are they truly helping you without judgment? Uh, are they truly helping you set you up for a successful 2026 and beyond? So you want to focus on eliminating what's not serving you one habit at a time, and then build upon the habits that are going to align with your next season's goals.
00:18:50
Lauren Brown
That
Creating a Detailed Plan for 2026
00:18:50
Lauren Brown
is so good. I appreciate the idea too that sometimes you just don't realize that habits were created.
00:18:59
Rich
Thank you.
00:19:01
Lauren Brown
So it's like, don't don't hold judgment on it. and I love that reminder, April, that it's not something to be judged. It's something to just assess and learn and move forward from. So once you've reset your habits,
00:19:18
Lauren Brown
And now you're really starting to plan. The goal is to plan with purpose. So there's the idea that I think of often when setting goals and mapping out a season or mapping out a quarter is to to begin with the end in mind.
00:19:35
Lauren Brown
So you want to know where you're going. You want to start with sketching out your blueprint, right? Lay it out. What are your A races, B races, C races, what are the strengths that you have right now?
00:19:50
Lauren Brown
Is there a certain type of course that speaks to you that you might race better on, address your weaknesses that you might want to to build upon and align your race calendar with your life commitments?
00:20:03
Lauren Brown
Because the reality is we, the majority of us, right? Unless you're professional who is doing this completely full time and can We have a lot of other things going on. So this should be woven into your life.
00:20:18
Lauren Brown
you know And this is this is really where all of the magic happens, where everything starts to come together and you have your, again, your your blueprint for 2026.
00:20:30
Rich
Wow, you guys, but both of you just you know have taken this, i think, to another level. i you know The habits, April, you mentioning how the the habits are relics of our past, our current habits.
00:20:45
Rich
You know, I never really thought about it that way. And I love that. Just, it really makes you want to reinvent yourself. Right.
00:20:53
Lauren Brown
Yep.
00:20:53
Rich
And then Lauren, I love the idea of the, of the blueprint for 2026. And I think if people think about that, you know, they can come to us at this webinar coming up in a couple of weeks and we can help them think about their blueprint. So i hope there's people listening to this are like, man, I can't wait to attend that conversation because this is what we're going get into. Right.
00:21:14
Rich
So folks, as you head into your transition season, remember that rest week is not a step back. It's a strategic move forward. Take time to recover, reflect, and reset. it is It's going to what it's going to be what sets the foundation for your next breakthrough. So give yourself permission to pause, recharge your passion, and come back with clarity and purpose.
00:21:35
Rich
Your 2026 season starts now, but with intention.
The Power of Belief in Performance
00:21:39
April
Love this good stuff coaches. And it kind of sets us up perfectly for our get gritty and our get gritty is definitely gritty.
00:21:47
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:21:48
April
We are looking at a life tip here that can absolutely feel your triathlon goals, your multi-sport goals, but this is, this is getting real with belief. All right. The topic is the power of belief.
00:22:00
April
And it comes from one of my favorite growth coaches. His name is Jordan Freed. He has a company called My Freed Life. And he shares a story. It's a personal story, but we're going to dig in here.
00:22:12
April
So... All behavior follows belief. It's a pretty powerful statement. I really want you to think about that for a second. What you believe shapes how you act.
00:22:25
April
And as athletes, as parents, as sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, whatever label you want to put on this, that belief can be the difference between giving up when something hard hits us or finding another gear that we didn't know we had.
00:22:43
April
So Jordan tells a story of how after a long, exhausting workday, he caught himself sliding in distress before picking up his daughter from Taekwondo. And in that moment, and this is the power of his coaching, he asked himself, what would I have to believe to feel grateful right now?
00:23:03
April
And his answer was, being a dad is a privilege. Being a husband is a privilege. Running a company company is a privilege. And with that simple shift in belief, his entire emotional state transformed.
00:23:16
April
It was turning stress into joy and fatigue into presence. And that's the power of belief. Sometimes it only takes five seconds to reframe your whole perspective and change the entire outcome of your day or your race or whatever you have going on.
00:23:33
April
That's needing that little bit of shift. So I'm going to turn it over to coach rich. Who's going to give us some questions, some powerful reflection on things to consider.
00:23:43
Rich
Yeah. Thank you, Coach April. this is I love this topic. And you know this first question for me is a is one that i have I have a good relationship with. And it's it's something that I think really kind of changed the way i thought about, you know i guess, my situation in races. And it's called, the the question is, have you ever caught yourself in a negative spiral during training or racing?
00:24:09
Rich
What belief was driving that and how did you shift out of it? And I still remember my very first Ironman, Ironman Cozumel, really just, you know, yeah I think it was like, you know, mile 18 of the marathon, right? It's been a long day and it's, you know, far enough that you're like, that's still a long freaking way to the finish. Another eight miles of this.
00:24:32
Rich
And then I remember, thinking, wait a minute, it's only eight more miles of this. Eight more miles is going to go by in about, you know, 90 minutes, you know, at this pace. And then I was like, there's only 90 more minutes of my very first Ironman.
00:24:49
Rich
Take stock of that. I mean, this journey to my very first Ironman, to my very first finish line is going to be over in just a few precious 90 minutes. And then all of a sudden became grateful for the time that, know, the remaining time that I had back on the course. And I know that might sound a little, you know, a little extreme from a reframing perspective, but it actually really worked for me. So really encourage you to do that. The other one is what's one belief that you hold today that consistently fuels your athletic journey?
00:25:19
Rich
You know, what is that what is that self-talk that you hear as you think about yourself and what you're doing yeah and, in you know, what your next race is going to be or what your next goal is going to be?
00:25:31
Rich
How do you personally catch yourself in the moment before stress or negativity takes over and flip the switch? What is your... What is your tool for recognizing it? And what is your intervention thought? What is your self-talk that is the inter intervening you know you know mantra that you tell yourself to to flip that switch? And if all behavior follows belief, what beliefs do we need to instill in us to set us up for long-term success?
00:26:02
Rich
Coach Lauren?
00:26:03
Lauren Brown
Thank you for sharing your story, Coach Rich, because that like that resonated with me big time with thinking about, oh my gosh, there's only this much time left that I get to enjoy this experience and take it all in.
Reframing Situations for Positive Outcomes
00:26:17
Lauren Brown
like what a What a paradigm shift. So I just had to say thank you because said i want to interrupt you before, but that like and hit me.
00:26:24
Lauren Brown
So action item for our listeners.
00:26:25
Rich
Awesome.
00:26:28
Lauren Brown
So this week, practice that five second pause. So coach April had mentioned before that it takes five seconds to reframe your perspective and change the entire outcome of your day or your situation. So practice that pause.
00:26:45
Lauren Brown
The next time you feel yourself getting frustrated, and anxious, overwhelmed, this could be happening during your workout. It could be happening, getting your kids ready to go to school. It could be happening at work, in transition because you can't find your freaking bike for some reason, right There's all these things that can make you feel a little bit overwhelmed.
00:27:08
Lauren Brown
Pause. Ask yourself, what would i have to believe right now to feel grateful or empowered.
00:27:19
Lauren Brown
And then choose that belief, the power of choice, right? You have the power to choose the belief that you are holding. So own that and watch how quickly your behavior follows.
00:27:33
April
Mm. Mm. That was a good gritty tip. All right. Oh, so our closing thought for this belief is the lens through which we see everything. It's our perspective. It's our frame.
00:27:47
April
We can shift the lens and the picture changes, whether that's a training racing, even the everyday moments of life, like but Lauren all of it is shaped by what we choose.
00:27:51
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:27:59
April
to believe in the moment. And it's really cool. there's, I love talking about this because there's a gap between what happens and what you choose to believe. Right. So recognize when you're in the gap to make that pause and choose what you're going to do next. Right.
00:28:17
April
Whether it's finding something you're grateful for, how can you, uh, problem solve through this situation or just change exactly how you feel, right? We have the power to do that. So remember all behavior follows belief.
00:28:31
April
So the next time you catch yourself slipping into frustration or doubt, pause and ask what belief in this moment will serve me best right now, right now, how can I change this?
00:28:44
April
That's how you take control of the narrative. That's how you change the story. It's how you transform stress into strength. And that's how you keep building the mindset of a gritty athlete.
00:28:56
Rich
Love this get gritty tip this week, Coach April. For those of you who know this, yeah Coach April is the one who is behind the content. We you know kind of help deliver it, but the yeah the get gritty tips are like a really unique thing. You don't hear this kind of stuff on most triathlon podcasts or endurance podcasts. so the The mental skills part of this is amazing. so Thanks, Coach April, and thanks, Coach Lauren.
00:29:19
Rich
Way to deliver the get gritty goods.
00:29:23
April
Thank you, partner. that means a lot.
00:29:27
Lauren Brown
All right, so let's
Endurance Training and Fun Trivia
00:29:28
Lauren Brown
move into our workout of the week.
00:29:28
Rich
Thank you.
00:29:32
Lauren Brown
So this week's workout is cruise intervals. So this is a run session. Yes, we still have some triathlons on the calendar, but we are definitely heavily shifting into a lot more road races, run races that are going on. So going to highlight a session that I tend to really enjoy.
00:29:54
Lauren Brown
with with cruise intervals. So it will frequently show up on both your TriDot and your RunDot schedules on your calendars. These are a staple session for building strength, durability, and efficiency on the run.
00:30:10
Lauren Brown
So we're going to break down the different components that are going to make up this awesome session. starting with the warmup. And we've discussed this before, but the warmup is so, so important to make sure that your body is prepared for the actual meat and potatoes of the run. All right. So you're going to start priming your engine with two to three minutes, easy job, just to get your body moving.
00:30:37
Lauren Brown
but then you're going to want throw in some drills. Drills can be number of different movement patterns. So you might see something like quick feet, butt kicks, A skips, B skips, even arm movements.
00:30:52
Lauren Brown
So asymmetrical arm swings might be some drills that show up to include in your warmup. And you would do maybe, you know, two sets of about 10 yards or meters of drills of each.
00:31:02
Rich
Thank you.
00:31:06
Lauren Brown
After that, you'll throw in two sets of about 40 to 60 yards or meters of strides and maybe some leg swings. The purpose of all of this, why your warmup really matters is that it's not just fluff. It's not like we're like, just do this. So you get the 10 minutes to go by, but the warmup activates your neuromuscular system. So it's getting your body ready to work.
00:31:31
Lauren Brown
It sharpens your mechanics so that Your form is on point, which a lot of people overlook doing drills. And it's there's a lot going on for running, even though it's something that we learned to do pretty young. And we think of it like everyone just should know how to run.
00:31:48
Lauren Brown
You want to do these drills. Again, it's going to prime your body for the intensity that's to come. It's going to emphasize good posture and crisp movements. So don't skip your warmup, folks.
00:32:01
Rich
I love that. And, you know, people, you know, ask me like, well, you know, it says 10 minutes and, it you know, it looks like it should be zone two. Don't worry about that. Take the 10 minutes. This is going to be way more important than just doing a nice, easy jog for 20 for in zone two for 10 minutes.
00:32:10
Lauren Brown
yeah
00:32:16
Lauren Brown
I always say, not not to get too off track, but triathletes, I'm going to call all of us out here, are usually type A.
00:32:17
Rich
So.
00:32:24
Rich
Yes.
00:32:26
Lauren Brown
And if you're using the TriDot or the Run.platform, we get scores on how well we execute it And it took me a while when I first started using TriDot to be like,
00:32:37
Lauren Brown
Well, I definitely know I really got 100 on this, but I had to do the drills and that slowed me down a little bit. So I got like a 90, you know, it's so it's funny. So nothing needs to always be 100 for our type A athletes out there. So just, you know, echoing what Coach Rich just said.
00:32:57
April
Yeah, excellent points all around. i would say the warm-up for the run is probably the most. If you think of all three disciplines, this is something you do not want to miss. This is the highest impact activity. It's the most technical activity as well. So I would say if you're...
00:33:14
April
Even if you're pressed for time, make sure that you get this 10 minutes in. You can, I, as a coach would even recommend cutting the workout a little short to give yourself time to do the, uh, the warmup.
00:33:25
April
So what I mean by that is make sure you do the warmup. And then if you need to cut the, uh, back half, do it because the warmup absolutely is going to give you that neuromuscular response that you need to one, get the most out of the workout and not get injured.
00:33:40
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:33:40
April
So thank you for that coach Lauren. We're going to move into our main set of cruise intervals. This is typically a one hour session and it might look like this.
00:33:51
April
We could have a set of five by five minutes at zone four with a 60 second jog recovery, or another example could be five by 1200 meters at zone four with a 60 second jog recovering. If you're running on a track,
00:34:07
April
And then the balance of that time would be at your zone two pace. So you might be wondering what is different here from a normal threshold repeat run. And if you're familiar with run workouts, specifically ones that will show up in Rundat and the tri-dot schedule, you may think this sounds like a threshold repeat run.
00:34:25
Rich
Thank you.
00:34:27
April
But cruise intervals are shorter and duration and they are are often more of them with shorter recovery. So that means the first couple might feel relatively easy. And we want you to absolutely resist the urge to go too fast because you will be paying for that.
00:34:46
April
The magic is happening in those last few intervals. And the goal is to keep them as sharp and fast as the first with your good, smooth form, upright posture had to actually sit upright. As I'm saying that everyone just did it and a quick, efficient cadence.
00:35:04
April
And during the recoveries, you can keep a slow jog.
00:35:06
Lauren Brown
Thank
00:35:08
April
You can even walk. Uh, just don't stop. Use the time to focus, uh, refocus your mind, regulate your breathing and prepare to nail that next interval.
00:35:20
Rich
Yeah. Perfect. Coach April on that, you know, and I love, you know, what you said about, you know the magic happens in those, in those last intervals. And so, you know one of the things, you know, to think about, and and this is, you know, this is much more of a track type of a workout than it is you know, like the, know, like the threshold intervals is, you know, to kind of trail, you could do it on track, but it's more of a kind of trail type of, you know road running.
00:35:45
Rich
This is, you know, kind of designed to be like you said, right. You can either do five minutes or you can do, you know, five by five or five by 1200 meters. It is too short to be a threshold interval and it is too long to be an interval set, like a zone six interval set.
00:36:02
Rich
So, you know, what you're really trying to use a track if you want to and and use the distance that actually is a nice tool to use. And then you can also really keep track of, you know,
00:36:12
Rich
you know, am I finishing at about the same spot for this, you know, or in the same time for the 1200 meters consistently? and you know, you're really you really, know, It's kind of funny, like the most value, the most benefit comes out of that last interval. So, you know really try to keep them steady and hold your form consistently through all and pace through all.
00:36:35
Rich
And, you know, one of the things you can do just to make sure that you are, you know, starting, starting from the same spot so that you can assess, you know, if you're doing the 1200, you can assess your time is, you know when you come around to that, you know, 1200,
00:36:49
Rich
Jog out your rest interval. It's a short interval anyway. So just jog it out, come back to the start, and then take off for your next one.
00:36:54
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:36:56
Rich
And why do these cruise intervals? It is so that your body can learn how to sustain a strong aerobic effort without slipping into the red. You know, you're trying to dose your thresholds.
00:37:09
Rich
energy system, not your super threshold system. You're trying to lift your VO2 max, but you are not trying to go and or you know super anaerobic here. So be consistent, stay in these. This is a stamina type of type of a run.
00:37:23
Rich
So think of your think of it like you're trying to teach your engine to run hot, but not overheat. Benefits of this, building endurance and aerobic strength, improving your efficiency at faster paces,
00:37:34
Rich
Training your body and mind to stay composed under fatigue. And by composed, I also mean focused. You're present. You're paying attention. You're body scanning. Sharpen your form and your cadence for race day speed.
00:37:47
Rich
Closing thoughts for the next time you see cruise intervals pop up on your TriDot or RunDot calendar. Don't groan. Embrace them. They're one of the best ways to build durability, speed, and confidence for race day.
00:37:58
April
Okay, teammates, I've been smiling for the last like five minutes because I'm so excited about our fun segment. All right. And it is calling back to my Alaska roots. We are going to be talking about the incredible event, Fat Bear Week, that happens in Katmai, Alaska every week. And I'm going to give you a little background so you know why this is important. I'm also wearing, this is the... 11th Airborne Division, the Arctic Division out in Fort Wainwright, Alaska. So I wanted to give them a shout out to my husband used to work on Fort Wainwright and did a lot of the maintenance for all the barracks and the motor pool. And yeah, just a lot of hard work out there. So calling back to Alaska, I wanted to give them a shout out as well. But let's jump into Fat Bear Week here for you.
00:38:48
April
Every fall,
00:38:49
Lauren Brown
you
00:38:50
April
The world tunes in to watch some of Alaska's chunkiest celebrities compete, not on a red carpet, but on the salmon streams of Katmai National Park.
00:39:02
April
We're going to talk about Fat Bear Week. It all started in 2014 as Fat Bear Tuesday when rangers at Katmai thought it would be fun to let the public vote on the before and after photos of bears bulking up for winter.
00:39:17
April
It quickly blew up into a worldwide bracket style tournament run each September and October where people vote online to crown the fattest, most fabulous bear.
00:39:30
April
But behind the fun is actually an important story. Fat Bear Week celebrates the resilience of brown bears and the health of our ecosystem. The fatter the bears get, the better their chances of surviving hibernation, reproducing and raising cubs.
00:39:45
April
So when we cheer for our fat bears, our favorite fat bears, there's and there's repeats to guys. Just wait. We're really cheering for salmon runs, wild rivers and thriving habitats.
00:39:55
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:39:58
April
So now it's time to see just how much you know about this gloriously chunky tradition. Welcome to Fat Bear Week trivia showdown.
00:40:08
April
So what I'm going to do is I'm going to ask you five questions, teammates. All about fat bear week 20 are the, the origins and 2025 specifically.
00:40:19
April
I'm going to ask you some multiple choice. You're going to be give me your best guess, and then I will, uh, give you the answer. How does that sound?
00:40:26
Lauren Brown
Sounds great. Coach Rich, were you aware of this week prior to this recording?
00:40:32
Rich
I was not. I, you know, I was thinking we had a triathlon game coming. I did not know that we had a fat bear.
00:40:40
Lauren Brown
I know.
00:40:40
Rich
yeah it's Okay.
00:40:41
April
You'll find out why this is here for in a minute.
00:40:42
Rich
Okay. All right.
00:40:45
Rich
Can't wait. i
00:40:45
Lauren Brown
like
00:40:45
Lauren Brown
Music playing to like bring this in.
00:40:48
Rich
I just don't want to be one of the reasons when these bears get fat. So I'm going to run fast. Okay.
00:40:55
April
Oh my gosh. All right. All right. So first question, which bear, and I'll give you the names here, which bear won fat bear week, 2025, despite having a broken jaw.
00:41:09
April
yeah Well, yeah, 747 bear force one number 32 chunk number four 80 Otis or number nine Oh one.
00:41:21
Lauren Brown
i'mnna go I'm go with A just because the name made me laugh.
00:41:21
Rich
901 doesn't have a name?
00:41:22
April
Nope.
00:41:24
Rich
Okay.
00:41:29
Lauren Brown
There's literally no...
00:41:30
April
but Bear force. Okay. All right.
00:41:33
Rich
You know, the name chunk just kind of implies fat, you know, and, you know, but I am going to, I'm kind of thinking that that might be a, you know, take the bait, you know, chunk or chunky. I'm going to go with Otis.
00:41:48
April
Both of you had good guesses, but you're both wrong. It is Chunk.
00:41:52
Rich
okay
00:41:53
April
It's Chunk the hunk.
00:41:55
April
And what is yeah.
00:41:55
Rich
Tunk the Honk. All right.
00:41:55
Lauren Brown
uh
00:41:57
April
and And the reason why I wanted to do this fun segment is because of Chunk. Because if you look him up, which I did put a link at the bottom for the Katmai National Park service page, you will see this gentleman has a broken jaw.
00:42:12
April
And it's incredible because he was one of the leanest bears and he is now the chunkiest bear. And he did it all with a broken jaw. He's like the force and face of resilience. He's a badass bear.
00:42:26
April
So go check them out, folks.
00:42:28
Lauren Brown
True.
00:42:29
Rich
Love that. Go Chunk the Hunk.
00:42:30
April
Go chunk the hunk.
00:42:31
Lauren Brown
so
00:42:32
April
Yes. All right. This one is a true or false. The bears are physically weighed during fat bear week to determine the winner. True or false.
00:42:43
Lauren Brown
true
00:42:44
Rich
I'm gonna go with false. It seems like an awful lot of logistics to to to trap all of these bears, get them on a scale. I'm going with false.
00:42:57
April
You are correct. Coach Rich.
00:42:59
Lauren Brown
and
00:42:59
April
That is false. The bears are never weighed. It's truly all about photos, live cams, and sometimes laser imaging. Like they go it all in.
00:43:10
Rich
Ooh, wow, laser imaging, okay.
00:43:12
Lauren Brown
Trying to picture like, did they set something up where there was a scale underneath this grass area and they put like a fish on there?
00:43:16
April
A hidden scale. Yeah.
00:43:17
Rich
Oh yeah.
00:43:20
Lauren Brown
I don't know. I just...
00:43:22
Rich
That's actually good. That's, uh,
00:43:24
April
Yeah. Peter thought the same thing when I mentioned this trivia to him too, but nope, they are, they're, they're eyed.
00:43:32
Lauren Brown
yeah
00:43:32
April
Uh, okay. Question number three, roughly how many votes were cast in the 2025 competition? A D 1.5 million. b seven hundred and fifty thousand see one million d over one point five million
00:43:51
Lauren Brown
Dang, I thought A was a lot. Okay. I
00:43:54
Rich
This year,
00:43:55
April
This year, 2025. That's why I'm like, y'all need to get on your bear game here, your fat bear game.
00:43:58
Lauren Brown
i know. I'm going to go with C with a million. Cause now I'm like shoot, this thing is rich. Where have we been under a rock?
00:44:08
Rich
i i mean, this isn't Alaska. I don't know. i just, I feel like i'm going to go with 750,000.
00:44:11
Lauren Brown
I don't know. I don't like how, what's the population in Alaska?
00:44:18
April
You both are wrong. It is over 1.5 million.
00:44:20
Rich
no No fricking way.
00:44:23
Lauren Brown
Wow. I'm jumping wind at this game today.
00:44:24
Rich
All right. I got to check this thing out now.
00:44:26
April
Yeah, yeah, you do.
00:44:26
Lauren Brown
I know.
00:44:27
April
You do. it You're going to thank me for it.
00:44:27
Rich
I mean, like is like the super bowl.
00:44:30
Lauren Brown
i know
00:44:30
April
Seriously, you're going to thank me for it.
00:44:31
Rich
you're more There's more votes for this than there are dancing with the stars. I think.
00:44:35
April
Yeah.
00:44:36
Lauren Brown
Oh God.
00:44:36
April
Y'all, you you don't know. When you see these bears, you're going to fall in love, too. It's amazing.
00:44:40
Lauren Brown
We need to, when this gets posted on social media, be like, who here voted 2025?
00:44:47
Lauren Brown
Share with your friend who voted in
00:44:49
April
Yes. Yes. All right. Question number four. On average, how much weight can I cap my brown bear gain in a single day during peak salmon season?
00:45:03
April
A, one pound. B, four pounds. C, 10 pounds. Or D, 20 pounds.
00:45:12
Lauren Brown
That's a lot of fricking salmon. Hmm.
00:45:15
Lauren Brown
I'm to go with B.
00:45:17
April
B is four pounds.
00:45:18
Lauren Brown
Oh, wait, what was see
00:45:20
Rich
I'm going to go with, I'm going with 20 pounds.
00:45:23
Lauren Brown
Okay. I'll go.
00:45:24
Rich
No gain.
00:45:24
Lauren Brown
Okay.
00:45:24
Rich
How much they can gain.
00:45:25
April
A day, a day.
00:45:26
Rich
Okay.
00:45:26
April
Think about it, a single day.
00:45:28
Rich
They probably eat 20 pounds a day or more.
00:45:31
Lauren Brown
I'm going to go with C 10 pounds.
00:45:34
Rich
I'm going to go, i'm going to go with there with you. See.
00:45:37
April
Lauren, you should have stayed with B. It's four pounds, about four pounds.
00:45:39
Lauren Brown
Oh my God.
00:45:40
Rich
Oh, you should have stayed with B.
00:45:42
Lauren Brown
I thought you were trying to cue me like, listen, Lauren, four pounds is not that much.
00:45:43
April
no
00:45:43
Rich
I thought.
00:45:46
Lauren Brown
It's a freaking bear.
00:45:47
April
I can gain four pounds in a day.
00:45:47
Rich
That's kind of what I thought, the Mike.
00:45:48
Lauren Brown
I'm
00:45:50
Lauren Brown
but like thinking, I'm like, you know, yeah.
00:45:50
Rich
was just thinking, eat 20 pounds, keep 10. I don't know.
00:45:53
Lauren Brown
Wow.
00:45:55
April
Some especially successful bears may gain over a thousand pounds across the summer and fall before hibernation.
00:45:55
Lauren Brown
All right.
00:46:03
Lauren Brown
That's wild that they can eat that much salmon.
00:46:05
April
who All right. Last question. I know these are just so much fun. I'm sad. This is the last one, but all right.
00:46:11
Lauren Brown
but
00:46:13
April
Which bear is a four time fat bear week champion admired for his patient and Zen fishing style. Is it a bear force one B Otis C Holly or D grazer?
00:46:25
Lauren Brown
yeah
00:46:31
Lauren Brown
Holly.
00:46:32
Lauren Brown
Just guessing because it's a girl.
00:46:34
April
I know, I love Holly.
00:46:34
Rich
i'm going with I'm going with either Otis or Bearforce 1 since they weren't part of the first pick.
00:46:34
Lauren Brown
Or girl's name.
00:46:40
Rich
so let's go Let's go with Bearforce 1 again. again
00:46:46
April
Dang, you both stink at this. It's Otis.
00:46:50
Lauren Brown
It's Otis. I mean, we're literally just like, I'm just like rolling a dice and being like, that's
00:46:53
April
Bear 480. or eighty
00:46:57
April
You are, yeah. I know, I've set you all up for some serious failure here trust me. I didn't mean to. i i legit thought you knew what this was, but it's okay.
00:47:06
Lauren Brown
it.
00:47:06
April
You will now.
00:47:07
Lauren Brown
I would have, I would have loved to have been like, oh my God, April, I vote every year.
00:47:07
April
Yeah.
00:47:10
Rich
All right.
00:47:13
Lauren Brown
like that it
00:47:16
Rich
thought that, you know, you you know, you weren't going you heard it all.
00:47:20
April
You heard it all, Rich.
00:47:21
Lauren Brown
but
00:47:22
Rich
Here you are. yeah
00:47:23
Lauren Brown
know.
00:47:24
April
Well, guys, we're going to definitely bring this one back next year. And I want a full rundown of who your picks are for Fat Bear Week when this bracket comes out.
00:47:32
Lauren Brown
I know.
00:47:33
April
That is a wrap on our trivia. So whether you're Team Chunk, Team Otis, or rooting for the underbear, this quirky competition is more than internet fun. It shines a spotlight on the importance of conservation, healthy salmon runs.
00:47:47
April
That's actually why... Chunk did so successfully. if We had one of the best salmon runs we've had in history, which is amazing. And the interconnectedness of ecosystems.
00:47:57
April
So every fat bear is proof of survival.
00:47:59
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:48:01
April
Every voter is part of raising awareness.
00:48:01
Rich
Thank you.
00:48:03
April
And every fall, we're reminded that nature has its own champions. That's measured not in metals, but in pounds of perseverance. So when you see those side-by-side photos of bears going from that slim summer mode to hibernation heavyweights, I want you to smile and cast your vote because in Katmai,
00:48:24
April
Fat is fabulous. Survival is victory and the bears are always worth celebrating. And you can check out more. I did put the source to this in our show notes. If you want to learn more about Katmai National Park and the Fat Bear Week.
00:48:38
Rich
I just love these names. It's like horse racing.
00:48:41
Lauren Brown
Yes.
00:48:42
April
It really is. And they are they there's some really cool looking bears too. Like Holly is a really pretty bear. there's some There's some really cool stuff going on. So you should all check it out.
00:48:54
Rich
enjoying some of these pictures.
00:48:55
April
Yeah, there's some funky bears too.
00:48:56
Lauren Brown
no
00:48:58
April
Like, it yeah, they're they're just so cool. and There's some really
00:49:01
Rich
I don't even know how to really wrap this up anymore. you know, like I, you know, I,
00:49:07
April
funky
00:49:09
Rich
you know, almost, you know, I don't know.
00:49:12
April
You're at a loss for words. do You want me to take it, Rich?
00:49:13
Lauren Brown
I think
00:49:13
Rich
Lost for, no, I'm good, but I'm just, you know, trying to recover here. Awesome. April, thank you. This was a blast. Coach Lord, I think you actually got more right than I did. So congratulations on that for a week.
00:49:24
Lauren Brown
I'm at zero. you
00:49:26
Rich
No, you got, you got one or two.
00:49:27
April
Y'all did successfully bad. love it.
00:49:29
Rich
ha We're trying to be kind to each other.
00:49:32
April
i love it
00:49:32
Lauren Brown
oh and thank you so much
00:49:34
Rich
Nutty. Folks, thanks for listening this week. 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. We really appreciate it.
00:49:45
Rich
Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey.