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#533 Indoor Training Builds the Athlete. The Outdoor Reveals It!
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Indoor Builds the Athlete. Outdoor Reveals It dives into this week’s Ask A Coach topic: how indoor training truly transfers to outdoor performance—especially for mountain bikers and XTERRA athletes. Coaches April and Lauren break down what fitness you build indoors, what skills require outdoor practice, and how to bridge both for peak performance. Plus: Grit2Greatness announcements, the Get Gritty Tip on interdependence, the Workout of the Week woven into Velocity sessions, and our St. Paddy’s “Luck of the Tri‑ish” fun segment. This episode is supported by our show sponsor Vespa Power, and the Ask A Coach segment is presented by Velocity by Grit2Greatness.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Warm Wishes
00:00:20
Rich
Welcome to episode 533 533 of the grit to greatness endurance podcast.
00:00:25
Rich
We are your hosts coaches, April Spilde and Lauren Brown. And we are on a mission to help endurance athletes train smarter, race stronger, and build the grit it takes to achieve greatness.
00:00:36
Rich
Tonight, it is just the girls holding it down. We are sending our warmest wishes to coach rich and his daughter, Lauren, uh, who is celebrating her match day. We want to send a special congratulations to Lauren on her selection to the OBGYN program at UNLV. We couldn't be more proud. I know a rich is proud and, uh, we're sending all the good vibes their way.
Community Announcements and Offers
00:01:02
Rich
Coach Lauren, how are you doing this evening?
00:01:05
Lauren Brown
I'm doing great. And I have to say like huge congrats to Lauren who also goes by law. Her and I both go by law, which I love. and And it's been great seeing Rich post his excitement about what she's achieved and her match day.
00:01:21
Lauren Brown
So super high there and we're here together. So of course I'm having a good day.
00:01:26
Rich
We're here.
00:01:29
Rich
Happy, happy weekend. Also, this is going to be, i was telling Lauren before we jumped on that it has been incredibly beautiful here in Colorado Springs. I can't wait for her to come out for our camp. It has been high seventies pretty much all week and oh my gosh, it feels heavenly.
00:01:47
Lauren Brown
Yeah, I can't wait. i'm Northeast, we're still flirting with getting into the 60s. So we're almost there, but almost there.
00:01:53
Rich
Almost there.
Velocity Platform and Indoor Training Benefits
00:01:56
Lauren Brown
But all good. So we got a couple of announcements we'll jump into. going on. So if you haven't checked out our events calendar page on our website, jump over there. You can see all the things that are going on in the grit to greatness community.
00:02:15
Lauren Brown
We will have a record, a replay ride tomorrow morning since Rich is away. And then we'll pick up with our live sessions starting Tuesday next week.
00:02:30
Lauren Brown
6 a.m. Mountain in Time, Thursday 6 a.m. Mountain Time. So join us live when you can. you can grab a free two-week trial.
00:02:40
Lauren Brown
The program is $79 per month and our Grit to Greatness Premium and our Ambassadors do get 25% off of the monthly rate. off of the monthly rate Velocity, which we've been a little obsessed with because it's a great platform. It does help athletes develop shifting cadence, smoother pedal strokes, and power control. And like we said, we have the three live classes, Saturdays, 8 Mountain Time, which is a 90-minute ride with Coach Rich,
Indoor vs Outdoor Training for Mountain Biking
00:03:12
Lauren Brown
Tuesdays, 6 Mountain Time,
00:03:15
Lauren Brown
60 minutes with myself, a triathlon focused ride. And then Thursdays at 6 a.m., 60 minutes with Coach April, mountain bike focused, which will eventually lead us into our Ask a Coach segment today, which I'm really excited about. For our athletes listening, check in with your coach if you're curious about the discount. Otherwise, you can grab your free trial or subscribe through the link that is in the show notes.
00:03:44
Rich
And thinking and talking about events we have coming up, we want you to check out on March 24th, we are hosting a free webinar on one of the most underrated, but most critical performance makers in endurance racing. And that is hydration, hydration and nutrition. So we're going to teach you how to determine your sweat rate across different temperatures and intensities, how to figure out the sodium concentration of your sweat.
00:04:12
Rich
That sounds lovely.
00:04:14
Lauren Brown
and I'm a salty sweater.
00:04:15
Rich
yeah And how to replace those electrolytes effectively on race day. Plus we'll break down your carbohydrate needs and introduce the concept of metabolic flexibility. So if you want to take the guesswork out of fueling, mark your calendar for March 24th, that is coming up next week. We would love to see you there. And as coach Lauren alluded to fabulously, we are going to talk all about how in the world,
00:05:12
Rich
If it sounds like this shouldn't be, uh, true. Let me, let me, uh, bust that myth for you because even though you're on a
Balancing Indoor and Outdoor Training
00:05:24
Rich
fixed bike, there's no rocks, no roots. There's maybe no fear factor. Although I will say it can be a little fearful when you're doing some massive surges on a trainer, no lie.
00:05:38
Rich
you can still, apply exactly what you're doing from a trainer's, uh, perspective into a mountain bike ride. So if none of this connects, we're going to challenge you. If you understand what you're actually training indoors, the transfer is not only real, it is powerful. So coach Lauren and i are going to break this down into what actually does transfer over and what doesn't.
00:06:04
Lauren Brown
Yeah, I'm excited about this. i actually propose propose that we talk about this Coach April because She is somebody, if you don't follow her on social media, follow coach April Spilde on social media because she'll post up like her rides and i have not done mountain biking.
00:06:23
Lauren Brown
So for me, I'm always intrigued by it. And I know it's something that can transfer even to like, you know, more technical skills and confidence racing triathlon as well. So one of my, one of the bikes in the future, huh?
00:06:34
Rich
Fair warning, Coach Lord, I've got to say. Yeah, fair warning. Once you go mountain bike, you never go back. I just got to say it.
00:06:41
Lauren Brown
oh Uh-oh.
00:06:44
Lauren Brown
Like, my my my pink QR will be very upset because... So, so I've been, but I've been curious about it and I love hearing about your rides on velocity. And it is something I think that people hear like, because mountain biking feels so much more technical aside from just riding aero or upright on the bike and understanding your power, there's a lot of other things that come into play. So I think,
00:07:14
Lauren Brown
you know an important thing to cover is what transfers directly and this is really important for everyone who's listening whether you do ride mountain bikes or you're like me and you're like mountain bike curious like this is important for you to understand as well so indoor training is one of the most efficient ways to build your engine so we're talking about sustained power cadence control muscular endurance repeatability under fatigue.
00:07:46
Lauren Brown
And if you think about mountain biking, but especially Xterra style racing, what are the things that you need, right? You need to be able to climb hard and do so repeatedly. You need to recover just enough and then be able to go right back to it and handle constant changes in effort. So that's exactly what structured indoor riding builds.
00:08:11
Lauren Brown
when you're doing intervals, over-unders, or even cadence work on the trainer, you're literally training your body to handle the demands of the trail. So when you hit that long climb outside, it's not your legs that fail first. It's usually your confidence or your technical skill.
00:08:31
Lauren Brown
And would say it's like, Again, no matter what you're training for on the trainer, whether it's hard efforts on the trainer and the pool and the run, it's like the more you do it in training, when you experience it in raining or and in raining in racing or in real life, it's like your brain is like, oh, we've been here.
00:08:48
Lauren Brown
We know this, you know?
00:08:50
Rich
Exactly right. And that's, that's the, the beauty behind understanding that this is a, an applicable skill. we talk about sustained power and effort and then learning how to recover after a surge, that's one of the things that we really hit hard in the velocity rides is surging and then Basically no effort going to zone one, right. Which is a lot of what mountain biking is and also learning how to do that from different positions, whether that's seated or standing it's, understanding how traction works.
00:09:21
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:09:22
Rich
making sure that you're staying rubber side down.
00:09:48
Rich
Doesn't show you how to choose a line properly when you're riding down or riding, trail, right? It doesn't necessarily give you all of the balance and body positioning you need when it comes to how to slice a trail, how to get through gravel, to navigate pebbles and rocks and roots. And it doesn't always give you the confidence you need to actually manage that that technical terrain. So That's where the outdoor ride comes into play and coach learn. And I talk about this a lot. Usually athletes, cyclists, mountain bikers, triathletes, wherever you're on the spectrum of endurance. If you're riding a bike, usually an athlete is on an indoor trainer at least one time per week. And you can absolutely dedicate those rides to building the strength and endurance you need that applies to whatever your craft is. So this applies to mountain bikers as well.
00:10:42
Rich
the The other part of this is having that one ride, at least one ride per week. If you can be outside, especially I know that there's folks that live in winter environments. It's not always easy to get out on a trail when there's snow and we don't encourage that either. But, if you have the ability to balance both, it can go a long way in your training.
Relearning Outdoor Skills Post-Indoor Training
00:11:02
Rich
So.
00:11:03
Rich
You don't learn how to corner on loose gravel from your living room. You don't, how to, you don't learn how to descend a rocky trail at speed from erg mode. So if you only train indoors and never practice outside, you're going to feel strong. Right. But.
00:11:36
Lauren Brown
Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:38
Rich
then It takes a minute to relearn how to corner, how to pick a line, how to look ahead, not look down when you're riding, how to navigate trails. So give yourself the opportunity to, to come back when you are in the off season, when you're coming back into your outside time, give yourself the opportunity to relearn those skills. So you're not just blasting down trails thinking you got it in the bag is we don't want you to go head over hand or bars on any of these of these activities. So.
00:12:11
Lauren Brown
Yeah. But when I used to, I used to ride a dirt bike. So not the same thing as mountain biking, but i used to ride a dirt bike.
00:12:16
Rich
Oh, that's bad ass.
00:12:19
Lauren Brown
So, but when you talk, when you talk about mountain biking, it reminds me of when I used to ride a dirt bike. And just what you were saying, even still, like if I, if you don't ride for a while, I mean, obviously there's a motor, right?
00:12:30
Lauren Brown
There's like that you're, it's gonna make your like hands pump a little bit more, but used to like get itchy up my, my arms from it.
00:12:34
Rich
Yeah.
00:12:38
Lauren Brown
So it's like all these little things that can impact how you're riding and how you feel.
00:12:41
Rich
Absolutely.
00:12:43
Lauren Brown
So, but,
00:12:44
Rich
You hit it on the head, Lauren, that is such a good point because it is all these stabilizing muscles. It's it's the feel of adrenaline too. Like if you haven't had an, an octane high octane workout in a while where you're full send
00:12:56
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
Combining Indoor and Outdoor Training
00:12:57
Rich
it is, it is, it throws you off and you're you're, you have to reintegrate, re adjust and adapt to what that's like too.
00:12:57
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:13:06
Rich
So absolutely. This has applications on both sides.
00:13:10
Lauren Brown
Yeah. So, all right. so let's bridge between the two. The real question becomes, right? How do we bridge indoor fitness with outdoor execution? And this is where you want to have intentional training, right? When we coach athletes, Especially inside our velocity sessions, we're not just chasing watts. It's really easy to be outdoors sometimes when you're riding and all you're thinking about is like how much power am I pumping? Or even on an indoor trainer, sometimes that's all you're looking at is the power, the power, the power.
00:13:44
Lauren Brown
But you want to be building awareness around what's happening when other things are happening, what's causing different things to go on. so You're going to get cued to things like cadence changes that might mimic actual terrain shifts, seated to standing transitions, power surges that feel like those short, punchy climbs that you're going get mountain biking, and then controlled recoveries, like coach April was saying, like going to zone one and finding what really, you know, simulates that trail flow.
00:14:24
Lauren Brown
So even though you're inside the intent, the way you're changing between your cadence seating, standing power surges, that intent is outdoor so you're not just riding you're actually rehearsing and you want to have that mindset that that's what you're doing when you're on the bike doing these mountain bike focused sessions so that when you go outside like we said earlier you know your body now starts to naturally recognize the effort patterns that are going on and it's like oh I've been here before and that familiarity, that's what actually builds confidence and translates indoor to outdoor.
00:15:04
Rich
Yes. And that is exactly what we're doing in these rides to Lauren. Like, when I did my ride on Thursday, pop rocks, pebbles and pop rocks.
00:15:13
Lauren Brown
Pebbles and pop rocks.
00:15:14
Rich
Yes.
00:15:14
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:15:15
Rich
We went from a zone one to a zone six, right? Because it is a surge like that. It literally feels like that you could be soft pedaling one second and then boom, you, you get, a tree branch or a,
00:15:29
Rich
a rock garden that's ascending and it requires you to put the pedal down and, and also learning how to transition but back and forth.
00:15:35
Lauren Brown
hmm. Yeah.
00:15:40
Rich
big time, familiarity and confidence building. And if you're listening to this and thinking, okay, but how do I actually apply this? Here's what we want you to do.
00:15:50
Rich
First, you're going to keep those indoor rides. Okay. Don't abandon them because that is where you're going to build that consistent sustained strength. Second, you're going to layer in your outdoor skill sessions, and we want you to treat these differently. So if your outdoor rides are not, your outdoor rides are not necessarily about crushing Watts.
00:16:11
Rich
They're about confidence, handling skills, flow, and, how to manage what it's like to be uncomfortable, right?
00:16:20
Rich
When you're dealing with adrenaline, when you're dealing with someone who's trying to pass you, when you're dealing with a rattlesnake that shows up on the trail, all those things, right?
00:16:28
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:16:30
Rich
So learning how to manage your emotions and how you react while also finding that great line. So. The third thing here is connecting the dots when you're indoors.
00:16:42
Rich
We want you to ask yourself, what would this feel like if I was on the trail right now? And actually, when I teach my courses, Lauren, I, I even talk about trails that I've been on that this applies to, right?
00:16:54
Rich
So this next part reminds me of the Falcon trail at the Academy. Cause it has this state plan, but dotda da da
Invitation to Xterra Race and Training Techniques
00:17:00
Rich
right?
00:17:00
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:17:00
Rich
So it's a, it's a, It's fun because you can, you can visualize.
00:17:00
Lauren Brown
right
00:17:05
Rich
And that's the beauty of this too. If you need help with visualization, join us because I, we're going to, we're going to really hone that in and make it work for you. So you understand this is what it feels like when you're on loose gravel.
00:17:20
Rich
This is what it feels like when you have to stand up and sit down so you don't lose the tread, the track on a, on a sandy area. so When you're outside, this is going to help you recognize that you have this in the bag. You've trained for this, and then you know how to adapt to when your cadence changes and how to navigate train.
00:17:43
Lauren Brown
And the mindset shift that we really want you to think about, you know, that this is the biggest takeaway that indoor riding builds the athlete, outdoor riding reveals the athlete. I love that.
00:18:00
Lauren Brown
i I love that line. It's like, it just feels like so empowering. Like you build it indoors and then like, let me show you what I got. Let me reveal well to all of you, the athlete that I am.
00:18:09
Rich
Oh,
00:18:12
Lauren Brown
Just so powerful, April.
00:18:13
Rich
yes.
00:18:14
Lauren Brown
I like that. but
00:18:15
Rich
Yes. Thank you, Lauren.
00:18:17
Lauren Brown
So if you rely on just one you are leaving performance on the table. But when you combine the two, that's where things start to click. You stop feeling like you're just surviving the trail and you start riding it with intention.
00:18:35
Rich
You know, you got to come out and do Xterra Laurie with me sometime. That's a great one for folks that are just getting introduced to, off-road triathlon.
00:18:45
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:18:46
Rich
And I mean, I, I did have Rich join me last year. This poor man did break a rib. Yeah.
00:18:52
Lauren Brown
I didn't know that.
00:18:53
Rich
Yeah. Yeah. We're still friends. Yes. Even though he's not here, we, we did, uh, recover from that, uh, that mishap, but yeah, yeah, it is, uh, it is, a it is a unreal how much of how much fun it can be, but also like it it is a higher stakes at times.
00:18:57
Lauren Brown
oh my gosh.
00:19:02
Lauren Brown
Oh my God.
00:19:13
Rich
Right. So,
00:19:14
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:19:15
Rich
When I say adrenaline field, that is if you're an adrenaline junkie, come over to the dark side with me. I promise we're going to have a good time. but yeah So we have 20, 27.
00:19:24
Lauren Brown
2027, the year that law does Xterra.
00:19:25
Rich
twenty twenty seven Oh, please.
00:19:29
Lauren Brown
but
00:19:29
Rich
And because I know how strong you are a lot. If you really latch onto this, like the Xterra World Championships are running for three years in New Mexico, Rio Doso, and it's one of the best courses.
00:19:42
Rich
And I would love to do that with you. So put a pin in that dream.
00:19:45
Lauren Brown
Okay. All right. We are putting that one in the universe right now.
00:19:47
Rich
Yes. love it. I love it. So we talked about this a little bit already, as far as how this applies, a, in a ride, but I do want to lay it out here, what it, what it means. Right. So let's say that we have on paper, uh, uh, 30, 30.
00:20:06
Rich
So you have a 32nd zone six, and then you have a 32nd zone one, for instance, like we talked about.
00:20:14
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:20:14
Rich
What I'm coaching you through in that moment is very different than just hitting those numbers. So I'm telling you, all right, this is your short climb. You just hit a steep pitch. I want you in the saddle, strong, controlled, don't spike and fade. Then we settle down.
00:20:29
Rich
Now you're back on the trail, sit in it find your rhythm. This is where you recover, but stay engaged. Cause we're going to hit another one. Rinse and repeat. And what you're doing without even realizing it is you're building the exact rhythm of what mountain biking is like it's surge, settle, surge and settle, or we can take a cadence focused ride.
00:20:49
Rich
So a lot of my rides to Lauren are sometimes in the cadence zone of 65 RPM, 75 can be as high as a hundred, 110, but they shift a lot just based on the focus of the ride.
00:20:56
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:21:03
Rich
So that's another great way to develop those skills on learning how to manage when you have to drop down and mash a little bit, and manage what it's like to also spin and keep traction.
00:21:15
Rich
So this is how we teach you to ride over roots, rocks, and uneven train. And the smoother your pedal stroke stroke, the more control you're going to have outside.
00:21:26
Lauren Brown
I love it. So bringing it home one more time, you guys, that yes, you are indoors, but if you're riding with intention, if you're listening to those cues that coach April is giving you on those mountain bike rides, if you're visualizing the terrain, you're not just getting fit, you're practicing how to ride.
00:21:43
Lauren Brown
And that's
Importance of Support Systems in Endurance Sports
00:21:44
Lauren Brown
the difference. Anyone can sit on a trainer and push those Watts. But when you start layering in purpose, when every interval, why tied to the trail, Now your indoor ride becomes a rehearsal for race day.
00:21:58
Rich
You get to reveal that athlete.
00:22:00
Lauren Brown
Yes. Coach April, thank you so much for all of that goodness for mountain biking. And now you guys, when the end of this season rolls around and you start seeing me post about mountain biking, you can reference this podcast and and know why.
00:22:13
Rich
Yes.
00:22:17
Rich
I'm bringing her over folks. She has joined the cult that is mountain biking.
00:22:20
Lauren Brown
and know make like a real going to the dark side
00:22:21
Rich
ha I love it.
00:22:23
Lauren Brown
got
00:22:25
Rich
No regrets.
00:22:25
Lauren Brown
oh my gosh all right well shifting gears a little bit we're gonna move on to our get gritty tip and i think this is something that we don't always think about but might end up resonating with our listeners whether you are an endurance athlete or not and this is the idea that
00:22:26
Rich
Yeah.
00:22:44
Lauren Brown
You don't have to do this alone. All right. So, you know, it's something that might challenge a lot of us. The idea that being a strong athlete means being completely independent, that you're able to do everything on your own. You can change your tires, you can master your recovery, you can dial in your nutrition, you can handle daycare, you could do all everything and you are fine figuring out yourself, not needing help.
00:23:18
Lauren Brown
Because if we're being honest, a lot of people like to wear that badge of honor. But we're going to invite you to reframe the mindset and have this shift that Whether again, whether you're an endurance athlete or you are a you know business person or a parent, independence isn't the goal.
00:23:43
Lauren Brown
And it's also independence independence is not the opposite of dependency.
00:23:48
Lauren Brown
Right? The real goal is What actually makes you a stronger athlete is interdependence, knowing when to push on your own and when to lean on the right people. And this isn't just you know mindset talk.
00:24:03
Lauren Brown
Research does actually support this idea.
00:24:07
Rich
Yeah, let's bring in that research. So there is a lot out there that shows that athletes with strong support systems are one more consistent to more motivated and three are less likely to burn out. And I can speak at no anecdotally. That is true for me that.
00:24:26
Rich
This right here, having you and rich and our community has been everything for me to be consistent, to be more motivated and to love what we do. So that support actually access a huge buffer against stress, which is what, you know, what happens in endurance sports. We're always stressing our body. And putting ourselves through these almost like experiments, if you will, to get us to go to a higher level of performance. But if you're consistently feeling fried, overwhelmed and stuck, like you're not going to perform, it's going to essentially take you out of the fight. So we want you to look at you at that. It might not be your training.
00:25:08
Rich
It might be that you're trying to do everything alone. So. When we when you think about triathlon, we know that it's a it's considered a, an individual sport, right?
00:25:20
Rich
But it's so much more than that when you can bring in the the people that lift you up, right? And one of my favorite quotes is a Jim Rohn quote that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.
00:25:27
Lauren Brown
Yep.
00:25:34
Rich
And if you think about that community, right, and how people either feed into you or they pull from you. And if you've got a good group of people that feed into you, that motivation, that love, if you will, for this will continue to burn bright. And the tie in here is understanding that there are a lot of people, a lot of athletes that think if I need help, I'm not as strong, but the research literally shows the exact opposite support helps build confidence, resilience, and mental toughness.
00:26:10
Lauren Brown
And so there are a couple books. I'm going to just highlight three of them that I know, i think we both may have read all three. and
00:26:20
Rich
I got the biggest smile right now, Lauren. I love this. i love this.
00:26:24
Lauren Brown
cause if, if you don't have these books in your library, or if you have not read them yet, make a mental note of them because these books will also lean into research. So, you want to look for some, you know,
00:26:38
Lauren Brown
studied facts and information from people who have been like
00:26:41
Rich
Got it back.
00:26:44
Lauren Brown
like really like endurance sports business all the things so three books that we're going highlight even though i'm sure there are many many more we can but these ones resonated with me brave athlete that one's by simon marshall and leslie peterson i have the audiobook and i love the audiobook because their accents and the way they talk crack me up because they do curse quite a bit too but they have they have a lot of information in there though that It's a lot about like mindset and being able to like calm the F down is actually, I think the part of the title is the brave athlete, like calm the F down.
00:27:23
Lauren Brown
so it's all about managing your mindset, your thoughts, your environment.
00:27:23
Rich
but
00:27:29
Lauren Brown
You're not expected to just white knuckle everything alone. The other book is Endure by Alex Hutchinson. And this is really another great book where performance isn't just physical, it's influenced by perception, environment, and what's happening around you.
00:27:47
Lauren Brown
And then another one which will definitely Speak to our hearts here is Grit by Angela Duckworth because she goes into how you know people think grit means doing it solo, but it's really about sustained effort over time and support is what allows that to happen.
00:28:06
Lauren Brown
So if the idea of I have to do this alone to prove something is kind of stirring around in your head, it's just not how high performance actually works.
00:28:20
Rich
That's such a great point. And this, this is where community comes in, whether that is your triathlon club, training group, an ambassador team, like grit to greatness.
00:28:31
Rich
It, it brings so much, right? You get accountability, shared experience, perspective, and honestly, awesome, awesome energy. and When training, can be in a vacuum, it can only take you so far.
00:28:46
Rich
So having that community really goes above and beyond when it comes to longevity in this sport. So we also want to point out a family and friends.
00:28:54
Lauren Brown
Thank
00:28:57
Rich
This is where people can get uncomfortable. Because it can be like you said, that badge of honor, right? People, i don't want a burden my family. i don't want my friends to feel like they have to do this, or if they're not interested in this, i don't know. I don't want to burden them. So I'm going to do it on my own.
00:29:17
Rich
Right. But that again, sets you up for short-term burnout, long-term failure, right?
00:29:26
Rich
Because failure is the failure in that you don't stick around, it it becomes too much and that support is not there and and you don't have the infrastructure to keep it going.
00:29:37
Rich
So asking for help, letting people in,
00:29:37
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:29:41
Rich
And if you're trying to juggle training, work, life, and family, you're not meant to carry all of that alone, man. I'm hoping my mom's listened to this. She, uh, real, I know I go on a tangent here, Lauren, but she had all four of us girls by the time she was 23, a single mom powerhouse. and she, she did wear that, uh, independence, like a badge of honor and she couldn't do it forever. And I'm so, so glad that she understands and, and accepts our support and love and help, but it took a long time and you're not meant to carry it alone. And sometimes being stronger, whether that's as an athlete, as a mom, as a business, uh, it looks like saying,
00:30:24
Rich
Hey, I need help. I need help here. Whether that's help with the kids flexibility in your schedule, or just, Hey, I need an encouraging word. It doesn't make you weak.
00:30:36
Rich
That's what makes you last. That's what, where longevity comes in and that's sustainable.
00:30:41
Lauren Brown
Yeah, I think like we sometimes get so nervous to ask for help. And this I've said I've said this line repeatedly, even just within in our own conversations where if you don't ask, the answer is no.
00:30:56
Rich
m
00:30:56
Lauren Brown
So it's like ask for help. Most people want to do more for you than you realize. So it's it's us just getting out of our own way. And i are the people who love you and care about you probably want to help you, especially if you're working towards this big goal. I mean, and sometimes it comes from people you're not expecting. It's not always your family, it's your friends. or moving on to the next point, it might be your coach.
00:31:26
Lauren Brown
Right. So the other thing when it comes to not having to do it all is that coaches need coaches. And I think that is something important for any of the coaches listening to this, that, or if you're a really experienced athlete, because i didn't have a coach, like a consistent coach for a while. And I was like, Oh, I'm doing well enough and whatever reasons I made up in my head. But what a difference having coach,
00:31:54
Lauren Brown
a coach, right? And again, even if you're an experienced athlete and you grew up doing sports, like having that outside perspective and having somebody to lean on is so important because when you're in your own head, you're, and you're dealing with your own training, you start to lose objectivity.
00:31:56
Rich
Hmm.
00:32:13
Lauren Brown
And that's where mistakes happen. I am a thousand percent guilty of doing this where you know, doing too, well, doing too much. I'm usually not guilty of not doing enough. I usually just go more more more or letting emotion drive decisions.
00:32:29
Rich
Mm-hmm.
00:32:30
Lauren Brown
Another example, I'm just going to call on myself, like, when I was dealing with my knee issue, I would get like emotional and upset and be like irrational with all the things that are going to go wrong if I'm not doing enough. And having somebody that can talk you off the ledge and talk to you rationally instead of emotionally with important decisions is really, really important. And having a coach, having a guide can help give you structure
00:33:03
Lauren Brown
clarity and sometimes, like I said, like a very much needed reality check on what needs to be happening.
00:33:11
Rich
Yeah, it's such a a great gift to have someone objective who can step outside of those real deep seated feelings of whatever the story is that you're telling yourself, right? And actually say, no, the evidence doesn't so show that you are lazy or that you are phoning it in or that you are a failure or that you're not going to recover. Like, look at all this. Right.
00:33:34
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:33:34
Lauren Brown
Right.
00:33:34
Rich
that we've already gotten through.
00:33:35
Rich
Look at all the evidence to show that you will, this is a setback, but it's not a road. It's not a, a dead end. And i love that Lauren. I love that you have that relationship as well with your coach and that,
00:33:52
Rich
that you are on the other side now. And i want to give you the kudos there too, that that was, I know that was tough, but you definitely showed a resilient mindset through this. And that brings us to our our point here, our last point with our get gritty tip, and that is mental support.
00:34:08
Rich
So this is one piece that might not get talked about often enough. And that is what it can look like to get mental support from a specialist, uh, whether that is a sports psychologist, a, an experienced mentor, or truly taking on some mindset work of your own, like those books that we talked about earlier, a lot of the, I need to do this alone mindset isn't physical.
00:34:38
Rich
It's internal pressure and learning how to shift that narrative can completely change how you show up.
00:34:44
Lauren Brown
So if you take one thing from this conversation, let it be to stop trying to prove you can do everything alone and start asking where would support actually make me stronger?
00:34:58
Lauren Brown
Because the strongest athletes we know aren't the most independent. They're the ones who've built the best support systems around them.
Luck vs. Preparation in Triathlon
00:35:06
Lauren Brown
Independence might feel like it's strong, but support is what actually sustains performance.
00:35:14
Rich
Wow. wow Wow. Wow. Coach Lauren way to bring it with the get gritty tip tonight. Goodness.
00:35:21
Lauren Brown
Yeah, it's been on my mind.
00:35:24
Rich
and it's a living example too, which again, that's, that's, what's to me, that is what makes this real is that we're not just talking airy fairy. We're giving you real examples of what it looks like to maneuver through independence to interdependence and learning how to ask for help. So thank you. Thank you, Lauren.
00:35:46
Rich
All right. The ladies are bringing the heat tonight and we are going to finish strong. I don't know if if you're watching on YouTube, you might see there's a lot of green going on in my space. And I did that intentionally, Lauren, and I don't see any green in your space.
00:36:00
Rich
So you get to pinch yourself.
00:36:00
Lauren Brown
I know, I'm like, it looks blue actually, nevermind.
00:36:05
Rich
oh yeah So go ahead and give yourself a pinch for me. But we are going all in on St. Patty's Day theme with our fun segment. I'm calling this segment.
00:36:16
Rich
Luck of the tri-ish.
00:36:19
Lauren Brown
All right. I'm ready.
00:36:23
Rich
Thank you for laughing at that. All right, Lauren, in honor of St. Patrick's day, we're going to bring a little Irish luck to triathlon or at least test whether triathletes are actually lucky or just stubborn enough to keep showing up.
00:36:36
Lauren Brown
I'll take a lot.
00:36:36
Rich
So I'm going to throw out, this is going to be in a little bit of a triathlon fashion.
00:36:41
Rich
I got a couple of, excuse me, different segments for us, but I'm going to throw out some race day scenarios first. And you're going to tell me, is this luck or just par for the course?
00:36:53
Rich
So our first scenario, you drop your chain and it magically pops back on.
00:37:00
Lauren Brown
Okay. I mean, I'm gonna have to say that's that's luck.
00:37:06
Rich
agreed have you ever had that happen
00:37:09
Lauren Brown
When I was riding, one of the like first few times when I was riding outdoors by myself, and I was like going up a hill, and so I just shifted too fast and it it popped off and I was like on a pretty steep hill, so I couldn't like get my bike situated and I was very unhappy.
00:37:28
Lauren Brown
It did not magically pop back on.
00:37:29
Rich
oh
00:37:31
Lauren Brown
But it's happened. i also, at the start, it didn't pop up while I was riding, but somebody must have knocked my chain off my bike in transition. And I didn't realize until I was going to mount. And so I had to like, yeah, I was like, what the frick?
00:37:42
Rich
Oh no.
00:37:45
Rich
Oh no.
00:37:46
Lauren Brown
So neith neither time did it magically just decide to get.
00:37:50
Rich
I definitely think that's luck of the Irish there. Yes. All right. You forget your nutrition, but there's your exact gel at an aid station.
00:38:00
Lauren Brown
i mean if it's iron man i'm gonna say that's par for the course
00:38:04
Rich
Yes. Good. Good. Okay. It starts pouring rain, but you PR anyway.
00:38:11
Lauren Brown
so this is funny i would say luck but i feel like that's one of those things that's like par for the course because you're like of course i'm so stressed out and i'm like you know but everything ended up going just fine so that's like a I'm going to go that's par for the course just because that's just how it ends up happening.
00:38:28
Rich
Yeah, I agree. And it's always a great story. So I never get mad at the weather because it's always either, well, I had an awesome day or I had a crazy day, but let me tell you what happened.
00:38:39
Rich
Like, it's just, it's flavor.
00:38:40
Lauren Brown
yeah
00:38:41
Rich
You get a lot of flavor. All right. We're going to switch it up. Let's say you found a pot of gold at the end of your next race. What is the one thing you traded in for in triathlon?
00:38:55
Lauren Brown
I mean, i would as much as the gold could possibly cover race, uh, 70.3 in multiple countries
00:39:07
Rich
Oh yes. Yes. Great choice. I'm going to go through a couple here with you too. And, and you tell me of this list. Cause I want to actually want to hear this too. All right. So if you were given a pot of gold, here's some options that you have to pick one. Okay. A perfect swim with zero contact, a tailwind, the entire bike legs that never fade on the run.
00:39:33
Rich
law, uh, flaw, lawless, flawless transitions or unlimited endurance. There's no bonk ever.
00:39:42
Lauren Brown
Oh.
00:39:42
Rich
you never bonk again.
00:39:44
Lauren Brown
I mean, never bonking again is pretty sweet. but like So that's like definitely my answer. But before that, you had me at like a tailwind on the entire bike.
00:39:52
Rich
Oh, I know. i know. i was thinking that too.
00:39:55
Lauren Brown
Like, oh.
00:39:56
Rich
I was thinking that too. I definitely would go with the no bonk. I mean, that is the detriment of a lot of folks.
00:40:00
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:40:03
Rich
So yeah.
00:40:04
Lauren Brown
Yeah. Yeah. No, bo no bonk for sure. And and yeah. Close second with the tailwind.
00:40:10
Rich
Yeah. Very close. So I'm going to give you a St. Patty's day blessing. But in all things endurance, there's a catch.
00:40:22
Rich
So you got to tell me which one you would pick here.
00:40:22
Lauren Brown
All right.
00:40:26
Rich
All right. So you always have near perfect weather, but it's always slightly too hot. You never cramp again, but you also can't sprint.
00:40:37
Rich
You nail every swim, but your goggles leak every time. And your bike is flawless, but you hit every red light in training.
00:40:48
Lauren Brown
Oh my God. Wait, what was the first one?
00:40:50
Rich
You always have near perfect weather, but it's just slightly too hot.
00:40:58
Lauren Brown
I would go with number one.
00:41:01
Rich
Okay.
00:41:04
Lauren Brown
What was number two again? Because I think I had a story for that one.
00:41:06
Rich
Oh gosh. Uh, you've never cramp again, but you also can't sprint.
00:41:11
Lauren Brown
Oh, I know what my story was. I have dreams all the time where I can't run fast. Like I am like almost like running like I'm like like a gorilla almost trying to get up speed.
00:41:26
Lauren Brown
It's been like a recurring dream and I like cannot
00:41:29
Rich
That's a nightmare, Lauren.
00:41:30
Lauren Brown
I know it's like, it's so stupid, but I literally, I'm like, like almost running. Like I'm like a gorilla, like trying like chase. I'm trying to pick up speed and I cannot go fast.
00:41:41
Lauren Brown
Worst dream ever.
00:41:42
Rich
oh
00:41:42
Lauren Brown
So like, I definitely like don't want that. Number one.
00:41:46
Rich
Well, let's, yeah, let's hope that we never run into a leprechaun that bestows that St. Patty's Day blessing on us because good Lord. Lauren, thank you for playing this version of luck of the tri-ish.
00:42:00
Rich
And you know, it's funny, the longer you stay in the sport, the more you realize luck has a lot less to do with it than you think. We talk about consistency. Consistency can look like luck. Preparation can look like luck.
00:42:13
Rich
Showing up when it's hard, that's what creates those lucky race day moments.
Product Promotion and Closing Remarks
00:42:19
Lauren Brown
I love that. Wait, what was your what was your answer real quick to the last one?
00:42:21
Rich
Oh, great.
00:42:23
Rich
I think that, cause I, I, I hate too hot weather. I couldn't do that one. I think never cramp again, but I also can't sprint. I know that sounds crazy, but I would, no, I don't have your nightmare fuel.
00:42:33
Lauren Brown
Oh, well, you know, you didn't have my dreams, so you weren't traumatized. I am, goodness gracious.
00:42:38
Rich
but but That's good.
00:42:42
Lauren Brown
but but That was great. Should I go do our Vespa ad read? All right. So bring it home.
00:42:47
Rich
Let's bring it home, baby.
00:42:49
Lauren Brown
Get Gritty sponsor Vespa Power, which did fuel my CSS test today. So thank you very much. Vespa Power Endurance helps you tap into steady, clean energy so you stay strong, focused, and in the zone longer.
00:43:02
Lauren Brown
Vespa is not fuel, but a metabolic catalyst that shifts your body to use more fat and less glycogen as your fuel source. Vespa comes in CD25, Junior, and Concentrate.
00:43:13
Lauren Brown
Less sugar, higher performance, faster recovery, home of Vespa power products, optimizing your fat metabolism. So you can use discount code 303-ENDURANCE-20 or no use code G2G-VESPA-15.
00:43:31
Lauren Brown
And then that link will also be in the show notes.
00:43:35
Rich
Yes, they both work. Uh, the three Oh three endurance 20 is for a single purchase. So make sure you're that's 20% off. So use that one wisely. And then the G2G Vespa 15 is a recurring. So definitely want you to check it out.
00:43:49
Lauren Brown
Thank you. for
00:43:51
Rich
Yeah. We want to say thank you for spending time with us today on the grit to greatness, endurance podcast, Lauren. I loved hanging out with you. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow us and leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts and YouTube. It helps us reach more athletes like you stay gritty, train smart and keep chasing greatness. We'll see you next week.