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Mile High Endurance Podcast

Mile High Endurance Podcast is recorded in the Rocky Mountain front range area in Denver, Colorado. 55 miles to the north is the triathlon 'Mecca' of Boulder, home of some of the most prominent pros in triathlon and related sports. 56 miles to the south is the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs is the flagship training center for the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Olympic Training Center programs. The 110 mile stretch between Boulder and Colorado Springs is one of the fittest and athletic populated areas in the world. I share these statistics, not so much to brag but to give you the listener context for what the culture and vibe is here in the Mile High area. ​The objective of the Mile High Endurance Podcast is to connect you to the triathlon community and empower you to achieve your triathlon and fitness goals. Each month we will take subjects that you are interested in and connect your interests with news, expert interviews, and information about services and products in a way that inform your decisions to achieve your full potential in the sport.
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Now displaying: June, 2016
Jun 26, 2016

Welcome to Episode #27 of Mile High Tri Podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares.  The Mile High Tri  Podcast connects you  WEEKLY with coaches, experts and resources that empower you to reach your fitness and triathlon goals.

Today's interview is going to be a little different than usual.  I'm going to take you back to episode #24 for a minute and the interview with Will Murray, mental skills coach from D3 Multisport and author of the 4 Pillars of Triathlon.  A couple of weeks after that interview, Will and I reconnected and he mentioned he had heard a couple of episodes where I've referred to a swim panic attack I had early in my triathlon career and that I still "carry that experience with me".  Will offered to help me with a technique to help me not feel fear associated to that memory.  We arranged a time for a Skype Video call a few weeks ago and we agreed to record the call. 

Last weekend I went out to Grant Ranch for my first open water swim of the season.  I needed to get some experience in the open water before my first race coming up this weekend in Boulder.  I went out to Grant Ranch (west side of town)looking for my friends in the TriAnimals and had mistakenly thought they were participating in the OWS clinic being taught by Melissa Mantak from Swim Labs.  After a short orientation and instruction session, we suited up and jumped in the water.  Melissa described the training objectives and drill sequence that we would progress through.  Our first step was to swim the 300 or so meters to the first buoy - the moment of truth.  Of course, I'm competitive so I'm trying to get on the feet of the guy in front of me.  Then it hits me - this is your first OWS of the season, you better take it easy Rich.  In a second, your going to get winded and your going to start freaking out.  I started to do what helps me which is to count arm strokes.  Then it occcurred to me that I was not anxious in the least.  In fact, my reflex was to swim harder and see what happened…nothing, harder….nothing.    Long story short, I had an awesome clinic and OWS experience last Sunday and I'm super excited to race on Sunday.  So excited, in fact that I want to make sure you get a chance to hear the call that Bill and I had and then my reaction when I came back from the swim last weekend.   

When we cut to the call, Bill starts of by describing what we are going to try and accomplish and the process that I'm to follow.  During the original call there were some long silent periods that I have edited out.  I put a little tone in the pauses so you can know where those longer pauses exist.  

For any of you have issues where your enjoyment of open water swimming or racing in OW is somehow limited because of fear, folks you need to listen to this episode.  I mean, let's see how this race goes this weekend, but I am definitely encouraged.  Okay, speaking of races - let's talk about what's coming up.

This is shaping up to be an awesome triathlon weekend here in the Mile High city of Denver.  Hopefully you had a chance to hear last week's episode and the interview with Lance Panigutti.  Of course Lance talked about this weekend's TriBella triathlon.  This is a women's only triathlon at the Cherry Creek Reservoir in south Denver.  I am actually planning to get to bed early tonight and get up early to help when the transition area opens at 6:30 tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, I have several friends who are racing the Lake to Lake Triathlon in Loveland, CO.  For those listeners outside the Mile High area, Loveland is about 65 miles north of Denver.  The west side of Denver and Loveland are pretty close to the foothills and the views and course of the Lake to Lake Triathlon are awesome.  Among that list of friends (as you would know if you listened to last week's episode), is Tom Beal.  Also racing is Todd Stockford from episode #18, and Steve Maas.  Good luck gentlemen!

About a 3 hour drive into the mountains is Steamboat Springs and the Try The Boat Triathlon with a Sprint, Olympic on Saturday (That's 3 races on Saturday) and Half Ironman distance race on Sunday.  Another one of my good friends Aaron Monroe is racing the half ironman.  I think Aaron is doing 4 half ironman races this year. 

Continuing on Sunday we have the Boulder Sunrise organized by BBSC Endurance Sports.  This sprint race, as the name implies, is located in Boulder and the transition area opens at 5:30 and my wave starts at 7:45am.  As soon as I publish this episode Saturday night, I'm going straight to bed.

Also on Sunday are the South Suburban Youth and Adult Beginner Tryathlon.  This is a pool swim and looks to be a great race for a triathlete to enjoy the pool swim format.  I met the race director, Sarah Neilson, this past week during bike to work day.  I stopped at one of the stations in the morning, which turned out to be sponsored by South Suburban.   It sounds like Sarah has a couple of races, the TRYathlon at Goodsen Rec Center this Sunday, June 26th.  They have another race

Finally we have Tri On The Plains https://triontheplains.org/ which is 2 hour and 30 minute drive to the northeast of Denver.  This event has a duathlon and sprint distance. 

One last race to talk about before we go into the call with Bill, let's talk about his recent race at Escape From Alcatraz.  There is a great article that is at 303 Triathlon and the link is on the website.  Go to http://303triathlon.com/Boulders-Will-Murray-Escape-from-Alcatraz-Recap to check it out.

With that, let's go to the call with Will Murray.  Following that I transition straight into my reaction coming back from Grant Ranch this past weekend.  And finally, I'll come back on at the end for a little wrap up.

Jun 19, 2016

Welcome to Episode #26 of Mile High Tri podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares.  Mile High Tri  empowers you to reach your fitness and triathlon goals by connecting you with coaches and experts to help you in your triathlon journey.

I'm joined by Tom Beal, who is a good friend and mentor.  Tom has been racing in the sport since the 80's and has a tremendous amount of experience and talent.  Tom shares his thoughts on the progression of triathlon.

Feature guest, Lance Panigutti from Without Limits gives an update on their races so far and talks about upcoming races.

I'm excited to announce moving to a weekly and shorter format.  Releases will be on Sunday midnight Mountain Time.  I hope you will find that the weekly format fits into your routine.  Whether you enjoy it on Sunday on your long run, or Monday on your commute to work, I just hope you enjoy it.    

Mile High Tri is recorded in the Rocky Mountain front range area in Denver, Colorado. 55 miles to the north is the triathlon 'Mecca' of Boulder, home of some of the most prominent pros in triathlon and related sports. 56 miles to the south is the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs is the flagship training center for the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Olympic Training Center programs. The 110 mile stretch between Boulder and Colorado Springs is one of the fittest and athletic populated areas in the world. I share these statistics, not so much to brag but to give you the listener context for what the culture and vibe is here in the Mile High area. -Denver was ranked 5th fittest city in the US in 2015 by the American Fitness Index. -Denver is home to many Olympians, including 2012 4 gold medal winner Missy Franklin. -Denver is also the 4th ranked "bike friendly" city in the US ​The objective of the Mile High Tri podcast is to connect you to the triathlon community and empower you to achieve your triathlon and fitness goals. Each month we will take subjects that you are interested in and connect your interests with news, expert interviews, and information about services and products in a way that inform your decisions to achieve your full potential in the sport.

Jun 8, 2016

Welcome to Episode #25 of Mile High Tri podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares.  Mile High Tri  empowers you to reach your fitness and triathlon goals by connecting you with coaches and experts to help you in your triathlon journey.

Today's episode is Part 2 on the theme where we are asking the questions "do you need a coach?". 

So do you need a coach?  There are plenty of training plans online.  In fact, the information resources available to the self-coached athlete are nearly infinite.  I don't need to tell you that there are plenty of books, websites, forums, specialty services, physiology testing, and let's not forget podcasts!.  

The good news is there is a ton of information out there.  The other good news is that you have tons of time on your hands to research it, right?  No?  Well, assuming you do have a lot of time on your hands, and you can research everything there is to know about nutrition (eg, strength training, endurance training, speed/intensity training, recovery, race strategies, form, technique, etc.), there is more to the role of a coach than technical expertise.   

The roles of a triathlon coach are numerous.  The best collection I've found is from coach Brian Mac's website.  The roles he lists include: Advisor, Assessor, Counselor, Demonstrator, Friend, Facilitator, Fact-finder, Fountain of knowledge, Instructor, Mentor, Motivator, Organizer, Planner, Role Model, and Supporter.   You can probably come up with a few more without trying too hard.  You could extend it to specifics like strength coach, swim coach, or physical therapist and on.  Perhaps I'm being too fast and loose with the roles, but that's how I see it.

Last week, in episode #24, I interviewed Will Murray, Mental Skills Coach with D3 Multisport and Jim Galanes of EPOC Performance Training.   As with each subject that I take on with the podcast, I'm trying to examine the question from multiple lenses.

The 2 lenses that we explored last week were aimed at the role of a coach in helping train your mind, and the role of guiding the training load and recovery balance. 

On training the mind of an athlete, we spoke to Will Murray, author of the book, "The Four Pillars of Triathlon". 

  1. Imagination
  2. Motivation
  3. Discipline
  4. Recovery

On the physiology loading and recovery process with 3 x Olympic Nordic skier and coach Jim Galanes.  Jim described how his curiosity for sports physiology budded early in his Olympic career and developed through decades of work with researchers, coaches and athletes.   I confess I got a bit ahead of myself and started down the path of July's theme how to get the most out of software training logs and analytic tools.

This week we continue the discussion with:

  • Nicole Odell is a Level 1 USAT coach, Level 3 USA Cycling, Training Peaks Level 2 coach out of Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Coach Nicole's company is NEO Endurance.
  • Dierdre Moynahan - Ride and Race director (Tri Velo Series and DMM Events) and Try Something New with Cyclocross and Urban Cyclocross.
Jun 1, 2016

The question "do I need a coach?" is something that I ask myself frequently.  Actually, I don't really ask the question in my head in the same way I express it in writing here.

The questions in my head sounds more like:

"why can't I push to zone 5 this morning?", or

"yesterday was a pretty hard day, this plan is written for the average person, I'll bet it's okay to take it easy today...I think...wish I knew.", or

"oh great, their closing transition - I hope I'm trained and ready for this day..am I?" or,

"am I taking in enough calories for...?" and it goes on, right?

These questions are personal to me.  They are my personal needs, which are derived by a goal that has been set to achieve a result.  That goal could be to lose 40 pounds, lead a healthier lifestyle, or finish an Ironman.

I have my questions and you will have yours.  As you train of the next few weeks, pay attention to the voice in your head and the questions being presented.  As you are doing that introspection, listen to the interviews from experts from different perspectives.  There is no agenda other than to provide you with a rich layering of interviews, discussing the fundamental of triathlon training, development, and racing.  From there, we will talk about the many roles triathlon coaches fill in helping athletes achieve their goals safely. 

The podcast is my way of sharing the lessons I've learned in triathlon with others.  When I lived in my first college apartment, I learned the lesson don't fry bacon naked.  Until today, I have not had an opportunity to share that with anyone.  Of course, the lessons of triathlon rarely give you love handles and skin welts.  No, these are lessons that take the shape of being injured, sick, unmotivated, unimaginative, plateauing performance, DNFs, IV's, and so forth.  Actually, the lessons of triathlon can sometimes be painful.

The Merriam-Webster simple definition of coach is a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer. Just how hard can it be?  There are plenty of training plans online.  In fact, the information resources available to the self-coached athlete are nearly infinite.  I don't need to tell you that there are plenty of books, websites, forums, specialty services, physiology testing, and let's not forget podcasts!.  

The good news is there is a ton of information out there.  The other good news is that you have tons of time on your hands to research it, right?  No?  Well, assuming you do have a lot of time on your hands,and you can research everything there is to know about nutrition (eg, strength training, endurance training, speed/intensity training, recovery, race strategies, form, technique, etc.), there is more to the role of a coach than technical expertise.   

The roles of a triathlon coach are numerous.  The best collection I've found is from coach Brian Mac's website.  The roles he lists include: Advisor, Assessor, Counselor, Demonstrator, Friend, Facilitator, Fact-finder, Fountain of knowledge, Instructor, Mentor, Motivator, Organizer, Planner, Role Model, and Supporter.  

In this month's theme on coaching, I share my experience as a coached and self-coached athlete and work with my hosts to help you hear the hot topics are for making that decision. My goal at Mile High Tri is to bring you the resources that empower you to achieve your fitness and triathlon goals, and these guests are here for you.

  • Will Murray, mental skills coach at D3 Multisport and co-author of "The Four Pillars of Triathlon"
  • Jim Galanes is a three time Olympian competing in cross country skiing events in each 1976 (Innsbruck), 1980 (Lake Placid), and 1984 (Sarajevo) Olympics.
  • Nicole Odell talks about her role a coach and what it's like coaching coaches. 
  • Carole Sharpless Pro and now coach, Carole talks about the role of coaches in her career and how she applies that in her coaching today.
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