Welcome to Episode #40 of the Mile High Endurance podcast. Mile High Endurance is your weekly connection to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals. We're your hosts Rich Soares and Bill Plock bringing you another weekend of triathlon fun and information.
In today's show we bring you an expert in the running industry. Danny Abshire, founder and President of Newton Running joins us to talk about running form, the requirements athletes have for running shoes, and the engineering of the Newton running shoe.
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Welcome to Episode #40 of the Mile High Endurance podcast. Mile High Endurance is your weekly connection to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals. We're your hosts Rich Soares and Bill Plock bringing you another weekend of triathlon fun and information.
In today's show we bring you an expert in the running industry. Danny Abshire, founder and President of Newton Running joins us to talk about running form, the requirements athletes have for running shoes, and the engineering of the Newton running shoe.
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Also Mentioned:
Welcome to Episode #39 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance is your weekly connecting to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals. Today's episode is co-hosted by Bill Plock of 303 Triathlon and the feature guest is Chris Soden of Denver Fit Loft. We are out of the studio and down at the Denver Fit Loft recording full "new bike fit" service.
In today's episode Bill and I do some catching up including his race with 106 West Triathlon (9000 feet elevation) by Human Movement, local races and 303 Triathlon's preparation for Kona. We also learn Bill's favorite number.
Rich celebrates the six month anniversary of the Mile High Endurance Podcast and thanks all of the guests who have given their time to the show. Rich also gives an update and a "lessons learned" from last week's marathon training.
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Welcome to Episode #38 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance is your weekly connection to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals. Joining me again as co-host is coach Khem Suthiwan.
We are recording today's show onsite at TriBella Sports, home of TriBella, Colorado Triathlon Company and the Denver Fit Loft.
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2XU
Joanna Zeiger
Welcome to Episode #37 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance is your weekly connecting to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals. Joining me again as co-host is the 'spunky' Khem Suthiwan.
[00:00] Intro with Co-host Coach Khem Suthiwa of Mile High Multisport
[27:21] Interview with Josh Colley, Lifetime Fitness and Race Director for the Leadville Race Series. Josh takes us behind the scenes on the Leadville 100 MTB and Trail Run races. Tips for athletes and pacers for a successful ultra-marathon.
[50:19] Next week's guest, Billy "The Kid" Edwards - soldier, pro athlete and US Navy Triathlon coach
00:00:00 Welcome, Show Overview, Race Report
00:19:40 Lake Catamount Sprint and Olympic Interviews
00:33:59 Carole Sharpless
01:05:03 Mary Beth Ellis
01:25:20 Wrap Up and Next Week Preview
Welcome to Episode #36 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance is your weekly connecting to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals.
I have a great show lined up for you today. Here's what's on the agenda. First we have some big races and events out there that I want to share my reactions to before we get into the interviews. The interviews themselves, I'm very excited to share with you. I was able to catch up with both Mary Beth Ellis and Carole Sharpless. Both pros have some great information for you. I've been working to get another interview with Carole for a while, so I'm glad I finally get to bring you her perspective as a coach and information of the Rev3 Series. Then, (how freaking lucky am I?) MB just won her second Ironman of the season at Mont Trem Blanc last weekend. She has secured her race for Kona and she is talking to us about MTB and her preparation for Kona. Plus she has agreed to come back on the show after Kona, so I'm stoked.
I want to make your consumption of the content as easy to access and use as possible. you that I appreciate the feedback you
Welcome to Episode #35 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance connects you weekly with coaches, pros and experts to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals. Joining me as co-host is Bill Plock from 303 Triathlon.
On today's show:
[0:01:00]Ironman Boulder Race Report - Bill Plock
[0:10:00]USAT Age Group Nationals Report - Rich Soares
[0:25:23]Guest, Michael Mann of Swim Labs with my brother Roger Soares
[0:49:33]Guest, Pro Surfer Rocky McKinnon of McKinnon Surfboards
Welcome to Episode #34 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance connects you weekly with coaches, pros and experts to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals.
Welcome to Episode #33 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Endurance connecting you weekly with coaches and experts to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals.
I have a content-packed show for you today. There is a ton going on in the Triathlon and Endurance world right now and a very timely interview. As you know it is the opening weekend of the Rio Olympic games. It also happens to be the weekend prior to USAT Nationals. When you think of Triathlon in the Olympics and USAT Nationals, who is the one person who you would want to talk to? Barry Siff, of course. Barry serves in leadership roles of both USAT and ITU and has an insider’s view of both events. He is a busy man, but I was able to catch him prior to all of the traveling he will be doing over the next couple of weeks to Omaha and Rio.
Also on the show this week, Will Kelsey of Dirt Tri Magazine joins us to talk about the state and statistics around Off Road Triathlon. I have been meaning to get into the topic of Off Road Triathlon for some time and this is our first foray into that topic. As you will hear, road triathlon’s dirtier cousin, “Dirt (or “off road”) Tri” is a little more laid back and fun, and really opens up a lot of new races and experiences.
Before we get into the interviews, I’d like to give a couple of updates .
First – Ironman Boulder competitors: To Bill Plock from 303 Triathlon and Guy Sigley from the Colorado Triathlon Company team. Good luck this weekend and hope you get your Kona slots. I would also like to acknowledge a good friend of mine Jamie Twedt who unfortunately had a bike wreck a week ago that has precluded her ability to race. Jamie has such a great attitude and has managed to get herself on the finisher medal team. Jamie, it’s going to be a long and fun night!
Second – Ironman Boulder underwear run: I just did the Underwear Run last night and it was really a lot of fun. The way it went down, I did see Bill at the UPR but after. His schedule got wonky and he couldn't get there on time, but I did see him after and he looks good and ready for Sunday. Back to the UPR. After talking to Bill about he and his daughter Riley doing it, I offered it to my girls who are both runners and we did it.
We arrive and Michael had the gathering place in this small corner of a park across from the museum of contemporary art. Michael had the crowd going with updates on the order of events, collecting donations, etc. After a quick hello and picture (one my wife won't let me post on Facebook), we got under way. The run was a mile through the busiest blocks of Boulder through the Pearl Street Mall, down past where the Ironman finish line will be on Sunday, into the Ironman Village, down the Bike Path (Run Course) and back to the Ironman Finish area and ultimately where we started. There were maybe 50-75, maybe more people who participated.
Sunday of course is the big race. Again, good luck to everyone racing, volunteering and spectating. The forecast looks good in the low 80s. I'll be up there Sunday at 5am for the volunteer briefing for the water safety crew. I'll be out there at the Boulder Res most of the morning. I come home for a bit and then head back up by 5pm to try and catch Bill and my other fast friends finish. I hope to catch up with Dave Christen and report about the race a bit in next week's episode.
Okay, the other big thing that is going on this weekend is the Olympics. We also have USAT Nationals to look forward to next week. This seems like a perfect time for this interview.
Welcome to Episode #32 of the Mile High Endurance podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares with your co-host Bill Plock from 303 Triathlon. Mile High Endurance connecting you weekly with coaches and experts to help you reach your endurance and triathlon goals.
This week we bring you the second half of the Jim Galanes interview and an interview with pro athlete, coach and announcer Michael Lovato.
Welcome to Episode #31 of the Mile High Tri podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Tri connects you with coaches and experts to inform you on your triathlon and endurance sport journey.
We'll start this week's episode with a quick update from David Christen from Ironman Boulder. He gives you an update on race preparations, changes to this year's course and finish, and what to expect whether you are competing, volunteering or spectating.
This week episode also connects you with another Tri Tech in July interview. If you have been listening for long, you know Jim Galanes has been a previous guest. Jim is a former Olympic Cross Country skier, a coach, co-owner of EPOC Performance Training and partner with FirstBeat software.
Before we get into the main subject of today's episode and learn about Firstbeat software, I want to announce a change on the podcast. No, we are not going back to monthly. Actually the weekly thing is working out well for me. Nothing will change with the content or frequency. The quality will only get better as I will explain in a few minutes.
You also know the show is an expression of my life and experiences here in the Mile High city. I found triathlon or triathlon found me a decade ago. It has changed my life and that of my family for the better in countless ways. I want others to at least have the opportunity to have triathlon in your life. Assuming it is at this point, I know you are all on your own journey and at different places along that journey. You found different ways here and you will find adventures and challenges that will take you in other directions someday.
I produce this podcast to give back to the sport that has given so much to me. The podcast enriches my experience and adventure and has not become a passion of mine. If you ever want to listen to the original vision and background of the podcast, please go back to Episode #18. In the intro of that episode I describe my motivations and goals for the podcast, but also my vision in terms of frequency, length and content. Aside from the change from longer monthly to shorter weekly episodes, the vision, motivation and goals for the podcast have remained the same.
My motivation is simply to learn about, and explore triathlon, endurance sports and fitness in general. Whether you are yet to start your journey or you are a veteran, I hope to bring information, experts, coaches and other resources to help you learn and develop to the athlete you dream of becoming. I believe that information and education are empowering and essential to making decisions that ultimately lead to you reaching your goals. As such, I usually try to get right down to business and keep an educational format with informational and entertaining guests.
The name of the podcast has Mile High in it because I live in a suburb of the "Mile High" city of Denver. Smack dab between the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and Boulder Colorado (the triathlon and endurance mecca), this podcast is sourced in one of the most densely concentrated athletes, coaches and other resources as anywhere in the world. One thing that I did not anticipate was the global interest in the podcast. I have regular downloads from Canada, China, France, Portugal, Finland, Australia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, UK, Singapore, Netherlands, Spain, and on. In order to honor the international listenership, I want to make sure the content is relevant to all listeners.
If you have been listening to the podcast for long, you also know that I have a segment on the show called Try Something New. I've used this segment to introduce other endurance sports like cross country skiing, cyclocross, and paddle-boarding in an episode or two from now. The fact is, I found triathlon only after I had begun training for my first marathon. I've used triathlon to branch further into cycling, swimming and other endurance sports. As an athlete your journey may take you in and out of triathlon. This podcast, while generally focused on triathlon, is interested in helping you succeed in triathlon or any other endurance sport.
The change I am making to the podcast is actually quite small and requires no changes on your part. I am tweaking the name of the Podcast from "Mile High Tri" to "Mile High Endurance". I have a number of reasons for doing this, but chief among those reasons is to make sure the brand represents the show.
Over the course of the next week, the website will change from Mile High Tri Podcast to MileHighEndurance.com. If you go to the old www.milehightriathlon.com or www.milehightripodcast.com, you will be redirected to www.milehighendurancepodcast.com. The Facebook account will get a Face Lift to Mile High Endurance, as will the Twitter account. I just received the new logo and I have to say it is freaking awesome. You'll immediately recognize the 3 peak Swim/Bike/Run triangle, but asked my graphic artist who made the triangle to add an element to honor the growing international listenership. I like the idea of this podcast provides content that helps athletes of all age, cultures, color or geography. The podcast is head-quartered in the Mile High City, powered by experts, pros and coaches, and aimed at triathletes around the globe. Keep that in mind as you anticipate the exciting new opportunities ahead.
As for the Podcast and whatever you use iTunes, or other podcast subscription source. The question is - do I need to do anything to keep getting the show. The short answer is you should not need to do anything. At some point next week, I'll switch the RSS feed to the new name. Certainly new episodes will download under the new name. You may notice a refresh of the podcast name and you may not. I'll have that understood before I flip the switch and will be sure to post updates in Facebook as the change occurs. The name should change in the RSS Feed to iTunes and other podcast apps just fine, but follow the podcast on Facebook at MileHighTriathlon. This too will get a rename, but if you follow the podcast Facebook page, you'll get the updates leading up to the switch and should just witness a rename of the Facebook page.
Episode Subject:
In just a minute, we'll get into the interviews and the start with David Christen from Ironman Boulder. Before we get started though, I want to give you a litte background on Jim Galanes. We kind of dive right in, but I think it would be good to tell you a little about him if you don't already know.
Jim Galanes is a three time Olympian competing in cross country skiing events in each 1976 (Innsbruck), 1980 (Lake Placid), and 1984 (Sarajevo) Olympics. He has been coaching for the last twenty or so years and has become a very knowledgeable, science-based, expert on physiology. His company, EPOC Performance Training, is partners with FirstBeat. As you will learn in the interview, FirstBeat gives coaches and athletes insights into an athlete's Training Load by using EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.
As you will hear, Jim uses FirstBeat to analyze my training and point how the data and charts to analyze if I met the objectives of my workouts and how my overall training load and recovery process is going. Jim's background as an Olympic endurance athlete, coach and collaboration with scientists gives him some serious street cred when it comes to training athletes. I have been a long time premium account holder at TrainingPeaks and use it daily. I have come to find using FirstBeat does give me insights that I did not have before. The combination of Jim's consultations with me and the addition of FirstBeat, I believe is helping me to train smarter.
You will hear Jim analyze a couple of my workouts in Firstbeat. It's interesting to hear Jim's analysis and I want to prep you a bit for what you will hear and the flow of the interview. Jim suggested that we do a video call recording that could be used a content for either Firstbeat or the podcast. I took advantage of the interview to record and edit an audio version. The video version is a follow on project, and I don't have any information yet as to when that will be available. Until then, I wanted you to hear it on this episode.
As I said, you will get to hear some of my workouts analyzed by Jim. He gives me some feedback in this interview about level of intensity of some of my workouts.
The interview is a joint project between EPOC Performance Training, Firstbeat and Mile High Endurance. We recorded the interview as a video with screen sharing, and the final video interview should be pretty cool when it's complete. Since you are getting the audio version and don't have the visual of the screen-sharing, I put screenshots on the website in podcast blog in the bottom right hand corner of the main page. It is out there on the current www.milehightripodcast.com site and will be there at the new www.milehighendurance.com site when it goes live this week.
Similar to the Dirk Friel interview, I was really excited to bring Jim Galanes to you and glad he spent a full hour with me. The content is too good to edit down and I want you to hear the full discussion. We'll break the interview into Part 1 and Part 2, about 30 minutes each. Part 1 will of course be in this episode, right after the Dave Christen interview. Part 2 will be next week on the 31st of July.
Okay so with that I think I'll stop the monologue and get into the interviews. I'll see you on the other side in just a bit in the wrap up.
Welcome to Episode #30 of the Mile High Tri podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares. Mile High Tri connecting you with coaches and experts to inform you on your triathlon journey.
This week the podcast connects you with two individuals who I am excited to share with you. First, we have an interview with Sarah Neilsen of the South Suburban Parks and Recreation. Sarah is a race director with South Suburban and has information about the TRYathlon series and the July 30th race at the Cook Creek pool in Lone Tree. The second interview is with a coach who was a large influence on me and the format of the Mile High Tri Podcast, and that’s coach David Warden, athlete, coach and podcaster.
Welcome to Episode #29 of Mile High Tri podcast, I'm your usual host Rich Soares, joined today by the lovely and talented co-host Khem Suthiwan. Mile High Tri empowers you to reach your fitness and triathlon goals by connecting you with coaches and experts on the topics that you want learn.
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.
Welcome to Episode #28 of Mile High Tri podcast, I'm your host Rich Soares and my co-host is Bill Plock. The Mile High Tri Podcast connects you WEEKLY with coaches, experts and resources that empower you to reach your fitness and triathlon goals.
This month's episode steers our triathlon journey in the direction of Tri Tech. Our feature guest on the show this month is Dirk Friel, (Founder and President of Peaksware) to talk to us about Training Peaks and WKO. That interview is absolutely awesome. The interview seems like it goes quickly, but it's longer than my usual interview. To make sure I took full advantage of getting Dirk's time, I took all that he would give me. I think you will be glad that I did not force a shorter interview or edit out content.
There are two other timely guests on the show this week. We have the co-owner of BBSC Endurance Sports, Michelle Lund, on to talk about how last week's Boulder Sunrise Tri went down. We also have Scott Hutmacher (Lifetime Tri) to talk about the upcoming Boulder Peak Triathlon, which is coming up on July 10th. Since today's episode is the last episode before that race, we wanted to make sure we got this out to you this week. Scott has a lot of great timely information for you.
Because we have the two race director updates that are time sensitive, we are going to do a Part 1 and Part 2 on the Dirk Friel interview. You will hear the first half (or 25 minutes of the 50 minute) interview today. Next week you will hear Part 2 of the Dirk Friel interview.
So there are three interviews this week and we'll have a short wrap up at the end. Stick around at the end because we'll talk about some resources and links that are on the website that supplement the interview content on the show. For example, we talk to Dirk about some key terms to know in their analytic reports, what they refer to as a Performance Management Chart. You are more than likely out riding your bike or on a long run while you are listening to this. I want you to have resources you can go to in addition to the audio content. There are articles already on the Resources page from Training Peaks, Firstbeat and more that you will want to check out. We want to tell you this before the interview so you know you have the website to go back to when you are done listening and your bike is cleaned off an hung back up in your garage.
So with that, let's get into the race updates from Michelle at BBSC Endurance Sports and Scott Hutmacher of Lifetime Tri and the Boulder Peak. Right after those two race updates we have the interview with Dirk Friel of Training Peaks.
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.
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.
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".
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:
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.
Welcome to Episode #23 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 on the topics that you want learn.
Today's show is part 2 of 2 on the topic of "open water swimming". We are staying focused on helping you tackle the swim segment of your next triathlon with confidence and make this your best season yet.
Before we get into today's show I'd like to once again thank Bill Plock (news), Liz Sharpe (wet suit selection and fitting) and Michael Mann (coaching form and Grant Ranch open water swimming for joining me on episode #22. If you did not get a chance to hear those interviews, go back and check those interviews out. There contact info will be on milehightriathlon.com.
For those who did listen to last week's episode you know we have two exciting guests this week to continue our examination of 'Open Water Swimming'. For those of you who don't have access to a good coach, but have questions about how to tackle open water swim training, coach Trista Francis (USAT Level 2 coach with ITZ Multisport coaching) helps breakdown how to get you ready for your open water season.
Heck, what triathlete hasn't been training or racing (whether in an open water swim, the long lonely stretch of a bike course, or a moonlit marathon) and asked themselves "where's a good sports Psychologist when you need one?" After today's episode, you'll know just who to call. I have Dr. Justin Ross on to help us understand what's going on with open water swimming anxiety and how to manage it and develop into a confident open water swimmer.
For the record folks, I am having an absolute blast producing this podcast and hope you're are enjoying the content. It is my goal to make this your 'go to' podcast. If you have suggestions or content you want to hear, please get in touch with me via the website, Facebook or Twitter. You can also just email me at rich@milehightriathlon.com.
If you are enjoying the podcast, the best compliment you can pay me is to refer it to a friend. The podcast listenership is growing quickly, only furthering my excitement about bringing you more content.
Part 1 of 2 - Open Water Swimming.
Today's show is dedicated to helping you tackle the swim segment of your next triathlon with confidence and make this your best season yet, when it comes to the swim. Whether you are a seasoned veteran of triathlon or you’re new to the sport, there will be something in this episode that will help further you in the sport. As is always the approach on the show, we examine a subject from multiple perspectives, this episode's guests on the show include:
Co-host Bill Plock, 303 Triathlon
Guest Michael Mann, Swim Labs - open water form and fitness
Guest Liz Whitefield Sharp, Tribella - open water equipment and wetsuit fitting
If you would like to learn more about Michael Mann and Swim Labs, check them out at www.swimlabs.com. They have 10 facilities http://swimlabs.com/locations/.
If you want to get in touch with Liz Sharpe from Tribella, to www.tribellas.com, From there click on Rental Equipment on the menu on the left side of the page and learn more about the offerings. Gents, check out http://www.coloradotriathloncompany.com/ and go to the Rentals tab at the top right.
Other resources:
www.beginnertriathlete.com and search open water swimming. You will find a number of great articles http://goo.gl/G19HDT on everything from dealing with anxiety, gear review, open water swim tactics and more.
Coach David Warden also had a good episode on swimming. It wasn't specific to Open Water swimming, but rather focused on swim pacing. Check out Episode #63 at http://tri-talk.com/episodes/
Familiarize yourself with https://www.usms.org/ where you will find tools like training logs and training workouts. You will find tons of resources on classes, coaching, pool locator, etc.
For listeners in Colorado, check out the following options for open water swimming:
http://swimlabs.com/denver/open-water-swimming-at-grant-ranch/ - Grant Ranch
www.comsa.org/openwater - Chatfield - Note that Chatfield is planned to be closed due to insurance issues until at least May 28th.
http://www.bamswimteam.org/ - Boulder
http://longmontcolorado.gov/ - Longmont at Union Reservoir
Of course, all of the guests and their websites are available on the podcast website which is simply www.milehightriathlon.com. I will add a page for resources where I'll post the links to the website resources I just listed.
Bill Plock and I mentioned at the beginning of the intro of the episode that there are four guests on the show this month. Of course we are two fabulous guests into the show and we are already at about an 1 hour and 15 minutes. The interviews with Dr. Justin Ross and Coach Trista Francis are awesome, but they are another 50 minutes or so.
What I've decided to do is go ahead and publish episode #22 with the Michael Mann and Liz Whitfield interviews. I'll release the interviews with Justin and Trista next week on for next week on episode #23. So hang tight. I know you will enjoy those interviews on April 8th.
Before we wrap up episode #22, I thought I'd talk briefly about a couple of additional items. First, I mentioned at the end of the last episode what the upcoming races are in Colorado over the next month. I hope you enjoy the Colorado centric news and content. Now what I should have mentioned was the biggest race of the month of May from my perspective and that's Yokohama coming up on May 14-15. http://www.triathlon.org/ As Barry Siff mentioned in Episode #20, this is a selection race for USA and other countries. I'll talk a little more about that in episode #23 coming up next week.
Of course I hope you found the April episode series on "racing". I'd like to believe that that helped you wrap up your race decisions for the year, if not just the spring. If you are not racing and there are races in your area, be sure to check the races in your area and see if they need volunteers. It's a great way to participate in the culture and help promote triathlon.
Each of our race directors mentioned how vital volunteers are to putting on a successful race. I'm personally volunteering at the Without Limits Summer OPEN Race. If you are racing or volunteering there, I hope to meet you. I've volunteered to help out at the bike out, but I'll be wherever Lance puts me.
I'll hold off on giving the outlook for the next couple of show themes that I'm researching until the next episode. I will say that one of the topics is going to be Training Log and Analytic Software Applications.
On a personal note, my training is going well. I'm preparing for a half marathon in just a couple of weeks. In fact I learned that Dr. Ross is also racing it. Justin, I hope we get a practice run next weekend perhaps. The weather forecast looks great for next week.
That's it for episode #22. Please subscribe if you have not already. If you enjoy the podcast, I would ask you to do me a favor and please, please tell a friend about the podcast. It's super easy to find it at www.milehightriathlon.com or download in the iTunes Podcast store.
For more information on racing and news in general, please go to 303 Triathlon.
As always - Stay tuned, stay informed, and enjoy the triathlon journey. Good luck with your training and races this week!
Today's show is "Part 3" of the 3 Part Theme on Racing. Part 1 (Episode #19) was published on April 1st and featured Dave Christen if IM Boulder, Coach Khem Suthiwan of Mile High Multisport and Lance Panigutti of Without Limits. Part 2 (Episode #20) was published on April 8th and featured 2015 ITU Long Course champ Mary Beth Ellis, and President of the Board of USAT, Barry Siff. Part 3 (today's episode) features Peggy Shockley of the Lake to Lake Triathlon in Loveland, Hessam Salim with Lifetime Tri and the race director of the Boulder Peak.
Since this is the last episode in the May focus on "choosing races", I'd like to once again thank the guests for their time and extend an open invitation for any other race directors who would like to come on the show and educate the triathlon community about their races. I had intended to get invitations out to all race directors in the hopes of talking to a couple. My thought process is that I may get a 1 in 4 response. I actually received a 1 for 1 response, so I simply truncated the asking process and did not get to everyone I had intended.
In fact, if you are a professional in this industry and see yourself fitting into any of the show categories ("Ask A Coach", "Resources" or "Try Something New"), and you feel you have something that would contribute to the listeners development as an athlete and empower them to meet their athletic and triathlon goals, please contact me. I would love to talk to you about an opportunity to be on the show.
Coaches of triathlon or of any of the individual sports are welcome. Resources is simply any triathlon-related product or service that helps the aforementioned goal of helping athletes reach their full potential are game. I select resources that are relevant to the subject or arch of the episode or month. The objective of the interview is to add an educational dimension from the perspective of the product or service industry. There is an obvious opportunity to advertise, which I encourage, but it is limited to that episode or theme.
Those who wish to have a consistent presence on the show and website, please contact me for sponsorship opportunity. I am looking to invest in the show to develop the show (eg, equipment to interview "on location", increase frequency, show storage, etc). You can contact me via the website at www.milehightripodcast.com. Thanks and look forward to those opportunities.
Today's show is "Part 2" of the three part theme theme on choosing races. Part 1 was published on April 1st and featured Dave Christen if IM Boulder, Coach Khem Suthiwan of Mile High Multisport and Lance Panigutti of Without Limits.
Usually the sequel to any show fails to deliver on the quality of the original, but not at Mile High Tri. Today we continue seeking advice and perspective on choosing races and get input from the experts. On today's show we have 2015 ITU Long Course champ Mary Beth Ellis and none other than the USAT president of the board Barry Siff.
Mary Beth Ellis, last year's ITU Long Distance champ joins us to reflect a bit about 2015 and her race plans for 2016. To know Mary Beth is to enjoy her. She's just a real cool lady who continues to achieve at such a high level.
Barry Siff, president of the board for USAT talks about his years as a race director of the Boulder Peak, his achievements as a community leader in Colorado, and his role at USAT. Great information about the status and progression of the US Olympic Triathlon Team selection between now and the Rio games.
Be sure to check back in 1 week for the 3rd in the race series (episode is #21) with Hassam Salim from Lifetime Fitness and the Lifetime Tri Series and Peggy Shockley of the Lake to Lake triathlon in Loveland Co.
For more on Mile High Tri guests, go to www.milehightripodcast.com For more information on racing and news in general, please check out www.303Triathlon.com.
Stay tuned, stay informed, and enjoy the triathlon journey. Good luck with your training and races this week!
Choosing the right races is the first step in having a successful season. We explore that topic with multiple perspectives including a coach, a pro and several race directors and sport leaders.
Starting on April 1st, here are the guests you will hear from:
April 8th:
April 15th:
Despite it being March in Colorado, we've had some pretty nice weather recently and it stirred thoughts of "crap, I haven't registered for my races yet". We'll talk about news coming out of the triathlon community with Bill Plock from 303 Triathlon.
This month we have coach David Warden. He is a personality that many of our listeners are already familiar with. David has been in the news most recently for his coaching and planning of James Lawrence's (aka Iron Cowboy) 50 Ironman distance efforts in all 50 States in 50 concurrent days. David has a successful international coaching business and has a very successful podcast called Tri-Talk (www.tri-talk.com). Tri-Talk happens to be the podcast that most influenced my development as a novice triathlete more than a decade ago with its science-based approach to helping triathletes swim, bike and run faster. I am very grateful for his contributions to the sport, as well as his time and support with this podcast.
What is one local resource you can't live (as a triathlete) without? The local tri shop, right? This month I talk to James Sharpe, owners of TriBella and Colorado Triathlon Company. We'll talk with them about their unique offerings as a tri shop, their philosophy on serving the needs of the community and their feature race.
Finally, February in Colorado is clearly the triathlon "off season". We boast 300 plus days of sunshine per in Colorado, and that is generally true. That said, it is the off season and that creates lots of opportunities to Try Something New. This month interview to 3x Olympic cross-country ski competitor, Jim Galanes. And, I talk to Todd Stockford, a local triathlete who unpacks the sport of cross-country skiing and how we can use it to complement our off-season training.