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Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast

Find out why thousands of beginner, intermediate, and advanced athletes are improving their training and racing with accessible, functional and genuine conversation about triathlon. Two coaches, who aren't afraid to laugh at themselves, look for smart and enjoyable solutions in a sport that's often dumb and painful. Mike Tarrolly and Robbie Bruce explore the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual side of training and racing everything from Ironman to a Sprint. on Monday and Thursday.
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Now displaying: September, 2022
Sep 29, 2022

After your big race always comes the million dollar question: What can I do this off-season to be better next year? It can be a confusing time and it’s easy to think crushing things is the way to get faster. But today we look at an approach based on developing skills along with getting your mindset in a place to work on things you’re not good at OR don’t like. The off-season is a great time to give yourself time while looking at the goals after the goals. Things that used to work might not work anymore and you can find yourself in a perpetual loop where everything remains the same. Maybe it’s as simple as developing patience for your training. Building in a way that feels good and reclaims your body. Get better while feeling good and rekindle that passion. 

Topics:

  • Muncie Preview Podcast #65
  • Kona Preview Coming 
  • Turts and Scarfs and Turtlenecks 
  • Wild time of the year
  • Goals before goals
  • Professionals vs. Age Group Comparison
  • Periodization
  • Fast — Then Far?
  • Far — Then Fast?
  • Caught in the seasonal training loop
  • Partial Choice Weeks
  • Structure and Flexibility
  • Faster vs Being stronger
  • Skill development
  • Training in a way that makes off-season-sense 
  • Different courses demand different training plans
  • Working on things that you’re bad at 
  • Sacrificing future gains
  • Patience 
  • Maybe it’s a good time of year to work on what you don’t like
  • What used to work, might not work anymore
  • Things change, stress changes
  • Get in the ballpark becomes get to the ballpark early
  • Beauty Parlor Analogy . . . 

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron@gmail.com

 

Sep 27, 2022

Ironman Chattanooga was a poster child for the challenge of being prepared for race day. The fast swim lulls you to sleep, then the rain on the bike, and hot and humid sunshine just in time for the run. We talk about different things that went wrong for a lot of athletes and how it can be prevented in training. We also go into pacing and how to practice it in training long before you blow up on the race course. We look at swim safety and why most theories don’t work. Training by and understanding effort and why it’s so important when your race plan goes to sh*t. 

Topics:

  • Lessons From Chattanooga 
  • Trying to figure this sport out
  • Plan A, B, C, and Platinum
  • Bike course harder than you think
  • All Ironman’s are HARD
  • How Ironman Brand Pitches “Easy”
  • Anything is Possible . . . if you work at it
  • Swim Fast equals free transition
  • Having a Healthy Respect for what “could” go wrong
  • Ironman Swim Safety
  • Forcing a slower start
  • Taking races seriously
  • Training your swim to start fast
  • Getting your body accustomed to race pace
  • How to be appropriately prepared
  • Don’t try different pacing on race day
  • Nothing is in your control
  • Training by Effort
  • Pace -Sometimes you just gotta take it or leave it
  • Learning and extracting from proper pacing
  • What did you learn from your race??
  • Act like a professional
  • Negative split mentality
  • Kenyan Shuffle 
  • 13 minute miles

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

Sep 22, 2022

It’s not the end of the race season, but today we answer questions from you and take a closer look at how you can truly get better this off season – along with tackle the comedown after your big race. We look at strength training and how it should compliment your goals, how to ease expectations after an injury or a funk, and how to strip training down so it is something you can look forward to. We joke about finisher shirts, discuss which bike you should be riding and when, and look at the importance of building lateral stability by either strength training or hitting the trails or mountain/gravel bikes. This is a good reminder that we have to be flexible and everything can’t always be “on.”

Topics:

  • Chattanooga 
  • Finisher Shirts 
  • Which bike to ride and when
  • Q4 strategy
  • How much are you in aero?
  • Run on all surfaces 
  • Lateral Stability
  • Creative aerobic work that keeps you engaged
  • Swim Cool Down? Worth the time?
  • Easing expectations after burn out or injury
  • Keeping yourself in a funk?
  • Stripping the training down
  • Strength training should replace intensity
  • Strength training paired with swimming
  • Body weight vs. plates and bars
  • Transitioning post race
  • Try to be a Type A- or B+ athlete
  • December Rules
  • All of this is on a continuum
  • When failure to plan is good
  • Flexible on the F*ck-around
  • Mind tricking yourself
  • Internal rebellion 

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

 

Sep 20, 2022

Sooner or later, your top priority will be your health. Don't take it for granted.

Today starts with a question from the group on how to get out of a funk. We hear that a lot and today we get into the best ways to make make this sport something you really look forward to. We talk about the dangers of setting expectations and focusing on the “fast” part of endurance racing. We look at the “I can’t wait to…” endless cycle of getting out of the moment. We talk about what will truly get you to the start line with confidence. Choose to be present and energized for what comes today. And Just. Get. Healthy. 

Topics:

  • Check out our Ironman Chattanooga preview - Episode #515 
  • How to get out of a funk
  • Goal Setting
  • Energized and Motivated 
  • Setting Expectations
  • Why set expectations?
  • “I can’t wait to” 
  • Most athletes have no business setting time goals
  • Short term health goals
  • Just. Get. Healthy.
  • Choosing to be present
  • Choosing your own quality time
  • Fast is the “glitzy” part
  • It’s all about health and strength
  • Taking your wins
  • Confident and content going into a race
  • Turnovers - Trying to do something you’re not capable of
  • More intimidated by the work you haven’t done than the race
  • When you “can’t wait” to get to a simple workout
  • Winning is Daily
  • Don’t crush yourself for one day of training
  • Make a commitment today
  • Wisconsin Camp and Race Plan combo

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com 

 

Sep 15, 2022

What did we learn on the coaching from Ironman Wisconsin? Turns out a ton. We take a close look at the avalanche of energy and how it impacts a race. We look at why the swim is so important for the rest of your race. Especially on a course like this. We also talk about how to peak at the right time for your race. There’s nothing worse than training too hard and being burnt out way before you get there. We look how bad form on the run makes you work harder to go slower. We talk about overtraining on the run. We look at hills and the nutrition crutch. Having a plan B, C, D, and E.  In races like this, it’s not usually about how fast you go, but how little you slow down. 

Topics:

  • Del Boca Vista Dedication
  • Responsible, synergistic, thoughtful FB Group
  • IMWI was brutal, but . . . 
  • Willpower and strength
  • You only gotta do it once
  • When 12 Rounds turns into 20
  • Mentally and Emotionally fresh
  • How deep can you go?
  • There’s no easy race
  • The tension of Perfect conditions
  • Zone 1 Physically and Zone 6 Mentally
  • Burnt out too early
  • Running Easy on Hills 
  • Bike and Swim your way to great run shape
  • Losing your race in the swim
  • The avalanche of energy exposure
  • Fatigues makes cowards of us all
  • Holding form with fatigue
  • It’s about how little you slow down
  • Obsession with speed
  • Tempo and Hill work 
  • Clothing choice Mistakes
  • Was it really nutrition?
  • Having a Plan B, C, D and E
  • This sport is so great because it’s so difficult
  • Critical thinking . . . 

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

Sep 13, 2022

It wasn’t as much of a race as it was a battle of attrition. Today, we break down Ironman Wisconsin from the beginning of the swim through the brutal bike and the dark and lonely run. The emotions on this day were all over the map and we share stories from on the course and the spectator perspective. Roughly 1500 started and 1020 finished. No one expected that weather at Ironman Wisconsin, but it turned out to be one for the ages. 

Topics:

  • Perfect Saturday, brutal Sunday
  • The morning and swim line up
  • Mental preparation and finding a reason
  • The anatomy of the water 
  • The crowds in the rain
  • Staying warm 
  • Transitions take on a new meaning
  • Going to dark places and losing hope
  • The “new” stick on the bike
  • Wet and bumpy roads, cold riding, high winds
  • Getting through the loops
  • Volunteer toughness 
  • Nowhere to find speed
  • Why that bike course was so Demoralizing
  • The bumps and the breaks
  • Twilight Zone feels 
  • The Last 10 Miles of the bike 
  • The Last 2 Miles of the bike 
  • T2 and temptation
  • Coming out on the run
  • How do you run a marathon after that bike?
  • Aid stations and volunteers 
  • The low spectator vibe 
  • Camp Randall run
  • The dark run path and chilling wind
  • The late struggles 
  • The finish line

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

 

Sep 8, 2022

How do you react when something doesn’t go your way? Today, Coach Robbie shares a very personal story about his sobriety and we tie it into things that can shake us up in a race. We can train well, taper perfectly, but something unexpected always seems to pop up on race day? How will you handle it? How can you get your mind straight, re-focus and turn it into a positive. We’re out there on our own and we need to find a way. 

Topics:

  • No weigh in 
  • It can ll go perfect, but on race day . . . 
  • Picking up the right Drink
  • Is there vodka? 
  • A point in the race where something kicks you in the gut.
  • How do you flip the script?
  • Don’t hold onto bad things
  • Digging deep to find a way
  • A moment is a moment
  • What the why behind the why it happened?
  • Practicing resiliency 
  • Laugh it off 

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.C26Triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

 

Sep 6, 2022

We’re both racing this week at Wisconsin and we talk about what’s going on in our heads. We take a deeper dive into taper and look at what it should be feeling like. We talk about how to know if you’re peaking, how to keep the pop, and what not to be focusing on. Less than a week from Wisconsin 70.3 and Full… but this translates to everyone who has a race coming up this Fall. Handle your Race Week smart.

 

Topics:

 

  • Mike’s fading blog
  • Softballiing Your Race
  • Taper Adjustments
  • Taper workouts feeling like a chore
  • Hay’s in the Barn?
  • Signs of Peaking
  • Feeling Recovered
  • In-session performances
  • Comparing workouts effort/HR/Watts
  • Can’t let your body forget 
  • Pulling back
  • Taper workouts that feel like shit
  • Intensity on race week
  • Priming the workout
  • Staying game sharp
  • What do you need to feel like today?
  • Keeping the pop

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26Triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

 

Sep 1, 2022

You’ve come this far, don’t confuse “getting fresh” with being lazy. Taper means so many things to so many people, but today we look at the best ways to approach taper, both mentally and physically. We talk about everything from how to handle your workouts, to packing, and mental roller coasters throughout taper. We look at phantom pains, visualizing and a gradual recovery. We also talk about your plan when you GET to the race so you can stay focused and on point. Stay in your zone, don’t let the body shut down, and get rid of as much life stress as you can. 

Topics:

  • Walk Out Song 
  • Phone music and video 
  • 70.3 and Full Taper 
  • Athlete Guides 
  • Right and wrong decisions in Taper 
  • Taper is in Pencil
  • Feel sluggish? 
  • Mental battles
  • Staying in your zone
  • Save your energy
  • Get Fresh Gradually
  • Don’t remove intensity
  • Fresh But Prime
  • Adjusting best case scenarios
  • Feeling the feeling of being fresh
  • Letting off the gas can be dangerous
  • Rationalizing TOTAL rest
  • Don’t let the body completely shut down
  • Remember what it’s like to feel fast
  • What life things can you do to remove stress?
  • Clear your plate 
  • Train, THEN be lazy
  • Have a plan when you GET to the Race
  • Pre-Race Haircuts
  • Laying out your stuff
  • Pack what you REALLY NEED early
  • Removing stress but staying focused
  • Start visualizing
  • Make your list
  • Panic turned into fun
  • Mind shifting practice
  • Meditation in motion
  • When we dial in physically but not mentally . . . 
  • Humble Reminders
  • Set yourself up for success

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

www.crushingiron.com

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