Crushing Iron had 9 athletes racing and Coach Robbie was on site for Ironman Texas 2019. Today, he shares his thoughts on the venue and experience along with getting into what you need to know if you want to race Ironman Texas. Last year was known for fast racing and drafting on the bike, but this year was much different. The best parts of Ironman Texas, including spectator tips and racing strategies. 

• Ironman Texas - The Venue 
• Why Coach Robbie was blown away 
• 2018 was an anomaly 
• More Kona slots and very competitive
• The Woodlands is beautiful
• The Swim Start Vibe and Accessibility
• Super Spectator Friendly Swim
• T1 breakout
• Bike Course with “Drafting” Image
• Changes on the bike this year
• Headwind in your face 
• The Walking Dead
• Ironman Tracker was . . . on point
• Run Course 
• Perfect for spectating 
• What you need to prepare for
• Sunny or Shade?
• Do you get breeze?
• Lunch and Dinner on the run course
• Tons of places to hang on the lawn
• The Finish Line 
• Starky and Ryf on the red carpet at midnight
• The two hardest things about this race
• Why this race is great for your Summer

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

How do we know the difference between discomfort and pain? Are you willing to allow yourself to fail trying to find out? Today, it's all about managing pain and understanding your threshold. How inflammation affects your threshold. Defining pain as effort and rewiring your self preservation system. What distance are you wired for?

Sometimes you sit down with a friend to have an in-depth, meaningful conversation, and it's HARD. But your connection with that person will be so much deeper than it is with someone else. That's the same kind of conversation you can have with your body." --Coach Robbie 

Topics:

• Managing pain
• What’s your pain threshold?
• Allowing yourself to fail
• When it’s a good idea to try and “blow up”
• “I think I could have pushed it a little more”
• What’s the best distance for you based on your life?
• Are you wired more for long or shorter races?
• Finding the appropriate level of uncomfortable 
• longer intervals and fast finishes 
• Finding a way during long training weeks
• Inflammation and pain . . . how it oddly helps
• Is more pain the better?
• Does maturity affect your pain threshold?
• Sometimes open your discomfort gateway
• Finding a way to reach uncomfortable comfort
• Talking yourself into pain
• We don’t like how it feels, but it might be Okay
• Go INTO the pain 
• Pushing Uphills vs Pushing Downhills
• What is pain?
• Dealing with Ego in Pain
• Defining pain as effort
• Find opportunities to push just a little more
• Rewiring the self preservation system 
• Racing vs. Participating
• Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t or it’s wrong
• We can accomplish great things if we can get out of our own way

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

Are you forcing your body into shape based on a date on the calendar? Today, we talk about why that is usually a losing proposition for long-term health, happiness, and success. We also hit on shortening your recovery time for effective intervals, the Sophomore slump, and why things like massages can be your worst decision on race week. 

Topics: 

• reverse bricks
• mental approach to long build phases
• why it takes you a while to feel right
• shortening your recovery time 
• damage, repair, damage, repair
• athlete pitfalls 
• the Triathlete’s Sophomore Slump
• massages good, bad, ugly
• pain from the bike that hurts the run
• fueling and hydration - all day long
• how to make your intervals effective
• the Amazon cure to loneliness
• anxiety 
• meditation
• yoga
• being AWARE of everything that’s going on
• emotional and mental stress 
• Your body doesn’t care
• Don’t Let Your Race Plan Your Body
• When it’s a good decision to not race
• How to deal with Race Week Anxiety 
• focus on executing to the best of your ability
• start slow 
• lower expectations and enjoy the day

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

It's all connected. What we eat affects how we feel and think, and with intense demands of training, triathletes can be especially vulnerable. Today we look at ways to keep yourself in check with diet, sugar, and over-training. 

Be sure to check out our new coaching options along with pricing at this link. 

Topics:

• New Ironman Coming to Midwest
• Augusta 70.3
• Chattanooga 70.3 
• We Are Not Nutritionists
• The Problem with Sugar
• Triathlete Mood Swings
• Why Weight Can Be Harder to control in long distance training
• Training Dehydration 
• Are you Eating Your Feelings?
• Lost Motivation for Workouts
• Why do we tend to dig training holes?
• Most of us have a Yes problem
• Are Triathletes Outgoing?
• The power of saying No
• The Like Purpose of Triathletes
• There’s only so much we can do by ourselves

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

You're done when you choose to be done. The difference between elite athletes winning or losing comes down to the little things. Often those "little things" are ignored by age group athletes, but we believe they were the difference for Tiger Woods winning The Masters. Today we talk about focus, fueling, and recovery and how they add up to feeling good and better racing.

Topics:

• You’re Done When You Choose to Be Done
• What we learned from Tiger Woods
• Mental fortitude and focus
• Bowel movements on the run
• New Coaching Options on Website
• Reaching the next pedestal
• Pre-Baby vs. Post-Baby accomplishments
• Ongoing body changes
• Challenges of Getting Older 
• Prevention vs. Cure
• Getting Your Body Ready to Train or Race
• Journaling For the Little Things
• Life Stress Impact on Training 
• Good New Things Are Stressful
• What leads to injury and sickness?
• Totally Under fueled?
• No off days For Your Recovery
• Addicted to big holes
• The larger the hold the more demanding the recovery
• Training your gut to take in calories
• Fasting before training
• Why you under fuel outside vs. the trainer
• Going from Cool to Warm Climates
• Going from Warm to Cool Climates
• Fueling on your bike is Vital

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

This is the first time in over two and a half years we've missed a Monday or a Thursday release, and the reason is a good one. It also sets up the bigger discussion about how we should be grateful to be able to do this sport and why it's important to appreciate that every day of training. We do this for fun, for hobby, and to feel good. As always, strive to be healthy and happy first. 

Topics: 

• Robbie’s Mom Story
• Slow vs. Fast and when
• Work vs. Good Work
• Fine balance of feeling good and fatigue
• Doing workouts just because they’re on the schedule 
• Lack of sleep 
• Brain vs. Body Stress 
• Do We Appreciate what we’re doing for our Body and Mind? 
• Understanding “ALL OUT” in workouts
• Track Tuesday Tribulations
• Speed work IS NOT the only way to get fast
• What’s your 5K “Effort" really mean??
• Bike Interval workouts
• Speed work on small increments  
• Instant feedback and speed work 
• Self-sabotage 
• Lance Armstrong Cadence Ideal?
• The Challenges of Moderation 
• Look at yourself as a person vs. an athlete 
• Explaining Zone 1, 2, 3, and 4
• How to find your Zones 
• The psychology of different athletes 
• Finding flow and letting go of the mind 

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

We start with a recap of the in-race-cancellation at Ironman 70.3 Texas. Then we take a deep dive into the reality of swimming in open water and long course racing. Are you preparing yourself hard enough to make the swim uneventful, or is the swim always a major stress point? We'll help you get ready and keep your swim safe. 

Topics:

• Oceanside
• Texas 70.3 Cancellation
• South Africa
• Additional Kona Slots
• Early season race challenges
• Going from trainer to outdoors
• Treadmill to roads
• Is Ironman really doing the right things for swim safety?
• Pool to Open Water
• Starky’s “Trainer”
• Athlete’s safety on the course
• Should there be an Ironman Swim qualification?
• Swim Safe Initiatives
• Ironman is supposed to be hard
• Total Immersion Swimming
• Open Water Swimming is a Power Sport
• Why technique can be meaningless
• The importance of exposure to Open Water
• How you REALLY prepare for the swim
• Triathlon is a grimy sport
• Make your pool sessions hard 

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

Squadcasts are interviews with our currently active C26 Athletes. We explore the every day stories of triathletes. Successes, Struggles, and Why they love triathlon. 

Today's guest is Matt Dickinson from Brainerd, MN. Matt was one of the early adopters of the podcast and one of Robbie's first athletes. He has a great perspective on life and how to build community into your triathlon lifestyle. 

Topics: 

• How his daughter changed his perspective on racing
• Losing 50+ pounds
• Running for time vs. miles
• How he’s getting stronger
• 3 sport athlete in high school 
• Wrong path the first week of college 
• The choice that saved him
• Looking at his daughter one day changed his path
• Addictive personality 
• Starting his own tri-club
• How he found this podcast 
• Beg, borrow, and steal 
• His Triathlon “Mankini”
• What his wife doing Ironman taught him
• The time he Sherpa’d for Mike at Louisville 
• Beating Anxiety - And being thankful 
• What the C26 Community means to him
• Where he’s going next?

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

We start with a little more about “training progression” and how to let go of perfectionism. Then we move onto tapering. Explaining why your taper may look different than someone else’s. Also, how fitness plays into the taper and how to be fresh and ready to spring from the gate on race day. 

Topics:

• Exciting time of the year
• Oceanside, TX 70.3 
• More on training “Progression”
• We all learn differently 
• Choosing a coach
• Pre-race nerves 
• What your taper should look like
• Does your taper need more tension?
• Peak to taper phases
• How do you know if you’re nailing taper
• Race sharpening vs. being lazy
• Appropriate Load in your taper 
• Your body as a race car 
• Trust the process
• Training Through a Taper 
• The Golden Rule for fatigue

• Being crisp and emotionally fresh on race day
• What does fitness and Improvement look like?
• Fitness + Resilience = Success 
• Turning Fast into Far
• How to begin an Ironman marathon
• Impulse decisions
• Put Long-Term Development first

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!

If your goal is to be in triathlon for a long time and keep getting faster, this may be one of our most important podcasts. Emotion and bad judgement can derail progress, but it doesn't mean you have to burn the lawn. Nurture the athlete you are into one you want to become and make the whole process more enjoyable. 

Topics:

• It’s Not The Race, It’s the Athlete
• Healthy Progression for Athletes
• Forgiving and Listening to Yourself 
• Learning is king
• Rational Reflection 
• Can you look at both sides of struggles?
• Productive analysis of workouts 
• One of the hardest things to understand as an athlete
• What You’ve Done = What You Can Do
• When we set our body up for “Survival”
• Sacrificing long-term development
• The body needs TIME to adjust 
• What load can you handle right now
• You can’t rush fitness, durability and preparation
• Gradual, long-term progression
• Do you really need to do whatever it is?
• Coaching is Stress Management
• “That felt appropriately challenging”
• Being crisp and emotionally fresh on race day
• What does fitness and Improvement look like?
• Fitness + Resilience = Success 
• Turning Fast into Far
• How to begin an Ironman marathon
• Impulse decisions
• Put Long-Term Development first

Support the Crushing Iron podcast on Patreon, where the community pledge is only $3.26 per month. There are other options, but every little bit helps us keep this podcast on the rails. Thanks in advance.

You can also support us at our new store at CrushingIron.com. We have some NEW classic logo t-shirts and the Official Crushing Iron Spectator shirt for sale. Support the cast and get some new gear for it!