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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: December, 2023
Dec 28, 2023

(This is a re-post of Episode #645 from this time last year)

This is the perfect de-motivational storm and it’s up to us to create “something” that starts some momentum. Do you have 20 minutes today? Tomorrow? This is a great way to stay in the game and prime yourself for next week. We get in bad habits of thinking we need more time to do a workout that “is meaningful” but little movements create big results. Now is the time to stay on the train. Don’t put it off until next week or the next. Don’t talk yourself into postponing the progress train. Action creates understanding.

Topics:

  • 2023 Training Plans for 70.3s and Ironman
  • Christmas Gifts and Gorging 
  • Staying on the Train
  • Off The Grid too far?
  • Taking a Day Off Is a Skill
  • Hibernation and Nature
  • Shorter Days
  • It’s the perfect De-Motivation Storm
  • Positive momentum
  • Staying engaged with the process
  • Internal Battles
  • Negotiating with ourselves
  • The Lazy Devil on your shoulder 
  • The underrated 20 Minutes
  • 20 minutes a day is 130 Hours a year 
  • This helps you feel better
  • Action creates understanding 
  • Quit talking yourself out of progress
  • Experience creates understanding
  • Mountain of Hell (Mountain Bike Race)

Coaching Inquiries:

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

Dec 21, 2023

These next few weeks are tricky to navigate, so a good approach might be to focus on simply feeling good. 

It’s easy to overplay our goals way too early when we should be setting ourselves up to train, so we can train, like we need to train.

Exercise is supposed to give you energy and now is a good time to keep that in mind. Motivation is thin, so don’t waste it. There is a lot of pressure on being perfect, so look to the liberation in imperfection. Set yourself up for repeated successes. Train to feel good.

Put yourself in a position to hit the ground running under control when the new year drops. 

Thank you for listening to our podcasts. We really appreciate you and wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Topics:

  • Fake work 
  • Stock Traders getting lax 
  • No man’s land for training 
  • Wasting motivation?
  • New Years Day on a Monday
  • Choice Days 
  • New car or used car
  • Brand new bike lessons
  • The liberation in imperfection 
  • Self sabotage
  • Unsustainable progress
  • Great is the enemy of good
  • I’m doing this to feel good
  • Attainable goals
  • Setting up for repeated success
  • What’s wrong with feeling good?
  • “I just don’t want to get behind” 
  • Exercise is supposed to give you energy
  • Stop Short
  • It’s “easy access to the downward spiral season”
  • What was old is new

Coaching Inquiries

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

Dec 19, 2023

The range of emotions we face after a single workout can be staggering. Sometimes it can seem like the end of the world or the best day ever, but today we look at why these feelings shouldn’t dictate the big picture. We talk about deception tough training weather, even when you think you feel great. We talk about mental toughness and micro recoveries throughout the day. We look at reacting slowly when you want to find the truth. We all have stress building in the undercurrents of our lives and it’s important to recognize what’s going on below the surface. We get into tackling challenges and really learning from your mistakes. Also understanding zone 2 pace vs. zone 2 effort. Control expectations and stay in the pocket. Thoughts are fleeting . . . let them go. 

Topics:

  • AKA Divining Rods
  • Micro recoveries
  • Tough training weather
  • Heat vs. Cold
  • How does your body respond?
  • Ideal running conditions
  • The body works hard to heat and cool
  • It’s all about how you use energy
  • Usual Zone 2 pace . . . or effort?
  • Build mental toughness
  • Learning from mistakes
  • Making macro decisions on micro feelings
  • Don’t go pedal to the metal then slam the beaks
  • Crappy attitude . . . why?
  • What’s building your background stress
  • Thoughts are fleeting . . . let them go
  • Know your weaknesses
  • Think through what went wrong
  • Expecting too much 
  • Momento
  • Bad yelp reviews

 

Coaching Inquiries

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

Dec 14, 2023

Are you working on the right things for long enough? Today, we look at base, build and peak phases from the perspective of different athletes with different backgrounds and personalities. We talk about building training in a way that keeps you engaged, but also moves you in the right direction over the course of a year. We look at why one of our goals as athletes is to figure out how to become a fan of “boring” in the sense that not much replaces a strong aerobic base in long course. Can we figure out how to love what we hate and do it more? That’s usually a good sign of what needs to be worked on. Also, having the confidence to be creative with training to make it more enjoyable. What about blocks with no recovery weeks? Can you be dedicated to aerobic work? Maybe need less peak training? Tons of questions and observations about how we approach a season and how you can get the most out of your mind and body. 

Topics: 

  • Best and worst Christmas Gifts
  • Water sticks?
  • Practical training for individual athletes
  • Base, Build, Race Specific (Peak)
  • Train so you can train like you need to train
  • Periodization is about progression
  • Peaking on one day
  • 4 years building for the Olympics? Wow 
  • Be a huge fan of “boring”
  • Build - strength
  • Peak - increase intensity
  • Airing grievances 
  • When is the phase going to transition??
  • The problem with planning a full year 
  • Figure out how to love what you hate
  • Getting uncomfortable 
  • Reverse periodization
  • Confidence to be creative
  • No recovery weeks - 10 day weeks?
  • Dedication to aerobic work
  • Hansel and Gretel 

 

Coaching Inquiries

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

Dec 12, 2023

Change, both good and bad, can be hard to recognize because real change happens over time. Today, we look at how to appreciate the actions you take, even though they don’t seem like much right now.

How do we know that we’re improving, getting stronger, or moving the right direction? Sometimes it’s about shifting your “satisfaction perspective” and knowing what’s best for you. We get into diet changes, building strength, getting faster, and recognizing things that truly make us happy. We look at being an advocate for yourself and recognizing your trends. We talk about why being “fit” doesn’t always mean someone’s “healthy.” And we talk about the difference between looking and seeing something. The clarity of what’s real and what’s not. 

Topics: 

  • Growing when you have the opportunities
  • Over the road trucker 
  • When tears are shed
  • The Coach/Athlete relationship is personal
  • High burnout rate for coaches AND athletes
  • We all want return on investment
  • It’s hard to recognize slow improvement
  • Being “fit” doesn’t always equal “healthy”
  • Overall health is the goal
  • Creating your best life?
  • What is happiness?
  • Shifting perspective on satisfaction
  • Development is long-term
  • Gradual change isn’t “exciting”
  • Bad diets with good people
  • Empathy - Advocate for your life
  • Don’t absorb what’s going on around you
  • Recognizing growth
  • When you become unrecognizable 
  • Constant decisions
  • Recognizing your own trends
  • When we look but don’t see
  • Slow down and you’ll soak it in
  • Everyone wants to do sooo much
  • Things are never going to be “perfect”

 

Coaching Inquiries

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

Dec 5, 2023

Run Camp is always an “awakening” of sorts and today we recall the dark places and ask, how much are we all leaving on the table?

Everyone at our camp last weekend went out of their comfort zone. When we take these actions we usually thrive and come out learning something important about ourselves. We talk about embracing hard things, believing in yourself, and dropping the complainer mindset. We look at the power of doing hard things and surrounding yourself with other people who will help you fuel these challenges. But we also get into the unenviable toughness we gain when we’re alone with our thoughts. Figuring out ways to get something done when it seems nearly impossible. How far can you push yourself when no one is around? Look into approaching workouts from a perspective of the challenge rather than the time. 

Topics:

  • Run Camp Experience
  • Sport that’s overcomplicated
  • The Stage Race
  • 10k Feet & 50+ miles
  • Marketing the easy life
  • The low complaining bar
  • Embracing something hard
  • Excuses 
  • Attitude is contagious
  • Surround yourself with tough people
  • Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong
  • Chipping away fear
  • The changing moods
  • How much are we leaving on the table?
  • Staying in the moment?
  • Embracing a real challenge
  • Lonely stretches
  • Nutrition - Hydration
  • Working through thoughts and emotions
  • Soothing pain
  • Underachieving
  • Neuromuscular development
  • Comparing hardships and grief 
  • Unspoken understanding
  • The body adapts 

 

Coaching Inquiries

Mike Tarrolly - CrushingIron@gmail.com

Robbie Bruce - C26Coach@gmail.com

www.c26triathlon.com

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