That Triathlon Life Podcast - Triathlon running drills, training and racing around menstruation, peaking too early for a race, and more!

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving! This week, we’re keeping it short and sweet with a special holiday episode. We kick things off with some swim-themed rapid-fire questions and dive into listener-submitted triathlon topics. Here’s what we’re discussing this week:What to do if you feel like you’re peaking too early for a raceThe challenges of Adult Onset Swimmers (AOS) and what’s behind themPlanning your race season around menstruationRunning drillsRunning leggings for womenAvoiding a clogged tubeless valveChoosing the best handlebars for clip-on barsA big thank you to our incredible podcast supporters for keeping this show going! If you’d like to submit a question or become a podcast supporter, visit us at ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

Hello, everyone. Welcome to That Triathlon Life podcast. I'm Paula Finley. I'm Eric Lockstrom. I'm Nick Goldston. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you Americans out there. It is Thursday, November 27th, 8th. Oh, God, I don't know. Six? Who cares? It's Thanksgiving. We're recording this on Sunday, so we're a little bit early, but we all have a busy week. Nick, your parents are in town. Eric and I are going to Portland for Thanksgiving, but we are all kind of like back in the groove of training for New Zealand, which we all. just coming up in three weeks. So, yeah, Eric and I, both professional triathletes, Nick's an amateur triathlet, a very fast one and a professional musician. Very fast. Wow. You're going to 70.3 worlds. I think you're officially no longer upper middle class.

You know. Feels good. You're there. There is no higher stage. The higher stage would be going to Kona. Yeah, that is a longer stage. No offense to all us 70.3 worlds people, but Kona is a higher stage for sure. I mean, it's harder to get to, probably. It's harder to get to. But I was thinking that today as I was doing my bike intervals on my TT bike, I'm like, maybe I'll be less nervous for this race, just because things that are out of my control, like who's there that's fast and who's not, it doesn't really matter. I'm not trying to qualify for anything. That's every race, dude. Man, maybe we should all try to take that mindset into our racing, hey? Yeah. Who cares? I mean, it matters a little bit more for you guys. The only thing that matters for me is how the podcast

listeners feel about it. And they love it when I have a story of trials and tribulation. Yeah, but the thing is here, like I, you know, Paul and I are financial income and all it does depend on triathlon, but I think really deep down, the thing that motivates us the most is a sense of pride and a sense of wanting to do well and achieve, you know, the little mini goals that we've made up in our head. And that's no different from us and somebody who's like just trying to get fourth in their age group or win the age group or whatever, you know? Right. I think that's what hurts when you don't do well, not, oh, I made a couple less dollars or, you know, that hurts too, but not the deep down.

And maybe I'm wrong, but as someone who looks at pro triathlon, you know, as an amateur and just loves watching the sport, I think more than a win, what I want to see in the athletes that I look up to is a good story. And often a win has a good story attached to it, but sometimes a 10th place finish has an even better story attached to it. So like stories, I feel like are more what I'm drawn to these days anyway. Maybe the 10th place finish is just part of the story of how you ended up winning, but the story is not over. Oh, yes. Anyway, guys, anyway, artists, here on the podcast, we answer questions from the listeners,

and sometimes we have fun games. I was particularly impressed with the number of people that did swim sets with Paula last week. They did my swim set. I saw in Strava. I got tagged. And then I went to check them out, and they actually did it because they all wear freaking watches and lap for the things. So I can tell.

Thank you, my people that are out there. Thank you. So I think we'll have to incorporate that a little bit more. I mean, we could even do it. It's such a short segment. We can do it super frequently, even if we have another segment in the podcast. So I'm happy to do that as much as people will actually respond and do the sets. It's super fun for me.

It's officially a regular segment. Yeah, it's like bike tag with Eric, you know. I wish we could gamify it somehow. No, I don't think that's necessary. I think people like getting a different idea. and then go into the pool and doing it. It doesn't have to be a competition. It's just an idea.

It spices things up. I think fewer people have coaches than we think that listen to this podcast. I think there's also plenty of coaches out there kind of just say, go swim or the workouts aren't that interesting or swim with a master's group. My philosophy is swimming is swimming. If you can get to the pool and the frequency and the motivation is there meeting a group, that matters more than what exact workout you're doing. Totally. That's kind of how I approach swimming. That's why we like your swim set, though.

It's because it's something to do. That someone else came up with that you didn't come up with where you can't just say, oh, you know, I was going to do seven, but I think I'll do five. You know, I just made up seven in the first place. Anyway, thank you to everyone who did that set. We'll be back with more. And Nick, do you have any segments for us this week?

I don't know. I do. I do, yeah. There was a listener submitted rapid fire that was actually in honor of swim sets with Paula and swim themed. Oh, God. Wow. You know what I noticed, like as I go through questions, seriously, more than half of the questions we get are related to swimming.

I think it's just such that, I mean, someone even submitted a question like calling themselves an adult onset swimmer, which maybe I made that up, I don't know, but they called them an AOS. And then throughout the whole question, they were referring to themselves as an AOS. Like, okay, we should trademark this. Yeah, AOS is good. We can get the graphic department working on something there. Well, I saw in the TTL app, there was a three. read about the first 100 being like the fastest

100 you swim during the whole set and a lot of people had said that that happens to them too and we even have a question this week or actually it's like a solution for that of someone who also had that who figured out why that happens. Or it's a theory that I think is interesting. No this was a question but also on the app there was a threat about it.

Yeah, amazing. Yeah. Cool, let's hear it. Do we want to do our little rapid fire here? I'm in. In honor of swim sets with Paula and the fantastic new jingle, a few rapid Fire swim questions for an intermediate triathlet. Try an athlete were two different words here, which I don't think I've seen, but I like it. It's creative.

Number one, have any of you three dealt with swimmer sonitis where your sinuses act up after an indoor pool swim? Oh, sorry, not sonitis, sinusitis. Just a little disclaimer here. These questions have the potential to turn into not rapid, so let's just do. Oh, wait, this is rapid. This is rapid. No.

No, I don't think so. No, me neither. Although, do you guys ever get like a little ear infection or no? No. No, I do sometimes, but not in a while. Number two, do long time swimmers look down at adult onset swimmers, or else we're now calling them AOSs, that don't do flip turns as nobs or rookies. No, I don't look down on them.

I just respect the effort to attempt to learn flip turning. Yeah. I will make fun of you a little bit if you're like five years into your journey and you haven't even tried to flip turn, then we'll start to peer pressure a little bit. Right, right, which is exactly what happened to me. Number three, what is your favorite swim toy? The pull boy, the streamlined pull boy that is like a torpedo. And it doubles as a kickboard.

I think I would do paddles if I'd only pick one thing. Wow. Yeah, paddles for me too. Number four, do you find that swimming makes you need to go number one faster than any other workout? And by number one, they mean pee. No. But I always go before I get in the pool. Eric P's more than any human I have ever met while working out.

Like on a one-hour bike ride, he'll stop at least twice. Not every time, but when I, there are just days that all of a sudden it's like, body's like, all right, we took the last couple days off and now it's on. Right. It's no longer a drought. But swimming not particularly for you guys. No, I don't think so. Okay.

Next one. Five. Have you ever tried the waterproof headphones to listen to music during long endurance sets? in the water, no. But I really want to. I saw this girl who's training for like the English channel swimming with one of the iPod shuffles, I think that's waterproof. And I was there and Paula wasn't there.

Randomly I was swimming and Paula wasn't. I thought, oh man, that could be pretty nice. First time I've thought that. I said this years ago that I was going to get a bunch of them and test them and report back on the podcast and I did not follow through on that. But I am re-committing to this that I want to, I'm going to email a few of the people and see if they'll send me like a try try pair, T-R-Y pair. Also known as a free pair.

Yeah, but they usually want to. Like a T-R-I pair? They usually want them back. Like a T-R-I pair? They ask for them back? What the heck? At least that, like, Eric, the YouTubers we watch with camera stuff, they don't get to keep that stuff usually.

They usually have to send it back. Those are like $10,000 cameras. You're right. These are like going in your eardrums. Well, would I love to get some waterproof headphones for free? Yes, I would love that. So I'm going to email them and say, hey, doing this thing for this podcast. I would love to try yours if you want to send them.

Great. If not, you're not going to be part of the thing. Cool. That's what we did with wetsuits last year. It worked. Well, I'm not as cool as you guys, but we'll see if it works. And we found our Forever suits. Yeah, that's right.

Okay, next one here. Do you feel the need to seek out an open water swim before some of your big events? That's a good question for you guys, actually. I like to, but I don't need to. Yeah. And we won't go to extreme lengths. like swimming when there's ice on the water or something like that. But if it's, if possible, it's just nice to try the suit on it and take it off fast.

Yeah, particularly on race week, if you can get in the same body water, you're going to be swimming in for the race. If it's clean and accessible and allowed, then I like to do that two days out or maybe even just one day out. I'm going to, sorry, I'm going to non-rap fire question this real quick. What about an open water swim do you think it's valuable to do before a race? Is it getting the wetsuit on and off? Is it a feel for the water?

Is it sighting? It's just like familiarizing yourself with where the race will be really. Like how cold is it? What is the beach? You're talking about that body of water specifically. But if you were swimming in the river and bend, for example, what are you hoping to get out of that before a race? Then for me, it's just making sure the wet suit fits. It feels good.

Just reconnecting with that feeling. So it's not standing on the start or line for the first time when you put your suit on. Yeah. Cool. Because there's little things like you could adjust the shoulders just a little bit and just a little. It's also like a really weird feeling to be swimming without seeing the bottom if you're just used to swimming in a pool. So that it's not so shocking and potentially scary on race day. It's good to practice it.

Yeah. And then number seven, do you prefer swimming in a 25 or 50 pool? I'd say 50. It's harder and it makes you really fit at swimming. It's like shockingly harder and quite a lot slower. But it's a luxury. Because it makes you really good at swimming. Yeah, I don't know.

Like Paul said, it's hard. The first couple swims, you think it's definitely don't like it. But as a very poor flip turner, I think it's better. What I really like is a pool like ours, which alternates, like Tuesday, Thursday is a long course. And then Monday, Wednesday, Friday's a short course meters. So we get a little bit of both. And you're not stuck with long course every single day. Yeah.

Eric, are you calling yourself a poor flip turner? an awful flip turner I would have been in a D1 swimmer if I wasn't such a shit flip turner Wow Sorry to once again extend the rapid fire But what do you think about the flip turn is the hangup It's not so much the flip turn as it is underwater's

Like I just never was good at pushing off and kicking And my feet are just not flipper shaped Which is so important for especially short course yards Which a lot of the US schools and kids do You gotta have good underwater So many flip turns Yeah, and I personally love the 25 as well Because I'll take all the breaks I can get

And last one here Is there anything more demoralizing than swimming in a lane Next to a swimming superstar And feeling like you are crawling in the water Keep up the great work TTL team Love the content Does this even happen to you guys? Do you guys swim next to people that are faster than you are?

Yeah, I did on Saturday There's this guy in town named Mickey Who I swim is sometimes And he is so fast, it's crazy A plus underwater guy. Really good underwater, really good above water.

And I wouldn't say it's demoralizing. Like he grew up swimming in college. He's an amazing swimmer. So I just accept it. And it's like kind of makes me be in awe, you know? Right. And when you watch them, do you think, oh, that looks different than what I do? Or is it just like, that's some magic?

So far ahead of me, I don't even watch him. When I see him like, you swim in like a dolphin under the water, I definitely think that's different than what I'm doing. He's like a gummy bear underwater. Yeah. If I'm going, when I was in like the best swim shape I've been in going maximum effort, I could catch up to him just as we got to the flip turn and then it'd be like, and then I'd lose a body length and to be like maximum max.

So it's entertaining, but also, yeah. Right. Right. Maximum effort. Right. Cool. That was fun. Well, thanks for those, Todd.

Really appreciate the swim themed rapid fire. And anyone else who's going to do these swim sets with Pauluset. Yeah, tag Paul in it. Blow up her Strava inbox. It's fun. Moving on now to everyone's questions, general triathlon questions. These are submitted by our listeners and our podcast supporters. You can become a podcast supporter at that triathlonlife.com slash podcast. There's also some cool gear on there that you can check out. TTL is this brand that it's not just a podcast. It's kind of a community and a brand and a freaking way of life. And if you want to become a podcast supporter, you can become a podcast supporter there. We love our podcast supporters. It's the only way that this podcast makes any money, by the way. And every week we try to pick a podcast supporter, a random one, to have some kind of TTL prize. And the last week and this weekend for a few following weeks, we have like an elevated prize. This is by Orca, who gave us some cool stuff to give out at T100 Las Vegas.

But we didn't make it there in time. So we're going to pass those prizes on to you guys. this week our random podcast supporter is Connor McPhee who we said not to blow you up Connor McPhee but Connor McPhee lives very close to me apparently so Connor if instead of me sending this to you

you want to just like get coffee or something and I can give it to you I'm so down for that and we can talk about being adult onset swimmers if you are one which I feel like most triathletes are Nick is the only one of the only people on earth who like that's his preference is to meet up versus just mailing it

of course Of course. I'm like, give me your address and I'll put it in the mail and that is the end. When people order delivery, I'm like, I want to go there so I can interact with the person. Like, there's something fun about it. Okay. First question here is from Donald. Hey, guys, cue for the pod.

I'm two weeks out from Indian Wells, which is a 70.3 Iron Man here in California. And I feel super fit. I had a two-hour bike, one-hour brick run today and I was flying. It felt great, but it made me nervous. Have I peaked too early? Two weeks seemed like a long time to maintain this level through a taper. Worried I'm going to feel flat on race day. Would love your insight, Donald.

Donald's taking the words out of my mouth right now. So I'm really curious to hear what you guys think. I think you don't overthink it. Stop thinking so much. Just roll with it. Keep doing what's on the program. This is part of the plan and maybe you're coming into some fitness and you could be more fit in one week.

Things could keep going well. Don't just assume. I think it's very easy to get protective of this new thing that you have and just try to remain calm, carry on, do the workout tomorrow, do the workout the day after that, do the taper, think less.

Yeah, I think the danger here, though, is like, okay, he said he was flying, so was he feeling great and going faster than he was supposed to or faster than his prescribed pace or something, and that's where it can get out of hand. Because even if you're running 10 seconds per K quicker, that stresses your muscles and your joints in a way you might not be used to yet,

and then that could lead to a niggle, and then you're effed for the race. So there is a little bit of sense, and this has happened to me a little bit before, of like, okay, I'm really fit, things are going well, I'm healthy, bubble wrap myself a little bit, don't overextend myself in sessions for the next two weeks, just keep a bit of a cap on it. Like, do what you're supposed to do, but don't go even harder. just because you're feeling extra good. See, that's interesting because I could see that being my natural inclination.

It's like, ooh, I'm peeking a little too early. Let me add some more training stress now so that I'm not peaking too early and try to like wait until the taper. But you're saying, no, do the opposite. Keep it easy. Don't overdo it. Well, just like what Eric said, don't keep it easy, but just like keep doing what you're supposed to do and don't go crazy. Just because the feelings are good. Yeah.

Because you're like, you have a bit of a, not an ego, but. Yeah, it is ego. It's a practice and self-restraint. For sure. Yes. Yeah. You want to do well on race day. Who cares what you do in training? Yeah. If at all possible. If you have a coach, I would have a conversation with your coach about this, too. Say like, hey, I'm a little bit concerned about this. Whatever. Is there like a speed limit that maybe I should not go over and just can we just dial in the parameters of the training for like some extra confidence and peace of mind? Yeah. Love it. Yeah. At this point, like in two weeks, you're not going to gain a ton of. fitness. I think a lot of it is like maintaining and then proper taper so that you feel rusted for the race. So it's not like you need to keep building, building, building throughout

like the next week. I'd say you've kind of gained everything you're going to gain for the race. Yeah. Two weeks out. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for the question, Donald. Next one is from Ron, from Marietta, Georgia. Hey, TTL gang. Day one or as well as an adult onset swimmer. Again, the adult, the AOS reference coming in. I completely relate to Nick's fast first 100 that was discussed last episode, and I can offer a diagnosis and a question. I think this is really interesting.

I'm curious to hear if you guys agree with Ron's assessment here. I too used to hack a fast 100 on my first lap only to get slower over the swim set. I believe this is caused by, and then this is quoted, relaxed swimmer syndrome, which strikes adult onset swimmers, aOS,

When aOS are relaxed, they swim with a smooth stroke, easy effort, and possibly a closer to perfect form and technique. However, when aOS, the aOS is crack up, when aOS are issued a set with intervals, the relaxation ebbs, and tension enters the stroke and form. This breaks down the aOS form and technique causing slower one-hundredths. How can adult onset swimmers continue to swim in a relaxed state with a slower, smooth stroke when we get past the warm-up? and into our main set, Ron. Yeah, it's like a hypothesis, but it sounds feasible. This is right. I think it's very feasible, and it relates to our last question.

Think a little bit less. I mean, maybe try to adopt this idea of, like, this swim workout, this is not the swim workout. That's going to make me not an aOS and faster. You know, like, no one swim workout is going to be the thing. Just do the best you can. No, it's not about them trying extra hard, though. I think it's like Lionel Sanders had this realization. on his vlog years ago.

I think about this all the time. Is that the harder you swim, it doesn't equate to going faster necessarily, which is so backwards because in running and in cycling, you put in more effort, you try harder, you go faster. In swimming, you put in more effort, you try harder, you could tense up. And like this person is suggesting,

that could lead to poor technique, breaking down, and then ultimately swimming slower. So you're not necessarily doing anything wrong, By trying harder when you have intervals, you're trying to go fast in the pool. But I think it's really hard to know how to use someone to relax and try less hard. And ultimately, you'll go faster. One thing that you could do is, and our coach does this a little bit, stroke count. So basically you're counting the strokes that you do per 25.

and trying to keep that number the same while increasing your speed or decreasing the time it takes to do a 25. So what that makes you do is just have more forceful, powerful strokes, which increases your speed while keeping your stroke long. It's really hard to do, but that always makes me relax a little bit more and less like spinning and slipping in the water. thoughts? When I have, as an AOS myself, if I can speak on behalf of all of us, when I am doing something like a common set I do is after a warm up, it's five one hundredths descending. And then the last of, so the first four descending, and then the last one is like an easy pull.

And then you go back and do another like four descending. And when that easy pull when I do it, I do feel very relaxed and I go so slow. And when I look at my wash after, I'm like, that is even. slower than I expected, which kind of is the opposite proof of this. But I'm curious if that's because... But you're putting a pull boy in there. I am putting a pull boy in there, which does slow me down a bit. But I wonder if it's because I was so tense during that last descending 100 that it's like, now I got nothing left anyway. So the form's going to fall apart no matter what. Maybe. I just, my brain went to that you're tensing up because you're caring and you, and you're

just like really want to do a good job. But just I think Pauline, I was totally right with the diminishing returns of effort versus remaining relaxed. I think the reason a lot of people, like, or at least for me anyway, if I'm trying harder, going easy or something slower, like my body position in the water changes. So if I'm really going slow and easy, I'm like sitting lower in the water and then my 100 times are slower. But if I'm doing faster intervals, I'm like up on the water more. I don't know. But I'm also not an AOS. Right.

Yeah, we don't watch you, by the way. You don't represent us. You don't know the struggle. I'm sure you guys have the same thing, but swimming more than biking or running feels like the speed difference between a low effort and a high effort is so small. It's like you just are a certain swimmer. And you can like put in a little less work, a little more work. I don't go much faster, much slower. Whereas I'm on the bike and on the run.

Yeah, that is an AOS feature as well. Oh, you think so? I thought that was like faster swimmers had that too. The difference between your easy pace and your fast pace is not really that different from each from each other. You could be like 15 seconds per hundred. Yeah. If we're just like cruising, you know, doing 3,100s, we're going to do like 118s long course, I mean short course meters. And if we go maximum effort, we could do like a 102.

102. For one. That's like a boat with a motor planning over the water, 102. I'll never see that speed. That feels so fast. Okay, let's move on here. Next question is from Kaylee. I, Paula, and supporting cast, growing up in Canada, you've been an inspiration to me.

Well, don't worry. There's a reason why that's relevant here. Not just for your achievements, but your resiliency in times of disappointment, injuries, etc. My question is personal, and I understand if you don't want to address it in a public forum. However, I do think many women would appreciate your support and thoughts. Not long ago, Emma Palant Brown found herself competing during administration, and was photographed as such. This garnered a lot of discussion

and rightfully so in a positive manner. One can adjust training depending on their cycle. Apart from the variables that you stress about leading up to and during a race, how do you cope and adjust while competing during your menstruation? Do you do things mentally or physically to accommodate? Thank you for your personal view, Kaylee. Yeah, you could do a whole podcast on just this. Yeah.

But, you know, all I can really talk about. to is my own personal experience, which I guess is what she's asking about. When I was like growing up and doing a trathon as a 20-year-old and late teenagers, I wasn't really getting a regular period, so it was never a problem. I mean, that itself is a very big problem, but I never had to think about, you know, the timing of it or how it would it affect my training or my racing or whatever. But now I have a regular period, had for, have for the last like 10 years probably. And I actually got my period the day after Las Vegas T-100 and the day after Dubai T-100.

That sucks. Which like, it really sucks. And then unfortunately, New Zealand is like a month later. Oh, my God. Maybe it'll happen again. But I just have no control over it. Like, I did try about five years ago to go on birth control in order to have control over when I got my period.

but it completely changed my mood, my attitude, my feelings, my weight. It was horrible. So I stopped that instantly. And now I just kind of have to accept that I have no control over it and race when it happens. And I don't do anything physically differently, mentally differently. I just approach it as I would. And it's very out of my control. I'm aware of it.

But I do feel much worse if it's right before or. during my period. So, yeah, it's like a little bit the luck of the draw, but in training, I try not to adjust things based on this so that when I'm racing, I know I can still like race okay with it, you know? Like, don't change things in training so that you're prepared for, oh, if this happens on race day, I've done it before in training, I've done hard sessions, I've done workouts, so I'm going to be fine. Is it dumb? Is it Laura, Philip, who I believe, I remember reading something about, she did try to optimize her training around the... Yeah, that is a thing to optimize your training and your strength training and your recovery around your cycle.

I've never done that or really been educated enough to know when it's best to do different training around your cycle. But it is an interesting idea. And if you have a knowledgeable person to guide you through that, I think it could potentially have some better. beneficial outcomes, but in terms of racing when you have your period, you don't have control over that at all, unfortunately, unless you're literally picking your race schedule around when you know it will be a good time. Maybe some people do that, but. I'm just super curious. I'm can take this out. So is there anything that, that you're just like, every single time, it's exactly this number of days between the things. So you could look at your

schedule in January and know it's going to happen on this race, this race, this, race, this race, or does it vary sometimes? Like, how regular? Some people, I also am bad at keeping exact track of the exact days, but it's about every 28 to 32 days, so. Okay. So you don't know for sure in January when it might fall in July. You just kind of maybe rough idea. Yeah, ish. Okay. Maybe some people do, though. Every woman that has been vulnerable enough with me to like talk about this, it's not to the day. it's like within two or three days so that over the course of a year

can kind of really go in any direction. It fluctuates a week or two by the middle of the year. Yeah, so you don't really know. Paula, you said something that I feel like is probably really important for people to hear a little bit more about. You didn't have your period for a long time and you said that in itself is not a good thing.

And we don't have to put this in if you don't feel comfortable with it, but I think I remember you telling me that your doctors were like, like, that's fine. It's just you're an athlete and that's normal. Is that right? Yeah. Yeah, that is right. That did happen. That is really bad. But as like a teenager, I was like, okay, great. Well, that's the danger. This is a source of authority. And of course, you can't just question every single thing that it said to you when a doctor tells you something, you kind of take their word on

it. But we now know that that's not good. Yeah. The culture has changed a little bit where like coaches and doctors and athletes are more aware of this problem, I think, in general. It's more talked about. It's less of like a taboo subject. So hopefully it's changing a little bit. But yeah, the problem with it is that I was like not nourishing myself properly. I wasn't getting enough calories for my body to like have this very natural cycle because I was depleted and just training so much. And that led to stress fractures and it led to like a bunch of other health issues. So, yeah, it's not just the convenience of not, like, having a period every month that you need to think about. It's, like, so many domino effect things.

But, I know that's enough of this question, though. But I think it's great. I mean, it's super important. What I was going to say is I think the reason that the discussion around this is changing is because this kind of question is being talked about on podcasts like this one or in books and in, in, in, groups of people. So it's our job to kind of talk about it. I was going to say, we did a whole podcast on this, what, like two years ago? Yeah. That people could go back in reference. And then, Paula, what was like the book that you were

recommending people read? Lauren's book is good. Good for a girl. It's called. Lauren Fleshman, right? Yeah. That's a good book. Great. Okay. Great. Thank you, Paula, for talking about that, too. Next question is from Dave. Hey, gang. Pre-run, Drills. God, this is such a, such a contrast. last question. Do you guys do them? Do you think there is a benefit to them? I've noticed some videos, Camworth

and Kona, for example, where triathletes were doing them. For example, high knees, butt kicks, skips, etc. Dave. Running drills? Yes. It's not that far off from the last question. It's not like a joke. Right, right, right.

Nowadays. Yeah. I do a little bit. I don't have a super dial-in routine, but there are a couple of things that are just kind of like activation that I like to do before tempo runs. And when I do that, I feel like it kind of gets me through that first 10 minutes of running, feeling less like I'm just trying to wake up. What about you, Paula? Yeah, I think they're great. I just, honestly, I'm lazy and just want to get the thing done so I don't do them. And it's, they're so good for you to wake up.

up your body to have proper technique, to get your muscles warmed up before you do a hard workout or even just before any run. And when I ran cross country and university for like five years or more, we would all meet at the park. This is why cross country practice took like two and a half, three hours. We would meet there at 5.30. All run for 25 minutes easy. No GPS watches back in the day, just like a timex. And then we'd all line up at the first. field and go back and forth with high knees and butt kicks and A's and B's and then we'd repeat it and then we would do strides, six strides, and then we would all meet back up and then we would hear the workout and then we'd do the workout and then we would all cool down and then you're three hours in.

But after doing the warm up and all of the drills as a team, I always felt so good in the workout and I was running so fast and part of that because I was younger. But I do wish now that I took more time to maybe incorporate some of these things into my running routine. But we're just in this like get get things done onto the next thing mindset now. At least I am with a lot of my training because there's like three sessions a day or things I'd rather be doing sometimes. So I skip out on that. Could each one of you give Dave maybe your favorite running drill? Maybe the one that you find is most beneficial to you personally? Well, the routine that I like to through is like knee grabs. So you're like stretching your glute a little bit and doing like just trying to get your knee high and then I like try to activate the, you know, the glute that's on the ground to just like simulate a run stride. So I'll do that. And then I'll do like ankle grabs. So your your shin is like parallel to the ground. And then I'll do ankle grabs where you're like basically getting a quad stretch. And I do all these like kind of walking. So like take a dynamic. Not static stretching.

Yeah, I'm not bouncing around, but just moving, like walking across the ground. And then I like doing a few lunges, like a few front and a few back. And then after that, that feels pretty good. These are less dynamic than what I was imagining. The one dynamic thing that I'll do that I like to do is like a hurdle thing, you know, where you're kind of like imagining that you're kicking your ankle up and over the hurdle. And it's like, it's hard to. But it's like a hurdle.

mobility going forward, kick the drill. The routine I do is A's, which is like high knees, B's, which is like high knees with a kickout, and then C's, which is butt kicks. And then the ones that I really like to do are the sideways lateral motion drills where you're like doing a grapevine kind of. Because it's so, like running is so unilateral, forward and backwards using the same muscles. And I think that if you're moving sideways and forcing your hip, hips to rotate and like using your ankles and dexterity and your feet a little bit differently,

that really is what wakes you up, not just muscular, but neurologically as well. So a little bit of Great Vine. I think I should do that. I'm going to incorporate that next time. Okay, a little bit of like, it's kind of fun too. It's like it's like you're dancing. We used to do Great Vine and tap class and ballet and jazz and stuff. So I was like very particularly good at it back in the day, but it is, it is hard. Like you have to have a little bit of coordination to be able to do it as well. Which is probably not a bad thing for triathletes. Oh, no. Oh, no.

You know how like football players, sometimes they make them take ballet class to, like, work on their body awareness? I think triathletes could use a bit of ballet, too. Totally. I honestly think that growing up dancing for 15 plus years helped me so much in being a good triathlet and a good runner pretty much right away. Yeah, not to gas you up, but you're pretty graceful. And I feel like triathlettes are often not the most graceful people. people. I'm so graceful.

No, it's just like leg strength, it's flexibility, it's like coordination, it's body aware, all the things that dancing offers you is really good. So if you have kids in dancing and you're like, oh, dancing is so annoying. Is it even a sport? It is super good for you as a kid. Yeah. The mind-body connection. Cool.

Thanks, Dave. Next question here is from Caitlin. Hey, team, quick question for Paula here. Paul, I guess this is another one for you. As a female, I'm struggling to find a good. pair of shorts and leggings that can stay up and don't feel weighted from sweat in hard run sessions. What brands would you recommend? Thanks for everything you all do. Oh, man.

Okay, so I'm sponsored by On, so this is going to be a little bit biased, but I used to wear Lulu Lemon all the time and Nike before that, because I was sponsored by Nike for a long time back in the day. And when I signed my contract with On, I was a little worried because I'm like, I love Loulemon tights. I liked the shorts. It's all I wear. But the on stuff is so nice that I have, like, gotten rid of all the little love and stuff that I own.

And last year or the year before that, on sent all the athletes a survey asking what they want in a running tight. Do you want pockets? Do you want an adjustable waistband? Do you want the string to be on the inside or the outside? Do you want a pocket for your keys? like what do you need in a running tight? That's awesome. And over the last couple of years,

they've completely changed and revamped their tights, and I love them. And there's a couple different models, some for running, some for, I'll just wear like casually day to day for going to the pool and stuff, being comfy. And I just think the quality of them is super good. They never fall down.

I never have issues with that. And yes, I'm biased, and yes, I'm supposed to say, this, but it's my true, honest opinion that I think they're the best tights and shorts. From a running perspective, they're expensive, but they'll last, and they're attractive. And I'm not a woman, obviously, but I just started running in tights and shorts, tights as a man. Half tights. Half tight. I got to say, feels amazing. Love the feeling. It makes me feel,

Eric said it makes you feel fast. He was right. It made me feel like I'm a legit runner. I'm not an adult on set runner, which I am. But yeah, try it out if you're a guy too. It's pretty fun. A. Or? Half tides. I mean, On makes half tights too. So do you know what they're called? Because I'm on the On website looking, and they got a lot of tights. Yeah, they're truly all good, okay? They're all good. But I'll look really quick and tell you which ones that I like the best. They even have winter tights. Performance wintets. Performance wintz. winter tights, but the performance tites are my favorite. The movement tites are, I mean, they're all really good.

You got TREC tights for hiking, warm weather all day? I haven't tried the TRECTs. Those look kind of neat, though. Race tights half for men. This is what you need, Nick. Oh, yeah. Down. Down. You got legs at least as good as this model. Well, thank you, Eric. It's my standout feature, other than my luscious hair. Okay. That was good for that question. Great. Wonderful. Next question is from Andy. You guys, this is from Andy McKinley.

No way. Andy, thank you for all you've helped us with. Okay, how do you prevent the valve from getting blocked with sealant when using tubeless tires? When the bike is at rest, I try to have the valve at around 11 or 1 o'clock, but I still have issues with the valve getting clogged and then being unable to get air into the tire. Thanks for all you do, changing the triathlon culture one podcast at a time. Ooh, I have an interesting theory about this, but Eric, do you have any thoughts? You know, I just, I really haven't like A, B tested this at all. I think there's just a certain amount of sealant is just going to kind of get into the valve area.

And when I go to switch sealant or if I'm having an issue, I just go in there with the pick and get out of the coagulated stuff. I think it's probably a best practice to not inflate the tire, do inflation with the valve at the bottom versus the side. But that's about the only thing that I do to try to mitigate this. Yeah. So you just said something that I think Andy is thinking about backwards. She keeps the valve at rest at the top, thinking that's away from where the sealant is pooling in the bottom. But that's not the issue. The issue is the sealant's already in the valve somewhere.

So you want to keep it towards the bottom so that it maybe can drip out. And additionally, maybe when you're done with the ride, let's let a tiny bit of air out so it clears that out and then it won't dry like that. What do you think of that? Yeah, I think you're actually right because there's a little coating of sealant that's just stuck to the inside of the tire, 100% of the time. if you finish your ride and then put the valve at the top, that's probably the best position where it could drip down into the tube, into the valve.

Yeah. Give that a shot, Andy. I don't know. This is just logic we're going through here. Yeah, we ain't scientists. Okay, next question here is from Fathen. Hello, I'm in the market for a new bike. Are some road bikes better than others for AeroClip on bars?

If so, what should I be looking for? Any specific bike suggestions? Really appreciate it. love from a Singaporean day oneer in snowy Stockholm. Wow, we are just hopping all around the globe with this question. So I feel like this question used to be easier, but it feels like this is a legit question now. So many bikes come.

Well, anyway, I'm not going to answer the question. Eric, what do you think? I mean, in order to actually physically put on clip-on arrow bars, you need a round tube bar. There are some bikes that have, you know, aftermarket super fancy clip-ons that go with their specific integrated cockpit, but I think your easiest solution here is just having not an arrow, you know, climbing's position, top, whatever you would call the top of the,

the tops, the bar right between, you know, comes out of either side of the stem. So you can actually clamp some stuff on there. Then back in the day, I don't know if this is still the case, but like Cervillo, for example, made a seat post that you could spin around and theoretically put yourself into a steeper, more forward position on the bike. this completely jacks up the handling of your road bike and turns it into this kind of like zombie TT bike road bike thing, but theoretically your hips are in a more advantageous angle four-time trailing.

My first Venge had that. You could flip a post around. Also, bikes come in like arrow or non-arrow too, right? Road bikes. So if you really want to use it as a TT bike, you can get like an arrow road bike, which would be more aerodynamic theoretically. The problem with the arrow road bikes is that very often they come with non-round bars.

They come with like tapered bars, which you can't put clip-ons on it, which is kind of like counterintuitive in that way. Yeah, you really just got to make sure you know or even swap it if it's possible to make sure the top tube is around. At the end of the day, this is a significant compromise. A TT bike is designed to be the way it is, a road bike is designed to be the way it is and trying to make either way. one, the other one, is a major compromise. But if you're just trying to get through your first race, like you see people bikepacking all the time that have arrow bars. You see people with arrow bars for unbound.

And is that the same good position as a TT bike? Absolutely not. But it's slightly more arrow than if you were just riding on the hoods. I'd seem more than slightly, but yeah. Interesting. So what I'm hearing from you is that it's not so much so that the bike itself is less aerodynamic. It's at the position that you are able to get into is what is really causing the issues. Yes.

And the position that you're able to be powerful in while kind of more hunched over. Yeah. That's what a TT bike gets you. Yep. That's great. Not to discourage this person from doing that, though. I wouldn't say this person should go buy a TT bike. That's bad advice. Like a $200 old-ass aluminum TT bike frame is going to be faster than a $10,000

road bike with clipons on it. Just because of the position you're able to get your body into. That's such a great, that's such a great comparison. I think we got through a lot of questions. We have a really condensed podcast. We did. That whole podcast was rapid fire. Yeah.

Yeah, we're really trying to, we have some like very last minute plans that is causing me and Eric to leave town tomorrow for a few days. And Nick's parents are in town. He has a fancy dinner. So we only had 50 minutes to record this, but I think we got a, a jam-packed 50-minute episode. We did. It was jam-packed. And it was either that or no pod.

So I think it's good. It's our Thanksgiving special. Next week we'll come back with maybe a bit of a longer one. Quality over quantity. Everybody has a little bit more time to spend with their families on Thanksgiving. That's right. Yeah, I would bet less people might listen this week because everyone's like doing Thanksgiving-time activities. I think you're right.

That's a bummer because they're going to miss out on some good stuff. This is a good app. Maybe we get back to it. It'll be a rerun. If anyone's doing a turkey trot or... We should start like a... There needs to be like an official turkey trot combo in the app for sure. Oh, for sure.

Time or like your turkey trot prize. Did you get like a double decker apple pie or something? Whoever what runs the fastest turkey trot and posts it to the app, I'll send them a bottle. Okay, within the thread. We're going to make... We'll do a pinned thread for a turkey trot. post your turkey trot time in the thread. And then whoever wins, I'm going to try to get some verification that it's true.

It's not the honor. Must submit. Must submit Strava, GPX file. Only if I ask you, though, don't be submitting things to me. There's a very strict. For your 30 minute turkey trot. Yeah. Very strict amount of people that are we going to be requested data from.

If you did a sub 18 minute turkey trot, I'm going to be asking for some proof. Okay, great. All right, well, we'll chat with you guys next week and have an awesome week of training. Thanks, guys.