You Just Gotta Do It Once
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
This is a re-post of another of our favorite episodes/concepts. Off a great, but tough weekend at Run Camp, we reflect on how and when to push and why it’s important to have fun in your life and training. We talk about your big race is “Just One Day” and how it’s better to be undertrained than burned out. Also, the little signs in your training will let you know you’re ready before you race. We look at burning physical and emotional matches, finding your pain threshold in each sport and when are the right times to dig deep. You’re the main character and author, it’s up to you to...
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Out Alone In The Dark (at Ironman Texas) Re-Post
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
This is a re-post of one of our favorite C26 Ironman stories. This is an Ironman story for Everyone. If you've ever stayed until the end of an Ironman you know the level of emotions. But have you ever been out in the dark on the last few miles with someone who isn't sure they will make the cutoff? Today, we share the story of how one of our C26 athletes persevered to finish with just over a minute left at Ironman Texas. An emotional look at how the tone of an Ironman changes after the sun goes down. Topics: Why Ironman is different Running races vs. Triathlon You can’t explain the...
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#764 – Surviving The Ironman Texas Heat (or any other hot race)
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
Are you ready for your hot race? Today we look at physical and mental approaches to staying cool on the race course. From whether or not to wear a wetsuit to freezing your bottles to pulling back a little on the bike. Once you get too hot, you can’t cool down, unless you stop or walk. We’ll look at ways to keep your core temp down as long as possible. We talk about heat acclimation, huge mistakes, and the best way to use your watts. We also look at the week leading up to the race and some best practices to prep yourself for the weekend. Topics: Rational expectations The week of the...
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#763 – Chasing The High
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
How do you “get through” tough situations in training? Today, we look at the emotional roller coaster that is triathlon and some of the traps we all fall into, especially when chasing those elusive highs. Do you push harder when you’re struggling, or step back and let the body re-calibrate? What’s the deal with feeling awesome one day, then being ready to quit the sport the next? We look at mood adjustments, burning matches, and seeking highs. We also talk about how to train for situations in races that are usually mental and how to get through them. Are you addicted to feeling the...
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#762 – Listener Q&A – 4-11-24
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
Check out our NEW We answer a ton of questions today, including a rapid fire ending you won’t want to miss. We get into the challenges of riding with wind. How do you handle tail, head, and cross winds? Is aero always better? What about your grip on the bike . . . why it matters. Do you need more or less rest on your swim sets? Today, we look at WHY you’re taking rest and how much you actually need. Is it better to do long interval sets in the water or short and hard? Can you recover WHILE you’re swimming? Race wheels and wind. What’s the key to racing with different wheels? Looking...
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#761 – Listener Q&A - The Answer Is Always . . . Do The Work
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
The first question set off a great mini-topic for the day. What the new tactics/trends that are pros doing these days that age group athletes can emulate to get faster. The discussion is an important one and centers on arguably the best triathlon coach right now, Dan Lorrange. We also look at the importance of becoming a better bike handler and how it can save your legs. Plus, swimming better when you don't have as much time to swim as you'd like. A little bit on GI issues. And favorite cereal talk. Topics: UConn cements dynasty Lionel Sanders Taylor Knibb You can get better with age...
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#760 – Seek Discomfort
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
This title is an homage to one of our favorite YouTube channels, you can find it here: The Seek Discomfort crew is always looking for things that intimidate them. Experiences that lead to growth. And we should do the same within our comfort zone, especially when it comes to conditions. The more you get out into “imperfect” weather, the more you will be at ease when your race day isn’t 70 and partly cloudy. Today, we go through some of our experiences and perspectives on how to build all the pieces in the puzzle. To be mentally strong to pair with your physical fitness. Racing IS...
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#759 – Race With Nothing To Lose
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
The most successful athletes play free and without fear. Today, we look at how you can train and race better when you realize you have nothing to lose. This isn't about taking it for granted, but channeling pressure and anxiety in the right way. It's all energy and the more we can us it in our favor, the better we'll be. We look at the 24 hour rule as it applies to racing and training, having a "walk the plank" mentality, and using your old self as a nemisis. We look at finding solutions over problems, uncovering what missed workouts really tell us, and the ability to be moodless during your...
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#758 – Balancing Structure With Fun
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
Triathlon training should be structured, but we're all about keeping the fun alive. Today, we talk about weaving them together to make the process more enjoyable and effective. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to show up green in Training Peaks, but aren’t a bunch of oranges and yellows better than a week of red? Do we move to change our mood or change our mood to move? There’s a lot of power in having a solid outline and moving a little off script. How to recognize what’s the best decision for today. Is your workout appropriately challenging for your mental and physical state? Who...
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#757 - Why You Should Fall In Love With Zone 2
Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
Efficiency might be the biggest key to you having a successful race and that all starts in Zone 2. Yes, we know it’s “boring” but today we give you other ways to think about it, specifically as in, why do you not enjoy doing something that is good for you and your health? We talk about teaching the body to burn fat so you’re not so dependent on calories. We look at swimming and why practicing swimming slow is a great exercise. We really boil down Zone 2 in a way that helps understand why it’s the key to great racing. We look into cravings and calories and what they might really be...
info_outline(With March Madness upon us and C26 Swim School in progress, we thought it was a good time to revisit an old podcast with Zak Showalter and how he started training for Ironman after playing in the Final Four). Sorry about the intro music. haha.
Imagine playing basketball in front of 70,000 people and millions on TV. Today's guest, Zak Showalter, did just that for the University of Wisconsin. His career took him to 2 different Final Fours and four Sweet 16's and now he's tackling Ironman.
He's graduated, stepped away from basketball, and turned his sights on Ironman Wisconsin. Our goal for this podcast was to see how many lessons learned from Zak's days at Wisconsin under Hall of Fame coach Bo Ryan translate into triathlon. As it turned out, a lot of them do.
We start with some of Zak’s endurance background and early training challenges. Then go into how what he learned on the basketball floor can be translated into Ironman training:
- Were you ever into endurance sports before?
- What it's like hanging out with Packer's QB Aaron Rodgers
- What it was like to work with Michael Jordan’s strength coach
- When he decided he wanted to do an Ironman
- How he deals with Winter training in Wisconsin
- What's it like going from a high exposure team sport to an isolated training world?
- A coach’s message “Play hard, play smart, play together, and have fun.”
Race like you train - Zak tells us how what he learned from the daily grind of college basketball practice and how he thinks it can be applied to triathlon training and best set him up for the race.
Ups and Downs - How to stay level headed and on the same path when faced with setbacks of a big loss or the the high of a big win.
Patience - Wisconsin basketball is built on patience, both in execution and sytem. Zak gives us a perspective on how they looked at a long season or career and how the philosophies can apply to Ironman training.
Emotions- He takes us in the locker room before Wisconsin faced off with a 38-0 Kentucky team at the Final Four. How is it possible to stay calm when you’re running out in front of 70,000 people to play a game watched by millions? He gives us a very simple solution.
Diet: How did you guys eat? Was there a big focus on nutrition or were you just kids? Has that changed as you train for Ironman?
Here are a couple videos of Zak in his playing days:
- His salute to Aaron Rodgers after hitting a buzzer beater against Florida
- High School State Championship Opening Tip Dunk
Zak on Instagram: zshowalter3
Zak on Twitter: @ZShowbball333
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Twitter: CrushingIron
Instagram: C26_Triathlon