Paula and Eric are back from five days in Kona. Riding the Queen K in both calm and full-crosswind conditions, running the Energy Lab, and getting the lay of the land before race week. Eric also cracked a rim on post-hurricane debris in the shoulder. Meanwhile, Paula made the Canadian national team for UCI Time Trial Worlds in Montreal and had to turn it down. After some Bike Tech with Eric about traveling with pedals, we get into both before moving to questions.

This week we discussed:

• Paula and Eric's Kona recon trip: Queen K conditions, the Hawi climb and descent, what the Energy Lab actually feels like, and why knowing the course before race week matters
• The Kona heat: over rated?
• Eric cracks a rim on hurricane debris in the shoulder, and a local cyclist pulls over before Paula even notices
• Paula makes the Canadian national team for UCI TT Worlds in Montreal
• Why sleeveless suits dominate short course and sleeved suits dominate long course
• Do sprint intervals have a place in triathlon training, and at what distance do they stop mattering?
• Planning bike intervals on hilly routes when the downhills don't cooperate with your workout structure
• Nice vs. Marbella: which descent is actually scarier for 70.3 Worlds age groupers?
• Trail and fire road etiquette: who has right of way, and what went wrong on Paula's run this week
• Getting the most out of a gravel bike for a 70.3, tires, aerobars, and what's actually worth spending money on
• Cycling and running cadence: training vs. racing, and high-cadence drills that actually work
• Should triathletes plan an off-year every few seasons to reset cumulative fatigue, and what COVID accidentally proved about this

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive. To submit a question and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

Nobody knew Paula was racing, not her inner circle, barely even Paula herself until she was already on the plane to Vancouver. Three weeks out from Kona, she lined up at T100 Vancouver against an elite international field with zero expectations and finished fourth. We get the full race recap: the ocean current swim, the Race Ranger chaos on the bike that had Eric firing off texts from the couch, why riding to the front was the only move that made sense, and what it felt like to run a controlled 3:45/km pace and feel totally fine doing it. Then we debut a new segment, Rate It, get into your questions, and have a conversations about what it's like to be the partner on the sideline.

This week we discussed:

• Paula's surprise T100 Vancouver recap: the decision to race, the ocean current swim, Race Ranger draft zone chaos on the bike, and running to a fourth place finish on fresh-ish Ironman legs
• The T100 format from an athlete's perspective: what it does brilliantly, why the fields keep coming back, and an honest conversation about whether the series is sustainable long-term
• New segment, Rate It: having multiple bikes, open water swimming vs. pool, training and racing with a smartwatch, and local events
• The best and hardest thing about watching your partner race — Eric on the joy, the grief, and the slow process of making peace with a changing athletic identity
• How big is Paula's team, really? The case for keeping it small, why Eric doing bike mechanics at 10pm beats hiring anyone, and what Carmen Small couldn't believe when she came to 70.3 Worlds
• Swimrun gear on a budget: buoy size, paddle advice, whether you need trail shoes, and how the transition between swim and run actually works with paddles on your wrists
• Self-confidence anxiety when training and racing with others — what it actually means when someone chooses you as their swim run partner
• Paula and Eric are tentatively planning an Austin swimrun in November.
• The road to Qatar goes through Austin, Texas. Eric floats an idea. Everyone pretends it's not happening.

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive. To submit a question and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

It's a warm, smoky evening in Bend, the kind where you drive to Sisters for training and now you're recording a podcast instead of sleeping. We kept it deliberate and efficient this week, which means we absolutely went off on mattresses, California Chicken Cafe, and ice cream. In between, a great bag of questions.

This week we discussed:

• 1x vs. 2x drivetrains: the actual advantages of each and why most people should just stick with a two by
• When to stop pedaling and tuck on a descent
• Draft-legal racing for a first-timer: how the pace works at the start of each leg, why staying near the front of a group saves energy
• Build our ideal triathlon city using places we've actually been: road running, trail running, road cycling, gravel/MTB, open water swimming, airport, coffee, pastries, donuts, restaurants, and weather
• Xterra racing and the suffering question: is it a matter of learning to dig deeper or a matter of training?
• Getting comfortable in aero on a TT bike when you're scared, Paula's day-before-Challenge-Daytona story and why race day has a way of sorting it out
• How many pro races have Eric and Paula actually done? Pro Tri News has a number that may or may not be right
• Crank length and hip injury: when to experiment with shorter cranks and when to leave well enough alone
• What actually constitutes good bike technique, and whether the pedal stroke matters as much as Eric thinks it does
• Long rides on a gravel rail trail vs. TT bike before an Ironman
• AQI thresholds for training in wildfire smoke
• Heart rate spikes in T2 from bike to run, what's happening physiologically and the breathing reset trick
• Disney princess themed bikes

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive. To submit a question and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

We're loopy, and apparently incapable of saying basic words out loud, which means it's a great episode. We kick things off with a new This or That segment that goes off the rails almost immediately, then get into ten listener questions that end up going somewhere unexpected. Big week energy after the last two, different energy this week. This week we discussed:

• This or That: firm surface with cushy shoe vs. cushy surface with firm shoe, foggy goggles vs. foggy conditions, and a third option Nick almost said on a family podcast
• Do pros ever truly go 100%? The difference between not pushing hard and deliberately leaving something for future races, and why Paula once backed off to help a rival keep points
• Who are the most polished, professional pros on the circuit, and who gets results while doing their own thing? (Morgan Pearson, Ari Klau, and Jackie Hering all come up)
• What Paula actually did in the five hours between finishing Ironman Lake Placid and heading to dinner, and why she did almost none of the "right" recovery things
• Grandpa Hector's Colnago: how to keep a vintage bike in storage without letting it deteriorate
• Do pros want splits from strangers on course? When it helps, when it doesn't, and why they'll never acknowledge you even if they love it
• Training through heartbreak: Paula's honest answer, Eric's RV-in-the-desert approach, and Nick's experience of it being the hardest time of his life
• The Canadian Prime Minister shouted out Paula on Ironman Lake Placid, the story behind how that might have happened
• Triathlon nightmares: missing the start, cascading gear failures, and why the dream is always the logistics, never the actual suffering
• Passing etiquette in races: when to say "on your left," when not to, and AirPods on a single track trail (Eric has feelings)
• Coaching high school swimming when you're a triathlete, and the unexpected parallels between inspiring athletes and inspiring music students
• Why Nick fell in love with triathlon: the objectivity of it, the contrast with music

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive. This week's random supporter winner is Joyce Leary! Joyce, your Thump instant coffee is on the way! To submit a question and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

Things are back to normal in Bend and Los Angeles. Paula's quads have finally recovered, training is back on, and we've got a full question bag to get through. We open with a food theme Rapid Fire, check in on what post-race blues actually feel like after something as big as Lake Placid, and get into the philosophy of fear in sport: before races, before hard sessions, and why accepting the thing you're scared of is usually what makes it less scary. Then your questions.

This week we discussed:

• Food rapid fire: favorite ice cream, juice, bagel, donut, and pasta sauce
• What post-race blues actually feel like after a big result — why the further you get from the day, the more you want to go back
• Fear in sport: how pro athlete fear differs from age group fear, what makes race morning dread feel inescapable, and whether doing hard training sessions produces the same feeling
• The best thing you can do to mitigate pre-race fear: start one month out, not the night before
• How much time should you spend in aero position training for a 70.3?
• Jedi mind tricks for hard sessions and long races
• Mountain bike and off-road race passing etiquette: whose job is it to get out of the way?
• Was the women's finish line box-out at San Diego International Triathlon bad sportsmanship?
• Youth sports and raising athletic kids: what Paula, Eric, and Nick each took from childhood sport
• Challenge Roth 2027: all three are Roth curious
• What influence has each other's racing had on what you want to do? Paula on Eric's ultras, Eric on Paula's Ironman

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive. To submit a question and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

Paula Findlay wins Ironman Lake Placid on her very first full distance triathlon attempt. Setting the bike course record, ringing the first-timer's bell, and crossing the tape after one of the most composed performances of the year. Nick and Eric were both on course for the day, and this week all three of us sit down to relive every moment: the cold non-wetsuit swim chasing Chelsea Sodaro, the wind-whipped bike ride where Paula refused to let the gusts derail nine months of preparation, the broken flask on the run, running a 1:24 half marathon split before her quads staged a full revolt, talking herself through lonely miles of River Road, and what it actually felt like to turn into the Olympic oval.

This week we discussed:

• Paula's full Ironman Lake Placid race recap: swim, bike, run, and every mental moment in between
• Racing without a wetsuit in cold windy weather — staying warm, not panicking off the bike, and why the cold nearly derailed the first 45 minutes
• Riding through 28mph gusts: how Paula stayed in her aerobars when everything in her said sit up
• The Marta Sanchez dynamic: running together through the first half, trusting her experience, and slowly stretching the gap
• Quad cramping from mile 13 of the marathon and choosing to keep running anyway
• Ringing the first-timer's bell
• The med tent, the wheelchair, and what "empty" actually feels like after an Ironman
• How Eric and Nick tracked splits all day: whiteboard shorthand, the Iron Man app, texts from people on course, and educated guesses
• What Paula discovered about herself: long activities are a mindset, not a personality type
• The timing chip chafe solution that actually worked (and the neck chafe that still didn't)
• TTL team finished 4th in the team competition — in their first year
• 150 people at the Lake Placid donut run and the volunteer team who drove 45 minutes for donuts
• Is it better to race a new distance naive, or knowing what's coming? Paula answers just days after finding out
• Long run advice for Ironman training: why 30K is probably enough, and why Paula wishes she'd run more pavement
• TTL Kona merch is happening, and so is Nice
• Samantha Skold qualifies for Kona off the back of a career-best run at Lake Placid

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive — this pod has no ads, and your support is what makes it possible. To submit a question and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

We're recording in person in Lake Placid, two days before Paula toes the line at her first-ever Ironman. She's feeling good, she's excited, and she's ready. We get into all of it before diving into your questions. It's a full bag this week, from the science of optimal racing temperatures to the very real question of how big the jump from 70.3 to full distance actually is, timed perfectly with Paula about to find out for herself.

This week we discussed:

• Paula's first Ironman Lake Placid preview: how she's feeling, what's got her excited, and what it's actually like to prepare for your first full
• How big is the jump from 70.3 to full Ironman — physically, mentally, and nutritionally — and how much does long-term base carry through?
• Optimal racing temperatures for endurance performance: does the 40°F–55°F research match real-world experience?
• Switching from power meter pedals to a crank-based system, what road pedal systems we've tried and why we ride what we ride
• Renting a tri bike vs. flying with a bike box: which scenarios tip the scales either way, especially internationally
• Wahoo Kickr Bike Pro deep dive: aerobar options, dialing in fit, and how well the bike fitness transfers to race day
• What is Elise Lagerstrom's running Eddington number? Richard from the UK asked the question we all wanted answered
• How to buy a TT bike when no local shop carries them, a guide for making a big investment without being able to test ride first
• Draft-legal racing tactics for a first-timer heading to Age Group Worlds: the two or three things you actually need to know
• The Wahoo-Coros partnership: has anyone made the switch, and what do we think of Coros watches?
• Tubeless tire setup for racing: is it worth upgrading your wheelset, and what do you actually do if you flat during an Ironman?
• Current coaching setups across the TTL crew, is Paula still working with Carmen Small on the bike?
• Hill repeat steepness: what grade are you actually looking for and does it matter?

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive! To submit a question for the podcast and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast

Elise Lagerstrom — Eric's sister and two-time desert ultra champion — joins us to recount winning the Gobi March outright, becoming the first woman in the race's 20-year history to beat all men across a 250-kilometer, seven-day self-supported ultra through central Mongolia. We cover everything: the emergency electrolyte crisis at mile 12, how she managed a 52-minute buffer over second place through the legendary 80-kilometer Stage 4 long march, what carrying a 25-pound pack for 155 miles has to do with running ability, and why this kind of racing is so much more tactical than it looks. Then Paula emerges from a rough morning to join us for the second half.

This week we discussed:

• Elise Lagerstrom's Gobi March race recap: the first woman to win the 250K Mongolian desert ultra outright in 20 years of the event
• Self-supported racing explained: what you carry, what the race provides, and how the tent situation works
• Stage 4 long march — 80 kilometers in a single day and why Elise knew it was her moment
• The near-crisis at mile 12 and how she corrected her electrolyte strategy mid-race
• Why running ability matters less than you think in a 30-hour race
• Racing vs. surviving: how tactical the Gobi March actually gets, day by day
• The Roth swim controversy: how the men's field used a coordinated swim paceline to finally beat Christian
• Paula's take on Alanis Siffert's stunning Roth win — and her 2:45 marathon
• Should this new collegiate national champion race his first pro 70.3 on a road bike?
• Altitude racing tips for Leadville: heat training as the poor man's altitude prep, and the two-weeks-or-right-before rule
• When should you replace your running shoes — and the case for buying three pairs at once
• How motivation in triathlon evolves: from proving yourself to something harder to name
• Paula's first Iron Man in two weeks: wetsuit neck chafe solutions, and why Paula hates the words "Ironman training"
• Donut run at Lake Placid: Friday, 3 PM — come find us

A big thank you to our podcast supporters who keep the podcast alive! To submit a question for the podcast and to become a podcast supporter, head over to ThatTriathlonLife.com/podcast