The Triathlete Hour

In this week's episode we talk to Kona podium finisher and multi-time Ironman champ Heather Jackson. Known for her constant smile, Heather tells us how she stays so positive and what the deal was with the bananas when she won Ironman Lake Placid. A former hockey player, Heather was a high school teacher after college and an age-group athlete when she decided to move to San Diego and go pro. Now she's one of the fastest women on the circuit. She tells us how she changed her perspective and what she thinks are the most common mistakes age-groupers make. Plus, coach Marilyn Chychota talks to us about what athletes are struggling with right now, how to stay motivated, and what her biggest tips are. She talks extensively about figuring out what your motivations are. Here is the worksheet she mentions that you can go through yourself to evaluate your own motivation: https://www.lrcs.uqam.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ems28_en.pdf This week’s episode is sponsored by Whoop, a fitness wearable that provides personalized insights to tell you how recovered you are and how hard you should train for optimal performance. Right now, Whoop is offering 15% off by going to www.whoop.com and using the code ‘TRIATHLETE’ at checkout.

In this first episode of Triathlete’s new training podcast, Fitter and Faster, Dr. Stacy Sims joins host Emma-Kate Lidbury to talk about nutrition and fueling for training, recovery, and performance. Having worked with scores of amateur and professional endurance athletes, Sims has seen it all—and talks candidly about common fueling mistakes and how to fix them, as well as different diet trends and “fads” and how differently they can affect men and women. Known for her academic research into the physiological differences between men and women, Sims leaves no stone unturned when talking about the importance of women tracking their training alongside their menstrual cycle and what a huge impact this can have on performance. Dr. Sims has helped change the conversation about female athletes and their periods—and in this podcast she explains why this is so significant.

In ep. 9 of the Triathlete Hour, Sarah Piampiano opens up about the uncertainty she's facing as a "mature" athlete. This season was supposed to be her last season before she and her husband started a family. But now with all the uncertainty around racing: Does she wait? She's 40: Does she try and come back to racing after having a kid? How do you tackle these questions? Sarah also talks to us about how she almost quit the sport in 2018. But after months off to re-find her fire, she came back in 2019 and set the third fastest American women's Ironman time in history. After quitting smoking and a 100-hour/week job in finance, she dedicated herself to being the best triathlete she could be. Now what? And first, we chat about the big news: Ironman postpones Kona 2020 to Feb. 2021. What does this mean for athletes? How will next year play out?

In ep. 8 of The Triathlete Hour, Jesse Thomas decides to make his retirement "official." He then looks back on how he got here, his years in the sport, and where he goes from here. A quick note: In the episode, Jesse jokes that he wrote a goodbye retirement post that he never published. After we finished recording, he agreed to publish that final Triathlete column, which you can now see on our site at triathlete.com/tag/triathlife This introspective episode with a fan favorite covers everything from sponsor money differences between men & women to how he and his wife, Lauren Fleshman, a 5,000m national champion, balance it all. Plus, what adventures he has his eye on next. Plus, we give you a sneak peek at a new training podcast coming soon from Triathlete.

Eleven-time Ironman winner Meredith Kessler joins us from her home in Ohio for a Happy Hour chat about how she’s adjusting through this pandemic, balancing training with parenting, her favorite (and worst) Ironman moments, and more. Because this was recorded live as part of our Triathlete Live series, she also takes listeners' questions. You can watch the complete Happy Hour and check out our full series of Triathlete Live videos at triathlete.com/ama

In ep. 7 of The Triathlete Hour, Ironman champ and American record holder Linsey Corbin talks to us during her mini "triathlon sabbatical" about Bend, food, and how her husband's early Youtube videos helped her marketing. Linsey using an injury right now to practice some self-reflection, figure out her why, and focus on being Linsey the Person—not just Linsey the Triathlete. Plus, we chat about how she's managed to be one of the longest lasting female pros at the top level, returning to Kona 13 times, and how the women's field has improved so much it's forced her to up her game as well. First, though, our host Kelly O'Mara and endurance sports marketing expert Peter Abraham try to find some answers the big questions triathletes have right now: When will races come back and what will they look like?

Triathlon power couple Eric Lagerstrom & Olympian Paula Findlay are well known for their race results, Youtube videos, and their decked out van they travel around the U.S. and Canada in. In episode 6 of the Triathlete Hour, Eric & Paula talk to us about how they headed to Arizona for a training camp in their van — and found themselves in a unique situation when the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the world. They've been camping, training with their quaran-team, and re-finding their love of the sport. What is it that inspires them to keep going day after day, year after year? Plus, what it's like when one of them does well at a race and the other doesn't and how they deal with spending 24 hours/day together. First, though, we have something a little different for you this week: Former pro Dr. Tamsin Lewis talked to us a few weeks ago about contracting COVID-19 and what she would want triathletes to know. We're sharing some of her voice memos here.

In ep. 5 of the Triathlete Hour, 70.3 World Champ Holly Lawrence joins our host Kelly O'Mara to explain how coming back from a devastating injury helped prepare her for uncertainty during this COVID-19 pandemic. She talks to us from her house in LA about why she doesn't ride in the rain, how the World Championships in Nice stressed her out, and if she thinks pro triathletes can be a little boring. Plus, she was preparing to do her first Ironman in St. George — what now? Senior editor Chris Foster joins us first, though, to help figure out if too many triathletes are getting quarantine injured, why, and what they can do about it.

In ep. 4 of The Triathlete Hour, Kona runner-up Tim O'Donnell talks about what it's like to go viral for tripping over his wife, Kona champ Mirinda Carfrae's power cord during her virtual race. Plus, he chats with Kelly about getting started in triathlon at the military academy, when he felt like he made it as a pro, how he and Rinny met, and how they're getting through the uncertainty right now. Hint: It involves wine. First, though, Kelly and Sara Gross try to answer the question: Are triathletes taking the social distancing rules seriously? And how do you get intrinsically motivated if there are no races on the horizon?

The legendary world champ Mirinda Carfrae joined us remotely from her home in Boulder to talk about her training, how she's coping with the uncertainty from COVID-19, and what she tells herself during dark moments in races. Plus, because this was recorded live, she answers questions from listeners via Facebook. triathlete.com/ama

In ep. 3 of The Triathlete Hour, multi-time Kona podium finisher Ben Hoffman joins us to talk about how he got where he is today. Ben gets philosophical about what it takes to win Ironman, how the top guys are friends, and why he decided to try to be a pro triathlete in the first place. He and our host, Kelly, reminisce about the 2006 Collegiate National Championships — which launched him into his career. And he explains the concept of the 'virtual race resume.' Plus, they talk about the Pro Triathletes Organization and how Ben's big goal before he retires is to win just once on the Big Island. First, though, Kelly chats with Jordan Blanco about the new Ironman virtual racing, how it works, what they liked, and what they think needs to get fixed.

On the second episode of the Triathlete Hour, Flora Duffy joins us from South Africa, where she’s in lockdown and stuck in the house. The Xterra and ITU World champ talk to us about what it’s like to be an Olympic favorite and now not have an Olympics to go to, growing up in Bermuda, coming back from injuries and how it took her a decade to become an overnight sensation. Plus, she’s got her eyes on 70.3 Worlds this November and she shares some things she learned from her first 70.3. Kelly also chats first with Brad Culp about the triathlon landscape, how pros are making a living through all this, and they get into some speculation about what could happen with Kona.

Expert strength coach Erin Carson, who coaches a host of superstar triathletes, joins us in our studio in Boulder to talk all things strength training and answer listener questions about strength, training, and how to adjust your workouts. triathlete.com/ama

On the first episode of The Triathlete Hour, our host and Triathlete editor-in-chief Kelly O'Mara is joined by Olympian and Kona 4th place finisher Sarah True. Sarah tells us about what it's like right now dealing with the financial uncertainty of being a pro athlete during the spread of coronavirus, why she decided to race in Campeche 70.3 before travel restrictions went into effect, and how she's focusing on family for the next few months. As part of the Olympic Selection Committee, Sarah also gives us the inside scoop about the triathlon Olympic selection criteria. And we talk about her ongoing heat issues in races, which led to a series of devastating DNFs in 2019. Can her brain recover and bounce back? Plus, a quick game of 'would you rather.'