TriDot Podcase .201

Behind The Mic – Triathletes Who Podcast

Intro:This is the TriDot podcast. TriDot uses your training data and genetic profile,combined with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to optimize yourtraining, giving you better results in less time with fewer injuries. Ourpodcast is here to educate, inspire, and entertain. We’ll talk all thingstriathlon with expert coaches and special guests. Join the conversation andlet’s improve together.

 

Andrew Harley: Two hundred episodes down, and now that we are moving into episode 201,I'm getting a little wild. We're going to throw a curveball on the podcasttoday. On the TriDot Triathlon podcast, we are going to talk about what it'slike to produce a triathlon podcast. Very meta of us if you ask me. My entireguest list today are TriDot coaches and TriDot athletes who themselves produceand host a triathlon podcast, look at that! We've got five of us representingfour different shows, and first up from the 303 Endurance podcast, we haveTriDot coach Rich Soares from Denver, Colorado. Rich has been coachingtriathletes since 2017, he has been coaching with TriDot since 2021, and he hasbeen podcasting since 2015. His triathlon journey began in 2006, and he,impressively, is a five-time Ironman finisher himself. Rich, welcome to theshow!

 

Rich Soares: Andrew, thank you very much! It's great to be with you and my fellowtriathlon and podcasting peeps. TriDotters and triathlon podcasters in onepodcast, this should be a wild ride.

 

Andrew:Next podcaster up, we have Mike Bosch from the Everyday Ironman podcast. Mikeis a storyteller from Fort Worth, Texas, where he works full-time as a projectmanager. He started podcasting in 2021, he began TriDot training in 2022, andhere in 2023 he is working towards his goal of a sub-six-hour half-Ironmanfinish that he's hoping happens at 70.3 Oregan very soon. Mike, thanks forjoining us to talk about podcasting!

 

Mike Bosch: Oh Andrew, I am excited and humbled at the same time to be in thisincredible group of podcasters and TriDot athletes. So thanks for having me on,I'm excited.

 

Andrew:The last podcast represented today, I have two-thirds of the podcastingpersonalities behind the Triathlon Age-Group Journey podcast, TriDot coach MattSommer, and TriDot Ambassador Jillian Carlson. Matt is the fitness director atAlamance Country Club in Burlington, North Carolina, and is a TriDot foundingMaster Coach, coaching with TriDot since 2018. He is an eight-time BostonMarathon finisher, and an eight-time Ironman finisher. Now Jillian is a TriDotAmbassador from Seattle, Washington. She works full-time as a financialcontroller for a global asset management company. She found TriDot in 2019, andwent all-in. She has raced everything from super-sprints to Ironman LakePlacid, but her favorite is the 70.3 distance, and she has qualified twice nowfor the 70.3 Ironman World Championships. Matt, Jillian, what's up, y'all?

 

Matt Sommer: Thanks, Andrew! Super excited to be here like everybody else, justexcited to talk triathlon with more people. I mean, that's why we started thepodcast, and it’s really exciting to share stories and hear everybody else'sstory. So thanks for the opportunity.

 

Jillian Carlson: Yeah, thanks, Andrew. It'll be interesting tobe on this side of the podcast today for once, so looking to get some tips thatwe might be able to share with our cohort, Jay.

 

Andrew:Yes, and thank you for giving Jay a shout-out because Jay Cougnet is the thirdhost of your show, and he actually was the one who I think Matt you said hadthe idea for the show in the first place. So shout-to Jay. Okay, well, I amAndrew, the Average Triathlete. I represent the TriDot Triathlon podcast. I'mthe Voice of the People and the Captain of the Middle of the Pack. As always,we'll roll through our warmup question, settle in for our podcasting main setconversation, and then we'll wind things down with Vanessa taking over tointerview a different TriDot coach for the cooldown.

 

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Warm up theme: Time to warm up! Let’s get moving.

 

Andrew:Upon reaching the finish line, most races hand us a nice shiny well-earnedmedal to mark the accomplishment of completing that event. But there are, in myopinion, many other day-to-day accomplishments where we do not get a medal. Andyeah, you know what, maybe we should! Sometimes life is hard, I don't know.Sometimes I just want a little recognition for something normal that Iaccomplished in my day-to-day life. So Matt, Mike, Jillian, Rich, what is aneveryday life task that you think you deserve a triathlon-style medal for, eachtime you complete it? Jillian, ladies first.

 

Jillian:Well, Andrew, I am a simple and easy eater, and because of that, I'm probably aboring cook. Therefore, if I can come up with a meal idea, and I can executethe cooking properly such that both of my kids, 15 and 12, will actually eat itand not complain, then I truly feel like I should earn a medal. I stillprobably would end up with more race medals hanging from actual triathlons thanI would my kid-approved medals, but they actually would be harder-earned.

 

Andrew:Yeah, I mean, swimming, biking and running to us, it comes easier than someday-to-day life tasks. And yes, Jillian, I also think you should get a medaleach time everybody in the household is happy with the meal that you cook.

 

Jillian:Thank you, Andrew.

 

Andrew:Next up Matt Sommer, what is this answer for you?

 

Matt:It's funny, mine falls along the same lines, it has to do with food. This pastyear, Father's Day, I got this amazing present. I'm not a big material guy, butmy sons came to me with a present, a real simple T-shirt, and it said onething, “I'm sorry for what I said when I was hungry.” I deserve a medal when Ican remain kind when I'm hungry during the day, because I work on the clock,and I cannot always schedule my eating times, and there are times that I gethangry, and having to maintain composure, and being kind, and bite my tonguesometimes, it's hard! I deserve a medal!

 

Jillian:I agree.

 

Andrew:Alright, Mike Bosch, what is this answer for you, sir?

 

Mike:Well, I'm not sure if this counts, but I'm pretty sure my wife would say that Iact like I deserve a medal anytime I help with some housework. So I'm going togo with household chores.

 

Andrew:Okay! There are a lot of spouses and partners nodding their heads right now,because they are on either side of that equation, right? They're either the onethat doesn't help probably enough, or the one that does a little bit more ofthe load. So, yeah, we'll let that go unspoken, who is which on this podcast.But a great example there, for the times that you think you deserve a medal,and maybe you're just doing your fair share for once. Yeah, I totally get it.Rich Soares, Denver, Colorado, what is this answer for you?

 

Rich:Well, Andrew, I would love to have a medal for every one of my daily workoutsthat I do, but I already have that sort of covered with my occasional unicorns,and ponicorns, and even that elusive narwhal. But we all do that, and we all dothat willingly. So I would have to say mine is also a mundane chore. I dreademptying the dishwasher, and my wife and I have very distinct roles here. Shefills, I empty. So when I hear that little tune that says the dishwasher isdone, I get over there and get that thing done as soon as I can, because Idon't want it hanging over my head. It sure would make it nice to have a medalas a reward.

 

Andrew:That'd be a nice medal rack, yeah. You could really get crazy with somedishwasher-themed medals, that's for sure. Rich, in my household we actuallyhave the same kind of assignments. It's frankly just because I hate washingdishes, but I absolutely do not mind taking them out. My wife hates taking outthe clean dishes, but she does not mind washing them, and she's way faster atwashing them. If she watches me wash them, it just frustrates her because sheknows that she could have been done a long time ago, and I'm still truckingalong. So we actually have the same exact roles as your household, so I'midentifying with that real close. My answer here right now – and this literallyinspired this question, because I've said this to my wife a couple of times, “Iwish I had a medal for this” – but we have a four-month-old daughter. At thetime we were recording this podcast, Ellie turned four months three days ago.And you know, it's getting her to eat. She's a great baby, she's a phenomenalbaby. She sleeps well, she eats well, she destroys diapers at an appropriatepace. But sometimes those feedings go really smoothly, and sometimes herfeedings are a fight. I'm sure all the parents have been through this before –even though she is hungry, and she's letting you know she's hungry, and you'vegot the food that she needs, you've got that bottle in her mouth, sometimes shewants to make you work for it. And when it is a fussier eating session, if mywife and I – whoever's doing it – if we can get her to down the entire bottle,both of us feel like, “High five. You did it, great job. I know that was atough one.” I think I deserve a medal for all the times I can get her polishoff a whole bottle when she's being fussy.

 

We'regoing to throw this question out to the TriDot community like we always do. I'mreally curious what the TriDot audience has to say here. So on the I AM TriDot Facebook group, make sure you're a member of that group, every single Monday when ournew episode comes out, I post the podcast warmup question to our audience. Sogo find the post asking you this question, and let us know what in yourday-to-day life would you like a medal every time you complete it.

 

Main set theme: On to the main set. Going in 3…2…1…

 

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Podcastsare great to listen to and great to learn from. They are fun and relativelyeasy to create. Literally anyone can make a podcast about anything. Some, ofcourse, are very worth listening to, and others maybe not so much. But Ipersonally give a hearty tip of the cap to anyone who is willing to putthemselves out there and give podcasting a shot. Today on the show, we havesome great TriDot coaches and athletes who have done just that, and in myopinion, everyone here is doing a bang-up job with their shows. So all of myTriDot podcasting friends, let's start here today – what inspired you to starta podcast in the first place and? I'm going to go in order of who has had theirpodcast the longest, and Coach Rich Soares, you actually are the longest-tenuredpodcaster on the show today. What made you want to start a podcast in the firstplace?

 

Rich:Well, you know, I had just finished my fifth Ironman, and I was just in thisplace of introspective thought. I'm like, “I want to keep growing in the sport,but I'm not sure I want to keep growing in the sport by putting in longerdistances or putting in more Ironman races necessarily.” And I was an avidlistener of the Tri Talk podcast. I don't know if you're all familiar withDavid Warden.

 

Andrew:See, I was not around back then, so yeah, great.

 

Rich:Yeah, David Warden was the host. He was also the coach for the Iron Cowboy, ifyou guys remember James Lawrence.

 

Andrew:Yeah, yeah.

 

Rich:So he had just retired from podcasting, and I'm having this inspiration to wantto grow in the sport, and this idea occurred to me to have a podcast as just anormal person wanting to learn more about the sport, and ask questions ofcoaches, experts and professional athletes, to share their knowledge withothers. I reached out to David Warden, asked if he'd spend a couple ofmeetings, just kind of teaching me the technology and the process, and that'show it all started.

 

Andrew:That's really cool. It's really cool to hear that David was great and spent thetime to catch you up to speed. I think my show is the second-oldest showrepresented here, so I'll just share from my angle. I was a TriDot athlete wellbefore I was staff. When I signed up for my first Ironman, it really made me –kind of like you said, Rich – I really wanted to learn more about the sport.Because I'm like, “Oh my gosh. All of a sudden there’s an Ironman hanging overmy head, and I don't want to suck when I'm out there.” I knew TriDot as thisgreat brand, I was enjoying the training, and I knew they had just a ton ofcoaches that had great institutional knowledge. It was like, “Man, it would bereally great if TriDot had a podcast, where it was coaches on the microphonejust sharing their knowledge.” I just envisioned a couple of TriDot coachessitting around microphones, just talking shop. And the more we dialogued aboutwhat the show could become and about what it would be, it kind of became –almost like you're talking about, Rich – where I am Andrew, the AverageTriathlete, just picking the brain of more knowledgeable people. You had thatidea well before we had that idea, so hats off to you. But yeah, it kind ofturned into what we're doing now. There's so many great TriDot coaches. MattSommer as an example, he's been on the show before, sharing his knowledge. Andwe're out here and still doing it 201 episodes later. So for the third oldestshow on the episode today, Mike Bosch, why did you start podcasting?

 

Mike:Yeah, so my triathlon journey actually has two phases, pre-COVID andpost-COVID. Pre-COVID, when I was going through my journey leading up toIronman Texas, I wore everybody out that I knew. I have a small circle offriends, and they just got tired of hearing it. So when I got back intotriathlon –

 

Andrew:Stop talking about triathlon for the love of God!

 

Mike:I know, exactly, right? So when I got back into triathlon after COVID, I wasaware of podcasts. I hadn't listened to very many, but I was aware of it, and Ithought, "Well, hey, this is a great way to talk to people.” I just did alittle bit of research, I found out you just need some simple equipment. Youneed a website host or whatever, and just started reaching out to peoplethrough Facebook, through Instagram, “Hey, do you want to come on thispodcast?” And you know, I got turned down a few times, and I got accepted a fewtimes, and it's just been an incredible experience, to be honest with you. I'mso glad that I did. But really, when it comes down to it, it was just to havesomebody to talk to about triathlon.

 

Andrew:Over to Matt and Jillian. Matt, let's hear from you. Because again, I know Jaywas the person who sparked the idea for you all to do a podcast. So just tellus where did that start with him, and how did you and Jillian get roped intoit, and how did it become the show that it is now?

 

Matt:Absolutely. The skinny of it for myself was, I had no inspiration to be on apodcast. We were hanging out in Lake Placid, Jay, Jillian and myself, and we'reall sitting around talking, just kind of bantering, talking about how we gotinto racing, telling how Jay and I had known each other for so long, ourstories. And very quickly, all three of us were like, “Wow, we all come fromdifferent backgrounds, different stories, different motivators.” And that kindof brought up this whole idea of, like, an age grouper, all the differentstories out there, and the journey that they all have to the finish line, andeverything that they have to deal with in day-to-day life. We're notprofessionals. We don't get to just wake up and train. We don't have meals preparedfor us. We don't have equipment provided to us. We have to save for a bike. Wehave to drop kids off at school. We have to make meals. We have to earn thosemedals we were talking about before in the warmup. So everyday struggles, andnot just training. But that's what I love about this. And then like I said,it's really allowed me, Jay, and I know Jillian feels the same way, to shareour stories, and just to get to know people and where they're coming from. Soit's been enriching for me as an athlete, me as a coach, and me as anindividual.

 

Jillian:Yep, and I'm pretty sure I'm just another voice along for the ride to help keepMatt Sommer in line with his quote counts and ensure he's not talking the wholetime.

 

Andrew:Nothing wrong with that! Now Jillian, I'm curious from your perspective. Inoticed that Matt said that the three of you were in Lake Placid when you firstsparked the conversation of, “Hey, maybe the three of us could do podcasts,that'd be cool!” That was your first Ironman, Ironman Lake Placid. You werethere to race, correct?

 

Jillian:Yeah.

 

Andrew:So you had that conversation. When you're out on the course, with the pressureof your first Ironman, going through the motions of the day, hours and hours oncourse, were you thinking about your future potential podcast at all? Or was itout of head once you were in race mode?

 

Jillian:No, I was not thinking about it at all. Not gonna lie.

 

Andrew:Okay, you were in the zone. Good!

 

Jillian:I was in the zone. Yeah. If anything, it was probably that I just couldn't waittill the race was over, so that we could just sit and ramble about theexperience.

 

Matt:I do want to jump in there. Our first episode was actually recorded after 70.3Worlds at Saint George. So Jillian had raced on Saturday, Jay and I raced onSunday. We all stayed together again, and Sunday night, after 70.3 Worlds, thatwas our first episode ever that we recorded. So it did happen at the races.

 

Andrew:Very cool, yeah. It was founded at the races, it was started at the races, andI'm sure that's not the only episode you guys will record at the racestogether. So next, I kind of want to hear from everybody on what is yourpodcast? What's the format? What happens on each episode? Obviously, ifsomeone's listening to us here, they already know the format of our show. We gowarmup, main set, cool down. We structure the show like a workout. We try tokeep the warmup short. I'm sorry we go long sometimes. We try to put adifferent coach tip on the cool down at the end and then we camp out on themain topic in the middle. Just like your workout has your main set, is kind ofthe main idea, we have our main set here. So I just want to hear from you guyson what is your show, what makes it unique, what makes it different? Becausethese days there's so many podcasts, and in triathlon there's so many podcasts.I mean, you’ve got to have something that makes your show different, that makespeople want to tune in. So when you're forming your show, you have to kind ofthink through, “What is our identity? What are we doing with this show?” Let'sgo most recent to oldest here. Back over to you, Matt and Jillian. Jillian,tell us a bit about y’all’s show.

 

Jillian:Yeah. So I’ll start with an intro, just kind of check in, banter, see howeveryone's week went. Then Matt has on his personal Facebook and Instagrampage, he's known for his quotes. So we thought it would be great to incorporatethat into our podcast flow. So after we kind of check in with everyone, we'llhave Matt kick off his quote of the week, and he'll give something that Jay andI try to be inspired by, or we'll rack our brains trying to figure out what ourtake on that quote is. He'll stump us a few times, but at the end of the day itjust kind of gets conversation and gets us thinking about something inspiring,or just taking another look at our lives and how we're balancing everything.After the quote, then we'll have a unique guest every time, and so we'll jumpright in and just listen and hear their story, hear what they've gone through.If we have an expert, we'll have them give us some guidance, ask somequestions, and then we'll just roll into a closeout and talk about anythingthat might be coming up the next week.

 

Matt:I was going to say, I'll jump in on that. We are very unscripted. I think inour early infant stages we did a lot of brainstorming of, “Hey, who are thesepotential guests that we can get?” and tried to find some inspiring stories,because as an age-grouper, it's not just top-tier athletes. We're not lookingfor the elites. Yeah, we've had a few on the show that are very top-tierathletes, but we also have people that have struggled to get to the finishline, people that have DNFed multiple times, people that are dealing withcancer, with depression postpartum, that are coming back. We have people, justall aspects of life, all different ages. It’s amazing what everybody out thereis doing. We're all triathletes, and that's what's so great about thiscommunity. So a lot of times completely unscripted, and I think we come in withmaybe some guidance.

 

Jillian:Yeah, often they're guiding us, myself included. I'll be asking for tips andtricks from them as well, from their experiences. But yeah, our guests are whatmake our podcast unique.

 

Andrew:When we launched the TriDot podcast, part of my frustration as an athlete is Iwas looking for podcasts to educate me, to teach me, and most of them that wereout there already –and not a knock on them, they're great – but most of themthat were out there already, they just interviewed professional triathletes. Ilove the pros. There's a lot of pros that I'm a big fan of, we’ve brought somepros on our show. But for the most part, if I've heard any one of them sharetheir story once, I've heard it, plenty of times. I think there should be morepeople lifting up the age-group story, and lifting up the everyday triathletestory, because to me that's where the heart of the sport is. The everydayage-grouper, that is the heartbeat of the sport. So Mike, do you seecomparisons between your show, and Matt and Jillian’s show? Or am I putting anunfair comparison out there?

 

Mike:No, it's funny, because listening to Jillian talk about it, I was sitting herethinking, “Well, man, mine’s really not that unique. They're very similar!”It's funny, when I started my podcast, or I started looking into it because Ididn't know a lot, I had to join a few Facebook groups, and everybody said,“You’ve got to have a ten-word description.” So my ten-word description isactually, “Tales of the extraordinary as told by the ordinary.”

 

Andrew:Nice.

 

Mike:I had a couple people help me come up with that, and it's really funny becauseit's really rung true. I've gotten really overwhelmed by the number of messagesthat I've gotten from people who have listened to the show, commenting on howrelatable the guests are. I'm not a coach. And like Jillian said, I'm lookingto learn. So I ask a lot of questions. I don't have a real structured format. Alot of times I have a guest come on, because they had just completed a race,and I let them walk us through the journey to give others some insight intowhat that race is like. How did the swim start go? What was transition like?All of those things. Yeah, I think there's a lot of similarities between ours,that's awesome.

 

Andrew:I think people come to TriDot for the coaching, and we love that. We love thatthat's what we are in the podcast space, and I love that y'all are out theregetting stories, and getting people on there, and getting inspired by it. AndRich, it sounds like your show, the 303 Endurance Podcast, is a little bit moregeared like mine is, where you're just trying to pick the brain of moreknowledgeable people. So tell us a little bit about your format, what you'retrying to do.

 

Rich:Well, first, you need to understand the 303 Endurance Podcast is named afterthe original area code for Colorado. That's where the 303 comes from. So itdoes have a little bit of a local regional focus, right? We do cover a lot oflocal races, regional things. We are not just constrained to triathlon – wecover cycling, running, ultra running, swimming, you name it, and our guestskind of run the gamut. They aren't just all triathletes. Our brand is reallykind of that tagline of weekly interviews with coaches, experts, and proathletes. My co-host Bill Plock and I have this – every episode, we typicallyeither have a feature interview or a feature discussion. The feature discussionmight be a coaching topic. That's usually followed by either international/nationalendurance news, and then we bring it home to local Colorado endurance eventstype of topic. Pro athletes, we've had everywhere from Dave Scott and MarkAllen, to Christian Blummenfelt and Taylor Knibb, and most, most of them inbetween. Coaches – John Mayfield, Siri Lindley, Sarah McLarty, Jim Vance, someof the more recognizable expert coaches out there. Educational topics, we'vetalked with Andy Blow from Precision Hydration, we've had him on our podcast.

 

Andrew:Great guy.

 

Rich:Yeah! So I would say, when we first got started, it was not very easy to get,some of the bigger names, get the pro triathletes. You had to kind of build alittle bit of a reputation over time, and have them see your previous guestlist to know that you're kind of legit.

 

Andrew:Yeah, makes sense.

 

Rich:Yeah, it took a while to build that. But that's kind of our schtick, if youwill. What's unique, our icebreaker with guests is always Two Truths and a Lie.We've pulled out some really valuable secrets that are in vaults somewhere, I'mpretty sure. And we have this segment, the local news segment of it is called“What's New in the 303”, and that is a phrase that was actually borrowed fromTyler Hamilton, who joined us as a guest. When we introduced him on the show,he replied, “Hey boys, what's new in the 303?”

 

Andrew:And it's stuck.

 

Rich:It stuck.

 

Andrew:I just want to hear, what have you learned about podcasting along the way?Mike, I'm gonna start with you.

 

Mike:Yeah, I would say, since I do my own editing, probably the biggest evolution ofmy podcast is I learned to keep my mouth shut more, and become a betterlistener. I'm a better listener now, and I think learning to be a good listeneron podcasts actually made me a better listener in person. We do a lot of work –

 

Andrew:It made you a better human being, yeah.

 

Rich:It did, because a lot the meetings that we have through work are through teams,similar to what we're doing. So you learn to keep your mouth shut, let somebodyfinish their train of thought, and then reference back what they were referringto. So I think probably that's the biggest evolution since I startedpodcasting.

 

Andrew:There's some really juicy stuff I've said on the podcast that you all havenever heard, because it just didn't make the final edit. Because the point isthe coaches who are on the show. Really, the only thing that has evolved on theTriDot podcast – we started off very well-organized and kind of stayedorganized – we started intentionally with only a handful of coaches that wouldcome on the show. The more voices you bring on a show like mine, where you'retrying to give wisdom every single week, as an audience member you kind of losetrack of whose voice is who's, and whose story is what. So we kind ofintentionally keep that small . Now that we've launched our YouTube channel,we're hoping to bring more coaches onto our YouTube channel. You can see theface, right? So you can remember a face. You don't always remember a voice, andwhose name that voice was attached to. So that's how ours has evolved, and willcontinue to evolve, just by widening the circle of guests and experts we bringon the show. Matt, Jillian, for the two of you, your podcasting journey isstill somewhat young. But what have you learned, and has anything changed?

 

Matt:Getting to know your co-host, and understanding the general group dynamics, andhow to lead the conversation and picking up on when each other has something tosay, so you're not constantly talking like I am right now. Because I can keeptalking and talking.

 

Jillian:He can, he can. One of the pieces of feedback early on, having Jay and Matt on– even though I know them very well, to me their voices are very distinct, butto somebody that doesn’t know us, it's learning that, “Hey, actually you kindof need to introduce yourself for them as you guys are speaking.” Because Iwould receive the feedback of “Hey, sometimes it's hard to know who's talking.Is it Matt, or is it Jay? My voice is probably unique enough that it's prettyobvious, but then when you introduce a guest into the mix, it can really thrownew listeners off. So that was something that we learned over time as well.

 

Matt:One other thing I'll throw in there, I’m still learning on this, is theemotional connection. I mean, the emotions that we can feel during one of ourpodcasts, hearing the journey or hearing the struggles of the athlete thatwe're talking to, you can't get accustomed to what the emotion is going to be.We've shared tears, we've shared laughter. I know we've had athletes that havecried, and we've cried with them, hearing their stories. I don't think you canever be prepared for what's going to come out of their mouth, and howvulnerable they're going to allow themselves to be, and share. You can'tprepare for those things. So there is always going to be that kind ofon-the-fly piece. That's that genuine, heartfelt part of what we're doing.

 

Rich:There's no crying in podcasting, Matt.

 

Andrew:There's no crying in podcasting? There's plenty of crying and podcasting. Let'stalk about triathlon for just a little bit. I know this is a podcast abouttriathlon podcasting, but I do want to hear about the sport of triathlon. Fromall the interviews you've done, all the people that you've had come on yourshows, hit us with your top nugget about the sport – swim, bike, run,nutrition, whatever. What is something that you learned while hosting your showthat just really stuck with you? Rich Soares?

 

Rich:I don't know if you all remember Dr. Amanda Stevens. She was a professionalIronman triathlete and consultant focusing on sports,nutrition and generalhealth and wellness. She came on to our show, and one of the topics we weretalking about was hydration and hydration testing. The tip that she shared withour listeners was that she actually uses those urinalysis strips to test herhydration in her build-up to races. I don't know if you're familiar with theurinalysis strips that can test all sorts of things, but one of the things ittests is specific gravity. It's just a strip that you line up with some colorcharts, and it tells you how hydrated you are. That turned out to be one of thetips that we got the most feedback on, and I still use it today. It's a columnin my sweat testing spreadsheet, before and after, and some of my athletes useit too.

 

Andrew:We'll see if that becomes one of the tips that we hear about from you saying iton our podcast from hearing it on your podcast. Moving us over to Matt andJillian, what is something from your episodes that is just a tri nugget thatstood out for you. Jillian?

 

Jillian:I would say I learned the catch-up drill works in swimming, oatmeal cream piesare great endurance fuel, and to never be afraid to try to start something new.Start small, and you never know what it will turn into. We've had guests justgo out and work with a few kids, and next thing you know, they've got a hugemovement of involving kids in after-school sports. Or it's just some guyshaving a beer wanting to start a team, and the next thing you know, you'rebranching out to a really big team. I also learned that some of the triathlonteams in college, at the college level, they actually don't have trainingplans. This is a hint-hint to TriDot, maybe an area you guys can tap into –

 

Andrew:Matt, over to you!

 

Jillian:– but a lot of those college kids, even at the top-tier schools, they're justwinging it, swim, bike, run. Pretty impressive.

 

Matt:Yeah, she covered a lot of it. I think every guest we've had, their journey’sbeen so different. But I think the common root of every single one of ourathletes, and I know Jay, Jillian, and I talk about this every single episode,it's the emotional and psychological side of racing with gratitude. At the endof the day, you know nothing is guaranteed. We are not guaranteed our nextbreath. We are not guaranteed to wake up tomorrow morning. We are notguaranteed that finish line. We're not even guaranteed to make it to race day.But I think at the end of the day, racing with gratitude and an open heart, andencouraging those around you, makes you a better athlete. What better way topick yourself up, than picking others up? I think that is a common theme ofevery single athlete that we've had on our pod, and it's something I try toinstill in every athlete I coach. So racing with gratitude, I know Jay,Jillian, and I talk about that every single episode.

 

Andrew:Yep. TriDot Coach Joanna Nami says that really well, on just “racing with agrateful heart”, is the way she puts it. I love that you're hearing from yourguests as well. Mike, you had one particular guest that I think was really,really good, that I'm sure you're going to share a nugget that he said on yourshow. His name was Andrew Harley, Andrew the Average Triathlete, some guy fromTriDot. I'm sure you're going to share a nugget that you learned from him,right?

 

Mike:So actually, there were so many things that I've learned throughout my podcastand journey. You know, we've talked about it. Like Matt and Jillian, I havetalked to a lot of age-group athletes. But I actually unknowingly, in the verybeginning, booked the 2012 Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs as a guest on mypodcast. Honestly, I didn't know who he was when I booked him, and he agreed tocome on and was so very knowledgeable and generous. What he taught me was theimportance of developing what he referred to –you guys are probably familiarbecause you’re so much more educated than I am – the resiliency. He describedit as “your ability to stay calm under stress”. A couple of the things that hementioned, meditation and this and that, but controlling your breathing, hesaid, was one of the fundamental keys of increasing CO2 tolerance. And what hetaught me was, if I feel my heart rate rising, if I take a breath and hold mybreath for five beats before exhaling, it'll actually lower my heart rate overtime. So I've been practicing that for two years, so it's definitely stuck withme. And I have to say, that I can lower my heart rate by five beats per minute,which I know doesn't sound like a lot. But it makes the difference on myZone 2 runs, of having to stop and walk, or being able to continue at mycurrent pace. That's probably the nugget that has stuck with me more thananything else. Because he was a guest back on like episode seven, way back inthe beginning.

 

Andrew:So all of us on this podcast, we were all triathlon junkies well before we hadour own podcast. And I think starting an endurance sport podcast, it's beyonddoubling down on the triathlon obsession. We've all at this point pretty much,like, quintupled down on the role triathlon plays in our lives. So I'm curiousto hear from y'all on this – now that you are just neck deep in this sport, youare a triathlon podcaster, has hosting a triathlon podcast changed yourrelationship with the sport? Matt Sommer?

 

Matt:Oh, one hundred percent. I mean, by the nature of our pod, hearing what arestruggles for others, that maybe I've never experienced, has opened my eyesbeyond belief. Being part of this podcast has not only made me a betterathlete, because I've gained knowledge from our guests, it's made me a bettercoach. I mean, what better way to improve your coaching skills than hearing,first-hand from athletes, some of their fears, their anxieties, theirstruggles. Because maybe my athletes aren't telling me that they're dealingwith this. Or I'll run across one of my athletes that had a similar situation,and this is what worked. Or maybe I didn't know that this was a thing forathletes to experience. So all the nuggets of knowledge that they're sharing,I've become more knowledgeable. And I can share that. I'm more aware, or maybeI'm more sensitive to this now. So it's definitely, definitely increased myability to relate, and understand, and enhance my approach to coaching. Abetter listener – and I'll throw out my first quote, “God gave us two ears andone mouth for a reason,” you know?

 

Andrew:Think about that one folks, think about that one. Matt, I like that for youthis answer kind of circles back to your coaching, because it's expanded theamount of things that you have in your head to talk to your athletes about asyou coach them. So Rich, you are also a TriDot coach of all of us in thisepisode. Is that answer similar for you? Has it made a difference for you as acoach, or is there a different way that it's kind of changed your relationshipwith triathlon?

 

Rich:Well, I'll start with this. When I first started the podcast, I wasn't a coach.I was just a regular athlete just trying to learn the ropes and learn fromothers. The first thing it did was expose me to coaching. After about a year orso, I started getting requests to coach people, and that led to getting a USATcertification. Here we are several years later and now I'm enjoying being aTriDot coach. So you never know how something like this is going to influenceyour career as an athlete or, or your career as a triathlete. I'll tell you,one of the other things that I think has changed in terms of my relationships,is the relationships I've developed with my guests and in this industry, andwith other coaches, that has probably been the biggest surprising reward in allof this. Every one of these interviews – and I think you've all said this inone way or another – is that you get to have conversations that you don't getto have with normal people, like you don't have in your everyday life. Things comeout that surprise the heck out of you, but then you end up with this experiencethat you had with this other person that I now take with me the rest of mylife. And I'm really grateful for that. The other relationship that probablyhas changed is with my family, because they hardly ever see me, because I'meither training, racing, coaching, or podcasting triathlon.

 

Andrew:Yep, it's an all-around all around lifestyle. Again, you've quintupled down onthe triathlon obsession. I will say publicly for our listeners, Jillian, who'sbeen with us in the episode, just had to take off. If you don't hear Jillianfor the rest of the episode, it's not because we're not letting her talk. Shehad to take off, but we are so thankful that we got to hear from her. For me,this answer – the way I've come on full-time at TriDot doing media for TriDothas changed my relationship with the sport more than anything. Because before,I would wake up and look at my training plan, I went and did my swim, did mybike, did my run, whatever it was. That was it. It was very like, “What am Idoing next? What am I racing next? What group ride am I joining next?” How it'schanged my relationship with the sport is that my personal experience withtriathlon has really taken a back seat to kind of the community service I do,in terms of bringing knowledge to our athletes, bringing TriDot know-how to ourathletes, helping people have a good experience with our app, with ourtraining, at the races. At this stage, I care more about that than I care aboutmy own personal result. A day will come where I have to really focus back on mytraining again to get there, and I'll do that when the time is right, but fornow, my relationship with the sport is more about empowering other people tohave a great experience in this sport. That's changed for me throughpodcasting, and through coming on board with TriDot. Mike Bosch, how about you?Has your relationship changed at all since you started your podcast?

 

Rich:The way that the podcast has changed me more than anything else is it's held memore accountable. Because now I'm being vulnerable, and letting people knowwhat I'm struggling with, and what my goals are. So I have people that aretracking me, and you know the other day, I didn't feel like doing a workout.But I was like, “Oh my god, everyone's gonna know that I didn't get it done.Some people are gonna text!”

 

Andrew:People follow me on Strava now!

 

Rich:Yep. They do, they follow me on social media. I'm like, “Oh, my God, I’m gonnahave to get out and do it.” So it's made me better as a result. It wassomething that I definitely didn't anticipate when I started, but it'sdefinitely made me a better athlete for sure.

 

Andrew:Yeah. So Mike, just listening to your show over the last few years since you'vehad it, most episodes, to your point that you said earlier, you interviewsomebody else. It's you interviewing everyday Ironmen, everyday triathletes.But you do, every so often, throw an episode out there that is not that, whereyou instead kind of just give an update on how your training is going, or howyour racing is going, or how you're feeling. That’s just a super cool thing youdo. And yes all of us, just by throwing out our experience on a podcast, itmakes us vulnerable. It makes you vulnerable because you're sharing yourexperiences, your hopes, your dreams, your fears. But it also makes youvulnerable because there's the potential for bloopers. I know the TriDotaudience is always begging us to release blooper reels. And I’m going to behonest, we really don't have a ton. But we do have some snafu moments that Ican share, and I certainly will. So let's go there. What is your biggestblooper moment from podcasting? I'll certainly share one or two of mine. Overto Coach Rich, what's your biggest blooper from podcasting?

 

Rich:For 45 minutes into an interview with Michael Horvath from Strava, talkingabout the origin of Strava and all of this, had some great moments. And 45minutes in, I looked down and I do not see the recording running. So we have to–

 

Andrew:I felt that coming. I felt that coming in your story.

 

Rich:Talk about feeling crushed and embarrassed. He was very humble and we went backand re-recorded everything. Not sure it was as good as the first take, butyeah, there's my blooper.

 

Andrew:Yeah, it absolutely happens, right? It's everybody's worst fear. My biggestblooper, in terms of the TriDot podcast – early on, our staff would eitherrecord episodes together in the same room, or everybody would have toindependently record their own audio to their local computer. And Dr. KristaAustin, she's come on the show dozens of times helping us talk about nutrition,she's our go-to resource when it comes to nutrition for our athletes. Well,this one time – and if you've ever used Garage Band, you know Garage Band’sdefault settings, there is a metronome that is turned on unless you turn itoff., because Garage Band is built for musicians. So I know, very easily, justthe first thing I ever do if I am creating a Garage Band file, I turn themetronome off. And I just this one time, I guess I didn't check to see ifKrista had done that, and she didn't know to do that. She's not a mediaprofessional, she's a nutrition and strength and conditioning coach. So we do awhole hour-long podcast, kind of like we were talking about, Rich. She sends meher audio file, I pull in to post, and there's a click, click, click, click,click every three seconds in the audio. And you can't remove that, it's way tooobtrusive of a noise. So Krista and I had to get on a call, and same as you,Rich, she was very gracious. We didn't rerecord the whole episode. It was me,Elizabeth, and Krista. Elizabeth didn't have to join, I didn't have to resayeverything, it was basically just like me saying the question again so that shecould just repeat her responses. We edited it in, no one ever knew, butshout-out to Dr. Krista Austin for taking the time to do that. That's ourbiggest kerfuffle I think we've had recording our episodes. Matt Sommer!

 

Matt:You know, we're only 29 episodes deep.

 

Andrew:So nothing yet. Nice!

Matt:I don't know if we've been fortunate, but we have not – we've had enough ofthem, but nothing major. I think the biggest one that we deal with on aweek-to-week basis is the intro and the closing. For some reason, we can neverremember our Instagram handle or our e-mail. And when you go to say, “TriathlonAge Group Journey”, it comes out “Triathlon Age Group Journal”, it comes out“Triathlon Group A”, and we just stumble over our own words. We've been prettyfortunate so far that we haven't had any major issues though.

 

Andrew:Yeah, and I hope that continues for you. I really, really do.

 

Matt:We're still young. We're ready for them now. We're learning from you all, youknow.

 

Andrew:Make sure you hit “record”, Matt. Yeah, make sure you hit “record", right?

 

Matt:Hit record. Hit record.

 

Andrew:All right, Mike, any bloopers from your show?

 

Mike:Yeah, oh my gosh. I would have to say, besides me mispronouncing my guests’names, which I have done multiple times –

 

Andrew:I always ask. You always ask. Even if it's an obvious one, you always ask.

 

Mike:– my biggest blunder is I accidentally released the same episode two weeks in arow with a different title. So you know the majority of my episodes areinterviews, so I had the guest’s name correct, but I re-released the previousweek's episode. And it was live for like four hours before anybody messaged meand they said, “Hey, I think there's a problem with the podcast today.”

 

Andrew:“That was last week. That was last week’s show!”

 

Rich:Yeah, and I was like, “Oh no.” So I had to go back, find the file. Oh I was soembarrassed.

 

Andrew:That's when you just say, “Guys, last week was so good, I wanted you to hear itagain, that’s all.”

 

Rich:Yeah, except for I tagged the current guest’s Instagram in the post andeverything, like they were all excited. Oh it was just so embarrassing.

 

Andrew:Just a couple of questions left here, and this has just been, for me at least,just a really fun conversation. I was really amped for this episode. I've beenfortunate to have a lot of great conversations, but this one I was personallyjazzed about, just to talk shop, and highlight some different TriDot athletesand coaches who have great shows in and of themselves. So for all of you, I’mcurious to hear – as you look forward, what is the goal for your podcast? Whatdo you hope the future holds for your journey in podcasting? Rich, you've beenthis longer than any of us, so I'll send this over your way first.

 

Rich:Yeah. You know, it's interesting, I got into podcasting wanting to learn fromothers and share this content with others, didn't anticipate the coachingcareer coming out of it. I am probably wanting to influence our content gettingmore into kind of coaching information, giving advice to athletes. Probablysteering it more in the direction of how can people learn from the podcast,learn from coaches more than pro athletes, and that sort of thing. I think as Iget further into my coaching career, I'm having less and less time to podcast,so I'm going to have to probably be a little bit smarter about my use of timewith the podcast, and how we leverage it.

 

Andrew:That's a very mature sentiment right there, to recognize that and to make thatadjustment as you move forward for sure. Mike, for you, what do you hope thepodcasting future holds?

 

Mike:Yeah, you know it's a crazy question, so I'm gonna be vulnerable, and Iactually have something, and I'm going to share it with you. So last year, Irecognized kind of what Rich said. It's overwhelming. It's a lot. I mean, asmuch as much fun as it is, and no matter how much I enjoy it, it's a lot totake on. So I actually reached out to a previous guest and I asked her, “Hey,what would you think about hosting your own episode of the podcast?” So Iallowed Jenna Russell to come on, and she hosted her own episode. I wasn't onit at all. I did the editing and all that behind the scenes stuff.

 

Mike:And more people listened, didn't they?

 

Mike:It was very well received! So she did, she found her own guest, she wrote herown questions.

 

Andrew:That's awesome.

 

Mike:And I would say that if I could find five or six people who wanted to get intopodcasting, were into triathlon but really just didn't know where to go, Iwould love to have a little network of people doing what I do, or what Matt andJillian do, just sharing age-group stories, and sharing where they are. I thinkit's just been such a blessing getting to know people, and hearing the feedbackof how valuable the stories are to individuals. So I don't know if we'll everget there, but that would be my wish.

 

Andrew:Mike, I love that you started with a former guest of yours, who probably alsolistened to your show. It’s not like you went out and found somebody who was apodcasting savant. You brought somebody from the family of your podcast, kindof elevated into a position of host, and I think that's really, really cool.I've not heard one of her episodes, but now I'm going to listen to one of herepisodes, and see how she did.

 

Mike:Yeah, and what's funny is she's actually a new TriDot athlete. She shared withme this past week that she's now using TriDot. So she joins me when she can,but we're looking for another opportunity for her to host her own show, andI've got a couple people that have kind of hinted around that they would liketo do it. So I'm going to explore that a little bit, just to see how wellthat's received.

 

Andrew:That’s the cool thing with podcasting, there's so many different approaches youcan take, there’s so many different ways you can format the show and approachthe show. Even within the sample size of this episode, we're all TriDotters whotake a very different approach to triathlon podcasting. I think that's really,really cool. Matt Sommer, just representing the newest show on the block hereon this show – when you guys look forward from your show, the three of you thatare the hosts of it, what do you guys hope the future holds?

 

Matt:It's three little words, and those that know me know it's not “Passion,Purpose, Progress”, that goes back to my coaching. The three words that reallymotivate, for the purpose of our podcast, is going to be “Motivate, Cultivateand Inspire”. We want to motivate people, we want to cultivate a community, andwe want to inspire those around us. Triathlon is all about a community. We allhave something to give back to it, because we're taking so much from it. And Ithink at the end of the day, you're always supposed to give more than you take.Again, if we can use this platform that we all love and that we're all usingday-to-day – all four of us here, for four different shows – if we can use itnot only to motivate individuals to get into the sport, cultivate the triathloncommunity, and then inspire those around us, we're winning. We're doing ourjob, we're doing a great job, and we're having fun doing it.

 

Andrew:Yeah, I love that, Matt. For TriDot, it's “Educate, Inspire and Entertain”.Those are our guiding principles for our media channels. For our team, when welook forward – we're going to keep the podcast rolling, the podcast is doinggreat. We're happy with who's listening, and we're happy with the educationthat gets out there, and what we're able to do with it. The future for us istrying to get more content out on YouTube, trying to get our coaches on camera,educating people in the sport. We're trying to do more with social media. We'retaking some core coaches and athletes and getting them on social media, justhelping educate other athletes who are on Instagram, TikTok, Reels and allthose apps, to kind of encounter our coaching expertise in those formats. Sofor us it's just taking the knowledge, and taking the heart and the positiveattitude that is the TriDot family, and just trying to spread it out to otherchannels. But I'm just excited that, even with only having one TriDot podcast,in a way I feel like TriDot has a ton of podcasts. Because you're all TriDotAmbassadors, you're all TriDot, coaches, and you're out there not specificallytalking about TriDot, but as a core member of our family, you're representingour brand very well in the public space. So thank you for that. Before we gotoday, I want to give all of you the chance – if someone is a frequent listenerto the TriDot podcast, but they've never fired up one of your episodes, andthey want to give you guys a shot and see what you're doing with your show –leave us today with one episode that is your go-to recommendation for people tocheck out. Rich Soares, what is it for the 303 Endurance Podcast?

 

Rich:I have to call out Episode 266, January 8th, 2021, Tez Steinberg. This guy rows2,700 miles, by himself, from California to Hawaii in 71 days. It is an amazingjourney. He talks about the training, that includes things like being byhimself for 30 days, just so he can get used to being by himself. It's anamazing story. The physical hardship, the stress, the amazing things he sawwhile he was in the small little solar-powered rowboat – solar-powered for allof his equipment to document the journey and so forth – amazing. Episode 266,January 8th, 2021, Tez Steinberg.

 

Andrew:Yeah, and a really cool attribute of your show, being an endurance podcast andnot necessarily always triathlon-specific, is getting to talk to guests likethat. Very, very good recommendation., I’m excited to fire that one up fromyour show. Mike Bosch, from the Everyday Ironman Podcast, what is one episodeyou recommend to our listeners?

 

Mike:I mean, Episode 86, where I interviewed Andrew Harley, is obviously –

 

Andrew:Of course! That’s a slam dunk!

 

Mike:That's the obvious recommendation! But I would say right behind that,Episode 20. I had the opportunity to interview Brookelyn Coffey. Brookelynwas 19 years-old at the time when she finished Ironman Indiana. The reasonshe got into triathlon was because her father, who was an Ironman athlete, hada stroke in I think 2019. And through his recovery, she started training withhim to keep him company and to make sure that he was safe. Then it was allthree of them – Brookelyn, Travis, and Kim, the mom – they all finished IronmanIndiana together in 2021. So just her story, her passion at such a young age,the wisdom that she shared, I think it just kind of embodies all the thingsthat we try to get out there, and give a relatable story. So that's my go-to.

 

Andrew:Yeah, between those two that you shared, mine and hers, definitely go listen tohers and not mine.

 

Mike:Yours is really good.

 

Andrew:There are certainly more interesting people on this planet besides me, and Iknow Mike has interviewed many of them. So yeah, great recommendation there.Matt Sommer, what is this for you?

 

Matt:You know, Andrew, it depends. That's the best answer I can give you. We've hadsuch a diverse group of guests, that I really think the individual who's askingme depends. Where are they in the sport at this point? What are they lookingfor? Because we've had such a diverse guest list. We've had race directors,we've had bike fitters. We've had postpartum, we've had depression. We've hadultra beasts like Jason Verbracken and John Kelly. We’ve had amazing coacheslike Brandy Ramirez, John Mayfield, and Brock Walaska. But if I had to pick oneepisode – and Jay and Jillian would probably give you different episodes, andthat's what's great, is that we all have a different perspective on this – minewould have to be Episode 3. I love this woman, she is one of my most favoritehuman beings in the entire world. She is known as the Old Bag, the BadassGrandma, the one, the only, the legendary Kay Grant. Kay, I love you, woman.You are amazing. Her story will inspire you, it will make you cry, it will makeyou laugh, and if it doesn't motivate you to get your butt up off the couch andgo do a triathlon, I don't know what will. She's going for her firstIron-distance race ever at Sacramento, coming up here later this year. There'sa hashtag going around, #KayMadeMeDoIt. There's going to be a huge TriDotcontingent there. I'm so proud to be her coach. The woman never ceases to amazeme. She is the epitome of what an age-group triathlete is to me.

 

Cool down theme: Great set everyone! Let’s cool down.

 

Vanessa Ronksley: It's Coach Cooldown Tip time, and I'm Vanessa,your Average Triathlete with the Elite-Level Enthusiasm! Our featured coachtoday is a jack of all trades. From owning his own medical practice as aphysician's assistant, to race directing, leading TriDot’s Ambassador andCommunity Programs, coaching triathlon, and racing himself, I'm not actuallysure if this man sleeps. Triathlon has played a huge role in Dan Caskie's life,as a means to get healthy, and he is on a roll with having lost over 100 poundssince 2017. He is a USAT Level 1 certified coach, and is passionate abouthelping busy and traveling professionals balance work, life, travel, andfamily, all while crushing their triathlon goals. With his analytical mind, heexcels at using data to get his athletes to their next level, and focuses onrecovery to keep the body in tip-top shape. He lives in South Carolina with hisbeautiful and supportive wife Kim, and is a proud parent to two amazing kids.Welcome to the cool down, Dan!

 

Dan Caskie: Hey, thanks for having me!

 

Vanessa:Now, it is abundantly clear, Dan, that you live your life to the fullest. Andthis often includes spending a lot of time in nature in your family's camper.So tell me what the most beautiful spot you have camped with your family is.

 

Dan:There's a lot of them. I mean, we're actually getting ready to head to one ofour favorite places this next week for a birthday week, so we're going to thelake. But one of my favorite memories is camping in Jacksonville, Florida atHuguenot Campground. It's right on the Saint Johns River where it meets theocean, so you camp on the river, but you can drive and park your vehicle, likeyou literally drive on the sand. So the sun comes up and we get sunrise on thebeach, and the kids can play. It was just an amazing time. I did it with myfamily, with one of the triathlons was there, very, very special memory to us.So that would be one of my top places there, Huguenot. Yeah, it's a beautifultime.

 

Vanessa:That sounds amazing. Maybe we'll have to get my family packed up and head allthe way down to Florida at some point.

 

Dan:There you go, yeah. There's just so many amazing places in Florida to comecamp, yeah.

 

Vanessa:Awesome. Well, you are here to tell us about a coaching tip. What tri tip doyou have for our listeners today?

 

Dan:A lot of what I think about is preparation. Safety is a big thing for me. Icome from a background in medicine and emergency medicine, so often when thingsdon't go well. But I want to talk about colors and preparation for outdoorrunning and cycling today. We're going to talk about three colors when you'reoutdoors, and when to use them. The first one is the fluorescent green, and whywe use that fluorescent green. Well, it's because it sticks out to the eye, andthe eye notices it, so it actually does work. So those crazy vests thateverybody wears, and that fluorescent yellow stuff, it actually works. But itneeds to be in full sun. When you start getting changing daylight, it's notyour best choice, and not everybody knows that. Your best choice for changingdaylight is actually that fluorescent red, that will help you stand out in thatchanging of the color. So if you're going to be running early in the morning,or as dusk starts to come, maybe consider that red versus the fluorescentorange. And another thing, well at least for me here in the South, is white.Solid white is not normally occurring in nature unless you're in the snowyregion, so for most of the year, a solid white is a great color for a runningshirt that actually sticks out, or specifically speaking of helmets. So I trainin my solid white helmet when I'm cycling on the road, I have two blinkinglights on it as well, and a couple of other things that I use. But as far ascolor goes, having a solid white helmet or a solid white shirt helps you stickout in the environment. Those are things to consider. I'm also a huge fan ofthings like Garmin radars to be aware, the Noxgear vest for visualidentification and those changing things, and other lights. So think about yourcolors when you're running. TriDot red, always a good one to have, and thatsolid white for sticking out, unless you're in those icy or snowy regions.

 

Vanessa:Yes, yes, absolutely. I think I actually have been caught a couple of times insome snowstorms, in the dark as well, while commuting home from work late atnight. So white might not be the greatest color. But in the dark, aside fromhaving blinking lights, is there a color that's best for the dark, like ridingin the dark?

 

Dan:So that reflective, they call it Scotchlite, something that reflects light onyou. A white would reflect, anything that will reflect light right. So darkercolors absorb light, brighter colors reflect light, specifically if you havesomething that's reflective. So grab one of those vests, or something that isactively reflective at night. I have these really cool things you can actuallyiron onto your clothes, so if you have a favorite shirt but it doesn't havethose reflectives, they make iron-on reflective patches you can put on there,so you can turn anything into a cool, safe outdoor night gear. And then like Isaid, a lot of lights and products, one of the things I love is Noxgear, theymake the light vest that makes you look like Tron a little bit when you'rerunning, and it flashes colors. So those are fun. But anybody who's been in themilitary, or around the military knows what a PT belt is, they're used tohaving some kind of reflective stripe around them. It's more and moredangerous, as we think about where and when to run. Planning it out, or havinga team, and certainly letting people know where you're going to be is superimportant. But if you're not familiar with the area, it's a little toughsometimes. You know, you’ve got to make the good choices. I feel like God’s gota plan for our life, and we can make smart choices, so if you're going to beout there, optimize what you can, but still run where you feel comfortable. Alot of cool trails around, or you know sometimes you have to just find thatWalmart parking lot and do a couple laps in it when you're running, and that'swhat it is. Even though these days that might be a busy spot, a lot of mallparking lots become a really good, safe place to hang out these days, becausenobody's there.

 

Outro:Thanks for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDot podcast withyour triathlon crew. For more great tri content and community, connect with uson Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Ready to optimize your training? Head totridot.com and start your free trial today! TriDot – the obvious and automaticchoice for triathlon training.

 

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