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A good enough training day. Fitspeek 166 with Barry Berg.

A few weeks ago, Vancouver’s Barry Berg participated in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. He qualified for the championship race at what has been called the toughest Ironman in St. George, Utah.

Although he had a pretty good swim & an ok bike in Kona, heat & humidity got to him on the run and he slowed down a lot. Barry took the disappointment in stride, as his real goal for the year is another triathlon world championship, which is also in Hawaii. Any guess as to what it is?

Being in the same age-group as me, I was interested in what made this guy so fast. I got the answer! In addition to being an ultra and an iron-guy, Barry is also one of the few folks around that participates in the newest type of multisport event – the swim / run. In our 30 minute chat we talk about his progression as an athlete from a swim kid in Fort Mac to a Vancouver realtor & age-group dominator!

Also on the show this week is Mikey’s Top Five List. This one is geared toward friends and families of athletes.

Just like me, I guess, Mikey has been asked “did you win.” one too many times after a race weekend. Mikey offers some better questions for friends or family members to ask you after your next race.

42 minutes of fall-approved Fitspeek begins with the click of the button below.

And what multisport athlete isn’t a bike geek? Introducing A2 bikes! They are a relatively new bike company located just down the I-5 in Lake Oswego, Oregon and our new Fitspeek sponsor. Take a look at the super fast SP tri-bike. Then look at the price! Then subtract 200 dollars when you punch in the Fitspeek 22 code.

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Rain Man, Pain Man – Fitspeek 164 with Jordan Bryden

Yesterday in Madison, Wisconsin, Jordan Bryden from Canmore came 4th overall at the Ironman race. The conditions were brutal with crazy winds, downpours, and cold conditions (in other words – Jordan’s forte).

A few weeks before his trip to Madison, I had a chance to chat with Jordan about his race preparation, as well as about his 2nd overall performance at the Canada Man extreme triathlon at Lac Megantic, Quebec.

In addition to being a pro triathlete and a coach, Jordan is also a race organizer and we talk about the state of triathlon in Alberta and Western Canada.

Finally, if you know what this logo is, you are not alone. For many runners and cyclists in North America is a big deal. For some perhaps it is too big of a deal. In this week’s Top Five List, ATC head coach, Mikey Ross addresses the problem of Strava-Itis and how to overcome it. Press play below for this week’s show.

Also this week, we are excited to announce Fitspeek22. That is the code that you can use when you are ready to save $200.00 on your next tri-bike or road bike from our new sponsor at A2 Bikes. Check out their aero and affordable lineup of bikes by using the link below.

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Membership has its benefits…and requirements. Fitspeek 163 – “The Club”

This time on the show we meet an extraordinary group of folks who are part of a group that they like to call “The Club.”

Pictured above from left to right are Luis Alvarez, Jeff Jonas, Kevin Heinze (host), Elizabeth Model, and John Wragg.

Membership into this international club is simple, complete 50 Ironman-distance races and you are in! At the very top of the list, the guy they call the Chairman (John Wragg), has completed a mind-bending and record-setting 265 Ironman Triathlons.

Yes, an Ironman is an almost 4 K swim, a 180 K bike, then you get to do a full marathon after that, but you knew that, as a Fitspeek listener!

After I asked them all if they were crazy (and they all said “yes”) – I delved deeper into their motivations for doing so many of these races. Also, as I saw no evidence of wheelchairs or walkers, I had to also ask how they take care of their bodies in order to survive the demands of club membership. Fountain of youth secrets are revealed!

And speaking of clubs… Abbotsford Triathlon Club head coach, Mikey Ross stops by for another Top 5 List.

Every time you hit the finish line of a race, it is also a start line – for recovery. Coach Mikey explains the best practices for enhancing your post-race recovery. 45 minutes of awe-inspiring athletes begins with the click of the play button.

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The Usual Place, the Usual Suspects. Ironman Returns to Penticton.

What better way to welcome back the Ironman Canada Triathlon to Penticton than a fun-filled interview with local legend Jeff Symonds.

In his 2 decades-long career in the sport, Jeff has enjoyed success at both the national and international levels and has motivated and inspired a new generation of Canadian endurance sports athletes.

In the podcast, our 1st as a partner with A Squared Bikes, we chat about his race week preparation, his motivation to do this race, as well as some unfinished business that he has in the sport. 45 minutes of non-stop smiles begin with the press of that button below.

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Tinley Talks 2022

Once upon a time, there was a kid from California who didn’t really fit in well with the “stick and ball” sports that seemed to dominate the high school sports scene.

Like many of you, he found running to be more of his thing. And like many of you who tune in to these podcasts, he got pretty good at it. And just like you, he also started cycling and swimming. Maybe unlike you though, he was able to avoid having a real job for decades as he lived off the avails of a new sport called triathlon. Not only did he win some prize money, he also became one of our sport’s first “personalities” with a regular magazine column and his own line of sportswear.

This week on the show we spend a half hour with triathlon pioneer and legend, Scott Tinley. We Fitspeek about his transition from jock to egghead and from competitor to grandfather. And yes, we also have drinking stories!

And if that’s not enough, we also serve up a hot dish of training advice on Mikey’s Top Five. With more weeks of 30 degree plus temperatures in the forecast, Mikey has a way (5 of them!) of coping with training in the heat. Dive into the latest Fitspeek by pressing play below.

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ST on Tek

And the size of those early heart rate monitors, I swear… like toasters.

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Coming soon to Fitspeek

The phrase, “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” originally came from the car industry but these guys gave it a triathlon connection. Back in the 1980s and 1990s both of them were not only battling each other for the top of the podium but having their own lines of performance clothing meant the sales race was also on during the week.

And although these 2 were never rivals (as Dave Scott was with Mark Allen) they were competitors. Nowadays their relationship is much more sociable. Tune in now to a snippet of the upcoming interview with Dr. ST.

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Fitspeek 150: Catching up with Cody Beals

Emerging out of the Covid quagmire from Guelph, Ontario is Cody Beals. He’s one of our top Ironman-distance triathletes & most honest YouTube content creators.

This week on the program we spend 20 minutes with the defending Ironman Mt. Tremblant champion. We chat about his relationship with Kona, his passion for racing, and his approach to dataless training.

Also on the show this week is Abbotsford Triathlon Club head coach Mikey Ross. And even though we are in the middle of the 12 week Canadian summer, he knows, and we all know that those September triathlons can be wet races. Mikey gives us some advice for when we race in the rain. 24 minutes of too hot for Slowtwitch podcast is yours with the press of this button.

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Fitspeek 149: From the ditch to the podium with Martin Caron

This past Victoria Day weekend while many Canadians were camping or travelling, one of Canada’s top age group triathletes, Martin Caron, was sitting… in a ditch collecting his thoughts and brushing off the trauma of a bike crash. After a trip to the hospital, he was told he had a broken collarbone.

Not one to take setbacks lying down, Caron embarked on an ambitious recovery plan that involved rest, nutrition, and patience. The plan worked exceedingly well and in late June he placed 2nd in his age group at the 70.3 race in Couer D’ Alene, Idaho.

He followed that up this past weekend with a trouncing of his competitors at the Salem 70.3 event. His winning margin of almost 20 minutes was a solid indication that his recovery was complete. This week on Fitspeek, we chat with the champ on the ups and downs of the past 18 months leading up to his win in Salem.

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Fitspeek 148: Victoria’s Uber-Biker – Paul Auton

Like most of us, Paul Auton liked to ride around on his bike as a kid. Like some of us, Paul also became fairly sedentary as he got older and took on the responsibilities of life and a career (in his case getting up to 300 pounds.)

Like a few of us, Paul got back on his bike as an adult and really enjoyed it. Like none of us, Paul found himself second only to Canadian tri-legend Jeff Symonds at the Oliver Half-Iron back in June.

How do you get from 300 pounds to being one of the fastest age-group triathletes in the province? The bike, of course! Paul uses his not-so-secret weapon to compensate for a rather average (or worse) swim. A bike is just a hunk of carbon fibre & metal, however, and it takes a human heart and lungs to turn those pedals, and to get Uber Biker status not only takes desire and talent, but it also takes miles and miles.

Thankfully for Paul, he enjoys his time on his bike, or should we say on one of his 5 or 6 or 7 bikes. This week on the podcast we introduce a triathlete who is doing things his way and is enjoying perhaps his best season ever.