Simon Ward, Be Battle Ready - The podcast for strength, resilience, and longevity

The 1989 Story * Dave Scott and Mark Allen with Simon Ward

Today I have two absolute legends from the sport of triathlon, as Mark Allen and Dave Scott join me to talk about www.1989TheStory.com.  30 years ago 5-time Hawaii Ironman champion Dave Scott lined up on the Kona start line alongside Mark Allen, the heir apparent, for a race that was to be one of the most legendary battles in triathlon history.  They swam, cycled, and ran together for 139 miles before Mark made the decisive break.  At this point I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, as the race was well documented in the book, The Iron War.  However, as the 30th anniversary of this race nears, Mark and Dave have joined together to tell the real story of what happened in the lead up to, and during, that amazing race.  In today’s conversation the 3 of us chat about:

 

• Were they sworn enemies, or was this just the press making mischief
• What went through each of their minds at the 1988 race when Dave had to pull out the night before
• Why both Mark and Dave almost never made it to the start line in 1989
• Dave reveals some surprising insights into his own mental health leading up to the 1989 race
• The surprising race day nutrition strategies of the world’s best Ironman athletes in the 1980’s
• Why Mark Allen still has the fastest run time in Kona

 

Dave and Mark have only shared part of their story in this interview.  I strongly recommend that you hop over to www.1989TheStory.com, a new 10-part series, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of what still is the greatest Ironman battle ever, and where you will be able to read the full and frank discolosure from both Mark and Dave.  To watch the original footage of the iconic 1989 race, go here.

 

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Yorkshire Tea * Simon Ward and Alistair Brownlee

It’s not often you get to interview a double Olympic Gold medalist.  It helps that I have known today’s guest, Alistair Brownlee, since the time when he started his triathlon journey way back in 2004. He joined a British Triathlon talent ID programme of which myself and Jack Maitland were coaches for the North Region. It’s been exciting to follow the progress of this young man right through from a talented youth to repeat Olympic Gold medals and now to this stage of his career where he is about to make his debut at the Ironman World Championships in Kailua Kona in just a few weeks time. Alistair lives a few miles away from me so I travelled over to his new house to do this interview and he made me feel very welcome. As you’d expect from someone who is sponsored by Taylors Yorkshire Tea, Al made me a brew and we sat down to chat about:

• Fulfilling a lifelong ambition to race the Hawaii Ironman
• His first thought as they announced the cancellation of the swim at his debut Ironman in Cork
• 70.3 World’s or Ironman - which was his big focus for 2019?
• With an FTP of 400 watts, what he expects to ride at in Kona
• Why he would happily have stopped at 5k into the run in Nice
• Learning to be more conservative when racing long distance
• Why Gustav Iden’s race result was no surprise
• Why the results of his Kona rivals in Nice don’t really tell you much about their current form
• Swimming 3.8km and why Kona will be the first time Al has ever tried this distance outside of the pool

I hope you enjoy this conversation and have a few laughs. It will certainly give you an insight into Alistair’s mindset before his next big challenge.

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

End of Season Recovery * Simon Ward

This week we are back to a solo cast as I talk you through End of Season Recovery.  It’s a subject of much debate, as many athletes do not like to take much time off.  There are, however, many benefits to doing so and the world’s best athletes are very good at taking extended breaks when their season has finished.  In this 45-minute podcast I’ll cover the whole subject in detail, including:

• Why the next step after a peak is always down
• The benefits of being a non-athlete for a few weeks
• The concept of a “goodwill loan” and how to repay it
• How to use the additional time productively
• Why you should continue to swim, and why you should take a break from running
• Alternative activities to consider instead
• Gaining weight and why it’s not a problem

At the end of the podcast I refer to a 6-week end of season plan that I have put together in TrainingPeaks. If you would like a copy then please e-mail beth@thetriathloncoach.com.  You will need to provide your email address in return but I think that’s a fair exchange.

I also made reference to several resources in this podcast:

Podcast with Dr Phil Maffetone

Dr Phil Maffetone - 2 week test

Sweat Elite article about Kenyan Runners end of season recovery

Tanser - Train hard, win easy - The Kenyan way

Podcast with Louisa Holmes - Part 1 - Physio assessment

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Mental Health: Finding Light in the Darkness * Simon Ward and Mike Ergo

When we train for or participate in triathlons we often use military terminology to talk about our commitment or about the dark places we go into.  Today’s guest has literally done all that and more.  Mike Ergo served 2 tours in Iraq as a US Marine, and was involved in Operation Phantom Fury, referred to as the 2nd battle of Fallujah which was the bloodiest battle in the war.  In his words, “so many friends had been killed that I consciously accepted that I would eventually die there.”  After being honourably discharged from the military, his life descended into a spiral of drink, drugs, and self-destruction.  That is, until an epiphany moment when he made a change and found endurance sports.  Since then, Mike’s completed several Ironman events, including Kona 2017, and is now an ambassador for The Ironman Foundation.  This is a fascinating conversation, and we touch on some deep dark subjects, including:

• What actually happens in the moment when you think you’re going to die
• Suicidal thoughts and spending New Year’s Eve with an M16 rifle in your lap thinking about pulling the trigger . . and why he didn’t
• How anyone can find light even in dark moments
• How running and endurance sports in general can make you feel so good
• Racing Ironman, and why having important people to think about (like fallen comrades) can help get you through those tough miles
• The discovery that Mike and I competed in Kona on the same day, and how spookily similar our race-day experiences were
• How mental health issues can affect any one of us at any time, and the importance of having someone to talk to
• Mike’s work as co-Ambassador for Ironman Foundation’s Gold Star Initiative

To find out more about Mike’s work in the mental health field, you can visit his website Transitionsfromwar.com and Facebook page 

Facebook.com/transitionsfromwar/

 

Mike also has his own podcast Age Groupies which you can listen to here:  https://agegroupie.libsyn.com

 

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

The Importance of Sleep * Simon Ward and Nick Littlehales

In this week's podcast I have an announcement about the future of this podcast, so please listen carefully to the introduction. I also reached deep into the archives to find one of my very first podcasts with sleep expert Nick Littlehales. This was recorded in August 2016 but the content is still very relevant.  As you will know by now, I am a big promoter of those aspects of life which contribute to recovery and regeneration after training and I’m not the only one who thinks that sleep is an under-rated tool for high performance. This is a very short, but information packed conversation in which we cover:

• How thinking in terms of sleep cycles in a 7 day period can help you get better sleep
• Why alcohol may help you drop off to sleep, but your sleep quality will suffer
• Circadian rhythms and why being in tune with this will help you get better sleep
• Why we should all plan our sleep requirements in the same way as we plan our training
• Pre and post sleep modes and why this will have a positive impact on sleep performance
• How to manipulate sleep cycles over 7 days and accommodate late evening training
• What is a better investment in your sleep than investing in a new mattress? 

You can find out more about Nick at www.SportSleepCoach.com, or you can check out Nick’s book, “Sleep, the Myth of 8 Hours, the Power of Naps .  . and the New Plan to Recharge Your Body and Mind”.

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

An Ironman athlete recovering from chronic fatigue * Simon Ward and Debbie Potts part 2

Debbie Potts joins us again this week as we take a much deeper dive into the circumstances around her diagnosis for chronic fatigue, after having received several questions from listeners asking exactly what she did to get back to full health and fitness. So here we are with Debbie Potts - Part 2 in which we discuss:

• Exactly what HPA axis syndrome is and how was it eventually diagnosed
• Debbie’s daily schedule leading up to her illness and why it’s worryingly similar to that of many triathletes
• Why it took 9 doctor consultations before Debbie had the ‘epiphany moment’ that started the turnaround of her life
• What the immediate actions were regarding exercise, nutrition, sleep etc.
• How long has it has taken to get from diagnosis to a point where she can consider racing again
• What we can all learn from Debbie’s situation, some simple tips for a WholeAthlete life

If Debbie’s story sounds familiar and you think you might be in a similar situation, she now has a workbook "The WHOLESTIC Method: Manual & Workbook: Transform the WHOLE you from the Inside Out” which is available through Amazon.

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and George Galbraith

Triathletes love gadgets and they love data. When you can combine the two they are in heaven, which is why the subject of power meters is always hotly debated. There is a lot of choice and so this week’s guest will help to clear the water a bit. George Galbraith is the owner and founder of Jam Cycling, and they distribute the Infocrank by Verve Cycling power meter in the UK. He does a really, really good job of remaining impartial as he answers listener questions including:

• Some basic considerations for someone purchasing their first power meter.
• If a watt is a standard measurement of power why is there so much variation between brands?
• Are power meters worth the massive expense for age group athletes?
• What is the best way to perform an FTP test?
• If you train with power, should you race with it?
• Pedal, crank, hub, bottom bracket - which type of powermeter is best?
• When racing with power, what are the key measures to have on display?
• What are the key metric to analyse when looking at post-ride power data?

To find out more about Jam Cycling and the Infocrank power meter please visit their website https://www.jam-cycling.com/

You can also follow them on 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JamCycling/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jamcycling/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/jamcycling

In the conversation, I also mention the DC Rainmaker Powermeter review, which you can find here —>> https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/11/power-meter-buyers-2018.html

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Jack, Kirsten, and Louisa

This week I have 3 guests, all of whom have appeared on the show previously as guests discussing other topics. What they have in common today is that they all follow a plant based diet.  Jack Maitland is a high performance triathlon coach and in his athletic career was a full time mountain racer and then triathlete, winning major international mountain races such as Sierre Zinal and representing Scotland in the Commonwealth games triathlon. Louisa Homes is my regular physio (I sometimes call her the White Witch) and raced as a professional triathlete on the Ironman circuit. Kirsten Steffenson is a full time yoga teacher who embodies the ideal of total body health and performance.

The reason for getting all 3 together is because I observe and hear a lot of resistance to a meat and fish free diet and wanted to share their story, especially as Louisa and Jack followed a plant based eating regime while they were competing as full time athletes.  During our conversation you will discover:

Our guests answer listeners questions including:

• Is it necessary to supplement a vegetarian diet with missing vitamins and minerals such as B12?
• How can a vegan athlete fuel for an ultra marathon?
• Is it possible for athletes to get enough calories following a vegan or plant based diet?
• What is your “why”? Understanding the reason why you are changing to a plant based diet.
• The catalyst for each guest to exclude meat and fish from their diet.
• Why education is crucial when replacing meat proteins with plant based alternatives.
• How turning cooking and eating into an adventure can help overcome your resistance to excluding meat.
• Why giving yourself more time to plan and prepare foods can help make a change of eating direction much easier.
• Some simple suggestions on how and where to find your plant based proteins.

To find out more about Jack and Kirsten you can join their Facebook group The Sports Ashram.  Louisa is a practising physio at the Coach House Physiotherapy Ciinic in Leeds and also teaches weekly yoga classes at the same venue.

In this episode we also talked about the book by ultra runner, Scott Jurek Eat and Run.  Louisa mentioned the website Happy Cow, dedicated to helping you find vegetarian and vegan restaurants nearby.

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Debbie Potts

I first heard today’s guest speaking on another podcast, and her coaching philosophy sounded very similar to mine. As I explored a bit more I found that her back story mirrored that of many endurance athletes I have observed; training harder and harder and getting slower and slower and eventually descending into a downward spiral of illness and chronic fatigue. Debbie Potts was a 15 time Ironman finisher, including 5 visits to the Ironman World Championship, and yet here she was 30 pounds overweight while training hard. Eventually she was diagnosed with HPA axis syndrome (chronic fatigue) and she was forced to change her approach to life. So began her journey to better health and fitness, and the development of the WHOLESTIC Method. If you have, as Debbie describes, “a triple Type A personality” then this conversation is a must for you. You will discover:

• Finding out you have HPA Axis syndrome and exactly what that means for your health
• Why life is DEFINITELY a journey and NOT a race
• When is the right time to enter an Ironman?
• Metabolic chaos and chronic fatigue 
• Why 'slowing down’ in your life could be the path to achieving more and getting faster
• The secret sauce for better health
• The art of listening to your body, and responding to it
• The WHOLESTIC method 
• Debbie’s top tips on how to get started with being more healthy

In the conversation, Debbie also talks about her book "Life is a journey, not a race".  To find out more about Debbie you can visit her website, Debbie Potts.net.  Listen to her regular podcast The Whole Athlete Podcast, and find her on Instagram as  - lowcarbathlete

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Phil Maffetone

This week is our 100th episode and firstly I would like to say thanks to all of our listeners who come back week after week. I really appreciate your support!

Second, this podcast would not be possible without my assistant Beth who just makes things happen, and our production guy Sam who edits the show each week and manages to put the pieces together when we have technical issues. We have had more than you might imagine but Sam is so good I’m sure you have never noticed.

To celebrate Episode 100 I have invited back our most popular guest so far, Dr Phil Maffetone. In this show Phil answers  your questions, including:

• A recap on how to determine your true MAF heart rate
• The relationship between MAF HR, aerobic threshold, maximal fat oxidation and why MAF is actually better and more reliable than expensive and time consuming lab tests
• How heat can affect performance, and how to adjust accordingly
• Why it’s ok to consume sugars from natural sources like honey and berries, and how the body treats them differently to refined sugars
• Dr Maffetone's simple prescription for a disease free life of optimal performance
• Why Phil loves fartlek training for intensity
• What you must do if MAF isn’t working for you

In this episode we also discussed the following items/links:

2 week test to determine carbohydrate intolerance

The Overfat Pandemic why athletes who do lots of training may still look fat

Athletes: Fit but unhealthy

Fartlek training

The MAF test

 

You can find Dr Phil Maffetone at various social media sites including:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/philip.maffetone

Twitter @DrPhilMaffetone 

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.