Stuck in the same gear? Not happy with your race speed? It might mean you need more work on being responsive. How do you build another gear? Glad you asked. Today, we get into why triathletes often feel stuck at the same speed and how to break the cycle. We look at swimming, biking, and running and give some thought on how to create more of a range, especially when you need it. Going fast can feel good and fun, but sometimes our Zone 4 effort equals our Zone 2 speed in a race. Today, we look at solid and proven ways to break out of being a one-speed wonder, but note, it's not always easy.

Topics:

• Last week on C26
• Coming at you consistently
• We're the podcast version of an age-grouper that outlasts everyone to qualify for Kona
• New Orleans 70.3 memories
• Swim rant?
• One speed wonders
• Turnover vs. Stroke length in swimming
• Natural cadence vs. being uncomfortable
• Hill sprints
• Something needs to be a priority
• Increasing FTP vs. Losing weight
• Swimming more or strength work?
• Trying to change everything at once
• Focus on one thing
• Swim form
• Hard 25's and 50's
• What about your base?
• Not thinking in the water
• Building another gear
• Being Responsive
• One speed
• Without ranges we tend to not be present
• RPE - Bodymind
• Fitness vs. Form
• We can't skip steps
• Focus on moving correctly
• When Zone 4 effort equals Zone 2 speed

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Is it possible that we're carrying too much in our cup? Today we talk about approaching the year with a solid, focused, and consistent plan. It's so easy to want to add more, but there's real power in stripping things down, creating simplicity and getting rid of things that don't serve our purpose. We look at building routines and patterns that will help take care of our long term goals. We look at listening to and understanding our body by effort. We talk distractions, racing free, and carrying less mental baggage. The truth is, we're not usually tired because of workouts, but the extra weight we carry in our lives. Simplify and be consistent.

Topics:

• New intro?
• Decompressed
• Dogs and slippers
• Create belief and trust in yourself
• Movement is momentum
• Jan 1st new habit fails
• Don't expect perfection
• What's your fallback?
• Mental energy distractions
• Can't swim without a watch
• Too much interference
• Disconnecting in workouts
• Understanding your body's effort
• Creating less noise
• Re-evaluating your "why"
• Not trying to impress or prove things to others
• Run heavy
• You're adding too much weight
• Race free, run free, be light
• You're not tired from training
• Getting sick? Why?
• Do you really need to do more?
• Empty your cup

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

These next few weeks are tricky and today we look at how to get the most from them. Society has created an addictive nature in us and what's coming at you will be no easy task, but there are definitely ways to navigate the holidays and keep your training moving toward a great 2026. Take one and give the rest away! Moderation will be your best weapon both in training and at the snack table. Don't always assume that heavy breathing and sore legs means you're getting better. Keep things simple and sweet and be ready to train like you need to train in January. Dramatic swings have become the new normal, be willing to say no and stay the course. If not, don't beat yourself up by creating 180 degree swings. Happy Holidays! Thanks for listening… we love ya!

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Get some C26 Gear for Christmas: https://c26triathlon.com/shop/

Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Tight Jeans and Scales
• Addictive challenges en route
• Moderation to stay on point
• Treading water in life
• Don't try to get a head start
• Rebelling in the opposite direction
• "There's no love in that refrigerator"
• The deck is stacked against us
• Be 100% 80% of the time
• Society has created addictive natures in us
• New version of the trunk cookies
• Take one, give the rest away
• Everything is always more
• How's your aerobic system?
• Is this a short or long game?
• Being about longevity in triathlon
• Looking for adrenaline injections when you're down
• Efficiency and economy are so important
• Metabolic disasters
• Process oriented
• Don't always assume that heavy breathing and sore legs means you're getting better
• Steady isn't glamorous
• Consistency is king
• Dramatic swings are the new normal
• When feeling good becomes anxiety
• Seeing excitement in aerobic work
• Triathlete's Rock Bottom
• The real truth about robust fitness
• When feeling great becomes anxiety
• The best sign is that there is no sign
• The pain isn't always a reward
• Happy Holidays! We'll see you next year

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Robbie talks about a lot of stuff and Mike's not really sure what's going on. And vice versa, probably.

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Get some C26 Gear for Christmas: https://c26triathlon.com/shop/

Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Ironman changes course nutrition
• Early season 70.3s
• The off season is getting shorter
• December Rules as life rules
• The quickening
• Money is pushing the calendar
• Periodization
• What part of the year do you have the most time?
• Color coding your season
• Building your race calendar so it makes sense
• Change for the sake of change?
• Being focused and Open Minded at once
• When things get stale
• Obsessing about Zones
• Micro Goals
• Simulating those race feelings
• Exploring the demands of what you want to do in a race
• Tri-Calc secrets
• Intrinsic motivation
• WANTING what is required to hit your goals
• It's easy to want race goals

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Are you making your days count? Is triathlon your fuel for life or is life your fuel for triathlon? It's easy to put too much pressure on ourselves with a precise target, but the truth is, going inward and staying the course will take care of most of it. We owe it to ourselves to get the most out of triathlon and life but only have so much bandwidth to always be in "chase mode." Today we look at ways to pull back the external and focus more on making real, internal improvements, which ultimately lead to long term satisfaction and real growth. We also have a little fun with Christmas music at the end of the cast. Thanks for listening!

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Get some C26 Gear for Christmas: https://c26triathlon.com/shop/

Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Internal exploration is at the root of everything
• Socks and Sweatshirts
• What made you pick the races you did??
• Toughest time of the year
• Patience and execution
• Elephant in the room
• Precise targets
• Finding more satisfaction in the grind
• Beginner excitement that fades
• Staying level in your process
• How much bandwidth do you have for chasing?
• What staying the course looks like even in struggle
• A highlight clip society
• How to handle pressure
• Driven by fear
• Is triathlon the fuel for life or is life the fuel for triathlon?
• Empathy for yourself and others
• How we never burnout on this podcast
• Christmas music in training??
• Don't get caught in the theater, live your own life

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Is there is a small mental shift we can make to turn training from a pain into something we look forward to on a deeper level? We think the answer is yes, and today we look at how to make that happen. It starts with believing what you're doing is a good thing for the body and mind. There's also a lot of power in patience. Knowing that today's little step will compound with many other things to get you where you want to go. It's not about the finish line, it's about exploring your true potential, no matter what that looks like. Right now is a great way to figure out how you really feel about this journey and rewire your mind in a way that makes you believe in yourself and the long game.

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Get some C26 Gear for Christmas (use C26Xmas for 15% off): https://c26triathlon.com/shop/

Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Believing that what you're doing is right
• When you feel like doing a grinder workout
• Training by laps
• Embracing patience and the mission
• Aligning with your body and mind
• Dealing with restrictions
• Silencing your food voice
• When training is truly mindful
• The power of taking ownership of yourself
• Rewiring how you think about training
• Letting go of pressure
• Clearing confusion in the mornings
• This is a life thing
• Make some time to figure out why you feel this way
• Is a 50k trail race before your A-Race a mistake?
• How long can older athletes expect to keep getting PRs?
• How to get older and faster
• Things to add more engagement to off-season training
• Train like an athlete-->Train like an endurance athlete-->Train like a triathlete.
• If it feels good . . . do it.

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Today the listener controls the show! We talk about building bike strength to be a better climber. We get into how to fall in love with the trainer and the treadmill this winter. We also look at strengths and weaknesses. How do you define them and decide where to put the most work. We get into swimming and how much you should be doing it. Some of the best drills and things to think about. Also, finding your swimming economy and body position. We also look at controlling your breath on the run and raising your bike threshold.

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Get some C26 Gear for Christmas: https://c26triathlon.com/shop/

Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Thanksgiving Recap and favorite foods
• Building climbing strength on the bike
• Big gear/torque workouts
• Faux Big Gear
• Ways to pass time on the trainer or treadmill
• Limited time - Do you work on strengths or weaknesses?
• Determining strength and weaknesses
• More time on the run or swim?
• Body position and feel for the water
• Hard time breathing on the run but legs feel fine?
• Relaxing your breath
• Swim drills
• Swim economy
• Raising your bike threshold
• Bike progressions
• Playing the long game
• Negative split mentality
• Do you lack time or energy?

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Happy Thanksgiving from C26 and all of our coaching staff!

***Check out the C26 Store and use Code: C26Xmas for 15% off your shopping!

We can't ask for change and expect everything to be the same. The comfort of the old world with the excitement of the new one. Wanting both creates pain and suffering. Today, we look at listening to how you feel and finding what the true you inside really wants. We get into burnout and how to avoid it. We talk about greatness, loving yourself, and finding calm in the chaos.

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Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Rewards cards
• Early bird Ironman Deals
• Podcast Ads
• Mirroring what our athletes are going through.
• Burnout is a choice
• Burnout is usually external pressure overload
• Change - we can't ask for change and expect everything to be the same.
• Greatness takes obsession
• Loving yourself
• Finding calm in the chaos
• Variety is for the weak
• Listening to what we really want
• Unsolved life trauma
• Jaded and irrational from constantly living up to the standard
• Are you solving the wrong problem?
• Separating now from the forever
• Is it just "the old you" sulking?
• The journey of change is not easy

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Is your REAL goal to be fast, healthy, or just have a good time with training and racing? Today, we talk about why it's important to define your true aspirations in the sport so you can come to an internal agreement with yourself as the year rolls on. It's not uncommon for athletes to go through an identity crisis many times a year. We get into some of our personal struggles as we look at finding our sweet spot with training, racing, and life. We also look at clashing value systems and how that can make things tougher.

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Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• The Final IM Arizona
• New races coming?
• Will they build a really hard race?
• Looking at racing calendars
• What if you travel a lot?
• 70.3 three weeks before IM?
• Harder to deal with the unexpected than a busy schedule
• Be patient with your planning
• How much race intensity is goo for you over the season?
• What do you really want to accomplish?
• Athlete identity crisis
• Do you have the patience and desire to accomplish your goal?
• How much is worth it to you?
• Are your values clashing?

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com

Going HARD is easy to understand, but taking rest for recovery of your mind and body can sometimes create guilt. Why do we think like that?

Today, we dive into the psychology of taking a day, or two, off when our body needs it. We also talk about getting trapped in upper Zone 2 and how that can often turn into Zone 3 which is wearing you down far more than you think. We look at junk miles and asked if they really are junk, or if they're something more than we think. We talk flexibility, pliability, and how range of motion can create more economy in your stroke, peddling, and stride. Explore the definition of "quality" and look at things from a different perspective. Be objective and understand the big picture.

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Looking for a great way to empower your training, explore your limits, and exist in the moment? Check out C26 Adventure Camps for 2026! http://watersharpensiron.com

Want to build strength and conquer the water? Look into our swim camps at C26Hub.com

Looking for triathlon coaching? Comb through our roster at https://c26triathlon.com/about/coaches/

Topics:

• Thanksgiving ranked as a holiday
• Making up time in training . . .
• The Psychology of Days Off
• Gordo Byrn Perspective
• Rest is extremely important
• Over trained or under recovered?
• Why is it so hard to take a rest day?
• Is Zone 1 junk miles?
• Does Zone 2 turn into Zone 3 for you?
• Flexibility, pliability, limberness
• Walk/runs
• The continuum from yogi to bodybuilder
• Using HR - Controlling HR and time
• Don't ruin the rest of your week on one set
• Do "junk miles" help your pliability?
• Rest, recovery, quality
• Different buckets of QUALITY
• Howe economical is your body?
• Deteriorating quality as we go
• Monitor yourself objectively
• Courage to take a day off
• Being flexible in the training plan
• Going hard is easy to understand, loving yourself and respecting your body is tougher.

Mike Tarrolly - [email protected]

Robbie Bruce - [email protected]

Check us out at www.c26triathlon.com

Looking to find your flow? Check out C26 Adventures! www.watersharpensiron.com