Today, Lydia Walter (@lyd_adventures) joins us on the podcast!

This past July, Lydia raced Ultraman Canada - a three-day event consisting of a 6.2-mile swim and a 90-mile bike on day 1, a 171.4-mile bike on day 2, and a 52.4-mile run on day 3 - and was the first female finisher and second overall finisher!

Lydia talks about how she got into triathlon and Ultraman (an Ironman wasn't challenging enough?!), her preparation for the race, and how the race itself went including swim logistics, biking on open roads, and troubleshooting stomach issues on the run.

She also discusses the huge mental aspect of such a long endurance effort, what it's like to be in your own head for so long, and how to keep pushing forward when you've had enough of your own thoughts but you still have miles and miles to go.

Lydia wanted to give a big shout-out to Coach Kathy Uscinski, Coach Chris Kopcha, and the Valley Shore YMCA Tri Club for supporting her journey and helping her get to the starting line!

Thank you for coming on and sharing your journey, Lydia!

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

Dina spent the weekend in Leadville, Colorado, crewing for her friend Cristin who was running the Leadville 100 Trail Race!

Dina recaps the race, Cristin's amazing efforts despite not making the time cutoff around mile 70, what it feels like to run/hike at 10,000+ feet, and more!

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

USA Triathlon Sprint Nationals was cancelled the morning of the race - another casualty this year due to weather. 

We chat again about controlling our controllables, moving forward, and how the finish line of a race isn't necessarily a finish line in the big picture, but a stepping stone. We also talk again about process goals vs outcome goals.

Dina gives a big injury update, with some positive news after a big medical test, and how she's progressing and moving forward. We tie this back into process goals and Dina's mental process as she's been training for well over a year with no races on the calendar.

This leads into our reminder that consistency in training is what makes up the building blocks toward a successful race, not one or a few specific training sessions.

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

In this episode, we recap Chris's Ironman Lake Placid experience! (Spoiler alert - it was wet.)

It was ALMOST a non-wetsuit swim, the weather was fantastic every day EXCEPT race day, but Chris had a solid race! Plus, there was even some drama with another athlete that involved law enforcement...

We give a shoutout to a professional triathlete who raced two Ironmans in less than a week and placed very well in both, and we note that Ironman is teasing a new 70.3 somewhere in the US.

Dina gives an injury update, and Chris brings up something she heard of called the "Enhanced Games" that actually allow performance-enhancing drugs.

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

In this episode, we catch up a bit after Dina has been on vacation!

-Cedar Lake and Lake T tris have been happening

-Summer is in full swing, and we give some tips on how to run safely in the heat

-Chris prepares for Ironman Lake Placid which is rapidly approaching

-Ironman world championship age group qualification has completely changed

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

In this episode, we chat about a few different things based on recent news we’ve heard in the athetic world.

First, we talk about the new Boston Marathon rules regarding adjusted qualifying times for net downhill races - meaning, athletes may no longer be able to seek out downhill races to qualify for Boston, or at least not as easily!

We then touch on the passing of the first female winner of the Boston Marathon.

Finally, we chat about RED-S in triathletes, specifically Lionel Sanders as he has just hypothesized, and how athletes may very well be UNintentially underfueling and how to potentially spot this. We tie this into Dina’s ongoing injury and eating struggles, and how not enough rest days and general stress can also contribute to the body breaking down.

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

In this episode, Chris gives a recap of her recent 70.3, which - guess what - had a cancelled swim. She also gives a quick recap of her training camp in Lake Placid with the Women On Wheels group.

We also chat about the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, during which an athlete was injured due to safety issues at the start of the race.

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

Weather happens!

We talk about the very real possibility (and recent common occurrence) of races being altered due to weather, such as the swim being cancelled. What kinds of mental tools can we use to navigate this, even though it's obviously not how we want our race to go?

We also chat about cutting workouts short. When is it reasonable to do so? Barring any emergency or time constraint, are there ever circumstances where it's okay to just say "this workout was good enough" and finish 10 minutes early?

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

In this episode, we chat about some of the funniest and ridiculous things we've seen in the transition portions of triathlons.

We also touch on the upcoming attempt by Faith Kipyegon to break the 4-minute mile barrier, and what this is meant to signify for women in running.

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha

In this episode, we discuss Ironman's recent announcement changing their world championship format yet again, returning to a one-day format in Kona. We give our thoughts and talk about how we both believe this is a step back in terms of progress for women in the sport.

We also touch on some recent race results and Dina's trip out west.

Questions for us related to triathlon, fitness, nutrition, anything? Topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Please send us a message anytime, and feel free to give us a follow!
Podcast Email: [email protected]
Podcast Instagram: @simplytriathlonpodcast
Dina's Instagram: @dinathlon
Chris's Instagram: @coachchriskopcha