Mark Allen: Consistency Over Perfection, And Other Reflections On Endurance Training

Jun 23, 2023

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I’m so pleased to welcome Mark Allen back to the show!

Mark, “The Grip,” is also the greatest triathlete of all time, and he’s here today to share many of his unique insights and spiritual approach to grueling endurance sports. Mark, a contemporary of mine from the triathlon circuit, is now one of the most prominent coaches in the triathlon scene today.

Get ready for a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from Mark’s early racing days and the things he would do differently knowing what he knows now to the adjustments he had to make at the end of his career to doping in elite sports. As the conversation winds along, you’ll get to hear more of the spiritual side of Mark that he has become known for as he talks about the many years he has spent working with a Huichol healer and the retreats they put on together, as well as what he has learned from the time he has spent with other native Huichol people in Mexico.

Even if you are not a triathlete, the insights you will get from this show can be applied to all our peak performance goals in life!

TIMESTAMPS:

Mark Allen is here to talk about his career, his current coaching career, the new technology, and what he might do differently now in his triathlon career. [00:24]

The COVID gap with no Ironman championship races allowed athletes to hone their skills. [04:53]

At Kona they separated the men’s race from the women’s race so on Saturday, the first athlete to cross the line was a woman. [07:11]

Is the recent testing for drugs an isolated case? [14:34]

Mark has what he describes as the “second season” where the recovery is separated from his racing season. How do you continue the fitness without burning out? [20:17]

Overreaching is doing workouts where you’re going just a little bit beyond where your fitness is. [23:57]

The unseen injury is fatigue. Superhero to zero. The first thing to go is swimming. [26:24]

Another symptom of extreme overtraining is abnormally high HRV. [31:21]

If Mark could turn back the clock and take all the new knowledge he has acquired as a coach, would he do anything differently in his racing? [32:36]

The bottom line in this competitive sport is you have to focus on recovery so as not to be destructive to your body. [37:46]

One thing Mark would have done differently in order to go faster is to cut out some of the training that he did early. [41:57]

The technology in this sport has progressed. [50:40]

Training with Tridot takes all of the data on you and it is analyzed in a non-biased way. {57:42]

Technology has taken over our ability to daydream and to focus. [01:00:58]

There is a difference between being a very successful competitor and being somebody who is very successful in competition. [01:07:17]

Brad asked Mark : Would you say that the endurance is in your blood? Or were you using your endurance sports as a vehicle for personal growth and challenge? [01:11:18]

For anybody out there who is maybe not exercising at all or as much as they want, and when they do it's uncomfortable, it doesn't feel good. You want to back off, you want to cut your workout short because you're not feeling good from it, get it done anyway and do it tomorrow and do it the next day and do it the next day. And at some point soon, it won't take long. [01:16:35]

Mark has spent time with the Huichol people in Central Mexico experiencing their ancient ways. He used that experience to transition into this non-competitive life. [01:18:49]

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