The TriDot Triathlon Podcast

Olympic Gold Medalist and former World Record Holder Brendan Hansen is "allergic to average." In this interview, Hansen describes his competitive instincts and underdog work ethic in preparation for the Athens, Beijing, and London Olympic Games. Hansen also shares his experiences as a triathlete and unveils the importance of focusing on the training process and how the best athletes respond to failure and disappointment.

Open-water swimming can be a new, and often intimidating, experience for triathletes. In this episode, Olympic Gold Medalist and former World Record Holder Brendan Hansen recalls his first experience with triathlon's open-water swim. Hansen and Coach Jeff Raines discuss common swimming mistakes, open-water skills that can be practiced in the pool, and other considerations for your upcoming open-water swim event.

Dr. Krista Austin cuts through the noise of sports nutrition marketing as she offers insight about what a triathlete needs and the guidelines for using nutrition products. Join the TriDot team as they discuss shopping for sports nutrition products, sweat testing, electrolyte replacement, and determining the best use of particular products based on their molecular weight, osmolality, and carbohydrate oxidation rate.

Strength training is a key component of a well-developed triathlon training regimen, providing not only increased power generation but also enhancing muscle recruitment and encouraging proper technique. And yet, few triathletes make strength sessions a priority. Today's episode discusses how to balance strength training with swim, bike, and run sessions as well as tips for implementing this important part of training into your weekly routine.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are not only changing triathlon training for athletes, they are significantly changing the role of a triathlon coach itself. Today's athletes are re-assessing the value of a coach and their expectations of what a coach brings to table. In this episode, we discuss how technology is changing the triathlon coaching environment, how athletes can determine if, when, and why they should hire a coach, and how coaches can best leverage technology (as professionals in other industries have) to increase their value to athletes and grow their business.

We all know there can be great power in goal setting. There are few things more satisfying than achieving a lofty goal after significant hard work and sacrifice. But the mere establishment of a goal rarely results in goal attainment. Today, the team walks through a practical process for effective triathlon goal setting that leads to successful follow through and increased likelihood of achievement.

Knowing how many watts you're producing on the bike gives you both insight and control during your training and racing. And with power meters and smart trainers becoming more and more affordable, training with power is more practical than ever. The ability to train with power is undoubtedly one of the most beneficial training investments you can make. In this episode, we discuss the intricacies of training with power meters and smart trainers and the tips and tricks to get the most benefit from using power in your bike training.

Data and analytics have become an integral part of triathlon training. Yet, most triathletes don't recognize the true power of their data or realize the incredible results they make possible. In this episode, we cover analytics for triathletes in a way that is highly insightful for both novices and techies. We separate the meaningful from the clutter. We overview advanced analytics technologies such as data mining, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning and discuss how these technologies are changing the way we train and race triathlons.

Nutrition is often referred to as triathlon's fourth discipline. There is undeniable value in properly fueling your body for training, racing, and a healthy lifestyle. Join us in this episode as sports nutritionist, Dr. Krista Austin, digs into performance nutrition and how to establish and maintain proper macro and micro nutrient intake relative to your resting metabolic rate and energy expenditure. She also offers clutch strategies for properly fueling and hydrating for optimal training, racing, and recovery.

Since its origin in 2011, The Preseason Project has been a powerful triathlon training research environment and a catalyst for continuous improvement and innovation. The participating athletes themselves have made this possible. Training data and direct feedback from more than 15,000 triathletes has driven significant measurable improvements over industry norms in training efficiency, race results, and overall athlete experience. This has fundamentally changed how athletes train and how coaches coach. Today we look back on the history of the Preseason Project and the milestone findings, results, and events that have defined its continuing influence on triathlon industry.