Newsletter ep. 121: who’s the fastest?

Now that everyone’s mostly almost all back to work, now the new year can *really* start, right? Especially since we’ll be back on the podcast this Friday and I hear Sara finally tried Zwift…

We’re also all getting back to training. Anyone else starting to make plans yet? (Anyone else unencouraged by the fact that Wildflower’s registration page still says ‘registration coming soon?’)

It’s a slow time right now, an odd time in triathlon. Kind of a lull. Triathlete Mag has been doing a 30-day challenge to get your year started right. Everyone’s doing challenges right now. And if I was the kind of person who did challenges — run streaks and elevation goals and mileage targets — I would. But I’m not. Instead, it’s Day 2 of the new regime and we just keep grinding away.

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New you, same as the old you

Eventually, I’ll have real pictures of real people doing real things again, but we’re still in that weird time right now between people taking breaks and triathlon getting started again.

We’re in that time when gyms make all their money.

I have mixed feelings about the crowded gyms and trails and pools. On the one hand: Don’t be a snob! Everyone is welcome! Never discourage someone from trying, you once tried too. On the other hand: Ugh.

I have no desire to be the guy on Slowtwitch complaining about millenials using their phones in the gym — and, yes, there is a thread about this currently, and no one has yet pointed out that millenials are just adults under 40 and it’s highly possible they’re getting workouts off their phones.

But. I also don’t like people. And I’m always annoyed on the nice days when the roads are packed with people who weren’t here on the bad days.

What do you think: pro or con this time of year at your local training grounds?

Who was the fastest of them all?

Now that 2019 is officially over we can officially analyze it. And Thorsten has crunched the numbers to tell us all about what happened last year — and, most importantly, who was fastest.

The overall fastest Ironman times of the year are interesting. Plus he breaks down the “best performances,” which requires an algorithm to say which time is better than what time. Takeaways: Jan is clearly amazing and Lucy actually had a very impressive year when you consider the factors. There were 32 sub-8 men’s times and 46 sub-9 women’s times.

But the individual breakdowns of the fastest splits are interesting too — fastest swims, bikes, runs. What you’ll notice is the men’s lists are varied, you’ll see lots of different names. The women’s lists, though, show the same names over and over. There are some clearly dominant swimmers and runners. I’m not sure what that means or says, but it’s true.

Here comes the Collins Cup

In other news we’ve talked about before: It sounds like the Collins Cup may really be happening this summer and the Pro Triathlete Organization may really be a thing. As I write this I’m headed to meet with some people to find out some more information. Like how the hell the Collins Cup actually works. It does sound like some more details will be public soon. Maybe. Stay tuned.

And so it burns

There’s been a lot happening in the news but maybe you’ve heard: all of Australia is burning. Obviously, this kind of thing is increasingly common but it is not normal and it is not OK. I don’t know what we’re going to do about the world burning, how we’re going to fix our future, but there are a fewtriathletes raising funds for the fires. Let me know if I’ve missed any? (Also, apparently nude models are raising money for the fires, so that’s a thing too.)

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• Basically everyone’s posting new years’ declarations, reviews of the decade, wishes for Happy Holidays. I can’t decide how I feel about any of it. I scroll Insta but then I feel like my life isn’t as amazing as other people are pretending their’s are. But I still scroll. Some I’ve liked: Paula and Eric have a new Banff video (if you’re into training videos), Linsey Corbin’s on vacation still, and Heather Jackson is having fun in the snow. (Youtube/Instagram)
   
• I was on a Swimrun podcast. Also, it’s the first Swimrun podcast that I’m aware of. (Low Tide Boyz)
   
• Not that I listen to a ton of podcasts, but if you’re interested in money and endurance sports, let me recommend these two Planet Money episodes: how the New York Marathon selects its runners and how gyms make money by you not showing up. (NPR)
   
• Women’s Running did a fantastic issue on the power women of the year. And Kara Goucher went off pretty funny on Twitter — which some people didn’t get, I guess? (Women’s Running/Twitter)
   
• More and more women are winning ultra-endurance events outright, beating the men. But is that the ultimate goal? Do we have to beat the guys? Does that make it all mean more? (The Guardian)
   
• Meet the elite grannies of Oiselle. (Women’s Running)
   
• A higher VO2 max isn’t always better. (Outside)
   
• This Slowtwitch thread about whether Di2 has hella problems is hilarious because, like, NO SHIT. It’s an open secret, but what they’re missing is it’s not *all* Di2, it’s the new Synchro Shift Di2. Ask any race mechanic at an event. It’s what they spend most of their time fixing. (Slowtwitch) 
   
• Here’s your burnout recovery plan. (Outside)
   
• I did a piece for Spartan about how obstacles are designed. It’s both more and less complicated than you think. (Spartan)
   
• And meet the elite force that rescues Navy SEALs. (Esquire)

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Comments & thoughts

– Apparently we’ve all given up regular bras and just wear sports bras. As a large number of you revealed. Evidently, I really hit a nerve there.

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‘If We Were Riding’ is a weekly triathlon-ish newsletter written by Kelly O’Mara and produced by Live Feisty Media. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every Wednesday morning. You can also read past issues. This episode is from Jan. 8, 2020.