Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast
Episodes
#897 – Moderating The Holidays and Being Ready To Roll In 2026
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#896 – What It REALLY Takes To Hit Your Race Goal
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Robbie talks about a lot of stuff and Mike's not really sure what's going on. And vice versa, probably. ---------- Get some C26 Gear for Christmas: ht...
#895 – This Is YOUR Journey . . . Make It Count
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 wi...
#894 – Rewire How You Think About Training
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#893 – Listener Questions
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 an...
#892 – Real Change Comes At A Price
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 as...
#891 – What Do You REALLY Want From Triathlon?
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#890 – The Psychology of A Day Off
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#889 – Ironman 70.3 World Championship - Courage to Come Back and Leave it on the line
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we look at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship weekend. We break down each event, including the unbelievable comebacks for Lucy and Taylor, alon...
#888 – Zone Zero
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We can't go hard all the time. Movement is medicine and those movements should have different speeds. Today we get into Zone Zero or active recovery o...
#887 – Learn To Love The Process
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you giving enough love to the process? Today, we look at what the process is and why it's really the way ti get better and get more out of life an...
#886 – Max Flexibility Season
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Don't turn triathlon into a job you hate. Now is the time to embrace flexibility and work on being healthy, happy, and a more resilient athlete. Today...
#885 – Heart Rate, Power, or RPE?
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we look at the three dominant metrics in triathlon: Heart Rate, Power, and RPE. Which one is right for you, and does that answer change with dif...
#884 – Freedom Meets Discipline
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Motivation is fleeting. How do we train and live in such a way that we're looking forward to what's next? Not down the road in 10 months, but what's n...
#883 – Kona 2025 Recap
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What a race! Today we go through our observations of the Kona Women's World Championship. We start with some intriguing swim strategies, get into deci...
#882 – Being, And Staying At Your Best, Plus 2025 Kona Preview
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we come partly from the great north of Wisconsin. We get into Kona predictions, jeans and ribeyes, then dive into the question of: how do the be...
#881 – The Case For Slowing Down This Fall
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a great time to build the cake, or maybe even just put your shopping list together. Today, we look at the unlimited potential of aerobic capac...
#880 – Building Your Internal Fire In The Off Season
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Post race highs. Post race lows. And everything in between. Today, we look at this journey as something that honestly builds health. Are your expectat...
#879 – Ironman Chattanooga 2025 Preview
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we go through how to race Ironman Chattanooga, plus, give a few suggestions on how they could spice up the course. We used to live in Chattano...
#878 – Listener Q&A
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we dive into your awesome questions with what might be one of our longest podcasts to date. We tackle back pain and bad bike position. We get in...
#877 –Being At Your Best On Race Day
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we start with an Ironman World Championship breakdown and bridge into how we can learn from how the pros race. We get into understanding what yo...
#876 – Primal Instinct Training and Racing
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We start by talking about a C26 athlete that raced without a watch at Ironman Wisconsin and dive into the mentality of being in tune with your body. W...
#875 – Ironman Wisconsin 2025 Recap - How's Your Mental Game?
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Triathlon is 90% mental, the other half is physical.* Today we recap Ironman Wisconsin 2025. This was Mike's 12th Ironman and there was some good, bad...
#874 – Ironman Wisconsin and 70.3 Preview
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ready to rumble at Wisconsin? We share our insight from years of racing and coaching athletes at Wisconsin. We go in-depth on the swim, bike, and run ...
#873 – Listener Q&A
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some really great questions today! We talk about mental barriers on the back half of your race run. We get into how to train/taper if you feel like yo...
#872 – Owning Your Core Principles
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are so many opinions on training and nutrition these days. How do you know what's really right for you? Today, we talk about how we've sorted th...
#871 – Finding Your Training Sweet Spots
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the hardest things about triathlon is staying on point with three different sports. Today, we look at tendencies that develop with triathletes ...
#870 – Don't "Mail It In" Before Your Race
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Most of us hit a bit of a wall deep in training and a few...
#869 – Keep Your Race-Mind In Check
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Race goals too high, or maybe to low? How do you handle the...
#868 – Figure Out A Way
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! It's hot, we're deep in training, and the easiest decision ...
#867 – Different Training for Different Courses
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Should you train differently for Ironman Wisconsin and Lake...
#866 – Ironman Racing, Pacing, and Mentality
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! On the heels of our Ironman Wisconsin camp we dive deep int...
#865 – What Can We Learn From Katie Ledecky?
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! How on earth can Katie Ledecky continue to dominate for so ...
#864 – Building Your Confidence
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Today, we look at things you can and should be using to bui...
#863 – Unforced Errors
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Are you making mistakes in training and racing that slowly ...
#862 – New Kona Qualifying System
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Despite our best effort to resist, today we look at what th...
#861 – Progress Over Perfection
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! Bogged down by the heat or the serious nature of metrics an...
#860 – Nail The Run In Your Next Race
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting your hands on some awesome C26 Triathlon gear at our store! It's easy to blame a bad race on the run, but it goes much ...
#859 – Racing In The Heat (Rockford 70.3 Recap)
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we go through all the lessons learned at Rockford 70.3 to give you strategy and ammunition for the rest of the summer. We talk about everything...
#858 – ROCKFORD 70.3 PREVIEW
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we take a look at the inaugural Rockford 70.3. We get into the course, race strategies, and how to handle what looks to be a hot day. We talk ab...
#857 - Priming Your Workouts
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of times we don't "feel it" and the workout seems daunting. Today we look at why it's important to use priming to get things going whether you'r...
#856 – Listener Q&A - Run form and economy, staying motivated, open water swimming, ultra training
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some great questions today! We look at run form and economy and how to be a better runner for a longer distance. We talk about what do do when you los...
#855 – Keep Your Race Emotions In Check
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to get your emotions twisted during tough blocks or on race week. Today we look at the little things that can frustrate us in triathlon and ...
#854 – Training To Hit Your Race Goals
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you keep struggling to hit your race goals but can't figure out why? Today, we give you some clear thoughts and solid strategies to improve your sw...
#853 – Make Training Harder Than The Race
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We call it "training" for a reason and we should be "practicing" in a way that sets us up for a better race. That can mean getting out into the heat a...
#852 – The WORK Is The Gift
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's no doubt triathlon can be an isolated sport. Grinding for miles and miles with no one watching, or frankly caring. But you do. Or you should, ...
#815 – Fatigued or Shelled?
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we look at the concept of owning where you're at in training and smart ways to move the needle without blowing a gasket. We also talk about how ...
#850 – Getting The Most Out Of Your Bike
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mike goes for a rare bike fit and we dive deep into the nuances of a comfort, position, aero power, and training strategy. We look at saddle height an...
#849 – IRONMAN World Championship Returns All Athletes To Kona
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Ironman World Championships are back to a one day event for men and women. What does this mean for the sport? What does it mean to you? That's our...
#848 – Lessons From Hot and Windy Ironman Texas
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On the ground report from Ironman Texas with a lot of lessons for anyone training for Ironman. Doing Ironman Wisconsin? Check out our Camp: https://c2...
#847 – Think Inside Out
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you chase the process or the excitement of race as the cure? Today we look going inside yourself as the solution. Topics: Lawn talk Door to door s...
#846 – Fresh and Confident on Race Day
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pre-Race nerves. How do we get ahead of them in training? Today, we look into many things we've learned as athletes and coaches to prepare for the rac...
#845 – Type A vs. Type B Athletes
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. Today we look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of personality traits ...
#844 – Be Ready For Anything on Race Day
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Race conditions can be unforgiving and downright brutal (see Texas 70.3). Today, we look at how training can help us prepare for the unexpected on rac...
#843 – Intensity vs. Aerobic
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. The argument for a weekend of RPE. Topics: Taking it outside to the st...
#842 – Pacing Your Season
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. Triathlon is all about pacing and this goes for workouts, races, and yo...
#841 – Things We've Learned From 10 Years of Coaching/Casting
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. Today we sort of cut through the clutter of complicated training and us...
#840 – Crafting Your Training Week
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. Are you good at recognizing the levels of fatigue? Today we look at dif...
#839 – How To Not Suck At Swimming #15
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. Today, we look at how you can be faster by being more efficient. We bre...
#838 – Swim Like A Swimmer
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today is a little rant about swimming. We look at a few easy ways for you to improve your stroke, body position, and economy in the water. It it reall...
#736 – Exploring Your Discomfort Zone
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we start with why 70.3's are gaining popularity and roll that into training with more intensity. We look at how to explore higher zones and how ...
#836 – Work Smarter for Better Stimulus
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we look at ways to work on little things that matter instead of always grinding yourself to the core. Better economy and efficiency go a LONG wa...
#835 – 10 SIMPLE THOUGHTS ABOUT TRAINING
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we run down a list of ideas generated from our athlete comments in Training Peaks. We look at 10 ways to simplify training by a shift in perspec...
#834 – Tapping Your Deep Motivation
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you tap that "positive group motivation" when you're by yourself? Today we look into how training can be more motivating, positive, and effecti...
#833 – Keep Showing Up
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's the time of year when we all need a little pep talk to keep showing up. Just when things seem like they're getting too tough is usually when you'...
#832 – Train Harder Than You Race (sometimes)
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you watch the Bobby Knight 30 for 30 it brings up a lot of questions and today we explore some of them and what it must have been like playing for ...
#831 – Experimenting With Your Training and Fueling
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we look at some of the things we learned from doing hard things at Run Camp. The body always seems to be more capable than we understand, and e...
#830 – How Good Can You Possibly Feel?
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's always a point of diminishing marginal returns, but how do we know what's not enough and how much is too much? What kind of athlete and person...
#829 – Sometimes We Need A Lil Kick In The A**
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Support the podcast by getting some awesome C26 Gear! Thank you for listening. Today, we go to therapy to give each other a kick in the ass. It's easy...
#825 – Listener Questions
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it important to do your long run the day after your long rides? What are the best smart trainers for your budget and success. Should you refrain fr...
#827 – Own Your Inner Narrative
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The way we talk with ourselves matters. Today, we look how triathletes can get caught in a trap of doubt and negative talk for the wrong reasons. We l...
#826 – Your REAL Why
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard to pull logs out once they're on fire. Today, we looking at some parts of triathlon from a different perspective and finding your Real why. ...
Lessons From A Dog - #825
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Not many notes today as Mike talks with Robbie about the loss of his dog. Mattie lived a good life and left behind a lot of lessons for all of us. Mik...
#824 – It's Time To Be Yourself
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The saying goes, "new year, new me," but should it be, "new year, real me?" Today, we look at goals from a perspective of picking ones that will actua...
#823 – Simplicity in the Age of Disorientation
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year from C26! Today we start with . . . Information, disinformation, and disorientation. That's where we're at, and today we look at the po...
#822 – Finding Your Formula for 2025
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Let's take a little look at your future. Are you training for the right why? Are you letting results drive the train or the process? Stimulate, don't ...
#821 – Take Some Chances
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you taking enough chances in training and racing, or do you like to play it safe? Today we talk about self-experimenting within the plan. Testing ...
#820 – Find Your Own Way
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of our responsibilities as a triathlete and a human is to figure out things that work best for us. Stress affects us all differently and one way t...
#819 – Off-Season Perspective
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Modern life is loaded with inputs and sometimes we have to disconnect for our sanity. Today, we take a different perspective on the off-season. How ca...
#818 – Feel. Flow. Economy.
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are the little (but important) things that make us better athletes? Today, we look at how to work at training in a way that makes racing feel "ea...
#817 – Set Your Health Up For Later In Life
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Now is a good time to be thankful you have decided to be active and are able to do the things we do. Swim, bike and run isn't easy, but it's a decisio...
#816 – Making Weaknesses Less Weak
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a way, this could be titled "small win season" but the trick is figuring out where to best put your energy. We all have weaknesses but identifying ...
#815 – Self-Correcting Your Technique
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you focused on getting a workout done, or getting better? Today's cast is largely about swimming, but the technique discussion applies to bike and...
#814 – Our Athletes Ask Us Questions
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we open it up to some of our own athletes to ask questions. We get into races that may not live up to the hype, Travel, stress, and exhaustion, ...
#813 – Decision Making Season
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What was the state of your mind, body and spirit at this time last year? We look at how triathletes can get trapped in a cycle and spend time working ...
#812 – Let's Get It Started
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of Mike's dad's favorite Ironman pre-race song, "Let's get it started . . . now." No more overthinking. No more premature optimization plans,...
#811 – Are You Game?
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you willing to let go and leave your comfort zone? Today, we start by talking about Cam Wurf's perspective on endurance sports and life and it tak...
#810 – The 5% Hacks
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We start talking about candy and ketones and it kinda goes on from there. www.c26triathlon.com
#809 – KONA RECAP - Plus, the mistakes we make in racing
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What a race from Patrick Lange. Today, we look at how KONA unfolded and why, after all these years, it still comes down to the run . . . and maybe the...
#808 – KONA 2024 Preview - Ironman World Championship
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Triathlete's Christmas is upon us… Who will stand on top of the podium at the Ironman World Championships? Despite being a little later in the y...
#807 – Winterize Your Training
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's not much worse than starting each year from scratch with rusty joints and bones, so today we look at some strategies to get the most out of yo...
#806 – What's Harder: A Marathon or An Ironman?
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we tackle a thought provoking question. What's harder, an Ironman or a stand alone marathon? Within this question are a lot of interesting thou...
#805 – Listener Q&A
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Listeners drive today's topics, including the highly debated topic of weight training. We also take a deep look at the swim and discuss whether it's w...
#804 – It's Time To Stay In The Game
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes we talk with each other in a way to figure things out. Today, we dive into staying in the game, being in the moment, and living a life of ex...
#803 – Listener Questions 10-3-24
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talk the best Z1 and Z2 ratios for the off season. We look at Training for unique races like the Triple T. We get into the best ways to attack ultr...
#802 – Building Off-Season Momentum
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Now is the time to look deep inside and figure out where you want to go, what makes you happy, and how to find love of the process. We look at the pos...
#801 – Are You Willing To Fail within the process?
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Success and getting better takes the ability to be willing to fail along the way. We can play it safe, but we're training for Ironman, not SoftMan. On...
#800 – Re-Framing Fun in Training and Racing
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you thought we would have a big celebration for #800, you are absolutely right! Today, we talk about how doing hard things like triathlon can be fu...
#799 – Durability And Fatigue Resistance
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Want to race better? Master the principles in this podcast. Today, we look at what's really important for long course triathlon. The ability to hold f...
#798 – Race And Live Free
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you too hard on yourself? Today we look at the challenges of consistency and commitment to racing and living free. It's easy to burn our consisten...