Tri Talk Triathlon Podcast

The audio for this podcast can be found here.

Dear blog reader: I apologize that this podcast episode is almost exclusively audio, and that the real meat of the content can only be listened to and not read in this episode.

The Tri Talk “Best of Interbike” review, an interview with Joe Friel, and Tri Talk celebrates its 50th episode. A must-hear edition, today on Tri Talk.

Welcome to Tri Talk, your podcast source for, triathlon tips, training, news and more. New listeners since episode 49 primarily came from Tennessee and Hawaii. In Tennessee I hope you had a great race at the Atomic Man triathlon, what a great name for a race. In Hawaii, I’m not sure if the increase in listeners is from new subscribers, or from the migration of athletes and fans to Kona for the upcoming Ironman Championships. Either way, enjoy the show. My goal at Tri Talk is to help you swim, bike, and run faster, to meet your personal triathlon goals. Whether you are an elite or amateur triathlete, we cover sprint distance to Ironman distance. I’m your host, David Warden, and this is Tri Talk episode 50.

Can you believe we made it to episode 50? Unbelievable. As you know my goal at Tri Talk is to help you swim, bike, and run faster. A typical Tri Talk episode formula would be for me to pick a topic, do some research, and focus on the scientific data regarding that training topic. Today’s episode will still help you swim, bike, and run faster, but I hope you will indulge me a bit as I celebrate my 50th episode with a slightly unorthodox but informative version of Tri Talk. Today I’ll be giving you a review of what I consider to be the most interesting products of Interbike. I spent 3 days combing the floor of North America’s biggest cycling expo, which has begun to turn into one of North America’s largest triathlon expos as well. Wetsuits showcased at a bike expo? Tri bikes lining the entryway to the show floor instead of road bikes? Aero helmets displayed as prominently as traditional bike helmets? All signs that triathlon is quickly catching up to cycling as a mainstream activity. I’ll be sharing with you some new products that I think will indeed help you to swim, bike, and run faster.

Also, it was my distinct honor to be able to perform a face-to-face interview with Joe Friel, author of many training publications, including the Triathlete’s Training Bible. Of all the interviews, topics, and reports I have done on Tri Talk, this interview is what I consider to be my favorite moment on Tri Talk. I don’t know that any other living author has influenced me as much. You’ll hear what Joe considers to be the universal truths in endurance training, learn his opinions on altitude training, and find out what projects and publications he’s currently working on.

This episode is sponsored by PowerTri.com. Check out PowerTri.com’s huge 20% off sale on all remaining 2007 De Soto and Zoot Triathlon Apparel. Hurry supplies are limited! You are going to want to keep an eye on PowerTri.com over the next month, they are going to be adding some outstanding products to their inventory that you won’t want to miss.
A couple of quick announcements. Again, thank you for your interest in my remote coaching services which begins this month. Sorting through hundreds of applications, I selected 6 remote athletes and 2 local athletes to work with. You can find out more about these athletes off the Coaching link on www.tri-talk.com.

However, the big story of from Tri Talk is this: As Tri Talk approaches the milestone 50th episode, there is another milestone about to be reached. I am about to respond to my 1,500th triathlon question!

In reviewing this long history of e-mail questions, I recognized that I had answered several questions more than once. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a way to capture and publicly display all of these excellent questions, disagreements, dialogues and theories that were previously only visible to two parties? Not only that, but who says I know it all? How can we draw and collaborate from the thousands of years of triathlon experience within the Tri Talk community?

I am therefore excited to announce the availability of the Tri Talk Forums. This is a unique opportunity to build an on-line community based on a group of triathletes who are attracted to the same kind of training approach. I expect the Tri Talk forums to reflect the Tri Talk listeners. Avoiding hype and rhetoric, and focusing on credible training practices and equipment. There are some fantastic forums out there, and I don’t want to compete with them at all. My goal is to keep this as a resource for our relatively small Tri Talk group, without your questions getting lost in a sea of responses. Plus, of course, I’ll be on the forums myself answering your questions as always, but this way I can answer each question once, and have it posted for everyone to read. I’ve had a few of my uber-listeners already out there testing it out for me for the last couple of weeks, and so it is already well under way with some good discussion.

If you have not tried a forum before, this is the place to start. It is inviting, friendly approachable, just like the Tri Talk listener. If you are a power forums user, this is the forum to establish yourself as the triathlon deity that you are, on a clean forum slate.

Check out the forums at www.tri-talk.com/forums, or click on the forums link on the home page. You can send your questions and comments to david@tri-talk.com, or even better, put your question out on the Tri Talk Forums!

Alright, let’s get onto the good stuff! Interbike is the largest bike expo in North America, or as my punk younger brother put it, the Star Trek Convention for triathletes. But you don’t have to travel all the way to Las Vegas to go to Interbike and see the future of triathlon gear. I’ve got you covered. In fact, you can’t even get in to Interbike unless you are a retailer, manufacturer or member of the press, so you have to depend on me anyway. I’ll be walking you through some of my impressions and product recommendations out of almost 900 vendors. Let’s go now to the floor and begin the review of the Tri Talk Best of Interbike 2008.

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And yet, somehow, after 3 days it certainly feels like I managed to visit all 900 vendors, at least that is what my feet keep telling me.

I’m not a big fan of keeping my listeners in suspense, and so I’ll start the review with the most important product at Interbike, the tri bike. With an almost unlimited supply of tri bikes to sort through, you would think that my decision would be hard. In fact, it wasn’t that hard at all. The most impressive bike at Interbike, and likely my next bike purchase, is the 2008 Specialized Transition. Not only one of the most beautiful bikes I laid eyes on, but the one that had the most attention to aerodynamic detail. At a $2,400 price tag for just the carbon frame, not the cheapest bike, and perhaps not your first bike, but put it at the top of your wish list. An honorable mention to Cervelo for bringing the popular P2C down to just $2,500 for a complete bike. If you never though you could afford the P2C, this might be the year for you.

Like many of you, I have to find a way to train all winter, which makes a good indoor trainer a critical piece of equipment. The trainer of the future is definitely open rollers as opposed to a fixed trainer.

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After just one ride on the roller system, I’m addicted. I don’t know that I’ll ever go back to a regular trainer again. Louanne also points out that since you have to learn how to ride steady on a roller about a foot wide, your ability to hold a straight and efficient line outside should improve.

The helmet of the show goes to the new Louis Garneau Rocket Air. It is identical to the breakthrough and original Rocket aero helmet, but with increased vents for the endurance triathlete and age-grouper in mind. Worried that the vents compromise your aerodynamics over a shorter course? No problem, just seal them up, and you are back to the base Rocket helmet.

Another bike component I was very impressed with came from a company I had never heard of until the show.

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For you weight weenies, this is a component and company worth taking a look at, and my tri geek toy recommendation of the show, the American Classic hub.

Do any of you get frustrated cleaning and lubing your bike chain? I know I do. It’s messy, it’s annoying, but so important to extend the life of you chain. I found an interesting chain cleaning system that I was impressed with.
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Has anyone ever featured a “best chain cleaning system” in a product review before? Maybe, but there were certainly a dozen or more companies with a chain cleaning product, and White Lightening is my top pick.

One product that I did not get to see, but got to talk about with the manufacturer is a new shoe coming out from a company called eSole. It places a chip inside the shoe and allows the athlete to get power measurements. We’ve been training with power now on the bike for years, what about the run? This product is due out sometime in 2008, but it still the official Tri Talk shoe of Interbike.

Another product turned out to be irresistible for me to investigate.

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Now, I’m not endorsing this product due to the claim of reducing recovery time to 1/3 of normal, but the concept is intriguing. What would be the impact of increasing your oxygen intake during training? Sort of like reverse altitude training, or extra-low altitude training? Again, I’m not sure it will help you swim, bike, or run faster, but it certainly would generate a buzz in your next group ride when you whip it out. It’s enough to earn my gimmick product of Interbike, and I’ll be researching it more when I get home.

Finally, as another testament of the growth of triathlon, Profile Design, the maker of some of the finest bike components in the industry unveiled their new…wetsuit? From Profile Design? If that doesn’t show the trend from cycling to triathlon, I don’t know what does.

It’s been an incredible week for me at Interbike. To network with other players in the industry, and meet people that I have only talked to on the phone. But, in the end, for me it was mostly about the eye-candy.

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I also provided coverage of Interbike for Triathlete magazine. If you want to hear my interviews with Ironman Champion Norman Staddler, 3 time 70.3 champion Torbjorn Sindballe, Steve Hed of Hed Cycling, Jim Felt of Felt Bikes, Emilio DeSoto, Zoot CEO Brian Enge, Steve Born from Hammer Nutrition, representatives from Zipp, Shimano and Cervelo on their new products, visit triathletemag.com. The interesting thing about freelancing for Triathlete, is that I can’t endorse any product, but on Tri Talk, I can say whatever the heck I want about the products I like. Still, these are great interviews, check them out at triathletemag.com.

Before we move on, I want to take a moment and tell you about an international Olympic distance event that has me very excited for next year. The Battle at Midway triathlon is nestled in the beautiful mountains of central Utah, at the same venue used for the 2002 winter Olympics. One of the largest purses in Olympic-distance racing with $22,000 up for grabs. Not a pro? Come compete for your share of the $2,000 elite prize purse. Awards for age groupers, and the event includes a relay and team division. An open-air stadium finish to a roaring crowd puts the finishing touch on a race that will make you feel like a pro. Add it to your list of “A” races for next year. For more information, or to register, go to www.bamtriathlon.com. It’s an event worth traveling to.

Now, for the highlight of episode 50. I don’t know if we as triathletes realize just how much of a debt we owe to Joe Friel. Whether or not you have read his books, you have probably been influenced by his pioneering work that started long before most of us began our first year of training. When you hear the term “periodization” as part of a training plan, it is likely that it derived from Joe Friel. He didn’t invent periodization, but he introduced the concept in palatable terms to the average triathlete. When you hear about Base periods, or Build periods, or Annual Training Plans, it is probably a variation of the concepts in the Training Bible. When you hear of “breakthrough” workouts, that principle came from Joe Friel.

Recorded in the lobby of the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, enjoy this rare audio interview with Joe Friel.

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Big thanks to Joe Friel for taking the time to meet with me, and bug thanks to you for being a part of Episode 50! Don’t forget to download the unpublished archived episodes for hours more of relevant triathlon training.

Have you ever listened to the Tri Talk and said, “ugh! This guy is terrible! I could totally do a better job than him!” Well, if you have ever found yourself saying that, first of all, why are you still listening to the show, and second of all here is your chance! I’ll be taking about a month off for the upcoming holidays, and I’m looking for a sub to fill in for me while I am out so as not to leave the listeners without their Tri Talk fix. That’s right, if you have good communication skills and are willing to provide a relevant training topic for 20 minutes or more, this is your chance to expose your skills and talents to 10,000 Tri Talk listeners! If you are coach, a broadcaster, a fellow podcaster, looking to breakout into coaching or broadcasting, send me your background and topic idea.

Next episode will be on October 16, where I will breakdown the results of the Ironman world championships, held on October 13! Don’t’ worry, you don’t have to watch all 10 hours, I’ll do it for you. See you next time!