A lot of people will say that their tires are 28C.

What does the C mean?

“Didn’t have the legs” / “Legs didn’t show up on the bike”

Which can mean all sorts of things, I didn’t train enough, I trained too much, I tapered badly, I’m just not as fast as I like to think I am. But makes it sound like it was entirely out of your control and not your fault that your pesky legs went missing.

I really hate the phrase: “firing on all cylinders”.

When you want to sound original, like the 625 153 people that used the phrase before, you talk about someone “punching their ticket to Kona”.

The fancy version for 87 764 insiders is truncated to just “punching their ticket”.

---

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

How about the one virtually every pro used after having a great race last weekend;

"I havent done any speed work and still in the early build phase of my season".

If that really is the case, then stop what your schedule has you doing going forward, and just do more of the same. You likely get overtrained, stale, and sluggish on what you think you need to do, and race much fresher when you are pulling back, just saying....

Tempo and threshold training/workouts/pacing get thrown out a lot but seem to mean slightly or massively different things to each individual so both terms are near meaningless to me.

"The hay is in the barn"

/yawn

---

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

“The body wasn’t feeling it”

---

I love rim brake bikes!

"clean pair of heels"

".......they deserved to win!"

Anything spectators yell at you on the run.

"...the likes of (insert well-known athlete name)"

so basically the phrase used by all commentators ubiquitously during live event streams

Can we add maurten move to this list? 😂

this is it for me. there's so much sloppy use of terminology in 'sport science' that half the time i'm not sure anyone knows what anyone else is talking about. zones, thresholds, power, HR, vo2, etc etc. hell, just ask 10 different people what "tempo" means.

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

thank you! where did this trend come from?

"he's got the likes of dave smith ahead of him on the bike."

no, he just has dave smith ahead of him on the bike.

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

"Dave Smith"

---

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

"Not the day I wanted..."

Listening to mtb riders talk about a trail OR person having “flow”. “Flow all day” with serene pictures of smooth banked corners.

OK, not much flow on some trails and some smooth trails with a crap rider still won’t have “flow”.

Cat 4:5 riders posting about “speed work” like they’re a freaking track sprinter but they don’t even have the aerobic base to even make the lead group to sprint for anything but a pack finish.

Group ride paces: “chill pace” means everyone is antsy as hell for a few miles till the first person puts in a dig. “A rides” that don’t even break 20mph because you have a dozen B riders in the group intent on taking 5min pulls.

Runners just “running tempo” at 190bpm and 6:00/mi. Or any endurance sport workout mislabeling by a whole two zones to try to look macho.

During the run coverage where they inevitably go into their shpeel about how if you want to know what it is like to run a marathon at this pace then just go out to your high school track and try and run a lap in under a minute…yep, totally the same thing.

On the day.

mislabeling by a whole two zones to try to look macho.


....LOVE THIS ONE!


my zone 2 starts where your zone 4 ends.... in a coma

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

HTFU

:0)

"timed it to absolute perfection"

I didn't realize there were degrees of perfection. Either something is perfect, or it's not.

I used to watch Mark Conover run on the track at Cal Poly SLO doing half miles and every lap was 68 seconds.

I figured "HTFU" and "your seat is too high" would've been #1 & #2 - or vice versa

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

It seems that every overweight cat 4 or cat 5 who can spell "velodrome" claims that they're a sprinter.

He’s digging deep into his suitcase of courage!

I’ll get more serious when life slows down

---

Athlinks / Strava

"not the day I was hoping for". After a poor performance. What about the day you were working/prepared for?

"A hard day in the office" usually accompanied by pictures of cycling in beautiful places.

I get it that it's always said with an ironic tone and that being a professional athletes has its drawbacks. Still, that comment always feels to me as if it fails to realise how, at the end of the day, it is a privilege to do professionally what everyone else calls a hobby.

Yeah "A hard day in the office" usually leaves me with "Oh. Fuck you" and #SMFH

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

This one definitely takes the cake for me. Especially since the beautiful place is usually some foreign or remote locale.

"You have to find what works for you." and "Nutrition is trial and error."
No. No. It doesn't have to be. I can dial a person's nutrition in with less than 60 seconds of conversation if they'll answer some specific questions, with few words.

The "trial and error" idea is no different than a car owner telling a professional mechanic that the mechanics is going to need to find what works on their personal car. No. No they don't. The mechanic knows wrenches work. Wrenches work because virtually every car company on the planet has agreed that they should generally use hex shaped hardware.

The same is true for our bodies. They largely prefer hex shaped hardware and there's only a few to choose from.

In fact, a glance out of the corner of their eye, is going to immediately narrow down the wrenches to less than 5 probably choices they're going to use without even seeing the hex-shaped bolt or nut they're going to have to adjust.

The rest of the variability in tool choice comes down preferences like thickness, length, material, brand, and other non-critical user-experience related features, etc. They're still metal 6-sided nuts and bolts.

(yes, there are 500 ways this analogy breaks down if taken further or differently. Nonetheless, it illustrates the point that we can substantially narrow down our "trial and error" process to that of choosing between preferences, rather than guesswork about what is going to "work")

I digress. Your trial and error process should take days or weeks, not years.

"Nothing new on race day."
False. It's very often advantageous to increase sodium (+10-30%) and fluid (+5-20%), and even carbs, (+5-10%) per hour, on race day. It's virtually always advantageous to increase caffeine by 20-40% on race day.

---

Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
📱 Check out our app → Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube → Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing Saturday User Hub

I feel attacked.

---

Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
📱 Check out our app → Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube → Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing Saturday User Hub

"Done and dusted"

.
You would be surprised at how the "Wow Factor" of being in amazing places wears off when those amazing places are "normal" to you.

"Just a training race/ testing the IM pace, no need to cook myself for the real goal" There's a place for that I think, but taking pains to point it out in front of all your competitors/ on social media makes you look like a dick IMO. (and from training/racing with a few of these folks, it's usually very much not their IM pace unless they're planning to DNF an hour in)


Also those condescending remarks about "the average amateur triathlete..." because you're so much smarter and more enlightened than all those plebs.

I think that refers to brand new shoes, especially, or shirts/shorts or lube, but also anything else you haven't already tested out in training

In other words, yes, those boosts might be advantageous, but don't do them for to FIRST time ever, ON Race Day

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Pain is temporary, posting about your Ironman on Facebook is forever

Especially if someone takes screenshots of your posts; you might delete them, but they won't

#marathoninvestigation #derekmurphy

That being said, it's been suggested - in some circles - that we "get over this 'double letters' bullshit" LOL

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

lol, this is so tru.

The one that I always hated the most, and did the most damage to a lot of people, is the old "I will die before I quit the race". I never understood this, because of course given the real choice between death and finishing a race, well it is just a stupid comment.

But I hear the tough guys all the time with this one, and social media has just made it worse. It creates a narrative that one should finish a race at all costs, and people buy into that. Just look at all the pros that dont finish races and all the negativity, and the opposite too. Folks that walk it in for hours to finish hours beyond their capabilities, and for what?? That false premise that we should always finish what we start. Maybe it is ok to continue, but more often than not, people are injuring themselves or just digging deeper holes that take longer to get out of..

Just have a look at Kat Matthews this past week, had her husband pleading with her to get off the course, but her dog brain just wouldn't let go. Most likely did a lot more damage too, so a hard lesson learned the hard way...Just hope she learned it, seems like one that should have been she got a long time ago...

Oh my gosh I've been waiting for this thread to come along forever! I had the misfortune of having a sauna session in the company of two other triathletes (gosh we are obnoxious) who were feeding a non-triathlete every tri-cliche there is. Undeniably the most cliche of cliches is:

"... is the fourth discipline of triathlon." Hearing this is like nails on a chalkboard. Also in the running- anything about being terrible at three sports instead of just mediocre at one.

On the other hand, Chris Froome has raced all over the world, and only seen his stem...

---

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

"I had a great swim and bike, but I blew up on the run."

---

Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

Any headline from Runner's World

"Find your perfect < distance > plan"
"Ten races you MUST do"
"Best shoe for every budget"
"The 1% Rule: Fact or Fiction?"

Complete trash/clickbait

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

How about one of our own?

“It’s not really a World Championship if it’s not in Kona”?

Maybe I'm just a mindless shill for Big Aero, but every old guy seemingly having a story about how they were/knew a guy who cleaned up entire fields with a 30 year-old MTB and cinder blocks tied to their feet seems rather at odds with the frequency at which I see that actually occurring at races, and suspiciously on par with the number claiming to have run a 4 minute mile back in high school.

Also "women are more smarter/nicer/better pacers" ...in my experience, the women's field is a varied group of personalities like any other, and we bring our fair share of overcompetitiveness, silly race day mistakes, and planet-sized egos; as often happens when one puts a group of humans together and asks them to prove who is the goodest.

Strava is a real hotbed for this tomfoolery

Aerobic pace = I went all out
Relaxed efforts = I went all out
Conversational = I went all out
Recovery pace = Barely sub threshold
Race day-Blew up at Mile 6-idk why I didn't have the legs

Strava decoded by Laura Green

https://youtube.com/...?si=4XW3OwQv7GyBmM2k

https://youtube.com/...?si=Ryu3LK_zMg2R7X5f

* do links to YT work here? I forget ?

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I truly despise the phrase "you got this"

Just finished the swim - YOU GOT THIS
Going out too hard on the run - YOU GOT THIS
Using a porta potty - YOU GOT THIS
Walking in a 6hr marathon - YOU GOT THIS

"If you keep doing the same things, you're going to keep getting the same results" Personally and professionally, I did the same things for years (i.e VO2 workouts) and got a different and higher FTP nearly every time I tested.


"lower isn't necessarily faster" I'll throw you a Jordan Rapp quote that stuck with me. "Lower isn't always faster is just a trite way of saying it usually is."

This deserves its on thread I think!

I truly despise the phrase "you got this"

Just finished the swim - YOU GOT THIS
Going out too hard on the run - YOU GOT THIS
Using a porta potty - YOU GOT THIS
Walking in a 6hr marathon - YOU GOT THIS


Getting an IV in T-3 (next stop hospital)


You got this....

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

can i test your phrase that you dial in one on my atheltes nutrition in less than 60 seconds and if not add the phrase here lol

No.
You are not the target audience. When you see headlines like the ones you cited, think: couch-to-5k crowd.
There are 1000s of new-to-sport runners everyday. RW (not ST) is their go-to for reviews and service articles.

Also, every year: I HATE "new year, new you."

---

no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

You DO have a point there, yes

I'll admit that - as a newbie, myself - I was a subscriber to the dead-tree version of RW, and drank their flavor of KoolAid

Now I'm on to Liquid Death LOL
#murderyourthirst

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Getting an IV in Kona med tent. I DID IN FACT NOT HAVE IT

---

IG - @ryanppax
http://www.geluminati.com
Use code ST5 for $5 off your order

The guy in the ironman apparel on my flight talking about "how you need to find your why" .
Even he kept me awake for hours I still don't understand what he was talking about. I thought it might be the updated earphone jack or some sort of romcom movie on the entertainment system featuring Jennifer anniston and Adam Sandler. Alas no.

I wasn't the only triathlete to hear him either on that flight hahaha

Fell asleep to a Oscar's last night and woke up to hear Malcolm Gladwell discussing "It's all about the Journey; not the Destination"

https://open.spotify.com/...Attrw0-jg&t=2334

< start ~39:00, or so >

He states (and I agree) "without the Destination, what's the point of the Journey?"

I'd rather suffer through a lousy flight to arrive at a nice hotel, than the other way around --- although nice + nice, would be preferred, which is where they come to settle; it's about BOTH

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

This guy fell hook, line, and stinker for every spam triathlon email he got. I bet this year he's asking "How do you ignite the spark?"

"Can't start a fire without a spark"

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

There are a few phrases that when I first heard them appreciated, but have since been overused to the point of being cringe:

"Get comfortable being uncomfortable"
"Carry water, chop wood"

also, "Cringe"

Dude... This one has killed me for years. I love TriathlonLive, but once you realize all the commentators do this you cannot unhear it

---

Tim Russell, Pro Triathlete

Instagram- @timbikerun

Nearly as good as Brawndo the Thirst Mutilator.

how about when they do plurals of the athletes' names?

Haterade

https://watrbodl.com/products/haterade

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Saw a shirt in the gym today

"Steel Sharpens Steel"

Um, no - that's not how it works, actually; there are a lot of variables

If the thing you're trying to sharpen is harder steel than what you're using to "sharpen" it with (the ARE different kinds) it's gonna wear down the "sharpener"

If they're the same, all you're gonna get is friction, and they're gonna heat up with no difference in sharpness

If the blade (I'm guessing that's what we're going for?) is softer than what your "sharpening" it CAN take an edge; but the angle had to be just right - something I struggle with

Now, if you take two pieces of steel, and just BANG them together, over & over ... you get magnets

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Not specific to endurance sports, but the expressions "it's all good" and "everything happens for a reason" have always bothered me b/c often they is said right after something that is actually quite TRAGIC has happened. "Oh, he was hit at 60 mph and left for dead??? Oh that's terrible, prayers for his family, etc, etc, etc, but...everything happens for a reason...it's all good."

(Now I don't think these things were actually said in that "Left for dead" thread but I have heard people use these expressions in similar situations.)

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

"Everything happens for a reason - that reason is: God is an asshole; Jesus, less so, but still ... apples & trees, right?"

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best, e.g. Joe got hit by a car and killed b/c the teenage girl was switching stations on the radio and just did not see the guy on the bike. And that my friend is an honest-to-God true story.

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

“Iron war” whenever Kona is on.

Similarly, “it was all God’s plan” or “I thank God for my performance today”.

Nope. God didn’t write your training plan, or put in the effort for months on end. That was down to your coach, and you. Take credit for your own actions and, conversely, responsibility when it doesn’t go right on the day.

Ya, agree 100%. Similarly, when a top pro athlete of any sport says after winning a big game/match/race,, "I just did it for the glory of God", ummm, yeah sure but that $100,000 check is pretty nice also. :)

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Yeah,every time I see somebody thanking God for helping them or their team win something I think,"what did did God have against the other guy?"

Cliche in sport and corporate world is “it’s been a journey to get here” or “I’ve been on a journey”

It’s odd why don’t people say “I’ve been travelling to get here”

Crazy that God never wants them to donate that $100,000. The glory of God apparently manifests as a shiny new car.

The phrase "full send" annoys me. I mean, it was just a stupid phrase that YouTube Spartan/Crossfit posers used all the time, until some dweeb infected the triathlon community with it. I haven't heard it much lately so hopefully it's been put to death.

Don’t know why but this made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

"Running is my therapy"

"Don't worry, you've done the work" (she had not done the work.)

Keep it rolling lads.
I think the "you got this" has more legs left.
You got this:
Penalty in t2.
Penalty in t3.
Divorce papers.

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Not my entire routine of therapy, but it is a significant aspect to it

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Ya this can be used in many contexts. I did 4 tours in AFG and 2 in Iraq and oftentimes when a fellow vet hears this, well we have to discuss our experiences. This one older gentleman who I know from swimming wanted to hear all about my service, so we had "the talk". It turned out that he survived a full year in Vietnam without a scratch. He said several times that "the Big Guy" was really looking out for him. I thought but did not say "Well maybe, but then what about the 58,000 killed and something like 150,000 seriously wounded??? I'm sure many if not most of those guys were just as devout as you."

---

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

“Okay finish strong”. Said to somebody walking it in at just under 15 hours. When said to me in that circumstance I just smile at the absurdity. It is well meant though so one has to smile

---

They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

"Make sure you go out and enjoy yourself"... there is nothing enjoyable about a triathlon race!

That's easily explained if you accept that God is not only omnipotent, but also a capricious twat.

Agree.

And it's not just me who knows it. I've been told plenty of times, "You really should go out for a run." And she has never been wrong.

It really annoys me when during a Zwift ride people feel the need to share their hrm.

Pushing 3,5 w/kg in fasted state with a 87 hrm.

We're very different. It's the beginning of that quote that doesn't resonate with me.

I genuinely enjoy racing triathlon. I always have.

In recent years as my motivation to train has wavered, the surest way to rekindle a spark is to do a race. When I'm out there racing, there's a consistent feeling of "This is why I enjoy the sport!"

I don't have to "make sure" I enjoy it. That's guaranteed as soon as I wake up race morning.

As my sig says at the moment: "Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

That "work" can be a piece of art, a story or poem or song you're writing, a new project at your job, a new relationship, or a run or a bike or a few laps in the pool

If you're excited about it, the outcome is sure to be pretty good - even if it actually sucked by whichever metrics you use

"That was fun!!"
< looks at data >
"Oh. Well ... it was fun!!!"

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

"That was fun!!"
< looks at data >
"Oh. Well ... it was fun!!!"


<<deletes data>>>

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

When WT riders talk about "the shape" or "the legs" or "the sensations" when fielding soft-ball interview questions about fitness levels, etc.

It's silly enough when non-English-speakers do it (this is a relatively recent trend, maybe for the past 3yrs); it's absolutely cringe when native English speakers describe body parts and fitness this way.

---

no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

This just in!

“After that (race) we have no idea what we’re doing,” Sanders said.

No idea, could be bass fishing, could be a lucrative career at Canada Post, could be another You Tube video...

as for "we" ___________________________

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

I have no problem with "we." The "we" - who have no idea what they're doing - would include his coach, the staff, and other support people making up Lionel's team

That being said, I use first-person plural while talking to myself all the time, e.g., "we're doing great" "we kinda sucked in that part" "let's get going"

I could be talking to me, plus my feet, my lungs, the birds nearby, the clouds, and so on

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

As seen in one of the ads here: "Purpose Built"

Of course, it's "purpose built!!!" Why else would you build it, other than for a purpose? Pretty much everything is built for SOME purpose; a coffee cup, a pen, a bicycle, a freight train

Has anything ever been "accidentally built?" Probably so, but nothing comes to mind

"Well, we put this 'thing' together, but we're not quite sure what to do with it?"

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

The "blistering pace". It's so cliché that it is one the examples of use they give for "blistering" in the dictionary.

Ya, I agree with your despise of that phrase. If the person yelling it is your training partner, coach, or family member then they know what you have accomplished in training and what you can do on the course but no one else does so the phrase isn’t helpful from them. I did hear that phrase as I came out of T2 in my first Triathlon and it did have a huge positive effect on my race. I signed up for the race with 4-5 friends but didn’t have access to a pool or any way to swim train and didn’t have a bike I could race on so I did 100% of my 4-1/2 month train running. I borrowed a bike for the race and bought a swim suit and goggles the night before the event. Despite being in the best shape of my life the swim was brutal and coming off the bike I was not prepared for that jello leg feeling. I wanted to just walk the run leg and call it a day but I saw one of my friends I had signed up with and a guy I did track workout with through the local running club cheering as I came out of T2 and the guy from the running club yell my name and said “You got this run”. I was just struggling to keep picking my feet up so I didn’t trip over my own feet and fall flat on my face, but I knew my friend and running club buddy knew that if I had made it through the swim and bike that I should own the run. So I tried to think about what my feet normally do when I am running and despite them feeling like they were tied together with medicine bands I tried to get them to move in that motion. It was a mental struggle for 5k to keep my feet moving but I posted the 2nd fasted run split of the whole event so even though I generally don’t like that phrase any time I am struggling in a race I remember my friends standing outside T2 yelling “You got this” and I believe in myself for all the people who believe in me. I generally hair the phrase but from the right people at the right time it can really lift me up.

"Hold my beer"

NO!!!
You FINISH your beer, THEN you go ... There's no HOLD-ing

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

After listening to Jan say it too many times, "poetry in motion" is a phrase I never need to hear again.

As I've said before [and in honor of Poetry Month] I sometimes see myself in car windows or storefronts or the mirror in Planet Fitness and say "Poetry in Motion, baby"

Well, it may be Vogon poetry ... haiku at the very best, or maybe some beatnik free-verse word-jazz in the Charlie MacKenzie style

Still, it's Poetry

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin