Episode 52 Your First Triathlon Avoid the 5 Mistakes That Ruin 90% of Races 🏊‍♂️

Episode 52 Your First Triathlon Avoid the 5 Mistakes That Ruin 90% of Races 🏊‍♂️💬 Got a question or feedback? Write us at: [email protected]☕ Buy a Gel Caf for Lactate to support the work: ko-fi.com/lactateSummary: You might think a triathlon is three distinct sports, but science reveals it is a single physiological stressor punctuated by two catastrophic transitions that ruin novice races ; your open-water start triggers a violent autonomic clash between the parasympathetic dive reflex and sympathetic cold shock response, creating erratic cardiac activity and perceived panic , while T1 induces severe postural hypotension as blood rushes to your lower extremities and T2 forces a neuromuscular mismatch where your brain struggles to shift from concentric cycling to eccentric stretch-shortening running, artificially spiking your $VO_2$. To survive, you must execute a 10 to 15-minute cold water habituation before the gun , increase your kick rate in the final 100 meters to preemptively shunt blood , and strictly cap your bike power at 75-85% of FTP using a controlled cadence to preserve glycogen ; integrate 10 to 15-minute micro-bricks off the bike solely to force neural adaptation without accumulating overuse fatigue , while restricting race-day carbohydrate intake to a practiced 30-60g/h to prevent splanchnic ischemia. Defying all conventional physiological metrics, outliers like Sister Madonna Buder have executed these survival mechanics to complete Ironmans into their 90s.Keywords: triathlon, transition, autonomic clash, micro-bricks, glycogen, splanchnic hypoperfusion, vo₂, neuromuscular🎙️ Lactate, the podcast that deciphers science to improve your performance.Key references :Millet, G. P., & Vleck, V. E. (2000). Physiological and biomechanical adaptations to the cycle to run transition in Olympic triathlon. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 34(6), 384-390. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1756235/Subhan, M. M., et al. (2019). Cold water face immersion in healthy subjects: how a clash of autonomic pathways might contribute to triathlon deaths. Proceedings of The Physiological Society, 44, C22. https://www.physoc.org/abstracts/cold-water-face-immersion-in-healthy-subject-s-how-a-clash-of-autonomic-pathways-might-contribute-to-triathlon-deaths/Vercruyssen, F., et al. (2002). Influence of cycling cadence on subsequent running performance in triathletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 34(3), 530-536. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11880820/Peeling, P. D., et al. (2005). Factors influencing pacing in triathlon. Sports Medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4172046/Shaw, G., et al. (2019). Injury and illness in short-course triathletes: A systematic review. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10980869/Voices generated by artificial intelligence from the scientific report produced by the Lactate team.