Why we tri
3 amateurs; a grandad, a dad and Alex, share their journey to a long distance triathlon hosted by the non-athletic sister
Who are we?
Name: Brian
Age: Feckin old - 57
Location: Belgium
Occupation: Global IT Programme Manager (full time)
Kid status: 3, all ‘grown-up’
Triathlon experience: Three halfs, 10 or so Olympics
Strongest discipline: Bike. Always the bike.
Weakest discipline: Chocolate, beer, frites = eating. And running.
Podcast superpower: Giving words of wisdom
Papa woo (the grandad)
Name: Ben
Age: 32
Location: Belgium
Occupation: PE Teacher (x4 days a week)
Kid status: 3 (under 5’s)
Triathlon experience: One Olympic, most of a half and one sandman
Strongest discipline: Run (no shortcuts needed)
Weakest discipline: Bike (any available shortcuts taken)
Podcast superpower: Cracking dad jokes
Ben (the dad)
Name: Alex
Age: 30
Location: You tell us
Occupation: Marketing (x2 days a week)
Kid status: He still is one
Triathlon experience: One half ironman (had to walk), a few Olympics, a couple of Sprints
Strongest discipline: Bike & recovery eating
Weakest discipline: Swim & nutrition
Podcast superpower: Forgetting how to speak English properly
Alex (just alex)
Becca (the non-athletic sister)
Name: Rebecca
Age: 27
Location: Spain
Occupation: Working on it (full time)
Kid status: Wants a dog
Triathlon experience: Hahahah, good one!
Strongest discipline: Tapering (I’m really good at that)
Weakest discipline: Training
Podcast superpower: Asking the amateur questions
Listen up!
Released Episodes
#1: 34 weeks!!
Meet the amateurs; the Grandad (Papa woo), the Dad (Ben), and Alex (just Alex - it will make sense soon). I'm your host, Rebecca, and this podcast is all about why these amateurs tri, and their journey to long distance triathlons
#14: coming soon: summer break, and evaluating Ironman events
#11: Preparing for Ironman 70.3 and how to avoid DQ
With less than 2 weeks until Papa Woo and Alex take on Ironman 70.3 Westfriesland, we take a look at the 202 pages of official triathlon rules, call them out on some BS, and talk about why experience is key.
#9: Beginner tri Q&A: Do you have to do front crawl? Do you need a tri bike? What are jelly legs?
In this episode we talk about nip slips, porta loos, washing machines, jelly legs, ablutions and vascular shunting…
You might be wondering what any of those have to do with triathlon, you'll have to listen to find out our answers to the questions that all beginner triathletes are asking.
#8: The real reason we tri - food
The boys reflect on things they should change in the lead up to their race... but whether they're going to actually do it or not is a whole other question. Ben is powered by mojito mixes, Alex has already calculated how many jelly babies you'd have to eat to fuel a tri, and Papa woo eats peanut butter, salad cream and cheese sandwiches - maybe don’t take advice from this episode.
#12: We completed Ironman 70.3 Westfriesland - how was it?! (part 1)
The boys talk about the race weekend, and a breakdown of how the race went.
Did they hit their targets? Did Alex stick to his heart rate zones? Listen to find out.
#4: How much is all of this going to cost??
Ah, the thing nobody likes to talk about - money. We’ve turned the audio off for wives/fiances listening as we get down to the nitty gritty of just how much a triathlon can cost.
We talk about doing a tri on a budget vs being able to spend a bit more money, areas where you should (if you can) spend money, bang for buck upgrades and buying speed (not the drug).
#7: Living with Triathletes: the good, the bad and the hungry.
We introduce Ms. Orla, papa woo’s wife, to share another perspective on this triathlon journey. Are there benefits, or is it just like living with tired and hungry toddlers?
#2: The story so far
You've met 'the crazy gang', but how experienced are these amateurs?
In this episode Ben and Alex demonstrate their superb maths skills, the siblings try make father Brian say penny Farthing without him knowing and we discuss our history of triathlons
#13: lessons from Ironman 70.3 Westfriesland (part 2)
In part 1 we talked about how the race went, in this part, we talk about the lessons we learned - pacing strategy, toilet breaks, fuelling, heart rate, proper swim sighting and more.
#5: 6 months to go! Training update
Doing things a bit differently this week: the topic of aims, hopes and fears for the race was a big one, so for this episode we're just bringing you a training update from everyone - with the big 6 month to go countdown looming over the boy's heads!
( & the next ep will be hopes & fears for race day)
#3: Where we Tri: how to pick a triathlon, why we picked Almere and Westfriesland, Ben's new shoes and a fluffy guest...
This week we look at what factors go into picking a race, and explain how they ended up with Ironman Westfriesland and Challenge Almere. Ben sets a PB in his new running shoes which look... interesting. Rosie, our fluffy friend shows off her new squeaky toy. Hold on tight, it's a mad one.
#6: Aims, hopes & fears for race day - is a DNF the worse thing that could happen?!
We get talking about worst case scenarios for race day: DNFs, equipment failures, Ben getting arrested etc. Alex gets very technical with his calculated times for the race which leaves the rest shocked, but not surprised & Papa Woo is simply aiming to finish on the same day that he starts. That's the amateur behaviour we celebrate.
#10: Do you have to do an ironman to be an ironman? BONUS EP w/ Papa Woo
Welcome to the first of our bonus eps - a series of shorter episodes and focused chat with one of the boys, but still with input from the others.
In this ep, I talk to Papa woo about some more tips on how to pick your first race, doing an Ironman branded race and what that actually means, as well as discussing how and where triathlon was born.
This will be the place to read about any deep-dive topics we mention in the podcast. For example:
Insights into how much a tri and training can cost
Training plan links and resources
Gear recommendations
Nutrition and food tips
& more!
Resources / blog
MORE COMING SOON
Questions
We’d love to hear from you.
Do you have any particular questions or topics that you want us to tackle in an episode? Do you know someone who could feature on the pod? Or do you have any feedback for us?