You won't want to miss this triathlon-themed Yuletide guide! On today's episode, coaches John Mayfield, Jeff Raines, and Joanna Nami break down the best gift ideas for this holiday season. Looking for some small stocking stuffers? What are the best budget-friendly buys right now? Have some extra funds for a big-ticket surprise? Find the perfect gift for the triathlete in your life (including yourself)! We’ve been raving about 2Toms Sport Shield and Blister Shield that have been literally saving our skin when we train. Well Medi-Dyne, the folks behind the brilliant 2Toms line also offer top notch recovery and mobility training devices. Their ProStretch-Addaday line up of recovery tools has been trusted by physical therapists, trainers, athletes, and regular exercisers for over 25 years. Check out the ProStretch-Addaday product line at Medi-Dyne.com and use promo code TRIDOT to get 20 Percent off your order. Join the TriDot Crew at CLASH Miami in March! Use code TRIDOTMIAMI for 10% off any event! Register now at https://clash-usa.com/clash-miami. Also, be sure to check out the camping options so that you can join the TriDot party INSIDE of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Participate in Triathlon Research! The Preseason Project® is a triathlon research initiative that helps us quantify and enhance the performance gains that TriDot's Optimized Training™ delivers over training alternatives. Qualified participants receive 2 free months of triathlon training. Learn more and apply at https://psp.tridot.com/psp23pod/
TriDot Podcast .167
All They Want For Christmas: A Gift Guide for Triathletes
Intro: This is the TriDot podcast. TriDot uses your training data and genetic profile, combined with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to optimize your training, giving you better results in less time with fewer injuries. Our podcast is here to educate, inspire, and entertain. We’ll talk all things triathlon with expert coaches and special guests. Join the conversation and let’s improve together.
Andrew Harley: Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, and welcome to the TriDot podcast! We’re going to have a little fun today, as a few of our coaches guide us in our seasonal triathlon shopping. Plenty of things we can add to our list for Santa, plenty of ways to make the holiday fun and practical in our ongoing quest for more triathlon gear. Now, the TriDot team is based in the United States. Our staff is largely composed of folks that celebrate this season as the birth of Jesus Christ. That said, we have team members all over the world, and we have listeners all over the world, and we are here for all of it. We love the entire triathlon family, so I do want to say, if you are a listener that does not celebrate Christmas either religiously or culturally, know that the conversation today is wrapped up in Christmas packaging, but it should be universal to other life occasions where gift-giving or just tri-gear shopping could be involved. Thanks in advance for letting us have a little seasonal fun with the show today.
Our first coach joining us for this is Joanna Nami. Joanna is better known as Coach JoJo, and has been coaching athletes with TriDot since 2012. She is a co‑founder of Hissy Fit Racing, a fourth-year member of the Betty Design Elite Squad, and now has 19 IRONMAN finishes on her accomplished triathlon résumé. Coach Jo has qualified for three IRONMAN World Championships, and will be racing Kona again in October 2023. Coach Jo is on the TriDot team as our Director of TriDot Pool School. Coach Jo, welcome back on the show!
Joanna Nami: Thanks for having me!
Andrew: Also joining us is Coach John Mayfield. John is a USAT Level II and IRONMAN U certified coach who leads TriDot’s athlete services, ambassador, and coaching programs. He has coached hundreds of athletes ranging from first-timers to Kona qualifiers and professional triathletes. John has been using TriDot since 2010 and coaching with TriDot since 2012. John, are you feeling festive today?
John: Always in the Christmas spirit.
Andrew: Next up is Coach Jeff Raines. Jeff is a USAT Level II and IRONMAN U certified coach who has a Master’s of Science in exercise physiology and was a D‑1 collegiate runner. He has over 50 IRONMAN event finishes to his credit, and has coached hundreds of athletes to the IRONMAN finish line. Hey there, Jeff!
Jeff: Hey Andrew! Great job on the sprint this morning, excited for the race tomorrow at Daytona. I just want to go fast!
Andrew: I'm Andrew the Average Triathlete, Voice of the People and Captain of the Middle of the Pack. As always we'll roll through our warmup question, settle in for our main set conversation, and then wind things down with our cooldown. On the cooldown today, Vanessa catches up with Brian on staff with our friends at deltaG. Brian is the team member at deltaG that does the consultation calls with athletes who want to learn more about using deltaG ketone drinks in their training and racing. They’re going to be chatting about how those calls go, and what Brian has learned chatting with triathletes about ketones.
We are recording this episode from our RV, our home away from home, on site at Daytona Motor Speedway. I raced the sprint this morning, John, Jeff, and Jo are racing the middle-distance triathlon tomorrow. By the time you hear this episode, all of that will be done and dusted, so you might hear some RV sounds in the background. I don’t know, this is a different vibe for us. We’re on one microphone, we’re having a blast here in town to race CLASH Daytona. We have TriDotters here camping and hanging out, we have TriDotters in hotels and condos nearby driving in. The triathlon festival atmosphere at CLASH Endurance events is simply amazing. It’s just a totally fun way to do a multisport event. If you are missing out on the CLASH Daytona fun – maybe you're seeing us on Instagram on the TriDot Triathlon Training account, just blowing up the track and the speedway having a grand old time – if you want to jump into our next TriDot at the Speedway experience, CLASH Miami 2023 is just around the corner. Swimming, biking, and running with your fellow TriDotters will be fun. Head to clash‑usa.com for more information about the race, and use code TRIDOTMIAMI for 10% off your race registration. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, I highly encourage you to check out the camping option, so you too can join the TriDot party inside of Homestead Miami Speedway.
Warm up theme: Time to warm up! Let’s get moving.
Andrew: While we are leaning into the holiday theme for this episode, let’s lean all the way in and do a Christmas warmup question as well. Christmas movies are a popular way to entertain the family over the holiday season, and many of us can passionately declare a certain seasonal holiday movie to be our personal favorite. Pretty straightforward warmup question here today y’all: what Christmas movie is your favorite? Coach Jo?
Joanna: It would have to be “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, John Mayfield kind of reminds me just a little bit of Cousin Eddie in that movie, and how he stands outside his crappy RV.
Andrew: You can tell camping at CLASH Daytona has made its mark on the TriDot team, particularly Coach Jo. Jeff Raines, what is your favorite Christmas movie?
Jeff: I always grew up watching all of the “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”, the Peanuts, Charles Schultz. I love the old‑school, 30‑minute Charlie Brown Christmas, and the true meaning of Christmas. I love that in that movie, they weren’t afraid to talk about the true meaning of Christmas. I watched it all my life growing up, more of a tradition, so I’m going to pass that on to my kiddos as well.
Andrew: Yeah, shout out to my father-in-law. I have great in‑laws, and he is a Charlie Brown nut. He loves Charlie Brown things. Great comic strip, and we always enjoy watching all the Peanuts stuff with him. That’s definitely one we watch with the family every seasonal holiday when they come around. John Mayfield, favorite Christmas movie?
John: Christmas Story is a solid runner up, great movie, but I’ve got to go with my absolute favorite, has been for most of my life, is “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I watched this movie growing up with my dad. I didn’t watch a lot of movies with my dad, but every year we’d watch this one. I remember years ago we bought him a copy of it on VHS. I so relate to it. I’d say if I were represented in a movie, I would be George Bailey. I grew up in a small town, I still live in that small town, I have yet to shake the dust of Friendswood, Texas from my feet, but hope to someday. My dad was a banker, I followed my dad into the banking career, so I just identify a ton with George Bailey. Every year I watch it, and every year I am reminded of what a wonderful life it is, how many wonderful friends I have, again surrounded here at the table. There’s a quote at the end, “No man is a failure who has friends.” I’m not a cryer, but every year there’s a little bit of a tear in my eye when I see that part. It’s such a great movie, I love it, look forward to it every year. No brainer, finally an easy warmup question for me. ”It’s a Wonderful Life” is my favorite Christmas movie.
Andrew: We did it, John!
John: We did it! Episode .343…
Andrew: So John, I’ve actually never seen that one.
John: I just told you the whole thing.
Andrew: I feel like I should watch it with you one of these days, I’m going to drive down to Friendswood just to watch that movie, and then I’ll go home, and it’ll be worth it. This answer for me, it’s a fairly new one. Netflix put it out a few years ago, an animated Christmas film called “Klaus”. It’s kind of the origin story of Santa Clause, beautifully animated – I’ve said on the podcast before that I’m a big Pixar animated movie fan – and the storytelling in it, the angle they take on the origins of the Christmas story, it’s funny, it’s heartfelt, it’s very uniquely animated. It really captures that magic of the Santa character in just an unexpected but very beautiful way. John, there are some sequences in there that get me a little emotional, just the way they end it. It ends with this monologue that is just a chef’s kiss of artistry. I’m just like, “Cinema, beautiful.” It’s amazing, I highly recommend it. If you haven’t watched “Klaus” with the family on Netflix, that you pull it up and give it a go this year.
Jeff: It’s great for kids. I watched it with my kids this week. Kid friendly.
John: I have not seen that one, so maybe I need to drive to Flower Mound and watch that one with you!
Andrew: Christmas movie marathon, I can’t wait! We’re gonna book it! Hey guys, we’re going to throw this question out to you on the I AM TriDot Facebook group like we do every single Monday when the new show comes out. So make sure you’re a part of that group. We have thousands of triathletes just talking swim, bike, and run every single day of the week. It’s a great place, and every Monday we throw out this warmup question. I’m excited to hear: what is your favorite Christmas movie?
Main set theme: On to the main set. Going in 3…2…1…
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If I had any musical talent whatsoever, I for sure would have been tempted to sing a triathlon rendition of the “Twelve Days of Christmas”. But I don’t, so I didn’t, and we won’t. Instead, I’ve got some hard-hitting questions about tri shopping for our coaches to answer, as a sort of “Triathlete’s Guide to Christmas Shopping”. Actually, I was going to end with this question today, but let’s start with this. Instead of singing the “Twelve Days of Christmas”, let’s offer up twelve triathlon Christmas items that we may not have thought of ourselves. So this is the challenge that I’m giving to each of you, our coaches on the episode, I’ll do this as well: what are three items that would be great on a triathlete’s Christmas list that they may not have thought of themselves otherwise to put on their list? Jo, ladies first!
Joanna: I’ve got a number of things. Of course for all my swimmers out there, I recommend long-blade fins, some swim tubing so you can do your dryland strength exercises, and a good kickboard. But something that I’ve used for all of my IRONMANs, which can be a great stocking stuffer but is a super-cheap, inexpensive thing you can buy that you would use, is Mentos gum containers. Little flip-tops, they’re amazing to put salt tablets or any kind of meds or anything you need to take with you during an IRONMAN or half-IRONMAN race. They work really well, and you can carry them in a bento box or in a back pocket. Then lastly for my tri divas out there, TRIHARD is a company that I’ve noticed on Instagram that makes a pre‑ and post‑swim gel applicator to use under your eyes so you can avoid having raccoon eyes all day long. Those would be my three top choices.
Andrew: How about that. Jeff Raines, three items that you believe our athletes would not have thought of themselves that they can add to their Christmas list?
Jeff: I kind of took the approach of secondary items. Let’s say for example you have a really nice race helmet, but you want a secondary one for everyday riding that’s not an aero or something like that. Or you may have a wetsuit already, but maybe you want to invest in a sleeveless one this time. Or maybe you want to go ahead and get that swim skin. A lot of people go with the purchase of a wetsuit first, and then that swim skin if the swim is not wetsuit legal. I’d even add another layer to that, buoyancy shorts. Maybe one out of 15 swims I might put them on, it’s just a great way to get a feel for that buoyancy in the water. A lot of people’s stroke rate changes in open water having that wetsuit on, so being able to get that buoyancy in a pool without having to go to open water is great. I also like what JoJo said about having those little cannisters. The Precision Hydration cannisters when they’re empty, I’ve put salt tabs, even a serving of powder in there. Instead of having to take my whole bag or whole bottle or cannister of nutrition to a race or a workout, I can just put a few servings in those, so I always save those. My kids play with them too. And I guess lastly, thinking about run‑related, extra training socks. Socks are always a good one, you can never have too many pair of running socks, cycling socks. The Yankz laces or bungee laces, speed laces, can never have too many of those.
Andrew: An easy one, if I have an aunt or uncle or cousin or extended family that is like, “Hey, what do you want for Christmas? What’s something fun I can buy you?” I will always tell them, “Go find some fun running socks.” Because as triathletes you can’t have too many fun pairs of running socks. It’s fun for them to buy, it’s not expensive, and whatever they get me, if it’s the right size, I’m going to wear it, and I’m going to like them. Great idea there, Jeff. John Mayfield, what are three items that you think our people will not already have on their list that will be unexpected but will go great on a triathlete’s Christmas shopping list?
John: I’m actually going to say three things. I know we’re about 14 days into Christmas already after the first two, but I’m actually going to follow instructions and say three. First, especially as we’re heading into the winter months, a lot of people spending more time on the trainer. Very important for indoor trainer training is a high-quality fan. Especially when the heater is on and you start generating that body heat, that room gets real hot. It can be real miserable real quick, so a good high-quality fan for the trainer. Second, I’m always a fan of tools. Park Tools are my favorite, if you give me a Park Tools tool, I will be excited and happy to add that to my collection. Especially the wrenches, I would say that’d be the first thing is to get a high-quality set of wrenches. It makes working on your bike so much easier and enjoyable. The last thing is a good transition mat. A lot of people just use a towel, throw it down on the ground under the bike. That works fine, but having a good transition mat is just one of those little things that is a nice little extra touch.
Andrew: Sure, yeah, I like all I’m hearing, guys. I like everything I’m hearing. The three that I will throw out to complete our twelve triathlon Christmas items that people might not already have on their list – I’m sure our folks have seen this if you follow any of the pros on social media, or maybe some of your age‑group athlete friends are already wearing these things – the Omnius headbands. These are the headbands, and they have the wrist bracelets, where it’s those stones that make contact with your skin, and it actually amplifies your skin’s ability to cool itself. Especially in hot races like Kona, especially the racing we do in Texas, a lot of the pros are starting to wear these headbands. You’ve probably seen them in pictures, maybe you didn’t know what they were. We actually briefly met the owner of Omnius headbands while we were in Kona, a really, really nice guy. He was talking to us about how they work. That’s one of those extra items that maybe you wouldn’t have thought about, but if you race in hot conditions, they now sell them with Boca hats, where they can pop into a Boca hat. So if you’re a hat person and not a headband person, you can still enjoy those, so I will throw that one out there. I will also say this: I know in the cooldown today we have Brian from deltaG on the show talking a little bit about their product with Vanessa. If you’ve ever thought about trying a product like deltaG –maybe it was the price tag, or maybe it’s just, “Will this actually work for me or not? Will it make a difference?” – Christmas is a great time to throw an item like a deltaG Performance or Tactical onto your list. Let a loved one buy that for you, and give it a shot in your next hard training session and experience it for yourself. The third one I’ll say is pain cave décor. We spend a lot of time in our pain caves doing those training sessions, and I’m not always very quick to spruce up the walls in my pain cave. Shout out to my sister-in-law, Megan, after I did my first half‑IRONMAN she bought me a poster that had the course outline of that 70.3 New Zealand course. She framed it, and now it’s on the wall of my pain cave. She did the same thing for me when I did IRONMAN Waco.
So I’m going to personalize this a little bit. I am seven years now into my triathlon journey, and I’ve slowly collected the necessities myself as needed: the carbon shoes, the aero helmet, the nice aero kit, better aerobars, a good wetsuit. I personally bought these things one‑by-one once I needed them to progress in my tri journey. So how I use the holidays is to ask for some splurge items. Jeff, you said it great earlier talking about some secondary items – I already had a good aero helmet, so let me get a good road helmet because I don’t want another aero helmet. I’ve done that before with my Christmas shopping. Another example, for a long time I really, really wanted one of the massage guns, but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the couple hundred bucks that it would take for me to get a massage gun. So one year I asked for that for Christmas, and that’s what I got from my parents. It was great, and I enjoy using it. So that’s what I look to do, I look to get an item that I wouldn’t normally buy myself, and give family the opportunity to get that for me. So I’m curious from you guys, as you approach your own Christmas shopping list and you’re thinking through what you want to get, how do you approach deciding what you want to put on your own Christmas list?
Joanna: I think it applies even more than just a Christmas list, but a lot of these items are very high-dollar, and I think it’s super-important to get input. I’m always asking from training partners, or a coach or somebody that has purchased different brands of items, whether it’s going to be bike, wheels, massage gun, air boots. I would read a lot of reviews, ask for a lot of opinions. You’re going to learn a lot about what you really like and what you really need. Just do your research before making decisions. These things are expensive. The sport of triathlon is never cheap. So make sure you’ve done your research before you ask for an item or you make a purchase yourself.
Andrew: Jeff, how do you approach the Christmas season and deciding what you might want to ask the Raines family for for Christmas?
Jeff: Actually, what I do is there’s a few family members that usually give cash out, and I use that for race entries.
Andrew: Love those family members! Always a crowd-pleaser!
Jeff: Absolutely. I always have that one big race I want to do that following year, and I use that cash to sign up for that. Then what’s lucky for me is my birthday is in January, so if there’s any fun tri items I didn’t get for Christmas, I throw that on my birthday wish list for January.
Andrew: Something I’ll add in, Jeff, my birthday is in March. So if I have a bigger item I want, I’ll literally tell my parents. I know much they spend on us, me and my siblings, for birthday and Christmas. Honestly, my Hypervolt massage gun is an example of this. I’ll say, “Hey, I want this massage gun. I know it’s more expensive than what you normally spend on me for Christmas, can this be Christmas and birthday?” So I double-up sometimes on the whole Christmas/birthday being close together double as well. John Mayfield, how do you approach John Mayfield’s Christmas shopping list?
John: Yeah, I’ve been around a few years myself. I have most of the gear, but most of the gear has an expiration on it. So I’ll look and see, what are those things coming up that need to be replaced? Maybe as simple as tires on the bike. They have a finite life, and if they’re getting close, maybe it’s something like that. Maybe someone can get them from the local bike shop, or Amazon, maybe even it’s a bike shop gift card kind of thing. Something else, I have a hard time pulling the plug on certain items like cold weather gear. I don’t use it all that much, so I hate to spend a bunch of money on it, I’d rather spend that money elsewhere. But it’s great to have that cold-weather gear for the couple days every year that I need it, so it’s a great opportunity to ask for those kinds of things. I’ve done that before too, some of those items that I’m less inclined to spend on myself.
Andrew: So now that we’ve established what you guys normally do for your own Christmases, I’m just curious to hear – we’re recording this in the year 2022 of our Lord and Savior, people might hear this deep into the future – but for this year, 2022, what are the tri items that are on your Christmas list? Jeff Raines?
Jeff: John was saying that he kind of has everything that the sport has to offer. I wish I could say that, that’d be great. The one thing that I don’t have is recovery boots, the air compression boots. So that’s something I don’t have to have but I’d like to have.
Andrew: Sure! Absolutely! John Mayfield, what about you?
John: We’re still early in the month here. It’s been a crazy couple weeks, and honestly I have not even thought about it. I’m sure I’ll come up with something fantastic here in the next couple weeks, but right now I got nothing.
Andrew: Okay, totally fair. Coach Jo, what about you?
Joanna: Well, being that I registered for this race two days ago, I think my husband’s going to say that this weekend was my Christmas present. Or if anybody has a nice condo in Kona they’d like to offer up, I’m going to need one for next October.
Andrew: All good points! Shout out to Brian for letting you come to CLASH Daytona last-minute, we’re glad you're here! I do want to give our listeners an apology. I try to be mindful of the calendar when we talk about certain things. So I put this episode on our calendar for early-early December, thinking that this is the prime time for Christmas shopping after the November holidays. I did not at all think about Black Friday and Cyber Monday and all that jazz. Huge oversight on my part, but at least this episode will be out there in the wild for next year. So guys, talk to us a little bit about capitalizing on these seasonal sales for tri gear.
Jeff: Well, I’ll just throw out that this is the time of year that a lot of the new 2023 models of bikes, run shoes, and all sorts of things are coming out. So you can find a lot of brand-new 2022 items still on the shelves at huge discounts, so it’s a great time of year to stock up on some of those items.
Joanna: Yeah, Jeff, you’re exactly right. There’s a lot of tri brands right now that are offering major deals, not just Black Friday. Betty Designs, for example, is running deals on each discipline, tri, bike, swim, run, every day of this week. But a lot of companies are doing that, so you need to just do a little research and see what you find as far as discounts. I think this also applies throughout the year. We have so many teammates and friends that are ambassadors for different companies, and there are running discount codes where, if you do a little research, you can usually grab a code or two on products that you are needing supplies from.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s absolutely true. I know for me, when it comes to shopping for sales, if I know there’s a bigger, more expensive item – like that wetsuit, bike travel suitcase, the Normatec boots, some of those things that cost a little bit more – if I know there’s something like that that I’m wanting, I will wait for these holidays sales. Whether it’s Labor Day or whenever the sales pop up, if I know I want a certain something, I’ll wait until they are running a sale and then I’ll try to capitalize on it. I got my Scicon bike travel case that way. I waited for Black Friday, they dropped all their travel cases to 50% off, and that’s when I pounced on that particular item. That’s always a good thing to do, is just know what you’re looking for, and when those holidays hit, go straight to their website and see what they’re offering.
Okay, let’s start talking about some more tri gear. Now we’ve all seen the car commercials where someone gifts a loved one a brand-new car. They’re always wrapped in an enormous bow, and they always are well received by the recipient, budget be damned. They don’t cost quite as much as a car, but there are some big‑ticket items in triathlon as well. If someone wants to go all‑in on a big gift for a tri loved one, or if it’s one of our athletes listening and they’re feeling a little optimistic about how well they behaved for Santa this year and maybe they want to ask for a big‑ticket item, what are some of those big‑ticket items that could make a great Christmas gift?
John: I think this would be a good one, if we’re going to go all‑in – this is a great option for the triathlete, but also the triathlete’s loved ones – go and do the big experience race. There are so many exotic locales around the world, you can travel internationally to some amazing places. But you don’t have to, some you could even drive to. That’s one thing I’ve talked about over the years, in my travels to all the different races, is finding these little gems of places that I would never go if there weren’t a race there. There are just some great opportunities for some great family trips. Throw a race in there, and a lot of options like the CLASH races have an option for everyone. I think right now a kids’ race is going on outside, there was a 5K last night, there was a sprint this morning, there’s middle-distance tomorrow. So CLASH is a great option. They’ve got them down in Miami, up in New York, and they’re expanding. There are races like that all over the country, all over the world. So maybe rent or drive an RV to it, maybe fly first-class, whatever works for you, and just turn it into that tri‑cation.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s a great point, I think this probably could have been one of our twelve “forgotten about” things, but you can gift a race registration to somebody, or you can ask for that for Christmas. Like if there’s a certain race that you’ve know, “Oh, I really want to try that first half-IRONMAN, I really want to try that first IRONMAN, I really want to do my tenth IRONMAN, I’m thinking about Escape from Alcatraz.” If there’s a race that you know costs a little bit more, or maybe there’s a local tri down the road that you’re wanting to register for, a race registration can even be a good gift. It doesn’t have to be a tangible item. That’s something that I would be excited about, if I woke up and there was an IRONMAN race registration or CLASH gift card of some kind where I could register for a race that I wanted. That would be a win for me. Jo, do you have any thoughts here on bigger-ticket items that you see your athletes purchasing?
Joanna: I think we often get fixated on the bikes, the equipment, the wetsuits, the shoes, the aero helmets, everything that is a big‑ticket item. But then throughout the year we have a lot of expenses that we have in training that we have a harder time justifying. I think it’s important that people think about, if loved ones are gifting something and they know that person pretty well, is maybe six months of coaching. In my 15 years of racing triathlon, I have always had a coach. It’s always been something that I put high priority on, even if my gear wasn’t as great. So maybe a coaching subscription, maybe also the Pool School experience through TriDot, which I can’t recommend enough. Everyone is seeing a 13% improvement across the board, and that’s something that’s kind of hard to wrap your head around, but I think if somebody gives you that experience, it’s pretty invaluable. Another thing, we have a pretty amazing TriDot community. We have Ambassador camps coming out throughout next year. To be gifted that experience, that would be an amazing Christmas gift.
Andrew: Yeah, and obviously when we’re talking big‑ticket items in triathlon, I think the biggest ones are the bike, those carbon wheel sets, power meters, integrated cockpits if you want a fancy cockpit on your bike, those can be a little pricy these days. So a lot of these bigger swim, bike, and run items, these are things that you can’t ask for for Christmas. I will say, if you’re a triathlete and you’re planning on asking for a wetsuit or a carbon-fiber super-shoe, or a better bike, or better bike wheels, some of those more expensive things, you probably have a certain item that you want. You have a certain thing in mind that’s going to fit your needs the best. You’ve scoped it out, you’ve done your research. Just make sure that your loved ones know what super-shoe, or wetsuit, or whatever big‑ticket item that you want, make sure they know exactly what you want, so you get the item that you’re expecting underneath the tree.
Jeff: Speaking of gifting bigger items that maybe we’re not thinking about, a year membership at a certain gym or natatorium or something like that. A lot of times if you pay for the whole year up front, it’s cheaper. We’re so busy paying for camps and clinics and race entry fees, what about a gym membership? In the spirit of love of that, I say that a great gift would be all of us to chip in and buy Andrew his next IRONMAN race entry fee, since he says he’s not doing another IRONMAN.
Andrew: You’re going to start rumors amongst TriDot Nation about, “Oh, I heard Andrew’s doing another IRONMAN!”
Joanna: IRONMAN Texas! IRONMAN Texas!
Andrew: You know Jeff, you could do that. You guys could buy me an IRONMAN registration, and I’ll use it…four years from now maybe. It’s not getting used next year, I can tell you that. I just did a sprint this morning and I barely survived it, Jeff Raines. So getting away from the big‑ticket stuff – it’s funny, I bring up big‑ticket stuff, and leave it to the TriDot coaches to bring up coaching subscriptions and gym memberships. I can tell what you want your athletes to have. So getting away from the big‑ticket stuff, and getting more into the practically-priced tri items. It’s very hard on a podcast to say, “Oh sure, buy this, buy that,” because it really depends on what an athlete already has and what they need next. So for our athletes listening today, as they’re looking at the tri items they have right now and trying to think through what their next purchase should be, what advice do you have for an athlete on how to assess the items they already have, and decide what they probably need next the most as they shape up their Christmas lists?
Joanna: One of the things I get most from my athletes is, “Oh, my arch is hurting, my heel is hurting.” It’s really important to watch the status of those run shoes. Be evaluated. Go to your local running store. I find that I wear out running shoes quickly. Some people, John for instance, can say he’s put 350 miles on a pair of shoes, but I feel like after a month, I’m not getting the same bounce or the same stability from my shoes.
Andrew: That’s probably a good example of what John mentioned earlier. Whether it’s your bike chains, parts, or wheels, or maybe you’ve done twelve races in that wetsuit and it’s really nicked up and maybe you need to move on to a new one, just in general look at what might be overused.
Joanna: Exactly, right. And another thing is, often I have my mom, sister, or other family members legitimately asking, “I want to buy you something that you’re going to use.” I’m trying to do a service to them, they’re going to buy me something no matter what, so I often look through my Amazon account. What do I buy routinely? I do buy certain socks, like Jeff talked about. There’s certain things I buy a couple of every year. Sometimes it really is a service to them to put together a list of five or six inexpensive items that they can go through. It makes Christmas easier for them, it makes less tasks for people, if you can put together some things that aren’t super-expensive. They don’t feel like they need to go out and buy you a fancy aero helmet or something. It’s some practical items that you are going to end up using throughout the year.
Jeff: Something to consider here would be – if you’re upgrading distances of your next big race, if you’ve been short-course and you’re doing your first full, something like that – what are those items that might take you to the next level? Maybe it’s comfort, like getting some aero scoops or something to be more comfortable in aero, because you’re going to be out there for 112 miles instead of 12 miles this year, things like that. Think ahead on what you might need, like more nutrition. In a sprint tri, you may not count the amount of carbs you take every hour out there. So you might want to start dabbling in nutrition, and trying out different makes, models, brands, and flavors, stuff like that.
Andrew: Along those lines, thinking of the day-to-day tri training gear, what are the typical, practical, day-to-day tri items that go great under the tree? And Jo, I love the point that you made about making sure it’s something that is practically-priced and fun for your family to buy you. No family member wants to be the family member buying your 2Toms butt wipes, no one wants to buy you your chamois cream.
Joanna: I have a few that buy those.
Andrew: But from the swimming, biking, running, recovery, nutrition, what are great items that go great under your tree? They’re great adds to your tri experience that are great to put on our list and have our family member buy us?
Joanna: Things that I would be happy to open, that’s something to think about as well. I think about things that aren’t too high-priced. I love a great new pair of goggles, I love a new Betty Design swimsuit. There are certain items that are not too pricy that you need throughout the year. You’re going to go through a number of swimsuits. You’re going to go through a number of goggles in a year. It’s the same with the bike and run. You are going to need new running shoes. There are certain things that you absolutely know that you’re going to need throughout the year. We talked about socks, we talked about nutrition. Some of those things are kind of boring, but they are very practical, and I’d be happy to open any of that if somebody is giving that to me.
Andrew: Yeah, I’m always happy to get more of my nutrition. I have my favorite gels, I love my UCAN blood orange gels before workouts. On race day I love my Precision Hydration PF 30 gels, just opening a box of those and not having to place that order myself a month down the road is super great. That’s what we’re getting at with practical items that you’re actually going to use. Jeff, I love what you said earlier about considering the races you have coming up, and what could improve your situation. For example, I loved my tri bike, I had a good tri bike and a good bike fit – a bike fit wouldn’t be a bad Christmas present honestly, having a family member buy you a bike fit session, that would be a good one to throw in there – but I was all ready to go in terms of my bike when it came to IRONMAN Waco. Then I started seeing the TriRig scoops. We’ve talked about them on the podcast before, a lot of us on team have TriRig scoops, the arm cups that just have more surface area, they’re more comfortable for long-distance tri. I think it was last Christmas before my first IRONMAN, I asked for TriRig scoops because I was thinking if I can upgrade my comfort for my first IRONMAN, that would be huge. That was a tangible example of, “What race do I have coming up, what is something that’s on the market that can improve my situation slightly for the next race?” That’s an example of something that I did. John, Jeff, for you guys, what are some things that Jo and I haven’t mentioned that are some practical items that are great to add to our Christmas list?
Jeff: I’ll just throw out a quick example. The last three years for Secret Santa – I have two or three different ones each year – I use the same Amazon link, I throw it in there, it’s a new pair of fins. Because at the end of every year, you get a little rip there where your toes pop out, and by November, December every year, those rips are getting a little bit big. So every year for a Secret Santa, I throw out a new pair of fins.
John: I think the easiest thing for most of our families would be not having to delve into the websites and the stores they’re not used to, but most know a great place to get a massage. As triathletes we can always appreciate a good massage. Great for recovery, sometimes it’s a little harder to pull the plug and spend the money on that recovery massage, but they are so valuable. That’s something most of our family members know and appreciate. There’s a great massage, chiropractor, or sports medicine place somewhere in town that sells gift certificates, that sort of thing. That can be something real easy that they don’t necessarily have to get too far out of their normal circles to get.
Andrew: I’ve never had a sports massage, John, so that’s actually a great thought.
John: Merry Christmas buddy!
Andrew: Are you going to get me that for Christmas? I’d be happy with that too!
Joanna: Surprise!
John: Not FROM me. Like, the gift is from me.
Andrew: Not YOU doing the massage! Yes! Absolutely! You buying a gift card to a qualified professional giving the sports massage. Yeah, sure. I’m on board for that! But Jeff, you were talking about swim fins. I remember – it might have been my second Christmas when I was in the sport as a triathlete – I had goggles, and that’s all I had to go to the pool with. So then there was one Christmas that I told my whole family, all those little pool toys. There’s the pull buoy, the hand paddles, and the different fins. I think I added long fins and short fins. I added five or six pool toys to my list, they were all relatively inexpensive, and guess what? This aunt and uncle got one, this aunt and uncle got the other. My parents got one, my cousin, and all of a sudden my pool bag for my next year of training was set to go. And all those pool toys that I got four or five Christmases ago are still in my pool bag, doing their job, that I asked for that Christmas. I did this one year with winter training gear, John you mentioned that earlier. There was one Christmas, I had been a cyclist for a year or two and it was like, “Hey, I haven’t broken down and bought myself that nice cycling jacket to keep myself warm on those winter rides, and the nice bib pants to ride with.” So that’s things that I’ve done, just looking at my tri training situation and saying, “What do I need next,” and making those investments in my training.
Jeff: An example of something that I just recently did was I took advantage of a Black Friday sale and got my prescription lenses put on a new pair of sunglasses. We know day‑in and day‑out we’re out at races, racing and running. I have a unique prescription, so I took advantage of getting a really nice pair of sunglasses and putting the polarized and all the extra fun things on there. Spending a little more is worth it in that regard because it’s something that I’ll be using day‑in and day‑out.
Andrew: My favorite part of Christmas shopping is shopping for stocking stuffers. Stocking stuffers are a lot of fun. A good stocking stuffer can add so much life to a Christmas morning, and there’s lots of great tri items that can get properly stuffed into a stocking. Coaches, what are some good stocking stuffer ideas for triathletes?
Jeff: I actually just put a few rechargeable batteries on my Christmas list, the portable battery chargers. You’re out at the races all day, tracking all your friends, and it’s noon and you got 2% battery left. So I threw a few of those on my list, I could always use another one of those.
Andrew: Good point, I always try to make sure I have that on race day as well. Coach Jo, any good triathlon stocking stuffers?
Joanna: I mentioned Mentos containers, some gum containers. I also like those cheapie safety lights you can buy at your bike shop that will go on your spokes or wheels, giving those to friends as well. They’re very inexpensive, and we all need those things. I would also suggest some pretty powerful razors for some of my men friends, because I think Andrew Harley could use maybe a double or triple blade, that would be very nice to ask Santa Clause for.
Andrew: I don’t know why that has to make a podcast episode, Jo. I don’t know if the people need to hear about my leg hair status. We’ve mentioned some of these items already, but my favorite stocking stuffers to give my tri friends, or even to get, I love getting fun run socks and cycling socks. Those are usually fun things for me to be able to buy. I like recovery toys here, as we’ve said on the podcast before with Dr. BJ Leeper and Craig DiGiovanni from Medi-Dyne, they sell the ProStretch and Addaday line of recovery tools. It’s fun to try different things, there’s different shapes and sizes and balls and foam rollers. I particularly love the little massage balls, I have a couple different ones and use them a lot of different ways. A lot of those are small and can easily fit into a stocking, so this is a good time to pull up the medi‑dyne.com website and look at their library of massage tools. Swim tools are good stocking stuffers, and I think this is a great place where you can get nutrition items. We mentioned before, we all have our favorite gels, our favorite items to get. If I have somebody who’s like a tri spouse and I’m a tri buddy of their partner and they’re like, “Hey I don’t know what to get so‑and-so for Christmas,” I’ll tell them to go to a website like thefeed.com, or go to an Academy Sports store and just get some different bars, gels, etc. We all like trying those kinds of products, so getting individual samples of a lot of products can be a fun way – instead of candy bars and all the Christmas chocolates and cookies – of stuffing their stocking with some nutrition items. John Mayfield, any stocking stuffers that you want to add?
John: I would say the one thing I’m thinking of here as I’m racing tomorrow, one thing that that we absolutely need on race day that we don’t use in our training, is a race number belt. I’ve shown up to races before and not thought of it. This is something super-cheap, and some of them are kind of fun and cool. I’ve got one that’s a little different. Most are black, but I’ve got a white one, which is kind of cool and fun, a little different. Race number belts are always good to have, that and have a backup. A lot of times you’ll get to a race and someone like me will have forgotten it. And just a little side note on those gels, if anyone needs any recommendations on flavors, Jeff Raines knows a couple flavors of gels.
Jeff: I know one or two. I’m going to throw out the silicone sport rings for a spouse. My original high-end nice wedding ring is at the bottom of Lake Decker in Austin, Texas.
Andrew: Oh no!
Jeff: From the old Longhorn IRONMAN half. So I wish I would have worn one of those silicone ones instead.
Andrew: Yeah, I’m wearing one right now. I just know myself, whenever I travel I wear one of these instead of my good one, because I will lose it. Yeah, super comfy, super convenient, I like wearing them when I work out as opposed to my gold wedding ring. I’m going to end this main set – we’re all looking at the script on my laptop in front of us, and I do have an ending question, but I feel like we’ve kind of hit the ending question. So I’m going to end our main set a little unconventionally. One of our TriDot ambassadors is in the RV hanging out with us this afternoon, listening to this conversation. He’s going to hear all the magic of how this is edited later in post. Ben, step on over here. Step into our recording studio.
Joanna: Yeah, Ben, come to the table!
Andrew: Ben, you’ve heard us talk a lot about Christmas and our own Christmas lists, and what are things we think people can buy for Christmas. Shut down our main set by telling us what is on your Christmas list this year as your family shops for you?
Ben: I had two main items on mine. Mine was a torpedo. I’m going to change my front-end hydration and give that a try.
Andrew: We didn’t even say that one! Great add!
Ben: And the other one is, I’m going to try a Stryd run pod to see if it makes any difference. I live in Louisiana. It’s pretty flat, so my tempo and elevation doesn’t really change much, but I thought I’d give it a try and see if it can help with my training.
Andrew: Yeah, I think those foot pods are great gifts, Ben, because where I live it’s rolling hills, so those Stryd food pods really help me do my run workout a little more accurately. They are, I think, I a little over a hundred bucks. I think the newest one is even up to $200 now, so a great Christmas item to get. The front hydration unit was a brilliant ad, I think that’s a great addition to your tri race experience. You heard our whole conversation, are there any other items that you were like, “I didn’t believe they didn’t talk about such-and-such?” Anything that you would add to our triathlete’s shopping list today?
Ben: The one thing I did think of while y’all were talking, but you happened to mention it, was a bike fit. That had come into my mind as well, as well as working with a coach, swim analysis, Pool School, I’ll push that as well.
Andrew: What a good TriDot Ambassador, thanks Ben!
Cool down theme: Great set everyone! Let’s cool down.
Vanessa Ronksley: It’s cooldown time friends! This is Vanessa, your Average Triathlete with Elite-Level Enthusiasm. And today I have here Brian McMahon, the chief strategy officer for deltaG. Welcome to the show Brian!
Brian McMahon: Thank you so much for having me, I’m so excited to be here! TriDot is such a good partner of ours, and it’s great to be with you and I love the intro, “Elite-Level Enthusiasm”, that’s great.
Vanessa: Yeah, my husband actually came up with that one.
Brian: Oh, nice, giving him credit!
Vanessa: Yeah, exactly. So I actually have no idea what a Chief Strategy Officer does all day long, so tell me what you do at deltaG?
Brian: It really is a catch-all for everything. We have a super-small team, so we all wear a lot of hats. But if I had to define it, I would say I have the most customer-facing role. But I also handle a lot of the financing, and a lot of our B2B relationships. So strategy, again, is more of a catch-all than anything. But we do have a few strategy officers, a COO, a president, and a CEO.
Vanessa: So it’s like a fancy term for you have to do everything that is left.
Brian: That’s exactly it, yeah. That was a way better answer than mine.
Vanessa: You just do whatever you’re told to do. Perfect. We are always gaining new listeners to the podcast, so just in case someone is listening and somehow they’re not familiar with deltaG, what is your short version for what deltaG ketone drinks do for an athlete?
Brian: Put simply, maybe outside of an athlete first, deltaG can help you achieve whatever state of ketosis that you’d want, safely and effectively. And ketosis is really just using ketones as a primary energy source in your body. Ketones are the most efficient clean energy source that we know of, and even when combined with glucose, ketones actually allow you to utilize glucose more efficiently. So they really are this biological super‑fuel that can now be at our fingertips with deltaG.
Vanessa: That is so cool. Do you use it yourself?
Brian: I always joke with people, I’ve probably used more deltaG than anybody in the world over the past year and a half. Yeah, I use it every day.
Vanessa: That’s awesome. I’m curious, I have heard that it can be somewhat of an acquired taste. What are your thoughts on that?
Brian: That’s putting it lightly, I appreciate that. Yeah, it is a rough taste. You do get used to it. I always get quite suspicious when something tastes too good. It definitely does work, and you can measure that it works, so that always helps. But we are continuing to innovate on the taste side, and you can mix it with whatever you want. It’s super durable as a compound, so you can dilute it, put into hot, cold, put it in your coffee, and you’ll still get the same effects. So there are ways around it.
Vanessa: I’ve heard that it’s magical in coffee.
Brian: It is, yeah! We launched a product that’s called deltaGold coffee booster, and the reason we launched it was because we’ve have some R&D at Oxford – which is where there’s been a professor for a while – and we’ve done our own internal testing, and we’ve noticed a co‑potentiating relationship between deltaG and caffeine. You actually spike into a deeper ketosis with less deltaG when taken in conjunction with caffeine.
Vanessa: I am super jealous, because I am super, super sensitive to caffeine. Like, you don’t want to see me when I’ve had caffeine, because I’m just bouncing off the walls. I don’t need help in the energy department, so I can only imagine what would happen if I had some deltaG in caffeine. I don’t even know.
Brian: Yeah, you’d be flying, you’d need a cape.
Vanessa: Maybe I should try it, maybe that’d be kind of a fun experiment! So tell me Brian, deltaG offers free athlete consultations, which is a really great service for people to get some information that is catered specifically to them and their goals. What are the typical questions athletes ask during those calls?
Brian: We always start with what their goals are when considering taking deltaG. Usually that’s a catalyst for someone looking at deltaG. Of course I think it’s a very interesting product, but if somebody goes on the website, they usually have a goal in mind. So we first establish that, and then we get into how deltaG can help them accomplish those goals. That’s more on the usage front, and then I’ll give them a protocol and give them advice on how to use it cost-effectively, or whatever fits into their schedule. But also, they want to learn about what ketosis is, what ketogenesis is, why ketones are beneficial, how they can help you with performance, recovery, brain health, glucose stability, all these things. Which I think, for me, is the most enjoyable part of the calls, because I do not intend those calls to be sales calls or sales pitches at all, I just want to educate people about the benefits of using ketones. If somebody called and said they don’t even want to talk about deltaG, let’s just talk about ketones and ketone metabolism, I’d be excited because I think that’s something that’s really enjoyable to talk about. Our mantra is educate the world, and the best product will win, and we believe we have a far superior product than anything that’s out there.
Vanessa: I love that! That’s so great. You must have been a teacher in a former life or something.
Brian: Maybe, yeah. I definitely was not a teacher in this current life.
Vanessa: What is the wildest question you’ve ever been asked on a one‑on-one call?
Brian: Not too many wild questions, which is disappointing. I’ve had probably 450 calls at this point. No strikingly wild questions, but there was one call, it was actually a Zoom video call with a guy who was getting a massage at the same time as we were having a call. So, pretty uncomfortable and weird and distracting. But I got through it.
Vanessa: Oh my gosh! You’re kidding!
Brian: He even had a fake background, but I could see the masseuse’s hands touching his back and he was shirtless. He was trying to hide it, but doing an incredibly poor job of doing it.
Vanessa: That is so funny! I love that! I guess that person is really strapped for time, right? He couldn’t do 15 minutes any other time than during their massage.
Brian: Yeah, apparently! Yeah, or he was getting a massage for eight hours of the day.
Vanessa: Can anyone sign up for a one‑on-one, and who do you think would benefit most from having a consultation?
Brian: You may not like this answer, but everybody. I think it’s interesting, just from a product perspective, because deltaG can be so many things to so many people, and it’s our firm belief that in five years everyone will be taking ketones every day. It’s just so beneficial to be in ketosis for a part of your day. I love the range of calls I have. I talk with so many different people. It’s really enjoyable, from my perspective, because even though when I say I’ve had 450 calls, people are like, “Wow, that’s a lot of time.” But I get to help educate people on ketones, which hopefully gives them the tools to educate their friends. Also, I get a lot of customer data, what kind of questions they’re asking, what are they confused about, how can our messaging be clearer, and maybe what other athletes are involved or interested in deltaG outside of endurance sports.
Vanessa: Right. I have a question that’s total unrelated to athletics. I’m not very well-versed in the scientific literature or research that goes along with ketones and how it’s metabolized in the body. You had mentioned brain health. Is there benefit for someone taking ketones who has Alzheimer’s, has that been researched at all do you know?
Brian: Yeah, that was probably one of the first researched fields around ketones, and that’s because if I can break Alzheimer’s down into a very simple issue, is it’s insulin sensitivity in the brain. So your neurons are starved of energy. So if you only have glucose there, your neurons can’t use the energy because it can’t use the insulin. But if you can provide your brain with an energy source that does not require insulin, i.e., ketones, you can help preserve those neurons.
Vanessa: That is fascinating.
Brian: Dr. Mary Newport really laid the groundwork for this field. She was giving deltaG to her husband who had Stage 5 Alzheimer’s, and he had pretty remarkable results, because he was giving energy to his brain that it wouldn’t otherwise have.
Vanessa: I’m just so shocked this is not mainstream information. I research things and I look up – we’re talking from Google Scholar, not just regular internet – and I’ve never come across anything like that. Now I’m going to go dabble in the Google Scholar on the ketone.
Brian: Yeah, it’s unfortunate how slow science is. I understand why it needs to be slow in some respects, but it is pretty slow. We have 50 clinical studies. I think we have 20 ongoing. As a small company, if you have one, that’s kind of a big deal. And we’re still small, so it’s not like we’re a billion-dollar company yet, even though we have all these proven results. But I think time will go on, and people will hopefully realize, and more research will be done that’s clearer and more straightforward that shows the benefits of ketones for everybody.
Vanessa: How would someone sign up for one of these one‑on-one sessions with you?
Brian: It’s right on the website. I think it says, “Sign up for a free consultation,” and you just click the link, and then you can book a time immediately on my calendar. You’ll have to see my ugly mug on the video, and then click on that, and it goes directly to my calendar, and you just book a time.
Vanessa: Is it a video call, or can you do phone calls as well?
Brian: Both, yeah, I give people the option. I’m always wanting to do Zoom calls for people, but if you want to do a phone call, if you’re traveling or just prefer phone calls, that’s totally fine too.
Vanessa: This is my favorite question, because I’m really excited to hear what you have to say. I heard that you were in Kona for the first time, and you also had the opportunity to spectate the IRONMAN World Championship, which is a triathlete’s dream. What was it like, and what do you think about the sport of triathlon?
Brian: It was incredible. And I’m not just saying that, I’ve been to a lot of sporting events in my life, playoff football games, hockey games, you name it. Just to be in an environment where it feels like everyone’s on the same team, and everyone is so aligned in their love of endurance sports and suffering, and really just rooting each other. You’d be hard-pressed to see that finish line and not want to jump in the water and try to do that at some point. You get butterflies, and everyone’s high-fiving you down the last runway to the finish line. And to see these people finish and to have it all be on the beach in Hawaii doesn’t hurt either. Yeah, the entire IRONMAN community takes over the town, and everyone’s there for it, and it’s just an incredibly unique experience that I think everyone should see at one point in their life.
Vanessa: That’s really cool. So is there a triathlon in your future then?
Brian: It was funny, on the plane ride home I was trying to map out my double session schedule to get to Kona. That’s just what it does to you, being there. But yeah, I could see that. I’m a big runner now, so I want to accomplish some goals there first, but then I’m sure at some point I’ll be too tempted not to do move into the triathlon space.
Vanessa: You could just sign up with TriDot, and then you won’t have too many double days.
Brian: Oh, they’re my first call, yeah!
Outro: Thanks for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDot podcast with your triathlon crew. For more great tri content and community, connect with us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Ready to optimize your training? Head to TriDot.com and start your free trial today! TriDot – the obvious and automatic choice for triathlon training.