Welcome to episode 344 of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!
We are one month out from Ötillö, the 20th anniversary of the Swimrun World Championship, and it is starting to feel real. We open with our own check-in on where our bodies and heads are at heading into Casco Bay, which serves as our final dress rehearsal before Worlds, plus everything we have planned for our Löw Tide Böyz weekend in Portland, Maine including a morning fika, the Envol shakeout clinic, and our post race party.
Then we sit down with Marcus Barton, one of the most experienced swimrunners in America with over 60 races to his name and a coach for Envol Coaching. Marcus is racing Ötillö himself this year while coaching a full group of athletes toward the same start line, and he gives us a coach's honest read on what the last 34 days should actually look like. We get into the elite program and how the point series works, why the fitness cake is mostly baked at this point in the season, and why panic training this close to race day almost always backfires.
Marcus walks us through building a nutrition plan with your partner, figuring out who leads the swims and who leads the technical running, and why your partner is your biggest variable heading into race day. We also dig into practicing transitions until they become muscle memory, training for small interruptions like cold hands or a dropped paddle, and his simple framework for what you should and should not be spending mental energy on this close to the race.
This episode is brought to you by Precision Fuel & Hydration. We have leaned on their products throughout our own training and racing, and we are heading to their UK headquarters before Worlds this year. Check out their website for free resources on dialing in your fueling and hydration.
Marcus closes with the best piece of advice he gives any athlete heading into Worlds: nobody gets through Ötillö completely according to plan, and the teams that do well are not the ones who avoid every problem, they are the ones who recognize problems early and solve them together.
Enjoy!
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That's it for this week's show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a five-star rating and review since that's the best way for people to discover the show and the sport of Swimrun. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and on YouTube. Check out our website for Swimrun resources including gear guides, tips, how-to videos and so much more. Also make sure to check out our meme page @thelowtideboyz on Instagram. If you have any suggestions for the show or questions for us, send us a dm or an email at lowtideboyz@gmail.com. Finally, you can support our efforts on Patreon...if you feel so inclined.
Thanks for listening and see you out there!
Chip and Chris