Commonwealth Gold to 70.3 with Jodie Stimpson

Foreign.

I'm charlie redding.

And I'm claire fudge and this is.

The tribe athlon podcast.

The Commonwealth was. It's hard to put into words how amazing of a whirlwind experience that was.

That was Jody Stimson and this episode is Commonwealth Gold to 70.3. Hey, Claire, how you doing?

Yes, good, thank you. How are you? And how's the recovery from COVID Well.

I think I'm through the worst of it. I think I have been. I've followed. Followed very strictly the protocol that you told me I should do. So I've been. I've literally just done my first swim, which is the first exercise since I tested positive. So that's day. I'm on day four today and, yep, I think I'm through it and I'm. I'm all good. How's your training going?

Good, yeah, good, thank you. Yeah, it's racking up, but it's. It's good. And we've got some good weather in the uk, though, haven't we, so it's really nice being outside and running and. Yeah, it's lovely.

Oh, it makes it so much easier to train when the weather's good, doesn't it? And when are you racing next?

This weekend.

This weekend, like every week.

Where are you racing this weekend?

Every weekend I'm just doing a little race in Dorset, so on home. On home territory. A good sea swim to sort the men from mice. I'm going to have to do a strong sea swim now.

I've said that.

We're all going to be looking at your swim.

Yeah, exactly.

That's a strong swim, is it?

Excellent.

Well, we're really pleased to be joined on this intro by Erica from 33 Fuel. So, Erica, welcome to 30 to the Tri Bathlon podcast. Not even. Not the 33 Fuel podcast. Welcome, Erica.

Thanks so much to having me.

Oh, it's so good to catch up with you again. Obviously, you were with Claire and I and Warren and Kerry and James when we. When we did the Ark 50 back in January. So it's great to see you again.

Well, it was epic. You guys did amazing. I was amazed. Really good, guys.

Well, I think it came down to the support crew, actually. I think we had a lot of. A significant amount of help in that journey.

And actually, Erica, in particular, you were the person when we were back at the house that was actually making up all the 33 fuel recovery shakes and everything. So, you know, you were. You were great. Not only on court, on the. On the day of the race, but before and after as well.

Yeah, I was trying to be useful, guys. The real work, you know, I was just helping a little bit. But you did amazing and you know, especially longer distance. It's. There is so much to prepare, so much to think, so much that can.

Go wrong or better.

So, you know, if the support helps the best, we are there for that.

Oh no, it really did make a massive. I think it put us both at ease and allowed us to actually enjoy the race, despite feeling. I was feeling grotty then as well, wasn't I? This is a recurring theme. I'm sure it's not related to you.

Eric.

So I wanted to just chat to you briefly a bit about. So you're obviously, you're not doing triathlons at the moment, I don't think, but you have done triathlons and one race in particular that actually. Jodi Stimson, who we're going to come onto the interview of shortly, mentions that one of her bucket list races is Alpe d'. Huez. So tell us a little bit about the triathlons that you did do when you were racing, but with particular focused Alpe d', Huez, because it does sound like an amazing race.

Well, that's very funny because Alpe d' Huez was my first triathlon and is the one that basically wanted to see Warren doing it. And I said, oh my God, this looks so cool. The weather was perfect, you know, everything was so amazing. You see the super fit people. I said, I just really would like to do one day. And as soon as said that Warren was already organized, he said, okay, great, you're going to do it the next one.

So next year you're doing it.

I never did it. I never, realistically, I always did a little bit of sport and keeping fit, but was not actually never like triathlons. So I always swim a little bit, but you know, so that was my starting that I said, I said that would be so good. But I was not super sure 100%. I was saying, we will see. But then I went out with some friends, which one is my sister and one is a very, very good friend, Anya. And we basically.

Were.

We got maybe too many cocktails. I basically make everyone join me, even.

The three of us do it from zero.

So from zero, all of us, we decided that was the adventure. And at the time we didn't even have the company. We were not doing Sport Nutrition. So 33 fuel was not even an idea there.

It was just not existing.

So, you know, so that was very Fun because it did bond me a lot with friendship because of course you are finding yourself on, you know, embrace such a big race. And of course before doing that, I did some triathlons of preparation. Like plan, you know, the usual one that you need to do it at least transition. You know, these things that you say, oh my God, transition. I can make it better and all that kind of stuff because it can actually take so much time to go from a place finding your bike, where.

I put my bike, you know.

You know, guys, you did so much that you probably forgot completely. How sometimes is. It can be complex on summer, you know, especially transition.

I don't. I don't think I ever forget how easy it is to fight, you know, make transitions complex. I seem to be very good at that bit. What is it about outdoors that everybody talks about that makes it seem such a special race?

Definitely. I mean, the iconic be so much.

The bike. It's.

To me, the bike was the best. The swimming is amazing. Because in any case, it's such a beautiful, beautiful swim. The bike is an iconic. I mean it's one of the Tour de France, you know, stages, stages. Well done. And so realistically, if you wanted to do something like that, you want to be in one iconic, you.

You can't.

I mean, in my word, I was like, if I preparing for something big has to be the one, you know, then actually after that, after I did the Alpe to s, I just continue because it's.

It's.

It's just like an addiction. It became a real proposition. But I discovered something. I always thought that my. I always thought to have a lot of love for, you know, for the swim, but in reality the bike and especially steep hills like Von 2 because then I started to do all of them.

I think that the best.

I mean, I find very satisfying.

Oh, amazing.

It's a. It's a beautiful race. There is a lot of support. So, you know, it's. And the French are very, very good on supporting the races, you know.

And what.

What's the run like? Because you run at the top of the mountain, don't you?

Yeah, the run.

The running was nice. It's pretty technical because in any case, you know, it's. It's nice. But I have to say, probably the part that prefer was the swim and the.

The bike.

The ride is nice. It's definitely nice. But you know, the bike, you have so much changing of altitude and it's amazing. I mean, I have to say that to prepare that bike, I did want to. And when I did one tour. I think that is such an enormous experience, especially if you never did a. A big mountain. And we started down there, it was hot. Summer went up, the snow, there was so much wind that my bike would.

Just like sweeping away.

And it was incredible. Absolutely incredible. That was brilliant.

I say it's definitely a race that is on my bucket list. That sounds awesome. I remember Joe Skipper talking about it and just saying what a brilliant race it was. Now, listeners that haven't haven't sort of heard you speak before, Erica, will have picked up on your Italian accent. And there's a lot of Italian roots within 33 fuel as a business, isn't there? So I wanted to talk. I wanted you to kind of tell us a little bit about that, both from a recipe perspective and also from a naming perspective. So because those people have seen things like your protein bar and your energy bar will have picked up on the Italian names that probably don't really understand where they've come from. So tell us a little about the Italian roots that you've managed to weave into 33 fuel.

Well, yeah, the Italian roots. Here we have a kind of interesting combination in the DNA of the company. We have some 50% Italian, that's me, 50% of modernized English. So we find that the right combination. So as you all know, the Italians, if it doesn't taste good or if it's natural, proper, you know, made, they don't even touch it. And it's like, no, thanks so much. I just, you know, avoid. In fact, it's kind of interesting because for nutrition in Italy, a lot of even pro, they tend not to use a lot. The Italians one, they just use maybe just for the races, for sure. But because, I mean, the ingredients are a little bit not so natural. I mean, they are not natural. So my Italian side, he brought in the recipe.

The.

Basically the natural side in the way that we were searching, the best, you know, we are speaking about food realistically. The best almonds, the best, you know, ingredients that you can find in nature, we produce here in Siena. We produce our bars, energy bar, Amore and Eroica. That is our protein bar. Most of them produce here, and it's all handmade. I mean, it's just like in the old days when you see the grandma.

You know, preparing stuff.

We don't have grandmas, but we definitely. We have real people, you know, to do it.

So it's.

It's nice. It's like really going back in time. It's not seeing machine that they mix everything or things like that so, yes. So we have the Italian DNA that it brings. Definitely the taste is important and the quality of the ingredients and we produce some seeds in UK and some seeds in Europe, where I am at the moment enjoying the sunshine.

And the energy bar is actually themed around. It's a very. It's like an Italian cake basically, isn't it? It's absolutely delicious. So I can't remember the name of that cake. So tell me that.

Yeah, the energy bar, the name is Amore. That means love. And this was born because Warren and myself, we are married and we decided to give a gift to our customer for our anniversary, wedding anniversary. So we decided to create Amore. Amore is a bar coming from a very old recipe from Siena, from this area and is a cake that is being used from hundreds of hundreds of years to fuel warriors, you know, generation to generation.

And so we thought, you know what.

We just bring the same recipe, changing a couple of ingredients to make it, you know, with sugar, a little bit low gi so you don't have a spike of energy and crash. We add a little bit of superfoods inside. But the taste is very, very similar to the original version. And so Amore was born as a present to our, for our customer. We sort of share the love.

Fantastic. And what about the protein bar? Where does the name of that come from?

Yeah, protein bar. It's again was born again here in Tuscany in Siena because again the base is still coming from the same, same cake. Basically the only thing we change, we add a lot of proteins because of course it's a protein bar. So we had to maximize at the best the, the protein for recovery. So each bar has that famous 20 grams of protein that it's, it's good for, for our recovery after workout. And the name is coming from an iconic race. It's a very interesting race called Heroica. All on gravel on the strade Bianche. So very technical, I will say it's proper, you know, it's very technical and the funnest thing is actually is going to be tomorrow. Tomorrow they are starting tomorrow, the day after. It's a multi, multi day race. There is the pro race and then the amatorial and it's fantastic. Everyone, they dress up like in the 60s, they have to use a very old bikes. So they are more or less all at the same level. So there is not actually the advantage of the technology of the, you know, better bike, best suspension, better nisman. There is nothing of that, you know. So no, it's a fantastic, fantastic race and picturesque like going Back in time.

That sounds fantastic.

And what makes with the protein bar, I think, is that the one that we tried when we were down in Cornwall?

Yes.

Yeah. Because I know you've got almonds in there. What else do you add in then for the protein?

We did basically we have some rice protein and also we add some white egg, you know, egg white protein. So it's a combination between egg white, rice protein and almonds. And by the almonds we wanted to keep it full because it keeps also the oil, the natural oil, and also it gives you that bite, you know, sometimes you need that bite because all of these, you know, gels and cigarette are so mushy. Sometimes you need a little bit of something to bite. So we thought about it was a good, good idea to, to keep a day. And also they look so good, you know, almonds, full size. Yeah. Nice. You see the quality.

It is a. Both the energy bar and the protein bar are brilliant products because if you take them out the wrapper and just eat them with a coffee, you actually feel like you're eating the cake from the coffee shop as opposed to a protein or an energy bar, which is certainly the only products I know that fall into that category. So, yeah, I think that they are absolutely brilliant in that sense. And just to wrap things up, are there any new products on the horizon? We love your protein powder and the bars that we've talked about in the Daily Greens, but anything new?

Yeah, in a very short time, guys, you will be the first one not to know this. So in reality, yeah, we are working at the moment on a new product. It's going to be a very interesting product that it will allow the people to recover very well with protein because again, the base is plant based protein. This will be completely plant based. Meanwhile, the bar, we did the egg white, this one instead, it will be a completely plant based. And yeah, we decided to go for more an unusual shape and we went for the shape of a cookie. So it would be a recovery cookie and it's again going back to the Italian and Tuscan tradition. The shape is actually coming from a cookie from here. So the team that they are making the cookies are handmade by the father of the owner of the company. So they did everything by hand. And I love that, you know, because it's love that little things that maybe nobody will notice, nobody will know it, but we know it and for us is the quality is the first thing.

Awesome. I like the sound of a recovery cookie.

That sounds good.

I think that again, I like again, sitting There with your coffee afterwards and eating a recovery cookie. Recovery cookie is that sounds like a great idea.

I tell you what, in this one we are putting actually a second line that will be. Feel the density. Together. That would be perfect.

Excellent. Does that have a name yet?

Not yet. We are working on the name but yeah, we are working on the name.

I get the feeling there'll be an Italian name in there somewhere.

So there would be something Italian. Will be different names here that we have different names coming and we are testing the name which is the best one, you know. So we are still working in progress. But I tell you what, the packaging is already ready and again all the packaging we are making here in Italy and is all fully recyclable. For us, being a ethical company, being, you know, having fully recyclable packaging is very, very important. Everyone should have it. Especially if you're thinking about nature and sport. We all love sport, we all love nature and we wanted to keep it at the maximum and to help the nature to be more flourish instead of the opposite.

Well, I think it's brilliant. I love the new branding that you've, you've rolled out on. I know, I know the bars are where the new branding is imminent, isn't it? But I think it looks really good. But the fact that it's all recyclable is fantastic.

Yeah, it's all recyclable, it's all printed here in Italy we are trying to make everything so the shipping is not too bad for. Because in UK they don't produce, unfortunately they don't print packaging, recyclable packaging yet or in any case the one that we need maybe other formats but not no zip grip packaging. So we were looking all around and I said I can't believe it. In my country they are doing it.

So yes.

So we decided, yeah, that's great. And so we are printing everything and as we speak they are now in production. All the new packaging for Abo rebar. They are pretty nice. We speak. So in a very short time.

I saw a brief, brief preview of Warren on Monday and I thought it looked really good. So I look forward to just checking. It tastes as good inside the packaging as the. I'm sure it, sure it will do. Erica, it's been absolutely brilliant to catch up with you. I can't wait for recovery cookies to come out. I'll be very excited to talk about them when we get to try them. But yeah, keep up the great work, enjoy your time in, in Italy and I think we'll now Dive into the interview with Jody Stimson. 33 Fuel Produce Award winning natural sports nutrition and everything they do is led by their philosophy for performance, for health and for a fitter future. 33 Fuel's awesome products have been fueling triathletes worldwide since 2012 as well as many of the world's best athletes. So from the England football team to Tour de France winners and triathlon world champions including four times Ironbound world champ Chrissie Wellington who's been using 33 fuel for years, 33 fuel also leads sports nutrition sustainability with plant focused formulas for a reduced environment impact, recyclable packaging and carbon neutral delivery on all orders which also got them Rated as by Runners World as one of the top 50 eco hero companies worldwide. Another reason why I love what Warren and Erica are doing at 33 fuel. So to find out more about 33. Four, go to 33fuel.com and if you use the code tribathlon or click the link in the show notes, you'll get an extra special discount when you purchase your amazing stock of 33 fuel. Jody Stimson did her first triathlon at the age of 8 and went on to a massively successful career on the short course, winning two Commonwealth gold medals and also being a four times winner of the World Triathlon Series. She's now moved up to the 70.3 middle distance racing and has already notched up wins as well as some amazing iconic races. So Claire and I got a chance to chat to Jody about the challenge of moving up to the longer distance. You know, from a nutritional point of view, from a sponsorship point of view, from a training point of view, there's so much impact that that that makes. So it's really interesting to see what she's done to step it up to the middle distance, the iconic races that she's targeting, particularly given her sort of more flexible race selection nowadays and also the massive disappointment of missing out on the Olympics, something she clearly worked incredibly hard for and claim so close to. I just love Jody's enthusiasm for the sport. She's clearly just, you know, absolutely her heart set on triathlon and always has been from such an early age. So there's loads of great advice in this conversation and I know you're going to really enjoy her infectious enthusiasm. So enjoy the interview with Jody Stimson. So Jody, welcome to the Triathlon podcast. We've got Claire with us as well. Really looking forward to chatting to you, finding out more about your successes over the years, but I always like to kick things off by asking people to tell us a little bit about their story. Now, I know you got into triathlon at possibly the earliest age of anyone that I've. I've interviewed. So tell us how it all started. How did you get into triathlon?

I got into triathlon really well. My dad taught me to swim when I was four and it was like a local swimming group called Albury, which then got converted into Albury Swimming and Triathlon Group, which was basically me, my uncle and my cousin was the triathlon members in that group. And yeah, and then my uncle did Ironman at the time.

Is this the person that gets termed as Auntie Derek? Are we talking about the same person here?

Yeah. So when I was younger, the auntie and uncle. I don't know why, but I got confused with it. So he ended up being Auntie Derrick and then obviously that stayed out throughout forever. So he's still Auntie Derek. But yeah, so they kind of him and my dad took me to my first, like, little triathlon where you did a pool swim and you kind of run round a cycle around a football pitch and then run around the same football pitch. And I did that when I was 8 and back then it was called the Milk Series and I share this with the famous Alistair and Johnny Burnley because we kind of grew up in that scene together really, and did the Milk Series and it was all across the country, just these little triathlons. And from then I. I never wanted to do anything else at all. Like, I. I've asked mom this, did I ever want to do anything else when I was growing up and no, I always wanted to do triathlon from then.

Fantastic. And how did that, how did that progress through? Because, I mean, it's brilliant that you found your element to steal Ken Robinson's terms. So at such a young age, how did that then progress through from just doing the Milk Series up to your next success?

So then from there really, I kind of. I stayed at Aubrey Triathlon Club, but then I found my first proper coach, really was called Steve Lumley and he coached out of Birmingham University. So when I was still in high school, I then went and kind of trained with the university group and stayed there until I was 17 or so and then that's when I kind of made my first coaching change. But until that point, like Steve had, like, I was really successful with Steve like at a young age and. But I needed a change and that's kind of when I went to Michelle Dylan and kind of from that point, that's when I really started to break onto the triathlon scene and my first year runs 23s was really successful with her. I, I won Europe second at European Champs, second at Worlds and then yeah from there and I think my real breakthrough though and my best years in triathlon so far were under Darren Smith and he was called D squad at the time. And that's where I share my best successes. Commonwealth Games wts, podiums and training with a group that like contains Aileen Reed, Lisa Norton, Annie Hague, these big names in triathlon that kind of are all under D Squad. And yeah, it was, it was an amazing time in my life.

Did you want to pick out a couple of the. Obviously I'm assuming the common. What Commonwealth gold medals were well, significant highlights but also the World Triathlon Series wins. So do you want to pick out a couple of the. Of the moments that were, you know, had, were the most memorable for, for you on that sort of stage in your career?

I'll tell you my first, so my.

First.

My first memory, I suppose it was the kids feel race and, and it was known as. So you basically that was the one that you kind of went up the mountain and so that was the. One of the fondest memories was it was unusual, it had never been done before and you kind of started normally kind of in like a lake situation and, and then you kind of cycled to the bottom of the mountain and you basically bike consisted of cycling from the bottom to the top of the Kitsbill Horn and then you did the runoff on the top of the mountain. And I kind. I remember this one very, very fondly for a few reasons. One of them was my mum doesn't watch a lot of my races. She's there and she doesn't miss the races but she will give me a kiss good look at the start and then she'll go put her ipod in and she'll just walk around the expo because she's just too nervous. But this one was different. So this one you have to get the gondola up the top of the mountain. So she had no choice to watch it because she was stuck at the top of the mountain and I ended up winning that. And so that was the other reason to why that was a fun one is because the lead up to that I was training in Morzine with the amazing, some of the amazing athletes that I mentioned and I was absolutely getting my backside handed to me on all these sessions, these hill sessions because in Morzine you basically go up or down. It's, it's the Alps. And I was. I said to Darren before he. I was like, darren, I don't think I should do this race. Like, I. Like, I don't think. I don't think I can do it. And said, I'm gonna make an embarrassment of myself. And he just said, I think you'll be all right, Jode. And I'm glad he said that because then I ended up coming away with a win. So. Amazing. Yeah, that was. That was a really fond. A fond memory of that race.

Brilliant. And what was it like to. To win the Commonwealth gold, which would you. If you could only have had the Commonwealth gold or the. The World Triathlon Series win, which would. Which would you have taken?

Commonwealth gold, hands down. Commonwealth. I mean, the Commonwealth was. It's hard to put into words how amazing of a whirlwind experience that was. It is. We were kind of in our own bubble again before that race. And like, I was training in Morzine before it. Everything had just gone so well in the lead up to it. And like, there was no session that was more important than another I was training at that point. There was just basically three of us. There was myself, Alien Reed, who competed for Ireland, and Jess Broadwick, who was an American athlete. Everything just went well in the lead up. I didn't feel any pressure. I didn't. I didn't find myself. Even though I went in as number one, to me, I wasn't the favorite because in Hamburg previously I'd been beaten by three or four Commonwealth athletes, so I didn't see myself as the favourite going into it. And I think then the race just went well. Like, I was third out the water, I was in control on the bike and the run, just, just. I was in control all the way. And the one, the. The one memory I have of that is you kind of did like a. Behind the corner before you got to the blue carpet. And the road was so loud that when I came onto that blue carpet that I thought I was in a sprint finish. So I absolutely killed myself on the blue carpet because I thought I was sprinting. There was no way I was looking back and there was no one there. I couldn't. I could have enjoyed the blue carpet a hell of a lot more, but, yeah, it was. And then when I crossed the line straight away, Mum and Dad was there. And there's not many races where you just. Just get to embrace, like, the people that mean the most to you and have been the most important in your journey. And that's what made it so special, is that the grandstand was literally there and it was. Yeah, it gives you goosebumps just thinking back to that day.

Amazing. And did Mum manage to watch the whole race?

I think she did, but my sister had not long had. Erin was only little then, my niece, so I'm sure she was a good distraction for her for some of the race.

How do you feel, Jodie, about the Commonwealth coming to Birmingham as well? Because obviously you coming from the West Midlands, it's just at the moment it's just kind of everything's going on everywhere, all across the city and all the different venues. So have you got any involvement within the Commonwealth Games at all in any sort of capacity or.

Yeah, I'm so I'm going to be doing the commentary for the race. So it's amazing to be involved and I suppose in one side of me though, it's slightly disappointing that I'm not gonna be one of the athletes racing and I know I'm gonna get, you know, the jealousy of like the girls that are on the start line. But yeah, it just didn't fit in time wise. It wasn't, it wasn't. I couldn't to be honest. The swims just moved on so much in the short course. Okay. And they're just swimming so much faster that, yeah, I think I can bike with the girls and run with the girls, but there's no point if you're not there at that top end of the race. But no, I'm, I'm definitely stoked to, to involved and where the triathlon is in Sutton Park, I do my long run there every Sunday so it'll be pretty special to see like triathlon takeover sort of path.

Yeah. Fighting.

Why do you think the swim has become so much stronger in the short course?

To be honest, I think triathlon kind of goes in, it goes in peaks and troughs of all different kind of like when I, my best years is when, you know, the run was really the focus point. Like, yes, you had to be there on the swim and the bike, but the run was really the focus point. And I think we kind of always seem to do a game change a year after the boys do it. And I think, you know, Flora Duffy had the, she, she was responsible for the women's change in focus that you have to, you know, be swim, bike, run, dominant and you can't rely on a strong bike to get you back in the race because there's a strong group of cyclists up front and then you've got, you've got Jess Learmont. That's an absolute fish. And you've also got like, Sophie Caldwell. I think the main change is that you've got a big group of girls now that can swim really fast and they're excellent cyclists and they can run fast. So in one way it's great because, I mean, that's what we all want, we all to win the race, you want to be the best swim bike runner. But there's always a balance, isn't there, of like, you know, being great in the water, maintaining great power on the bike, but then you've also got to be a super fast runner. It's the, it's the balance of triathlon and I think at the minute that swim is so important and it may be that in a couple of years even more people have brought up their swim and then the run becomes more of a focus. But the minute that lead pack is gone.

That'S really interesting. Do you. So having seen how amazing Commonwealth Games were, what are your thought, you know, what are your thoughts around not having an Olympic medal to add to that?

Yeah, that's pretty tough. You know, all through my career, that's what I wanted. I wanted an Olympic medal, I wanted to be an Olympian. And unfortunately it just wasn't in my career. And as much as I tried, I couldn't have tried any harder to get that spot, you know, to get the medal. Like, I really put everything into it. I couldn't have put any more. My life was committed to do it. So, yeah, it's obviously upsetting and devastating that that wasn't in my career path, but I've had to come to terms with that and I've had a successful short course career and now I'm putting all my energy into having a successful long course career.

Yeah, sorry, what's that pressure like, Jodie, to be. Because we've talked to a number of athletes recently about the pressure, you know, the pressure that you're under as a professional athlete. What, you know, what did that feel like at that time? Because I know that must have been, you know, during sort of selection time and things like that. What does, what does that feel like? How do you cope with it?

I think, to be honest, in that period, Darren Smith, my coach at the time, he was amazing and I didn't the process of. So I think that my, my shot would have been 2016. That was when I was so close. I'd gone into that year, I'd won the first two races, I was ranked number one. That was, that was going to be my Olympics and to be Honest, that winter, I didn't really feel pressure as such. It wasn't pressure as, oh, God, there's an Olympics coming or there's a selection coming. Darren almost took that off. And it was just about the process, to be honest. I have no idea how he did that because it was amazing how we just had to concentrate on each day as it came, doing a good job. And I think that's why I was the fittest. I was going into 2016 and it was just because Helen. Helen had an amazing race when she needed to and. And I didn't. I kind of. And it was devastating. It was absolutely, absolutely devastating. Not only for me, for my family, for Darren. Yeah, it was. At the time, it was one of the hardest things that I. I had to go through.

Some. I just. Yeah, I just. I don't envy all those athletes out there, you know, the pressure that you have to put yourself under as well. But, like, now, obviously, you're moving on, aren't you, in terms of where you're kind of putting your time and efforts as well? I know, Charlie, you've got a number of questions about that.

Well, yeah, I mean, obviously. So Moving through to 70.3, I suppose the first things. What have been the biggest changes that that's made to your training? You know, tell us a little bit about that before we go into the individual races.

I think the. The biggest change that I have struggled with is so I've obviously ridden a road bike all my life and kind of going onto a TT bike, like going in front of. When I was itu, I. I would put myself as one of the strongest cyclists out there, like in the IT field, and I just couldn't translate that power over to tt. I just, I don't. And to be honest, it's only been the last six months, working with my new coach, that things have started to click into place. And that's why I was so frustrated at the previous 70.3 I've just done. Because, like, everything in training has been, yes, this has changed. Yes, it's moved forward. That's, I suppose, definitely going from a road bike to a TT bike. That. That's been my biggest annoyance. Because the actual training from olympic distance to 70.3. Yes, some of the run sessions have to be a bit longer, the bike intervals have to be a bit longer. And obviously you have to stay in aero. It's not masses. Amount of change, like the swim program is probably the same. The run volume at the minute is low. Just because. Super nervous about getting injured at the minute. So me and trust with my body at the minute is not ideal. It's getting there but it's not ideal. But bike wise like I, you still need to have that top end. Just because 70.3 is got so much faster at the minute I think which is a great thing for me because I love that head to head battle. I love that race and I think that's why I wouldn't want to go any longer at the minute because Ironman becomes a different, a whole different event and I think that 70.3 at the minute you still get that head to head gripping battle.

So with, with the power on the bike and so a couple of questions that that throws out. One is was it you holding the aero position or was it your power in the aero position that was the problem? And secondly what is it that you think has kind of you said that that's just sort of started to click into the place in the last few months. What is it that's enabled you to, to resolve that?

So it's both. It was both was holding the arrow position which I think initially I was set up wrong. I would say it was either too aggressive or just didn't suit me. And the power over I, I. You use different muscles like you in that time trial position. So. But I think it was more to do with the position that I couldn't. It wasn't easy to translate over. So I think that was a major kind of learning curve. So I've recently just come back from Boulder where I've had a bite fit with Ivan who has. He's done numerous top end pros. I really think he's helped me kind of translate it over. I'm not in it. I'm not in a super aggressive position. I don't want to be yet because I've got to get used to this first and I think that's where I'm at at the minute. It's a process and it's going to be, it's going to be quite a big process but I'm happy with where I'm at at the minute what you say.

Really that's, that's really interesting because I think I have the same issue in that I, my, when I cycle with my mates on a Saturday I know which ones I'm stronger than and which ones I'm not. And yet when it comes to a TT bike I know that I don't, I don't. I never seem to deliver the, the power that I think I should do relative to other people. So And I have had the full bike fit, but I'm. It makes me wonder whether I've gone too aggressive and kind of. Yeah, that's really interesting. So is there any, any advice that you can give me that would be. You know, this is what I would look to do given the problems that you'd had.

I mean, with me personally, I was just, I was set up too aggressively. And like some bike fitters, they see a TT bike and it's like, right. Aero gains. And yes, there is a balance of. You do want to be aero because you will save more watts, but it, it's, it's, it's comfort at the same time. So, yes, you want to be aero, but you, you've got to be able to hold that arrow position. Otherwise there's no point in holding it for 10k when you've got 90k to hold it for. Yeah, so I think it's just, it's very individual and it's finding the balance of, okay, how aero can I get? But then still being comfortable and still active in everything to continue the power.

Through the stroke and I guess being able to get off. Not, I guess, and getting off and running. And running, you know, running. Running strong as well.

Yeah. I mean, when I was, when I had like the, my first few races and I wasn't set up correctly, I, I could always run well off it, but I think that's. I could always run okay off it, but then that's another thing at the minute it's like, okay, now I'm biking a lot better now, my run. I find, well, I'm still playing a little bit of catch up just from a few injuries that I've had. But it's now the balance of. Now I'm cycling better. Okay. How does that impact my run? Oh, it's a whirlwind of triathlon, isn't it? But we love it, like.

Well, it's all about, it's all about constant improvement, isn't it? There's always an area to improve, which is one of the reasons why triathlon is so fascinating, because there's more, you know, there's so many different aspects that you can improve. What's your. So tell me a bit about what your entry into 70.3 was like. I think Daytona was a bit of a shock to the system, wasn't it? Perhaps. And then also about your recent races. So particularly Miami and Escape from Alcatraz tell us a bit about the two extremes.

So my first 70.3 that I did was actually Bahrain. It was it was Ironman, Bahrain, and I actually had a really good race. I ended up in a foot race with Holly Lawrence and she got me at the end, but it was actually a really. I loved, I loved the race. It was, it was an awesome battle. I loved it. Daytona, um, yeah, that was a shock to the system, to say the least. I, I think I'd done six weeks on my TT bike before then and yeah, against these powerhouses, like, I knew that I'd get a bit of a ass kicking, but that was another level of action. Like, it was just, it's a flat loop, you have to hold aero, you have to maintain power. Yeah, I just, Yeah, I was in all sorts, to be honest, by the end of that. And I just couldn't hold any sort of power or form. I mean, it got off and I ran pretty well and I ran through. So the 21, the 21K is never, that's never really been the stopping point. It's always been the bike, which is frustrating because coming from itu, I'd say that was one of my strengths. But then, yeah, I've obviously mixed it up. And then recently I've done Escape from Alcatraz and I was lucky enough to get the invitation. What a race is all I can say. Like anybody who's got a bucket list of races that needs to be added.

It'S already on mine, I think.

I think Claire and I were talking last week and we said that needs to be on our bucket list.

Yeah, amazing. I mean, what triathlon is it that you are put on a boat and you ferried out and literally the start point is like diving off this boat and swimming to shore. And I mean, it was so foggy that all you saw is these like. Well, I was trying to follow boys, White water in the distance. The bike course was like basically up, down, twisty, turny, like, amazing. And then the run, like, the run was an obstacle course of like. So there was no concrete on this course. You start on gravel, you then go up 200 steps, you go down steps, you go then onto sand. You end up doing this run on sand, which is absolutely horrendous for anybody who hasn't run on sand. And at the end of this sand stint, you have a sand ladder, which it's just like a dube, a sand dune that you have to try and get up. Like everybody, like hands on knees, trying to get to the top of this sand dune. And then you have more stairs to kind of go down before you get to the finishing bit. It's it's just, it's.

Oh.

And in the middle of it is like this little tunnel that you can only just get through.

I didn't realize that on the run.

No, I didn't.

It has more on my bucket list now.

I think you read all the course. This is why I just have to do it again because I'd be so much better the second time because I know what's coming. Like, I rode the bike course previously. I mean, you can't really do the swim, but the run, you can't. Yeah, you can't do. But it's just amazing. Honestly. Everybody's just got smiles on their faces. Like it's just pacing becomes irrelevant. It's just because you've got so many things to kind of conquer.

It sounds like the 70.3 equivalent of the Norseman or Patagon man or something. It sounds. It sounds fantastic.

I can't. I can't thrive about it anymore. It's just. It's amazing. And. And Jackie who ended up winning, she was just like, mission is to finish. Just complete the activity. And that was all that was going through my head at times. Is like, just complete the activity.

Ok.

Awesome. That's. It does sound like a fantastic race. How was. How was winning in Miami?

Oh, yeah, that was emotional. Yeah. That was obviously that was the first trip that I'd done since my dad had passed. So. Yeah, that was. And it was on. He was emotional for obviously numerous reasons. That. And that was one of. One of the reasons for moving over to long as well. But that particular race, I was lucky enough to get Mum out to come out with me, so it was emotional for her as well because obviously they would usually travel together to these races and Miami again, it was kind of very similar to a Daytona course that it was on a. A car speedway And dad loved F1, so you could. I could just see dad loving the race, how different it was. He loved the States anyway. He definitely got me through that race and. And that was all that I was thinking about was him. So it was. Yeah, it was definitely an emotional. An emotional race. And to go through.

Brilliant. Yeah, no, that's. That's lovely that it had it. You could draw strength from. From. From difficult times. What about how. How is switching from ITU up to middle distance impacted getting sponsorship.

Struggle big time. At the beginning of my career, I always said that because I don't come from a wealthy family. Yes. I've never wanted for anything, but if I wanted something now, I can't rely on them. To support financially. They support me so much emotionally that it's ridiculous, but financially wise, I can't. So I always said at the beginning of my career that if I can't make money from my job, then I can't do it, because I can't. And I kind of find myself a little bit in that predicament at the minute. So I've obviously got some savings.

But.

Sponsors are very small at the minute. I'm lucky to have a guy called Sean Haywards from Haywards Transport who is financially helping me at the minute. But it's definitely a struggle at the minute going to long course.

And I would have expected that to have started to ease now, given that you're starting to see some real success at this distance. But I don't know how long these things take to. I suspect it's like turning an oil tanker, isn't it?

I hope it comes quickly. That's all I can say. I hope it comes. I mean, yeah, I suppose that's the thing from coming from short course. The short course, right. If you were to win and be successful at races, you can, you can earn a, you know, a good living and you don't have to depend so much on sponsors because race winnings are far better. And obviously racing short course, you know, British triathlon are, you know, a great federation in that way. And I was really lucky to be UK lottery supported, so I wouldn't have to pay for travel and accommodation and the actual races. Whereas now I do, like, everything is I have to pay for myself, so, you know, medical cover, transport, travel into races, the actual race entry, everything. So, yeah, it's definitely been a massive. Which I knew it was coming, like, I knew, but there was nothing really you can do about it. You just have to kind of hope the tides will change a little bit and some sponsors all come on board.

Has it put more pressure on you from a social media point of view?

Obviously YouTube's growing massively now and that's a. That is a good way of, of, you know, getting sponsors. But the people that are doing the YouTubes, they're quite lucky, as in, like, they probably got some income already, so they can afford to pay a videographer or if you look at, like somebody like that, triathlon life. Paula and Eric, they do an amazing job. Like, their YouTube is great, but Eric is very talented and Erica and Paula were great together. So a lot of people, some that they've got a couple, they've got somebody that can, you know, record or take more photos to get content for their social media. I haven't got that. So it is, it's challenging like to, that's like any races I'm really lucky to. There's some great photographers there that will give you the content so you can you know put that on your social media and some of the kit sponsors that I've got like, you know it's a way of giving back to them hopefully racing well but also showing them content wise as well. So it is, it, it does but hopefully you know my performances will start to help that.

I remember Jackie Herring saying that, you know there is in this day and age a lot of pressure for social media. She refuses to go after it. She said it will either be my results that do it or they won't. You know it's not going to be the, her social media so.

Yeah, exactly. I mean I've got huge respect for Jackie. You know she's got a family and you know she was, she was awesome to hang out with Alcatraz and she, she's, you know she's really on fire at the minute but she's, she has to balance her life. I mean she's got two kids, she's got, you know, she's got a life outside of what she has to do, outside of her job and she balances it and there's no room for YouTube in her life.

Yeah.

So yeah, I, I, I suppose I have to have that mindset of I want my performances to speak the loudest because I haven't got the avenues of somebody to do the other stuff for me.

So one of the things that I remember reading about you was that like shifting up 70.31 of the attractions is it gives you a bit more flexibility in terms of the races you pick. And I think I saw you mentioned outdoors and outlaw and things like that. How, how much of you know what I suppose what races are you looking forward to but how much does that, that increased flexibility help you explore triathlon more?

I think previously I would never have done something like the Escape from, the Escape from Alcatraz because it just wouldn't have, it wouldn't have been able to fit in with the series. So yeah there is races like that one these Alpe d' Huez that I am definitely going to do in the future. This still, I, I still think my priority is to race the best in the world and to try and beat the best in the world ultimately. So I want to go where they are. That is a bigger plug to me which is why racing like the PTO Events like the next one's coming up is Edmonton and then there's Dallas. So they're a bigger cherry if you like that. I want to go and race because they give me the bigger buzz. They're like racing the best in the world and challenging myself like that. But yeah, there is races that you know, I do want to do. I love, I love racing at home. You at UK give the best support, no doubt anywhere in the world. We've got the best, you know, I received the best support, the best love around the course. So doing home races is great. So then after Edmonton, I'm hoping to do 70.3. Salford. It's not Salford. Swansea.

Oh brilliant. Yes.

So you know I love racing in the UK and that kind of gives me the flexibility to do that.

Fantastic. And have you raced any of the Outlaws yet?

I haven't yet. No, I haven't yet.

I'm sure you will enjoy them. They're good races. What about with regards as we've got Claire here. What's. What have your. Has your approach to nutrition changed through your switch up from ITU to 70.3?

To be honest, this is a bit of a struggle at the minute on numerous different, numerous different reasons. One of them is I have had some serious injuries, some serious bone injuries which yep, some of them I would say it's been to under fueling in the past as a younger athlete. So now I find myself kind of, I don't know, I'm in the middle of kind of over fueling to make sure that's not the case. So it's. Yeah, it's a massive learning curve for me to just try and get my head around. Recently for example, I race 70.3 Eagleman and I race with Morton. I think it's a great, I think it's a great product because I, I have gone through a period of having a sensitive stomach during races. So three days out from or two and a half days out from a race I'll go no fiber. So no fruit, no salad, no vegetables and it absolutely kills me and I feel like I've got the worst, worst diet world but it helps on race day to kind of eliminate that fiber. So that's great. And I have like that pre race and I'm happy with that. But then during the race I think when you're going from like an Olympic distance where it's like a two hour race as long as you've fueled right previous and yeah you've got carbs and stuff during you can kind of get away With a lot of things, which is where I'm figuring out now, that I probably got away with a lot of things in my career. And when I raced Eagleman. Yes. Okay. I've probably stocked up on car boys. I don't actually take any electrolytes, so. And I found that my. And I have. Even in Miami, I had like, tingling and numbing in my hands.

So.

Is that a sodium overload? Is that a magnesium or, you know, potassium, or have I just not got enough electrolytes? It's a minefield. It's an absolute minefield. And I think you just get found out obviously a hell of a lot more the longer that you have to go.

Yeah.

So it's interesting, isn't it, because I was actually gonna. Gonna kind of follow on from that in terms of, you know, with under British Triathlon and the racing you were doing before. Yes, it was shorter, but obviously I know you have support or there is support from nutritionists within those teams. And kind of coming away from that, it's really different, isn't it? Like racing without all of that kind of support. And like you say you can. You can kind of get away with it on a shorter distance, but longer distances is really, really different. And it's just learning again, isn't it? And not having that support must be. Must be quite difficult. Did you have much support from British triathlon from a nutrition perspective when you were racing short course?

Yeah, I did. I suppose when I was with Darren, he kind of took that. And he was a master at so many different traits in triathlon. Yeah, he. He was a bit of a genius. So I was really confident in just kind of learning from him. And I'd say I learned a lot from Darren and I took that away with me. But when I was with British triple, it was probably the last. Yeah, it was. It was probably the last four years. It was. It was great in one way because that was. The pressure was kind of taken. But did I learn a lot in those four years? No. And I suppose then I'm grateful that I wasn't in that bubble throughout my whole career. But the last. Yes, I did have nutrition help. And I could go and go to the nutritionist and ask and she'd say this, this and this. But it's totally different going into longer distance. And I still personally don't think that I got the best of myself in those last few years of itu. Yeah, I don't think I got things right, if I'm honest.

What do you mean by that? What. What Looking back on it, what specifically would you do differently if you were going to go again at it?

I think it mainly comes down to I learned a lot when I was with Darren and he basically when I moved to Darren, I'd done things totally wrong with my previous coach. I'd under fueled, I hadn't recovered from training and that driving force has always been performance with me it's what do I need to do to get faster. And with the previous coach it was just taught to me wrong. It was just, it wasn't health. So going to Darren, he just basically taught me to eat healthy and he. The first camp that I went on, for example with him was we all kind of shared this massive host and he'd be banging on my door. Like when it got to like three hours, he'd be like, it's time to eat and I don't wanna like, well you've had a stint of not eating, so you need to eat. And I'd absolutely hate him at the point because I was like, I don't want to eat, like. But he taught me that your body needs fueling constantly. It's not just pre and post training, it's kind of everything else around it. You, when you stop training your body then doesn't need anything. Like it's a constant, you know, refueling and because you're always kind of going to be at a deficit for the amount of hours that like we train to the normal person. And I think that when the past four years then I think everything just wasn't as easy. I don't know if it was because I was in this, the Loughborough bubble. I had, don't get me wrong, I had an absolutely fantastic time with training with Sophie Caldwell who is doing absolutely amazing at the minute and Olivia Matthias who is also, she just won kids fuel on the weekend. Like those girls were, were great to train with, love training with them, but I think it was just too much maybe being in that bubble and you didn't get to just learn. I think it took away the feeling of the swim, bike and run process a little bit for me. Like you, you ultimately, yeah, okay, it's just training, but it's so much better to feel what you're doing. It's hard to explain.

So where do you think you'll find yourself kind of next in terms of training and basing yourself? Because you're based in Birmingham, I understand, at the moment.

Yeah, so yeah, based at home. But I've literally just got back from seven weeks in Boulder so I do think I'll be to in and fro in from the States a lot more. Mainly because there's a load more 70.3 races out there, so I'd be silly not to. But I do think that like that kind of seven week period it went really well. I. I really enjoyed it. I got some awesome training done. I really enjoyed. I did a lot of training with Flora. I spam with Judy Dibbins group and Ian o' Brien's group and they're just so welcoming out there. So yeah, I do see kind of a split that I'll be based out in the States and at home.

Fantastic. That sounds like a good lifestyle. Were you out, was Sid out there while you were with Dibbo's gang?

She was, but only for like a brief time because it was before the worlds. After the world, she kind of went back to Girona, so I kind of crossed paths with her. Locusts. Small amount of time.

Brilliant. Oh, fantastic. So I noticed that you've got an aura ring on your finger.

Oh, yes.

So tell us a little bit about what do you. What have you. Why do you wear an Oura ring and what. How have you found it useful?

I mainly found it useful. It's mainly because it was either between that or the boot strap and I am a person that can't see with a strap on, but I don't mind the ring. So I use it for resting heart rate, heart rate variability, they're the main two and sleep. They're my main things that I really try and look on. And it's quite interesting looking at heart rate, especially when I went out to Boulder Boulders at altitude. So I found it really interesting to kind of see what that was doing in different parts of training. And it was interesting because it didn't actually rise up to its average. My heart rate variability before Alcatraz and it definitely didn't recover before Eagleman and it hasn't recovered yet. So it's just quite interesting, like to kind of track that and resting heart rate even before the Oura ring. That's how I manage, try to manage getting ill or overall fatigue or, you know, that was one of the key things that Darren used to get us to monitor is your resting heart rate. So I find that really important. And sleep as well. I do look at the sleep and find that quite interesting because there is definitely a link between if I've had one night's sleep, I can get away with, one bad night's sleep, I can get away with. If it goes into two bad night's sleep. That's when I need to be careful.

Do you know what your lowest readiness score is? So your aura gives you a readiness score of 1 to 100, doesn't it? Do you know what your lowest readiness score that you've managed to get it down to is?

I can tell you.

While you look, I'll tell you my what actually mine is. Yesterday was. Mine was the lowest it's ever got down to and that's due to Covid and combination of COVID and jet lag. But previous to that it was the 50 mile ultramarathon that we ran in January and a day's drinking at Twickenham. Those were the two comparable lowest scores I'd got before COVID But actually it's interesting that Covid has put me down significantly lower than those two.

So my lowest readiness score was. So it was 50, 57.

Oh wow, that's not very low. Yeah, so I got down to 50 before COVID and my Covid score was 38.

Oh yeah, that's low.

It's definitely telling me I'm not in good shape. In fact, it even asked me do I want a rest mode. I've activated rest mode which is recovery from COVID But it is interesting how it knows that I'm in really bad shape. And I think what's going to be really useful is using that score to get me as I kind of ease back into training. I know we've talked Claire before about the kind of the protocol of easing back into training after Covid, but I think that that's going to be a useful measure for me given that it already knows I'm currently in a pretty bad place.

Yeah, I think it's super important. Like that lowest score for me there was two similar ones. One was after, after Alcatraz and the other one was after Eagleman and both of them was, I mean 70.3. Start early so you don't get an awful lot of sleep the night before. But then night of the race I just don't. I really struggle to sleep. I just can't sleep and I've been out early for flights previous on, on both of them after the race. So you kind of miss two night sleep and then you go into travel which is kind of the worst kind of checklist that you could go into. So I've just. Yeah, I definitely go into catch up mode of like trying to get back on track.

But it is interesting, isn't it, because that's giving you a score that you can then go. Right, okay, I Know, I'm vulnerable for, you know, picking up an illness or something. So actually I can. I know I need to be a bit more sensible at the moment and play catch up.

Especially like you say, stepping on flights and things. When you're in that situation, if you're racing kind of back to back or, you know, a few weekends apart or whatever, it's. Yeah, it's really useful, isn't it?

Yeah.

And of course, you're more likely to pick up bugs on flights as well, aren't you? Yeah. Like. Like Covid. I'm still not sure.

From Portugal with me.

Yeah. Well, yes, you definitely got. Yeah, yeah. So you got it from the flight? I'm not sure I did.

But.

We always ask everyone that comes on the podcast, Jody, for any books that you found to be particularly helpful to you, books that you find yourself recommending. If not books, then podcasts or other things. But is there any books that particularly jump out at you that you found particularly helpful?

So I'm not a reader. Like, I'm dyslexic. So I find reading extremely frustrating because I will read a page and then forget what I've just read. So it just annoyed the crap out of me. So I just. I stopped reading if I want. There was actually. There was a few books that I read and actually remembered what they were or what I've read. It was Iron War was one of them.

Oh, brilliant book.

Yeah. What an amazing book.

That is amazing.

Both of Chrissie Wellington's books.

Yeah.

Awesome.

And I think they're the three that I've actually like, read and remembered what I've read.

Yeah. No, that's awesome. Well, mentioning Iron War leads me onto a question that I was going to ask you. Is, is Kona on the list at.

Some point I've dreamed of, like, that has definitely been like the dream. But training for 70.3, it's still a bloody long way. So I can't really put my head doing an Iron man, to be honest. So not at this particular time in my career do I want to do an Ironman? Yes. Will it be to say I finished an Ironman or to then go and race Ironman? I don't know. But 70.3 is a long way for me at the minute, so I don't know.

And as you just one thing that you mentioned, that you're dyslexic and struggle to read books. I am also dyslexic, but I just listen to books. So I found that when I clocked listening to books as opposed to reading them. It was transformative. So maybe give that a go.

I do listen to a lot of podcasts when I'm out cycling on my own, so that might be a good. Because I know that Alistair now that you can listen to, so that might be. That might be a good. I haven't done it yet, but that might be a way to go.

Yeah, well, I, I listen Relentless is. Is Alistair's book that you think you're talking about and that. Yes, I listen to that rather than reading it. It's a good book, very good book. So, yeah, that, that is the way forward for me anyway. So one last question, unless Claire's got any more questions she wants to ask afterwards, but what are you most excited about looking forward?

Oh, finding me again in the long distance. That's quite. I suppose that's quite a personal thing really. I definitely found a happy place in itu and yeah, of course everything's great when things are going well and successful and. And I'm finding my way back again. I think I was the most successful when I was just enjoying the process and I'm definitely getting my way back to there again with my new coach, Jodi Konama, but it is a process and she's kind of building. Building me back and building my confidence back again.

Brilliant. Well, I, I wish you every success with that because it will be fantastic to see you really get into 70.3 and I'm sure, I've no doubt that you're going to become a huge success in that space.

So maybe a trip down to Swansea as well to. To see you race.

Absolutely. I'm totally excited about Swansea because that's where Non's from as well. So literally, I think the course near enough goes past where she lives, so it'd be amazing.

Well, I'm disappointed. I'm not right. I nearly signed up for Swansea 70.3 and then decided to do a different race instead, but I'm disappointed I'm not now because, yeah, it would have been great to see you there, but. But, yeah, no, it's been absolutely fantastic chatting to you, Jody. Thank you so much and lots of great advice in there, some of which I, I need to go away and take myself by the sounds of things. So, you know, it's been really, really good to chat to you, so thank you so much.

Thank you for having me. Thank you.

If you want to find out more about Jody, best place to go to is probably jodystimpson.co.uk but she's also very active on all Social media. So Twitter, Facebook, Instagram as Jody Stimulus Simpson. And links are in the show notes. So what did you make of the conversation with Jodie?

Oh, it was fantastic. Yeah. Living in Birmingham and hearing the black country accent is always good as well. Jodie's just so passionate about her sport and it's so lovely to see somebody like just the way that she was talking about that kind of racing aspect that she really kind of wants in 70.3, that kind of real kind of gritty finish and yeah, racing at the front. But yeah, it's just really interesting to me to hear about kind of coming from that kind of wts racing into 70.3 and actually how different it is in kind of every way.

Yeah, I think what was lovely was when we asked her what she was looking forward to in the future, it was all about, you know, finding her kind of zone again in, in 70.3. And it shows how passionate she is about the sport and how she, you know, she's. And it's. It clearly it must be difficult changing from the short course to 70.3, whether it's the sponsorship element, whether it be, you know, suddenly a different approach to nutrition for something that she's done for, for years. So, yeah, it's. I thought that was really interesting to see how much of a challenge that had been.

And actually it's really interesting to hear, like, because obviously a lot of professional triathletes will train in groups, won't they? But she talks of it as in bubbles and how that can really obviously influence how you feel about your sport and actually probably how you grow within your sport. So that really came across to me that was really interesting, like different groups that she talks about and bubbles that she talks about. Yeah.

And you can see, see it's going from like the, the ITU style, you know, bubble to now like the Boulder, Colorado type lifestyle of more like.

Is that a new place?

That's my Covid brain form kicking in? I think so, yeah. Just that kind of more flexible, dynamic way of being able to, you know, pick the races that you want, which predominantly sound like they will be the ones that she needs to race in. But the fact that she can do escape from Alcatraz is.

Oh, that sounded just so fun as well, didn't it? I didn't realize about the run. Geez, that sounds like the run started.

To put me off, if I'm honest. I ran on sand for the Croyd Triathlon and. Oh, it's flowing.

Hard work.

Yeah, I can imagine.

More so than the dunes of doom, actually, they weren't so bad. So. Yeah. What else did you take from the interview with Jodie?

I just, I think it's just very interesting journey for her, like really trying like the elements that she picked up on, you know, that you're really good at that short distance and all the success she had and now coming into slightly longer distance, even down to like positioning on a. Riding on a time trial bike, so you're really good at something and you just kind of move to slightly longer distance and suddenly it's like relearning your body, like relearning how everything functions and. Yeah. And how long does that take to sort of get into it? And so, yeah, I just found that really interesting how she's just kind of, it sounds like she's also looking at every single area of her sport again as well. And like, even when she talked about kind of nutrition and being really wary of injuries and having been injured and changing coaches, like she's done everything, hasn't she? Like overturned sort of everything.

Yeah.

What did you make about her talking about nutrition and sort of potentially under fueling for years and, and not taking electrolytes and all that sort of stuff.

It doesn't surprise me. And that's not about, doesn't surprise me about JD it doesn't surprise me in general because, and I think the world of shorter distance, as she said, you know, you can, people do get away with it. You don't see as many markers, as many problems arise actually within racing or after racing. And actually when you go longer distance is when you start to really see those potholes like really emerge in terms of you just can't get away with it. And yeah, so it doesn't surprise me, but that doesn't surprise me of, of elite and professional sport because you, you know, as she rightly said, you're training so many hours and you know, she talked about her coach knocking on the door saying you need to eat again. She's like, oh God, I'm not ready to eat again. You know, because when you're training that much, you, you don't often have a lot of appetite either. So it's, I can see how that can very naturally happen without, you know, but you have to have a focus on it and you have to kind of, you know, really think about it. And it sounds like she's thinking about all of these things now in terms of, you know, really supporting her health to get her where she needs to be or where she wants to be.

We talked a bit about that with Dr. Nikki K, didn't we just the whole under fueling and the long term impact of that. So yeah, no, really, really interesting and yeah, yeah. Hopefully we can see her go from.

Strength and we'll be listening to her commentate at the Commonwealth Games.

Yep, absolutely.

I'll be there as well in my volunteer capacity capacity at Sutton Park. So maybe not, not quite near her doing the commentating but maybe just give.

Her, give her a bit of a nudge and you might get a guest appearance.

There we go.

But yeah, no, it'd be great to see a racing iron man Swansea 70.3. That'll I can, I can see her taking a win there on home soil. But we shall see. We shall see. Brilliant. Well, that's another episode done. Good luck with your continued training.

Thank you. Well, I hope your recovery goes to plan as well. So be, be, be kind to yourself and take time to recover as well.

I am, I'm, I'm being, yeah, so far I'm being strict on that. As long as I'm sure I will be okay at. But I know I'm, I'm heeding your advice and the fact returning to sport guidelines so, so no that's, that's good advice and to everybody else keep on training as long as you haven't got Covid.

Of course.

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Sa.