Countdown to Ötillö: One Month Out

We are officially one month out from the Swimrun World Championship, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of Ötillö. In this installment of our Countdown to Ötillö series we check in on where our heads are at, share our own training updates, and sit down with Marcus Barton for a conversation on what the final month before your A race should actually look like.

Marcus Barton is back on the show for the eighth time. He is one of the most experienced swimrunners in America with over 60 swimrun races to his name, a coach for Envol Coaching, and he is racing Ötillö himself this year while also coaching a full roster of athletes toward the start line. Marcus has done Worlds multiple times, most recently through the elite program point series, and he brings a coach's perspective on both the physical and mental side of the final 30 days.

We cover the elite program and how the point series works, why the fitness cake is mostly baked at this stage and what that means for training, the difference between smart consistency and panic training, how to build a race day nutrition plan with your partner, dialing in partner roles for technical running and swimming, practicing transitions to save real time on race day, and training for the small interruptions that can derail a race if you let them.

Before we get to Marcus, we also share our own one month out check-in, including our training update heading into Casco Bay as our final dress rehearsal, and we walk through everything happening in Portland, Maine this weekend including our morning fika, the Envol shakeout clinic, and our post race party.

This episode is brought to you by Precision Fuel & Hydration. We have used their products since early in our racing and our performances have improved because of it. Head to their website for free education on fueling and hydration for endurance events.

00:00 Intro
01:00 Precision Fuel & Hydration and our trip to their UK headquarters
04:00 Our one month out training check-in ahead of Casco Bay
09:00 Portland, Maine weekend meetups and events
12:00 Marcus Barton returns to the show
13:00 Marcus catches up: Orcas, Rockman, and Gothenburg
15:00 Gothenburg race recap and the elite program explained
21:00 The elite point series and the mandatory Cannes race
25:00 One month out: the fitness cake is mostly baked
28:00 Panic training vs fear based training
32:00 Race day nutrition and problem solving as a team
38:00 Partner roles: leading swims and technical running
44:00 Training for interruptions and gear management
46:00 Practicing transitions to save real race time
52:00 Zigzag terrain and technical trail training
54:00 Casco Bay as the final dress rehearsal
59:00 Locking down equipment before Worlds
01:02:00 Marcus's concerned vs not concerned list
01:04:00 Final advice: be adaptable
01:06:00 Outro

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