Pallant-Browne dominates, say hello to a built-in hydration jersey, and Zone 2 training facts

👋 Good morning and happy Friday! Welcome to the Front Pack newsletter, your source for all things endurance. Click here for the web edition.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone here in the US. May you enjoy an extra day to unwind, relax or do whatever it is that you do. But stay safe! I’ve got a busy week. Doing a strictly for fun Olympic triathlon (CapTex Tri) on Monday that winds its way through downtown Austin, TX. Always a blast. Then on Thursday, I’m headed to Emporia, Kansas for Unbound Gravel. I’m doing the 100 miler that Saturday which is an A race for me. Renting an RV, got a camp site and can’t wait to meet new people; there are more than 5,000 athletes from around the globe racing.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If a great newsletter goes unshared….well, do me a solid and share today’s edition with one friend (or 10). If they like what they read, ask them to subscribe.

Stay moving…✌🏼 – Scott

Headlines

🏊🚴🏃 Hanson and Pallant-Browne take Chattanooga: As the fifth race in the IRONMAN Pro Series, athletes took to Tennessee to add to their season point totals. At the end of the day, it was Matt Hanson (USA) and Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) who took home the top spots, each earning 2,500 Pro Series points, and $7,500. Was nice to see Hanson win after a blistering 1:09 run split and what can we say about Pallant-Browne, she’s been an absolute force thus far in 2024, moving herself up to 2nd in the overall female rankings. Read more…

🏃 Five Islands, 10 competitors: What sounds like reality TV, is just reality. 10 years after it was last run, the “iconic” ultra marathon across the Channel Islands made its return. Covering 109 miles on 5 islands over 3 days; 10 competitors completed the event. South African, Tiaan Erwee won with a finishing time of 14 hours and 51 minutes, nearly 2 hours ahead of the 2nd place competitor. Read more…

🚴 Jackson hits Paydirt: That’s exactly what happens at Stetina’s Paydirt in Carson City. Long time great Heather Jackson won the women’s race, while Justin Peck took the men’s. As part of the race which splits $10K to the top finishers, theres also a post-race tire toss that hands out prizes too. Fun! Read more…

Meanwhile

🚴 The 5 Most Fun Gravel Races: From party pace to killer after parties, here are the best gravel races you should check out in your lifetime. Included are the Mid South (OK), Rule of Three (AR), Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder (OR), Grinduro (Various), and the SBT GRVL (CO). Read more…

🚴 Built-in Hydration: The folks at Castelli are getting creative and have developed a new jersey that incorporates a built-in 1.5L hydration bladder pocket to the center back of the kit. Kind of excited to see this one in real life. Castelli notes, “the main objectives were saving weight, preventing overheating and increasing speed at feed zones.” Read more…

🏃 Race like Dauwalter: Well. Good luck with that but you can check out her approach to racing as she prepares for the Hardrock 100. In this Run interview, she talks about everything from her new signature Tailwind flavor, to not having a nutrition plan when she first started, and where she is at today – 200 calories per hour. Read more…

5 Questions with … Pro Triathlete Simon Shi

If you don’t know him, Simon Shi is a man of many talents. He was a D1 collegiate swimmer at Virginia Tech, has become insanely popular and successful on YouTube through his Rubik’s Cube and Triathlon channel, and is a professional athlete.  

Following graduation, Shi wanted to continue to incorporate sport into his life so he first tried Triathlon in May 2021. After 7 months, he earned his elite card. Now in his third year as a pro in the sport, he continues to climb the PTO standings, racing at both Oceanside 70.3 and IRONMAN Texas in 2024. 

This week we spoke with 3rd year professional triathlete Simon Shi.

1. Thank you for taking the time for “5 Questions…” As mentioned, you’re in your 3rd year of professional triathlon. I’d imagine the first year was a complete blur, but as you’ve settled in and have probably been able to focus more, what still really surprises you about the sport on the professional level. What are a few simple tips or mindset changes you’ve gone through throughout your journey?

Yea, thanks for having me. You’re right, that 1st pro year was weird because I had to still work other jobs and do side hustles to make ends meet. From a professional level, I’m shocked that this sport does not have a lot of money put into the professionals, this is from someone just starting the sport in 2021. There are still a lot of pros that are in school or working full-time jobs. Some even have children to take care of. Triathlon is a very hard sport to make a living out of it, unless you’re at the top of the sport.

Something I’ve been doing a good job on is not putting too much stress on myself. I’m very relaxed before races and very nice to myself. If I need a day off of training, I will take it.

Some things I’ve learned is that taking a day off or a couple days off won’t go on to hurt long-term career goals. This journey is a marathon, not a sprint. When I first started in the sport, and when I was racing in my first year as a professional, I made every effort to complete workouts and even try to come back to training after a big race like an Ironman. I had this mindset that I needed to keep training and take little breaks. Now, I have a pretty healthy balance between my lifestyle and training.

2. In 2023, it always felt like you were moving. I know at some point you were in Austin, and then California, and eventually settled in Oregon. After only 2 races in 2024, you’re already 14 PTO rankings higher than where you ended in 2023. Has the sense of having a home base changed your training this year or would you chalk up the growth to something different like maturing and just getting stronger? Something else?

Yes, in 2023 I did move a lot. I was pretty confused on where I wanted to be. I was in Texas, Colorado, California, and eventually moved to Oregon. I was trying to figure out where I would like to move to and ended up moving to Oregon, so I can be close to my girlfriend, also a triathlete trying to become pro one day. 

Whenever I move, I always look for locations of the pool and anyone around that could help train with me. It was definitely a fun experience and I got to meet a ton of people from all those states. I’m glad I moved a lot, but I want to settle this year as moving is very time consuming and takes a toll from your training.

3. In what areas are you looking to put in the most work through the rest of 2024? As a collegiate swimmer, it’s hard to imagine you can greatly improve there at this point but where do you see yourself in the bike and run and where do you want to be?

I definitely will be focused on biking this year. It’s something my coach and I have discussed. As I tend to be in the front after each swim, we’re working on trying to build my bike so I can hang with the group or maybe one day breakaway and ride solo at the front of the race, which would be super awesome. Also a focus is focusing on holding my aerodynamic position on my triathlon bike.

I also noticed that whenever I bike a lot, my run tends to improve as well. We are also working on running off the bike. Since I do pretty well from only running, and can run decently fast like at a track session. Running off the bike is where I’m struggling.

For swimming, just going to do my thing and swim fast. I do need to work on more open water, so I’m training and practicing not being “ too nice” during the Swim portion of the race. That means holding my line and getting a good start position.

4. You’ve been averaging four to five races a year and from the looks of it, your next race is IRONMAN Lake Placid. How have your early season goals lined up with where you’re at today? What kind of adjustments are you making? 

The dream for 2024 is to qualify for the IRONMAN world championships in Kona, Hawaii. I was hoping to get some improvements at IRONMAN Texas. But I was off my goal.

There seems to be some problems with me holding the aerodynamic position on the bike. My lower back gets very tense and I just can’t hold that position. This is something I am working on with the chiropractor and a bike fitter. 

If I feel like I will be in a good position to qualify for the world championships, I will go to IRONMAN Lake Placid.

5. Your Age Group career was short but what words of advice might you give to AGers or aspiring athletes who want to go pro? What can they learn from you?

I would take every opportunity that presents itself. I took my Pro card right away because I wanted to gain experience racing with the best in the sport. 

There’s always people you can learn from and there’s always people that want to help you out. Appreciate those people and never forget them, because they are on a special journey with you.

Deals & Steals

It’s Memorial Day weekend so that means there are some amazing deals to be had. Here are a few…

💸💸💸💸 Red 1 DUB 12-Speed Aero Crankset ($408) – $743: A monster deal on a great 1x, you’re not going to see this price too often.

💸 Garmin Varia Rearview Radar ($149) – $50 off: Nervous about giant trucks coming from behind, the Varia is something I see more and more with cyclists I ride with. Get alerts on your cycling computer or phone as vehicles get closer to you.

💸💸💸 Garmin Fenix 7X Pro Solar ($700) – $200 off: Highly regarded by the folks at Triathlete mag, their biggest gripe for this watch was the price. So take advantage with a deep discount. Otherwise, read why it is one of their favorite pieces of gear.

💸 Garmin Edge 540 Bike Computer ($299) – $50 off: Easy to use, and compact with a long lasting battery, this is the bike computer I use everyday.

💸 SHOKZ OpenRun Pro Headphones ($139) – $40 off: Yes, I know. I always bring these up but what can I say. I like listening to music running or cycling but also like to know whats happens around me. These are hands down the best headphones you can get for your money.

💸💸💸💸 ZIPP Vuka Aero Integrated Carbon Aerobar ($774) – $968: Looking for a triathlon cockpit upgrade, the ZIPP Vuka is great because it’s completely adjustable and hides the blip box right in that center cap.

Training Tips

Because training is life.

What Is My Max Heart Rate? Struggling to find your maximum heart rate (MHR)? Age-related formulas can make it tricky as they can often be inaccurate so sit back and get an accurate read with the GTN crew so you can properly update your HR zones.

How Fit Can You Get If You Only Trained In Zone 2: Its a real theory. If you only ride in Zone 2, can you get fitter? The GCN team trained for 6 weeks in strictly Zone 2 training to see what happens to their FTP, aerobic, and anaerobic fitness.

3 Mistakes and Lessons for Ultra Running (Not What You Think): For anyone new to the sport, Jimmy dives into 3 mistakes people make in ultra training (Too much to soon, loading weekends, and not recovering), essential ultra running gear and 5 lessons for race day. All practical but some solid reminders.

Rewatchables

Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.

BIKE TO FLY | 9 Days of Bikepacking and Fly Fishing Through Patagonia: Jump on board with Will, Erika, and Miles as they hit the road and document their trip through Patagonia and everything along the way.

6 Days In Arizona – My Sons Longest Ride (ep.1 of 6): Tyler is back and releasing a six part mini-trip he took to Arizona with his son back in February. Though this is only episode 1, you can see them all on his VC Adventures page. And maybe its the dad in me but I’ve been enjoying how much time him and his son are getting together. For sure, parent goals.

My Ironman Texas Race Experience 2024!: Because we did our ‘5 Questions…” with Simon Shi, be sure to check out his lead-up to and recap of Ironman Texas. And generally, follow his channel — @SimonShi