Organic Coaching

One of the biggest mistakes we see athletes make...

They treat every hard workout like an exam.

Intervals feel harder than expected?
"Maybe I'm losing fitness."

Your long run is slower than last week?
"Something must be wrong."

You struggle to hit your power numbers?
"I thought I was fitter than this."

But here's the coaching truth:
Every workout has a job.

Some workouts are designed to build fitness.
Some are designed to create fatigue.
Some are designed to teach pacing.
Some are simply preparing your body for the next session.

None of them are asking you to prove how fit you are. In fact...

The workouts that create the biggest adaptations are often the ones that leave you questioning yourself a little.

Because fatigue masks fitness.
That's physiology. Not failure.

If you judge your fitness after every hard workout...

You'll spend more time doubting your progress than making it.

The athletes who improve the most don't need constant proof that training is working.

They trust that every well-executed session is another brick in the foundation.

And then...They let race day tell the story.

So the next time a workout doesn't go exactly as planned...

Don't ask:
"Am I getting slower?"

Ask:
"What was this workout trying to teach my body?"

That's the question that keeps athletes moving forward.

Save this for the next workout that makes you question everything.

Huge congratulations to Organic Coaching athlete Lionel, who raced the Gravenhurst Triathlon this weekend!

For his very first triathlon, Lionel put together an incredible race:

🏁 Finish Time: 2:29:25
🏊 Swim: 30:17 (2:01/100m)
💥 34th Overall out of 210 athletes
👊 32nd Male Overall
🥉 9th in the M35–39 age group

For a first race, those are some seriously impressive results.

But what excites us most isn't the finish time...
It's the foundation that's being built.

Every first triathlon teaches lessons you simply can't learn in training:
How to manage race-day nerves. How to navigate transition. How to pace all three disciplines together. How to trust yourself when the gun goes off.

Now Lionel has that experience.

And that's a huge advantage as we continue building toward his big goal this season:
🔥 Ironman Ottawa.

One race doesn't make an Ironman athlete.
It starts with taking that first step, learning from the experience, and continuing to build.

Congratulations, Lionel and Coach Tyler ! We can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. The journey is just getting started. 👊

🏊‍♀️🚴‍♀️🏃‍♀️ Athlete Spotlight: Libby

This weekend, Libby raced the Rockford 70.3 as part of her build toward a much bigger goal:

Her first-ever Ironman at Ironman California later this year. 🔥

And what stood out most wasn't a finish time.

It was how she raced.

The swim has historically been the discipline that brought the most nerves. In previous races, Libby admits she's stood in the swim chute fighting anxiety and even a few tears.

This year was different.

She showed up with a plan.

Start easy.
Stay relaxed.
Count strokes.
Trust the process.

And it paid off.

For the first time, there were no panic moments. No grabbing kayaks. No fighting to bring her heart rate down. Just calm, controlled ex*****on from buoy to buoy.

In fact, she found herself passing athletes throughout the swim and taking advantage of the fast-moving river current.

That's not just fitness.

That's confidence built through preparation.

The bike came with its own challenge.

Before she even got rolling, a bike tech noticed her chain had come off and helped get her sorted at the mount line. Then came the hills, the wind, and an unexpected fueling mistake.

Somewhere in race prep, four bottles worth of Tailwind ended up concentrated into two bottles, leaving her with plain water early and extremely concentrated nutrition later.

By 2.5 hours into the ride, her stomach had enough.

But instead of panicking, she adapted.

She backed off fueling temporarily, gave her stomach time to settle, then gradually resumed her nutrition plan and finished the ride strong.

That's race ex*****on.

Not everything going perfectly.

But handling problems well when they don't.

Then came the run.

Steady.
Consistent.
Controlled.

Libby focused on staying present, interacting with volunteers, talking with fellow racers, and enjoying the day.

She wasn't chasing numbers.

She was racing.

And sometimes that's when the best performances happen.

One of my favorite parts of her recap was this:

"I stayed in the moment, kept a smile on my face, talked to other racers, interacted with spectators and volunteers, and remembered to have fun."

Because that's exactly what endurance sports should be about.

This race wasn't just another 70.3.

It was another step toward becoming an Ironman.

And if this race showed us anything, it's that Libby is building far more than fitness.

She's building confidence, resilience, adaptability, and trust in herself.

Ironman California is getting closer. 💙

And Coach Carly couldn't be more excited for what's ahead.

One of the biggest fears endurance athletes have?
"Losing fitness."

So they rush back into training.
But fitness doesn't disappear after a few recovery days.

What disappears is freshness when you never give your body time to absorb the work.

The best athletes understand something most people miss:
Recovery isn't what happens between training.
Recovery IS training.

If you've got multiple races on your calendar this season, save this post and come back to it after your next finish line.

Athlete Spotlight: Daisy

Daisy crossed the finish line of the Grand Rapids Triathlon...

And not just any finish line.

Her first triathlon ever. 🎉

Like many first-time triathletes, she spent months preparing for the swim, bike, and run.

What she wasn't fully prepared for?

The swim start. 😅

After the race, Daisy shared that she was surprised by just how much contact there was in the water. And in one of the more memorable lessons of the day, she discovered the importance of sighting after accidentally going full speed into a jet ski and losing half a fingernail in the process.

As Daisy put it:
"Ya live and you learn!"

Honestly, that's triathlon.

Every race teaches you something.

And despite the crowded swim, the unexpected bumps, and the first-race nerves, Daisy did exactly what Coach Tyler hoped she would do:

✔ Stayed composed
✔ Paced all three sports well
✔ Learned from the experience
✔ Crossed the finish line smiling

The best part about a first triathlon isn't the finish time.

It's gaining the confidence that comes from realizing:

"I can do this."

Now the swim won't feel quite so chaotic next time.
The transitions won't feel quite so overwhelming.
And all those little lessons become experience.

Huge congratulations to Daisy and Coach Tyler on a fantastic first triathlon.

The first one is always special.
And this is just the beginning!!

One of the biggest mistakes athletes make?

Trying to gain fitness during race season.

A bad race.
A missed goal.
A flat workout.

And suddenly the response becomes:
“Do more.”

But race season isn’t where the biggest adaptations happen.

It’s where those adaptations get tested.

The athletes who race best are usually the ones who stay patient enough to recover, absorb the work, and trust what they’ve already built.

👉 Read the full article here:
Organic Coaching – Why Race Season Is the Worst Time to Chase Fitness

You don’t need more fitness on race day.
You need better ex*****on.

Most athletes lose time early, when adrenaline is high and decisions are emotional.

The athletes who perform best?

They stay controlled.
They stay patient.
They trust their effort.

What part of pacing do you struggle with most?

Some athletes race emotionally.
Some athletes race intelligently.

And at the Flying Pig Half Marathon, Robby showed exactly what smart racing looks like. 🔥

Running on a newly adjusted course with unfamiliar terrain and roughly 600 ft more elevation gain, Robby executed a disciplined, focused race from start to finish, crossing the line in 1:27:59.

✅ Sub-1:30 goal
✅ Sub-1:28 goal
✅ PR for this race

Despite the added hills and course changes, he finished just about 1 minute off his Monumental Half PR pace.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

Early in the race, Robby had technical issues with his heart rate monitor, which meant he had to shift gears mentally and rely on something even more important:

Awareness.
Effort.
Experience.

Instead of panicking, he stayed calm, focused, and took the race one mile at a time.

And THAT is racing maturity.

He didn’t chase people early.
He didn’t let adrenaline dictate the day.
He stayed patient and protected his effort knowing the hills were coming.

Then when the course got hard?
He got stronger.

The hills weren’t survival mode.
They were opportunities.

Because he and Coach Allison have trained for this over and over again.

The picture from this race says it all:
🎯 Laser focused.

Huge performance from Robby and Coach Allison!
Smart. Controlled. Tough.

The hardest part of the 70.3 run?

Holding back when you finally get off the bike.

But the athletes who run well late are usually the ones who stayed controlled early.

The goal of mile 1 isn’t to prove fitness.

It’s to create a run you can sustain all the way to the finish.

Save this for your next 70.3!