Simon Ward: Battle Ready After 50

Outlaw Holkham Weekend coming up.

It's my favourite event of the year - beautiful location, lot's of great events and the weather is usually excellent for racing and spectating.

Are you going to be there?

Bethany Ward, Louise Short & Lee Wallhead are looking forward to seeing you on the orange carpet.

Is FTP the most overrated number in cycling?

Phil Burt thinks so. And given that he's fitted Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy and Geraint Thomas, it's worth hearing him out.

Phil is back on the Be Battle Ready Podcast this week and we cover a lot of ground. Why:
*FTP tells you very little about what actually matters after five hours in the saddle
*165mm cranks are worth serious consideration for anyone with a history of knee or hip issues
*the saddle is almost never the actual problem,
*comfort might be the most underrated performance variable in long distance cycling and triathlon.

I've had three bike fits with Phil over the years. The changes he suggested have made more difference to how I feel after a long gravel ride than anything else I've done. That's not a sales pitch. It's just true.

Have you ever had a proper bike fit? Did it make the difference you hoped for? Drop a comment below.

🎧 Link in the comments

Most endurance athletes are obsessed with the numbers.

VO₂ max.
Training load.
Recovery score.
HRV.
Sleep score.

We spend thousands of pounds on devices designed to tell us how we're performing.

But what if the most important things can't be measured on a watch?

In this week's Be Battle Ready podcast, I sit down with Christine Clubbs to talk about the lessons she's learned as an athlete, coach and member of the GBR Age Group Team.

We discuss:

• why data is useful but never tells the whole story
• the metrics that really matter
• balancing performance with health
• what sport teaches us about resilience and life
• why consistency still beats perfection

Sometimes your body knows something before your Garmin does.

🎧 I've put the full episode link in the comments.

What has your training taught you that no device ever could?

CHEATS OR CASUALTIES?
What if nobody in elite sport is actually clean?

That's the question sitting underneath every page of James Witts' new book Dope, and it's the one we couldn't shake by the end of this conversation.
This week on the podcast we go well beyond the headlines.

🎧 Link in the comments

What do you think? Cheats or casualties?

Most triathletes I know who've made the move to gravel will tell you the same thing.

They thought their fitness would carry them. It didn't — at least not in the way they expected.

This week on the Be Battle Ready Podcast I'm joined by Dave Schell, founder of Kaizen Endurance in Boulder, Colorado.
Dave coaches athletes through some of the most demanding events on the calendar — Unbound 200, Leadville, ultra-distance gravel and mountain bike — and he knows exactly where endurance athletes go wrong when they make this transition.

We talk about why FTP is overrated for long-distance racing, the skill gap most triathletes don't know they have, the mental game of ultra-distance events, and why consistency remains the most powerful tool any of us has.

🎧 Link in the comments

What do you think matters more after mile 100 — fitness or mindset?

Have you tried HYROX yet — or been thinking about making the jump?

It's one of the fastest growing events in endurance sport right now, and a lot of triathletes and Ironman athletes are starting to ask whether it fits into their training.

Dr Kelsie Johnson joins me on the Be Battle Ready Podcast this week to cut through the noise on nutrition for hybrid athletes. We talk about carb periodisation, the interference effect when you're combining strength and endurance, how to actually fuel a HYROX race depending on your start time, and why doing HYROX and triathlon in the same block is a recipe for burnout.

Kelsie brings both the science and the real-world application, and there's a lot in here that will make you rethink how you're approaching your fuelling.

🎧 Link in the comments

You can train 15 hours a week…

be lean, fit, disciplined…

and still be unhealthy.

That’s exactly what happened to Justin Robbins

On the surface, everything looked right.

Consistent training. Good fitness. Healthy lifestyle.

But a routine blood test told a very different story.

In this week’s podcast we talk about:

why fitness and health are not the same thing
the hidden stress many endurance athletes carry
identity beyond performance
and why “more training” isn’t always the answer

This wasn’t a conversation about quitting sport.

It was a conversation about finding a healthier, more sustainable way to do it.

A really honest and thought-provoking episode.

I’ve dropped the full episode link in the comments.

👉Have you ever stopped to ask whether your training is improving your health… or quietly compromising it?

Do you harbour an ambition to race at the Ironman World Championships in Kona?

You should listen to Jane Hansom’s story.

Most people spend years searching for the perfect plan.

Jane did something simpler.

She showed up.

Day after day.

No shortcuts. No hacks.

👉 Just consistency.

After nearly 20 years away from sport, Jane returned in her mid-30s…

qualified for Kona…

and eventually became an age-group World Champion.

A brilliant conversation about performance, consistency, business, and what’s possible when you commit fully.

Full episode in comments

BIG shoutout to our friends at Precision Fuel & Hydration 🙌

We’ve just stocked up on a stash of goodies to support our big adventures ahead. Beth ran a 50k trail run last Saturday, and I’m gearing up for a 40k SUP event tomorrow 🏃‍♀️🏄‍♂️

One thing we both love is how simple they make event-day fuelling. There’s no guesswork.

If you’ve ever felt unsure about what to eat or drink before or during an event, you’re definitely not alone. It can make such a difference when you get it right!

The team at Precision Fuel & Hydration are brilliant at helping you figure out exactly what you need. And they offer a no-obligation call to talk it through.

If you’ve got an event coming up (or even just training), we’d really recommend checking them out and having a chat with their experts.

Here’s to feeling fuelled, confident, and ready to tackle your event!

Most athletes think they’re on track.

They’re not.

If you’ve got an Ironman this year, this is a simple sanity check to see where you actually stand.

I’ve also put together a one-page checklist you can use this week.

Link below. https://simon-ward.kit.com/ironmansanitycheck