Episode 25: Elite Swimmer to Pro Triathlete, Lauren Brandon's 15-Year Triathlon Career
Chris sits down with retired professional triathlete Lauren Brandon. An elite swimmer to triathlete success story, Lauren shares how her NCAA All-American swimming background and 2008 Olympic Trials qualification shaped her approach to professional triathlon training and racing.
Lauren talks about swimming misconceptions, focusing on the critical catch and pull mechanics that most age-group athletes struggle with. The conversation explores the emotional and practical aspects of professional coaching, both receiving it and now giving it herself as one of Julie Dibens' coaches.
Lauren discusses how Ironman training consistency became more important than high-volume approaches, especially as she learned to manage injury prevention strategies after transitioning from swimming's high-volume, low-impact training to triathlon's multi-sport demands.
As someone who worked with sponsors throughout her career, Lauren provides advice for current and aspiring professionals, emphasizing relationship-building in the sport's small community. Her insights into the female professional triathlete experience address unique challenges including balancing career goals with life transitions and managing the emotional toll of endurance athlete burnout.
Episode 21: What Holds Swimmers Back from Improving
This comprehensive swim technique presentation reveals what really holds swimmers back and why swimming improvement is so different from cycling or running progress. As a Swim Smooth certified coach, Chris breaks down the five major swimming technique faults that prevent triathletes from swimming faster, demonstrating why swimming drills for adults require a completely different approach than other endurance sports.
Learn about the six Swim Smooth swim types and discover which category fits your current stroke patterns, from Bambinos struggling with anxiety, to Arnies trying to overpower the water, to Overgliders who want to TALK about swimming, rather than swim. This triathlon- and open-water swimming tips session covers essential techniques like proper catch and pull mechanics, fixing the dreaded crossover swimming fault, and developing effective bilateral breathing technique for open water conditions. Chris talks about common mistakes like straight-arm catch-and-pulls that act like brakes, bringing the hands forward too soon during recovery, and poor kick mechanics that waste energy.
Chris demonstrates proven swimming drills and ankle mobility exercises that address these issues, showing how the Swim Smooth coaching method focuses on individual swimmer needs rather than copying elite swimmer techniques. Whether you're preparing for your first triathlon or looking to break through a swimming plateau, this session provides the technical foundation every adult swimmer needs. From understanding why swimming ankle mobility matters to learning proper freestyle swimming technique, these insights will transform your approach to training in the water.
This episode is quite visual! If you want to see everything that’s going on, check out the video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1hbj52I7sQs
Episode 18: How Neglecting Your Swim Hurts Your Overall Triathlon Performance
I have heard it a million times: a triathlete tells me “I swam and swam but it never changed my time, so I just stopped swimming.” I really feel for this athlete, since they are clearly frustrated, but there’s a better way to train for triathlon. In this show we walk through:
What goes into effective endurance training in the first place
How neglecting your swim hurts your overall triathlon performance
How you should actually train to improve your swim performances
Swim Smooth Coaches Directory for Video Swim Analysis: https://www.swimsmooth.com/find-a-coach
RSVP for Chris’ lecture about what holds swimmers back: https://bendtriathlonclub.com/event-coaching