Tri And Stop Her: Kennedy's Triathlon Tips - Kennedy Saves the World

Summary

Podcast Summary: Kennedy Saves the World — "Tri And Stop Her: Kennedy's Triathlon Tips" (September 25, 2025)

Main Theme & Purpose

In this solo episode, Kennedy shares her candid reflections and practical advice in anticipation of her 12th half Ironman race. With trademark wit and self-deprecation, she addresses the realities of training while juggling life’s demands—and how the pursuit of endurance sports ultimately mirrors life’s larger challenges. The episode is a mixture of personal storytelling, psychological strategies, and motivational guidance for fellow athletes (and anyone facing daunting goals).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Evolving Motivation & Training Habits

Life’s busyness and changing priorities:
Kennedy opens up about missing many workouts due to parenting, work, travel, and “filling in for people who’ve had babies” ([00:29]).
Shift in mindset:
She confesses to feeling less compelled by fast times and more focused on enjoying the experience, noting,

“I am in a place right now where I don’t want to feel bad. I want to feel great and satisfied and fulfilled and give myself credit—even though this is a time in my life where I don’t have the hours and hours to train that I have in the past.” ([00:54])
Letting go of “all-or-nothing” mentality:
Kennedy describes how her younger self would have been “heartbroken” over slow race times, while now she values simply finishing and savoring the process.

2. Perspective on the Ironman and Endurance Sports

Details of the half Ironman:
- Swim: 1.2 miles
- Bike: 56 miles
- Run: 13.1 miles
  ([02:34])
Why this distance?
Kennedy admits, “I really don’t like running more than 10 miles at a time. So that’s why the half Ironman distance is perfect” ([02:24]).
Performance variables:
She focuses on variables she can control, primarily sleep and morning-of-race feelings:

“That’s the biggest variable—is when I wake up in the morning, how do I feel?” ([03:19]) She notes that even good pre-race preparation doesn't guarantee feeling good at the starting line.

3. Mental Tricks & Race-Day Strategies

Counting as a mental tool:
Kennedy repeatedly employs counting to get through challenging segments:

“When I’m bored on the swim, I just start counting… Sometimes I count to five. Sometimes I sing Beastie Boys songs in my head to, to try and do anything to keep myself from slowing down.” ([05:53])
Overcoming the urge to slow down:
She highlights the temptation to “just go slower,” but advises:

“You don’t want to do that in a race. You can do that when you’re practicing, but you should, you know, obviously practice like you’re racing. Because my swim coach Kyle always says, ‘Perfect practice makes perfect.’ It’s not ‘practice makes perfect.’ Because you could practice like a sack of crap.” ([06:24])
Hill climbing on the bike:
- 10 pedal strokes sitting, 5 standing, repeat
- Go hard on downhills to minimize total bike time ([07:27])
On-race nutrition:
Kennedy deviates from her coach’s no-solid-food rule for the bike, savoring PB&J Bonk Breaker bars:

“Bonk Breaker is going out of business, and they make PB&J protein bars. So I will have a PB&J bar and I will look forward to it, and I will luxuriate in it while I’m counting.” ([08:04])
Breaking down the run:
Recalling advice from Team in Training, Kennedy reframes the run as a succession of one-mile efforts:

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a half marathon, a marathon, a 10k, a 5k—you are only running one mile. And your brain knows that anyone can run a mile.” ([09:34]) She acknowledges she’s not a fast runner but hopes to channel good form by watching elite runners like Sydney McLaughlin for inspiration ([10:33]). “If I don’t have speed, if I don’t have volume, I can always have good form.” ([10:56])

4. The Deeper Value of Pushing Limits

Psychological growth:

“If you can keep going and overcome that and either get into a meditative state or get into a very basic rhythm, then that in and of itself has tremendous benefit.” ([11:34])
Role of spectators and encouragement:
Kennedy emphasizes how even exhausted athletes still draw strength from cheering crowds and humorous signs:

“If you are a spectator at any race and you think that someone doesn’t hear you because they look exhausted… they still hear you. And it may be your little bit of encouragement that keeps them going…” ([12:09])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On self-forgiveness:

“I am in a place right now where I don't want to feel bad. I want to feel great and satisfied and fulfilled and give myself credit—even though this is a time in my life where I don't have the hours and hours to train that I have in the past.” ([00:54])
On mental tricks:

“You are only running one mile. And your brain knows that anyone can run a mile.” ([09:34])
On imperfection:

“Because my swim coach Kyle always says, perfect practice makes perfect. It’s not practice makes perfect. Because you could practice like a sack of crap. And that’s probably how you will perform.” ([06:24])
On spectators:

“Having people on the side who are cheering makes all the difference in the world.” ([12:09]) “There's always humorous signs at Ironman races… ‘Hit this button if you want to poop your pants.’ …that emotional energy can absolutely get you through.” ([12:41])

Important Segments & Timestamps

Training challenges & mentality shift: [00:29–02:24]
On variables & preparation before the race: [03:19–05:30]
Mental tricks for racing (counting, music): [05:53–06:50]
Race nutrition and breaking down each segment: [07:27–09:27]
Advice on running & overcoming fatigue: [09:34–10:56]
On spectators and emotional support: [12:09–13:03]
Final reflections on pushing through difficulty: [11:34–13:15]

Tone & Style

In her signature comedic-yet-honest voice, Kennedy delivers “triathlon therapy” for athletes and non-athletes alike. She balances vulnerability about her own limitations with humor and practical solutions, encouraging both self-acceptance and perseverance.

TL;DR

Kennedy uses her personal journey toward her 12th half Ironman to share realistic, relatable training insights, emphasizing mental tricks, breaking big tasks into manageable pieces, and drawing on support from others. She reminds listeners that the true victory is showing up, giving your best, and “racing with a smile”—no matter your pace.

Transcript

A (0:01)

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B (0:29)

Foreign welcome to this episode of Kennedy Saves the World Up. So, like many of you, I have a fall race coming up this Sunday in Augusta, Georgia. It will be my 12th half Iron man, and I don't think I've ever done a race where I have trained as little as I have. I've just missed so many workouts over the last four or five months. And it's because of traveling, dropping kids off at college, working, filling in for people who've had babies, you know, writing for the daily mail. Just. Life can be busy and exhausting. And because I've been doing triathlon for 30 years now, before, when I was trying to have fast times and, you know, was really challenging myself, it was so important that I complete every single workout that my coach had prescribed. And if I didn't, I would beat myself up and I would feel bad about it at the end of the week. And I am in a place right now where I don't want to feel bad. I want to feel great and satisfied and fulfilled and give myself credit, even. Even though this is a time in my life where I don't have the hours and hours to train that I have in the past. Uh, but also, I don't necessarily have the same motivation to be fast. I still love doing triathlon. I still love the half Ironman distance. And the last race that I did in December, I didn't look at my watch at all because I wanted to try racing one time, not for time. And it. It turned out to be the funnest, most pleasurable experience that I had had racing because it was really, really fun. I mean, believe me, there is nothing like crossing the finish line faster than you thought you were going to. That's a. That's an amazing feeling. That is not going to happen this weekend. I could have a faster time than I think right now, but I also could have a really slow time that five years ago, 10 years ago, I would have been heartbroken. I would have felt like a failure, and I would have questioned, you know, why am I doing this at all. Which if you're doing endurance sports, you question yourself all the time. Anyways, I remember that I have run one marathon in my life. Maybe I will run another one again. I don't have any desire to right now. There's no race that pops up and I go, ooh, I wanna, I wanna run 20 miles in one weekend. And the weekend before that I wanna do 19. And the weekend. I really don't like running more than 10 miles at a time. So that's why the half Ironman distance is perfect. It is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. Now, with every race, the thing that determines how well you do are the variables. The variables for me are how well have I slept the four or five nights before the race. This week it's been pretty well, I think the least amount of sleep I've had was seven hours. And that was on Monday night before I came back from London. And since then, you know, I, I've slept eight hours a night, eight and a half. And I'm feeling good, but that doesn't mean I'm going to feel good on race morning because I've woken up on race morning and felt awful and disconnected and, and like someone woke me up in the middle of the night and I was in complete shock. And it affected how I felt during the race. Didn't necessarily affect the time, but it affected how I felt. So that's the biggest variable is when I wake up in the morning, how do I feel? Um, and sometimes I have raced before where I have gotten to the starting line of the swim and I've looked at the water and I've thought to myself, I do not want to swim today. Sometimes it's because it's an ocean swim and the waves are big. Other times I've raced in Palm Springs three times at La Quinta Indian Wells, which has the coldest swim I've ever done. And you know, it's like you're looking at 55 degree water at 7 in the morning and you're like, don't want to swim in that. Not even a little. But you have to. And if I start slow on the swim and it's, it's really hard for me to pick up the motivation for the rest of the race. But because I've been racing for so long, I just have tricks and that's all I'm going to rely on because Did I do a three hour bike ride every single weekend? I did not. I think the longest ride I've done was two and a half hours. Did I run for two hours at a time when I was supposed to? Not really. I did a run last week that was 90 minutes, and a couple weeks before that I ran for an hour and 45 minutes. And that's about as good as I got. But I do know the tricks to getting through these things. And for me, it is all about counting. Uh, when I am going through a particularly hard part of the race. And this race in Augusta, Georgia, Augusta 70.3. Um, the swim is supposedly fast because you're swimming in a body of water that has a current and you're swimming with the current, not against it. So it gives you an extra push. So that should be fine. The bike has four gigantic hills. So I have been riding hills over the last two months. Not well. And how do I get through the hills? The same way I get through the swim. When I'm bored on the swim, I just start counting and I'm like, okay, just count to ten. One, two, three, four, five. And I count to ten. Sometimes I count to five. Sometimes I sing Beastie Boy songs in my head to, to try and do anything to keep myself from slowing down. Because there always, always comes a point in a race where you're like, God, it would be so much fun if I were just going slower. And you don't want to do that in a race. You can do that when you're practicing, but you should, you know, obviously practice like you're racing. Because my swim coach, Kyle always says, perfect practice makes perfect. It's not practice makes perfect. Because you could practice like a sack of crap. And that's probably how you will perform. Don't go anywhere more. Kennedy Saves the World right after this. This is Jimmy Phela inviting you to join me for Fox Across America where we'll discuss every single one of the Democrats dumb ideas. Just kidding. It's only a three hour show. Listen live at noon Eastern or get the podcast@foxacrossamerica.com Listen to the all new.