Listener shout-outs, a new Girl Dinner dish, and a reality check on fitting training around everything else.

Training doesn’t usually fall apart because of the workouts. It falls apart because of everything else. April and Kate get honest about jobs, travel, the friends who keep asking about Saturday, and the guilt that shows up when life wins a round. They talk through a workable training week when you only have four to six hours, why twenty minutes of strength work still counts, and how to train around your own body clock, whether that’s a 4 a.m. swim or a lunch-break pool session.

Then they get into the hard part: knowing when a missed workout is fine and when you’re dodging something you need to do. Kate shares how she leans on her coach for that gut check, and April explains why willpower is a habit you can build. They also debate whether your partner should get a vote on your race calendar, and when skipping a workout to show up for a friend is the right call. Plus listener shout-outs and Girl Dinner Hot Takes.

In this episode:

• Listener shout-outs from YouTube and Apple Podcasts
• The minimum effective week: what to protect when you only have 4–6 hours
• Why strength work counts, even at twenty minutes
• Training at odd hours: know yourself, plan ahead, and pack the extra underwear
• The guilt of missed sessions, and how to tell “I don’t want to” from “I can’t”
• Girl Dinner: Hot Takes on partners, friends, and whether you can have a social life in a race season

DM us — tell us what’s on your race calendar and how you’re fitting it in. 📣
📱 Instagram, TikTok & YouTube: @girlstalktri
🌐 girlstalktri@gmail.com
Two friends. Three sports. Zero gatekeeping.

Triathlon can get expensive fast, so Kate and April sort the gear into three buckets: non-negotiables, worth it once you’re racing regularly, and nice to have but not a need.

They cover the helmet, goggles, and running shoes you need from day one. Then the tri kit, wetsuit, clipless pedals, and padded shorts that pay off once you’re racing. Last, the tri bike, power meters, and GPS watches that are fun but optional, plus a cheaper way to track your workouts without buying a watch. Along the way: why you should never buy a helmet used, how to test goggles in open water, and why the fanciest shoe isn’t always the right one.

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💌 Send us your best or worst gear purchase at girlstalktri@gmail.com. We’ll read our favorites on a future episode!

Two years of training, two near-misses at nationals, and one 5 AM email that made April burst into tears. This week, she finally tells us what happened at XTERRA World Championships in Ruidoso, New Mexico.

In this episode of Girls Talk Tri, April gives us the full race recap — the stunning bike course, the wild horses at the aid station, the Mescalero Apache tribal blessing before the start, and the run that she can only describe as "wretched". We also talk about what it actually took to get to the start line of a world championship: the failed qualifications, the moment at Sleeping Giant when she thought she hadn’t made it, and why finishing in an Air Force kit with people cheering her name on the course made every single mile worth it. Oh, and she signed up for another race. Because of course she did. (Spoiler: it’s a qualifier for XTERRA Trail World Championships in Malta. Girls Talk Tri is going international)!

In this episode:

• April’s two-year road to qualifying for XTERRA Worlds — and the 5 AM email that changed everything
• What XTERRA World Championships in Ruidoso actually feels like: the western vibe, the Apache blessing, the belt buckle medal
• Swim, bike, and run breakdown — including the wild horses, the upside-down hydration pack, and that run
• Three race goals (she remembers two of them)
• Kate’s solo hiking saga, mountain lion probability charts, and why the soft girl life is not for her
• Our first podcast reviews — thank you, Sam and Sunny Girl Tri 🥹
• Kate’s trail run nutrition disaster and the saying “poop knows when it’s close to home”
• What’s next: Appalachian Trail Fest on Halloween, XTERRA Malta, XTERRA Austria, a fourteener, and an open water swim in Alaska

Are you off-road curious? Send us your questions about XTERRA and off-road triathlon — we’ll feature them in a future episode.

📱 @girlstalktri on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
📩 girlstalktri@gmail.com

If this episode made you want to go sign up for the thing — good. Give it a tri. 🌿