Julia Dinesen is Super Stoked on Swimrun!
Julia Dinesen is Super Stoked on Swimrun!
This month is Orcas Island month, and we are kicking it off with someone who is, safe to say, super stoked on swimrun. Julia Dinesen is a multi-discipline endurance athlete from British Columbia who found the sport via an Ötillö Instagram ad, signed up for the World Series distance at Whistler on her first ever attempt, and has been hooked ever since.
Before we get to Julia, we share a few tips for getting the most out of your swimrun practice sessions as we head into race season. Have a plan before you show up. Decide what you are testing. And do transition drills — the Boston Wet Sox, the best US team in history, are still doing them deep into long practice sessions, which tells you everything you need to know.
Julia found swimrun the way a lot of people do — an Instagram ad showing someone running off a cliff in their running shoes into the water. She saw it, looked up Ötillö Whistler, realized it was an hour and a half from her house, signed up, and loved it. In this conversation she shares what that first race was like, what she learned from it, how the 859-day running streak actually works, what it is like to be a swimrunner in Western Canada where nobody has heard of the sport, what gear changes she is making for Orcas, and what she would tell anyone who is on the fence about signing up.
One moment worth flagging for anyone who has ever talked themselves into finishing something: Julia once rode 25 kilometers on a flat tire at a triathlon in the Okanagan, finished an hour after everyone else, and ended up qualifying for age group world championships in Australia on the roll-down. Her take on getting through hard things — it is more embarrassing to quit than to come last, the training is where you get all the benefit, and crossing the finish line is just the proof that you did the thing.
FORM Goggles are sponsoring us all month as we build toward Orcas. The new Smart Swim 2 LT is their entry-level goggle — $149 for the heads-up display and full access to their training platform. Send us a DM if you have questions about it.
We will see Julia — and a lot of you — at Orcas Island at the end of the month.
Enjoy!
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Thanks for listening and see you out there! Chip and Chris