FTP tests, do pros actually do them? Paula's brutal Ironman swim set, rest days vs. active recovery, and more!

One week out from leaving for Kona, Paula is in the background sketching the donut run poster while we record. We open with a busy weekend of racing, Augusta 70.3, the World Triathlon Grand Final sprint in Pontevedra, and UCI Road Racing Worlds, then get into Team TTL applications opening today, the Kona donut run details, and your questions.

This week we discussed:

• Augusta 70.3 results: Lydia Russell wins, Samantha Skold third, Adele Likin's wrong turn with two miles to go, and what it highlights about race coverage
• The Grand Final sprint finish: Matt Hauser wins the race, Vasco Vilaça wins the world title, and whether Matt held his line
• Aerodynamic gravel bikes: what pro racing demands of equipment and what it means for the regular consumer
• Team TTL and TTL Racing Division applications are open now through October 19th, what the Racing Division is, who it's for, and how it's different from the main team
• Kona TTL Donut Run: Wednesday October 7th, 2pm, featuring malasadas
• Team Canada Kona shakeout run: Monday October 5th, 8am, hosted by Lisa Bentley at Big Island Running Co.
• FTP tests for seasoned athletes: how often pros actually do them, what Paulo Sousa uses instead, and why the scariest version might actually be a QOM climb you care about
• Nick's volume experiment: six minutes off a 27-minute climb after a month of Z2 only
• Paula's Ironman swim set: 10x400 on 15 seconds rest, no toys, no alternatives (well, maybe five 800s)
• Rest days vs. active recovery: how often Paula and Eric actually take full days off 
• Backyard ultras: how long could each of them last, and why laps are their own special kind of suffering
• Strength training in a triathlon program: how to stay consistent without it wrecking your other sessions
• Looking up race results and imagining where you would have finished 
• First 70.3 Worlds advice: why going three weeks early might be the wrong move, and what Paula's Kona build has taught her about not putting races on a pedestal
• The creative process in music and video: prosody, co-creation, and why you can't make art formulaic even when you really want to

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