Risk and Reward

The Mental Edge in Triathlon: Risk, Confidence, and Leaving One Rep in the Bank Joel Filliol introduces the Real Coaching Podcast, his background coaching elite triathletes, and the origin of "Real Coaching". Inspired by Jan Frodeno's Going Mental interview with Alistair Brownlee, Filliol reflects on the mental side of performance, distinguishing competition confidence and assertiveness from training decision-making. He recalls Brownlee's dominant 2010 Madrid win after a stress fracture and his London collapse and heat stroke, highlighting both strengths and risks of pushing limits. Using Frodeno and Brownlee's "99.9% vs 101%" discussion and Non Stanford's reflections on injury, overtraining, and Rio 2016, he argues most athletes should prioritize consistency, buffers, and arriving healthy, guided by the heuristic of finishing with "one rep left in the bank." This podcast serves as an extended version of an article on the Real Coaching Substack, offering valuable advice for athletes and coaches alike. 00:00 Welcome and Background 01:01 Why Real Coaching 02:07

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Risk and Reward is an episode from Real Coaching by Joel Filliol.

This episode is 40:36 long.

This episode was published on Mar 3, 2026.

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