Rod Mackinnon Loves His Swim Crew

Here at The Tempo we want to highlight the interesting and hard-working athletes that make this sport so special. In this first installment of "How they do it" we check in with triathlete Rod Mackinnon who takes us through a typical day where he does his best to manage work, training, and life. We learned a lot from Rod, including his manly tea selection, and we're super inspired by his incredible work ethic!

Starting the day

I usually wake up around six having hopefully slept eight to eight and a half hours. I try to prioritize sleep and it’s probably the foundation for my entire schedule. The catalyst for my sleep focus was reading Why We Sleep by Matt Walker. The book has completely changed my perspective on sleep, and I now know why it is so key for recovery and life!

Before I head to my first training session I make a pre-workout smoothie, which I try to keep light with banana, oats, blueberries, peanut butter, and protein powder. I’ll also read, and go through emails. News and personal ones though, never work-related!

First workout 

Workout number one of the day, and it’s an intensity run of around 70 minutes with some 5km and 10km race pace work. No extra fuel during this session. I’m definitely not a morning person, and I’d rather spend the AM drinking coffee, so this workout felt a bit sluggish at the beginning but I found a good rhythm as it went along.

My coach is Phil Bertrand who works with me remotely since I recently moved. I’m very privileged and grateful to have him in my corner. He’s a great coach with a wealth of experience having coached at the Olympics. I know I can trust him with my training program and I don’t have to spend my limited time researching workouts online.

Recovery and commute

After my run, it's back home for a quick breakfast and then transition to work. My usual post-workout breakfast is a big bowl of oats with blueberries, chia seeds, hemp seeds, PB, and oat milk. Sometimes I also toss in chocolate chips, today was definitely a chip day!

If the night before I don’t think I’ll have time for breakfast at home, I’ll prep some overnight oats to bring with me to the office.

I like to bike to work, as it always puts me in a good mood to start the day. It's about a 5 km (3 mile) commute to the office. During my ride I might try to keep a good cadence, but I’m definitely not paying attention to speed or power. But on my way home I might gas it a bit if I know I’m going to hop on the trainer after.

Startup style

I work for a plant-based seafood company called Save Da Sea, and my role focuses on our supply chain and managing costs. But given the startup is a small-but-mighty team of four, I end up wearing many different hats! My goal is to be as productive as I can within my work hours so I can leave the office with enough time for training.

Fueling-wise I always pack lunch, and over the weekend I make sure to meal prep enough to get me through the majority of the week. Plus I also snack (a lot!) during the day to make sure I get enough calories, especially around 3:30 pm, with the idea that I’ll be training right after work. My usual rotation is veggies and hummus, fruit, granola bars, seaweed, and the occasional Nutella & PB sandwich.

I also always try to carry my reusable water bottle with me because otherwise, I’ll forget to drink and I’ll be crazy thirsty when it's too late. I’ll aim to get through at least one bottle in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Second workout

Time for the second workout of the day, I’m stoked to be jumping in the water with my swim group. As a new swimmer, it can be pretty humbling as my form is constantly being broken down. It’s usually one step back, and (hopefully) two steps forward!

I’m focused on form these days, not distance. Today’s a 1,000m warm up with a mix of pulling, sculling, kicking and builds. Main set is 800m with sets of bands & paddles, plus some free and then a 200m cool down.

Dinner time!

Depending on how motivated I was on the weekend, that’ll dictate how much diversity I have between my lunches and dinners that are already prepared. Tonight it's chickpea curry on brown rice with a side of air-fried broccoli. The air fryer is my go-to for making a quick side dish. And tonight, dinner is served alongside Survivor. I love the strategic aspect of the show and I’ve already applied twice. Fingers crossed someday I’ll be winning challenges while trying not to get stabbed in the back!

Winding down

I usually try to wind down at around nine, which includes making some tea and reading in bed. “Nighty night” by Traditional Medicinals, or “Sleepytime” by Celestial Seasonings are my go-to’s, only the manliest teas for me! 😂 I’m currently reading The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton, which tells the story of a wrongly convicted man who spent 30 years on death row. I’ll try to be asleep at ten, to try and get a good sleep ahead of another big day tomorrow!

Are you someone who manages to somehow get it all done? Or do you know someone who we should learn about how they get it all done? Drop us a line at [email protected]