Episode 23: Interview with Susan Savage, Pioneer Athlete and Coach

This week’s episode is a special one for us. We got to interview an everyday hero, Elena’s high school cross country coach and chemistry teacher, Susan “Coach” Savage. A self-declared Title IX baby, Coach Savage grew up running with the boys before her talent finally convinced the Pittsburgh City Schools to start a girls track program. She went on to run on scholarship for West Virginia University, before eventually settling in Ohio to start a 40+ year career as a standout high school cross country and track coach and chemistry teacher. We chat about overcoming early obstacles as a woman in sport, developing her wise coaching philosophy, and listening to your body as a lifelong athlete. We already know Coach Savage has had a tremendous impact on the hundreds of athletes she’s coached, and, as a pioneer for women in sport who’s always flown under the radar, we’re honored to share her story and wisdom!

Some books Coach Savage mentioned in the podcast:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The Change by Kirsten Miller

Episode 22: Life Stress Score (LSS)

This episode is all about one of the terms we use the most as coaches: Life Stress Score (LSS). Like Training Stress Score (TSS), we think of LSS as a way to quantify the mental and emotional toll brought on by life being hard, and our goal as coaches is to help you manage training and performance through periods of high LSS. We cover what LSS is, how to track it, why to track it, how to manage it, and how to adapt training when LSS is high. We also go over a bunch of really fun coaching and training insights, celebrate Katie finishing her PhD, answer listener questions, and share some favorite gear items. This is a fun one!

Extended show notes:

Coaching and Training Insights

Katie:

  • The power of napping! // How to nap like a pro 

  • The days are getting longer and we all feel amazing! We recommend trying to get outside for your workouts when you can (I think some people get so accustomed to sitting on the trainer and running on the treadmill that they are scared to get outside / think it won’t be quality training. News flash: you race outside!) -- this is especially true on the weekend when you have more time to be out during daylight hours and can get your work done outside.

    • Jim: Good time to purchase the bike you will ride for the race season or service current bike.  Make sure you are visible: front and rear light, bright clothing.

  • Many folks asking about nutrition guidelines. Defer to our episode with Cate Ward to start and loop in a dietician if you need, but here are four golden rules of triathlete/endurance nutrition:

    • 3 meals / 3 snacks

    • No fasted training 

    • Carbs before, carbs + protein immediately after, healthy fats and throughout the day

    • Fuel during for activities over 75 minutes 

    • If you think you’re missing the mark, get blood work and supplement as needed and/or loop in a dietician 

  • Swimming as part fitness, part technique, but also a big part mobility 

Jim:

  • Athletes are starting to get fit from solid winter training. (Are you seeing this?) 
    I’ve had two athletes recently do our 2 x 10’ run test and both improved their threshold run pace by ~30”. Another athlete increased their FTP by 40 watts. 

    • A couple of keys: We tested last year which means these athletes had at least another 6 months of consistent Z2 training. It takes time to make this type of fundamental jump in fitness. 

    • Many athletes find testing stressful so I tend to test less often than maybe some other coaches. And I want to encourage everyone to be patient and realize that you just need a certain level of training volume to really move the threshold needles.

    • And since we aren’t doing lactate testing in a performance lab, it can be hard to pick up small fitness improvements with these backyard science tests. There are many variables we can’t control or account for in our standard 2 x 10’ run test or a FTP test. (What’s your general approach on testing?)

    • Another great way to test your winter fitness is to sign up for local 5Ks, local sprints/OLY, bike races, etc.  These are great ways to serve as organic run/FTP tests.  Races often reflect our best effort and those are the levels we like to plan around for your “A” races. 

  • Aerobic downhill intervals. Once we get a decent run base in your legs, you can start playing with these on every run.  It’s a game of how fast can you run while still maintaining Z2 HR and good to even better form.

    • Start with 1’ - 2’ downhill.

    • Focus on good foot turnover.

    • Don’t overstride, easy to overstride going downhill.

    • Keep HR within Z2. 

    • Play with arm swing and lean to try to get the most efficient run pace while keeping HR in low to mid Z2.  Think of it as run play.

    • Remember the goal in all three sports is velocity i.e., speed.  The fastest person over swim/bike/run wins regardless of watts, heart rate, perceived effort, etc.

  • This one is a shout out to all my athletes. I’m continually inspired by our athletes. Every morning, I sit down to review all my athletes training from the evening and early morning. I’ll see workouts from the late afternoon / early evening and then that same athlete may have already done a spin in the early morning before work.  It’s very inspiring to see people working consistently toward a goal and unlocking their inner masterpiece. 

    • Katie: have especially been noticing this as I’m on pacific time, I wake up and I have 50 notifications every day from all of my athletes on the east coast getting after it!

Main Topic:

Jim: As a way of introducing our topic today, race season is getting close. Some of our athletes are already doing Race Simulations as they are 12 or 8 weeks out from their first races. These are perfect days to test our physical and metabolic fitness as well as test race gear.
Race Sims are an example of a good type of stress which is called Eustress. Eustress, in the context of exercise, is usually about feeling challenged but also doable and leads to strengthening and growth. Tough workouts, like Race Sims, can send you to the edge of your abilities but they can also leave you happy and confident.

Also, big goals, long training blocks, and races are examples of opportunities to experience eustress. But they are also opportunities to experience distress - the unhealthy stress.

Adding fuel to the distress fire, most of our athletes are high achievers. Type AAA. They tend to be amped as a natural default. This is our blessing and our curse. The dark side of all of this ambition and drive is we sometimes shift from eustress to distress. Distress can become the center stage of our lives. If you can relate, we have an episode for you today! 
Katie: In last week’s episode on Good Data, Bad Data, we outlined TrainingPeaks Training Stress Score or TSS.  TSS aims to capture the physiological load of a workout based on time and intensity. TSS rolls up into other metrics that help us understand short and long term fitness and fatigue metrics and trends. It’s a very useful tool for both athletes and coaches. 
Jim: Many years ago, in my early coaching career, I began to notice that TSS was only one piece of the athlete puzzle. We were quantifying the load on the body but not necessarily on the mind or the holistic body. As I saw athletes struggle with workouts and the plan, it was often not the workouts themselves but rather life circumstances that made training difficult or impossible.  As we know, normal daily life is full of stress and anxiety both professional and personal. In fact, these are the biggest factors in how much an athlete can progress that day/week/month and year. 

We needed a new data metric to capture life’s daily stress, or distress, and thus Life Stress Score or LSS was born.

Katie: In today’s episode we are going to deep dive into what is LSS, its impact, how to track it, and most importantly, how to manage or reduce it.

  • LSS is one of the trademark terms of the Endurance Drive (not copyrighted yet but it should be), a universal experience, and something we think about a lot when we plan out our own training and our athletes’ training 

  • What is LSS?

    • Life stress score

    • Training stress score captures physical strain (difference between fitness and fatigue). LSS captures mental/emotional strain brought on by life being hard 

    • Some things that can contribute to high LSS: travel, negative emotions (anxiety, uncertainty), stress from work, stress from family, stress from relationships, disappointing things happening, tragedies (both close to home and in the world)...anything that works against you feeling calm, cool, and collected 

    • Keep in mind: STRESS is STRESS is STRESS. Physical and mental/emotional stress impact your body in the same way.

  • On the science side, LSS usually parallels / reflects high cortisol

    • Cortisol: stress hormone that is produced and released by your adrenals

    • What cortisol does: suppress inflammation in all of your bodily tissues and control metabolism in your muscles, fat, liver and bones; regulate blood sugar, blood pressure; impacts sleep-wake cycle 

    • You need some cortisol! All about the right balance (example: too low cortisol -- fatigue, low blood pressure, etc.) 

  • How does LSS impact training?

    • When LSS is high:

      • Sleep is impacted → recovery is impacted

      • Anecdotally, we see RHR go up, HRV go down, immunity goes down, training response goes down, HR is higher than it should be during workouts, workouts feel extra challenging, etc.

      • Often we have also had athletes experience more GI issues when stress is high, with or without activity 

      • There is often a direct correlation between stress and injury. The body is a highly tuned being. When we have stress or negative emotions this creates wrinkles in the neurological pathways. This millisecond detour is just enough time to create a misstep in training, particularly running. 

      • Jim: For me I notice this trail running. It is a highly coordinated and challenging activity and almost all of my stumbles are preceded by some negative thought or emotion. 

    • The key: LSS can compromise training adaptations *independently* of big volume or intensity 

  • How can you track LSS?

    • You can usually feel it when LSS is high, although this can manifest differently for different people (anxious feelings, depressed feelings, generally feeling ‘on edge,’ feeling exhausted even if sleeping)

      • Katie -- For me can manifest as stress in upper back and/or chest pain 

    • Metabolism may feel off -- hunger cues may be different/disrupted, may be hard to sleep through the night 

    • Objective indicators -- back to data:

      • RHR

      • HRV

      • Sleep quantity and quality

      • Some workout metrics (HR, perceived effort)

    • Also: be realistic about what is going on with your life and share with coach 

  • Why should you reduce LSS? (Jim)  From an athletic standpoint: 

    • Relaxed muscles are more fluid and contribute to greater coordination, strength and endurance. 

    • Relaxed bodies react more quickly. Anxiety, fear and tension inhibit your reaction time. A relaxed athlete wil react to challenging race conditions more quickly and make better decisions.  Think late in a race when confronted with unexpected obstacles and conditions. You want to be in a relaxed state so you make the best race decision.

    • Relaxed bodies burn less energy by keeping stress in check. Tension contracts blood vessels, inhibiting blood flow to the muscles and causing fatigue.

    • Relaxation lowers blood lactate. High lactate levels inhibit performance. 

    • When relaxed, your concentration and focus improve, positively affecting your confidence. And with that you are more likely to reach your highest potential in your workout or race.

  • How can you reduce LSS?

    • Like with TSS -- you need mental recovery and/or higher mental fitness to change the equation 

    • Mental recovery is key: switch to easy / AR training only, take time off dedicated training plan, do what you like to do (trails, yoga, etc.); focus on joy and community through movement 

    • Mental fitness to ward against LSS impacting you a lot: meditation/breathwork/journaling/therapy etc. -- useful all the time, but doesn’t work on its own / must reduce life stress. A few recommendations:

    • App recommendation: Headspace

    • Book recommendations:
      The Brave Athlete: Calm the F--k Down and Rise to the Occasion by Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson.

    • Wherever You Go, There You Are - Amazon book

    • Wherever You Go, There You Are - Spotify audio (free with Premium)

    • There Is No Right Way to Meditate - Amazon (super fun short, illustrated book)

    • The Physiological Sigh - one long deep inhale through the nose, hold, then another short (snort) inhale and then long exhale. Real time stress management.

  • Incorporate other things that bring you joy and community: good food, time with friends, time with family, etc.

  • Listen to music. Classical music is my go to. 

  • Comedy / laughter is great medicine.

  • Instead of self help, help others. Give back to the community.

  • How do we think about LSS as coaches / how should you factor LSS into training?

    • Keep open dialogue (anecdote: Katie talk about rolling out weekly mental health check-in survey with U25 athletes; disclaimer that a coach is not a therapist but can use information about your life for training context)

    • Adapt training plan (more easy, AR, days off, unstructured adventure time, etc.)

  • Upshot:

    • Really honoring LSS earlier this year → key to race day success for me at Placid? (ie skipping race sim, a bunch of time on trails, etc.)

Listener questions:

  • Katie: what is your dissertation about? :)

  • When to do strength workouts? Before or after cardio? 

    • Usually after, unless in off season 

    • Often it can be useful to do on the same day as big sessions so you can keep easy days easy -- i.e. on a speed day on Tues. Avoid after Thursday so you can protect the weekend

  • Super shoes - how much to run in them?

    • According to Bu, not much as the carbon plate shuts off using the small muscles in your foot. If your foot does not get a stimulus, you will initially be fast but the super shoe effect will stop you from getting a run stimulus. 

    • You can do some training in “high efficiency” shoes but how much is still unclear from science.

    • Our recommendation is to do just a few key sessions in them to ensure they fit and don’t blister on race day but the majority of your training and key sessions should be in normal, training shoes.

    • Katie: Hoka Carbon X story

Challenge of the week:

  • Katie: Journaling practice -- useful in times of high LSS to journal for 5 minutes before you go out for a run so you can leave any negative thoughts/feelings/emotions behind and still be present in the workout

  • Jim:  Take the last 5’ of ride or run and think of one thing you are grateful for while taking in some deep, conscious breaths. Reduce that LSS! 

Gear pick of the week: 

Episode 21: Leadership and Life Wisdom with Gina des Cognets

This week's episode is one of our all-time favorites. We're joined by Gina des Cognets, Senior Director of Organizational Development at Strava, a life and leadership coach, and one of our most valued athletes at the Endurance Drive. Gina joins Katie and Elena to share her wisdom and practical strategies for success when it comes to valuing excellence, non-linear career paths, "mid-life moments" and listening to your gut, balance as bullsh*t, focusing on your strengths, naming your inner critic, reframing your narrative, and taking on big challenges in both athletics and life. We also talk about her work in leadership at Strava. Everyone needs a Gina in their life, and we're so pumped to get to share her insights with our whole audience. Thank you Gina!

Extended show notes:

To learn more about upcoming trail running and life/leadership coaching retreats, fill out this form!

To learn more about Gina or work with her as a DYL coach:

Some resources Gina mentioned in the podcast:

Gina’s favorite reads and listens:

Books

Podcasts

Episode 20: Good Data and Bad Data

Coaching & Training Insights

Katie:

  • The idea of “reset days” 

    • Sometimes if you’re in a rut with training (or life), can help to take 1-2 days that are focused on total health 

    • Think of it as mental health day meets rest day from training

    • Often our Monday rest days are still very busy or stressful with work and other commitments → we may shed some physical fatigue but we are still being worked

    • What to do on a reset day:

      • Clear your calendar if you can

      • Sleep in

      • Avoid working

      • Avoid traditional training (swim/bike/run/strength). Alternative Z1 movement or choice fun fitness are encouraged (hike, paddle, easy ski, yoga, etc.)

      • Make time for the things that fill you up: time with loved ones, good food, watch a movie, early bedtime, etc.

    • If you think you need a reset day, talk to your coach!

Jim: I like the reset day a lot. One from a physiological perspective and the other from a psychological standpoint.

  • From the physiological side, recovery and Reset days are important to lower cortisol levels which, if they are continually high, result in higher levels of insulin, which shuts down fat burning and is a possible precursor to diabetes.  Also increased cortisol levels lessen gains from strength training(i.e., no new muscle growth), increase bone fractures, sleep is difficult and your overall energy level drops. Which is to say, you’ll feel horrible in the short term and possibly have long term health consequences.  

  • Recovery and Reset days help invoke your parasympathetic nervous system,  allowing you to relax, sleep better and lower cortisol. These days will also increase hormones that signal to your brain and heart that you are not in crisis mode, promote sleep, muscle and tissue repair and keep your immune system strong.

  • From a psychological standpoint, reset and recovery days are important particularly if you tend to be a performance-based identity athlete - one who thinks of their worth or identity as linked to how fast you swim/bike/run in workouts and/or races. (Does this ring a bell for anyone?!)  Reset days will give you the space to focus on other parts of your life that are truly meaningful and important. 


Katie: Athletes working busy full time jobs -- making time for lunch is CRUCIAL especially if you are working out in the evening. One athlete recently was feeling low energy in evening sessions and part of it stemmed back to not being able to eat lunch until 3-4pm. Calories are critical but so is timing, so make sure you’re not going long stretches without food to keep blood sugar stable. Frequent snacks FTW!

Katie: My athletes are CRUSHING the fueling game! Some quotes:

  • “I’ve never fueled that frequently before (I did it by the 20-25 minute time interval, getting in around the 25/45/1:05/1:25 marks) and I didn’t feel sick or fatigued by the end like I sometimes do”

  • “Dude fueling like that HITS DIFFERENT. Like I was going 30s faster than my usual z2 pace on the run without thinking about it”

Jim:

Long distance training requires athlete independence and equal parts interdependence on your support crew - family, friends, work colleagues.  And as the races/events get longer, each one of those qualities must expand equally and proportionally. 

  • Related interesting phenomenon: In the beginning of a race you are often a hard-driving, independent, ego-eccentric athlete. And as the long race day unfolds, you move toward being an interdependent human being. 

  • As you physically and mentally wear down, your self and ego barriers lower and you begin to open up to receiving help and community support. This is where race volunteers and family and friends on course help get you to the finish line. Move from me to we.

A different type of fitness: One of my Ironman athletes commented that they just feel a different type of fitness than from when they were just marathon training. They now feel more robust, durable and balanced. They may not be running as fast as marathon training but they just feel better overall.  This is a great insight and got me thinking about there are different types of fitness, each type makes you feel a bit different than the other.

I primarily focus on the physical side of training but have recently started to dive deep on the mental side of performance such as flow, in the zone, being present, etc. Ask any athlete; they want to reach peak performance in training and especially on race day. 

  • Many of the challenges my athletes face are less physical and more mental. As coaches, we always say it’s fairly easy to get someone fit. We know how to do this.  But it’s not always easy to get through the rigorous training process and show up mentally race ready.  I want to upgrade my mental skills toolbox to help athletes unlock and remove the mental barriers.

  • Relatedly, I’m listening to the Norwegian Method podcast and it’s interesting to note how many times Coach Olav Aleksander Bu, coach of Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, mentioned being mindful and present as a key to executing workouts. This is an investment in your present and future performance.

  • In sum, treating the body and mind as one unit will become a big focus for me in 2024. I’m super excited.

Main topic: 

Good data and bad data. As athletes and coaches, we have SO much data at our disposal. It can help you out or drive you crazy. Our goal today is to break down what data is useful and what data you should ignore. We’re going to play a game called good data or bad data, where we answer whether each of several different types of data is good or bad. 

Is HEART RATE good data or bad data?  

  • HR zone training: zone 2, lactate threshold, max HR, etc.

  • Resting heart rate

  • Heart rate variability / HRV 

  • Is HR data useful during strength workouts? Swimming?

  • *HR data only useful if accurate. Chest strap!

TrainingPeaks data? 

  • TSS: What is it and how do we use it?

  • The importance of zone data being correct

  • How do we think about these values for an Ironman athlete?

  • What are the limits of these values?

Stuff that Garmin says: 

  • Garmin Performance Condition? No! Ignore it. 

  • Garmin Training Status and Training Readiness. No.

  • Garmin Recovery (hours). No.

  • Garmin Heat and Altitude Acclimation. No.

    • If your race is hot, we can work with you on a sauna protocol and other heat adapting tactics. 

  • Garmin tells me I’m altitude adapted to 2500 feet when most of my training is at 1,000 feet and anything under 3500 feet is probably irrelevant.

  • Garmin Lactate Threshold? Perhaps. Need to look into this more. There are common algorithms to determine threshold levels they may be using.

  • Garmin VO2 Max? It might be one of the few data pieces that may be somewhat correct. 

  • Garmin Weather warnings! Does Garmin think my 520 bike computer is my main weather source? I’m honored they give me a warning that a winter or wind storm is coming in 18 hours so I can wrap up my 16 hour ride safely. 

In sum, Garmin’s artificial intelligence is less intelligent and more artificial. 
Run-specific metrics: 

  • HR

  • Pace

  • Cadence 

  • Do we use run power? 

  • Do we use stride length, ground contact time, etc.? 

    • Note that maybe these are useful but they pale in comparison to the big ones (HR, pace, etc.) 

    • Stride length is a function of run strength and mobility which are addressed via run drills, hill repeats, gym work, etc. Do not try to consciously increase your stride while running!

    • Ground Contact Time can be useful to remind yourself to pick up your cadence. But, like stride length, don’t focus on it per se while running.  

    • Stride length, ground contact time, run cadence and vertical oscillation vary greatly depending on the run terrain. They are highly variable over a hill run.  Maybe more useful on a track where variables are controlled. 

  • We don’t use programmed Garmin run workouts! 

Bike-specific metrics: 

  • Average Power and Normalized Power (what is it?) 

  • HR

  • Cadence 

  • Speed - very terrain dependent. Not useful most of the time.

  • Total time, total distance 

  • Also: reminder to get a bike fit!

Swim-specific metrics: 

  • Most important swim metric = form! Visual data 

  • Ignore HR. We use pace the most here.

  • Stroke rate? In some instances. Can take years and a lot of effort to change stroke rate.

  • SWOLF? NO! Swim golf is a downstream metric that does not address the root causes of swimming well. 

Sleep data: 

  • Garmin vs. Oura vs. Whoop, etc.

    • In my experience, Oura > Garmin for accuracy 

    • Body battery, readiness score, etc. has all been useful but not the end-all be-all  

  • HR and HRV during sleep

Some big take-home points:

  • Overall feeling is not always captured in your Garmin. Trust your body.

  • Injuries and niggles also are not always captured. (Injured athletes will often see their stats look “prime” for heavy training since they are not moving as much -- this is the worst thing you can do.) If injured, ditch the watch and Strava.

  • LSS (life stress score) is not always captured (sometimes with HRV, resting HR, sleep, etc.) but not always. Keep your coach updated on how you are doing and what modifications you may need to make.

  • Most useful data for us: heart rate, power, pace, sleep, but need to be used together and holistically rather than individually. Remember the intention of the workout.

  • Always useful to go data-free every so often, especially during the off season, to reduce personal reliance on the data. 

  • Data often gets in the way of play. Your sport should be fun, no pressure. Play like a child - uninhibited, no fear of other people’s opinion (FOPO) and be present.

  • Instead of data driving practice or performance, try imagery; watch videos of good swimmers/runners/cyclists. This provides an implicit, visual learning opportunity to imprint on how the best perform in their sport. 

    • Something you can try:  pretend you are playing the role in a movie of one of these professional athletes while doing your sport and mimic their movements. You’ll probably find that you will move smoothly with less effort and more flow. Unconscious, visual learning is very powerful.

  • Communication with your coach is the best data you can produce.

Challenge of the week:

  • Katie: Take in protein + carbs within 5 mins of finishing your workout!

  • Jim: Daily, drink one more glass or water bottle than you normally would. The benefits of hydration are numerous and as endurance athletes, we are all probably a little, or a lot, dehydrated. 

Listener questions:

  • How to make TT position more comfortable? (Question from someone who did get a bike fit)

    • You should be on sit bones towards front of saddle

    • Comfy bike shorts and chamois cream -- note the combo of shorts and saddle is crucial. I wear different combo for TT bike and road bike to maximize comfort. 

    • On zwift, be in aero for specific intervals but not for the whole ride. Example: WU and primer out of aero, 3 x 10’ HM in aero, out of aero between, out of aero for cool down.

    • Reminder: For outdoor riding, we recommend only being in aero if >15 mph (or <30 mph generally). 

  • Treadmill paces are always off compared to Garmin. What metrics should we use?

    • For zone 2 on the treadmill, I go for time in Z2 rather than pace, so if a 5 mi run takes you roughly 45 mins outside, just do 45’ of Zone 2 HR on the treadmill.

    • You can similarly adjust the treadmill to perceived effort and HR for pick ups, etc. 

    • We don’t recommend trying to simulate track workouts on a treadmill unless (1) you REALLY have to or (2) you know your treadmill’s pace is accurate.

    • Also: Get a fan.

  • Should I buy a road or TT helmet?

    • We prefer to use road helmets for training and racing.  A few reasons: a) most races are in quite hot conditions and thermoregulation is often more important than saving a few seconds and b) road helmets are more comfortable and c) many road helmets now are nearly, or just as aero, as a number of TT helmets.

Gear pick of the week:


Episode 19: How It Makes Us Feel (Female Athlete Stories #5)

This is the last episode of our five-episode series that covers the perspectives and experiences that we crowdsourced from our community about the rewards and challenges that female athletes face. Here, we're pulling out themes related to how it makes us feel: strong, capable, and badass, but also unwelcome, unworthy, or unrelatable, depending on the context. We talk about how being a female endurance athlete impacts other domains of life (professional, family, etc.), how endurance training interacts with mental health, how endurance pursuits feed into feelings of being an underdog or being selfish, and a whole lot more. We also preview where we're going next with the Female Athlete Stories segment of the podcast. Thanks for listening!

Resources we mentioned in the show:

Banff Film Festival, film with Hilaree Nelson

Episode 18: Interview with Endurance Drive Coach Kevin Prunty

In this week's episode, we welcome our very own Coach Kevin Prunty onto the podcast to talk about his introduction into sport, the role competitive lacrosse and a career-ending concussion played in shaping his trajectory as an endurance athlete, the importance of family and support networks, his experience qualifying for Kona at his first Ironman in Lake Placid, his launch of KPI Training and inspiring others through social media, his thoughts on marathon training and strength training, and so much more.

Extended show notes:

Coaching & Training Insights: 

  • Katie: Revisiting the downhill skiing topic - it’s a hard workout!

  • Jim: Thoughts on bike fitting (shout out to Ian at FitWerx in Waitsfield, VT) and getting back in the pool.

Main Topic: Coach Kevin Prunty Interview

Background - where are you from, high school and college athletics.  

  • I am from Yorktown Heights, Westchester NY. Went to Lakeland High School, played football and lacrosse there. Ended up going to Siena College to play division 1 lacrosse

What attracted you to endurance sports coming from college team sports? 

  • I needed something to fill the void. 

  • I had a major concussion story and I had to take medical DQ at Siena

  • Became super into lifting and then it just snowballed into running etc.

What qualities did you bring from team sports into individualized endurance sport training and racing?

  • Good Q! I’d say the biggest thing is that you will never have “it” and be spot on every day. During lacrosse we’d practice / play 5-6 times a week? I’d have my A game for maybe 3 of those days. But still would show up and hustle my ass off the other 3.

  • Same for training in endurance, you will wake up some days and just feel like crap. Your HR is high, pace feels off, swim stroke feels terrible. ALL normal. Head down, give it your best and shake it off for the next session. 

Talk about experience growing up in Lake Placid and the impact that race had on you growing up. 

  • I used to just think it was not feasible to do that distance. It seems out of this world when you aren’t familiar with it. I grew up always seeing that weekend, and thought one day i will do itr

  • It was more of a traffic nuisance leaving!

  • I’ll never forget 2019. I was so hungover Sunday leaving, watching these people fly by on bikes. My life took a pretty quick turn at end of 2020, then 1 year later I was that guy flying past cars

  • In 2020, we quarantined in Lake Placid during COVID. 

  • In March I just started running, out of boredom. I ran 3 miles mid- March after only lifting for a while, then 5 weeks later I decided to just run a homemade marathon around the Lake. After that, I got home and said “alright I will do Ironman Lake Placid this year or next) 

Your story of doing your first triathlon  

  • First triathlon was Ironman Lake Placid and qualified for Kona. 

  • I started training with just the mindset of finishing. As months went by, I started thinking “Alright I think I'm doing well at this training thing”

  • Katie put me on a great plan and it was the most excited for a race I have ever been

  • Can talk about riding it on my aluminum road bike… lol

Family focus: You had an impressive family presence at your first IM LP.  It’s clear family is a big focus for you, your parents and extended family. Tell us about that. 

  • Family is everything for me. We have a big American/Irish family and that's how we were raised, always being surrounded by family

  • My friends that I grew up with are also like family. In 2021 all 13 of them drove up on Saturday, (4 hours) and then went back either Sunday or Monday night. 

  • My parents had people sleeping in hallways and all over the house for that one…

  • There's definitely sometimes where it is hard for them to understand what we do. And it is a different lifestyle. I do have to say no to some small stuff, but I always make sure I am around for any family or friend events that are going on. 

Run vs. triathlon training: As a triathlete, you had a particular focus on run training and racing. This year you are primarily focused on run training. How do you view the differences for training for a stand alone marathon vs triathlon run training? 

  • I think the principles are similar, but it's a big difference when you break it down. During Ironman Prep, we run maybe 3-4 times a week? Depending on the timeline

  • I think naturally I am a runner, and I adapt very quickly to discipline. I have been training for the Orange County Marathon since New Years, and have seen a big fitness bump since then in just 6 weeks. Whereas with swimming, it just takes so much longer to feel like your progressing

Are there workouts you do with run training that you wouldn’t do if you were training for an Ironman marathon?

  • For marathon prep, I am running 6-7 days a week. I can do much more intense sessions bc that is my main focus

  • I.e - I will do probably 2-3 sessions of 20+ miles, and 2-3 more of 17-18 miles. In an IM prep we only sniff 18 miles, maybe once.

Any advice for athletes who want to run a fall marathon coming off summer Ironman training and racing?

  • I think it is a perfect situation. You have this HUGE block of fitness from Ironman, and a big base. 

  • This is what I did in 2021 for NYC Marathon

  • Take 3-4 weeks of very chill / recovery (mental too), then hop into a run block. 

Strength training: You have a particular emphasis on strength training. Where did you learn the technique and benefits?

  • I became very close with Siena’s head Strength coach during my medical DQ. He saw that I lost a huge part of my life and college career, so he took me under his wing and I was there all the time. 

  • I came in freshman year at like 160, soaking wet. I put on 15 pounds in the 1st year

  • I learned how to fuel, and that calories were important

What do you see are the main benefits of strength training for an endurance athlete?  

  • I think it’s huge. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy either

  • During NICE prep I was still banged up, so I would do 1 day of kettlebells, lunges, rows, pushups, etc… then 1 mobility day. I think without that I would have gotten injured

  • Right now, i do 3 days a week of a lower/back, a mobility/bodyweight, and then an upper body day 

Balancing training and coaching with a demanding full time job: Your job, like many of our athletes, is quite demanding.  And you are famous amongst our tribe as getting up super early and getting in a big run/bike and swim or lift all before 7am.  

  • Took on a new role in September, so it certainly has been much busier, but I find that I can always control what happens in the morning. I know I can get in my training session, undisrupted, and it sets the tone for my day

  • I think 2023 I set that bar really high for myself, and never looked down 

How did you arrive at that type of discipline? 

  • I think it's just my organized and disciplined mindset. I know that it's in my control to get up, get my session in, get to work and be ready for the day. 

  • In college we would have 6 am practice a few days a week, but so that might have helped a little, but I think I have always been a morning guy

  • You hear the joke sometimes where people will talk about when they do that, “Oh I got up, I ran or lifted, went on my walk, did a few personal things before work, and you get there and you feel like you're ready to tackle anything” etc etc

Any advice for those trying to balance a busy life with long distance training?

  • Reverse Planning, and acting intentionally. 

  • If I know I have an 8am meeting, I will reverse plan my morning to make sure I am all set. Have everything ready the night before, lay out run clothes, gym bag / work clothes, etc etc etc

  • Acting intentionally is really the biggest thing. And I am by no means great on this everyday. I can slack sometimes, but overall I try to be intentional with everything. It saves so much time, and gets you A to B in the most efficient way possible.

Recovery: You’ve made recovery a major focus of your endurance lifestyle.  What are the primary techniques and focus areas to recover well?

  • Focus on stretching/ mobility

  • Support of Hanna and Physical Therapy

What is the number one recovery focus for you? 

  • Sleep and food! 

2024 Goals: What are you psyched about in 2024? 

  • Well first, I’m getting married in September so I guess that's my A Race!

  • I am really excited to race in California in 2 months. I am going to really push on this course, and put together a big 2 month block for it.  

  • Racing with two friends and athletes

  • After that, I’m excited to help my Placid crew get in A shape and ready for that course. 

  • Long bike rides, and get more on the hiking trails and golf course! 

  • NYC 2024 Marathon for fun and run w my brothers for a great cause

  • Long term 2025, I will be on the trails and getting ready for a big ultra race in Colorado… 

Listener Questions: 

Why do we do run drills?

  • To imprint proper run form. Think of running like swimming; it is a technique sport

  • Proper run form builds strength and durability.  There is a lot of free speed when you do 5 - 10’ of run drills regularly.  (Spent a summer doing run drills only because I was injured and came back to running with a 30” faster base pace.)

  • When it gets late in a race and you start to physically wear down, you can fall back on running well because you have practiced it many times.  Like I say in swimming, you don’t necessarily have to swim fast but you do have to swim well. The same applies for running, especially in a long distance race. 

  • When you are doing any run that is stressful a way to calm your mind is to focus on cadence, striking under your hip, arm and hand position. With this visualization, the run can go from creating anxiety to being present and feeling in control of your situation. 

Why do we do high cadence bike drills?

  • Similar to run drills, high cadence is neuromuscular work that connects our brain with our feet. 

  • Having a quick cadence will help you respond to uphills better and benefit you on group rides when the pace quickens. 

  • A high cadence can be used to take the load off your muscles and put the load more on your aerobic system. 

  • High cadence, done well, will help smooth out your pedal stroke. 

Challenge of the Week: 

  • Jim: Focus on a good run warmup. Try to get in at least 5’ of walking before you start your run. Tip: plan your run route a little longer than you want to run so you can walk the first 5-10’ and then the last 5’ as a cooldown. I’ve been parking at the bottom of a big hill to get in my first 5’. 

  • Katie: Skip or modify at least one workout based on how you feel (i.e., get a yellow, orange, or red box in TP and be ok with it!). We view 85-90% compliance as better from a mental and physical health perspective than 100%, and doing this can alleviate stress if and when it happens in the future. 

  • Kevin: Write down micro goals for the week!

Gear Pick of the Week:

Jim: LL Bean Boat and Tote®, Open-Top - canvas bag for gear storage and transport 

Katie: Peanut Massage Ball Roller for upper back and neck

Kevin: ON Cloudboom running shoes 


Episode 17: The Forces We're Up Against (Female Athlete Stories #4)

In the fourth installment of our special series, Female Athlete Stories, we’re tackling the forces we’re up against. Highlights of this super rich episode include: another deep dive on body image, the objectification of the female athlete body, safety as female athletes, femininity and athletics, the myth of balance for women in sport, navigating the medical system and health challenges as a female athlete, lack of research, and cultural assumptions about our abilities and performance. This was a fun one! 

To submit additional perspectives and experiences to future episodes, check out ⁠this link⁠!

Safety resources: 

On balance:

Articles we mentioned:

Female athlete research and resources we mentioned: 

Our emails:

Episode 16: So You Want to Do an Ironman?

This week's episode is all about what you should be thinking about (and what life will look like) if you decide to sign up for a big endurance challenge like an Ironman. We highlight four key things to ask yourself before you bite the bullet, cover the top practical items you will need to support your endurance journey, and outline the progression of training for big events like these. We also share some coaching and training insights on workout modifications and the ebb and flow of life and training, answer a bunch of listener questions, introduce a new segment (Challenge of the Week) and share our favorite gear picks. This is a fun one, so check it out!

Main Topic:

First thing first: Ironman has a big cultural influence; it’s marketed as the hardest one day challenge. But it is not. There are many ways to have a big day such as running a 50 or 100 mile ultra, a huge day in the mountains or a mega bike ride. Or you may be just starting your endurance journey and finishing a Half Ironman or a bike around your town is a big day. We are here for all of it and support you with whatever big challenge you want to tackle. Ironman is a huge accomplishment but it’s not the arbiter of physical and mental toughness. 

And if Ironman is not your thing, you can still apply these same principles, strategies and tactics to your big endurance day. 

Four Key Points

1) Develop and articulate the reasons why you want to race. Ironman training is very physically and mentally challenging. It requires an unusually high level of commitment over a long period of time - 9 months at the minimum and usually 2 - 5 years to build up the endurance. You will experience many deep highs and lows during training and racing. Ironman training is lonely, it is long days in the saddle, there are no crowds cheering you on on Sunday morning as you struggle out of bed to do another 2 hour run. 

  • During the lows, you will want to return to why you have chosen to race. When you have arranged your, and your families, entire life around this event, the importance of your why is utmost and fundamental to the process. The more your “why” is defined, the clearer and successful your training and racing. Your mental game will need to be as strong as your physical one.

  • Conversely, some examples of invalid “why” to race are cool Strava titles, attention seeking from peers and family, revenge racing and Instagram moments. Your why must be deep, meaningful and honest.

  • Katie example -- talk through “why” for IM Lake Placid this year (feeling like I wanted to see what I could do, display my fitness after challenging St. George, try new workouts and push limits, see what a healthier body could produce)

2) Get buy-in from your family and friends. Long distance triathlon training is extremely taxing on your time and resources. It is critical that you build buy-in, acceptance and support of your goals from your family, friends and colleagues. You are embarking on a very selfish (but healthy) journey. The time required to properly train for a long distance race should not be underestimated. You will be absent for large portions of weekends. Make sure you accurately portray the time demands to those you are closest to. In other words, if you’re going to ditch your wife with the kids for 10 - 20 weekend mornings you better make a sustainable, win/win bargain with them! You cannot do this alone. It takes a village to train a triathlete. 

  • A properly executed training phase will result in better relationships with your family and friends, not one that destroys those bonds. This is a delicate and deliberate balancing act for which you must always be vigilantly aware and communicative.

3) Do you have time to properly train for the race? You will need between 10 - 20 hours, depending on your goals. You will need to spend many weekends doing 5 - 6 hour rides, a 4K swim and log hours running. It is a full on lifestyle. 

  • We all want to be the hero of our story but it’s essential we match what is possible given our time constraints, family and work situation. 

4) Do you have the budget for an Ironman?

  • Ironmans are very expensive. The average cost for an Ironman entry is $750 but some races can be a lot more. 

  • Include housing, travel and gear expenses and an Ironman is easily a $5,000 - $10,000 commitment. Maybe even more if you buy a bunch of fancy gear!

  • Even things like nutrition and hydration products are really expensive here!

  • We want to emphasize that you need to square away the above four key points before you pull the trigger on an Ironman (or any big event/race).

Top practical items you will need: 

  • A bike and a bike fit. You will spend literally hundreds of hours on the bike. It must fit properly. If you are riding a road bike, you will want to put aero bars on it and practice in aero during the Specific Prep phase. If you are riding a tri bike, you will do most of your last 12 weeks of training on it. A smart trainer and Zwift/Rouvy will make bike training a ton easier.

  • Proper run shoes and run mechanics. You will run hundreds of miles. You need running shoes that are appropriate for you and that distance. And you should ensure your run mechanics are sound (see PT episode). 

    • You should also be switching our multiple pairs of shoes per Neil!

  • Regular access to a pool. Think 3X per week. You will need to regularly swim 3K and at least 1X 4K swim per week during the Specific Preparation phase (the last 12 weeks). You will need to do a number of 4K open water swims before your race. Ideally, you would swim 5 - 10 times in open water before your race.

  • Nearly everyone will need access to a local body care network. A PT familiar with endurance training is a good start. You will experience niggles and possibly injury. Be prepared to have a network in place so you can prevent and/or respond to what arises.

  • A tri kit or some active gear that you can spend 10 - 16 hours in. You must test this gear on all your Race Simulation weekends. You don’t want to find out on race day it causes chafing!

Training Plan outline: 

12/8/4 weeks out Race Sim Weekends: 

  • Our main strategy for race readiness is Race Simulation Weekends aka Big Days. We schedule these 12, 8 and 4 weeks out from your “A” race. They break down as follow:

    • 12 & 8 weeks out - over three days, complete your event distance.

    • 4 weeks out - over two days, complete your event distance (or close to it for Ironman).

  • An example of 8 weeks out Ironman Race Sim Weekend is a 4K Friday swim, a 100 mile bike on Saturday morning into a one hour run off the bike followed by a 90’ run on Sunday morning. 

  • For every Race Sim we plan and practice your race hydration, nutrition and perform at specific IM watts / run paces. 

  • Ideally, these race simulations are done on terrain similar to your race course. If possible, do the 4 week out race simulation on the actual course if you are able to travel there. 

  • These three key weekends are the primary drivers of your race day readiness. After the three weekends, we will have determined the key fundamental and small, critical details for your race day. 

  • Ideally, do a long distance training camp for one of your race day simulation weekends. 

4 - 8 weeks out: 

Plan and practice your race day hydration and nutrition on the bike and run. Ask your coach about our race plan nutrition and hydration Google Sheet. The gut is a trainable muscle; the more you practice training with race-day nutrition, the better. Nailing race day nutrition is a dynamic and iterative process. 

Correlate your performance with a heat and humidity index. The three biggest factors of race day success are fitness, hydration/nutrition and heat/humidity. During your longer rides, runs and Race Sim weekends, begin to track the heat and humidity conditions to understand where you may begin to struggle and have a need for more hydration. For example, your long ride may start at 7am in the morning at 70F with 80% humidity. I use a simple 70 + 80 = 150 “heat index” value. As you progress through the ride, the day heats up and humidity may rise or fall. If it’s a long ride, you may experience many levels along the heat index. This index is exponential, not linear. A heat index of 160 will feel way hotter than 150. Note when you start to feel hot, sweat profusely and/or develop a sheen of sweat on your forearms, indicating you are not evaporating heat away from your body. At this point, you are probably experiencing some level of heat degradation. The best way to combat this is internal cooling by taking in more hydration. If you have ice available to put down your tri kit and in your water bottles, even better. The main point is to start to understand under which heat and humidity conditions you begin to struggle. Under normal weather conditions, usually one water bottle per hour on the bike is sufficient. The higher the heat index, the more we want to drink, cooling our insides. Under heat stress, we recommend moving to 1.5 bottles per hour. Use your longer training days to dial in what level of hydration allows you to express your fitness, using a simple heat index calculation to guide your hydration and cooling plan. Everyone's a little different so use this time to understand how your body responds under what conditions.

Research which gels and hydration solution will be offered on course. You may consider practicing with those specific products during one of your Race Sim weekends. Currently Ironman is offering Maurten on course which, in my opinion, is a high quality gel with minimal risk of GI distress; however, they also offer Gatorade as a hydration option which can be very heavy on the stomach. If you use Gatorade, practice cutting it with water and see how it affects your stomach during a race-like situation.

Plan and practice your race day bike watts and run paces. Your race plan should include a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. Plan A is if everything goes perfectly (realistically this happens 5% of the time), Plan B is the likely, realistic scenario and should be your main focus, and Plan C is to cross the finish line. Your race bike watts and run paces will be indicated in your TrainingPeaks account under key workouts. Make sure you are in alignment with your coach on what is an appropriate race pace (or more importantly what is not!). Our goal is no surprises on race day. Everything will have been practiced and refined during your Race Sim Weekends.

Identify race day controllable and uncontrollable variables. For the uncontrollable factors, consider potential solutions if something goes awry. For example, the weather is uncontrollable, but you may be able to execute the race simulations or long rides/run on days with similar weather (whether that is hot or cold). You can’t control whether you get a flat tire, but you can learn how to efficiently change your innertube. Your race may include a lot of fast competitors and peers. You can’t control who signs up but you can control how fit and race ready you are. Most variables are uncontrollable, but you can prepare solutions to mitigate the impacts on your race. The list of what we truly control is short but critical: breath, pace, effort, attitude, ingestion, gear and knowledge.

Use social media cautiously. Social Media, particularly Facebook Race Pages, are a curse and a blessing. You can learn a lot from the locals and past participants from these pages. There are many insights into the course, the weather, best gear choices, best times to train on the course (if an option for you), local peculiarities, etc. But these pages are also full of athletes who are anxious and often not well prepared for the rigors of the course. They display their anxiety by posting how tough the course is, how much they have, or have not, been training and often doing big workouts right up until nearly race day. While we are tapering, these athletes will be doing their biggest rides and runs two weeks out from the race. It will take discipline and judgment to sort through the relevant, helpful information and posts that should be ignored. The closer to race day, anxiety posts rise and less actionable information is provided. Two to three weeks prior to race day is a good time to not engage with these pages. 

Sauna Protocol. If you have access to a sauna, we can employ a sauna protocol before your 4 week Race Sim weekend, typically starting 10 days before this weekend. We will then use this same, or adjusted, protocol for your race day preparation. Adapting to the extreme heat has become a major challenge at most summer races. 

2-3 weeks out: 

Make a list of all the race gear and nutrition needed and order it. Always look for ways to reduce stress before race week. Ideally, all of your race hydration and nutrition products have been tested during the Race Simulation weekends. If any adjustments are required, use the rides and runs 2-3 weeks prior to the race to finalize your products. 

Open water swim in your wetsuit. If your race is wetsuit legal, you should be swimming in open water with your wetsuit at least once a week. Swim enough in your wetsuit that you are comfortable putting it on and taking it off efficiently (see swim/T1 below for details). The first 2 - 3 sessions in the wetsuit may feel uncomfortable on your shoulders, but you will adapt quickly. 

Listener questions: 

  • When to modify workouts and when to push through? 

    • Modify based upon Life Stress.

    • Consider swapping workouts around 

  • How do we think about downhill skiing?

    • Sub it for lighter zone 2 days 

    • It’s not an off day but it doesn’t really build base fitness

    • Ok to do it for fun! But not 2 weekend days in an IM build 

  • Why do we use paddles in swimming? To build swim specific strength. Also a good way to get in low HR, more swim volume and aerobic conditioning. Think of it like low cadene work on the bike.

  • What is the structure of your swim workouts and how do I best use my time? 

    • Our swim workouts are a guide and not meant to always be executed to the exact detail.

    • Warmup: Yards will always vary because your warmup should be specific to you. Your warmup should be between 500 - 1000 yards and include focus areas that activate your swimming body and brain. Warmups are very individualized so keep playing with focus areas and find the ones that seem to give you the best result when you move into the main set.

    • Main Set: Do this to the best of your ability. This is the meat of the workout. Do it with your best intention. Remember the focus is mostly on swimming well, not necessarily swimming fast especially this time of year.

    • Cool down: If you have time, 50 - 200 yards. Don’t overthink it. Get your HR down, take a few easy strokes and move on with the rest of your day. 

Challenge of the Week: 

Jim: At least once a day, be bored. Don’t check your phone when you have a free moment; just relax and breathe. Work on your mental durability. 

Katie: Be kind to yourself. Cut yourself some slack! 

Gear Pick of Week:

Episode 15: Community in Sport (Female Athlete Stories #3)

This is the third episode in our special new series, Female Athlete Stories. We start with a recap of Elena's outstanding win at the Black Canyon 60K last weekend, highlighting insights and strategies that transcend sports and ability levels across the board. We then cover some of the key differences our listeners have noted between male and female athlete communities, stories of female athletes in male-dominated sport spaces, intersectionality in endurance sports, and why we find that these communities are so strong.

To submit additional perspectives and experiences to future episodes:

Resources we mentioned in the show:

Episode 14: Interview with the Best Coach You've Never Heard of, Greg Mueller

When we started the podcast, we made a list of who we wanted to interview. Our guest today was Jim’s number one pick: Greg Mueller, AKA the best coach you’ve never heard of. Greg runs a pro triathlete squad via his TEAM INNOVATIVE ENDURANCE business and coaches age group athletes. Greg’s pro squad includes Colleen Quigley, Grace Norman, Allysa Seely, Brett Saunders, Malachi Henry, and Derek Oskutis.

Greg is Level 3 USAT Triathlon Coach, Level 2 International Triathlon Union Competitive Coach, Level 1 USATF Running Coach, Level 3 USA Cycling Coach & USAT Youth & Junior Certified Coach.

But more than that, Greg is one of the most well thought-out, communicative, person first coaches you’ll ever encounter. His insights into training principles, physiology, movement, communication, athlete development and much more are lessons for everyone. If you want to be a better endurance athlete or coach, this episode is for you!

Greg’s coaching website (Team Innovative Endurance Triathlon)

Episode 13: The Female Body (Female Athlete Stories #2)

This is the second episode in our special new series, Female Athlete Stories. We dive into many elements of female physiology that our form submitters cited as the biggest challenge of being a female athlete: periods, PMS, contraception choices, pregnancy, and menopause. We also do a deep dive on eating disorders, REDs, and body image, incorporating stories from our own lives with the stories we received from our community. If you think that you or someone you know is experiencing an eating disorder, please use the NEDA resources link below to find more information on getting help.

To submit additional perspectives and experiences to future episodes:

Crowdsourced menstrual cup recommendations:

Additional resources:

Recommended athlete social media accounts to follow:

  • Lauren Fleshman

  • Lucy Bartholomew

  • Allie Ostrander 

  • Molly Seidel

  • Tina Muir

Our emails:

Episode 12: A PT's Perspective on Endurance Athletes with Neil MacKenzie, PT, DPT, OCS

This week, we're bringing in one of our favorite experts to talk all things recovery, strength training, injury prevention, and injury rehabilitation. Neil MacKenzie is a PT, DPT, and OCS based at ⁠Cioffredi & Associates Physical Therapy⁠ here in the Upper Valley. Neil has been an Endurance Drive athlete for two years (and is a 2x Ironman finisher!), so he understands the unique needs and perspective of endurance athletes in his practice. We also recap some fun coaching and training insights on motivation, intentions, weight and performance, programmed Garmin workouts, and endurance training as a form of counter-culture. This is a can't-miss episode!

Training & Coaching Insights: 

“Motivation chips!”

Thoughts on the myth of ‘race weight’ / leanness.

Thoughts on the intention of the workout.

Thoughts on programmed workouts in Garmin.

Thoughts on training as a counter-cultural act.

Asking yourself what you really want to get out of sport.

Q & A with Neil:

  • Tell us your story! Background as a PT and endurance athlete?

  • What injuries or challenges do you see as most common in endurance athletes?

  • Top mistakes you see endurance athletes making?

  • How should endurance athletes strength train?

  • Recommended warm-up routine? Cool-down?

  • What should strength look like for injury prevention for endurance athletes? 

  • What other advice do you have on supporting recovery? Fueling? Sleep? De-stressing?

  • What devices or gear should every athlete have? Lacrosse ball, bands, Norma-tecs… what’s worth the money? 

  • Thoughts on gait analysis and bike fitting?  

  • Thoughts on body work? Massage, ART, cupping, etc.? 

  • Returning to activity after injury -- what is your protocol? 

  • When should someone see a PT? Do you have to be injured? Can a PT be part of a preventative wellness program?

  • Neil’s gear pick of the week: Get multiple pairs of shoes!


Episode 11: Introducing Female Athlete Stories

This episode is the introduction to a (minimum!) 5-episode series inspired by National Girls and Women in Sport Day. This series aims to blend the stories of dozens of female athletes in our network with our own perspectives and experiences. Here, we preview each of the key topic areas in our series (The Female Body, Community in Sport, The Forces We’re Up Against, and How it Makes You Feel), and then do a deep dive on our own journeys into sport. Featuring Katie Clayton and Elena Horton, coaches at The Endurance Drive.

To submit additional perspectives and experiences to future episodes:

Book recommendation that brought us together:

Crowdsourced female athlete gear and apparel list:

Mental health resources:

Our contact info:

Episode 10: Durability, the Endurance Athlete's Most Valuable Trait

In this episode, we do a deep dive on what we consider to be the endurance athlete’s most valuable trait: durability. Sub-topics include: what durability means in an endurance sport context, how to build physical and mental durability, why optimizing for leanness instead of durability is a recipe for disaster, what happens if you don’t have durability, and how to know if you are durable or not. We also share the story of one of our most durability-inspired adventures: running Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness in 3 days back in 2022. Finally, we share some recent insights from coaching and training, answer more listener questions on swimming, and share some of our favorite Vermont-born gear!

New segment — weekly coaching & training insights: 

As we move into harder, longer workouts, fueling is key. I’m seeing that in my Nordic ski sessions which by nature include a lot of tempo and threshold work. We have left the comfort of the fat burning Zone 2 work. Hard work requires carbs!

  • My recent California 80 mile / 8500 elevation ride was a big lesson. Not fueling enough after with suppressed appetite, ended up waking up starving in the middle of the night and my body was in freak out mode. Haven’t had that happen in a long time because we got out of practice (haven’t done a big day like this since Kona) but you need to be taking in carbs like you would for a race to execute these mega days successfully. 

Exercise snacks: 30’ runs and bikes are perfect to get us consistent and maintain a level of fitness. When you are struggling, mid winter exercise snacks might be the answer and bridge to warmer and sunnier days when your motivation returns. 

  • Katie: This is jumping ahead to listener Qs, but an athlete asked me this week about whether she should be trying to hit 10k steps per day as she is very sedentary outside of IM training. I recommended mobility work and short walks to keep things loose but no need to be systematic about it (ie a day with a swim and bike where you don’t get 10k steps != a day where your only activity is a 6 mi run, so it’s a bit of an arbitrary cutoff unless you’re counting non workout steps, and you already count enough!) One recommendation is EC Fit 20 min mobility workouts 

Some thoughts on big goals:

  • Big goals are often why we have chosen endurance sports and we welcome them. Dream big. You can accomplish more than what you think. There is a narrative we all tell ourselves about what kind of athlete we are. We have an internal dialogue that is often limiting. But with months and years of proper training we will rewrite that narrative because we far exceeded our expectations. Big goals with proper training are life changing. It is a very powerful medicine!

    • Katie: Never EVER would have believed I could go to Ironman World Championship 3x when I couldn’t swim across the pool. By consistently stacking bricks in the foundation (metaphorical and literal bricks!), big dreams start to become reality. ANYONE can do this.

  • When you proclaim big goals, you strongly signal to yourself, family, friends and your coach that you are all in. Again, dream big, be bold. Let’s GO!  And if you choose this path, as coaches we will hold you accountable because we are being held accountable by you. If you skip key workouts, regularly go off plan, if you take a week off during the specific prep block because you made other recreational choices, our job is to step in and point out the inconsistencies between your pronouncements and your actions. 

    • As coaches we want to ensure that your big goals are backed up by consistent, mindful and patient action. We want to separate fantasy and ground our training and thinking in reality. 

    • Katie: And if your goals don’t materialize, that crew will support you just as much. It stings a little, but even trying to reach a goal and not getting all the way there can be a huge learning process. (We will do another episode on failure and resiliency!) 

  • Patience always wins in an impatient world.

    • Coaching is about being gentle, precise and honest. Gentle because we have a person first, athlete second coaching philosophy. Precise because training is about applying the right workouts at the right time to get a specific result. And honest because we are partners in helping you live up to what you said are your goals. Are you executing on the commitments you made to yourself, your family and your coach? We are here to help you answer and guide you through that question and process.

  • Additional lesson from Katie - process goals over outcome goals all the way. Outcome goals are too far out of your control and should always be secondary to process goals. And you can have as many process goals as you want.

Durability Main Content

  • As coaches we train endurance athletes for many traits - speed, power, aerobic and metabolic efficiency, lactate tolerance, VO2 max, dedication and grit - but the one that we value most and try to build in our athletes and in ourselves is Durability.

What is durability and what does it mean to be durable?

  • Durability means: you can tackle really big days in adverse conditions, and not only survive but thrive. And you bounce back even stronger afterwards.

  • Durability is also in context: Your big day may be someone’s moderate day or vice versa.

  • Physically, you don’t often: get cold, get overuse injuries, get sick, bonk, etc. You become known among your friends as being someone they can really count on to stay clear headed and strong when the adventure gets hard or goes sideways.

  • Mentally, you are confident and relaxed before and during big days, and you know how to push through when you are deep in the pain cave.   Your ability to keep cool and logical during an adventure helps lead others to the finish.

  • Important: Optimizing for leanness is not optimizing for durability; we do not optimize for leanness because that’s a shortcut to disaster.

How do you build durability?

  • Starts with stacking a lot of small workouts, month after month, year after year, building that huge aerobic base.

  • If you are just starting your fitness journey, training for any distance race is the best starting point on your durability quest.

  • Ironman training is a perfect way to build durability. (Jim: tell story of new athlete worrying about IM training making them slow).

  • In race context: Big Days / Race Simulation Weekends.

  • Big days outside (of many forms): trail running, mega hike, biking, even hunting day (Jim), etc., especially in adverse weather conditions.

    • And wear/bring proper gear -- we don’t believe in handicapping to build durability. Set yourself up for the best chance of success

  • Fuel your activity really well -- you never want to be on the ‘edge’ of low energy availability

  • Strength train (and organic strength training via hill climbing, weighted carries

  • Incorporate lots of movement - exercise snacks - into your day besides training (10K steps, stacking wood, up and down stairs, etc.)

  • On the mental side -- do things that seem intimidating, push your boundaries or scare you and practice pushing through when the going gets tough.  Start with small challenges and build from there. Examples: add one more big hill at the end of a long run or bike, swim another 500 yards. If you’re not an early morning person, get up early and tackle a workout. 

What happens if you don’t have durability?

  • You will inevitably get: at best, not faster, and at worst: injured, sick, burnt out

  • You will be cold all of the time (anecdote: Katie originally not a very durable athlete; turned around on Madison because too cold first time going into Whites)

  • You will get injured a lot / not able to sustain big days, even if you have 1-2 good races

How do you know if you are durable?

  • You can roll into big adventures on little preparedness and trust your body to handle the load

  • You are sleeping well, your HRV is up, your resting HR is down, you don’t get sick often or easily; women -- regular cycle

  • You feel calm and confident going into big days or races; good mindset; while pre-race nerves are common, they don’t cripple you or impact your performance

  • You don’t bonk often and can sustain hard efforts late in the day as well as early in the day 

Summary: If your goal is longevity and joy in sport (and the ability to do literally whatever you want whenever you want in the outdoors), your focus has to be durability 

Story of the 100 Mile Wilderness Express and Durability.

Listener Questions:

  • When swimming should I do bilateral breathing?  You should know how to breathe on both sides but we highly recommend picking the side you feel most comfortable breathing and take a breath every two strokes. This gives you the most oxygen and works best when incorporating open water sighting. 

  • Why do I get exhausted swimming?  Most triathlon training is front the hip down - think run and biking.  Upper body fitness is hard to get unless you do upper body  like swimming. Swimming fitness is very specific.

  • Are the swim yards listed in your swim workouts exact?  No. Consider them a guide. Everyone should develop their own warmup routine that is 10’ - 15’ long, anywhere from 500 - 1000 yards. Then focus on executing the Main Set.  Quick cool down and you’re done.  Don’t fret the yards or even paces this time of year. The win is getting to the pool and getting in the water!

  • Should I wear my HR strap in the pool?  Does HR matter?  No and No. Don’t be that triathlete wearing a chest HR strap in the pool. We don’t look at HR data and not even sure how reliable it is in the pool. What you should work on is developing at least three speeds: easy, moderate and fast.  

Gear Pick of the Week:

Episode 9: Nutrition for Athletes with Cate Ward, PhD, RD

As coaches, we get tons of questions about nutrition for performance and health. In this episode, we’ve brought in an incredible expert to share her expertise in the domain of fueling for endurance athletes! Dr. Cate Ward holds a PhD in Metabolic Biology, is a Registered Dietitian, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford studying human nutrition. She’s also an athlete, and she brings her love for cycling and other sports into her practice as a dietitian and researcher. We cover topics including: how to fuel long endurance days, supplementation, relative energy deficiency in sport, the physiology of zone 2, metabolic flexibility, and so much more. Thank you, Cate, for joining us! Check out her website ⁠here⁠.

Cate’s bio: 

  • PhD in Metabolic Biology from University of California Berkeley

  • Trained as a Registered Dietitian at UCSF

  • Currently a Postdoctoral fellow at Stanford

  • Athlete

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? What inspired you to become a dietitian and researcher? 

  • Always interested in science from a young age

  • Studied biology in undergrad, transitioned from molecular to metabolic biology 

  • Became interested in clinical human research and trained to become a dietitian 

  • Now doing research on human nutrition, particularly the microbiome, with Chrisopher Gardner and Justin Sonnenburg

One of the core focuses of our podcast is on the principles of endurance training and coaching. Do you have any principles of nutrition that guide your recommendations and approach, and what challenges related to nutrition do you see most often in the endurance community? 

  • Meeting clients where they are at in terms of nutrition experience, changes that are feasible to make, etc.

  • Underfueling = very common challenge; hunger signals can be perturbed after intense activity → need to be mindfully fueling even if you’re not feeling up to it at times

  • Intuitive eating is hard to rely on exclusively as an endurance athlete; think of fueling as like a medication you take before getting a procedure done

  • Fasted training: avoid as it hinders recovery and performance. Something is better than nothing, even a little bit of juice. Focus on easy, fast, digestible. 

What are your nutrition recommendations (in terms of macros, timing, ideas of what to eat, etc.)? Example of a weekend day with a long ride:

  • Morning pre-activity: Mainly carbs, lower fiber and lower fat as both can disturb GI tract or lead to GI distress, some protein. Examples: bagel and egg sandwich, bagel with peanut butter, oatmeal with milk (soy or dairy) and bananas

  • During activity: Simple sugars. You can generally tolerate more fiber in cycling (i.e., dried fruit, bars, muffins, cookies) than running (gels). Typically not tolerating any fiber in running.

  • Midday: Awesome to stop for a full lunch mid-ride (but not too high on fiber/fat); if not you need to compensate for those calories by taking them in during ride or after 

  • Dinner: Can incorporate more fiber/fat, playing catch up to compensate for not having as much throughout the day. Protein after. 

  • After dinner snack to make sure you are topped off and then honoring hunger cues the next day as you will likely be hungry

Q: Athletes often fuel less on off days. Thoughts on this?

  • People often equate working out to calories burned; instead, think about needing to fuel to work out rather than needing to work out to fuel. You don’t need to earn calories. 

  • Off day especially important to replenish the fuel tank. 

General nutrition throughout the day? 

  • Micronutrients, enough fiber on lower intensity days; but not too much fiber as you can end up not getting enough calories overall. Better to combine fiber with other macros that you need (beans, corn, whole grains = high fiber and high carb) than fill up on low calorie foods like lettuce. 

Do these recommendations differ at all across gender and/or age?

  • Older women often do not get enough protein; everyone should try for 20-30g at every  meal as a general rule of thumb 

  • College students often don’t fuel enough at the beginning of the day and backload calories; focus on getting a solid breakfast in, which can be hard with dining hall schedules.  

Do you recommend supplements? If so, which ones?

  • Best to start with getting labs done to see if you are deficient in anything before supplementing; if you don’t need it, you will just pee it out (which can be a waste of money).

  • Labs I ask for: full metabolic panel, full lipid panel, hemoglobin A1C, vitamin D, ferritin, iron, CBC, vitamin B6, B12, zinc; also need electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium)

  • Anemia can be common in female athletes → iron supplement 

  • Hydration is important, although very individual-specific (sweat rate, activity level, type of electrolytes you are taking in); but do take in electrolytes during and before activity, especially in the summer 

  • First choice is to get the micronutrients you need via diet; supplementation only needs to be used when things are lacking 

Do you have any specific recommendations for athletes following vegan/vegetarian diets? Do you recommend going plant-based?

  • Definitely possible to get enough protein (soy, legumes, etc.) but need to be very mindful and make sure you are getting enough calories. If you’re getting enough calories, you can get enough protein. 

  • No stance on whether you should be plant-based or not, but always good to eat more vegetables; Cate incorporates meat as a supplementary role in diet 

We often see GI issues surrounding training for endurance athletes that can really impact race day or training. How do you approach this? 

  • Common in people training for first marathon; body not used to training and gut not used to handling new stimulus (gels, etc.)

  • Need to train your gut to handle more and more carbs per hour. Start with 30g/hour and work your way up by X grams per week depending on how they tolerated the previous week. Set up your run to have bathrooms along the way. Can’t predict how gut will respond until you train it

  • The grams of carbs you can absorb per hour does not actually depend on activity level, height, weight, etc. like daily caloric intake does; instead, it’s a function of training your gut. 

Underfueling: How do you know if you are getting enough? Symptoms of REDs?

  • Common symptoms: amenorrhea (lack of a menstrual period in females that would not otherwise be missing), low resting HR, high HR variability, unexpected cardiac abnormalities, dehydration, extra GI problems, stress fractures, persistent overuse injuries, weight loss, fatigue/weakness, low sex drive, persistent illness

  • Seek help -- primary care provider, dietitian, even parent/friend/coach

You work with people who have experienced disordered eating / eating disorders. We know this is very common in the endurance community. Why do you think these challenges are so common? What strategies are most effective for overcoming disordered eating / eating disorders? When should you seek professional help? 

  • A lot of social pressure in the endurance community can be a contributing factor (example: awkward to fuel on a group ride if no one else is)

  • Important to surround yourself with people who can support you 

  • Best strategy is to get help from trained professionals: psychiatrists, mental health providers, primary care provider, social work, dietitian, etc. -- centers that specialize in this. Reach out if you need help! 

  • Book recommendation: How to Nourish Yourself Through an Eating Disorder by Casey  Crosbie and Wendy Sterling

Weight loss and training/fueling. How do you approach it when endurance athletes are attempting to both train and lose weight at the same time? 

  • Can’t chase performance goals at the same time as weight loss goals; pursuing weight loss will usually come at the expense of performance (and leave you at risk for REDs)

  • Wait until after a goal event to be chasing weight loss goals 

  • As a dietitian, I’m never recommending weight loss and am leaving that up to the individual to come to me

  • For young athletes in particular, need to focus on fueling yourself 

Nutrition and Zone 2 training. How do glycogen stores work? How do you become more metabolically flexible?

  • Simple sugars taken in during a workout = best source of fuel; break down and give you the ATP that you need for your muscles to be working; carbs you take in are broken down and rebuilt into glycogen stores, the building blocks of glucose which is branched up and stored in muscles and liver; you access these while working out 

  • Glycogen stores range from 1600-2000 kilocalories; “hitting the wall” or bonking is when  you run out and have to switch to burning fat / working out at a lower intensity 

  • How to become more metabolically flexible? Train more in zone 2, as this improves your ability to use fat as fuel. Lactate testing can give you exact numbers

  • Becoming more metabolically flexible is almost entirely based on training status rather than what you eat, so avoid fasted training

We always end with a gear pick of the week. This week, I think we’ll do a snack pick of the week. What’s your favorite training-related snack?

  • Homemade trail mix cookies! Recipe here.

Are you currently accepting clients? Where can people learn more about you and your work? 

Episode 8: Why We Love Coaching

Today we're covering our favorite topic to discuss in real life—why we love coaching! We tell the stories of our respective journeys into becoming coaches, The Endurance Drive's coaching philosophy, what we love about coaching, why you should get a coach, and our favorite stories from coaching and being coached. Stick around to the end for listener questions and our gear pick of the week!

Jim and Katie life stories snapshot -- how we got into coaching. 

How we coach / Coaching philosophy

  • You are a person first, athlete second. Our training plans are individualized and account for you as a whole person. Everyone went professional in something else besides athletics. We are people first in the sense that most of us have full time jobs, families and community responsibilities. Athletics is important to our tribe but it’s not the only thing that makes them tick and it’s not the only thing they do.

    • Keep the recreation in recreational athlete.

    • Once athletics starts paying for our health insurance, it can tell us what to do!

  • Consistent, structured training: Appropriate workouts and intensities based on your training cycle, endurance event(s) and personal situation. Execute the fundamentals well. 

    • Fundamentals:

      • Zone 2 training and 80/20. Big value is taking new athletes out of chronic Z3.

      • Recovery is training!

      • Fueling and training go hand in hand. 

      • Injury prevention 

      • Fitness is a journey, not a destination.

  • Dynamic training. We adapt your plans based on so many individualized factors: abilities, strengths/weaknesses, injuries/illness, life stress, availability, etc. No two plans are identical.   

    • Jim to tell the story of trying to do a recent 3 week block for new athletes.

  • Communicate with each other. Coaching is a two-way street. 

    • Example: Athlete check-in sheet 

    • Every day we try to build a mental picture of how you are doing. We turn the dials on the plan one way or the other based on the feedback you give us. 

Why we love coaching 

  • The relationships. Coach/athlete is a very close connection. We coach the best when we have a whole view of you as a person -- your successes and failures, your challenges/insecurities and things that make you excited. 

    • Related: Getting to share in your athletes’ highs and lows. Coaching works best when it’s a relationship built on empathy. This is a huge privilege for us.

  • It’s the best intersection of being a: trainer, physical therapist, nutritionist, mental health provider, sports medicine liaison, professional athlete, teacher, etc. It’s great to not have to choose!

  • The ability to learn and evolve ALL THE TIME. Each athlete represents a unique set of considerations with abilities, schedule, strengths and weaknesses, availability, experience, race calendar. We are always innovating to best support our athletes. 

    • Related, the motivation to keep learning and innovating! 

  • Help others avoid the mistakes I made. I’ve probably made every training mistake under the sun. If you can think of how to do something wrong, I’ve done it.  My stupidity, ignorance and eventually learning the proper way benefits not just me but a larger community.

  • Lastly, we do it for the money - HA!  Coaching is the quickest way to become poor.

Why you should have a coach 

  • You are not always the best gauge of whether you need to go easier or harder. Overwhelmingly, athletes who are not coached do too much moderate / zone 3 / gray zone training and not enough easy or hard. Giving yourself permission to go slow is hard.

  • You are also not always the best gauge of when you need to recover.

  • Planning your own workouts is a real stressor. Taking that planning completely out of the equation frees up time and brainspace to do other things and mentally + physically recover from all of your training.

  • Accountability. You are more likely to do your workouts when you know that someone is reviewing them. Who doesn’t love a green box in TP?!

  • You have a go-to person to come to when, inevitably, tons of questions pop up about all of the ins and outs of endurance training.

  • Having a partner in all of the ups and downs of training and racing. (Note: Your spouse/partner may not want to hear about all of the intricacies of your Z2 workout! We do!)

Some of our favorite stories from coaching (or being coached):

  • IMLP 2019, 2023. 

  • Dartmouth Tri Club.

Listener questions:

How to make swimming more bearable? Hard to motivate for

Should I be doing flip turns in the pool? 

  • Never critical 

  • Open turns have many advantages, mostly we get a ton of air at each wall and, if executed correctly, they are just as fasel/zt as flip turns

  • For beginners, learning flip turns can be a way for them to develop a truly easy swim speed as they want to get a lot of breath before each turn

  • Ultimately you want to become the best swimmer you can become; the best swimmers do flip turns. 

Should I have different run shoes in the wintertime?

  • Avoid shoes that have minimal traction (e.g. Hoka Carbon X) when it’s slippery out 

  • Some people use Yak Trax; we generally opt for treadmill if the roads are really bad or just trail running shoes 

Gear pick of the week:

Episode 7: How to Get the Most Out of Indoor Bike Training

Last week's episode was all about unstructured time outdoors; now we're talking about structured time indoors on your bike trainer! Our big setlist of topics includes: why we train on the bike trainer, which trainer you should buy, cycling zones, specific and favorite workouts in the context of season planning, structured vs. unstructured trainer riding, cadence, Zwift racing, considerations for using a spin bike or Peloton, hours per week to target for various goal races, trainer pro tips, favorite snacks and things to do on the trainer, some awesome listener questions, and gear pick of the week.

Why did we want to do this topic:

  • Most athletes are experiencing winter and the trainer is an integral part of their program (triathletes and even runners).

  • We wanted to provide some insight on how we structure and progress trainer sessions in the winter.

  • Our most popular website page is our Zwift sampler download and wanted to offer a companion podcast to help those who we don’t coach get the most out of those workouts and provide guidance on how they could develop a winter trainer program. 

Why do we use trainers: 

  • Weather (snow, ice, rain, dark, fog).

  • Most direct and successful path to cycling improvement.

  • Efficient tool especially Mon-Fri for most athletes (gearing up for winter cycling can be a 15-20+ minute process).

  • Safety. You’ve never been brushed by a car in your exercise room!

  • Location - many of our athletes live where it’s not safe or easy to ride outside.

  • Community - Zwift, Group Meetups, invite friends to spin together where you can all be of different paces/abilities but still stay together virtually on the course.

  • Active recovery - a number of our runners use the trainer to recover and build aerobic foundation without impact

Which trainer should I buy?

  • I prefer the Wahoo Snap over the Wahoo Kickr as it’s half the price, the power accuracy is nearly identical and it rides very smoothly and quietly.  You can also check out DC Rainmaker’s annual trainer review.

    • Another advantage is that it’s a lot quicker to take your bike on and off the trainer if you use the snap. 

  • Whatever trainer you purchase, you’ll need to ensure that you get the correct thru axle for your bike that is compatible with your trainer.

Overview of Cycling Zones:

The below chart refers to a % of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP).

How we use the trainer January - March:

  • Jan - Lots of Zone 2 with 20” - 40” sprints, some short (20” - 40”  threshold intervals) and light Tempo. 

  • Feb - Continue Zone 2 with sprints, light Tempo and introduce Neuromuscular power and Anaerobic Capacity (AC) intervals, working on the least specific to most specific principle and build your top end speed reserve.

  • March - short and long Z2, Short and Long Tempo, AC intervals, maybe some Sweet Spot if you have some early spring racing. And hopefully some outside riding on weekends. 

Structured vs unstructured riding.

  • As we talked about in the 2023 lessons learned podcast, both structured and unstructured are very productive in the winter. The main thing is to get on your bike. 

  • Jim: Example of my favorite unstructured Zwift ride: Z1 spin for 20’ minutes into a few 10 - 15” pickups to wake up the legs.  Then ride for another 20’ in Zone 2, both sitting and standing to break up monotony and use multiple muscle groups.  In the 45’ - 50’ of the ride, find a Zwift sprint segment and go after it 4 - 6 times. These are usually 30” - 40” in length. Try to negative split your times i.e., get faster for each sprint.

  • Katie: You can use the natural terrain on different Zwift courses to mimic whatever stimulus you are looking for. We recommend switching it up (both worlds, e.g. Watopia vs. London vs. Paris etc.) as well as routes to get different stimuli, or repeat the same course to see improvements. Zwift tracks, e.g. PRs on a given route or segment.

  • One key difference between structured and unstructured. With structured, ERG mode is automatically on, which means you do not change your gears. I.e., if you pedal harder, power stays the same and resistance goes down. (Note that we recommend switching whichever gear your bike is sitting in naturally every couple of rides or else you’ll wear down some cassette rings faster than others. And don’t cross chain). With unstructured, you change your gears like riding outside to respond to the hilliness of the  terrain and the cadence you want to do. 

Why do Big Gear i.e., low cadence work? 

  • Done at Z1/Z2 HR but Z3 power. It is heavy torque/tension to build strength at a low cadence, usually 50 - 65 rpm. It’s a cyclist's version of rucking! Especially important if your race is hilly such as Placid, Tremblant and crucial for a race course like NICE with huge, long climbs.

  • We did a lot of this last year in Zwift in preparation for Placid and Tremblant. Road to Sky or Mountain Route in Zwift at 50 - 70 rpm. It’s a bit of “structured unstructured” training.

  • This is a topic where cyclists have figured out it works well but sometimes the science hasn’t quite caught up with why it works so well.

High cadence workouts

  • Why they are important: They are Neuromuscular, connecting our feet to our brain.

  • These can either be structured like our 10/15/20 x 1’ high cadence workouts or you can just do this at the end of an unstructured ride for 10’.  The power should be very low, think Zone 1 watts while spinning at 100+ rpm.

  • It’s a good way to flush out the legs at the end of session and leave the bike feeling fresh.

  • When I hear an athlete say they struggle with high cadence workouts, I know they need them and they keep getting more!

Zwift racing during the winter and spring

  • Are a fun way to challenge yourself and infuse some competitive spirit during the long winter months.

  • Can be used as a good substitute for a FTP Test.

Cadence:

  • Everyone has a little different natural cadence their body prefers or finds the most efficient for them. With that said there is some general guidance: 

  • Everyday riding - aim for 80 - 90 rpm cadence.  

  • The myth of riding at 100+ rpm like Lance does still exist. Ignore it.

  • Also, we have some new cyclists and cadence can be confusing. One athlete who was riding at 40-50 rpm because he simply didn’t know he needed to pedal faster. 

  • Sprint and Olympic distance racing tends to be ‘hot’ and goes off at higher FTP zones and faster cadences 85 - 95 rpm. Half Ironman cadence - 75 - 85 rpm. Ironman cadence - 70 - 80 rpm. 

  • Katie - some data:

    • Cohasset sprint tri: 92 rpm

    • IMLP 2023: 83 rpm

    • Kona 2023: 83 rpm

    • LAMB ride: 76 rpm

Do we do VO2 max work on the trainer?  

  • Jim: I personally don’t recommend it for most of my athletes and save this for outside work in the early/late spring.  VO2 max block is only 6 - 8 weeks so we can sneak it in before getting more race specific for long distance athletes. And for OLY, Sprint, you want to do this block in your last 12 weeks before “A” race which is usually getting into the warmer months.

  • Katie: I have used VO2 max work recently for athletes with winter races who are training almost entirely inside, but otherwise agree with Jim on avoiding VO2 max work inside.  

Is there a place for Peloton workouts in winter Base training?

  • Broader discussion on the differences and pros/cons of spin bike at the gym / Peloton vs. trainer on your bike 

    • Katie: We know that a smart trainer is expensive! In my view, if you can be outside for the entirety of your specific prep phase, you can get away with spin bike / Peloton free ride mode doing structured workouts in the winter months. However, it may be a harder transition to the overall feel of your bike when you get outside. If you do want to use a spin bike or Peloton, it is ideal to have as much data as you can (your FTP on that bike, power data, HR data, cadence, etc.), clip-ins, and above all be sure that your spin bike is properly fit to you like your regular bike to avoid injury. 

    • Jim: First, the best bike is the one you own so if that’s only a Peloton at the moment then that is the best bike!  And many people travel for work so doing a spin on a hotel bike is 100% better than not doing your workout at all. Ideally, everyone can spend most of their winter training on their bike as there is a significant biomechanical cost to switching your bike position. You need to build power and efficiency in the same position for which you will race. 

Favorite workouts we like on the trainer:

  • Jim: Z2 with 120% FTP sprints and short threshold intervals.

  • Katie: [10 x 30” at 115% or 125%, 30” at 55%] x 3, with 10-15’ % 55% easy between. Love it because it is the perfect easy is easy, hard is hard ride.

What is the best combination of inside/outside riding for an Ironman and Half Ironman training?

  • In the winter, it’s mostly trainer sessions. In the spring, we try to do a combination of inside during the week and outside during the weekend. Inside to build strength and power and outside riding to build volume / durability.  In the summer, depending on where our athletes live some do a combination of inside and outside riding and some do all outside riding.

  • Building outdoor durability is very important. Exposure to sun, heat, wind, rain, cold are essential long distance racing skills/qualities. Also, you can’t build bike handling skills inside (unless you are riding rollers!).

Favorite BRick workouts using trainer (use the HIM BRick sessions from Greg that use week 2 / 1 before a race):

  • Two weeks out from a Half Ironman race: 

    • Warmup:  15 - 20 min easy spin into; 3 min build to 90% of FTP.

    • BRick: 75 minutes as- 5 x (13 minutes @ Race Pace watts and aero/2 minutes @ FTP)-nonstop directly to run at:

    • 5 miles @ Race Pace

  • One week out from a Half Ironman:

    • Warmup: 15 - 20 min easy warmup in aero into; 5 min build to 90% FTP

    • BRick: 45 min @ low race pace / low Z3 (~80% FTP) into;

    • 10 min Z4 (85-90% FTP) w/ reduced cadence into; 

    • a 4 mile run at goal race pace.

  • Tip: If you find a really solid workout recommended by a top coach, think about scaling it up and down to either progress into that particular workout or use the structure of that workout to scale it to various triathlon distances and demands.

How many hours per week on the trainer for IM, HIM, OLY, Sprint?

  • This will partially depend on an athlete's goals and ambitions for their upcoming season. As way of general guidance, in the winter, our athletes trend toward:

    • Sprint & OLY - 3 - 5 hours per week. 

    • HIM - 5 - 7 hours per week.

    • IM - 6 - 10 hours per week.

  • One hack: Trainer doubles can be more bearable than 2+ hour rides. 

Trainer Pro Tips: 

  • Top priority - Get a fan(s). I use both a Lasko standing fan and will supplement with a smaller Vornado fan on a table and/or in an open window. You don’t need to spend the money on super expensive, cycling specific fans. 

    • One hack: we have had some athletes do fan-off sessions to try to acclimate to the heat. This is very case-specific and would only be done when you have no access to hot riding and are planning to race in a very warm climate (i.e. prepping for December races in FL/Mexico or potentially Kona). 

  • You don’t need a specific trainer tire. Ideally, you use the tires you were riding in the summer/fall, use them on the trainer in the winter and then replace your tires in the spring. 

    • Our favorite tires that offer a great combination of durability and speed are Continental GP 5000 tires. 

  • Have a towel(s) and/or rags to protect your stem, frame and handlebars from sweat. Sweat, over time, is very corrosive to your bike.

  • Have a headband and/or visor to help control sweat flow around your face. We like Boco visors.

  • A table on one or both sides of your bike will hold your laptop, snacks, drink, fans, TV controls, etc. I use these medical tables.  You don’t need an expensive specific cycling table although they are super nice!

  • AirPods or any noise-canceling earphones are great for mitigating the sound of the trainer. 

  • Use ANT not Bluetooth as a connection with Zwift. We use this USB ANT connector. Avoid Bluetooth connecting if possible. Katie: Preferred setup for connections is:

    • Power source: Assioma power meter connected via ANT (note the trainer can also be the power source, but you don’t get cadence)

    • Cadence: Assioma power meter connected via ANT

    • Resistance: Zwift KICKR connected via ANT

    • Heart rate: Garmin HRM-Pro or Polar H10 connected via ANT

  • To make a long ride bearable (have a friend over, special food treats, take a bathroom break every hour, stretch the legs off the bike, group pain cave playlist, leave your favorite show/movie until later in the ride, etc.)

  • Pump up your tires every couple of weeks. Lube your chain too. 

Favorite foods we eat on the trainer:

  • Jim - Nature’s Bakery fig bars, LMNT in ice cold water. On really long trainer rides, a plate full of food such as almond butter and jelly on a tortilla, banana bread, King Arthur Flour cookies.

  • Katie - +1 to everything Jim said. There was a time in 2019 where we all did homemade cinnamon bread à la Jim. Also like macro bars, stroopwafels. Skratch, Skratch superfuel in the bottles, or Nuun for shorter Z1 rides. 

Favorite shows/movies on the trainer:

  • Jim - The Office (Superfan episodes), football, any cycling races, adventure and climbing videos. 

  • Katie - Prefer podcasts + catching up on emails etc. for easy Z1 rides. 

Listener questions:

  • Can I ignore Garmin’s training status forever? Because we do so much Z2 training it’s always telling me I have a High Aerobic Shortage and an unproductive status. Is there any meaningful info to be taken from it?

    • This is a GREAT question. Unfortunately, as coaches, we spend a lot of time talking our athletes off ledges because Garmin said they are “Unproductive” and they probably just quit and take up pickleball.  

    • The short answer is please turn off and/or ignore all Garmin training notifications. The data is only one small piece of the training equation. As coaches, we are working together with you on a holistic approach to your training and health, most of which is not, and can not, be captured and/or understood by Garmin.

    • To give one example of how bad Garmin interprets your data: I have a Garmin 955 watch and a Garmin 520 cycling computer. I load all data to their servers. They have access to all my data collected from both devices. Yet their AI coach only reads and interprets the data from one of the devices.  They don’t even look at the entire user data!

    • Note that we will do an episode on good data / bad data in the future! Garmin training status = bad data.

  • Can you do too much Z1/Z2? Especially on the bike as we shake off dust from the off season

    • Short answer: Yes. While these zones create the  foundation, we need to remember several things: 1) Our bodies are really good at adapting to stimulus. If you do the same exact thing for weeks on end, after 6 - 8 weeks, your body won’t be getting any real stimulus.  This is why the 20% of the 80/20 is just as important. The 20% improves the function of the mitochondria. 2) Training is a novel stimulus then recovery which results in growth. We must have a novel stimulus. 3) Aerobic exercise is only one piece of the fitness puzzle. Aerobic efficiency is important but so is muscular endurance and strength. We need to challenge all systems: aerobic, metabolic, muscular, mental. 

  • Is Z2 training equally beneficial for male and female athletes?

    • Katie: At baseline, females have more Type 1 muscle fibers and higher reliance on fat metabolism compared to males. Ability to use fat for fuel is pretty good at baseline, so Z2 training doesn’t change this side of the equation as much as it might for male athletes, and it’s especially important to do plenty of pick-ups / hill bursts / other things that develop Type 2 muscle fibers and speed/strength/power. 

    • BUT! Gray zone training is still bad! In zone 2, you can increase overall training volume without beating up your body and mind.  In many cases, we can increase training volume 30 – 50% over your unstructured / gray zone training / Zone 3. You will feel much better, physically and mentally, with the increased training volume in Zone 2. And regardless of what is happening with fat oxidation, you need big volume to support the durability needed for an Ironman. So – what we said in Z2 episode still applies.

Gear pick of the week:

  • Jim: Staying with the trainer and bike theme, I use ISM saddles on all of my bikes - road, tri, gravel, snow and mountain bike.

  • Katie: ISM saddles didn’t work as well for me; I linked a few alternatives in my female athlete resource page. Favorite sports bra in the world is made by Indura Athletic — Square Neck bra. Small business started by a former Dartmouth XC skier; custom sizing and amazing fit that has gotten me through multiple Ironmans. Fill out our Indura bra order form which closes 1/21/24 to get a custom Endurance Drive bra!

Episode 6: Adventures as Training

In this episode, we talk about another one of the core features of our endurance training: unstructured adventures! Sub-topics include: different types of unstructured adventures; principles of adventures; why to do adventures; how to do adventures; and our favorite mountain adventures in New England. We also tell the storied tale of one of our most epic adventures yet: the New England Triple Crown, a self-made adventure that involved completing a single-day Presidential Traverse, a single-day Pemi Loop, and a single-day Katahdin ski/hike in one winter season in 2021. We also answer listener questions and highlight a few of our favorite winter adventure gear items.

Today’s podcast is on a topic that was number one on both our lists when we started this project. It’s near and dear to our hearts. And we hope after today, we will inspire you a bit more to think outside the traditional training box. Our topic today is: Adventures as Training.

In the last episode we talked through Katie’s high level training plan for Sea to Summit. We outlined a lot of the key swim/bike/run sessions and the monthly progression. 

  • But we also mentioned some non-triathlon related training such as trail running, summer and winter hiking and adventure biking. Today, we are going to focus on those qualities. We are going to define adventure training, why to do it, when to do it and how to do it.

Jim history of playing in the Whites - hiked the New Hampshire 48 4,000 footers summits in two years in college, led outdoor trips, 700 miles on the Appalachian Trail and then worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club as a tent site caretaker, hut crew (croo!) and roving winter caretaker at Carter Lake, Tuckerman Ravine, Crawford Notch and Zealand hut. This predates my triathlon career but was my first entry into endurance sports. In 2015 returned to the East Coast from Alaska and began blending triathlon training with mountain sports.

Katie has a similar story of including a lot of summer and winter hiking into triathlon training as an undergraduate and continues today. There was a major progression from beginner to now having high confidence moving in the mountains in summer and winter. 

Let’s break down our thoughts on adventuring so you can implement this in your own training/season planning.

What is an unstructured adventure?

  • Three types: 

    • (Easy or relaxed) An activity that’s usually in the woods, forest, mountains and has loose time/pace/distance goals. An exploring trail run, a hike into the hills and local mountain, exploring trails and dirt roads on your mtn or gravel bike. Preferably with friends. These are low pressure while gently building base fitness. Good opportunity to focus on joy and community.

    • (Moderate) A moderate day in the mountains, something that pushes your boundaries and fitness but doesn’t necessarily wreck you physically and the danger element is fairly low. These provide a nice training stimulus as they incorporate more volume, elevation, eccentric loading, side to side motion, hopping, built in base/tempo/threshold effort and a fueling strategy to some degree. (Always bring a snack!) Hopefully you can do this with a friend(s) and incorporate fun and community.

    • (High) Something like a FKT (Fastest Known Time) or big mountain objective like the Prezi traverse, Pemi Loop, 14ers out west. You could be going for a specific time or just trying to survive it! You can think of these as substitutes for an official race that really challenges your fitness, pacing, fueling, smart decision making and gear choices.

A few principles of an unstructured adventure: 

  • You don’t pay to do it. 

  • You plan and create it.

  • You choose your goals, conditions and distances, and you keep your goals, conditions and distances flexible. 

  • You can prepare, but you don’t necessarily follow a dedicated training plan; you simply use Big Fitness that you already have from an existing season.

  • On adventure day, no rules! You can incorporate any stops, snacks, or people you want. Blast music? Awesome. Take an hour break on a mountaintop? Do it. Stop for pie halfway through? Always.

Why do unstructured adventures?

  • They result from Big Fitness and build big fitness. Big Fitness is the ability to do big adventures anytime with a variety of athletes. 

  • They can feature more factors that are in your control (i.e. optimizing for weather, conditions).

  • They are often just as gratifying and fun or more gratifying and fun than races -- without the same level of pre-race anxiety.

    • Stakes are lower because you can always go back and try again if the day isn’t going your way. (Try asking Ironman when you’re having a bad day for a redo at a different date!)

    • Often done with a friend or group - community aspect. 

    • They are nicer on the wallet. Average cost of an Ironman race registration is over $750.  

  • They can help you be a more well-rounded multisport athlete. 

  • They offer a nice bout of mental recovery from high-pressure racing environments while giving you a big fitness boost.

  • They can give you unique skills that build confidence going into big races (pacing, nutrition/hydration, durability, grit, etc.). A moderate or high adventure in the mountains are essentially the same demands as a Half Ironman, Ironman or ultra-run.

How to implement unstructured adventures into your training and life:

  • Good choice for base building time when races are still relatively far out (for us, winter is a good choice -- and many cool adventures to do in the winter) 

  • If you are able, optimize for factors like weather and low life stress particularly important for moderate/high adventures.

  • Find a crew to adventure with.

  • Plan, but stay open-minded to deviations from the plan. Safety first.

  • In the context of season planning: any year can have both hard racing and unstructured adventures. Keep them separate.

Some ideas for incorporating unstructured adventures in your life:

  • Maybe you are a beginner to hiking / trail running: easy trail run in your local park, pick a local hike and progress to further and higher as you gain experience. 

  • Bike somewhere really cool.

  • Do a big day in the mountains.

  • Make it a multi-day adventure / stretch out an ultra.

We developed our own High Adventure during Covid and called it The New England Triple Crown (NETC). This is doing a Presidential Traverse, Pemi Loop and Katahdin all in the same calendar winter season. Katie: This remains one of the coolest things I have done (and that includes 5 Ironmans + 3x World Champs, etc.) with some of the most important lessons learned and fitness bumps 

Favorite Hikes in New England (from easy to hard):

Grab bag of listener questions:

  • Should you do any type of single-sport racing leading up to a triathlon? Sure thing! An early season half marathon, for example, can lead to a focused run block before your last 12 weeks of specific race preparation. These are great opportunities to bump your fitness and skills in one particular sport.

Many athletes ask if it’s best practice to do a stand alone marathon before tackling an Ironman. The short answer is a hard no. They are two very different sports with the only commonality is both require you to go 26 miles on foot. Otherwise one is very goal focused often around time or Boston Qualification and other is often just surviving 26 miles after you have already been racing for 6 - 9 hours already!

  • How quickly do you lose zone 2 base? Not fast which is the good news. You need to sit around and do nothing for about three weeks to really lose your aerobic fitness. You tend lose speed faster and that’s why we do a lot of pickups in our Zone 2 runs, to keep in touch with speed i.e., connecting your feet to your brain.

How to avoid HR strap chafing. Lots of options to mitigate including using body glide or tri glide, choosing a comfy sports bra that allows strap to sit underneath band (we like Indura Athletic), and keeping the band clean. If you are new to chest straps, we recommend the Polar H10 or Garmin HRM-Pro.

Gear pick of the week: 

Episode 5: Lessons From 2023

2023 was a big year for us! In this episode, we cover many of the lessons we learned from training and coaching. Topics include: strength training, mental health, how to get the most from the trainer, supplementation, fueling, Norwegian training, diverting injuries before they happen, and more! We also introduce a new segment—gear pick of the week—and reveal Katie’s 2024 A race and Jim’s vision for her training plan.

Extended show notes:

We just celebrated Christmas. Katie, what did Santa bring you?

  • Katie: Race registration! Signed up for 2024 “A” Race — Sea to Summit.

  • Sea to Summit Triathlon is a 1.2 mile swim near Atlantic in Maine; 95 mile bike with 6K elevation; 5 mile run/hike up Mt. Washington with almost 4,500 feet of vertical

Question for Katie: Why this race? Three reasons:

  • Life schedule: I have a busy year with 5 weddings and 3 graduations; don’t want the pressure of an IRONMAN (IM). Also don’t recommend doing IRONMAN every single year. I want to train a lot, but not at the same level as IM, and I know there will be many weekends in the spring where I can’t follow a perfect training schedule.

  • Terrain: this race replicates my favorite terrain, making it easy to train and prepare.

  • Preferences and goals: I’m not a huge swimming fan; really like biking; and love trail running / want to get better at it.

Question for Jim: What is your vision for the Sea to Summit training plan?

  • With any athlete and event, we start by discussing your race goals, what time you want to commit to training, where you will be located during various training blocks, work travel, any particular strengths or weaknesses you want to target. This is a partnership and negotiation between coach and athlete.

The following is a high level overview of Katie’s Sea to Summit training plan that can also be adapted for Ironman and even Half Ironman training:

  • January: Easy and tempo Zwift trainer rides. Base runs with 20” - 30” pickups. Winter hiking. Maybe 1-2X per week, easy swimming.

  • February: Z2/tempo/short threshold Zwift trainer rides, increase run intervals to 1’ - 2’ at threshold / 10K and 5K pace. 2X per week swim, some technical 50’s, speed and strength with paddles & buoy. (Our favorite is 4 x 200 Paddles & Buoy at the end of many swim workouts.)

  • March: Z2/tempo/neuromuscular (10” - 20” at 150% FTP) and Anaerobic Capacity (20” - 40” at 120-125% FTP). FTP = Functional Threshold Power i.e., what watts or effort you can maintain for an hour. Your hour power. Long rides outside if the weather starts to warm, run hill intervals, more short threshold running. 2X -3X per week swims.

  • April: Z2/tempo/Sweet Spot (~90% FTP) during week, long ride on weekends, more hill run intervals for strength, speed and work upper aerobic range. Sea to Summit is an aerobic threshold test for the entire hike. 3X per week swims - 1 mixed, 1 speed, 1 strength.

  • May: 3 - 4 hour weekend rides, run is similar to April, 3X per week swims - 1 mixed, 1 speed, 1 strength.

  • June: 4 - 5 hour weekend rides, focus on hiking, getting vertical gain on hikes, weighted carries with 10% body weight up steep hills or hiking, some road running. 3X per week swims (mixed, speed and distance in open water). We will do a Race Simulation 8 weeks out from race day on similar terrain as the course. This can be Open Water Swim, long hilly ride and end up hiking a smaller mountain with some weight.

  • July: Initially 1-2 4 - 5 hour weekend rides - goal is to race 100 miles at ~80% of FTP. 10’, 20’ & 30’ bike intervals at 80 - 85% FTP, hiking with vertical focus and weighted carries, some road running, 3X per week swims (mixed, speed and distance in open water). For the Race Simulation 4 weeks out, we will aim to hike up Washington and after a long bike ride on part of the course. Taper in the final 2 weeks before race day.

Thinking ahead to 2024, we also want to think back to some lessons in 2023 that we learned from both coaching and training.

Jim’s training lessons:

  • Strength training: I looked in the gym mirror and saw a skinny, weak endurance athlete who couldn’t lift half of what was recommended by strength experts for my age. Time to finally lift! I started very conservatively, learning how to move with weight, technique is very important. From there, I progressed to heavier weights and now I’m lifting 4X per week with fairly heavy weight. My goal is to really challenge my motor units - that’s necessary to really build strength.

    • As mentioned in the last podcast, I’m focusing on compound movements - bench press, squat, pullups, shoulder press. Throw in a lot of back extension, calf raises, lat pulls.

    • Question for Katie - you got serious about strength last winter, too?

      • YES! Worked with a strength trainer for a couple of months to establish a routine. Now lifting 2-3x per week; still not completely comfortable with really heavy weights but have developed a strength routine that works really well for me and prevents injuries. A lot of single leg work, band work, plyometrics, etc. Hoping to do more heavy weights in the next 1-2 months.

  • Mental health: Like many anxious, type A, high achieving, tightly wound triathletes, I’ve primarily always managed my mental health via exercise. I view this as a scale with physical on one side and mental on the other. Throughout the day, weight i.e., anxiety tends to pile up on the mental side, pushing the scale out of balance. By doing workouts, I add to the physical side of the scale and shave off some grams on the mental side to keep the scale balanced. But while that works for me most of the time, sometimes it does not work! I realized I may need to have other methods to deal with anxiety than just working out. For me the solution was being aware and conscious to carve out more time and awareness to balance out my scale.

    • Katie: I agree that exercise as a coping mechanism doesn’t always work. Getting injured is one area here that can really throw people, so it helps to have other mechanisms of mental health support before exercise is forcibly taken away. On my part, I’ve identified that a lot of it is about being outside with people I love rather than actually needing to exercise. I’d pick a day on a porch in VT over a treadmill run in the city for mental health a million times over.

    • As coaches we spend most of our time thinking about and programming physical health activities. But mental health is super important and equal partners with physical health. I’m encouraged we are talking about it more in our culture with many sports figures leading the way.

  • All roads lead to Rome on a trainer: All trainer work, structured and even unstructured, is all productive work. We have an extensive custom Zwift workout folder with 350 workouts. These are very specific to zones, periodization, key workouts and designed for specific stimulus for a physical training attribute.

    • However, I bet you could probably simplify your trainer work to easy/medium/hard throughout the winter and probably get a similar training effect. If you spend 5 - 10 hours on a trainer throughout the winter just unstructured you would probably be a beast in spring. It doesn’t have to be that complicated and specific. With that said, you should still have a coach!

    • Zwift sprints are a fun way to approximate the 125-160% FTP bursts we program

  • The last two are nutrition/supplement based. After years of avoiding any kind of supplementation instead focusing on a healthy diet, I changed my tune a little:

    • I jumped on the creatine bandwagon. I found it really helped for higher end, anaerobic capacity bike intervals. It’s very well studied and documented.

    • And then I completely sold out to Big Supplements and jumped on the Athletic Greens train. How cliche, having a podcast and drinking AG1! But seriously I was feeling a bit down last winter and it really helped. I suspect the big shot of B vitamins is magic. There are probably other ways to skin that cat but for now it’s very convenient.

    • Question for Katie: What supplements, if any, are you taking?

Katie’s lessons from training:

  • Fueling: If you nail fueling, you will be faster. Full stop. 70-80 g carbs per hour and the addition of Skratch Superfuel to my race and race sim fueling was huge.

  • Pre-race stress: Pre-race nerves and anxiety are not directly proportional to performance outcomes! I previously thought I could only perform well if I was a puddle of stress going into the race. As it turns out, you can perform well at varying levels of stress.

    • Note that this is predicated on feeling good about the controllables going in. You have a choice re: whether to stress about the controllables or not.

  • Racing Placid and Kona in the same year: Fitness carryover from IMLP into Kona -- how my approach this year was different and really successful relative to 2019. Release pressure of trying to optimize for two goal races at once; successfully avoided getting injured in the Kona prep and the Placid fitness carried over nicely.

  • Life stress and mental health: Learned a lot about mental health and training in the Placid build. REALLY hard to perform at max levels when LSS is high. Learned a lot about potential swaps and modifications that don’t preclude a really strong race.

Jim’s lessons from coaching:

  • You don’t always have to hit all the workouts to have a great race especially if you are an experienced athlete.

    • Lesson: There is a lot of play in the training plan especially with experienced athletes.

    • Remember: the training plan is an illusion of control. There are many roads to Rome. With that said, you need to have a plan in order to change a plan.

  • The second lesson was a case of the too’s: too much, too fast, too soon.

    • Case study: I had a very motivated, new athlete who was discovering their athletic self. Their schedule ended up with a workout seven days a week, no Day Off which should have been a warning flag especially for a new athlete. After a period of Base building, we started with 2X per week of 5K and 10K run intervals. But after a few months, this athlete developed an Achilles injury that ended up plaguing them for another couple of months. In retrospect, given this was a new athlete, new to running, I should have limited speed work to Half Marathon and 10K paces and 1X per week. The 2X per week with 5K efforts I’m sure contributed to his injury.

    • Usually injuries start occurring weeks and maybe months before they actually manifest. Be aware of the too’s.

    • And in preparing for this podcast, I became extra aware of the work my new athletes are doing and I went back and made some intensity adjustments in their TrainingPeaks this week.

  • Taking a page from the Norwegians: I included a lot more tempo, sub threshold running for 10 - 14 weeks leading into athlete “A” races especially for my more experienced long course triathletes. Focus on marathon / half marathon run pace block. This worked out beautifully. Who says we don’t know how to Zone 3! Katie, what did you experience from this new approach?

    • Loved it. Z3 as part of a structured workout with a great warmup is SO different from Wednesday Night Worlds tempo.

Katie’s lessons from coaching:

  • New data uploading automatically to TP that helps me keep an eye on athletes—sleep, HRV, ‘body battery,’ etc. Holistic approach to overall health and wellness.

  • Beta testing weekly check-in survey for U25 athletes: physical health and mental health.

  • Something I’m super proud of—diverting athlete injuries before they happen .

Gear pick of the week:

Episode 4: Injury Prevention

This week's episode focuses on injury prevention! We cover rest days; strength and mobility; warm-up and cool down; cross-training; maintaining proper form; fueling; sleep; zone 2; and establishing a local body care team. We also go through some listener questions, share our thoughts on how to choose a goal race, and indulge Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star.

Extended show notes:

Listener Question: How to choose a goal race?

Considerations:

  • Optimizing for the terrain you live in 

  • Optimizing for weather during your training window

  • Optimizing for your strengths/preferences -- do you like hills? Flats? Do you have a specific PR in mind?

  • Case study: Athlete living in Vermont choosing a 2024 trail race 

    • First choice - optimize fully for terrain/weather

    • If constraints on schedule/timing etc. (i.e., you need to race in April given availability in winter and not beyond that) -- how to prepare for a race with a different climate/terrain?

      • Lots of training tricks -- hill work, lower body strength work, even cardio on uphill treadmill/stair stepper. Hiking in the mountains. Etc. 

      • Add a training camp -- go out to a place you will compete if you are able to get a feel for the terrain there. 

      • Heat acclimation protocols (i.e. sauna protocol, fan off, etc.) for hot races 

Listener Question: Is season planning relevant even if you are not doing an official race?

  • YES! Periodization is good for several reasons:

    • Your body needs a natural off-season with 1-2 months of lower volume to recover and bounce back the next season.

    • Periodize with the weather -- get outside when the getting’s good, stay inside and do other activities when not. We are big advocates for building outdoor durability when the weather is warm.  

    • You don’t need to be racing to have goals -- getting fitter, faster, even having progressively better times up your local hill or around the neighborhood run loop is a perfect goal. 

10 Injury Prevention tips for endurance athletes

  • #1: Take time off when needed. 

    • 1-2 days off for a niggle can prevent 1-2 months off 

    • Most people can tell the difference between ‘normal workout pain’ and injury pain. 

    • Check your ego, shut down the run/ride/etc. and head home if you start to feel a yellow flag and take 1-2 days off or cross-train.

    • Inform your coach!

  • #2: Rest days -- even when not injured

    • 1-2 per week depending on goals/volume

    • Let your body rebuild and repair. What should you do on a rest day? Light Z1 activities are OK -- walking, light mobility-focused strength work, yoga. Or completely off, especially if that helps you mentally. If you can take time to sleep in.

    • A question we get frequently -- should you eat less / fuel less on a rest day? No! Time to repair and rebuild. Great day to top off the fuel tank for the week ahead. Takes ~24 hours for liver and muscle glycogen to restore. Especially important during heavy volume.

  • #3: Strength and mobility 

    • ​Focus on compound exercises. Compound exercises are ones that use multiple muscle groups in one exercise. Good compound exercises are bench press, deadlift, shoulder press, pull ups, and squats. There are tens of variations on these exercises. You can do them with a barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell or bands.  Start easy and light and progress to heavier weight over weeks and months.

    • For our Master athletes this is particularly important as you start to lose muscle mass and strength quite rapidly after the age of 40. 

    • How often? Ideally 3X per week during the Base period and then 2x per week on season.

    • Get a personal trainer if this is brand new territory for you 

    • You can try online mobility - ECFit Monday mobility videos

  • #4: Warmup and cool down

    • Especially important in winter/cold temps. Can warm up inside as needed (Active recovery spin on trainer pre-outdoor run)

    • Warmup -- we like walking, run drills, plyometrics, glute activation routine.

    • Cool down -- 3- 5’ walk after run or easy jogging, easy spinning at the end of a ride. 

    • The warmup is super important as we are all indoor cats with most of us sitting at our desks all day.  The goal of the warmup is to gently ramp our sitting HR to an exercise HR.  It’s not good for you to go from sitting with HR 60-70 to hitting the road straight to an exercise HR 130 - 140. 

    • A proper warm up will also help regulate your lactate system.

    • For post workout, always take a dry shirt and fuel. Any workout that is more than a few minutes from home, I bring a bag with a dry shirt and protein shake. And in winter I’ll include a hat and a warm jacket to put on right afterward especially if I’m going to coffee or run errands.  Always think your next workout starts immediately after your last workout ends. Fuel and recover to ready yourself for the rest of your day and tomorrow’s workout. 

  • #5: Cross-training

    • Incorporate activities like yoga, pilates, hiking, nordic skiing into your routine to avoid overuse injuries and improve overall fitness.

    • Think about activities that activate muscles beyond the forward-backward plane of swimming/running/cycling.

    •  I bought a basketball a number of years ago.  It’s fun to play with friends and it gets us moving in a side to side motion with lots of organic plyometrics.  Triathlon is a very forward motion sport.  I wanted a creative way to incorporate other planes of motion, quick bursts of speed and lots of jumping for speed and power training. 

  • #6: Proper form and technique

    • Having good form in all three disciplines is essential for preventing injuries. Consider getting coaching or videotaping yourself to identify any areas where you can improve your technique.

    • Run Gait analysis and working with a physical therapist can help. 

    • A bike fit is very important. An improperly fitted bike can lead to neck, shoulder, back pain. If you are numb anywhere when you cycle, this is not good!

    • If your bike fits improperly you will not be able to hold aero which is critical for long distance athletes and you will not be able to generate lots of power which is critical for our short course athletes.  If you are serious about triathlon or cycling, you should invest in a professional bike fit.

  • #7: Eat enough / fuel the work

    • Don’t want to be on the edge of illness/injury at all times. You need a buffer so that if a gust of wind comes you won’t get blown over. Fuel for performance. Get a sports nutritionist if this is something that you need help with

    • Key times to fuel: before activity (mostly carbs), during activities over 75 minutes (carbs), after activity (carbs and protein). Throughout the day, whole foods, fruits, veggies, healthy fats, etc. Don’t restrict. 

  • #8: Sleep and allow time for rest/relaxation 

    • That’s when the repairing happens. 7-9 hours per night and recommend tracking sleep to see patterns.

    • Consistent bedtime and wake up time. 

  • #9: Zone 2 / easy aerobic training

    • Talked about this before but injury risk goes down considerably if you are staying in zone 1-2.  Our Zone 2 podcast.

  • #10: Establish a body care team -- develop a local network of sports chiropractor, sports massage, Physical Therapist, strength trainer, bike fitter, your primary care doctor, dietician,  etc. These can all be part of your local network. 

  • Core message that underlies all of this: open dialogue with your coach. Difficult when we are not seeing you every day in person so as soon as something feels off, say something.