Podcast
Katie Clayton
Episode 71: Grief and Training, Adaptation, ...

Episode 84: Racing Your Race, Channeling Positive Thoughts, and Processing DNFs

This week’s episode is full of insights from the peak of race season! Katie and Elena cover whether and how to use pacers, how to handle the overstimulating nature of race morning, what to wear for racing, how improving your aerobic base improves your top end race performance, mindset shifts in the context of race-day uncontrollables, and not writing the narrative of the race before it’s happened. We also do an extended deep dive on Elena’s tough DNF at the Orcas Island 50K due to a calf injury as well as some of the mental hurdles she battled along the way and lessons she picked up from the experience. Check it out! 

Challenge of the Week

Katie: Plan a new route!

Elena: Plan a big adventure! Something that just sounds both amazing and fun.

Gear Pick of the Week 

Katie: Nathan ExoShot 2.0 Handheld 14 oz.
Elena: Baggu Crescent Bag Medium or Large

Episode 83: Race Week Tips, Avoiding Open Water Panic, and Swim-Bike Bricks

This week’s episode covers insights on lots of topics including: why you shouldn’t try anything new on race day or during race week, how to know when to push through vs. back of in periods of high life stress, panic attacks in open water swimming and how to avoid them, good data vs. bad data, rehabbing ankle sprains and other ligament injuries, mindfulness in running, swim-to-bike brick workouts, why going slow is the key to going fast, how performance gaps are widening between fueled and under-fueled athletes, and how effective movement patterns are key to speed and strength in endurance sports. Check it out! 

Katie 

Don’t try anything new on race day/week

  • Simple but important advice -- race day/week is not the time to try any new gear, nutrition, hydration, health hacks, etc.

  • Some surprising things that I would not recommend trying during race week if you haven’t done them before

    • Massage -- only do a massage if you regularly do massages and know someone you like. I have had athletes walk out of a pre-race massage very sore and with unexpected aches and pains

    • Food -- don’t overdo it on some crazy amount of an unfamiliar carb in the spirit of carb loading. If you don’t normally eat six pancakes the day before your workouts, don’t eat six pancakes the day before your race

    • Supplements -- supplements can be great but can have unexpected GI or other health consequences. Make sure you have a >2 week lead time for any new supplements leading into race week

    • Health things, unless unavoidable from a health perspective (e.g. iron infusion, B12 shots, etc.) -- 2 week lead time again useful 

Knowing when to push through vs. back off in periods of super busy life stress that make it hard to nail sleep/recovery (travel, work craziness, parenting young kids, etc.)

  • Can be a lot to deal with decision fatigue on top of major life fatigue when it comes to deciding whether to push through and just do the workout or not 

  • My 2 cents as a coach: pushing hard when you are already depleted in terms of sleep (or nutrition!) usually sets you back further than the fitness adaptations you would get 

  • Sometimes use a green/yellow/red light plan with athletes that can correspond to sleep in periods of continued major sleep deprivation (>3 days in a row). Example:

    • >7 hours of sleep = green light to do the workout as planned

    • 6-7 hours of sleep = yellow light -- max 30 mins, more of an ‘exercise snack’ type of workout, Z1/2 active recovery

    • <6 hours of sleep = red light -- day off, try to chill out 

Panic attacks in open water swimming context

  • Super normal! Many/most athletes we know have experienced this one time or another 

    • Factors that make it worse: cold, lots of people/splashing 

    • Also: dark water, unfamiliar swimming stimulus, fear of drowning

  • What to do:

    • Make sure wetsuit isn’t too tight around your neck

    • Proper OWS warmup (walk into water, hands in water, face in water, get the vagus nerve wet)

    • Swim easy a little bit

    • Flip on your back and float or switch to backstroke, breaststroke

    • Focus on full breaths out under the water. The build up of CO2 in your blood stream is probably a primary cause of panic attacks.

“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure”

  • Goodhart’s Law! When we use a measure to reward performance, we provide an incentive to manipulate the measure in order to receive the reward

  • This is actually really relevant to the data that we measure all the time. Pace, power, HR, plus recovery metrics like HRV, RHR, made up ones like “strain” and “body battery,” etc. 

  • I often see athletes get overly fixated on the data and not adequately tuned into the intention of the workout or the feel

    • Intention of the workout and feel are the most important ‘metrics’ we have, though they can be harder to ‘track’ 

    • Any single metric that we measure is incomplete -- data is best used holistically and only as a supplement to feel 

  • Example: an athlete once was very focused on Z2 HR and wanted to do runs on an indoor walking pad that maxed out at 4 mph. It was a run motion at a walking/shuffle pace that actually impacted her run form in a pretty substantial way. Great that her HR was in the 120s, but the “run” piece was lost. HR was no longer a great measure of Z2 running because it wasn’t really running anymore as compared to what a Z2 run would look like outside. Would have been better to run outside with good form and take walk breaks as needed to keep HR down. 

  • Similar with sleep tracking: are you chasing a 98 sleep score or the feeling of being refreshed from a good night of sleep?  

  • Challenge to athletes: figure out what data you tend to fixate on and try to do a workout (or spend a day) without it. Or do a workout hiding some data metrics and see where power/pace/HR land. You will find that you know your body and effort better than you think!

Rehabbing ankles!

  • Case study from me re: rolled ankles

  • Big bad ankle roll on a run recently, same side as I experienced a pretty bad ankle sprain at the end of last fall 

  • Freak thing / stepped weird on cobblestones in Boston 

  • Rehab plan 

    • A few days off running with good ice/elevation -- biking and swimming OK

    • Easing back into running (but no trails and avoiding cobblestones) once I didn’t have pain walking around 

    • Tape can be helpful for a bit more stability in running 

    • Strength program with a lot of single leg stability work, ankle mobility, etc. 

  • Interesting observations as I have been rehabbing it:

    • Extremely tight calves and heels compensating for the ankle instability → body is connected! Need a lot more time working on calf/heel tightness with stretching, massage, PT 

    • Once you start to have ankle issues and loosen the ligaments, re-rolling is common. Be extra careful 

      • Theory: also related to female hormone fluctuations, specifically relaxin which increases in the luteal phase. So be extra careful! 

    • Not necessarily the same protocol as a fracture which is a zero-tolerance-for-pain injury -- actually good to get things moving more quickly 

    • Blood flow, e.g. biking, a good thing

Steve Magness banger of the week

  • “Running isn’t just about fitness. It’s about reclaiming two skills we’re losing in modern life. 1. The ability to be alone with our thoughts. 2. The ability to connect with others. 

  • When you run alone, you train your attention. You learn to sit with boredom, to let thoughts come and go without judgment. No scroll. No noise. Just movement and awareness. This kind of solitude isn’t loneliness—it’s presence.

  • When you run with others, something subtle but powerful happens. Conversations unfold, not through eye contact or performance, but through rhythm and shared effort. You talk. You listen. You just are. And that’s enough.

  • In a world of constant distraction, these moments are rare. But they’re also essential.

  • Running reminds us:

    • You don’t need to be entertained every second.

    • You don’t need to track every metric.

    • You don’t need to perform for an audience.

  • Sometimes, the most meaningful things are the ones that can’t be measured. Only felt.” 

Jim: 

Swim to bike sessions:

With open water season upon us, try to get in some swim bike BRick workouts. That is a much harder transition and rarely practiced.  These are, in my opinion, of higher value than bike-to-run transitions.

Do it slow first before you go fast

With the warm weather (kind of) many athletes are able to extend their sessions.  A key primary principle to keep in mind as you train for your distance is to do it slowly first. Then when you can do the distance slow only then consider doing it fast (or race pace).  

This serves you in a few ways: 

*The first longer sessions are easy, gentle on the body, low psychological load sessions. Your only goal is to complete the distance (or the race or key workout). This takes a ton of pressure off the first few long sessions of the season.

*You build overall durability and biomechanical adaptations at an appropriate speed and timing.  You are conditioning your body first to tolerate the time / distance. 

*Once you are comfortable with completing the time / distance, start to add in blocks of race pace effort with plenty of recovery.   You don’t need a lot of race pace efforts to provide additional stimulus to the body.  Think gentle ramp of race pace efforts over a series of key workouts over 2 - 3 months. 

Gap Developing Between Max-Fueled Athletes and Less Optimally Fueled Athletes

I’ve been watching the Giro d’Italia—one of the three Grand Tours in cycling, alongside the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain).

Commentators have been emphasizing how high-carb fueling is becoming a major differentiator in the peloton. Veteran riders like Geraint Thomas often mention that this shift in nutrition is one of the biggest changes in pro cycling. Those from his generation who have adapted are staying competitive, while those who resist are either dropping out or falling to the back of the pack.

I’m seeing a similar trend among my athletes, and the performance gap is accelerating this year. Athletes who prioritize maximum or appropriate fueling during intervals, race simulations, and actual races are consistently breaking through performance plateaus and achieving results they never thought possible. 

On the other hand, I have a subset of athletes who, for various reasons, have not embraced adequate fueling—despite their bodies burning through glycogen like newspaper in a fire.

There are a few reasons we talk about fueling on every podcast:

  • For new listeners, we want to educate you on this critical performance topic and help validate what you may be hearing elsewhere.

  • For regular listeners who haven’t yet embraced adequate fueling, we encourage you to give it a try. You’ll feel better, and any psychological or logistical hurdles can be addressed. It’s simple, though not always easy.

  • For those already on the high-carb train, you're probably nodding along—it’s an “if you know, you know” (IYKYK) moment.

Logistically, carrying all your carbs can be tricky. A couple of helpful items:

Also, take your bars out of their wrappers, cut them into pieces, and store them in your bento box. If you're keeping extra bars in your tri kit’s back pockets, pre-open the wrappers to avoid fumbling during your ride.

And if you're an Ironman athlete, don’t forget about the bike special needs station at mile 56—use it to reload your hydration and nutrition.

Stuart McMillan on the Rich Roll podcast insights

* Effective movement is crucial for sprinting (insert running for sprinting) success; coaches should emphasize the quality of movement over sheer volume.

* Athletes should focus on developing a strong hip extension pattern, which is essential for efficient sprinting. (See Lawrence van Lingen YouTube channel for many hip extension exercises.)

* Emphasizing variability in movement can enhance adaptability and resilience in athletes. (i.e., do a bunch of different movement / play to increase your resilience/durability)

* The relationship between coach and athlete should be collaborative, allowing athletes to express their needs and preferences in training.  The Coach knows best practices but only the athlete knows how they feel.

* Athletes must cultivate a mindset that allows them to perform at maximum intensity while remaining relaxed and fluid.

* The best performances often occur when athletes are fully present, which can be difficult to achieve in high-pressure situations. (I’ve been mental prepping my key workouts the day before.)

* Connecting your entire being with the activity you're doing can lead to success, as seen in various sports where confidence and self-expression are key.  Successful individuals, such as musical artists and athletes, often achieve immense success by being themselves and expressing their true essence.

* Movement and expression are closely linked, and being true to oneself can lead to immense success and personal growth.

*Skipping - do it! More coordination demanding than running. Great warmup and even workout.

Challenge of the Week 

Katie: Mentioned before -- go data free when you can! Either for a couple of days (daytime metrics tracking) or during a workout

Jim: Be aware and have a plan of your increased need for more hydration and/or plain water cravings toward the end of a long bike ride / run. 


Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Dohm white noise sleep machine

Jim: Dark Speed bento box

Episode 82: Recovery Strategies, Periodized Strength Training, and Active Heat Training

In this week’s episode, we chat through our favorite strategies for recovery and signs of whether you are recovered or not, how we approach traditional strength training in the gym vs. cardio workouts that build strength in a periodized context, active heat training protocols to increase your blood plasma and improve performance, how we think about structuring training for unique combinations of events, how to know whether you are improving or not, and why adventurous and durability-based workouts can often make us feel like the best versions of ourselves as athletes. Check it out! 

Challenge of the Week 

Katie: Schedule some downtime in your calendar!

Elena: aligning with Katie’s– schedule yourself some spa time! You deserve it! Also watch this 13 min video: Arc'teryx Presents: 109° Below

Gear Pick of the Week

Elena: Gu Roctane high carb mix

Katie: Vornado 660 fan! 

Episode 81: Leveling Up with High-Carb Fueling, Measuring and Optimizing Hydration, and Open Water Swim Tips

This week’s episode covers insights across lots of topics including: how you can level up your long-distance performance quicker with high-carb fueling, how you can use hydration biosensors to optimize your fluid intake, open water swim safety tips, how visualizing the transition area can save you time on race day, why you should consider “going all in” for your next race, and how to think about recovery in the context of travel. We also answer some great listener questions on how to plan out your hydration strategy with aid stations and limited bottle cage capacity on race day, how to approach racing in bad weather conditions, whether to buy a swim skin or not, and considerations for traveling with a bike. Check it out!

Coaching and Training Insights

Level Up Quicker with High-Carb Fueling

We’ve talked before on the podcast about how we view the progression of athletes from Level 1 to Level 5. Level 1 athletes are just beginning their endurance journeys. This phase is critical for building foundational skills and typically takes 2–4 years.

However, my perspective on this model is beginning to shift with the impact of high-carb fueling. While it still takes years to develop triathlon skills, build a solid aerobic base, and gain race experience, the ability to perform at a higher level sooner is being accelerated by effective high-carb fueling—and hydration.

In the old model, it might take 2–3 years before athletes started seeing meaningful results at the Sprint, Olympic, or even Half Ironman level. But by focusing on properly fueling during training for months ahead of race day—and dialing in race-day nutrition—I'm seeing even newer athletes perform far beyond what we used to expect from beginners. It’s truly changing how I view Level 1 and 2 athletes and how quickly they can progress.

Previously, fueling wasn’t a major focus early on. Athletes might have taken 2–3 years of racing to fine-tune their nutrition needs. They would often start with minimal fueling and gradually train their GI systems to tolerate more over time. Now, with an emphasis on gut training and high-carb fueling from the beginning, we’re accelerating progress by years.

That said, I’m not advocating for rushing your athletic journey. One of the most rewarding aspects of endurance sports is the consistency and commitment built over time—year after year of training that develops deep aerobic and metabolic durability. But with a focus on proper fueling from Day 1—specifically high-carb fueling—we can climb the mountain faster than before. This gives you more years to keep improving, and we just might discover you’re capable of performing at levels you never imagined.

hDrop Review
hDrop, the first reusable hydration wearable sensor. Sweat testing for athletes made easy, flexible and affordable.

It comes with an arm strap and you wear it at the top of your tricep for best results. It’s comfortable and I don’t even notice it is there.

Pros:

  • You may already have a general idea of your sweat rate and sodium needs, but hDrop helps refine and validate your actual requirements.

  • After each session, you receive a wealth of data, including:

    • Total Fluid Loss

    • Estimated Sodium Loss

    • Sodium Concentration (mg/oz)

    • Average Sweat Rate (oz/hour)

    • Estimated Potassium Loss

  • The “Data Explained” feature offers detailed, practical insights into your session. For example, during my long session on Wednesday, I lost the equivalent of five sports bottles of fluid, and my sodium loss was higher than average compared to the general population.

  • The app includes charts for Fluid Loss and Sweat Rate.

  • At the end of each session, it reminds you to replenish a specific amount of fluids and sodium. I find this especially useful, as I often focus on food post-workout, while hydration and sodium replacement can be easy to overlook.

  • The app runs in the background on your phone and supposedly you don’t need your phone the whole time but if you do, the app will remind you to drink. And you can add a connection to your Garmin units for real-time metrics such as sweat loss, sodium loss, and the hDrop Score.

  • Over time, you can start to correlate your hydration and sodium needs with the conditions of your run or bike sessions (e.g., specific heat and humidity levels).

  • It includes a morning thumb reading to assess hydration status. This is helpful if you're feeling a bit worn out in the morning—it could be due to dehydration.

  • It uses reusable hardware, unlike disposable patches such as Nix.

Cons:

  • You need to start a session while connected to Wi-Fi or cellular service. Since I often begin workouts in areas without coverage, I have to start the session at home before driving to my starting point. It's not a major issue—just something to plan for.

  • After using hDrop for a season (or part of one), you'll likely gain all the actionable insights you need. It’s not something you’ll need to use every year. However, for the price, it's definitely worth it for at least one season of use.

  • Randomly the app will log you out.

When in doubt, add swim gear

  • Everyone knows I do not love swimming

  • Whenever I don’t want to get in the pool and do a main set, it usually works for me to do a main set with fun choice gear – paddles, fins, etc. 

  • Times are faster which feels great mentally, but effort (slow/medium/fast) is the same 

  • I feel pretty strongly that swimming with a lot of gear will make you faster swimming without gear (after all, a wetsuit is a serious piece of gear)

  • While you shouldn’t avoid swimming without gear all the time, I think you can get away with a lot more gear swimming than you think!

Open Water Safety tips
Just a few reminders for those getting into open water for the first time this spring:

  • Always use an open water swim buoy.

  • Acclimate your hands and face to the water before fully submerging. I like to blow bubbles with my face in the water for 1–2 minutes beforehand. Repeat this until your head is acclimated to the cold and your breathing normalizes.

  • Try to swim with a buddy whenever possible.

  • If you're swimming with a buddy or group, agree on designated landmarks or turn points, and stop to check in with each other every 500 yards or so.

  • I like to throw in a few backstrokes periodically to check on others around me—it never hurts to take a look once or twice while heading toward your planned spots.

  • If you're swimming in a new area, take a few minutes before entering the water to assess your surroundings: Where are other swimmers? Are there motorboats? Where are the docks and shoreline in case you need to exit? If you’re in the ocean or a large lake, take note of current and wave patterns as well.  When in doubt, ask the locals where you should swim and what are the hazards.

Visualize swim in/out, bike in/out, run in/out when you get to a race venue

  • Polar Bear Tri in Brunswick Maine

  • Most of my spectating involved yelling at our team kids “other way!” for run out (opposite from bike in/out)

  • Important to visualize all steps of transitioning when you get to a race site; it can be very confusing especially when you are at 175 HR and were just underwater or hammering the bike

  • Broader theme: reduce and/or eliminate all decisionmaking during the race (we have talked about this with planning out your fueling in advance, too) 

Going All In

I was talking to a marathon runner who’s on the cusp of qualifying for Boston. A few weeks earlier, we had decided that she would go for it at her upcoming race—roll the dice and see if she could hit the Boston Qualifying (BQ) time.

But the week before the race, she was feeling sluggish and her legs felt heavy. She started to question her ability. I reassured her that it was just the taper and she’d feel fresh on race day.

We came back to her original goal of really going for that BQ. My main point was this: she had trained so hard and so consistently for months to get to this point. We didn’t want to look back and wonder what could have been. There was risk—but likely an even greater reward.

It got me thinking: how many great athletes can you name who gave 10% to 90% effort? None—because those people don’t make the history books. They aren’t the ones we remember. Our role models don’t just call it in, they go all in.

So this is a call to give 100% in your training and racing. Bring your full intent every day, even when you’re recovering. “All in” doesn’t mean going all out every session—it means bringing your best self to the “work”. When you reflect at the end of the day, there’s nothing more satisfying than being able to say you did your best.

It’s easy when everything is clicking.

But things will go wrong. You’ll make a great effort and still fall short. You’ll face moments where your emotions flare and your plans fall apart.

What matters most is how you respond. Again and again and again.

Excellence does not mean control. It does not mean perfection.

It means the ability to meet the moment with objectivity, flexibility, and a next-play mindset. It’s staying in the game. It’s giving your all. It’s beginning again. It’s responding instead of reacting. It’s stepping into the arena. It’s caring deeply. It’s laying it all on the line. It’s coming up short. It’s exceeding expectations.

It’s doing this all while staying grounded. While keeping your head up. While continuing to show up as best you can.

— Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness

Alan Couzens quote - “one should never underestimate the recovery benefits of a stable life”

  • This has hit hard recently!

  • Tons of travel this month - learning once again that travel is hard on the body, and injury risk goes WAY up if you don’t modify accordingly

  • Extra hard when the stoke is high and you are traveling somewhere with fun opportunities for recreation

  • Some things you can do: reduce volume/intensity and treat it as an organic rest week; bring your recovery modalities with you and use them when you can; hydrate more than you think you need; fuel the work and pack lots of snacks in advance

    • First stop upon arriving at a new destination: Whole Foods for post workout shakes, simple breakfast materials, etc. so you pre and post workout fueling routine stays dialed 

Listener Questions

How should you plan out hydration for a race where your number of hours on the bike exceed your bottle cage capacity?

  • A few options:

    • (1) One double concentrated bottle + one water bottle from an aid station, alternate sipping 

    • (2) Learn to use the hydration offered at aid stations and rely on that

    • (3) Exchange bottles at bike special needs (definitely do this in IM but make sure to add lots of ice and consider insulated bottles - stories from IM St. George and Kona) 

  • In all of the above, be okay with getting rid of bottles you will never see again

  • I don’t recommend using e.g. a camelback unless you really have to (e.g. some self-supported super long gravel races) - not aero and can be very hot on your back, plus unnecessary extra weight.

  • Jim: I just bought 30oz water bottles for my bike, upgrading from the standard 22oz bottles.  Given my per hour sweat rate and the upcoming summer heat/humidity, these will become my standard bottles until cooler weather. 

How should I change my race plan if the weather conditions look terrible (e.g. insane rain/wind) and or the swim is likely to get canceled?

  • Real athlete story from IM 70.3 Panama City

  • If swim is canceled, race plan shouldn’t change that much because the swim should never really burn a match – just extend your land warmup (if you can’t ride, a 15-20 minute easy jog with strides will do) and make sure to not overcook the beginning of the bike

  • If conditions will be dangerous for racing, dial back intensity on curves/turns/steep downhills and/or incredibly windy sections, avoid biking on the paint on the road, and be open to being out of aero more than you would otherwise be to ensure you are safe

  • Even if the weather is terrible, fueling hat stays on - you might be more focused on bike handling than nailing your fuel, but you need to lower the intensity to the point where you can continue to nail your carbs 

  • Jim: If the swim is canceled like Chattanooga 70.3 this weekend, consider adding a few more watts to your overall bike plan or shoot for a slightly faster run split.

Help! I am afraid the swim could be too warm for wetsuits, do I need to buy a swimskin?

  • My answer: unless you are gunning for an AG/overall win, you probably don’t need a swim skin. The odds that the swim is too warm for wetsuits are pretty low in IM brand races (race officials have a huge incentive to avoid a non-wetsuit-legal swim for safety reasons) and there is always a lot of fear/hype in the Facebook groups beforehand that is largely unwarranted. 

  • Swim skins are also VERY expensive and you will probably use it 0-2 times.

  • I have a swim skin that I have worn in Kona, but that is one of the few races where there is 100% certainty of no wetsuit and where the distance of the swim does offer an advantage; and I also think I would have been fine if I didn’t use it 

Question for Katie re: bike bag. “Also, are you planning on travelling with the new bike in your Scicon case? I'm looking to buy a travel case for some upcoming trips and I have a very similar set up in my Tarmac SL7. I'm a bit worried about the soft case especially after you mentioned the carbon damage but that might not be correlated whatsoever!”

  • My response: “Essentially yes I think my bike got damaged by TSA, but in fairness my father in law packed it up for me with me supervising on facetime (long story) and I don’t think it was as carefully done as I would have done on my own. I’ve flown with it probably 30 times or more and only had an issue (not with carbon) one other time, but I also don’t trust TSA enough anymore with a softshell case to fly with my new really nice bike, so for now that bike will not be air traveling with me (I usually borrow or rent when I go far at this point). If I really need to fly with it I’ll probably get a hard shell case someday, or maybe I'll fly with my gravel bike which is pretty beefy/durable.” 

  • Jim: Consider a hard case like Bike Box Alan

Challenge of the Week

Katie: Get a professional bike fit! Quick story from my bike fit

Jim: Gently run your hands along your tires before every ride to check for glass/wire/nails/bulges.  Every 1 - 2 years you will discover a surprise that will probably save you from a very inconvenient flat tire. 

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Lifting shoes! Reebok Nano X4

Jim: Castelli Espresso Jersey or Assos MILLE GT Jersey S11

Episode 80: Mental Prep, Fueling the Work, and Self-Belief at the Flying Pig Marathon

In this week’s episode, we’re recapping Elena’s speedy race and “effort PR” at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. We talk through why Elena chose to race a road marathon as part of her build for UTMB, her flexible approach to setting A/B/C goals, how she managed internal and external pressure, why feeling bad during the taper doesn’t mean you’re going to have a bad race, the mental prep she did to get ready for race day, how she designed and executed her race plan on a challenging course, why body weight has so much less to do with performance than we might think, what it was like to coach her husband Will (who also crushed it!) for this race, and why self-belief was the number one factor that led to her incredible performance. Katie and Elena also cover some fun insights on when and how to choose a big vs. small race, why the ability to “say yes” to anything physically is one of the greatest benefits of endurance training, how we think about integrating chat GPT into our training and coaching strategies (or not), and female athlete body pressures. This is a super rich episode full of insights for any athlete — check it out! 

Challenge of the Week
Katie: Put an emergency gel or other snack in all of your sports bags - swim bag, gym bag, saddle bag, run belt, etc. 
Elena: share a tasteful amount of vulnerability– it may help someone!

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Brazyn Morph collapsible foam roller

Elena: Janji 3” Multishort

Episode 79: Training in the Heat, Fueling Big Days, Troubleshooting Fatigue, and Building Bike Fitness

This week’s episode is jam-packed with insights across a bunch of different topics! We riff on: how to think about training during the first hot and humid days of the spring; how to plan out your fueling strategy for long workouts and races; troubleshooting low motivation and/or fatigue; the pros and cons of indoor vs. outdoor intervals on the bike; handling high-pressure situations by having a calm conversation with yourself; optimizing recovery after big days; using races or group rides as organic fitness tests; how to build durability on the bike; why skipping and other plyometrics can revolutionize your running; and Jim’s minimum effective dose 15-minute run workout for time-crunched athletes. We also hit some fun swimming-related gear picks of the week and answer listener questions on clip-in pedals. Check it out!

Insights:

Katie:

Troubleshooting low motivation and/or fatigue

  • Anything that lasts longer than 3 days in a row is a red flag

  • Rolldown list that I usually ask myself / my athletes

    • Underfueling / overtraining? *Note physiologically these are probably the same thing

    • Sleep, or sleeping a lot but not feeling refreshed by sleep 

    • LSS

    • Vitamin/ nutrient deficiency (especially iron, vitamin D)

    • Female athletes - cycle phase 

  • Tell your coach! We can help! Great to nip things in the bud before they get bad 

Question to riff on: Pros and cons of structured intervals outside vs. organic intervals outside. 

  • When and how to do each?

  • Jim: Our listeners will know that I’m not a big fan of the bike trainer. However, and it pains me to say it, it’s where the power is often built. It is incredibly time efficient and you can draw a short line between a lot of quality trainer work and power improvement. 

  • In the ideal world, we would do a mixture of both inside and outside riding. Inside for specific power work and outside to build up durability.  And this is often a good option in the Spring when sunlight is limited, it’s often still cold during Monday - Friday pre and post work workout time slots.  Then you can catch some sun and warmth on the weekends outside. 

  • If you ride outside with a power meter, it’s deceiving that you are spending more time in higher power zones than what you are. For example, if I want to do 20’ of sweet spot training, if I ride a hilly course, I’ll often see that ~90% power number and think I’m getting in all the planned work. But analyzing the data post ride, I might see 12’ of accumulated sweet spot work.  The lesson is if you want to do outside intervals, find a specific stretch of road or hill to do your work.  For example, I have a number of hills that I know are 5’ long vs 8’ long and which ones are really steep for VO2 max work vs other hills that are better for Sweet Spot or Threshold.  Or stretches of road on the TT bike that are good for 10’ - 20’ Half Ironman intervals. 

  • Which is to say, you can do the work outside but you need to explore your area and match the terrain with the type of work you have planned. And then go back and forth (or up and down). You are treating the outside like a bike trainer session - how ironic. 

Steve Magness on high pressure situations of discomfort, in racing or life → having a “calm conversation” with yourself

  • Protocol for situations of mild discomfort:

  • 1. Observe the sensation. Notice it

  • 2. Describe it. Emotional granulation is when we add layers to the feeling. When we know what it is, it takes the edge off it.

  • 3. Label it. Call it the devil on your shoulder trying to get you to stop. We gain control over what we name.

  • 4. Talk back, calmly. Talk to it like you would a friend giving advice. Research shows shifting to a 2nd or 3rd person creates psychological distance, which allows us to turn down the inner alarm. Even better, take that inner voice and make it outer.

  • 5. Ground yourself in the present. Shake out your arms to reduce tension. Take a few deep breaths to remind you you’re still here.

  • 6. Change your focus: If your brain starts to panic, your focus starts darting all over the place looking for an escape. Lock on to something useful. The teammate ahead of you, the next mile mark.

  • “This is starting to hurt. Makes sense. We’re running fast.” 

  • A calm conversation is about putting space between stimulus (hard running) and response (slow down or stop). No judgment. No panic. Just presence. And in that space, something shifts: The pain doesn’t disappear, but the fear or pull to escape it does. You see it as information that you can listen to or let float on by

  • Jim: Steve published a good article on The Psychology of Performing this week.  

    • This article explains that the fear, doubt, and anxiety athletes feel before a race are natural survival responses rooted in human evolution, originally designed to prepare us for life-or-death situations. This is our subconscious mind.  The other side is we have recently evolved to work with tools, math and logic. This is our conscious mind.  

    • One of the article key points: Racing experience will help us develop mental models to respond to many different situations.  Experienced racers are flexible and have capacity to respond to many different situations/uncontrollables vs inexperienced racers tend to have only one race plan and often that race plan is blown up in a races dynamic environment.

Workouts During the First Hot Days of Spring

You're going to feel rough—and that's totally normal. After months of winter, your body isn't yet adapted to the heat or efficient at cooling itself.

Here are a few things you can do:

  • Modify your workout by removing any intensity. Avoid intervals on the first 1–2 hot and humid days of spring. Pushing hard too early in the heat can lead to negative health outcomes.

  • On the bike, drink at least one bottle of water per hour—and consider more if it's especially hot.

  • On the run, if you're overheating, take a walk break. It's better to finish strong than to crash mid-run.

  • Ease into the heat. It typically takes 2–3 weeks to fully acclimate, so be patient with yourself.

  • Golden rule: Never do anything in training today that will jeopardize your ability to train tomorrow.

Organize All Your Calories in One Place for a Big Ride

The night before your big ride, lay out all the calories you’ll need for the day. Gather everything in one place and organize it by what you plan to consume each hour. If you're one of our athletes, use our Half Ironman and Ironman fueling spreadsheet to list out your products and calories per hour.

For example, if you expect to burn around 3,500–4,000 calories on a long Ironman training ride, aim to consume about half of that—roughly 2,000 calories. A general guideline is to target at least 80–100 grams of carbohydrates per hour.

Here’s why this exercise is so useful:

  • You’ll likely be surprised by how much fuel you actually need. Seeing it all laid out helps reinforce the importance of the  correct amount and need for consistent fueling.

  • By organizing your fuel by hour, you reduce decision fatigue during the ride. This lets you focus on effort and maintaining a regular intake of carbs.

  • If you stop at a coffee shop or café for a snack and coffee, don’t count those calories in your main nutrition plan. Consider them bonus calories. Stick to the fueling plan you created with the spreadsheet. Yes, you’ll likely eat more total calories, but this gives you wiggle room in case you fall behind on fueling and also trains your GI system to handle higher carb intake—something that almost always improves performance.

After the ride, go through your pockets to see if you followed your plan. It’s harder than it sounds! Take a few minutes to journal what went well and what you can improve for next time.

For example, on a long ride a couple of weeks ago, I noted in my journal that I felt low energy during the final 30 minutes. This past week, I remembered that moment when I started lagging again near the end of a 5 hour ride. I reached for an SIS Beta Gel with 40 grams of carbs—and it worked!

After a Big Effort—Race or Race Simulation—Take More Rest and Recovery

Lately, I’ve been seeing more comments about feeling tired, needing extra days off, or only being up for light aerobic activity. This is completely normal and expected.

After a big effort—whether it’s a race or a race simulation—your body will send clear signals about what it needs. And more often than not, it’s asking for more rest and recovery than your brain (i.e., the anxious athlete mind) thinks it needs.

Listen to your body. It’s usually the smarter coach.

Get More Out of Yourself with a Race, Group Ride, or Training Partner

I tend to avoid standard run or FTP tests with athletes for a couple of reasons:

  1. Most people don’t enjoy testing—it’s rare to find someone who actually looks forward to it. Testing often feels like a “have to” instead of an “I get to.”

  2. Solo testing rarely reveals your full potential. Humans are wired to work harder together—it’s in our tribal DNA.

Instead, I prefer athletes to use these approaches

“B” Races
These usually push you to your limits and give you a true sense of your fitness. They are a great way to see how far you’ve come in training and help you plan and pace your “A” race more effectively.

Group Rides or Runs
Most communities offer group rides or runs—track workouts, club rides, etc. These are excellent opportunities to break out of your own head and push yourself alongside others. And more often than not, especially on group rides, things get spicy. That extra intensity can take you to peak power and paces you might not reach on your own.

Intervals with a Friend
Some of my best power numbers this year have come from doing intervals with friends or just riding alongside them when the pace unexpectedly picks up.

For example, I increased my 5-second power by nearly 60% and improved my best 1-minute power by 15%. In that same session, my average 1-minute power interval went up by at least 10% just by doing them with a friend.

These are huge gains—especially considering that in endurance sports, we’re usually chasing improvements of just 1–3%.

Building Physiological Resilience / Fatigue Resistance

From a Daniel Rowland Substack post: Link

“Endurance performance is typically explained through VO₂ max, metabolic thresholds, and efficiency. However, recent research suggests these characteristics deteriorate over time, with individual variability. This has led to increased interest in physiological resilience—an athlete’s ability to maintain performance despite prolonged exertion.”

Here is a subset of the key takeaways:

  1. Long-term consistency and high training volume over several years are linked to improved resilience.

  2. Prolonged sessions that include race-pace or higher-intensity efforts under fatigue appear to enhance resilience.

  3. Heavy strength and plyometric resistance training help maintain physiological capacity over time.

Practical Long Bike Workout Ideas (Related to Point #2)

Here are a few ways to apply this in training:

  • Climbing Late in the Ride: Choose a long route where the first half is easier, saving the majority of the climbing for the final hours—e.g., 3 hours into a 5-hour ride.

  • Tailwind Out, Headwind Back: Ride with a tailwind for the first half of a long loop, then challenge yourself with a headwind in the second half.

  • Progressive Intensity: On a flatter course, ride the first half at Ironman intensity (65–75% of FTP), then add Half Ironman intervals (80–85% of FTP for 4-6 x 10–20 minutes with 2’-4’ recovery) during the back half.

  • Climb-to-Workout: Ride very easy (60–90 minutes) to a long hill, then complete a tempo/threshold effort at 90–100% of FTP for 20–30 minutes. Afterward, spin home in Zone 1 for another 60–90 minutes.

No matter how you structure it, a tactic to building fatigue resistance is this: ride easy for 2–3 hours, then introduce some form of intensity or challenge in the second half.

Don’t Forget to Fuel

As ride time increases, so do your fueling needs—especially during those late-ride intervals. Your body will require more glycogen (carbs/sugar) to maintain performance.

Keep sipping carbs regularly, and depending on the intensity, you may need to take in fuel every 15 minutes. If you start to fade, it’s likely not a fitness issue—it’s your body calling for more sugar.

It’s tough to stay on top of fueling when you’re tired and pushing hard—but that’s exactly when it matters most. I have to remind myself during these moments: I’m doing two things—working harder and fueling even harder.

Skipping

Skipping is having a social media moment—thanks to Andrew Huberman, social media trends, and even coverage in The New York Times.

We include skipping as part of our recommended run warm-up routine, and for good reason. It helps to:

  • Warm up the body

  • Develop power and coordination

  • Open up the hips

  • Engage many muscle groups at once

  • Train the brain

  • Improve balance and stability

  • Strengthen bones

  • Scale to your ability level

  • Add variety—try skipping uphill for an extra challenge

It’s the ultimate plyometric move.
And honestly? It’s just fun. You can’t help but feel lighthearted when you start skipping down the road before a run.

One summer, I focused exclusively on drills—and my base run pace improved by 30 seconds per mile. I believe the exercises that had the biggest impact were drop jumps, skipping, and uphill strides.

Want Proof?
Check out this study on the Effects of Plyometric Training on the Performance of 5-km Road Runners:
Read the study

The plyometric training protocol used in the study consisted of:

  • 6 sets of drop jumps

  • 30 seconds of effort followed by 30 seconds of rest

  • 2 seconds max between each jump

  • 45 cm box height

  • Performed twice per week for 8 weeks (16 sessions total)

Result?
Runners improved their 5K time by 11%.

A Minimum Effective 15–20 Minute "Run" Workout

If you're traveling or short on time, this is a highly effective "run" workout that only requires a small amount of space—a park, sidewalk, or quiet street will do. You don’t need much geography to make it work.

Workout:

  • 3 minutes backward walking (look up Lawrence van Lingen for technique)

  • 2 x 10 standing hops – 10 seconds recovery between sets

  • 2 x 30 seconds drop jumps (if a platform isn’t available, skip this or modify)

  • 2–3 x 15–20 seconds skipping for height – walk back recovery

  • 2–3 x 15–20 seconds skipping for distance – walk back recovery

  • 6–8 x 8–10 second short uphill strides – only needs 150–200 feet; walk back for recovery

If you have leftover time, a 5’ easy jog. 

Listener Questions

Look vs speedplay vs others for ease of clipping in / out?

  • Jim: I don’t think any clip in pedal is better or worse for clipping in and out. The key is you can set the clip in tension for any pedal. For example, with Look pedals, there is a screw on the back of the pedal that allows you to loosen the tension screw.  I personally set all mine to the least tension as that seems to be plenty of tension to keep clipped in even during strong moves on the bike and it’s easy to unclip which is a real big consideration if you are riding in an urban area with more starts and stops.

  • I would YouTube your pedals for a lesson on how to set the pedal tension. 

Challenge of the Week

Katie: Try to simulate the elevation/terrain of your race course in your next race simulation – or better yet, plan to travel to the race site. 

Jim: Journal your per hour fuel and hydration after each long ride / run.

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: TYR mesh swim bag

Jim: Aquasphere Kayenne swim goggle - great for pool and perfect for open water swimming. One goggle to rule them all. 

Episode 78: Boston Marathon Insights, Handling Race Nerves and Disappointment, and Optimizing Your Schedule

This week’s episode is another grab bag full of recent insights from racing, training, and spectating! Elena and Katie cover a bunch of fun topics including: insights from the Boston Marathon; how to optimize your training schedule for variables like multiple sports, good vs. bad weather, recovery, and social time; pre-race nerves and anxiety; processing bad races; gender breakdowns in Ironman and ultra training; emotions and training; what rucking is and how to incorporate in your training; how the menstrual cycle impacts overall feel in training; and fun new marathon prep workouts. Check it out! 

Challenge of the week

Katie: Go for a PR on a Strava segment!

Elena: Be hyper aware of your negative self talk. Whenever you catch it, practice reframing it into positive self talk. 

Gear pick of the week

Katie: Goodr sunglasses 

Elena: REI Swiftland shorts

Episode 77: Training Camps, Buying a New Bike, Post-Race Blues, GI Issues in Running, and More!

This week’s episode is a grab bag full of fun insights related to: the how and why of training camps, considerations for buying a new or new used bike, navigating race-day uncontrollables, impulse control in racing, how and when to “burn a match” in workouts or races, GI issues on long runs, the post-race blues, and lessons from interval training. We also debrief Jim’s recent bike trip in Europe, answer some questions related to “hitting the wall” after Katie’s recent marathon (hot take: there is no wall), and cover some fun tech-y gear picks of the week. Check it out! 

Want to put all of your big fitness to a good cause? Check out the Bike MS: Cape Cod Getaway 2025 or consider donating to support!

Coaching and Training Insights

Katie:

Thoughts on buying a new bike

  • Pros and cons of new vs. used

  • Places to look for used bikes: BuyCycle, PinkBike, The Pro’s Closet, Craigslist/Ebay

  • Frame – carbon is best

  • Components – learn the tiers, get Ultegra (Shimano) / Rival (SRAM) or better

  • Wheels – easy to upgrade, one of the best ways to make you faster 

  • Nice to haves:

    • Power meter

    • Electronic shifting 

  • Partnering with a local bike shop for assembly / fit 

  • Two extremely important and sometimes overlooked variables:

    • The FIT and the COLOR

Navigating race-day uncontrollables

  • Race day story from one of my athletes at Oceanside with major bike mechanical

  • Pre-race call where we said that “if the only thing you are worried about is a bike mechanical, you are in a good place!” 

  • What to do: start trying to fix yourself, and if that doesn’t work, flag down a mechanic; they will find you eventually especially in big races

  • Emotional regulation – being able to regroup is really hard when you get shaken by an uncontrollable. Remind yourself that getting upset won’t help the situation and focus on what you can control in that moment

    • Example recently of not choking in the face of disappointment/major pressure: Rory McIlory 

  • Mindset shift: mentally, subtract mechanical time from your overall time to get a more accurate picture of your fitness/training

  • Super proud of my athlete for being mentally locked in! 

Post-race blues

  • Normal! Part of it is physiological - the endorphins/dopamine/other happy hormones wear off 

  • Things to do:

    • Celebrate and enjoy what is harder in peak training (example: brunch! Triathletes can’t do brunch! Or vacation) 

    • It can help to stick to your routine (i.e. if you normally do your workouts in the morning, consider some Z1 recovery movement during that time) 

    • Start researching other races you might be interested in doing to know what the options are, but I recommend waiting at least 2-4 weeks before singing up for anything new

Impulse control in marathon racing (and many other races) 

  • Shoutout to one of my athletes who had an incredible race at the Ojai Marathon in CA. A goal of 4 hours, ran 3:51

  • Interesting course – first 6 uphill, then most of the race downhill to Ventura, flat finish

  • In pre race meeting we talked a lot about how much impulse control was going to be important in this race; goal was to NOT try to be at goal race pace during the first 6 and assume that she would make up a ton of time on the downhill

  • This involved letting the 4 hour pacer pass her in the first six miles which can be so tough mentally, and yet she did it

    • “For the first 6 miles I had to go so slow to keep my HR down” 

  • Finished strong, negative split the whole thing, and said: “I feel like I really enjoyed it because I wasn’t dying the whole time” // “It feels so good to be optimistic and excited after a race instead of just completely gassed” 

  • Super strong mental game here and lessons many people can learn from! Hold back!

GI issues on long runs  

  • Something is in the air/water – 6 (!) athletes reporting GI issues on long runs over the weekend! 

  • Actually super normal and something to loop coaches in about 

  • Some things that can help:

    • Trying to normalize your workout and mealtimes so your body stays on a schedule – often this is worse for late afternoon or evening runs especially if your body isn’t used to it

    • Also important to train your body to run at the time of day of your race – if you always do your long run at 11am and your race starts at 6am, more likely to have GI distress or not be able to go to the bathroom beforehand 

    • Keeping a pretty plain diet the morning before your runs as well as the 1-2 days before, especially for racing; try to keep up your normal volume of food, but keep it plain like if you were recovering from a stomach bug  

    • Watch the caffeine intake; sometimes helps people in the morning but too much can be tough on GI system 

    • In extreme cases, consider checking in with doctor for gluten or dairy intolerances, IBS or any other related issues 

Jim:

Bike Camp Lessons

Why do a bike / run / training camp:

  • Big bump in fitness. Compress a week worth of TSS into 3 - 4 days.

  • Focus on one sport which will give you more confidence and skills. We did a lot of climbing and descending on hairpin turns and my downhill cornering skills got a lot better. And due to all the climbing, my power balance (left and right leg) improved (still rebuilding after last year's accident).

  • Time to focus on just being an athlete and not having all of life's responsibilities. Training camps are adult play camps.

  • Build new friendships and renew old friendships.  When you work hard with a group of people, you develop a quick feeling of camaraderie. I’ve kept in touch with people for many years after a training camp and you may get to see them again at a race/event in another part of the world.   (You could work with someone for years in an office and never feel close to them but you go to a training camp for a week and you develop a bunch of new, close friends! Hard work and shared suffering brings us together like nothing else.)

Day 1: The number one rule: nothing too crazy. You're probably dehydrated, tired, and adjusting to time zones. Your only job is not to ruin the rest of the week. This might mean letting some moves go on the bike that you would normally cover. Let go of your ego on Day 1 and focus on the long game.

  • Day 1 mistake: I didn't eat enough on Day 1 and suffered later in the day when the pace picked up. I wasn’t sure when we would be stopping or the specifics of the route (e.g., when the big climbs or descents were coming). I had two water bottles: one with 80 grams of carbs and the other with 40 grams. I was saving the 80-gram bottle for a big climb, which left me with just one bottle to sip from, causing me to ration my water/carbs early in the day.

  • The day started with a 45-minute climb right out of the gate, making it tough to ease into the day and the camp.

  • Honestly, I ended Day 1 feeling like I hadn’t trained enough and that the next four days were going to be tough. I was a little embarrassed and disappointed in myself. Turns out, it was just the bad sleep, dehydration, and fueling that were affecting me.

Day 2: Main Mission: I ate early and often. I increased my intake by 50% over Day 1 and felt fantastic later in the day. I was able to push bigger watts at hour four, which hadn’t been possible on Day 1.

  • The route on Day 2 started with a 45-minute easy warm-up, followed by two gentle climbs. The bigger climbs came mid-ride, and by then, I was well-fueled, hydrated, and properly warmed up.

  • The effort on Day 2 was similar in mileage to Day 1, with more climbing, but the TSS (Training Stress Score) was nearly the same. Because I was fueling better (and had gotten some sleep and hydration), I ended Day 2 feeling strong and ready to tackle Day 3.

  • The strongest rider on Day 1 faded on Day 2 because he wasn’t fueling enough.

  • Day 2 lesson: Get through Day 1. Don’t judge the entire camp based on the first day. Stay well-fueled and hydrated for the rest of the week. Focus on steady, fueled watts—this will often outperform Day 1 heroics.

  • On a 4-day camp, the camp doesn’t really start until late on Day 2, so hold back until then.

Day 3: 2.5 hour recovery ride with one 10’ threshold+ interval up a small mountain to a monastery.  Zone 1 recovery was important and it’s nice to throw in a few harder efforts these days to build confidence and keep touch with high end speed/power.

Day 4: I was a bit tired and initially, as we started the ride, I wanted to classify my physical abilities as either "bad" or "good," but I realized there was a third option: I felt like I was in the middle of the bell curve. It was a reminder that feeling neutral is also a valid choice in both athletics and life.

  • Physiological lesson: My heart rate was suppressed, and I couldn’t get it above 155 bpm. I was aerobically tired. On Day 1, my heart rate was elevated, while on Day 4, it was lower. Heart rate can be misleading. 

  • This might be a situation where the Tymewear ventilation heart rate strap could be helpful. I suspect my breathing rate was the same at 155 bpm as it was at 165-170 bpm on Day 1.  More to come on this topic; I am an early tester for the first public release. (Don’t go out and buy one of these yet!)

Additional Thoughts: Even in cooperation, there is competition. We weren’t there to show each other up but to ride together across some incredible terrain. However, as athletes, there will always be a natural tendency to compare strength and speed. It's human nature to categorize each other’s abilities and traits.  Competition / hierarchy naturally wants to be established on Day 1 as our brains love predictability.  However, if you play your cards correctly, who is strongest on Day 1 may fade later in the week (or the next day).

Post-Camp/Travel: The day after camp or travel should be an easy, active recovery day. Don’t push it—let the gains consolidate and ease back into your regular routine.

  • My hack: I usually don’t sleep well when I return from travel, so I’ll get up early the day after to ensure I’m tired by the second night home. This helps me sleep and get back on track with my usual schedule.

Intervals Are Compressed Learning

  • I always say that racing is a rich learning environment. But the same can be said about interval workouts.

  • Take this example: the other day, I did 8 x 1-minute bike intervals at anaerobic capacity—about 150% of FTP. These are tough efforts that mimic the demands of a group ride or race.

  • Back when I wasn’t training in a structured way, it might have taken me weeks to accumulate 8 x 1-minute efforts at that intensity.

  • But now with structured training, I compressed all of that learning into a single 30-minute session.

  • The main lesson: How I executed the first interval compared to the last was dramatically different. In the first couple, I went out way too hard and faded fast. Then I started experimenting—spinning a higher cadence and easing into the effort. By the 6th interval, I had it dialed in: a smooth, sustained effort for the full minute, with even a kick of power at the end. I finished that workout not just with fitness gains, but with new skills and confidence to attack short, high-intensity efforts in a race—like powering up a hill or closing a gap.

  • If I hadn’t been doing structured intervals, it would’ve taken me weeks—if not months—of solo and group rides to learn how to execute that effort properly.

  • The same principle applies to running. Take the hill on your usual route. If you only run it once on your normal run loop, you’ll eventually get a feel for it—but it might take months to truly dial in your hill pacing.

  • Instead, turn that hill into your interval session: do 45-second, 1-minute, or 90-second hill repeats. In one session, you’ll learn more about how to run that hill well than in weeks of casual runs. That’s compressed learning.

  • Then, next week, you could apply the same approach to 2- or 3-minute hill intervals on the bike. Within several weeks—or even just a month—you’ll gain effort-based skills that might otherwise take years to develop.

  • That’s how you become an experienced athlete. That’s the kind of racer you want to be on race day.

How and When to Burn a Match

  • If you’ve been consistently doing your Zone 2 (Z2) aerobic training and your interval work, as we've discussed, then you're ready to burn some matches during a race or group ride/run. But what does it mean to "burn a match"?

    • It refers to significant, usually short bursts of power or pace—like attacking on a hill, making a strong pass, or accelerating hard out of a slow corner. These efforts can be intense, but they're brief and tactical.

  • In triathlon especially, we generally advocate for even pacing across the swim, bike, and run, as this approach typically yields the best overall results. However, as your aerobic fitness improves—and you develop a good understanding of the power or pace you can sustain for 10” - 30” seconds, or 1–2 minutes—you’ll be able to burn a few matches during a race without negatively impacting your overall performance. Done correctly, this can give you a critical edge over your competitors.

  • Think about a running race where you're evenly matched in pace with a group of runners. Then you hit a hill. If you're able to maintain the same pace up the hill while others slow down by 5 to 15 seconds per mile, you’ll start to separate from the group. Over a hilly course, those small gains add up. On flat terrain, you might all run similarly, but your strength, hill conditioning, and pacing knowledge give you the advantage when the terrain gets tough.

  • The more you develop the ability to burn matches at key moments in a race, the more strategic and successful your racing becomes. It’s a huge confidence booster—and it honestly feels like a superpower. While others dread the hard parts of the course, you're thriving. See a hill in a race? Hold my beer.

Challenge of the Week

Katie: Try 5x of one of your key disciplines (swim, bike, or run) to see a training breakthrough. **Though be smart with run mileage! See also Jim’s blog post: The Power of 5x.

Jim: Go do intervals with friends or a group.

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Elevation Lab TagVault AirTag Bike Security Mount

Jim: VEEAPE Tiny Pump Mini Bike Tire Pump

Episode 76: The Secret Marathon Adventure

In this week’s episode, Elena and Katie recap Katie’s recent BQ marathon. We cover why Katie decided to pivot from triathlon training to marathon training, why she kept the race a secret until after she crossed the finish line, how relatively low mileage and a ton of cross training kept her injury-free throughout the build, how she integrated heavy weighted strength into her run training plan, how she approached unexpected adversity leading up to the race, mindset tools that helped her in training and racing, her fueling and pacing strategies, and her key takeaways from the race experience itself. This episode is a good listen for anyone who is marathon-curious or who likes a good story about the importance of flexibility and resilience! Check it out. 

Links we mentioned in the show:

Girls on the Run empowerment programs.

Steve Magness post on confidence.

Challenge of the week

Elena: Stop to take a photo while out training!

Katie: Thank your support system!

Gear pick of the week:

Elena: Air Relax leg sleeves

Katie’s marathon training and racing gear: Houdini jacket, Naked run belt, Skida headband, Craft hybrid weather gloves, Lululemon power stride socks, Hoka Mach 6 or Hoka Rocket X2, On running shorts or Lululemon fast and free tights, Swiftly tech race length long sleeved shirt, Tri Slide, Polar Verity Sense HR strap, AirPods Pro 2, Nathan Exoshot 2.0 flask, Precision Hydration 30g gels, SIS beta fuel 40g, LMNT electrolytes

Episode 75: Managing Uncertainty, Chasing Goals, and Playing the Long Game in Endurance Training with Gina des Cognets

In this week’s episode of the podcast, Elena and Katie are welcoming on a repeat guest who always has plenty of life wisdom to share. Gina des Cognets — an executive coach for teams and individuals and a badass athlete herself — talks us through how she approaches uncertainty and risk in the pursuit of ambitious goals, practical strategies for establishing a routine, and how to think about balance between career, sport, family, and life. She also talks us through her evolution as an athlete, and specifically how she and Katie have collaborated on her training in recent years, how she thinks about listening to her body vs. pushing harder, what races and goals are most exciting to her in training and how that has evolved over time, and how she has approached perimenopause as an athlete. In addition to Gina’s awesome perspective, Katie and Elena riff on some insights related to courage and anxiety in workouts, body image, and down weeks and share some fun gear picks of the week related to gels, apparel, and super shoes. Check it out! 

Check out Gina’s first episode on the podcast here! Episode 21: Leadership and Life Wisdom with Gina des Cognets

To work with Gina or learn more about her executive coaching business, check out her website here!

Gina’s substack

Challenge of the Week:

Gina: Start your day with intention. Write down the 3 things that you want to accomplish that day that move you closer to your big goals and say them out loud.

Elena: (officially now):eave your phone outside your bedroom

atie: Start your day with a glass of water! I have a bad habit of starting with coffee only and I think it leaves me behind on hydration throughout the day.

Gear Pick of the Week

Gina: Patagonia R1 and Lululemon Energy bra

Elena: Precision Fuel 90

Katie: Hoka Rocket X2

Episode 74: A Conversation with Ultrarunner, FKT Holder, Photographer, Author, and Coach Eli Burakian

In this week’s episode, we’re bringing on a very special guest and friend of the pod. Eli Burakian is an ultrarunner, coach, guidebook author, mountain photographer, dad, race director, and all-around adventurer whose love of the sport and passion for helping other people make him one of the most interesting people we know. We chat through Eli’s most recent ultrarunning achievement: completing the Grand Slam in 2024, a series of four 100-mile ultras in a period of 14 weeks. Eli also shares stories from the many FKT (fastest known time) adventures he has completed, including a multi-day trek across the entire country of Iceland and from the southern to northern borders of New Hampshire. We learn about the fueling, recovery, and training tactics he has brought to these extraordinary undertakings, the mindset tools he employs when the going gets tough, and how he wants to bring his knowledge into the coaching space. Finally, we chat about Eli’s upcoming trail running retreat in the White Mountains and how you can get involved. This is a jam-packed, can’t-miss episode — check it out! 

Coaching and Training Insights:

Jim:

Outdoor durability

  • It’s time to get outside, even if just for 2 - 3 hours. Your body needs to learn to tolerate:  Heat, Humidity, Cold Rain, Wind (head, tail, side, gusts), Sun, Dry roads, Wet roads, Hills of all sizes, Bike handling skills, Running downhill, etc.

  • All of this will physically, mentally and metabolically challenge you. You are now learning to operate in a dynamic environment. These are the EXACT conditions of your race. 

  • Part of what makes triathlon appealing to folks in urban environments is that a lot of training can be done indoors. Indoor fitness is fantastic for building basic fitness, skills, convenience and safety.  And then we need to balance our indoor cat habitat with barn cat, scrappy outdoor savvy. 

Katie:

Bike saddle discomfort- very common! Some thoughts:

  • To an extent, time on the bike should help – need to build up some sensitivity resistance (or maybe kill some nerve endings…)

  • But there are some things you can do to help, especially if pain is not getting better after 3-4 long rides and/or is impacting your ability to get your workouts done 

    • Comfortable bike shorts (play around with the amount/type of padding); bike shorts IMO are something to splurge on. Better to have 1-2 extremely high quality and comfortable pairs than 6 pairs of shitty bike shorts. We like ASSOS entry or mid level

      • Women entry level / mid level

      • Men entry level / mid level - Assos MILLE GT Bib Shorts C2

      • A question I get often - bibs or not bibs? I like bibs outside and sometimes non bibs on the trainer, but if you have to choose just one, I would go with bibs 

    • Chamois cream – most brands work, we like butt’r, dznuts, Assos Creme

  • A professional bike fit! Always!

    • Jim: Check if your saddle is level. This is a common discomfort source. You can use a level app on your phone.

  • Keep your bike shorts clean and take them off right after you finish your ride 

  • Play around with different saddle types

    • Note that a saddle that works for you on your road bike may not be as comfortable when you are in aero/TT position

    • Recs for saddles:

Steve Magness on routine. 

  • Link to full post.

  • Calling out the morning routine of a “bro cosplaying elite” – “Cold plunge, nasal breathing exercise, supplement stack, meticulous nonsense, no time for full workout because they wasted it.”

    • Morning routine of an elite runner: “Wake up, down water, eat a banana, sip coffee, go to the bathroom, go run.”

  • Highlighted quotes: “Real progress is boring. It’s repetitive. It’s consistent.”

  • “In reality, greatness is messy, unsexy, and quiet. It’s showing up when no one’s watching. Repeating what works. Skipping the fluff.”

  • “Don’t confuse the performance of doing the work with actually doing the work.”

  • “If you want to perform like a pro, start with a simple routine that gets you to the starting line hydrated, fueled, and focused. Then do the hard, unglamorous work. The best routine is the one that gets out of your way and gets you out the door to do the thing.”

Main Content:

White Mountains Running Retreat - Who should come? How experienced do you need to be with trail running and specifically running in the White Mountains? 

  • For all abilities! Need to be able to comfortably run for 5-6 miles. We’ll have different runs for based on experience and fitness.

  • “Running” in the whites can often mean hiking as well.

  • Sports Nutritionist, PT, coaches, leaders

  • Great food, next to state park, awesome location hosted by great people.

  • A real chance to share time with people who are passionate.

Challenge of the Week:

  • Katie: Get social! Do one of your upcoming workouts with a friend (and it is OK if that means modifying the workout!). 

  • Jim: Whatever grams of carbs per hour you are doing on your longer and/or harder interval rides or runs, increase this by 10 - 20 grams more. Most athletes are not hitting the top of their carb / gut tolerance. Find the limit and then train it more.

  • Eli: Think about doing some of your intervals on a slight downhill, especially intervals near the end of the workout. Assuming your legs are ready to handle it, in order to push the effort level, you’re going to have to turn over the legs much quicker. I’ve found that if I make sure my intervals are slightly downhill, it can be a game-changer for your pace and can be a big confidence booster for the end of the workout. 

Gear Pick of the Week:

Episode 73: Tapering, Race Simulations, Zone 2, and Swim Technique Cues

We’re starting the transition to from base season to race season fast! This episode covers a bunch of topics we’re thinking about as our athletes welcome spring, the build phase, and even some races. We talk through the what, why, and how of tapering, the common pattern we see of bad race simulations and good races, and reminders on the benefits of zone 2 and how to make easy aerobic training more bearable. We also do a deep dive (no pun intended) on common swim technique issues, cues to address them, and why making the swim a low metabolic stress event needs to be the goal of triathlon swim prep. Finally, we chat through the pros and cons of TrainingPeaks’ new “See How I Stack Up” feature and share some fun challenges and gear picks of the week. Check it out!

Coaching and Training Insights

Katie:

Tapering:

  • Many athletes are getting ready for April races! This means: taper!

  • What is a taper?

  • Why do we taper?

  • How do we taper?

  • Why the taper is scary -- hard to feel like the hay is in the barn and there’s nothing else you can really do to build fitness

  • Don’t be one of those people in the IMLP facebook group that’s riding 100 miles one week out from race day

  • What to expect when tapering?

    • Sometimes body feels weird

    • Niggles, other things “off” 

    • Grouchy!

    • All part of the process

  • How to mentally get through the taper

    • Spend your extra time on mental prep, rolling/mobility, getting your gear organized, SLEEP, meal prep, etc. All the things that are harder to fit in when you are busy with peak training

    • Jim: Make a list! Read the athlete guide. Make a race day schedule.

  • Also, check out our episodes on:

Bad race sims and good races

  • Many athletes are starting race sims!

  • Mixed bag of results especially early in the season when hard RP intervals are done on the trainer and weather outside is variable 

  • Some comments along the lines of “this did not go very well, probably because of X”

  • Mindset shift: GREAT! If your race sim didn’t go well, we probably learned a ton of things about what we can change for next time so things go better. This is why we get 2-4 race sims in before a longer race so we can troubleshoot as many issues as we can 

  • Time and time again I have seen the classic “race sim went poorly, race went great” progression. So try to keep in mind the rule of thirds and use bad race sims as a learning opportunity 

    • This goes for good race sims too - if anything worked particularly well, document it so you can replicate it 

Some reminders/tips on Zone 2:

  • Check out our episode on Zone 2 Training!

  • A lot of athletes are frustrated with having to stare at their watch during workouts to make sure they are staying in Zone 2

  • I’ve increasingly moved to some feel-based cues and suggested athletes take a break from focusing exclusively on staring at the watch. Things to try:

  • Rate of perceived exertion - should be around a 4 out of 10 on Z2 runs. Easy!

  • Talk test - could you hold a conversation while running? (Bonus points if you could sing a song!)

  • Nose breathing - could you breathe in and out of your nose

  • Other things to try:

    • Run/walk

    • Running on a very flat surface, e.g. track

  • Hacks for getting HR lower

    • Watch caffeine intake prior to run

    • No fasted training

    • Run warmups/activation

    • Walk warmup prior to run 

    • Bringing as much intentionality as possible to filling up your lungs and long exhale 

    • Goes without saying but get those stress levels under control!

  • Jim: I’ve been using walk breaks between my Z2 runs and pickups / strides.

    • See my challenge of the week - sound and smell run.

Swim tips: 

  • Common swim technique issues we see and how to fix them:

    • Crossover (“train tracks”) - use the lane lines (line at bottom of pool) to enter and pull along the edge.

    • Head position (“quiet head”) - rotate your body to air, play a game of how little you need to move your head. Think one goggle in, one goggle out.

    • Hip rotation (“rotating on an axis”)

    • Kick timing (learn 2-beat; try kicking with fins)

    • “Soft warm kitty / big dog” / Slow to fast pull after fingertips are pointed to the bottom of the pool. Your entire arm recovery should be elbow led and relaxed.

    • “Armpit to the sky” - If I’m standing on the side of the pool, I should be able to see your armpit.

    • Buy a swim snorkel - best way to watch your stroke, especially your pull.

  • Videos we mentioned:

Jim:

Easier week, big weekend 

  • We are starting to get to the part of the season where the weekends are BIG training - race simulations, long rides and runs, bigger swims. As such, feel free to adjust your Monday - Friday plan so that you show up on the weekend ready to work. Make adjustments to unload during the week and load for the big weekend work

Lack of swim fitness will have a major effect on your bike/run

  • One of the biggest myths in triathlon goes: The swim is such a small part of my day timewise so I don’t need to swim much.  

  • While this follows some level of logic, it does not reflect that reality of triathlon and human physiology. 

  • A few reasons to be swim fit:

    • Swimming is very metabolically challenging and globally demanding on your nervous system. Think of the deep hunger and tiredness you get after a hard swim workout. If this is how you start your race, it will naturally drag down your bike watts and run pace. 

    • Imagine that you have a bucket full of energy. You want to meter out how much energy you pour out for each event. You want to dump out a little of the energy in the swim, a bunch on the bike and have half the bucket full when you hit the run so you can dump all remaining energy into it. 

    • If you are not swim fit, you dump a third of your energy out of the bucket. This leaves A LOT less energy for the bike and run. 

    • If you are not able to get to the pool regularly, which is common for a lot of athletes, plan your swim sessions around finding a very easy swim pace to do your event distance. Practice pulling way back on effort and comfortably doing your swim distance. You aren’t thinking about racing, you are thinking about energy conversation. 

Don’t count swim strokes

  • I’m seeing a number of questions from athletes asking how to improve their swim turnover i.e., taking more swim strokes per 25 in order to increase their speed.

  • There are many ways to improve your swim speed and turnover is probably not in the top three. The reality is you need to swim more. If you are swimming 2X per week, try increasing it to 3X per week. That will make a big difference.

  • And if you are not improving after 2-3 months of 3X, you probably need to increase your yards with more sessions. (And of course, send swim videos to your coach to ensure you are executing swim stroke fundamentals correctly.)

  • Swim conditioning / upper body aerobic fitness takes A LOT of time and is very specific to swimming (no, you can’t increase your swim times by going to the weight room more). 

My advice: 

  • Swim more. If you really want to break through in swimming, you need to put in a swim block where you swim 5X per week. This is probably not practical for most triathletes but something to consider next winter.

  • Focus on a quiet head. A quiet head is the ibuprofen of swimming; it cures many other problems.

  • Focus on engagement in your glutes and hamstrings and swimming in a cylinder (present less resistance to the water)

  • Focus on a deeper entry and extension, about a foot under the water and getting a good purchase on the water. Pull slow to fast. Your biggest swim speed gains will come when you can start to feel the resistance of the water. The water will feel more like sand than water. 

The best blog post ever on triathlon swimming is Joel Filliol’s The Top 20 Rules for Faster Triathlon Swimming

Here are the first 6 rules: 

  • Conditioning trumps drills. Technique matters, but the way most athletes try to improve technique doesn't work. Get fitter, and your ability to hold good technique improves. It takes a lot of work to develop aerobic conditioning in your upper body. If you think you are already swimming a lot but are not improving, swim more and keep at it. There are no shortcuts.

  • Traditional drills don't work. The type of drills and the way that most triathletes do them don't actually have any material effect on swimming technique.

  • Swim more often. Frequency is the best way to improve your swimming. Also see rule #4

  • Do longer main sets. You can't expect to swim fast and be fresh on the bike if you rarely do main sets with the same or higher volume and pace than you expect in the race. For short course these should be at least 2km, for IM 4km, or more. And that looks like 20-50x100, not many short broken sets adding up to 2-5km.

  • Don't over think it. Don't under think it. Be engaged with what you are doing in the water, and use tools to help get a better feel for the water. But don't over think every stroke, and suffer from paralysis by analysis. Swimming fast is about rhythm and flow, when good technique becomes automatic.

  • Increased swim fitness translates to the bike and run. Being able to swim harder, starting the bike both fresher and with faster riders is how that works.

Foot cramps while swimming

  • I’m getting a number of comments that feet and/or calves are starting to cramp during swimming. This probably due to a couple reasons (as we really don’t know what exactly causes cramps but we have a very good trends that tell us): 

    • Electrolytes - make sure you are well hydrated with electrolytes always and especially on days you are headed to the pool.

    • Conditioning - part of cramping is the nervous system just isn’t conditioned yet to take the physical demand. As you get more swim fit, these should go away. 

  • And it’s not uncommon to stop getting cramps in the pool but then start to get them once you transition to open water swimming in a wetsuit. Again, this is probably just a slightly different body position and muscle alignment with the wetsuit that is causing a new stimulus and therefore more susceptible to cramping. 

TrainingPeaks “See How I StackUp” on the mobile app

  • This is a great tool and case for being average. To be clear, we aren’t using this feature to compare ourselves to others - that’s a joy killer!  

  • For running, I filter for Last 90 days, my Age Group and gender. 

    • 400m, 800m, 1KM, 1 Mile, 5KM, 5 Mile, 10KM, 10 Mile, ½ Marathon, Marathon, 50KM

  • Your goal is to be average i.e., be between the 40 - 60th percentile which puts you smack dab in the middle of the bell curve. This means that you can show up at any race or group run and be just fine. You may not be the overall winner but you’ll be right there with a good performance.  

  • I’ve been using this tool to help me target my limiters. Since I’m coming back into running, I’ve been focusing on improving my 400 meter time as I know this upper end, short speed will eventually extend out to longer distances as I build run durability. 

  • For biking: 5 sec, 1 min, 5 min, 10 min, 20 min60 min, 90 min

  • Most triathletes tend toward being solid in the 20 min / 60 min / 90 min category and their limiters being 5 sec / 1 min / 5 min power.  

  • Just like in the running example above, there is a downstream effect to improving your high end speed / power.  

  • For me, I’ve always had a fairly poor 5 sec and 1 min power. I’m using this tool this spring to work on my 5 sec power. I’ve gone from the 19th percentile into the 40th percentile. And I don’t think I’ll need to go beyond the 40th percentile as that power burst allows me to follow my faster friends when they put in a big power burst. My goal is to stay with the group so mission accomplished by being average! If I want to win a bike race or crit, I would need to greatly improve this number but within the context I have defined for myself, I’m right where I need to be. And that’s a key point: define what your goals are and then work your training around that. Forget what everyone else is doing, do what is specific to you and joy you want to get from your sport activities.

  • Key point: For triathletes, you are rewarded for being a well rounded athlete. The equation we use is good+good+good = GREAT race results. 

Challenge of the Week

  • Katie: Make a new playlist to get you pumped for your next long workout!

  • Jim: Go on a ride or run where you try to hear as many birds as possible (or scents). This will slow you WAY down. Great for recovery.

Gear Pick of the Week

Episode 72: Thoughts on Creatine, Sodium Bicarbonate, Caffeine, Lactate Testing, and Coaching Styles

This week’s episode leans hard into sports science as we share some new thoughts on creatine, sodium bicarbonate, and caffeine for performance. We also talk through the why and how of lactate testing and whether this is a worthwhile thing to spend your time and money on, the “feel and stair test” as an organic and data-free way to assess your training readiness, how our coaching styles have and have not evolved over time, and how we approach coaching men vs. women. We finish up with some fun challenges and gear picks related to self-care and sleep. Check it out!

Lactate testing in Boston.

Challenge of the Week

Katie: Something to try - acupuncture! Huge for me with regulating stress levels, optimizing sleep, optimizing hormones, etc.

Elena: Try some easy uphill work! Think 10 mins of steady uphill on a treadmill or big hill when you’re already tired. 

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Yogi bedtime tea

Elena: Sunrise alarm clock – phones outside the bedroom and light to wake up to!

Episode 71: Grief and Training, Adaptation, Perseverance, and Super Shoes

In this week’s episode, we’re diving into a bunch of different thought-provoking topics: how to think about training when you’re dealing with grief or other high LSS events, how to modify bike workouts during indoor/outdoor shoulder season, when and how to use super shoes, adapting workouts, persevering through workouts, push vs. pull forces in working towards your goals, low cadence cycling, the coach/athlete relationship, tapping into different swim speeds, and more. This episode was also all about gratitude for what we have and for the podcast when life feels extra tough. Stay well peeps! 

Grief and Training

  • Wish I didn’t have to bring this back, but: grief/ other majorly high LSS events and their physiological effects. 

    • Observations on what high LSS does to you physiologically

      • Resting HR

      • HRV

      • In-workout HR

      • Sleep 

      • Fueling

    • Reality check for me: you need to earn the right to do big hard workouts. If your sleep and/or your fueling are not dialed, you *must* modify to avoid injury/illness/burnout.  

    • Immediate mindset shift for training:

      • What kinds of workouts are going to make me feel better?

      • Shut anything down that isn’t making you feel better

      • Outside/nature usually better if you can

      • No ‘right’ approach

    • Long term goal re-evaluation depending on how long the period of high LSS is. Sometimes it can help to just take the pressure off or have a coach tell you it is OK to take the pressure off. 

    • Being kind to yourself. A work in progress! Screaming ‘what would I say to one of my athletes’ into the void (and ask yourself what you would tell a friend, partner, etc.)

Supershoes - the triathlete’s new best friend and force multiplier

I’ve been holding this one back from the last couple of episodes while I’ve had a chance to see for myself what the hype is on super shoes. Turns out, the hype is real!  A few reasons they are game changers:

  1. They make running fun!

  2. You learn to toe off better and enhance overall run technique.

  3. You can do more speed and more volume with less strain on the body. Win/win.

  4. Running typically saps your bike power by ~10%.  My theory is that I’ll see less of a drop this year in bike power because the strain is less. Will report on that as we move through the spring.

  5. The first versions of super shoes were only good for ~100 miles. The new versions are reported to last 300/400 miles or more.  Given that you can’t break down a carbon plate and the foam is so robust, you can wear these shoes for a long time.  I suspect you’ll just want to get another pair because you’ll just want a new pair and not because the shoe has actually lost too much of its effectiveness. 

  6. My base pace is easily 30” faster and pickups are 1’ faster. If you are not racing in them, you are giving away a lot of time / places. 

One athlete just ran his fastest 400m/800m/1KM/1 mile in the last 90 days in their first Zone 2 run in super shoes.  (He’s not been doing a lot of speed work due to Achilles and a gentle ramp into his season.)

Three workout varieties; adding the Perseverance Workouts (PWs)

There tend to be three buckets that most workouts fall into:

  1. The normal, every day workout that just gets done - Normal Workouts (NWs). Not much to talk about or report. It's to show up, get the work done and move on. Punch in, punch out. The day is done.  We want most workouts to fall into this category as these workouts are low stress, low friction, consistent and form our fitness foundation.  



  2. The Adaptive Workout (AWs). We talked a lot about this in Episode 69: Season Prep with Physical Therapist Neil MacKenzie. We discussed when to modify the workout and when to just skip the workout.  Life is dynamic, LSS gets high and you are not a robot.  We are quite proud when our athletes take charge of their health and modify it based on what is happening now and not some theoretical reality that is the training plan.

  3. And I think there is a third workout bucket which I’m calling the Perseverance Workout (PWs).  Maybe you are coming off an illness, travel, harsh winter conditions or life stress is just a bit high (but not too high).  In other words, working out is not ideal and the workout itself is a grind.  If you weren’t on a plan with a long term goal or if it was off season, you would probably skip it.  

With the tough winter conditions this year in many parts of the country, it’s added a lot of friction into the fitness routine. There are some days that are just going to kind of suck getting out there. And here’s the point: that’s OK.  Call it out.  Acknowledge that it’s not ideal and/or your motivation is lagging.  

We all feel that and sometimes, especially coming off an illness, there will be a number of workouts in a row that just kind of suck.  Because that feeling may cluster for a week or even more, they tend to gain an outsized effect on our mental game. Again, call it out with yourself, your coach and/or support system.

Sometimes it can be really HARD to get back into a normal, low stress workout routine.  That cluster of tough workouts can feel like a wall that you won’t break through.

The good news is it’s temporary and you will come out the other side.  This is a mental and physical test and a chance to improve your resilience/grit. (See Resilience Data Points).  Endurance training is very challenging, requiring you to stack brick after brick. Ideally stacking most bricks will feel just like another day on the job site.  Other days, you need to skip stacking bricks or stack just a couple. And some days, those bricks will feel twice as heavy.  On those days, persevere!

Charlie training comment on modifying and persevering

Showed up to the pool, executed programming to the best of my ability. Victory. All we can ask of ourselves. I have been so critical of myself and my training this cycle. A lot of red boxes since we started in 2025. I did a lot of reflection while swimming easy and I couldn’t really identify weeks or days where I could have done any better.
One, maybe 2, sessions missed in two months due to goofing off but otherwise most days I’m just fighting hard to stay employed, be present as a husband, and to make it to bed early.
When I was walking over to the pool, I was thinking about a skill that I haven’t seen talked about very much on social media, endurance science blogs, or life lesson authors: losing gracefully.
Sometimes life is the bigger, meaner motherfucker in the boxing ring and we’re not coming out on top no matter what. Maybe I would have been better off long term throwing in the towel, calling it wraps on the training cycle, and saving the fight for sunnier days. But I also think a big part of the point of endurance sports is to go down swinging and who you are when things aren’t going your way.
I have a feeling that over the years I’ll look back on these months and the times I was able to show up with immense pride. There’s a lot of daylight left in 2025 and I’m not ready to call it a loss just yet. I won’t go as far to say I have momentum going, but I’m feeling a little bit more centered and re-calibrated for the coming weeks. Onwards!!!

Push vs. Pull - Brad Cooper phD

Thanks to Audrey for sending this article along.

The push is something we might get externally from a parent, coach, teacher that might help set us off on a journey but it's not a sustainable, natural, internal force.  Famous phrase: Motivation is temporary, inspiration is permanent.

There is another side to push and that is pull. Or Force vs. flow. Effort vs. alignment. Got to vs. get to. Should vs. could

An example of the pull concept: 

He had a set of  track 400s that his plan says run in ‘x’ time.  Instead of approaching it with a, “I must hit this specific time or it’s a failure - a push attitude’, he approaches it with a pull attitude that incorporates a few qualities that invoke a greater sense of being:

Gratitude - grateful for the chance to actually get to do track intervals

Joy - the emotion that brings us into the experience of actualizing our potential self

Curiosity - "I wonder how fast I can run these?" creates an intriguing - and engaging! - personal mini-journey.

Perspective - Perspective reminds me not to take myself too seriously 

He ends with, “The greatest - those who sustained high performance over extended periods to reach the utmost levels - were pulled, not pushed, to those heights. "Push harder" is a myth. If we truly desire to scale new mountains…the pull provides the key.”

 Link:  https://substack.com/home/post/p-157484985

Steve Magness: Performance is about holding onto contrasting forces.

Similar to the above, Steve Magness had a banger this week: 

We must...

-Care deeply, but let go

-Try hard, but be relaxed

-Set big goals, but be able to let go of the outcome

-Be obsessive on the field, but able to take the jersey off.

-Identify with our pursuit, but don't attach

Performing well in anything is about nuance and messiness. It’s not cheap slogans we see on social media. The reality of reaching your potential in just about anything is navigating a world of contrasts.

The benefit of low cadence cycling:

Power = Cadence x Torque

Increase torque (TPV shows torque on main screen - fun to play with)

200 watts at 50rpm is the same as 400 watts at 90rpm?  (Don’t quote me on this!)

Smooth pedal stroke, improve your pedaling efficiency

Increase climbing ability 

If doing Ironman Lake Placid you need to do low cadence both seated and standing.  You spend A LOT of time doing low cadence at Placid. Start to train it now.

(There are a lot of Ironman and Half Ironman courses that have a lot of climbing so low cadence is a skill you will most likely need.)

If you want to nerd out on torque training, here is a good article.

Also, low cadence is just one tool in your cycling tool box. High cadence is just as important, too.

Interviewing a coach

I had an interview this week with a potential new client and came out of that with a couple key insights:

  1. Like a job interview, come prepared with a lot of questions and come prepared to tell your story.  This is a back and forth conversation.  Ultimately, we are looking for a cultural fit i.e., is this someone I can trust and I want to spend time with.   Many training plans are very similar so the deciding factor should not be does this coach have good workouts, nearly everyone has good workouts as there are no secrets.  The main point is can I believe in working with this person. 

  2. You are an expert on you, the coach is an expert on best practices.

Put the two together in a partnership and you will go far together. This is why communication with your coach is so key. Especially true for remote coach / athlete relationships.  The more we know, the more we can work in partnership to get you to your goal(s).

Fun thought of the week:  Your training should be like a kick ass mixed tape

You create for yourself, your friends and gets you pumped and inspired.

Listener Questions

What are the differences in swim speed between “aerobic”, moderate and threshold? 
Challenge of the Week

Katie: If you’re going through it, ask if someone can help you take something off your plate! People almost always want to help and many of us are just too stubborn to ask. (That can be a coach taking a workout off the week, a partner taking on life/household responsibility, a co-worker helping you out with something, etc.)
Jim: Persevere through a workout.  This winter is providing plenty of opportunities to work on your grit!

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: TRIHARD shower products

Jim: Maurten 320

Episode 70: Trying New Events, Vitamin D, Fueling, and More!

In this week’s episode, Katie and Elena hit on a grab bag of topics that have been coming up from athletes and listeners recently: trying new types of athletic events, coping with winter, fueling FAQs, supplements, body image follow-ups, and more! With a mix of personal anecdotes and learnings from our community, we had a blast with this one and hope you find it useful too. Check it out! 

Challenge of the Week

Katie: Body scan! Try to spend a minute or two lying down and scanning through your whole body to check where/if you are holding any tension, then think about an action plan to help address whatever is going on (massage gun, trigger point release with a lacrosse ball, foam roller, sports massage/chiropractor visit, etc.).
Elena: Plan a cool date night! With a partner, a friend, or yourself. Any activity that would be out of the ordinary for you. 

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Alaska Bear sleep mask

Elena: STRYKR gels

Episode 69: Season Prep with Neil MacKenzie, DPT

In this week’s episode, we’re bringing back a fan-favorite repeat guest: physical therapist and athlete extraordinaire, Neil MacKenzie! Neil talks us through common training and recovery mistakes athletes make in the late winter and early spring, how to tell if a rehab plan is working, how to use pain as a useful indicator, how to support injured athletes from a psychological and emotional perspective, best practices for bone stress injuries and REDs treatment, run warmups, strength training, mobility, home assessments for imbalances and other issues, PT goodness of fit, and a lot more. This episode is jam-packed full of actionable advice for all athletes! 

Coaching and Training Insights:

Katie: 

  • Love seeing athletes taking initiative and listening to their bodies! A learnable skill that will serve you well in the long run 

  • Broader discussion of when to push through, when to back off  

    • Avoid all or nothing thinking – if you don’t want to do your speed workout, you could do a short easy run (exercise snack); if you don’t want to do your Z2 run, consider a walk or consider if you might prefer to run or bike instead; if you don’t want to go to the gym, consider 20-30 min body weight at home

    • When should you say absolutely not and lean into taking the red box? 

      • Baseline LSS or LSS event of 9+ out of 10

      • If getting the workout done means getting < 6.5 hours of sleep 

      • If you are injured or sick 

      • If it will cause a major disturbance in your family life

  • Altitude is hard 

    • Awareness of effects on appetite and risk of dehydration – need to be so much more intentional about fueling/hydration. This goes for all you skiers!

    • Also hard – honoring the intention of the workout even when it’s your catchphrase! Anecdote about my run at altitude 

Jim:

  • Start working on OWS sighting in pool

    • Choose at least one set where you practice sighting every 7 - 9 strokes, or 2X per length. 

    • A good video:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6r3M4GGgIY

    • Key points:

      • It should feel very natural. If it feels strained you are probably not leaving your lead arm out long enough and/or you are lifting your head up too late. Start to lift your head at the beginning of your pull. In other words, as soon as your fingertips are pointed to the bottom of the pool and you start to pull (slow to fast) , initiate lifting your head.

      • Pro tip: try to sight two times in a row. This can imprint the flow of the movement and provide some self correction. Also, it is very realistic as you often don’t see what you are looking for on the first sighting and you don’t want to wait another 7 - 9 strokes before you look again.

  • Consider doing some Strava or TrainingPeaks Virtual racing

    • Virtual racing is a great way to get a big stimulus while learning and/or refreshing your racing skills.

    • I already feel a huge difference in HR and watts output. 2nd race way easier than first. And 3rd was easier than the 2nd. I’m getting re-acquanted with racing.

    • Considerations: 25-50% field has mis calibrated equipment so don’t worry about your placing

    • You can 2-3X your normal TSS / workout and time goes by way faster. 

    • When you want to quit, everyone else probably does too. 

    • Stick with it. The pace will slow. 

    • Be prepared to go out HOT ie VO2 max efforts for 3’-5’. Do it so you get a strong and appropriate group. 

    • It feels like racing. Racing is a skill. 

    • There is camaraderie even though it’s virtual. 

  • Consider following up your virtual racing with an EASY spin the next day.

    • Use 2X resting HR

    • As HR cap for active recovery on bike

    • For example, if your rest HR is around 60, cap your Easy sessions at 120, or plus or minus 5 beats but try to default to the lower reading.  This is a simple way to keep your easy sessions, easy.

    • Easy - you are recovering from your endurance / interval work, not trying to gain fitness. 

    • Endurance - you are working on gaining fitness.

Interview with Neil MacKenzie:

For background on Neil, see Episode 12: A PT’s perspective on Endurance Athletes.

To reach Neil, see Cioffredi & Associates website

Challenge of the Week

  • Katie: Improve your bedtime/ wind down routine. (For me: screens off, reading, breath work)

  • Jim: Improve your run warmup routine.

  • Neil:  Define your active recovery routine - walk, swim, spin, yoga, foam rolling.

Gear Pick of the Week

Episode 68: Body Image and Endurance Sports

In this week’s episode, Katie and Elena tackle a big topic that has gotten a lot of interest among our listeners — the intersection of body image and endurance sports. We talk through external and internal pressures related to body image, challenges in thinking about how bodies change over time, whether weight is a useful metric to track or not, situations and circumstances in which body image concerns can be more activating, fueling and body image, and reframes that can be helpful for thinking about fitness, fueling, and our bodies. We also cover some fun insights related to shame and missed workouts, fueling higher-intensity workouts, vitamin D deficiency, not judging early-season workouts, and treadmills as a tool for hills and speed. Check it out! 

Challenge of the Week

Katie: in your training log, identify one thing you did really well in a workout that didn’t go well (i.e. got it done despite X, kept a positive mindset, fueled well, etc.)
Elena: identify one thing you’d genuinely love to purchase but it seems intimidating… make a goal of getting it!

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Function Health 

Elena: CuddlDuds Thermals

Episode 67: Windy Training, Tracking LSS, Swim Tips, Carb Intake, and More!

This grab-bag episode was packed full of a ton of fun topics! We dive into how to deal with very windy conditions in deep winter training, withholding judgment from workouts, re-evaluating your goals, how to track LSS over time, gels and carb intake, dehydration in the winter, whether you actually should do your pick-ups or not, 'strain' and 'body battery ' as made-up stats, how new athletes should approach Ironman prep, when and how to use SIM shorts, staying calm in the water, HIIT and endurance training, and more. Come for the insights and stay for the banter!

Mix of Coaching and Training Insights and Listener Questions

  • Thoughts on dealing with windy conditions in training (which I see as one of the most mentally tough weather patterns!)

    • A hack -- planning routes so you do intervals with a tailwind or even a point to point route 

    • Related quick one - tip from an athlete to dress like you’re taking a chill walk in 20 degrees warmer than it is to choose the right apparel for running

    • Jim: Wind is mentally grinding. I use Airpods to block the noise (not safe in all conditions). 

  • Coming back to an old insight from last year -- withholding judgment, i.e. don’t write the narrative of the workout before it’s even happened

    • Jim: When things aren’t going well I focus on “smooth” as it’s a feeling, not a HR zone, pace or watt.

  • Insight from a few athletes - it’s OK to change your goals! Re-asking yourself “what is my why?” and pivoting to fun > performance

    • Jim: I struggle with racing being a place to get me out of my comfort zone and show me what is possible, elevating my game AND a place that feels confining, restrictive based on I need to do something on THIS day and train a certain way for a very specific period of time. 

  • Hot take - taking a gel is an effective solution to >80% of problems in training

    • Tired or low energy? Take a gel

    • Motivation low? Take a gel

    • Mood not good? Take a gel 

    • I always tell athletes to start with taking a gel and then we’ll roll down other things that could be an issue, but sometimes it’s as simple as taking a gel. Try it!

  • Dehydration happens a lot more sneakily in the winter!

    • Anecdote from a recent early morning strength workout 

  • Great question from an athlete: “I'm pretty lackadaisical with doing the pickups, but I know many coaches swear by them as ways to improve running economy/efficiency/a light way to add speed in the early season. Should I be more intentional about doing them (and not skipping them)? Normally I just either 1) forget or 2) feel tired and just want to get home rather than zoom/jog/zoom/jog”

    • My answer: They are definitely helpful (unless you have an injury/niggle going on), but I wouldn't push it if you’re feeling physically overtired or LSS is high. Start by asking yourself if it's your body or your mind that is tired/burnt out/not into it and if it's just your mind, but your body is ok, try a few! It’s not all or nothing either -- you can do 2 pickups and decide ‘that’s enough for today’ or maybe doing 2 pickups makes you realize you are fine to do 8.

    • Jim: We all struggle with things we are supposed to do, things that are good for us but there can often be a little voice in my head opposing it!  When it does come up, I try to dig a little deeper in my subconsciousness about why I’m putting up that barrier.  We are complicated creatures and often the answer is not readily available or straightforward. 

      • The “sell” on pickups are they are the best return on your time investment. And you have already invested the time to schedule your workout, get on your running clothes, get out the door, actually go for a run. You’ve done all the hard parts so now you get to play a little with pickups and get speedy. 

      • I like to make a game sometimes - run hard to that next telephone pole or intersection. Then start looking for the next feature up the road that seems interesting. 

      • Strides are like compound interest, you get more and more rewards as you do more over time. 

  • Another great question: are we more interested in time on feet or miles on feet at this point? My z2 pace is closer to 9:40 at this point (depending on weather/warmup/fatigue), so I end up getting a green box at 3 miles rather than 4 - worth adding a mile to my 4-mile run on friday, or chalk it up to "the intention was to z2 run for 35-45 min and we got close enough"?

    • Reminder to all of our athletes that TP makes us put in ‘planned’ pace values -- we don’t expect you to hit the paces exactly perfectly and yes, we are looking at the intention of the workout!

    • For this time of year, the relevant mantra is the OPPOSITE of ‘the devil’s in the details’ … rather it’s to not miss the forest for the trees. Base, base, base. 

  • More bashing on data! Blog post: The Truth About WHOOP and Other Fitness Trackers: Part I

    • “New wearable fitness tracker companies like WHOOP and others are using made-up metrics to score your workouts and daily physical effort.”

      • “Strain is not a physiological measurement. It’s a made-up score from WHOOP. Similar scores from other trackers are also made up.”

      • “In some cases, these estimates are completely made up and cannot even be tested, for example: sleep quality scores, readiness and recovery scores, stress, body battery, Strain, etc. - stay away from all of these and don't let them mess with your head. They are not a thing.”

    • “These grand metrics are all some degree of wrong because wrist-based heart rate tracking during movement is some degree of wrong.”

    • “And even though I like WHOOP’s idea of adding life stress into Strain, we need to remember that not all changes in heart rate at “rest” are from bad stress. For example:

      • A higher heart rate at rest because your boss is yelling at you: probably bad!

      • A higher heart rate at rest because you’re laughing your ass off with friends: probably good!” 

Jim:

  • Hot take:  Most Ironman, especially Level 1 athletes, should focus most of their training on building big bike and swim fitness/durability.
    They should aim to make 100 miles (or 6 hours on the bike) feel challenging but not devastating and a 4000 yard/meter swim feel like you can do A LOT of other exercise that same day (because you will)!  If you need to spend the rest of the day on the couch after a 4000 yard swim then you need to build up your capacity.

    • Running: They should aim for 3x per week running with emphasis with time of feet, easy running and some strides. Hiking and/or trail running with the goal of extending time on feet is just as important than the long run.

    • Spending time on run speed intervals is just draining your tank which should be spent building your bike and swim fitness.  If you are going to shuffle/walk most of the marathon, there is no reason to work on run speed.

  • When should I use my SIM (neoprene) shorts?

    • If you are a new swimmer and your “A” race is wetsuit legal, it’s fine to use your SIM shorts for nearly every session.  See point above, if you are a Level 1 athlete and swimming is new to you, SIM shorts will enable you to focus on gaining technique and helping you swim in a parasympathetic mode.

    • Pragmatism over perfection. 

    • If you are a Level 3 athlete and are doing a mix of wetsuit and non-wetsuit races, or the chances of one of your races being non-wetsuit, you should spend at least half of your swim sessions in the Specific period in a regular wetsuit.

  • If you are feeling anxious or tight chest in the water, try these two things: 

    • Kick on your back with fins. This will signal to your brain that you are OK in the water. Your face is up with all the air you want.  You must get to a parasympathetic state first in order to incorporate new information / skills. No one learns in a sympathetic state - it’s fight/protect, flight or freeze.

    • During freestyle, focus on breathing out entirely through your nose.Think long, deep exhalation through the nose. This will lengthen your stroke and should eliminate tightness in your chest and even shoulders. By breathing all the way out, air will naturally flow into your mouth when you roll to breathe. 

  • Swim to run faster

    • Athletes are starting to comment that the more swim fit they get, the easier running feels.

    • We see this every year; swimming is a high global, all body oxygen demand.  It’s not a surprise we see this crossover over, particularly to running which is a high global activity, too. 

    • Extra challenge: swim 200s with fins and paddles. This is a huge oxygen ask at even low intensity.

    • Nordic skiing is also a good sport for global oxygen demand. 

  • How do I incorporate HIIT into my triathlon training?

    • You don’t!

    • 99.9% of the time someone is doing HIIT workouts is because they have not been in a proper structured training program that prioritizes aerobic development, gradual musculoskeletal loading.  These athletes tend to either be very overpowered or underpowered.  Neither of those situations works well to perform in endurance sports.

    • Triathlon is an insane sport as you need to learn dozens if not hundreds of new skills for each sport - swim, bike and run.  If you add in regular strength, that’s four sports you are now juggling. Given everyone is time crunched, this leaves very little room for other sports. 

    • Caveat: If your HIIT class gives you joy, is a social, community event then keep doing it.  Play is important for long term mental and physical health.

  • List your products/carbs per hour in TrainingPeaks

    • Keep a journal of products/carbs per hour for your longer sessions.  Example, Hour 1 -  2 SIS gels, 1 bottle of LMNT, Hour 2 - 2 Fig bars, 1 bottle of LMNT, etc

    • And comment what seemed to work and what didn’t. 

    • Then you have a reference for your next big day.  Journaling will reduce decision fatigue and capture hard earned knowledge. 

    • Do this for any ride / run over 75’. 

    • General guideline:

      • Easy training days (Z1/Z2) under 1 hour, mid-exercise carbs are often not needed if you have a well balanced diet. However, when feeling a bit low energy take a gel or snack! (See Katie point above.)  Snacks are always welcome especially before, during and after a swim.


      • On easy training days between 1 and 2 hours, 45-60 grams of carbs per hour is a fair guide. Above 2 hours, 60-80 grams of carbs per hour.


      • When in doubt, always fuel more such as 60 - 80 grams per hour. I personally aim for the 80 grams in BASE season to keep energy balance higher and recover quicker. Remember you are fueling for your current workout, your recovery and your next workout which may even be later that day or the next morning.


      • On easy/moderate long training where the effort is not purely easy (think intervals, hills, etc), fuel at 75-90 grams of carbs per hour no matter what the duration.   Think long weekend rides with intervals, marathon / ultra training, etc.

  • Change hand and body positions on the trainer

    • As the rides get longer and/or more challenging in Base period, feel free to change hand positions on the bars - hoods, bars, down in the drops and feel free to stand up during some intervals.  This will serve to take pressure off static body parts, encourage blood flow and engage different muscles.  

Challenge of the Week

  • Katie: Set some hydration targets throughout the day (i.e. I want to finish X amount by noon, X amount by dinner, etc.)

  • Jim: Emphasize full nose exhale during swim

Gear Pick of the Week

Episode 66: Integrating Skiing with Endurance, Trusting the Process, and Female Athlete Q+A!

In this grab bag episode of the podcast, Katie and Elena catch up about recent happenings in their coaching and training lives including: how to think about training if you get sick, trusting the process, the concept of being "in your body" in sports, trying new sports, what it means to fuel enough, and mental reframes in the context of body composition. We also do a deep dive on two bigger topics: how to integrate skiing (of any kind!) with endurance training and an extended female athlete Q+A in honor of National Girls and Women in Sport Day. This episode is jam-packed full of insights for everyone -- check it out!

Resources we mentioned in the podcast:

Female Athlete Resources:

Gear Picks of the Week:

Episode 65: Making Triathlon (Somewhat) More Economical

In this week’s episode, we’re talking through our top tips for making triathlon—arguably one of the most expensive recreational sports—at least somewhat more economical. We cover non-negotiable must-have gear and equipment items, nice-to-have but not necessary items, gimmicky items that you shouldn’t waste your money on, hidden costs to be aware of, and how to budget more effectively. We also deep dive on a bunch of fun coaching and training insights including Life Stress Score (LSS), not letting Garmin health data gaslight us, gear and strategies for cold weather running, mental imagery, and setting a ‘theme’ or intention for your day. Check it out!

Coaching and Training Insights:

Katie:

LSS is on the rise: LSS has been hitting hard for a lot of athletes already! Work stress, family stress, relationship stress… it’s all stress. Gentle reminders:

  • Be gentle with yourself and your workouts! You are already dealing with a lot, and beating yourself up about it will only make things worse. 

  • Ask your body what it needs and then modify or skip as needed. It can help to lie down and do a quick body scan to see where you are holding any tension and what might make it feel better. 

  • Be extra cautious about doing any physically or mentally intense workouts. A 4-mile run with no pickups may be a better choice than 4 miles with 8 x 20” pickups on a high LSS day.

  • When in doubt, inform your coach who can be an accountability partner in reminding you that skipping or modifying is not just ok -- it’s encouraged.
    Jim: A reminder that triathlon training is extraordinary. You are juggling A LOT. You are learning A LOT. You are adjusting to a structured approach to training. You are living a lifestyle that is often at odds with the rest of the world!

Thoughts on sleep data and other metrics

  • We all have gadgets that give us a report card every day on how well we slept

  • Personally and in athletes, I often see stress and anxiety coming in when sleep is not as good as we think it is

    • Conversely, many of us have had the experience where we think we didn’t sleep well and Garmin says we did

  • Be careful about letting the data guide how you feel -- helpful to check in with yourself first and ask subjectively how tired you are/how energized you feel, and then check. Moreover, if the data is making you feel any worse about yourself / your sleep, consider a few nights with no watch to see how that makes you subjectively feel

  • “Feel” is a more powerful data point than any of these one-off subjective metrics! 

  • Same goes for RHR / HRV

When it’s cold out, be more intentional about your warmup miles

  • Freezing temps = body is much tighter moving into speed work

  • Recently did strides after BoMF and felt some hamstring twinges because I’d been running in Z1 for an hour and legs weren’t fully warmed up

  • Would have been smarter to do some 75-80% intensity pickups first and then transition into faster strides if the body felt OK

  • Jim: yes on hamstring twinges from cold legs!

Also related to cold - what do we do about cold legs/butt?!

  • Some hacks -- spandex shorts under tights; two pairs of tights; thermal tights; joggers on top of tights; Patagonia wind shield pants

  • Shout out to athlete Katie B for her recs for cold weather running:

    • Fleece-lined leggings (I have Athleta and Oiselle)

    • 2-3 layers up-top: usually a long-sleeve Craft base layer that is at least 5 years old, a Nike quarter-zip long sleeve, and a windbreaker. The windbreaker keeps me very warm, no matter if there is wind or not. 

    • Craft hat and hybrid gloves - or their mittens are awesome when it is below 20. 

    • Darn tough socks

    • Light-up vest - Nox gear

Jim: 

Mental imagery

  • I have a new triathlete learning how to swim. She made the remark that her swim video looked nothing like what she thought it would; she was imagining how Katie Ledecky swims and wanted to replicate that in the pool.  

  • All kidding aside, this type of imagery / visualization is a valid learning tool.  One way to improve your skills is to play a role and pretend you are a pro.  While you are practicing your sport, you imagine how the pro looks doing it and try to replicate that.

  • This is very effective with swimming, or sitting on your trainer watching the Tour de France replay, trying to imitate and channel your inner Tadej Pogacar.  Or while out running, pretending you are Eliud Kipchoge.  

  • From Lawrence van Lingen - “Visualization: When you vividly imagine achieving a goal, your brain reacts similarly to experiencing it in real life. This strengthens neural pathways, making the required actions feel more achievable.”

Swimming in January

  • Speaking of swimming, I’m getting many comments that January swimming, after an off season, can be a hot mess.  No worries. That’s completely expected and understandable.  My advice is don’t judge your current swim fitness or technique. Just get 6 - 8 swims in and then see how you feel (probably a lot better about your swimming).

Make each day about theme(s) to bring you in alignment with your goals/purpose. 

  • We talk a lot about knowing the intention of the workout to help you stay aligned with your fitness goals.  We can extend that out to reminding ourselves of our purpose or goal every day, particularly before going to bed or first thing in the morning.  I’ve been playing around with themes of the day to help me stay grounded and keep a higher level perspective on my daily/weekly actions. For example: 

    • Monday: Day Off theme is Restoration.  You can get an active voice and say to yourself, “Today is about restoring my body and mind”.

    • Tuesday: This is a run speed and strength day for a lot of athletes. Your theme could be Speed. “I am speedy and strong today!”

    • Wednesday: Maybe this is a hard bike or swim interval day.  “I am Strong and Smooth today.”

    • Thursday: This is a run speed and strength day for a lot of athletes. Your theme could be Speed. “I am speedy and strong today!”

    • Friday: You volunteer on this day. Theme: Service or Community.  “I am part of and of service to a community.”

    • Saturday: Maybe you do a masters program or group ride / run on Saturday. Your theme is Community.  “I value my friends and community.”

    • Sunday: Could be a more family oriented day.  Family is the theme.

    • And you may find some life and training/racing mantras from all this active voicing.

Dashboard in TrainingPeaks

  • A tip that you can create all types of fun charts in TrainingPeaks Dashboard. It’s a quick way to get an overview of your, for example, Time In Heart Rate Zones: All Workout Types over the last 90 days.  By the way, this particular chart should be a big bar for Z1, lower for Z2 and so forth.  If you were to turn this chart to the left, it would form one half of a sweet looking HR pyramid.  

  • You can make all kinds of charts for max power per month, the Performance Management Chart will display your increasing fitness.  Or track single sport fitness / power / pace over ‘x’ period of time. 

Calling all runners / adventure racers / cyclists

  • A reminder that we have a very diverse range of training and racing backgrounds as coaches. We don’t just train triathletes. If you are, or know someone who is training for an adventure race, single sport like running, ultra running, cycling, we have a deep knowledge base to help.

Main Content

  • Roll-down of things to spend money on 

    • Non-negotiables:

      • Running shoes every 250ish miles that fit you well; helps to rotate a few pairs

      • A safe road or TT bike that (1) works and (2) fits you well

        • With clip-in pedals, bike shoes, helmet, and a bike light 

        • Professional bike fit ideally

      • A sports watch (we like Garmin) with a HR strap (wrist HR is unreliable) 

      • Goggles, cap, swimsuit. Your pool may have swim toys, but at a minimum we also want you to have paddles and buoy. 

      • Wetsuit for most triathlon races, but you may be able to get around this by strategically selecting races. 

      • Tri kit for racing; general apparel for training

      • TP Premium membership if you are being coached by us. Otherwise, you can keep track of your workouts in, e.g., a google spreadsheet. 

      • If you live anywhere that has cold weather, either a bike trainer or access to a spin bike/Peloton. (70.3-140.6 athletes definitely need a trainer.) 

      • Access to a gym with heavy weights. 

      • Resistance bands and a foam roller for glute activation and mobility work 

      • FUEL and HYDRATION. Both in training and outside of training. 

      • Race registrations -- register early to get discounts

    • Nice-to-haves / splurges:

      • Power meter → dual-sided power meter (we highly recommend a power meter for Level 3+ athletes) 

      • Clip on aero bars for road bike 

      • Aero helmet 

      • Electronic shifting 

      • Carbon race wheels 

      • Fancier recovery tools (i.e. massage gun, Normatec) 

      • Body work such as sports massage 

  • Don’t waste your money on:

    • The ice headband 

    • Ketones

  • Hidden costs of triathlon

    • Nutrition and hydration (both sports nutrition products and general volume of good and healthy food) 

    • Bike shop trips 

    • Things you use up -- chain lube, bike wash, chamois cream, etc.

    • Travel costs associated with races 

    • Recurring charges for subscriptions to e.g. TP Premium, Zwift; USAT membership 

  • Ways to budget more effectively 

    • Used bikes discussion. Pinkbike & buycycle. Check the bike manufacturers website for the correct frame size for you.

      • Many local bike shops have Spring used bike sales.

      • Related, if you buy an entry level bike from a local bike shop, many will include a general bike fitting (which can be up to $500 value)

      • Don’t buy a triathlon bike as your first bike. Buy something comfortable.

    • Insurance for body work

    • When it’s OK to go with the cheap Amazon version of something vs. when you should pay for something fancier. Examples? 

      • Foam roller

    • The Feed - wait for regular sales

    • Sports nutrition products that have a cheap analog discussion

      • E.g. untapped maple products vs. maple syrup in a squeezy bottle. 

      • Nature’s Bakery fig bars.

      • Homemade cookies, brownies, cake, leftover pizza, etc on the bike.

    • TrainingPeaks Virtual (free for TrainingPeaks Premium users) vs Zwift

    • Wahoo Snap (super cheap) vs Kickr. Snap is out of stock but you can find it on a reseller site.  Or even free, cheap dumb trainer (trainer that does not have Bluetooth or ANT connectivity)

    • Garmin 245 ($280) vs Garmin Forerunner 965 ($600). And use a wrist watch as your bike computer.

    • If you already have an Apple Watch, use that for your sports.

    • Good pair of run trainers vs super shoes.

    • Don’t buy the super expensive wetsuit. Buy a good brand, lower level wetsuit (always full sleeve, too) like Roka Maverick Comp.  Very economical wetsuits: XTERRA  Middle ground between Roka and XTERRA is Orca.

    • Use the same type of swim goggles for both pool and open water. My favorite dual use goggle is Aquasphere Kayenne.

    • Sign up for local triathlon races not expensive IM branded races.

    • Your big “A” race of the year could be a self-curated adventure where you determine the race date, place and no entry fee.

Challenge of the Week

Katie: One social workout per week (and it’s OK if this means deviating from your training plan) 

Jim: Make one of your easy (or longer runs) as hilly as possible even if that means lifting your HR a bit.

Gear Pick of the Week

Katie: Lululemon Scuba Mid-Rise Oversized Jogger (sweatpants) for recovery lounge mode after your chilly workouts

Jim: Koia protein shakes On-the-go! New version of our favorite supermarket protein drink. Order from Amazon.