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:
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.”
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:
Long-term consistency and high training volume over several years are linked to improved resilience.
Prolonged sessions that include race-pace or higher-intensity efforts under fatigue appear to enhance resilience.
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.