In this week's episode, we're taking inspiration from some of our favorite athletes and coaches, including Taylor Knibb, Kate Courtney, and Steve Magness! We kick things off with a discussion of how quickly different types of fitness actually fade when you take time off training, and why a week or two away from your usual routine might not be nearly as detrimental as you think. Then, we dive into some of our favorite insights from a recent interview with Taylor Knibb, covering everything from finding joy and purpose in racing to building fitness over multiple seasons, the importance of fueling and sleep, and why discipline might be just as important as natural talent. We also talk about the power of focusing on race execution rather than outcomes, letting go of the pressure to perform, and using positive self-talk to get through hard moments, drawing on wisdom from Kate Courtney and her coach. Finally, we share what we admire about Steve Magness and his approach to coaching, plus some thoughts on the newly announced Ironman races for 2027. Lots of great takeaways for athletes of all levels in this one. Check it out!
Katie
Gems from Taylor Knibb in LVL Interview
Purpose/principles to guide season: joy, alignment, exploration
Even at the most elite level, focus on joy and purpose. (For an athlete, if joy isn’t one of your purposes I am skeptical that you will get the most out of your build!)
For Taylor, joy = lots of racing and doing “what sounds fun”
Plenty of racing is inherently bad if it gives you energy, is fun, etc.
Getting a dog and getting 10-20K steps per day separate from running = potential level up in fitness?
Pillar of health!
Taylor’s super powers “I can eat and I love to eat; I’m a good sleeper”
Back to basics/fundamentals!
Baking a multi-layered cake: base layer, speed layer, base layer
Speed blocks absolutely still have a purpose in long course training
This is one way I am thinking about my long term build to Boston Marathon: base layer (pregnancy survival, Z2 with lots of strength); speed layer (10K/HM training), base layer
Periodizing season over a much longer term
“Discipline is a form of talent”
Loved this reframe! Resonates as someone who would not consider themselves a naturally talented athlete (i.e. at beginning of journey or as a kid); but I have always been talented at committing to a goal and executing on the steps to get there
“Good thing if you start to worry about mechanicals” (as compared to your own fitness or other people’s fitness) → a form of confidence (i.e. only worried about true random uncontrollables)
Setting the goal of a really well executed race
Independent of performance from others; e.g. Taylor would be really happy with a perfectly executed 5th place at the Olympics
Controllables!
Grasping too tightly makes you tense up muscularly. Wanting it more doesn’t help you get it; need to let go in order to physically perform the best.
New North American IM races announcement
IM 70.3 Lake George **particularly interesting given lack of options
IM 70.3 Utah **high altitude, dry, hot -- probably similar to St. George
IM Montana **remote and hard to get to, probably a pass for East Coasters
Our thoughts?
IM 70.3 Lake George could be cool! Be wary of potential cold weather but heat less likely to be an issue. Lake swim, flat run and rolling bike are nice features and one of the few options in mid June where I wouldn’t be at baseline as concerned about heat.
Jim:
Residual Training Effect
I get asked frequently how quickly fitness degrades. For example, “I’ve been traveling or had a small niggle for a week, did I lose all my fitness?”
The good news is absolutely not. Aerobic fitness, which is the quality most of us need for our main event, sticks around for a long time. How long? About 30 days.
The concept is called residual training effects. In broad strokes the breakdown of fitness is:
Aerobic endurance: about 30 days (±5)
Maximal strength: about 30 days (±5)
Eccentric conditioning: about 20 days
Anaerobic/glycolytic endurance: about 18 days (±4)
Strength endurance: about 15 days (±5)
Maximal speed (alactic): about 5 days (±3)
And, in fact, in many cases, your unplanned and unintentional break has allowed you to shed some acute fatigue and you’ll probably come back even stronger. In other words, your short break sheds fatigue and retains your aerobic fitness - win/win!
Two takeaways from Kate Courtney’s That’s it post
Two takeaways from this great post by Kate Courtney.
The feedback and cues from her coach are great mantras for tough training sessions and races:
He never shouted at me to go harder or dig deeper. Instead, he focused calmly on what I was doing well and how I could use those strengths to make a difference.
“Patience,” he said as I started out just a bit too hard.
"Settle, find your rhythm,” he said as he could hear my breathing speed up.
”You’re doing great,” he reminded me as I strained through the effort.
”That’s it!” he shouted enthusiastically as I stood to push with all I had over the top of the climb.
Answering the big question of why do we push ourselves in our sport? Why do we love a big challenge? What drives us to do extraordinary things?
“Why does the surfer wait for the big wave? The answer was simple, and it unraveled the confusion that surrounds the true nature of competition. The surfer waits for the big wave because he values the challenge it presents. He values the obstacle the wave puts between him and his goal of riding the wave to the beach. Why?
Because it is those very obstacles, the size and churning power of the wave which draws from the surfer his greatest effort. It is only against the big waves that he is required to use all his skill, all his courage and concentration to overcome; only then can he realize the true limits of his capacities.”
- W. Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis
Why Steve Magness Is a Great Coach (and why you should look for these same qualities in your coach)
We often mention Steve Magness on this podcast, as he writes seamlessly about athletics and life. I recently watched a strength video Steve did, and it got me thinking about why I admire him so much:
He was a great runner himself, totally immersed for years as both an amateur and professional. He has experienced running to the core of his soul.
He trained with many other professional runners and lived that life. This exposure let him see how some of the best in the business performed and lived their craft.
He was part of the Nike Oregon Project and was the main whistleblower on their shenanigans. He is extremely principled and brave — this was an act of self-sacrifice that had the potential to ruin his coaching career forever.
He coached college runners for many years. Being an in-person coach 10x's your knowledge, since you get to see so many bodies in motion. There's no better coaching experience than being on the front line with your athletes — your coaching has an immediate effect.
He has studied the master run coaches. He can pull training principles, strategies, and tactics from all the old masters — Lydiard, Canova, Coe, and others. And he pulls from many master coaches in other sports such as strength and conditioning. He is endlessly curious.
He relies on both personal experience and science. In fact, he wrote a book called The Science of Running. He's grounded in both worlds and seamlessly moves between them to explain his points to his audience.
He is endlessly curious, open to all points of view, emotionally intelligent and appreciates the wisdom of those who came before him at the same time always updating his world view. He is constantly making connections between life and athletics. Check out his substack where writes about performance.
What I find instructive about this is: a) it points me toward my own coaching education and goals; I need to be well-rounded, experienced, science aware, know sport history, along with living and practicing sports I coach; and b) these are the attributes you should look for in a coach.
Steve is also the co-host of my favorite coaching podcast: On Coaching Podcast with Jonathan Marcus. It’s ostensibly about coaching runners but the principles and life lessons apply across all domains.
Challenge or Resource of the week
Katie: Journaling on purpose for next season!
Jim: Jeff Pelletier YouTube channel - trail run films
Gear pick of the week
Katie: Patagonia MacroPuff hoody + WornWear steals
Jim: Janji Boreal tights