The Endurance Drive Podcast

In this week's episode, Katie and Elena sit down for an hour of wisdom from the woman who does it all: triathlete, mom, career woman, and community champion Laura Fay. Topics include: how Laura has found and built communities in sport throughout her life as an athlete; how she built a career in executive coaching and what principles make effective leaders and athletes; how to balance career, being a parent, and endurance sports; the physical and mental effects of aging in athletics; and the mental toll and comeback process of a major injury, among lots of other topics. We also chat through when and how to effectively listen to your body in endurance training. This is a can't miss episode with one of our favorite people - check it out! View extended show notes for this episode here. To share feedback or ask questions to be answered on a future podcast, use this form or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.

In this super fun episode, we're celebrating a whole bunch of big milestones including: Jim's return to riding six weeks after his crash and surgery, Katie officially earning her title of "PhD Coach Katie," and most importantly, six months and 35 episodes of our podcast! To mark the occasion, we're returning to a format we used in episode five of the podcast and reflecting on the big lessons we've learned in the last six months of training, coaching, and podcasting. This was one of the most fun episodes we've recorded, so come for the wisdom and stay for the laughs about what constitutes a recovery week. View extended show notes for this episode here. To share feedback or ask questions to be answered on a future podcast, use this form or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.

In this week's episode, Coach Jim sits down with Coach Katie and Coach Kevin to cover everything you need to know about our Beast of the East: Ironman Lake Placid. Katie and Kevin have both qualified for the Ironman World Championships not once, but twice, at Ironman Lake Placid. We chat about the history of Lake Placid and why it's such a special race; the nitty gritty details of the swim, bike, and run course; the crazy weather and conditions we have seen at Placid; the key workouts that prepared us to qualify for Kona at Placid twice; and considerations for why you should or shouldn't sign up. We also go over many general Ironman training and racing considerations you should be thinking about for any Ironman race. Check it out! View extended show notes for this episode here. Share questions and feedback for future podcasts here.

In this week's episode, we asked our community about the intersection of mental health and endurance sports. We were blown away by the vulnerability and powerful insights that people shared! We dive into how endurance sports helps optimize or manage mental health, how endurance sports can get in the way of mental well-being, and the tools that members of our community have used to help take care of their mental health. We also share stories from our own experiences with mental health and endurance sports. The upshot of all of this is that if you are struggling with mental health and sport, you are not alone. Thank you to everyone who shared experiences to help us create this episode! View extended show notes for this episode here.

In this week's episode, we had fun coming up with a long list of mistakes that we have either made ourselves or seen as coaches at some point in our endurance journeys. We hope that by sharing those mistakes with you, you can skip ahead to following the best practices for optimizing your performance and well-being as an athlete. Topics include: zone training, fueling and recovery, gear, skills and technique, racing, open water swimming, and a whole lot more. We also get an update from Jim on how his bike crash recovery is going, share a bunch of fun data-driven insights, and answer some A+ listener questions. Check it out! View extended show notes for this episode here.

In this week's episode, we welcome a very special guest to the podcast: Susan Dunklee, a 3x Olympian and 2x World Championship Silver Medalist in the sport of biathlon. Susan currently directs the biathlon program at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont, and she shares her wisdom on a ton of topics including: life as a professional athlete, mindfulness in sport, balance, sense of place, training on the east coast, highs and lows throughout her career, and what life looks like in her post-competition phase. We also catch up with Elena to hear how her 100 mile recovery has been going and share a bunch of coaching and training insights from a busy couple of weeks. We're excited for you to listen to this episode! View extended show notes for this episode here.

On our 30th (!) podcast episode, we're continuing on our theme of best practices for race week by covering everything you need to know to crush your Ironman or Half Ironman / 70.3 race day! We go over pre-race breakfast, how to execute a proper warm-up, and our best tips and tricks for approaching the swim, T1, the bike, T2, and the run. This episode also features an interview with Coach Jim about his recent bike crash and subsequent surgery—a super scary experience, but we hope that sharing the lessons Jim has learned so far and will continue to learn throughout the recovery process will help us support listeners and athletes experiencing similar incidents. We're excited for you to hear this one! View extended show notes for this episode here.

In this super special ~emergency~ podcast episode, Katie sits down with Elena less than 48 hours post-race to talk about her recent victory in the Canyons 100 Mile Race, the American Major for ultra-running presented by UTMB. This was Elena's first 100-mile race, and she talks us through how she got into trail running, how 100-mile ultras and the UTMB circuit work, how she prepared for this race (including her victory at Black Canyon 60K in February), her racing strategy, the mental prep work she did before the race and mental strategies she drew on during the race, the 60 (!) gels she consumed on course, the gear that got her across the finish line, what recovery has been like so far, and where she's headed next. Regardless of whether you're a fellow ultra-runner, a triathlete, or even just a fan of endurance racing, this episode has a wealth of knowledge and insight for everyone. Thank you to Elena for sharing your wisdom and a huge congratulations! View extended show notes for this episode here.

Race season is finally here! In this episode, we cover everything you should be thinking about in the 1-2 weeks leading up to your goal race. Sub-topics include: bike prep and maintenance, race week sleep and fueling protocols, final workouts, tapering, mental preparation, what to do at the race site, and a whole lot more. We also spend time on some coaching and training insights related to carb intake, resilience data points, bike handling, TT bike position, and more. Happy racing! View extended show notes for this episode here.

In this week's episode, Katie and Elena sit down with a longtime friend of The Endurance Drive, Justine Pomerance, to talk about her journey as an athlete and—most recently—her experience racing the Boston Marathon just five months after becoming a new mom. Justine is a certified badass and her perspective on balance, adventure, and longevity in sport has something for all of our listeners. We can't wait for you to hear this one! View extended show notes for this episode here.