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The Endurance Drive Podcast

Author: The Endurance Drive

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Welcome to the Endurance Drive podcast! Our mission is to share the key principles that structure our approach to endurance training and coaching. Visit theendurancedrive.com to learn more about our approach, our coaches, and our training plans or reach out to us at info@theendurancedrive.com.
99 Episodes
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We love a deep reflections episode! Katie and Elena hit a bunch of topics including recovery after really big races, what it actually means to listen to your body (and why listening to your body can be hard in pregnancy), mental challenges with the off season and how to manage them, athlete identity, risk tolerance for moving your body at different stages of life, why doing anything for the first time is so tough, and a whole lot more. We also answer a great listener question on racing on your period and mindset shifts that can help you with any type of adversity in races. Check it out! To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
This week’s episode hits a bunch of fun topics including: insights from the professional men’s race at the Ironman World Championships in Nice, France; what’s hot and what’s not in the Norwegian training protocols; our recommendations on TT bike brands; how to identify and prevent burnout as long seasons draw to a close; some additional tips for the off-season; and how to manage race-day anxiety. We also dive into habit stacking as a way to make sure you actually do the recovery and mobility things you should be doing and hit some of our most creative gear picks of the week yet. Check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
She did it! This episode recaps many of the physical and mental insights Elena picked up while racing for over 29 hours at the world's most competitive and well-known 100-mile ultramarathon. We cover: what the energy in Chamonix is like during race week; how Elena prepped mentally and physically in the days and hours leading up to the race start; what the experience is like for crew and spectators; how she mentally and physically navigated feeling worse than expected in the first 20 miles of the race; how she dealt with insane weather conditions including rain, mud, cold, and snow through the night; the story behind the broken pole; what the last 30 miles felt like once she realized she was going to finish; how Elena is feeling now; and what's next on her running and racing scene. We also hit an interesting insight related to Boston Marathon registration and pregnancy race deferral policies at big races. This was such a fun episode to record, and we're so psyched for Elena on her huge accomplishment (did we mention 18th in the world?!)—check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
This week's episode features plenty of insights from recent adventures and races. We cover: takeaways from Katie's recent "Pregnant Prezi" and FKT attempt on the Cannon and Kinsmans Loop, our favorite hikes and runs in New England, tips on mapping and route planning if you want to plan your own adventures (especially in a new location), insights from tough open water swims in races, mentally resetting when a race or training session doesn't go your way, whether weighted vests are a good training stimulus and/or investment, and advice for the upcoming fall off season. Check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
This week's episode features a deep dive on the training principles and philosophy between two very different endurance projects: Elena's multi-year prep to race in the elite field at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) and the first half of Katie's journey through pregnancy as an endurance athlete. We cover insights that with a surprising amount of overlap between the two experiences, including the importance of flexibility, fueling, and mindset, as well as lots of tips for listeners who are interested in elements of either journey. Whatever endurance adventure is on your radar next, this episode has something for you. Check it out!UTMB Tracking Link: https://live.utmb.world/utmb/2025/utmbTo view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
This week’s episode is another grab bag full of insights! Topics include: the benefits of Zone 0 movement, good data and bad data in training and in pregnancy, why mountain adventures are so great, how to approach workouts and training in periods of high LSS (life stress score), governing effort on big days, bike handling tips, training in bad air quality, how muscle memory helps you retain your season’s gains even when you take time off, and an interesting discussion on doping in amateur endurance sports. Check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
In this week’s episode, Elena and Katie catch up on all things training, mindset, and life as Elena wraps up the final month of prep for UTMB and Katie navigates the second trimester of pregnancy as an endurance athlete. Topics include: why “saying maybe” and listening to your body is sometimes a better training approach than saying yes; unsolicited comments on pregnant athletes’ bodies and training and how to handle them; how to take the pressure off going into big events, including going “Strava dark,” planning adventures, and reconnecting with your why; Elena’s big days at the Speedgoat 50K and “Soft Rock” and how they helped her build confidence for UTMB later this year; hydration strategies in ultra endurance events; and more! We love it when casual life catch-ups turn into insights-packed episodes for the podcast, and we hope you enjoy it too. Check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
In this week’s insights-focused episode, we’re deep diving on a bunch of topics including: thoughts on minimum effective dose of training for marathon, triathlons of all distances, and ultras; how holding on too tightly to expectations can lead to disappointment; how fueling, mindset, pacing, and heat all interact to make or break race day; three types of movement (exercise, training, and adventuring) and how they serve different purposes in our lives; additional Ironman Lake Placid takeaways from Jim’s athletes; the intersection between “heat bonking” and metabolic bonking; and more pregnancy updates from Katie. Check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
Ironman Lake Placid is done and dusted! In this episode we’re putting a bow on the IMLP journey for many of our athletes by covering the key insights we picked up on race day and immediately before and after. Topics include: avoiding panic training during race week, the importance of hiring a coach, why Ironman is so hard, how cool weather can be a major performance booster, dealing with torrential rain on race day, the importance of patience, infusing joy into your race experience, thoughts on the most helpful workouts and training experiences leading up to race day, carb loading do’s and don’ts, useful mantras, and a whole lot more. This episode is relevant for all long distance races, not just Placid. Check it out! To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
This episode features a big life update and even more insights for the podcast! We dive into Katie’s A race for the foreseeable future: pregnancy! Topics include: why relatively limited research on endurance training during pregnancy makes individual anecdotes so powerful; how Katie thought about “planning” pregnancy in the context of training and racing (and why pregnancy is ultimately harder to plan than your race calendar); first trimester symptoms—including nausea, fatigue, and food aversions—and how they impacted her training; how she collaborated with coaches, doctors, and other members of her support team to train safely; the decision to “race” a 5K at 8 weeks pregnant and how it went; how Katie’s mindset and mental strategies have shifted so far in the context of pregnancy; goals and intentions for the remainder of pregnancy and postpartum; and some favorite academic papers on exercise during pregnancy. Conversations around fertility, pregnancy and postpartum journeys can be hard, so please know that wherever you are in this journey, you are enough. And even if you aren’t pregnant or planning to become pregnant, this episode has some general insights that may be relevant to you. Check it out!To view extended show notes for this episode, visit: theendurancedrive.com/podcast To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
In this week's insights-focused episode, we're powering through a bunch of relevant training and coaching tidbits on topics including: why "time on feet" is a useful mindset shift for workouts on tough or hot days, a case study on building open water swimming confidence, why triathlons (and most other races) aren't apples-to-apples comparisons, how you can build your "endurance bucket" and improve capacity over time, how to improve your speed in an open water swimming context, how to effectively climb hills on the bike, how to approach training in the week(s) between big races, and why your training plan is a map and not the territory. Check it out!View extended show notes for this episode at http://theendurancedrive.com/podcast.To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
As race day in Lake Placid approaches, it’s time to shift gears from training mode to execution mode. In this episode, we offer practical, race-tested guidance for your final week and race day strategy at Ironman Lake Placid. From gear checks and fueling to pacing the marathon, we break down the dos and don’ts to help you arrive fresh and race smart. (Rule #1: you’re not gaining fitness this week—shed fatigue instead!)Jim also recaps his recent endurance milestone: completing the iconic “200 on 100” ride across Vermont. What did he learn over 200+ miles and 12 hours in the saddle? Everything from nutrition (Coke > everything) to mindset shifts that apply well beyond the bike. Expect lessons in pacing, managing the low points, and why you should never carry an unsecured phone in your bento box. We also share a quick training insight from the road and why Garmin Pay might just be the MVP of your long run.Visit https://www.theendurancedrive.com/podcast to see extended show notes for this episode.To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
In this week’s episode, we’re diving into our top three endurance principles—how we train, how we fuel, and how we keep our minds in it. We start with some quick insights from recent training: why race simulations can sometimes feel even harder than race day, and how preparing mentally (not just physically) can make all the difference. We also touch on a mix of things ranging from building confidence when it’s not coming naturally to ChatGPT for training support to thoughts on iron supplementation. In our main section, we break down the core principles that have guided us and our athletes over the long term: how to structure training with intention (including the importance of strength and speed work), how to fuel with purpose (with practical tips on carbs, hydration, and REDs awareness), and how to build mental resilience and joy in the process.This episode is an attempt to summarize all of the key tidbits and actionable advice that supports the overall endurance athlete journey–basically a crash course in coaching. We hope you enjoy!View extended show notes for this episode here.To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
We can’t believe that we’re less than four weeks away from Ironman Lake Placid, one of our favorite races to coach! We start off this episode with a list of things you can do to eek out just a little bit more fitness in the final few weeks before the gun goes off at your A race. We also cover a bunch of fun insights related to: fueling and hydration strategy on the run, how to think about race week workouts, bathroom stops during races, bike racing in triathlon, athlete tips on keeping joy and lightheartedness in training and racing, thoughts on Strava, quality over quantity of movement, active recovery runs, and more. Check it out! View extended show notes for this episode here. To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
In this week’s episode, Katie and Elena welcome Alex Larson, RD to the podcast to talk all things fueling and hydration. Alex’s mission is to support endurance athletes with practical and simple nutrition advice for lifelong health and performance. She shares valuable insights related to: the biggest mistakes endurance athletes make when it comes to fueling, how to know if you are not fueling enough, how to safely approach changes in body composition (and how to evaluate whether you even should be focusing on body composition changes in the first place), fueling through life stages, meal and snack ideas to support workout timing throughout the day, how and when use supplements, how to properly hydrate, how to calculate your sweat rate, how to manage and avoid GI issues especially in running, and how to effectively carb-load before a big event. This episode is jam-packed full of useful insights that will help you perform in both sport and life. Check it out!View extended show notes for this episode here.To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
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! View extended show notes for this episode here. To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
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! View extended show notes for this episode here.To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
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! View extended show notes for this episode here. To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
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!View extended show notes for this episode here. To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
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! View extended show notes for this episode here.To share feedback or ask questions to be featured on a future episode, please use ⁠this form⁠ or email: Katie@TheEnduranceDrive.com.
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