In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host, Rick Prince chats with Dr. Marco Altini, founder of HRV4Training. Dr. Altini is a coach and data scientist who specializes in heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a metric that is useful to endurance athletes as it can by proxy, assess an individual’s fatigue and stress. In this podcast, Rick and Dr. Altini take a deep dive into what exactly HRV is, its strengths and weaknesses in relation to the application for athletes, and how to interpret HRV data.

Below are the specific areas that Rick and Dr. Altini chat about during this episode:

1.       Could you please tell our listeners a bit more about yourself?

2.       What exactly is HRV and why is it an important metric to assess and track?

3.       Do wearables accurately track HRV? And what is the gold standard for assessing HRV?

4.       Is HRV affected by age or gender?

5.       Is HRV highly individualistic? And is there a median HRV that is considered normal for different ages? 

6.       Should an athlete change their training based on their HRV? And moreover, is a low HRV – especially over several consecutive days a cause for alarm?

7.       What are most common things that affect ones HRV?

8.       Do you recommend correlating HRV with other data points and if so, for what purpose?

9.       What limitations are there in assessing HRV, and are there any areas of HRV research that are not conclusive or more research is still needed?

10.  Tell us about your app, HRV4Training

To learn more about Dr. Altini and his app, please visit:

www.marcoaltini.com

www.HRV4Training.com

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host, Rick Prince chats with Laura Healey – the senior manager of Research & Sport Science at Puma. In this podcast, Laura discusses the science and make up of super shoes, as well considerations regarding their use and application.  

Below are the specific areas that Rick and Laura chat about during this episode:  

1.       Could you please tell our listeners a little bit more about yourself?

2.       Is there an exact definition of a ‘super shoe,’ or more specifically, are there any aspects of a shoe that are needed to make it a ‘super shoe?’

3.       First there was the focus on barefoot/minimal footwear, which is often attributed to the ‘Born to Run’ book. Now the over-cushioned ‘super shoe’ seems to have largely replace the minimalist focus. Could you discuss this transition from one extreme to another?

4.       Is there one aspect of super shoes (i.e., foam, carbon plate, etc…) that is responsible for the increase in performance, or is it largely an equal combination of all aspects?

5.       Due to the height, are over-cushioned shoes less stable when running around tight turns?

6.       Initially, super shoes were viewed as only racing shoes. However, has that changed to the point where a lot of people also train in super shoes?

7.       Without giving away any proprietary information, what are some of the key considerations that go into making a super shoe?

8.       Price aside, are there any reasons why someone might not want to purchase super shoes?

9.       Is there any research out there that discusses if super shoes increase, decrease or have no effect on injury rates? Or is it still way too early to have statistically significant data on in this area?

10.  Aside from the usual fit recommendations, are there any other considerations or guidelines that a runner should be aware of when trying on super shoes?
  

To learn more about Puma and to check out their shoes, please visit: www.puma.com 

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host Rick Prince chats with Nicole Dobransky. Nicole is the founder of Runner Rising, a business focused on helping individuals start and scale their endurance sports coaching practices. 

Below are the areas that Rick and Nicole chat about during this episode:  

1.       Could you please tell our listeners a little bit more about you and why you started Runner Rising?

2.       What are some the biggest mistakes that you see new (and seasoned) endurance sports coaches make when it comes to marketing their coaching businesses?

3.       ‘Content is King’ is often a phrase used in regard to online marketing. Does this hold true for endurance sports coaches and if so, what are some key considerations to be aware of when creating content across various mediums?

4.       What role do you see AI playing in helping endurance sports coaches acquire athletes to work with?

5.       If a coach is brand new, what are the first steps that they should take to build their business?

6.       If you had to pick the top 3 most impactful things that a coach can do to get athletes, what would they be?

7.       A lot of coaches struggle with wearing all of the hats in their coaching business. What advice would you give to a coach that is struggling to grow their business because they are too busy managing all of the aspects of running it?

8.       Could you tell us a little bit about how Runner Rising helps coaches find new athletes to coach?

9.       Any tips for a coach that is looking to take their coaching side-gig to a full-time endeavor with respect to increasing their athlete roster?

To learn more about Nicole and Runner Rising, please visit: https://runnerrising.com/ 

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host, Rick Prince chats with licensed clinical psychologist and founder of The Coaches Collective, Dr. Lara Pence. In her daily practice, Dr. Pence primarily works with elite athletes and executives to level up their performance. The Coaches Collective is a community of coaches that Dr. Pence works with to help to them transform their athletes into the best version of themselves. 

Below are the areas that Rick and Dr. Pence chat about during this episode: 

1.       Could you please tell the listeners more about yourself and the Coach Collective?

2.       What are some of the most common things that you have found that hold coaches back from reaching their potential?

3.       Do you think that coaches often don’t recognize what truly is holding them back and associate their lack of growth to other things?

4.       What are some of the most important traits for coaches to have?

5.       How important is the role of community in the success of a coach?

6.       In an age of so much information (right and wrong) being fed to us – especially on social media, how important is trust in the coaching relationship and what are some ways for coaches to build trust amongst their athletes and athletes possibly looking to hire coaches?

7.       Imposter Syndrome is quite prevalent in new and seasoned coaches. Are there any strategies that coaches can implement to help overcome it?

8.       On your website, you denote that you meet coaches where they are at. How important is this concept in both coaching and life?

9.       What are some common traits of high performing coaches?

To learn more about Dr. Pence and The Coaches Collective, please visit: https://drlarapence.com/coaches 

In this episode of the ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host Rick Prince chats with physiologist and diabetes researcher, Dr. Sam Scott – CEO and co-founder of Enhance-d (https://www.enhance-d.com/).

As the CEO of Enhance-d, a platform aimed at making biomarker data easier to interpret and correlate for type 1 diabetics, Dr. Sam Scott is wealth of knowledge not just in respect to type 1 and 2 diabetes, but also how diabetic knowledge can be useful to non-diabetic athletes and coaches. 

Below are the areas that Rick and Dr. Scott chat about during this episode: 

1.       Could you give the listeners a little bit of information about you and your background?

2.       For our listeners that are not familiar with type 1 and 2 diabetes, could you give a bit of information about these types of diabetes, key definitions, as well as some basic physiology about diabetes?

3.       For diabetics, what are the biggest challenges that they face while exercising that non-diabetics do not?

4.       What are some of the biggest misconceptions that non-diabetics have about those with diabetes (type 1 or 2)?

5.       What was the genesis for founding Enhance-d?

6.       If a coach has an athlete with Type 1 or 2 diabetes, what would your advice be to them with respect to the athlete?

7.       What can non-diabetic athletes and coaches learn about nutrition and physiology from diabetic information and research?

8.       What are the biggest challenges that diabetic athletes face with respect to the collection and interpretation of physiological biomarker data?

Below are links to Dr. Scott’s Book: ‘Empowered: The Science of Exercise with Type 1 Diabetes.’

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1068431717?tag=enhance-d-21

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YjTdCVPCSbBJKkE5cLkpH

Free eBook version: https://book.enhance-d.com/5/empowered

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host, Rick Prince chats with journalist and writer, ZoëRom and registered dietitian, Kylee Van Horn. Zoë and Kylee are co-hosts of the podcast, ‘Your Diet Sucks.’ 

This is the third and final podcast in a three-part podcast series with Zoë and Kylee. Previous episodes in this series include Episode 33: Why Athletes Fall for Pseudoscience and Fad Diets and Episode 38: The Truth About Racing Weight 

Below are the areas that Rick, Zoëand Kylee chat about during this episode: 

1.       When it comes to endurance sports, often there is an emphasis on body weight from a performance standpoint. However, what is not discussed as often in endurance sports is body weight/image from an aesthetic point of view. Could you discuss how these two areas – performance and aesthetics interrelate?

2.       While speculative, do you think that a fair amount of people get into endurance athletics for the primary purpose of losing weight and to improve their body image?

3.       Could you explain what traditional body positivity is, and how it often misses the mark?

4.       For our listeners that don’t know what body dysmorphia is, could you define it and how it shows up in endurance sports?

5.       As we discussed in the previous podcast, there is often an obsession in endurance sports to reduce body weight, which often results in disordered eating. As such, do you think that some individuals get into endurance sports because as a whole, these sports normalize being underweight – often to a drastic amount?

6.      If a coach suspects that one of their athletes may have body dysmorphia and/or disordered eating, what should their action plan be?

7.      In your opinion, what are some steps that those in the endurance sports industry could take to reduce the overemphasis on low body weight and by association, disordered eating and body dissatisfaction? 

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance Podcast,’ host, Rick Prince chats with journalist and writer, ZoëRom and registered dietitian, Kylee Van Horn. Zoë and Kylee are co-hosts of the podcast, ‘Your Diet Sucks.’ 

This is the second of a three-part podcast series with Zoë and Kylee. The future podcast episode will be: ‘When Performance Meets Appearance: Body Image in Endurance Sports.’ 

Below are the areas that Rick, Zoë and Kylee chat about during this episode: 

1. When it comes to endurance sports, the general theory is that lighter is faster and thus, being thin is paramount to performance. Could you provide some context to this theory?
2. There are so many variables to human performance, why do you think that weight is so focused on?
3. What are some of the most common things that athletes do to lose weight?
4. How does too low of a body weight/body fat influence human physiology and performance?
5. How have GLP-1 meds changed the landscape regarding weight loss in terms of athletic performance?
6. Has an over emphasis on low weight increased the prevalence in disordered eating?
7. What advice would you give to coaches that have athletes that are hyper-focused on weight loss/being thin?
8. What role have professional athletes, as well as influencers had on the perception of racing weight?
9. What does a healthy diet and outlook on body weight look like for endurance athletes? 

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance,’ host Rick Prince chats with podcast host, Jonathan Levitt. Jonathan is the founder of Long Run Labs, and ‘For the Long Run’ Podcast

Jonathan discusses his experience as it relates to leaving his full-time job and making the transition to being self-employed. More specifically, Jonathan discusses how he came to the decision to make this transition, as well as his advice to coaches looking to make a similar move.

Below are the areas that Rick and Jonathan chat about: 

1. Please tell the listeners a little bit more about yourself
2. How did you come to the decision to leave Inside Tracker after 10 years and go full-time into Long Run Labs?
3. What were the main considerations that you factored in when making this decision?
4. There is typically quite a bit of fear and trepidation when going full-time into a start-up situation. How did you handle this?
5. Did you give yourself a time frame to ‘make it’ with the podcast?
6. Starting and scaling a business or businesses takes playing the long game. How have you adopted this principle into your business strategy?
7. If someone was thinking of quitting their current full-time job to start their own venture, what advice would you give them?
8. What things do you wish you knew before going full-time with Long Run Labs?
9. Do you think there is ever the perfect time to transition from a full-time job to doing your own thing?

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance,’ host Rick Prince chats with expert bike fitter, Chris Soden. 

Chris is the founder/owner of Strategic Fitting, a Colorado-based bike fitting company that uses cutting edge technology to attain the best bike fit results for his customers. 

With over 30 years’ experience in the bicycle industry as a bike shop owner, mechanic and bike fitter, Chris brings a wealth of knowledge to his craft to ensure that his clients are fit properly. As bike fitting is part art and part science, Chris discusses how he blends these two aspects of fitting, as well as a whole lot more! 

Below are the areas that Rick and Chris chat about:

• Please tell our listeners a bit more about yourself
• What does a good bike fit process look like?
• How do you mesh the art of fitting and the feedback from technology – and what is some of the technology (ex: Retul, pressure mapping, etc…)?
• What are some mistakes that you see when people fit themselves?
• How do new bikes (ex: one-piece stem/bar) affect the fit process?
• What to look for in a fitter before hiring them?
• Do you integrate other professionals into the long term fit process such as physical therapists, strength professionals?
• Is the fit process a ‘one-and-done’ sort of thing, or is it a multi-step process?
• What are the most common reasons people come to see you for a fit? 

In this episode of ‘All Things Endurance,’ host Rick Prince chats with former pro cyclist and co-founder of TrainingPeaks, Dirk Friel. 

As the co-founder of the first coach-specific platform for endurance coaches, TrainingPeaks, Dirk brings a well-informed, and seasoned perspective to the topic of AI in the coaching realm, the art of coaching and the future of coaching. Like a lot of other professions, coaches are not exempt from the fear that AI will in some way, shape or form, diminish their role as a coach. This topic and more (noted below) are discussed in this podcast episode. 

1.       Please tell our listeners a bit more about your background.

2.       With the influence of AI permeating most every industry, including coaching, do you ever see AI completely taking over the coaching industry?

3.       How important is the art of coaching and why is the human element so important to the coaching process?

4.       A lot of coaches are nervous that AI will replace them. Do you see AI as tool that coaches can use to enhance their business, or do you see it from more of an adversarial point of view?

5.       What advice would you give coaches that are concerned about AI replacing them, or at the very least, minimizing their reach and influence?

6.       What are some traits of coaches that exemplify what the art of coaching is all about?

7.       In the same light as the last question, what are some other key aspects that make a great coach that you consider to be absolutely necessary for success?

8.       What are some ways that TrainingPeaks puts the focus on the human element of coaching?

9.       Where do you see the coaching industry 5-10 years from now?

10.      Lastly, if you had to pick the key reason why an athlete would hire a human coach vs. using a template plan or a 100% AI-based program, what would it be?