Endurance Planet

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Announcement:

If you want in on an epic experience with the EP crew, don't wait, email us now at [email protected]! We have two teams for SoCal Ragnar on April 7-8, both ultra and regular distance, and we're taking signups for Ragnar Cape Cod on May 11-12.

On this show:

• Should you spend more time training your swim kick for the triathlon swim leg?
• Calf and quad cramping during the triathlon swim when in choppier waters.
• Some drills and benchmarks for developing your swim kick.
  • Vertical kicking
  • 500 kick sets, etc.
• Dr. Phil Maffetone will say he doesn't promote long runs/LSD longer than 2-2.5 hours (or one needs to add walking time only), but Lucho will say otherwise. We explain the difference in philosophy.
• Slowing down to hold MAF heart rate is ok for training but not always recommended for racing. So, should we practice race pace and harder running in training where you disregard the heart monitor at some point, or not and stick to MAF?
• The role of dairy and athletic performance? Why would one go dairy-free and what are the benefits of eating dairy?
  • Why you'd go dairy free:
    • Dairy is usually one of the biggest GI offenders in athletes according to research, but that doesn't mean we all should avoid it. You have to learn if you're lactose intolerant or sensitive and have issues with dairy - some don't, but many do.
    • In this show with Dana Lis, PhD, we talked about FODMAPs. Lactose, found in dairy, is a FODMAP and one of the most common GI disrupters, along with fructans and fructose.
    • Lactose combined with gluten was even more risky in their study. Lactose in whey protein.
    • Take home:
      • Use an elimination diet to test is reaction to dairy and if it specifically causes you GI upset.
      • If still not sure, and symptoms present, test your gut health for any dysbiosis, SIBO, leaky gut, etc.
  • Many studies have shown benefits of dairy especially for athletes:
    • JISSN position stand on protein with benefits of dairy.
      • "Overall, research has shown that products containing animal and dairy-based proteins contain the highest percentage of EAAs and result in greater hypertrophy and protein synthesis following resistance training when compared to a vegetarian protein-matched control, which typically lacks one or more EAAs [86, 93, 147]."
      • "In general, the proteins with the greatest leucine content include dairy (9–11%), egg (8.6%), and meat (8%), while sources low in leucine include plant-based proteins."
    • Tons of studies have shown the benefits of whey protein on performance.
    • Go for clean dairy - organic, grassfed, etc.
    • We love: Vital Proteins Collagen Whey and Collagen Peptides!
      • Collagen Peptides are lactose-free.
    • Also, dairy might not be your problem and it's not always to be vilified - is it another variable for which dairy is getting the blame?
• We've discussed the benefits of minimizing ground contact time (GCT) when running in order to improve your running - we go more in depth on this aspect of training:
  • Inverse relationship: As pace increases, GCT decreases.
  • In this study, ground contact time was the only factor which correlated significantly with both running economy and maximal running speed.
  • This study shows midfoot strikers have shorter GCT.
  • Improve GCT by improving power & stiffness with: speedwork (strides, sprints), strength/plyos (focus on hips/glutes), biomechanics (foot plant - midfoot).
• Is there a cycling equivalent to running's ground contact that could help someone improve their riding to be more efficient and faster?
  • Posterior/ anterior cleat placement. Internal/ external cueing. Cadence.
• Muscularly, what muscles get used minimally during cycling that are needed for running?
  • The difference is more in how the muscles are used. Concentric (cycling) vs eccentric (running). Gastroc and adductors are used more in running. Also there's a big change along with change in incline. Uphill vs flat or downhill in running mainly.
• Using the data to determine goal race pace for a first marathon:
  • Female athlete with a half-marathon PR of 1:33:35, training long runs between 8:00-8:25 pace with 135-140 HR, and ideally wanting to run it in the 3:25-3:30 range fora BQ, but unfamiliar with the distance - so what's a reasonable goal?

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With Kona right around the corner, on this show we feature professional triathlete Pete Jacobs, the winner of the 2012 Ironman World Championships. The year prior to that, Pete was second at Kona and the winner of Ironman Australia. After a hiatus, this year he's toeing the line at Kona again. Today we're going to hear Pete's full story on the health issues he's had, the ups and downs he's had prior to and since his win in 2012, and how he's made drastic changes (for the better) to his diet, lifestyle and training with the guidance of our very own Dr. Phil Maffetone.

Topics covered with Pete:

• Pete's background in triathlon and years as a pro.
• Pete's approach to training and diet in those years leading up to the 2012 victory.
• Experiencing massive fatigue issues since 15 years old, but after the 2012 win, instead of a day or a few the fatigue would last a month or two.
• A vicious cycle: Feel good for 6 weeks, train hard, get fit, sign up for a race, then get to the race feeling burnt out again.
• Diet changes: In 2016 Pete removed meat with feet, dairy and all grains, and saw improvements (3rd at Ironman Cairns regional champs). But then got sick and never bounced back.
• Pete then turned to Dr. Phil Maffetone - what did Phil advise Pete do?
• From Phil's advice: Pete cut out the carbs, rested and relaxed going into Ironman Arizona 2016. On very little race fuel (some honey) and sticking to a moderate heart rate he had one of the easiest Ironman's he'd ever done in under 9 hours.
• From then, he started looking at the keto diet along with tons of research, podcasts, reading, trial and error to begin understanding his body better.
• Reintroduced meat this year and started training at MAF 95% of the time.
• Previously, training involved a lot of threshold efforts, but over 150 HR recovery would be slow, and often couldn't get power.
• Blood glucose management & why fasting doesn't work for Pete.
• Still would see fasting glucose goes high; helps to eat many smaller meals often.
• The build to Kona and making a comeback on the world stage this year.
• And much more!

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Announcement:

• We got a team for the SoCal Ragnar SoCal ULTRA team in addition to our usual regular team, so that opens up more spots on the regular team and the ultra team too. The race is April 7-8, 2018. If you are interested in running for either the regular team or ultra team, please get in touch with us ASAP. We are seeing that spots fill fast. We'd love to see more of the ladies join us. Email [email protected].
• We're also planning on having an EP team at Ragnar Cape Cod May 11-12, 2018 too!This is a great opportunity for East Coasters who can't make the trek to SoCal. If interested in being on this team, email [email protected].

On this episode of Ask the Coaches, topics & questions covered include:

• Addressing veganism and vegan athletes:
  • Some listeners want to know why Tawnee suggests vegans add meat and animal-based products back into their diets. Why she said what she did, why she's not anti-vegan, but why she's usually more pro-meat, looking at the research on diets, and why individualization + looking at how you feel/symptoms is key (there is no one diet for everyone).
  • Head to the bottom of this post for Tawnee's full report on the pros and cons of vegan diets for athletes and general population with links to relevant studies...
• On the coach-athlete relationship and trust:
  • Struggling with how much to share with your coach, particularly when runs or workouts don't go well. Should we always tell all such as the minor things like waking up exhausted and having terrible runs, or having to rearrange the week to plan training around other activities?
  • When you hire a coach, understand what he or she if offering for the monthly fee you'll be paying and levels of communication you get.
  • What if you're ashamed to admit a bad day or need to prioritize other things in life above training?
  • What is the right balance between an athlete sharing everything about every workout vs. letting them deal with some of the day-to-day struggles of endurance training on their own?
  • How do coaches build trust with athletes to be able to share anything, including the struggles?
  • Coaching fees
• What are the different audio clips that make up the podcast intro?
• A listener sends a note to Lucho saying to get his Creatine from Thorne. We agree.
• Elaborating on what an off-season should look like and not look like.
• How does offseason differ from athletes at the pointy edge vs. middle-of-the-pack athlete?
• Identifying red flags in your offseason planning.
• When it's ok to "work on weaknesses" and still get in reasonable training in the offseason.
• Mid-season breaks vs. offseason.
• Taking true time off doing NOTHING vs. general unstructured offseason exercise - which do you need?
• How many weeks should a rest break or offseason be?
• What if you have plantar fasciitis in the offseason? What to do? Still run?
• If you have Ironman and Oly races next year, you're healthy, not burnt out and, and you're a strong runner but weak swimmer, what are some good ideas for offseason training?
• Swim drills in the offseason.
• Long runs and double run days in the offseason?

Vegan pros and cons; research mentioned:

Vegan "Pros"

• More animal deaths can be prevented with a vegan diet.
• A low-fat high-carb vegan diet can benefit health and weight if done correctly. Weight loss sustainable—without calorie restriction.
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/nutd20173.epdf
  • BROAD study: "This programme led to significant improvements in BMI, cholesterol and other risk factors. To the best of our knowledge, this research has achieved greater weight loss at 6 and 12 months than any other trial that does not limit energy intake or mandate regular exercise."
• "A nutritive vegan diet canbe designed to achieve the dietary needs of most athletes satisfactorily."
  • Helps to supplement with creatine and Beta alanine.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28924423
• Cardio-metabolic benefits.
  • "Plant-based diets may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease events by an estimated 40% and the risk of cerebral vascular disease events by 29%. These diets also reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes by about one half. Properly planned vegetarian diets are healthful, effective for weight and glycemic control, and provide metabolic and cardiovascular benefits, including reversing atherosclerosis and decreasing blood lipids and blood pressure."
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28792455

Vegan "Cons"

• Risk of micronutrient and/or mineral deficiencies (usually due to poor meal planning); specifically risk for being low in:
  • Iron
  • B12
  • Omega-3s (EPA, DHA)—algae is the only way besides making it from ALA
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin A
  • Zinc
  • Iodine
  • Even risking low calories!
  • Much if not all of this can be solved with animal-based foods: pastured eggs, grassfed beef, wild salmon, organ meats, seafood—and these animal-based foods are all very bioavailable protein sources.
  • https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0192-9
• Risk of low protein (and incomplete protein sources; most complete protein sources are animal-based). Also, higher protein proven again and again in research to benefit athletic performance.
  • https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-4-8
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15212749
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21167687
• Vegetarian diets can lead to lower muscle creatine and lower muscle carnosine levels in consumers.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28924423
• Research has shown vegan diets can be too high in omega-6 and not high enough in omega-3. This one is controversial though since many vegan diets done well are also lower fat and high Omega 6 is not a problem. But a junk food vegan diet, this may be a risk.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16441942
• Tend to be high carb—and this isn't necessarily bad at all, if that works for you, but if you want to be a LCHF vegan, that gets really tough and leaves out a lot of options.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16441942
• Not sustainable for most—the argument it, you feel great at first (3-6 mo.) then it fades, and you keep trying but deficiencies add up and there's a slow decline. This has happened with many athletes in particular.
• Soy is high in protein but possible side effects—mimics estrogen, has anti-nutrient saponins, GMO if not monitoring for that, etc.
  • http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/whole-soy-story
• Even with plant-based diets, animals may be killed. Not as much as some anti-vegans claim, but it still happens.

More resources:

• Denise Minger: What paleo can learn from plant-based diets
• Mark Sisson on vegan diets
• Research: Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers

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We catch up with Thorsten Radde of trirating.com featuring our Kona Preview and covering the latest and greatest in professional triathlon including:

• SuperMoms
  • Many pro women are having babies, and with the points system it's making it really hard to comeback and get to Kona. Is the current setup fair to these SuperMoms or could improvements be made?
  • Thorsten explains some possible solutions and/or exceptions that could be made to make it more fair for moms to make their comeback in the pro ranks after they took time off for baby.
  • Some of the recent SuperMoms: Rachel Joyce, Sonja Tajsich, Eva Wutti, Jocelyn McCauley, Kim Schwabenbauer, Liz Blatchford, etc.
• 70.3 Champs
  • This year saw a bigger pro women field with the race split over 2 days. Is Kona next?
• Kona preview
  • Qualifiers as of the final cutoff, Tawnee's picks and Thorsten's KPR.
  • Defending champs and the big names who will be toeing the line at the Ironman World Championships this year.
  • Also who will not be making an appearance?
  • Sander's shift towards Kona.
  • The Raelert brothers.
  • And more!
• New athlete tracker on Ironman.com site - finally a solid improvement?

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On this episode with Tawnee and Lucho:

• Journal of Strength & Conditioning Study mention: Acute Effects of Plyometric and Resistance Training on Running Economy in Trained Runners.
  • Bottom line:
  • Plyos and strength training temporarily reduce running economy.
  • Don't plan your key run in the 24hr after your plyos and heavy strength training:
• For Tawnee: Do you wish you could not have said certain things that have now been proven incorrect or there is debatable evidence for some things you said early on on some of the podcasts?
• For Lucho, you said that you could do 5 quality speed sessions a week and felt great. Do you think this has to do with your background of being able to handle high mileage since most people couldn't start training for 400 races and do 5 speed sessions a week with blowing an Achilles or hammy?
• MAF training for competitive Crossfit athletes?
• A CrossFit coach from Brazil who trains Guilherme Malheiros, a 17-year-old who was 2nd overall at the Reebok CrossFit Games 2017, wants to know: is MAF training and/or aerobic training appropriate for this athlete to better develop his "weak" aerobic fitness?
  • Pros and cons to low-intensity running volume for strength athletes.
  • Alternatives to MAF for strength-based athletes:
    • Tempo runs
    • Diagonals - 18-24 x 100m @ 80% on rest of jog/walk across field
    • 3 miles max for long runs - done as rolling hilly fartlek, hills 80%, downs easy
• Following a new training plan and wondering - can you safely jump from 4 runs a week to 6 runs a week when transitioning from half-marathon to a 10k plan?
• The fear of losing fitness in the offseason - why this is playing with fire.
• Nutrition for a 23-year-old female athlete on low/carb keto: Experiencing a loss of muscle, energy and stamina, and wondering is more carbs will solve this problem.
• When adding back in carbs after being keto: Where to start? What are the best carb choices? Will the body tolerate them ok?

[sponsor image="http://www.enduranceplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/iStock_000021378425_Large.jpg"]You can support EP when you shop online! Simply open Amazon via enduranceplanet.com to do your online shopping—it's just one extra click to link to Amazon through the banner on our sidebar or click the Amazon links in the show notes.[/sponsor]

We're joined by pro triathlete Lesley Patterson, a 3x world champion in offroad triathlon, Ironman champ, pro mountain biker and endurance coach at Braveheart Coaching, along with her husband, Simon Marshall, PhD, who is a sports psychologist, exercise physiology professor, and the go-to guy for endurance athletes to train their brains and build mental toughness. This show will teach you to "build a better brain" and we cover concepts in their new book, The Brave Athlete - Calm The F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, a book we highly recommend purchasing (and be sure to use so with our amazon link!). Also, to hear Lesley on Endurance Planet in 20176 where she candidly discusses her struggles with Lyme's disease, click here.

On this show we discuss:

• Introductions and about their new book, The Brave Athlete - Calm The F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion.
• Simon and Lesley team up to help athletes over at Braveheart Coaching.
• Laying out the framework and science on how our brain is structured, and how it affects and directs our thoughts, decisions and so on.
• Defining our chimp brain, the professor brain, and computer brain?
• Why are these parts of the brain important for athletes to be aware of, and what do they each control?
• Real-life application to how the chimp brain vs. professor brain works.
• How and why to manage your chimp brain.
• On self-identity, self-efficacy and negative perceptions we will feed ourselves, like "I wish I felt more like an athlete," "I'm slow therefore I don't qualify as an athlete" or "One day I'll be...."
• How to fix these underlying identity issues in athletes and build more positivity and confidence in ourselves.
• Simon and Lesley's take on social media, the pros and cons, and being able to broadcast yourself and/or compare yourself with others.
• Impression management, what that is and what we need to know.
• Exercise dependence - it's a real thing, why does it happen and what are the criteria?
• In the book, they cite an article that says 52% of triathletes met criteria for exercise dependence, and runners at 25%.
• Some traits of exercise dependence and how do we know what we are doing is healthy and innocent enough vs. exercise gone too far and becoming unhealthy?
• If you are dependent, why is this potentially a bad thing and how should one deal with it?
• What is "symptom hypervigilance"?
• And much more!

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Lucho and Tawnee are on for Ask The Coaches 242, on this show:

• An ultrarunner and professional bike courier is working out 50 hours a week wants to know: What would proper fueling look like for this amount of volume?
  • Eat - a lot!
  • Protein needs for endurance athletes: 1.4-2.g grams or protein per kg of bodyweight; up to 3g pro/kg weight is safe.
  • How many carbs to still be metabolically efficient? It's all relative to training - don't go too LCHF when training volume is high.
  • How to train yourself to handle more fuel that your body needs.
  • Study mention: Rethinking the Role of Fat Oxidation
    • Participants exercised 25-35 hours a week and even with more carbs were great fat burners at all intensities.
    • Listen to us discuss more on this episode with Dr. Maffetone and Paul Laursen.
• Depression and running - is getting that endorphin release a type of therapy?
  • Hear Nikki Kimball talk about her experience.
• Recovery from overtraining syndrome (overexercising, undereating) and not able to get back to past fitness despite years of recovery, what could be going on?
  • Can overtraining syndrome permanently damage your central nervous system?
  • Looking at overtraining recovery holistically and getting back to healthy training - are there other health imbalances that may need fixing and could be holding you back?
  • Are your blood tests really "fine"? There are different ways to interpret blood tests, and athletes are looking for optimal and need the right kind of practitioner to help.
  • Talking to a functional doctor or doctor who specializes in sports medicine may give you the answers you need.
  • When we recover, don't focus on paces that you once could do, focus on your wellbeing, heart rate training and what your body allows now!
• 36 year-old male targeting a 2:50 fall marathon - using MAF and questions on training runs and pacing:
  • Make sure your long runs are appropriate to race distance - don't cut it too short!
  • What pace should tempo runs be at? Are race pace and tempo the same?
  • If you have a realistic goal for you marathon, you need to train at goal race pace, in this case a 2:50 marathon requires training at a 6:29/m pace -- it's not about heart rate in this scenario!
  • However, don't attempt crazy paces if they're not appropriate to your fitness. Most of us shouldn't arbitrarily pick a pace and train at that - we should train at heart rate and develop fitness appropriately, let paces fall into place from there and choose race pace wisely - you still need to be aerobic for a marathon!
  • Practicing race day fuel in training is mandatory!
  • Use nutrition at your goal race pace so you know what your gut can handle and also to train the gut.
• Lucho mentioned a marathon prep workout where you do a double run of two half marathons in one day - what are the details on executing this?
  • The "Special Block" by Renato Canova
  • Do this 4-5 weeks out from race, no closer
  • 3-6 miles warmup
  • Then 7-10 miles at goal race pace
  • Chill
  • Repeat in evening
• Can we get back to race paces we once knew, even if we're now in our 40s?
  • 49-year-old male athlete trying to get back to peak fitness he once knew
  • History of heart attack but getting healthy now.
  • Gained weight over the years; would dropping some weight and getting back under 200 lbs help?
  • Clean eating and lifestyle adjustments.
  • The role of crossfit and strength training when your main goals are running-related.

[sponsor image="http://www.enduranceplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/iStock_000021378425_Large.jpg"]You can support EP when you shop online! Simply open Amazon via enduranceplanet.com to do your online shopping—it's just one extra click to link to Amazon through the banner on our sidebar or click the Amazon links in the show notes.[/sponsor]

[sponsor image="http://www.enduranceplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/PerfectAminoXP_Short_WEB_grande.png"]Head to enduranceplanet.com/shop for a bunch of cool products and services we've come to love, use and endorse. Everything we offer is centered around helping you achieve the ultimate in health and performance. Also when you shop through endurance planet you directly help support the podcast so we can continue to provide you with great content always for free... Get started now on the path to optimizing your health and performance!

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Our guest, Dina Griffin, holds a Masters of Science degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian, Board Certified Sport Dietitian, and Certified Level II Metabolic Efficiency Training Specialist. Dina's clientele includes adults of all ages and activity levels, from "off the couch" athletes to recreational and elite/professional endurance athletes including fitness enthusiasts, runners, ultrarunners, road and off-road cyclists, triathletes, and adventure racers. Dina has completed numerous marathons, ultrarunning races, short- and long-course triathlons, and cycling events to personally understand the nutrition challenges encountered by athletes. Although she is based out of Boulder, Colo., she provides nutrition coaching for athletes nationwide and internationally through her services at eNRG Performance.

On this show we discuss:

• Whether there is a strong correlation between metabolic efficiency and an increase in athletic performance? Including, indirect ways performance may increase: body comp, gut health, etc.
• Can the argument be made that fat burning is less efficient for athletes and using carbs is superior?
• Hypothetical case studies: How would Dina approach individual carb/diet recommendations for athletes keeping their health needs in mind as well - e.g.
  • Diet recs for a 20-something female athlete who misses periods here and there or full-on amenorrhea
  • Diet recs for a 45-year-old male with a family history of diabetes and poor blood sugar regulation?
  • Blood glucometers as a good tool - for certain people.
  • A good example is Alex hutchinson's article "Are Endurance Athletes More Susceptible To Getting Diabetes" which shows just how individual nutrition is for athletes on how it affects health!
• What is nutrition periodization?
• When it comes to nutrient timing and nutrition periodization, what are the biggest mistakes athletes make?
• Talking ketosis, specifically, exogenous ketones and the pros and cons of these plus what the science says, as well as Dina's experience.
• The new study that came out that showed ketone supplements impaired high intensity exercise:
• Nutritional Ketone Salts Increase Fat Oxidation But Impair High-Intensity Exercise Performance
• How Dina typically guides fueling plans for ultrarunners and ultra athletes, including long-course triathlon?
• How her athlete at Leadville fueled for the 100-mile mountain bike race and her calories per hour.
• In addition to ME testing, eNRGperformance also offers other types of testing like non-invasive muscle testing, can you tell us what this does and why it'd be worthwhile to do it?
• Go to metabolicefficiency.org to find certified ME-certified coach in your area.

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Tawnee and Lucho are on for Ask the Coaches episode 241.

Announcements:

• Have a question for one of our shows? Send to [email protected].
• Ragnar: The 2018 SoCal regular team is FULL for now, but we are entered in the lottery for an ultra team and will know if we get it by September. If we get it, some regular team members will switch to ultra and more spaces will open for both teams, so there's still a chance to join us... If interested, email us at [email protected].
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Convo & Questions:

• Book mention (get your hands on a copy): The Brave Athlete by Simon Marshall, PhD, and Lesley Patterson
• Lucho's track training as of late: key components to sprint training and limiting factors in max speed.
  • Read more on training and get an ongoing education over at Lucho's blog here: joghard.blogspot.com.
• Plans to hike the High Sierra Trail (HST) with the family, including kids, in 2018. Is this 70+ mile thru-hike doable for a 15-, 14-, and 11-year-old?? We talk the in's and out's of backpacking, and making a decision on whether it's right, safe and smart to do with your kids.
  • The HST is same hike Tawnee and John did for their honeymoon which you can hear about here.
• For the marathon, what's the key to maximizing performance with the endurance component being so vital? After two attempts, not getting a lot of success at the distance and desiring to nail a race.
• Lucho's 20 x 20 mile goal in your marathon-training plan.
• What gives when HR won't get even too MAF while doing intervals on the bike trainer? A 50-year-old runner and bike newbie can't seem to get HR over 120 on the bike; is there a still a benefit? Continue trying? What to do to boost HR?
• Neuromuscular training for the bike is key to getting HR able to go where you want it.
  • Short efforts of 10 seconds or less, high cadence, single leg drill, etc.
• Based off a VO2max test, can you determine a "new" MAF HR range? Not quite.
• The difference between MAF training and zone-based HR training (i.e. metabolic vs. cardiovascular means of determining your target heart rates).
  • More in this episode of ATC.
• Learning to BELIEVE in yourself and that you ARE an athlete, even when you don't really feel like it. It's all about the narrative you give yourself - think positive!
• The risks of hypocaloric diets and how they can destroy you resting metabolic rate (RMR).
• Why eating more may actually be good for your waistline and body comp, in particular if you're chronically underfueling and stressed.

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Dr. Steve Gangemi, the Sock Doc, is back on the show. We hear about his latest adventure race and he provides his wisdom on the following:

Sports nutrition - fact or myth? We clarify the following:

1. Does coffee/caffeine before exercise leads to dehydration?
   1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165%2F00007256-200131110-00002
   2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12187618?dopt=Abstract
   3. http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/y90-135#.WYnOntPysi4
2. If you're fat-adapted can you "race low" (low cal/low carb) during long races? (Or, instead: train low, race high?)
   1. http://www.thenoakesfoundation.org/nutrition-network/train-low-race-high-being-fat-adapted-and-racing-on-carbohydrate
   2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21326374
   3. http://journals.lww.com/acsm-essr/Fulltext/2010/10000/Carbohydrate_Availability_and_Training_Adaptation_.2.aspx
   4. Calorie recommendations and examples for fat-adapted athletes racing long distances.
3. Does insulin make us fat?
   1. It can/does in certain conditions, but it's ENERGY BALANCE that ultimately determines fat storage.
   2. https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/08/04/insulin-doesnt-make-us-fat-mwm-2-26/

Plus answers to your questions:

• Can having the MTHFR polymorphism impede progress in aerobic training?
• Supplementing with 5-MTHF (800 mcg) and Methylcobalamin (100 mcg) and muscle soreness.
• Initial improvements in MAF then a plateau in progress with no improvements after 8 months; what to do? Change training stimulus or could it be MTHFR?
• Phil Maffetone on when it's time to add intensity to your MAF training.
• After knee surgery that included stem cell and PRP injections, what is the recommended downtime before running again?
• Ryan says: In January I started having pain in the arch and inside ankle of my left foot. I went to see a physical therapist and they said I have posterior tibialis tendonitis. At the same time, I would also say I was/am recovering from overtraining. In November I started working with Nourish Balance Thrive after figuring out I had low testosterone, hypothyroid, C. Diff, and Candida from lots of training and a low carb/keto diet (I do obstacle course racing). The physical therapy has been helping, I have been having less pain during every day movement and running. I have been doing strengthening exercises moving my foot through various ranges of motion with a resistance band. However, in addition the PT recommended I get orthotics to help support the arches of my feet (I have always been told I have flat feet). I got the orthotics and it has helped but after browsing the Sock Doc's website it seems he is against orthotics in most cases. My question is what would the Sock Doc recommend to help heal my posterior tibialis tendonitis? Obviously my #1 focus is on addressing my hypothyroid, low testosterone, and gut infections but I also want to heal my posterior tibialis tendonitis as well. Does he think that once I fix my overtraining symptoms will that help my tendonitis? Should I ditch the orthotics or should I wear them until I heal and then start working on running without them? Sorry for the long question, and thanks for all the help!
• Sock Doc on PF.