We got some very surprising news before recording this celebration episode! This one has it all: complicated training questions, predictions for the future, and a stunning twist to start the episode (and we were in for a lot more stunning twists after we recorded). 

The questions from podcast listeners were on tons of amazing topics: heart rate drift tests to estimate zone 2, how to pace ultras, why we think 2025 will be the year of a hydration emphasis in endurance performance, the sponsorship landscape, returning to training after layoffs, supershoes, protein intake, strides v. workouts, our thoughts about daily nutrition outside of athletics, running form analysis, progressive overload across training cycles, and our big goals for next year.

Our new baby’s name is Ollie Hope Roche, after Megan’s favorite poet, Mary Oliver (and the high point of the Leadville 100, Hope Pass). Remember, Ollie, what your namesake wrote: “Only if there are angels in your head will you ever, possibly, see one.”

We love you all! HUZZAH!

-Megan, David, Leo, and Ollie

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We celebrated a wild year with a "No Secrets" Q+A episode! This one is full of fascinating topics, mixing science, theory, and hot takes into the perfect holiday stew.

The questions all came from podcast listeners on the following topics: how to think about gut training, Zone 2 heart rate and how terrible some online calculators are for athletes of all levels, our favorite speed workouts to gauge progress over time, incorporating cross training into long-term growth, specific guidelines for cross training like cadence and effort, adapting and performing at altitude, consistency during the holidays and why it's ok to take downtime, supershoes and ankle stability, how we think about running cadence and form, Kilian's tempo-after-intervals workout, and our current thinking on the 2025 Western States 100.

It's such a gift to record this podcast each week. Thank you all for everything, and happy holidays! You are the most special goats to us.

Always thinking of Kilian,

-David and Megan

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We bowed down to the power of hot mugwort before this amazing episode! The main topic was on a study that may be the long-lost "missing link" in our training theory. It took 12 elite endurance runners and had them do sprints of 100 meters and 400 meters, along with a VO2 max test. Their findings (and one striking non-finding) may connect studies on speed interventions with real-world implications.

We also answered listener questions in the "no secrets" style! The most hairy question was on a topic that people don't talk about too much in public: supplements. We say what we take and why we take it, with a million disclaimers because we're cool like that.

And this one was full of the best topics! Other topics: takeaways from Strava's Year in Sport, why an experience this week may influence how we think about training theory, the cost of the Western States 100, year-end voting, how fueling and hydration are letting people race more, AI use cases for athletes, our thoughts on cold plunges, a framework for mental toughness, nose strips in poker, the evolution of shoes, and Listener Corner.

In the episode, we talk about a video we saw where champion triathlete Lionel Sanders had his treadmill directly in front of a photo of one of his competitors celebrating a victory. We're inspired. So if you hear some extra motivation in our voices, it's probably because we put a photo of the Smartless guys in front of the mic in our bedroom.

We love you all! HUZZAH!

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We collected some wonderful questions before this great episode! It's our classic "no secrets" style, where we take you behind the scenes to combine research and theory with what athletes are actually doing, but maybe not talking about.

We started with a new study on maintaining heat acclimation, which helps answer questions on how to improve blood volume year-round in a sustainable way. Then it was onto the questions!

Topics of the questions: sodium bicarbonate and ketone use, the difference between big dreams and excessively big dreams, speed development for long races, our possibly-surprising take on speed versus volume, how bicarb supplementation changes sodium intake, our experience with topical bicarb lotions, preventing cramping, why hill strides may feel harder than flat strides (and how that's connected to their value), the recovery cost of strides, our approach to self-massage for recovery, the potential benefits of hot yoga, and more!

We love... the 2005 movie "Hitch" starring Will Smith and Kevin James. And we love you all! HUZZAH!

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We got our Rich Roll on before this amazing episode! David's appearance on the Rich Roll Podcast came out this week, and we started with some takeaways from a surreal experience. We then pivot into some talk on protein in adaptation and recovery. When in doubt, the answer for us is often to throw some protein on it.

Next was a truly wild study that looked at low energy availability and managed to do the impossible: it included a control group that was blinded to the intervention. How is it even possible to make subject unaware of their caloric intake? How could 2 weeks of intentional underfueling be allowed ethically? We delve into a new frontier of nutrition and performance science.

And this one was jam-packed with fun topics! Other topics: banging the cymbal, what we learned in the few months since the Rich Roll episode was recorded, why enhancing "fat metabolism" via nutritional interventions has limited utility, a review study on swearing and performance, how that has implications for self-talk and internal monologues generally, the emerging science of continuous lactate monitors, our predictions for their future use, an article on the uncertainty of ketones, contrasting that with their widespread adoption in endurance sports, a study on gold medalist Kristian Blummenfelt, how he meets his astronomical fueling needs, how heart rate zones vary across athletes, why everyone is different with heart rate, and Listener Corner.

Thank you all for the love and support to make any of this possible. We love you all! HUZZAH!

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We brought some joyful and fluid-tastic vibes to this great episode! The main topic involved us picking our jaws off the floor as records were absolutely annihilated at the JFK 50 Mile, America's oldest ultramarathon. We have some inside info on how David Sinclair set the record, which we think could be Ultra Performance of the Year. Plus we worship the queen, Rachel Drake. Why are we seeing record after record get smashed at every major race? The answer likely lies at the intersection of training, shoes, and most of all--fueling.

We also talked about a breakthrough new study from the Boston Marathon. Researchers found that the prevalence of low energy availability indicators was associated with worse performance and health outcomes. Find your strong, and you will find your fast!

And this one was full of fun topics! Other topics: David recording through fluid adversity, Megan taking one for the team because she loves the podcast mornings, the "Shoot Your Shot" mini-documentary on the Javelina 100, the frontiers of lubrication, lessons from Ryan Sullivan's incredible long-term progression, Shelby Houlihan returning from her ban, why we want to uplift forgiveness, a question on embracing competition, and Listener Corner.

We love you all! HUZZAH!

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You can smell the excitement on this amazing episode! The main training topic was on David's favorite study of 2024, which caused major changes in his training approach. The study found some potential mechanisms for improved fatigue resistance, but we take it a step further into theories about solving for a puzzle that has flummoxed coaches and researchers forever. Could this study be the missing link connecting fatigue resistance and training interventions? Maybe. We dive into the cutting edge of endurance training to find out.

We also talked about how Megan is planning to rebuild for big goals in 2025 and beyond. It's the perfect opportunity to discuss the interplay of power, speed, cross training, and strength work in an athletic journey. It's also the perfect opportunity to talk about critical internet comments. Scared money don't make money!

And this one was full of awesome topics! Other topics: the perils of heat suit training and weak laundry practices, building strength and power, why people are weird on the internet, a shoe that really let us down, some reviews of "supertrainers" and why we think these shoes are so important in training, a triathlon case study on carb oxidation in long events, the controversy around NSAID use in endurance races, and Listener Corner.

This one was SO MUCH FUN. Like the listener at the end of the episode, you (and we mean everything that goes into what makes you... plus what comes out of you) = awesome.

We love you all! Huzzah!

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We celebrated huge beating genius machines before this awesome episode! The main training topic was on 10 ways our training approaches changed for Leadville and Javelina. Throughout the process of preparing for 100 miles, we made itty bitty alterations that sometimes became big shifts in how our plans usually look. We break down each of them and how they might apply to other athletes. Time to pop a squat (or 2 x 10 reps of them).

Before that, we have a little love letter to listeners. That consists of a new playlist to motivate training, a SWAP hat release, some thoughts on celebration and next steps, and also some sadness about crap that we can’t control. Thank you all for giving us a space to be open and authentic, especially when we’re unsure what to say.

And this one had tons of great topics! Other topics: the Big Dump Truck Energy playlist, the poem How To Triumph Like a Girl, a question on balancing motivation and health, the new 100-mile training plan, a wonderful article on ultra performance that posits that muscle damage is the main limiter, why we think the trainability of running economy is being overlooked, how to think about using feel v. heart rate in harder efforts, David’s interview on the Singletrack podcast, heat training in the cycling peloton, some hot takes that become cold takes on the future of heat training, and Listener Corner.

A lyric that ran through our heads last week was from Bo Burnham: “I want to help to leave this world better than I found it / And I fear that comedy won’t help / And the fear is not unfounded.”

We are recommitting to love.

Raging with love.

We love you all! HUZZAH!

Listen to the Big Dump Truck Energy Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/17c9qrOx2C7DPvQrVKiHaJ?si=a5TxrMlBTniysUSmwz9sOg 

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We answered tons of amazing listener questions on this great episode! We approached Leadville and Javelina like science experiments, and like all good science experiments, we want to share everything before starting a new experiment for the Western States 100. This one is full of sexy science, theory, psychology, nutrition, and so much more!

Our philosophy is "no secrets"... sometimes to a fault. That means spilling the beans on everything from training to nutrition to gear, plus some hot takes on where we think the sport is going.

A list of some of the topics: Freetrail's Javelina race video and our obsessive Youtube history, the Wikipedia page journey, Kilian going for a golden ticket to Western States, whether athletes should wait to do longer ultras, what we have learned about recovery after the races, how we are framing sponsorship discussions, what makes ultras so cool, why David wears nose strips, the anti-chafe approach for Javelina, supershoes for slower runners, training "belief" in running, how our training theory is evolving, muscle fatigue later in races, framing performance through running economy, aerobic build weeks, cross training approaches, longer singles, key workouts, heart rate patterns in training and racing, race day execution, doubts and fears, bicarb and ketones, whether heat suit training will be something we do in the future, pushing the frontiers of hydration, alpha dogging, and big dreams at Western States.

This one was such a joy to record. We can't wait to share the journey with you all ahead!

Or to put it another way: "F what you heard. It's what you hearin." We love you all! HUZZAH!

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We ventured into the unknown at the Javelina 100 Mile, and we're coming back with a celebration to share! This episode is all about processing a life-changing weekend where David won Javelina in 12 hours, 45 minutes to earn a Golden Ticket to the Western States 100.

There was one defining feature of the day: HEAT. Race day featured record temperatures around 100 degrees F in Phoenix, with the course traversing desert cactus that didn't offer a hint of shade. Given the short training time after Leadville, we had the opportunity to conduct the ultimate science experiment. What happens at the edge of human physiology? We strive to give you some answers while they are fresh in our brains.

It's the ultimate "no secrets" episode, where we tell you exactly how we're feeling while we're still in the midst of processing it all. We talk about the journey to the start line, the training that led to the confidence to race aggressively, the science that informed that race strategy, heat adaptation and management, high carb fueling, how the performance revolution in ultras is just getting started, and so much more.

After Leadville, there was one major weakness for the science: a single race is not enough data. That feeling also led to David feeling like an impostor and like Leadville could have been a fluke. Our podcast listeners gave us the courage to know that shooters shoot, and that we'd come back with science and stories no matter what.

And it appears that Leadville wasn't a fluke.

Next up: Western States in 2025. The big dreams will not stop now. The performance revolution in endurance sports is just getting started. Let's all ride the wave!

Thank you so much for being there along the way. None of this would have happened without podcast listeners giving us purpose, joy, and support. We love you all so much! HUZZAH!

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