This week’s episode is a special one for us. We got to interview an everyday hero, Elena’s high school cross country coach and chemistry teacher, Susan “Coach” Savage. A self-declared Title IX baby, Coach Savage grew up running with the boys before her talent finally convinced the Pittsburgh City Schools to start a girls track program. She went on to run on scholarship for West Virginia University, before eventually settling in Ohio to start a 40+ year career as a standout high school cross country and track coach and chemistry teacher. We chat about overcoming early obstacles as a woman in sport, developing her wise coaching philosophy, and listening to your body as a lifelong athlete. We already know Coach Savage has had a tremendous impact on the hundreds of athletes she’s coached, and, as a pioneer for women in sport who’s always flown under the radar, we’re honored to share her story and wisdom!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

This episode is all about one of the terms we use the most as coaches: Life Stress Score (LSS). Like Training Stress Score (TSS), we think of LSS as a way to quantify the mental and emotional toll brought on by life being hard, and our goal as coaches is to help you manage training and performance through periods of high LSS. We cover what LSS is, how to track it, why to track it, how to manage it, and how to adapt training when LSS is high. We also go over a bunch of really fun coaching and training insights, celebrate Katie finishing her PhD, answer listener questions, and share some favorite gear items. This is a fun one!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

This week's episode is one of our all-time favorites. We're joined by Gina des Cognets, Senior Director of Organizational Development at Strava, a life and leadership coach, and one of our most valued athletes at the Endurance Drive. Gina joins Katie and Elena to share her wisdom and practical strategies for success when it comes to valuing excellence, non-linear career paths, "mid-life moments" and listening to your gut, balance as bullsh*t, focusing on your strengths, naming your inner critic, reframing your narrative, and taking on big challenges in both athletics and life. We also talk about her work in leadership at Strava. Everyone needs a Gina in their life, and we're so pumped to get to share her insights with our whole audience. Thank you Gina!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

As athletes and coaches, we have SO much data at our disposal. It can help you out or drive you crazy. Our goal today is to break down what data is useful and what data you should ignore. We cover: heart rate data (zone training, resting HR, HRV), data in TrainingPeaks (TSS, CTL, ATL, TSB), "stuff that Garmin says" (performance condition, training status, recovery time, heat/altitude acclimation, lactate threshold, VO2 max, weather warnings), specific data for swim, bike, and run, sleep data, and a whole lot more. We also chat through 'reset days,' the mental side of performance, fueling, and a bunch of other fun topics in our coaching & training insights and our listener questions. This is a can't-miss episode!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

This is the last episode of our five-episode series that covers the perspectives and experiences that we crowdsourced from our community about the rewards and challenges that female athletes face. Here, we're pulling out themes related to how it makes us feel: strong, capable, and badass, but also unwelcome, unworthy, or unrelatable, depending on the context. We talk about how being a female endurance athlete impacts other domains of life (professional, family, etc.), how endurance training interacts with mental health, how endurance pursuits feed into feelings of being an underdog or being selfish, and a whole lot more. We also preview where we're going next with the Female Athlete Stories segment of the podcast. Thanks for listening!

View out extended show notes for this episode here.

In this week's episode, we welcome our very own Coach Kevin Prunty onto the podcast to talk about his introduction into sport, the role competitive lacrosse and a career-ending concussion played in shaping his trajectory as an endurance athlete, the importance of family and support networks, his experience qualifying for Kona at his first Ironman in Lake Placid, his launch of KPI Training and inspiring others through social media, his thoughts on marathon training and strength training, and so much more. Check it out!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

Follow KPI Training on Instagram here!

In the fourth installment of our special series, Female Athlete Stories, we’re tackling the forces we’re up against. Highlights of this super rich episode include: another deep dive on body image, the objectification of the female athlete body, safety as female athletes, femininity and athletics, the myth of balance for women in sport, navigating the medical system and health challenges as a female athlete, lack of research, and cultural assumptions about our abilities and performance. This was a fun one! 

View extended show notes for this episode here.

To submit additional perspectives and experiences to future episodes, check out ⁠this link⁠!

Safety resources: 

Strava Beacon / Find Friends for location sharing

Garmin inReach for backcountry adventures 

On balance: Work Play Love podcast (Lauren Fleshman and Jesse Thomas)

Articles we mentioned:

Labor market value of motherhood

One Partner Runs the Marathon — and the Other Does Everything Else

Female athlete research and resources we mentioned: 

Female Athlete Science and Translational Research Program (FASTR) at Stanford

Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital

Gender gaps in sport science research

On the dangers of intermittent fasting for female athletes

ROAR by Stacy Sims

Up to Speed by Christine Yu

Our emails:

Katie: [email protected]

Elena: [email protected]

This week's episode is all about what you should be thinking about (and what life will look like) if you decide to sign up for a big endurance challenge like an Ironman. We highlight four key things to ask yourself before you bite the bullet, cover the top practical items you will need to support your endurance journey, and outline the progression of training for big events like these. We also share some coaching and training insights on workout modifications and the ebb and flow of life and training, answer a bunch of listener questions, introduce a new segment (Challenge of the Week) and share our favorite gear picks. This is a fun one, so check it out!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

This is the third episode in our special new series, Female Athlete Stories. We start with a recap of Elena's outstanding win at the Black Canyon 60K last weekend, highlighting insights and strategies that transcend sports and ability levels across the board. We then cover some of the key differences our listeners have noted between male and female athlete communities, stories of female athletes in male-dominated sport spaces, intersectionality in endurance sports, and why we find that endurance communities are so strong.

To submit additional perspectives and experiences to future episodes, check out this link!

View extended show notes for this episode here.

When we started the podcast, we made a list of who we wanted to interview. Our guest today was Jim’s number one pick: Greg Mueller, AKA the best coach you’ve never heard of. Greg runs a pro triathlete squad via his TEAM INNOVATIVE ENDURANCE business and coaches age group athletes. Greg’s pro squad includes Colleen Quigley, Grace Norman, Allysa Seely, Brett Saunders, Malachi Henry, and Derek Oskutis.

Greg is Level 3 USAT Triathlon Coach, Level 2 International Triathlon Union Competitive Coach, Level 1 USATF Running Coach, Level 3 USA Cycling Coach & USAT Youth & Junior Certified Coach.

But more than that, Greg is one of the most well thought-out, communicative, person first coaches you’ll ever encounter. His insights into training principles, physiology, movement, communication, athlete development and much more are lessons for everyone. If you want to be a better endurance athlete or coach, this episode is for you!

View extended show notes for this episode here.