The dog days of summer are here, and with them come the "dog days of training"- when the novelty of those blissful warm summer days wears off; and instead, we find it harder and harder to stay motivated to keep the training going through heat, summer activities, and a month where there isn't too much racing happening. In this episode, we cover ways to combat summer fatigue. Topics covered:

• Navigating the August Slump and Motivation
• Managing the Heat and Adapting Your Training
• Taking Vacations / August Breaks
• Avoiding the Trap of Comparison
• Why are you doing this
• 80/20 for goals and 3-2-1 rule
• Prioritizing Sleep and Nutrition

In February of this year, as she was training for Ironman Texas, pro triathlete Angela Naeth suffered what could have been a career-ending injury: a femoral neck stress fracture. In March, she had to have surgery in order for it to heal properly. Just last week, she raced Challenge Cap Quebec, a half-distance triathlon, which proved to be a successful rehearsal for bigger goals ahead. But how did she get from needing to use a mop to stand up to crossing the finish line of a 70.3 almost 6 months later? In this episode, Angela tells her story. Her success lies not only in her positive mindset, but also in her willingness to let go. And at the end, she talks about her biggest takeaways from dealing with such a severe and scary injury.

Everyone has a story, and Sara Davis's story is pretty remarkable. At 17 years old, Sara watched her sister battle a severe eating disorder, and then take her own life. When Sara went to college, she used alcohol and drugs to avoid feelings and grief. In 2006, months after her father passed away from a heart attack, Sara decided to get sober and found meaning in helping others. This is also when she found triathlon. Sara shares her story in the first half of the podcast and then in the second half, we talk about mindset, negative and positive self talk, how to break out of the anxious "what ifs," and finding the balance between the emotional brain and logical brain.

The book mentioned: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Amelia and Emily Nagoski

Sara's charity: https://www.myedin.org

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/sara-davis-alpharetta-ga/262701

The phrase "try hard" is ingrained in sport. We "try hard" to hit our numbers. We "try hard" on race day. We "try hard" to stick to a nutrition plan...to make it to a track workout...to finish that interval. You get the idea. So what if we tried "less?" What if we let go of the combination of the word "try" and "hard" and just....let go? In today's podcast, we talk about just that. Some topics covered:

• The tendency to overdo it in training and racing
• The role breathing and flow state play
• The power of trying less
• Relaxation and proper breathing for performance
• The importance of recovery and time off
• Flexibility and training in nutrition
• Finding joy in training and racing

Have a listen!

The Tour de France is considered the most prestigious cycling race of the year. For three weeks in July, 20-22 professional cycling teams, each comprised of 8 riders, complete 21 stages of riding, covering about 2200 miles in the Alps and the Pyrenees. And while we may not be able to sprint like Biniam Girmay, or climb like Tadej Pogacar, or time trial like Jonas Vingegaard, or win 35 stages (let alone one) like Mark Cavendish, there are many lessons to be learned from these riders and their teams. In fact, you might have more in common with them than you think. In this episode, we talk about what you can take away from these atheltes and use in your own training and racing and life. And if that doesn't pique your interest, then listen in for a vocabulary lesson from Angela and you, too, can make it your "word of the day."

You have done the training. You have followed the plan. You think you are ready for your race. But are you truly setting yourself up for success or are you possibly getting in your own way before the race even starts. In this episode, we talk about some common issues that (conciously or subconciously) might be sabotaging your race day before it even starts. From mindset to maintenance, it's all in here. Have a listen!

[REPOST] We are so excited to bring you our conversation with Dr. Kate Ackerman. Dr. Ackerman is the medical director of the Female Athlete Program in the Sports Medicine Division at Boston Children's Hospital and is now on the forefront of research involving female athletes and perimenopause and menopause. There are very few reliable studies involving older female athletes and Dr. Ackerman and her colleagues are working to change that with the Female Athlete Program , an innovation hub for the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance. Their center brings together national and international sports medicine clinicians and researchers with the aim of answering fundamental physiological and sports performance questions related to female athletes. We cover a lot, including what supplements she recommends, why hormone replacement (HRT) can work, if you are a candidate for HRT, and what we women can do to help us feel strong and perform well from our 20s and 30s to our 60s and 70s. Have a listen!

Sports Dietician Laura Moretti Reece is back to debunk and demystify some of the biggest topics in sports nutrition. Topics covered:

• What are macros and what should my macro goals be per day?
• Does cortisol make you gain weight?
• Can you do morning workouts fasted?
• What does underfueling look like?
• Is it possible to have too much sugar while training?
• What should you eat before bed if you are hungry?
• How to sift through the BS on social media
• Does an anti- inflammatory diet work?
• What does clean eating mean?
• Laura's top tips for athletes this summer

https://www.lauramorettird.com

We are back with Part 2 of listener questions! Lots to dive into in this one!

• What workouts can you do if you can't bike or run, but can walk
• How to stop early plantar fasciitis
• When do you need a recovery drink after a workout? And when do you not need one?
• Which is bettter: riding and running by power or heart rate?
• Are power and cadence outdoors important to have? What if you only have them when on your trainer?
• Why does ironman have splits at the most random spots?
• How often should you FTP and CSS test? (Functional threshold power and critical swim speed)
• Critical power discussion
• Does panic training work? What if you really are not ready for an upcoming race with 3 weeks left ?

Happy June everyone! It's time for another round of listener questions, and we had so many that we split it up into two parts. Part 1 answers the questions below:

• Balancing open water vs pool sessions
• How do you get over being pummeled in a swim ?
• How to find the joy in swimming and not overthink everything?
• Is a TT bike boring?
• Is a TT bike harder to ride than a road bike?
• How do you clip in and not die?
• How do you strength train so you don't have dead legs on the bike?
• How do you improve mobility in your hips, shoulders, and ankles?
• How often do should you clean your bike and can you use degreaser?