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If you train seriously long enough, eventually you hit the point where your body stops feeling “good.” Your legs feel dead. Recovery slows down. Workouts that normally feel manageable suddenly feel heavy. And then the mental spiral starts:

Am I adapting… or breaking down?

In this episode, Coaches Justin and Katie break down the difference between normal training soreness, accumulated fatigue, and genuine warning-sign pain. They discuss how endurance athletes misinterpret body signals, when soreness is actually part of progress, and how to recognize when your body is telling you something more serious.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to tell the difference between productive soreness and injury-warning pain
• Why fatigue, stress, sleep, and life load all impact recovery
• When athletes should push through discomfort — and when they should back off
• What recovery tools actually do (and what they don’t)

Timestamps:
00:00 — Why soreness became the topic of this episode
02:10 — The fine line between soreness and pain
05:20 — Marathon training fatigue and struggling workouts
09:20 — Strength training, recovery, and accumulated fatigue
19:30 — Heat training, stress, and recovery load
23:15 — What delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) actually is
30:15 — Why soreness is part of adaptation
35:10 — When soreness becomes excessive
42:30 — Soreness vs fatigue vs injury
49:00 — Sharp pain, tendon pain, and warning signs
57:20 — Should you train through soreness?
1:04:30 — Recovery days, nutrition, hydration, and rebuilding

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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In this solo episode of The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast, Katie shares an honest update on her road to Grandma’s Marathon and takes listeners inside the reality of marathon training after a setback from illness. After battling the flu and losing valuable training time, Katie discusses the challenges of rebuilding fitness, navigating difficult workouts, and balancing confidence with uncertainty as race day approaches.

The episode also dives deep into the concept of functional overreaching — what it is, why endurance athletes sometimes intentionally push beyond their limit, and how to recognize the difference between productive fatigue and overtraining. Katie explains how athletes can safely use periods of increased training load to stimulate adaptation while avoiding the dangers of non-functional overreaching and burnout.

Topics covered include:

• An update on Katie's marathon training over the past two week
• Why workouts can suddenly feel harder than expected
• Understanding functional vs. non-functional overreaching
• Signs you may be pushing too far
• How recovery, sleep, and nutrition affect adaptation
• The importance of fueling during high-volume marathon training
• Why higher carbohydrate intake may improve recovery and performance
• Adjusting training when life, fatigue, and stress collide
• The mental side of marathon preparation and trusting the process

Katie also shares practical insight into her current marathon build, including high-mileage weeks, strength training integration, fueling experiments, and how she’s adapting her plan in real time leading into race day.

Whether you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, or simply trying to balance hard training with recovery, this episode offers a relatable and educational look at the fine line between pushing your limits and pushing too far.

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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Being a strong runner does not guarantee a strong Ironman marathon.

In a standalone marathon, you start fresh. In a full Ironman, the marathon begins after a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, hours of fatigue, fueling decisions, pacing mistakes, and muscular damage that have already shaped what your run can become.

In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie compare standalone marathon training with Ironman marathon training and explain why runners moving into long-course triathlon often need a completely different mindset. If you’ve ever assumed the Ironman run is “just a marathon,” this conversation will challenge that idea.

What You’ll Learn

• Why the Ironman marathon is usually decided before you ever start running
• How bike fitness and bike execution protect your run more than extra run volume
• Why fueling mistakes on the bike can sabotage the marathon later
• How runners need to rethink pacing, patience, recovery, and expectations in Ironman training

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why runners misunderstand the Ironman marathon
03:02 – How standalone marathon training is usually structured
08:41 – Why Ironman run training starts with bike fitness
17:44 – Why marathon expectations do not transfer cleanly to Ironman
22:03 – How overbiking destroys the run
33:04 – Why bike fueling determines marathon survival
43:25 – Flavor fatigue, texture fatigue, and long-course nutrition strategy
47:23 – Long runs: marathon training vs Ironman training
53:49 – How much run intensity belongs in Ironman training
1:02:22 – Why patience off the bike matters
1:10:17 – Recovery differences between marathon and Ironman training
1:25:35 – Final thoughts

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this solo episode of The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast, Katie takes a deep dive into the fascinating evolution of endurance fueling and how high-carb strategies are reshaping modern performance. From the early days of marathon racing in the late 1800s—when athletes fueled with steak, eggs, whiskey, and even avoided water—to today’s precision fueling strategies of 80–120 grams of carbs per hour, Katie explores how sports nutrition has transformed over time.

Using recent breakthroughs in marathon performance, including two sub-2-hour marathon performances in the London marathon, Katie examines the major factors driving athletes faster than ever before: fueling, shoe technology, training advancements, recovery science, and evolving sports nutrition products. This deep dive focuses on the fueling and sports nutrition products.

This episode covers:

• The surprising history of marathon fueling
• Why athletes once believed dehydration improved performance
• The discovery of glycogen and carbohydrate loading
• The rise of Gatorade, gels, and modern sports nutrition
• The low-carb/high-fat era and why many elite athletes have moved away from it
• How under-fueling still impacts many endurance athletes today
• The importance of gut training and individualized fueling
• Why modern athletes are prioritizing fueling over simply staying lean
• The future of high-carb fueling and endurance performance

Katie also reflects on how outdated “tough it out” mindsets still influence athletes today and explains why fueling is no longer viewed as separate from training—but an essential part of it.

Whether you're a marathoner, triathlete, cyclist, or endurance athlete looking to improve performance and recovery, this episode offers valuable insight into how fueling strategies have evolved—and where they may be heading next.

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

If you are fit enough to finish the race, but not durable enough to keep training, eventually the cycle catches up with you.

You build fitness, make progress, start to believe things are working — and then something breaks down. Injury, inconsistency, burnout, lost motivation, or another restart from square one.

In this episode, we break down the difference between fitness and durability, why chasing performance too aggressively can keep athletes stuck, and what it actually takes to build a foundation that supports repeatable progress.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why fitness and durability are not the same thing
• How the “rebuild cycle” keeps endurance athletes from long-term progress
• Why more intensity is often the wrong solution
• How strength, frequency, recovery, and patience create sustainable performance

Timestamps:

00:00 — Introduction to fitness vs durability
01:29 — Why run frequency sparked this conversation
04:39 — The limits of three-day-a-week training
08:43 — Why early performance gains do not last forever
16:03 — Fitness for completion vs durability for performance
21:00 — The rebuild cycle and why athletes get stuck
27:51 — Why cookie-cutter plans do not work for everyone
33:16 — Fitness is capacity; durability is replicability
43:28 — How to start building durability
52:30 — Adding frequency without overloading the body
1:04:54 — The danger of validating every workout
1:12:47 — Playing the long game in endurance training

If this episode helped you understand why your training keeps breaking down, share it with another runner, triathlete, or endurance athlete who may need to hear it.

You can also join The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast Group on Facebook to continue the conversation and connect with other endurance athletes working through the same challenges.

If you are tired of guessing your way through training, Coach Justin and Coach Katie are both active coaches accepting athletes.

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of the Road to Grandma’s Marathon series, sports dietitian, coach, and endurance athlete Katie shares an honest update on her marathon build after being sidelined by illness for nearly two weeks. From elevated heart rates and lingering fatigue to rebuilding confidence after difficult workouts, Katie opens up about the physical and mental challenges of returning to training after getting sick — especially as a masters athlete balancing recovery with high mileage.

Katie walks listeners through her recent training week, including modified workouts, a challenging half marathon effort, and the frustration of feeling disconnected from the fitness and momentum she had built before getting sick. She also dives deep into one of the most important topics for endurance athletes: recovery.

In this episode, Katie discusses:

• How illness impacts endurance performance and recovery
• Elevated heart rate and post-viral training struggles
• The mental side of setbacks and rebuilding confidence
• Why recovery becomes even more important for masters athletes
• The key pillars of recovery: sleep, nutrition, hydration, and stress management
• The importance of carbohydrates during and after training
• Managing training load and listening to your body
• Recovery tools like mobility work, foam rolling, compression, massage, and active recovery
• Supplements that may support recovery, including protein powder, creatine, omega-3s, tart cherry juice, and magnesium

Whether you’re training for a marathon, returning from illness, or simply trying to balance hard training with recovery, this episode offers practical strategies and relatable insight into the realities of endurance training and the importance of patience during setbacks.

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

You missed training. You got sick. Something flared up. Life got in the way.

Now the plan you imagined is not the plan you are actually living — and the question becomes: is your race still salvageable, or did the setback change everything?

In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie talk through how endurance athletes should adjust after illness, injury, missed workouts, or disrupted training. More importantly, they explain why trying to “make up” lost training is often the fastest way to turn one setback into a bigger problem.

What You’ll Learn:
Why missed training does not automatically mean your race is ruined
The mistake athletes make when they try to cram lost workouts back into the plan
How to return to training without rushing intensity or volume
When to adjust the plan, when to adjust expectations, and when to stay patient

Timestamps:
00:00 — Why this episode matters
03:28 — Katie’s illness and the reality of interrupted training
08:07 — The emotional side of setbacks and lost expectations
13:10 — Why making up missed training usually backfires
17:12 — Patience, gratitude, and reframing the setback
23:02 — Handling the uncertainty of return-to-training
30:35 — Why injury and illness prevention is never guaranteed
34:51 — What to do after a short-term setback
38:13 — Returning day by day instead of forcing the plan
44:12 — Why movement comes before structured training
54:23 — How timing affects the cost of missed training
01:06:23 — Why race day is not decided by a perfect training block

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

If swimming feels harder than it should, this episode is for you.

Coach Justin breaks down the most common swim questions triathletes struggle with — from feeling exhausted after 100 yards to panicking in open water, sinking legs, breathing problems, and why so many athletes stop improving despite spending more time in the pool.

This episode is not about swimming more mindlessly. It’s about learning how to swim with better structure, better awareness, and better efficiency so you can become more confident and capable in the water without feeling like you need to be a lifelong swimmer to belong in the sport.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why simply swimming more often doesn’t automatically make you a better swimmer
• The real causes behind panic, breathlessness, and fatigue in the water
• How strength training and body position directly impact swim performance
• How to structure swim workouts with purpose instead of just “getting yards in”

Key Takeaway:

Better swimming is not primarily about grinding out more yards — it’s about developing efficiency, strength, confidence, and purposeful structure in the water.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction + the biggest swim question triathletes ask
01:00 – Why swimming more isn’t always the answer
04:00 – Swim technique analysis and visual feedback
06:00 – Strength training for better swimming
12:00 – Why structured swim workouts matter
14:00 – Why open water swimming feels slower
20:00 – Breathing, panic, and oxygen control in the water
33:00 – Do you need to be a “good swimmer” to do triathlon?
44:00 – How to stop sinking and dropping your legs
49:00 – Should triathletes use pull buoys, paddles, and fins?
54:00 – How often should triathletes swim each week?
01:03:00 – Why you feel exhausted after 100–200 yards and how to fix it

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com