Host Dirk Friel, Co-founder of TrainingPeaks, talks with expert guests about endurance training and racing topics. We’ll explore coaching methodologies, compelling research and leading tools that can benefit sport performance for coaches and athletes. To learn more about how TrainingPeaks can help your training goals, visit us at trainingpeaks.com.
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes
Steven Brandes
Podcast by Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 5 Ep 3 — The Habits to Running Healthy and Lifelong with Coach Amanda Brooks
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Listen in as Amanda Brooks and Dirk talk pre-hab, fueling as an aging runner, perimenopause and menopause and how she prescribes intensity even to those 60 and 70+ runners. Amanda Brooks is a running coach and author who has helped many runners achieve their goals. She is a perpetual blogger and author of several books, including "Run to the Finish…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#142 Building Your Race Nutrition/Hydration Plan w/ Dr Alex Harrison
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Dr. Alex Harrison, creator of the amazing day-to-day nutrition app Saturday Morning gives you updated nutrition guidance on your day to day training. https://www.saturdaymorning.fit/ Alex also has a very good youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@SaturdayProFuelAndHydration/featured Check him out on Instagram as well https://www.instagram.com/d…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#141: Getting Aero w/ Mark Lund (Kona Qualifier)
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Mark went to visit one of the best bike fitters and aerodynamicists, Jim Manton or ERO Sports. (https://erohighperformance.com/) We also talk about his latest bike lactate testing and the training we will be doing with the results. Hope you enjoy! www.insidethebigring.orgBy Steven Brandes
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#140: Athlete Review: Don't just make TRAININGPEAKS Green
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Sign up for a coaching consultation or coaching! https://insidethebigring.org/coaching
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 5 Ep 2 — NVDM's Secrets to Training Triathletes with Natasha van der Merwe
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Originally from South Africa, founder, CEO and head coach Natasha van der Merwe has built a unique coaching business in Austin, Texas. NVDM Coaching has seen explosive growth over the last two years, and while catering to athletes of all abilities, many have gone on to win age groups or podium spots in a number of Ironman races. Van der Merwe and h…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#139: New Vo2 Max Intervals, Run Mileage, Training Update
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More info can be found at www.insidethebigring.org
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 5 Ep 1 — How Zone 2 Biochemistry Powers Athletes' Biomechanical Energy with Iñigo San Millán
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Dr. Iñigo San Millán is a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, performing clinical and research work in cellular metabolism, especially in diabetes, cardiometabolic disease and cancer. He has been testing and coaching world-class endurance athletes for over 25 years. He is also the Head of Performance for the professional cyc…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#138 3x World Champs Podium- Michael Ross on ALL THINGS TRAINING
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Michael has been on the podium 3xs at the 70.3 and IM world championships. -- He's also showing no signs of slowing down. We dive into his training and mental outlook and how thats changed as he's progressed in the sport find out more at www.insidethebigring.orgBy Steven Brandes, Michael Ross
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4 Ep 12 — Training for World-Class Skimo and a Leadville MTB 100 Podium with John Gaston
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Though coming to the sport later than most, John Gaston is the current U.S. National Ski Mountaineering champion and has won multiple prestigious U.S. events, including the Audi Power of Four 10 times. He is arguably the country's best ski mountaineering, or skimo racer, and competes on the world stage in the winter. During the summer, Gaston mount…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#137: The Training to Qualify for Kona World Champs w/ Eric Smithback
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This is a training talk! We dive into the training that Eric did on his build to IMLP where he qualified as well as the training for Kona in 2022. Hope you enjoy! www.insidethebigring.orgBy Steven Brandes
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#136 Kona, Norwegian Training for Age Groupers w/ Liz Waterstraat
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Coach Liz from Multisport Mastery (www.multisportmastery.com)(Instagram: @MSMJHCCoaching) came on the podcast and we talked about Norwegian Training and it is applicable to age group athletes At the end, we also talk about aging athletes and a small coaching discussion Hope you enjoy it! www.insidethebigring.org…
Are you looking for some training ideas for December? Are you in a plateau and not sure how to get out of it? Give these workouts a try and they may help! Order your Zoot Kits here! https://custom.zootsports.com/InsideTheBigRing24191 Inside The Big Ring www.insidethebigring.org Youtube Channel https://youtu.be/Vvbo1U_-m8A…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#134 Training Run Speed, Improving Body Comp, ZOOT KITS!!!
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Order your Zoot Kits here! https://custom.zootsports.com/InsideTheBigRing24191 Check out Mike Gorski here! www.mgfitlife.com http://www.facebook.com/mgfitlife http://www.instagram.com/mgfitlifeBy Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4 Ep 11 — The Essentials of Training Plans with David Warden and Matt Fitzgerald of 80/20 Endurance
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David Warden and Matt Fitzgerald are the founders of 80/20 Endurance, one of the pioneers of endurance training plans. 80/20 sold its first plan within the TrainingPeaks Marketplace in 2005. Their plans have helped hundreds of thousands of athletes of all experience and ability levels achieve their goals. David Warden is an internationally recogniz…
We recap the 2022 IRONMAN World Champs.By Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4 Ep 10 — The Moxie & Grit of Pro Mother, MTB Racer and Coach Sonya Looney
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Sonya Looney is pushing the traditional notions of training for professional mountain bike racing during and after pregnancy while reinforcing patience and resilience in her clients as a health coach. Despite her results as a pro, she describes herself as a normal person who has accomplished extraordinary things through hard work, self-belief, dete…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#132: Building a Champion, High Level Cyclist to Triathlete
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As a coach, I love talking about athlete development and the different ways athletes get to the top. In this podcast, I talk about how a high-level cyclist got into triathlon and how we developed his swimming and running to be a top age-group athlete! If you're interested in coaching, send me a message at www.insidethebigring.org…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#131 IRONMAN Chattanooga Recap, IMWI, KONA!
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ITS A BIG ONE! Coach Steve talks about his PR race at IRONMAN Chattanooga and what went into his day. We also recap IRONMAN Wisconsin and 70.3! 4th place female pro and 4 more Kona qualifiers! Hope you enjoy it! www.insidethebigring.org
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4 Ep 9 — Triathlon Peaking and Tapering with Craig Alexander, Plus Kona 2022 Predictions
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Craig Alexander, or "Crowie" as many call know him, has formulated an approach to triathlon training through many years as a professional and now as a coach. He talks with Dirk Friel about his approach to hitting peak fitness while balancing a restorative taper for the best performance racing long course triathlon. Crowie and Dirk consider the sche…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#130 IRONMAN Wisconsin, YOUTUBE, Taper Mistakes, Swim Sighting, Periodization Thought
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Here is the latest Youtube Video https://youtu.be/_RAPeYmRiDc For any more information on coaching and podcast, check out www.insidethebigring.orgBy Steven Brandes
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#129: Change in Plans, Aerodynamics, New IRONMAN, Excellence vs Perfection
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www.insidethebigring.orgBy Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4 Ep8 — Training for Big Mountains and Defining New Alpinism with Steve House of Uphill Athlete
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Steve House sees the convergence of technical climbing and mountaineering as "New Alpinism." And the athleticism required to be an all-around alpinist demands a training regimen as diverse as the skills of the blended climbing disciplines used. His coaching company, Uphill Athlete, grew from his work helping lead other alpinists, mountaineers and a…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#128 2nd at Lake Country, PR 70.3 Run, Be Kind to Yourself, USAT AG National
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1) You are who you tell youself. If what you tell yourself is negative, you won't likely improve 2) Listener question: How do i know if im ready for IRONMAN? 3) Tips from World Champ Podium Michael Ross 4) Coach Steve breaks down his recent 70.3 performanceBy Steven Brandes
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#127: Negative Split Rides, How to Progress Intervals, Ohio 70.3 Podiums
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1- Coach Steve talks about mid-season burnout and how he dealt with it 2- Coach Steve is racing Lake Country Half Distance this weekend and he talks about how he prepares for a race where he wants to be competitive 3- Negative Split rides and why they are important 4- Do you need to progress intervals every week to see improvement? 5- Ohio 70.3 pod…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep 7 — Taking Big Risks and Pioneering Gravel Inclusivity with Amy Charity
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Despite establishing a career in the financial domain after college, Amy Charity took a big gamble, trading boardrooms for race courses. She is now a former professional cyclist and member of a World Championship time trial team for the United States, and author of "The Wrong Side of Comfortable." Her new career is co-founder and owner of the SBT G…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#126 Winning Musselman 70.3 and Door County Half. Key training sessions
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In #126 Coach Steve recaps some recent results and also talks about key training sessions for the summer that some of his athletes are doing.
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#125 w/ Bob Seebohar on Metabolic Efficiency: Learn to Burn More Fat during Endurance Exercise
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#125 was an awesome interview with Bob Seebohar talking about ways to become a better endurance athlete through nutrition. Adding in different nutrition protocols can help you become a healthier individual, become a more metabolically efficient athlete, and likely to improve body composition. To be clear, Bob does not promote a Keto Diet and we div…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#124 Training for IRONMAN Wisconsin w/ Coach Steve
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You can take a listen on what Coach Steve has been doing training-wise the off-season to be competitive at IRONMAN WISCONSIN in September. I talk about alot about the exact workouts, volumes, stroke changes, and training phases i've gone through. I hope you enjoy! www.insidethebigring.org Youtube Interview w/ Jon from Flo Cycling Wheels https://you…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep 6 — Sports Psychology Frameworks for Anxiety and Injury with Dr. Justin Ross
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Dr. Ross is a clinical psychologist in Denver, Colo. specializing in athlete mental health and performance. He helps address issues such as anxiety, depression, disordered eating and insomnia while aiming to develop high-performance sports psychology skills within any field of play. Dr. Ross authored the Introduction to Sports Psychology for Endura…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#123 Road to IRONMAN World Champs w/ Jess Barrett Part 2
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Here is the second installment with the training and racing with Jess Barrett as she prepares for IRONMAN World Champs in Kona Hawaii. We talk a lot about Jess's current training, workouts, mind space, races that have happened, and mistakes we've made. A lot of people enjoyed the first episode we did and you get to follow along with someone prepari…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#122: Longevity in Triathlon w/ Elizabeth Waterstraat and Marni Sumbal
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#122 may be one of my favorite episodes. The talk is with two fantastic coaches on a very important topic... LONGEVITY in endurance sports. I hope everyone enjoys the talk. Elizabeth from Multisport Mastery https://multisportmastery.com/ Marni from TriMarni Coaching https://www.trimarnicoach.com/By Steven Brandes, Elizabeth Waterstraat, Marni Sumball
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#121 Anatomy of a World Champion- Eric Engel
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World Champ Eric Engel comes on the podcast and we talk about his training into St George World Champs, we also talk about motivation, dealing with imposter syndrome, race anxiety, and breaking down his race at St George. Follow eric at https://www.instagram.com/eric.r.engel/?hl=en https://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/The_Fast_and_Engaging_Eric_Eng…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#120. Jon Thornham- FLO Cycling on Aerodynamics, Tire Pressue, Aero Wheels
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In episode #120 we talk with Jon Thornham with FLO Cycling about all things cycling and how to optimize your set up. Tire presure, tire size, tire selection, aerodynamic wheels, how deep of wheels should you run? Great talk! https://flocycling.com/By Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep 5 — Ultrarunning: Training, Mental Skills and the Hierarchy of Needs with Jason Koop
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Ultramarathon running is a complex sport. Jason Koop's updated book, "Training Essentials for Ultrarunning," dives into the complexity to help answer many of the questions that ultrarunners and other competitors face as endurance athletes. The book is filled with evidence-based methodologies that may be useful for athletes in other endurance sports…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#119. Olivia Dietzel on Training for IRONMAN World Championships
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Olivia came on the podcast and we had a great talk on a variety of topics 1) Her progression in this sport 2) Making IRONMAN bigger than herself 3) Her ups and downs with finding the right coach 4) Key training sessions Olivia finds helpful 5) WINNING 70.3 Michigan in 2021
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#118. IM World Champ Pro Preview & 70.3 Key Training Sessions
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IN episode 118, we bring on everyone's favorite coach Jason Lentzke and new to the show Josh Venis to talk about the upcoming IRONMAN World Championships in St George, we break down the course and pick who we think will win the race! -- We also talk about key swim, bike, and run sessions we prescribe with our athletes looking for peak perfomance an…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep 4 — Coaching Race Day Ready with Joy and Brian McCulloch
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Joy and Brian McCulloch are the husband and wife team behind the southern California-based Big Wheel Coaching. Joy was a high school P.E. teacher and professional mountain biker. Her vision behind Big Wheel Coaching was to bring P.E. to adults by providing structure, feedback and accountability to athletes. Brian joined the business in 2016 and has…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#117. HRV, Blood Glucose Monitoring, Lactate Testing w/ David Tilbury-Davis and Jason Lentzke on
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Here is the second part of our conversation with David and Jason where we talk over 1) Discussion of athlete development from short course racing to long course racing 2) HRV usage 3) Blood Glucose Monitoring 4) Lactate Testing and UsageBy Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep 3 — Nutrition Training for Race Day and Beyond with Asker Jeukendrup
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Recognized as one of the world’s leading sports nutrition experts, Asker Jeukendrup is the author of several books on sports nutrition and over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles on exercise and sports nutrition. He started a consulting business, mysportsscience.com, where he advises teams and organizations. Jeukendrup is currently head of nutritio…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#116. Key Training Principles w/ David Tilbury-Davis and Jason Lentzke
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Today we talk with coaches David Tilbury-Davis and Jason Lentzke. This is a two part episode and during this part we talk about Polarized vs Pyramidal Training, Key training principles for high performing athletes, and key training for IRONMAN performances! Find David Here! https://www.tilburydavis.com/ Find Jason Here! https://www.toroperformance.…
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#115. Road to Kona w/ Jess Barrett (Training Edition)
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This is the first installment of Jess's training up to Kona! We will be having these check ins talking about what shes doing, what shes racing, the mental ups and downs along the way. www.insidethebigring.orgBy Steven Brandes
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep. 2 — Bike Fitting, Technology, Biomechanics and the Future with Dr. Andy Pruitt
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Dr. Andy Pruitt, whose professional legacy includes the pioneering of 3-D bike fits, three patents for the development of Specialized Body Geometry shoes and saddles, all of which are designed to help optimize performance and comfort based on individual anatomy. Dr. Pruitt has spent his entire career helping thousands of riders from Tour de France …
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 4, Ep. 1 — Running and COVID Recovery with Gwen Jorgensen and Bobby McGee
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Gwen Jorgensen won the triathlon gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic games after a pair of ITU World Triathlon Series championships in 2014 and 2015. She has since retired from professional triathlon and is focused on marathon running. She will be inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame in August of 2022. After contracting COVID-19 recently, sh…
Episode 114 brings Mark Lund where he talks about his heroic day at 2021 IRONMAN Wisconsin where he won his AG and earned himself a Kona Qualification -- We also talk about his training and development that helped him get there!
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Inside The Big Ring: The Podcast for Endurance Athletes


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#113. Kona Bound: Amanda Marek & Jess Barrett
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Two athletes in the studio! Amanda Marek and Jess Barret came in together and we talked about what it took for them to get to Kona. Both athletes qualified at IRONMAN Wisconsin. In 2019 Amanda was the overall female age grouper and in 2021 Jess was the 40-44 Age Group Winner. -- Super fun episode! --- www.insidethebigring.org…
Bob started his triathlon career with no endurance background and earned himself a Kona Qualification spot. What's even more special is his approach to his big race at IRONMAN Chattanooga, he did 3 races in 3 weeks. 1) 70.3 Madison where he earned another World Championship slot 2) 70.3 World Championships 3) IRONMAN Chattanoha where he Kona Qualif…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 3, Ep. 22 From Distance Running to Weightlifting with Ryan Hall
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Ryan Hall left the pro running circuit in 2016. The U.S. half marathon record-holder and unofficial American marathon record-holder has a new passion these days — bodybuilding. From running a sub-2:05 Boston Marathon in 2011 to putting on 40 pounds of muscle, Hall found a new fulfilling way of expressing himself after his body told him his competit…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season, 3, Ep. 18 Talking Gravel Racing and Life with Peter Stetina
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Peter Stetina was an accomplished World Tour road cyclist before embracing gravel racing in 2019. He quickly established himself as one of the best in the sport, winning Utah’s Crusher in the Tushar, the 2021 Belgian Waffle Ride San Diego and the inaugural Leadboat, which is the combination of two arduous endurance races for a total of 250 miles ov…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 3, Ep. 20 Exploring Skimo with Joe Howdyshell and Grace Staberg
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Ski mountaineering, or Skimo, has been gaining traction among winter sports athletes for years. With the recent announcement that the sport will be included in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Skimo will soon be elevated to a worldwide stage. Grace Staberg, 19, is an accomplished ultramarathon runner and a hopeful to represent the United States i…
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TrainingPeaks CoachCast


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Season 3, Ep. 19 Finding More Meaning in the Training with Chris Hauth
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Chris Hauth intimately knows the interworking of a master's athlete. He knows the family and social obligations, recognizes the desire to remain competitive but also owns the fact the motivation shifts dramatically as athletes age. The glamor of big podium racing fades thus requiring athletes to seek out a deeper ‘why.’ Listen as he and Dirk explor…