The Endurance Athlete Journey

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Your motivation is still there—but your body may not respond to training, stress, and recovery the way it once did. Is that simply part of aging, a warning sign that deserves attention, or something you can actively manage?
In the first episode of this masters athlete series, Coach Justin and Coach Katie examine the hormonal, bone-health, sleep, fueling, and lifestyle changes endurance athletes may face as they get older. They also confront a difficult reality: preserving health and performance may require new strategies, medical guidance, and a willingness to stop treating every setback as something harder training can fix.
What You’ll Learn
 How hormonal changes can affect sleep, recovery, bone health, body composition, and the ability to train consistently 
 Why underfueling becomes especially risky for aging runners, triathletes, and endurance athletes 
 The complicated line between hormone replacement, healthy aging, and competitive fairness 
 How experience and self-awareness can become genuine performance advantages as physical resilience changes 
Timestamps
00:00 – Training updates and the start of a masters athlete series
09:17 – What changes as endurance athletes get older?
10:49 – Perimenopause, menopause, and hormonal fluctuations
18:47 – Hormone replacement and competitive fairness
25:11 – Declining testosterone and what male athletes can do
33:38 – Bone health concerns for masters athletes
34:47 – Underfueling, calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium
39:07 – Strength training, plyometrics, and DEXA scans
47:39 – Why sleep quality can change with age
50:32 – Caffeine, sleep routines, and training after a poor night
1:04:43 – Career, family, and the changing burden of life stress
1:09:24 – The advantage aging athletes should not overlook
For coaching inquiries:
Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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The most confident advice is not always the right advice for you.
Endurance athletes are surrounded by rigid rules about training, race goals, indoor workouts, and fueling. But what happens when the accepted formula does not fit your fitness, experience, body, or life?
In this listener Q&A episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie explain how to evaluate common endurance recommendations, apply them with context, and make decisions based on the athlete in front of you—not a one-size-fits-all prescription.
What You’ll Learn
How to recognize credible training advice—and the red flags behind overly certain claims
When your race goal should guide training and when completed training should reset the goal
What treadmills and indoor bike trainers do exceptionally well—and what they cannot prepare you for
Why carbohydrate targets require more nuance than body weight, age, or a universal grams-per-hour formula
Timestamps
00:00 – Listener Q&A and training-life updates
12:13 – How do you know which training advice to trust?
22:26 – The difference between textbook knowledge and athlete-specific coaching
25:49 – Why elite-athlete advice may not apply to you
31:24 – Should race goals dictate training—or should training dictate race goals?
39:39 – How fixed goals can limit performance
44:56 – When race expectations should change during a training cycle
47:38 – Can you prepare for a race on a treadmill or indoor trainer?
50:20 – The strengths and limitations of indoor bike training
53:22 – Why treadmill training can be highly effective
57:47 – How should endurance athletes calculate carbohydrate needs?
1:13:35 – Carb targets, gut training, athlete size, and age
For coaching inquiries:
Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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You gave months of your life to a race—but the day you imagined never happened. Now you are left deciding what the result means, what went wrong, and whether another race will bring redemption or deepen the disappointment.

In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie share their own difficult race experiences and explain how to process a disappointing performance before making your next decision. Because the healthiest response is not always another registration—it is understanding whether you still want the training process or simply want a different result.

What You’ll Learn
How to separate a disappointing result from your identity and ability as an athlete
Why illness, missed training, and panic training can turn one setback into a larger problem
How to tell whether a redemption race is driven by genuine motivation or the need to prove yourself
Why returning to the process—not chasing validation—creates greater enjoyment and longevity in endurance sports

Timestamps
0:00 – What to Do After a Disappointing Race
2:21 – Katie’s Experience at Grandma’s Marathon
5:17 – Justin’s Difficult Return at IRONMAN Florida 70.3
9:14 – The Emotional Recovery After a Race
14:11 – Wanting Another Race vs. Wanting Another Result
20:13 – When Outcome Pressure Ruins the Process
23:39 – Panic Training After Illness or Missed Workouts
28:43 – Why Athletes Struggle to Coach Themselves
38:10 – How Difficult Races Can Make Better Coaches
47:37 – Why Finishing Times Never Tell the Whole Story
1:09:51 – Shifting From Outcome Goals to the Training Process
1:15:50 – Should You Sign Up for a Redemption Race?

For coaching inquiries:
Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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What if reaching your race weight is the very thing that ruins your race?
GLP-1 medications may help an athlete lose weight, but using them during race-specific training can also reduce fueling, impair recovery, accelerate muscle loss, and limit the fitness needed to perform. You could arrive at the starting line lighter—but less prepared.
In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie examine where GLP-1 medications may fit for endurance athletes, when the risks can outweigh the benefits, and why significant weight loss should be treated as its own strategic phase rather than forced into a marathon, triathlon, or cycling build.
What You’ll Learn
Why a lower race weight does not guarantee better performance
How GLP-1s can affect fueling, muscle retention, recovery, and training quality
Why rapid weight loss during a race build increases RED-S and injury risk
When a separate, medically supported weight-loss phase may make more sense
Timestamps
00:00 – GLP-1 medications and the pursuit of race weight
06:52 – How GLP-1 medications work
14:12 – Benefits, side effects, and unanswered safety questions
25:26 – Why GLP-1 medications produce weight loss
35:15 – An athlete losing weight while training for a 70.3
44:19 – When race-weight goals become a warning sign
56:13 – Who may benefit from GLP-1 medications
1:05:47 – RED-S, muscle loss, and impaired recovery
1:17:43 – GI symptoms and the challenge of fueling endurance training
1:27:24 – Why reaching race weight may cost more fitness than it creates
1:31:15 – A better time and strategy for athlete weight loss
1:46:24 – Finding a better reason than chasing a number
For coaching inquiries:
Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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You are tired of following a structured training plan, but you are also afraid that if you back off, you will lose fitness and have to start over.
That is the tension a lot of endurance athletes face after a big race, during the off-season, around holidays, or between major goals. You may not need a highly specific training plan all year long, but that does not mean you need to remove structure completely.
In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie talk through when it makes sense to loosen the plan, how to stay consistent without feeling trapped by training, and why the best answer is often not “plan or no plan,” but the right amount of structure for the season you are in.
What You’ll Learn:
Why “less structure” does not mean “no structure”
When it makes sense to take a break from a rigid training plan
How guardrails help you stay fit without burning out
Why jumping from one race plan to the next can hurt long-term consistency
Timestamps:
00:00 When to follow a plan vs. loosen the structure
02:18 Katie’s approach after marathon training
08:19 Justin’s view on maintaining fitness with less specificity
17:47 Why having no plan for too long can become risky
20:55 Giving athletes freedom without removing guardrails
28:46 Why workout sequencing still matters
33:48 When it makes sense to come off a plan
35:08 Post-race recovery and the mental deload
36:51 Training during vacation without guilt
44:37 Why downtime looks different for every athlete
48:31 How to reduce specificity without losing direction
56:12 Building flexibility into a structured training plan
For coaching inquiries:
Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com