Podcast, Episode 5!

Episode 5 is now online!  Give it a listen!


In this episode, we talk with Stacy Perlis, a product and finance manager at Wahoo Fitness. We covered a range of topics, including:

1. The genesis and growth of Wahoo;

2. The ins-and-outs of the Wahoo KICKR, including troubleshooting a couple of issues;

3. Other Wahoo products, like the TICKR X, ELEMNT, and the full range of Wahoo apps.

4. Wahoo as part of an indoor and data-driven cycling movement, which also includes TrainerRoad and Zwift.

Stacy had a lot of interesting things to share.  Enjoy!

Podcast, Episode 4!

Episode 4 is online!  Give it a listen!




In this episode--part one of a two-part series on fatigue--we talk about the latest research on why we fatigue during workouts and races.  There were several take-aways:

Takeaway #1: your mindset matters.

Takeaway #2: this could be used for evil.

Takeaway #3: listen to your body.

Takeaway #4: you're capable of more than you think you are.

Takeaway #5: everybody is tough in the finale (so you should be tough in the middle!).

Here's the link to Andrew Cleveland's rendition of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson on his cello.

Here's the link to Andrew's band, Lotus Slide, doing their 34:00 World History Song.

Be sure to check out itlcoaching.com and my wife's page for travel planning!

Podcast, Episode 3!

Podcast #3 is posted!  Give it a listen!


This week's episode is a conversation with Wil Cramer, the manager of West Stride, a great specialty running store here in Atlanta.

We talk about . . .

-The benefits of shopping at a running specialty store vs. a department store or buying on the internet;
-The emerging trends in shoes and gear;
-The difference between expensive shoes and less expensive shoes;
-What folks should look for if they're buying running shoes but not actually planning to run in them;
-Which shoes you should choose and which shoes you should wear to race if you have orthotics;
-The effect of the minimalism movement on runners and on running shoes;
-The effectiveness of compression socks;
-Things to consider if you're constantly getting blisters;
-What West Stride in particular has done to promote women's running;

Here's the link to the study that I mentioned in the conversation. It was a conducted over the course of 22 weeks in Luxembourg, using more than 250 runners. About 40% of the participants were "single shoe wearers," defined as people who wore the same shoes for 91% of their runs. The remainder had a primary pair of shoes that they wore for a little over 50% of their runs, but they alternated through an average of 3.8 pairs of shoes. Over the study period, they found that runners in this latter group had a 39% lower risk of injury.

Here's the link to the Letsrun.com retrospective on Matt Tegenkamp.

Here's the link to my wife's new travel planner Facebook page.  As I said, she's focusing on helping athletes travel to races. She has access to resources that you might not have access to, including numbers for sold-out Disney races!  One additional thing: there is no additional charge for utilizing her services. You can also send her an email if you are interested.

And finally, here's a series of photos of the clothing that Kanye West designed with Adidas.  Among them are the Yeezy Boost shoes:

We'll see if they meet West Stride's standards.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for the visits and likes on the Facebook page!

Podcast, Episode 2!

Episode Two of the Most Pleasant Exhaustion podcast is online.  Give it a listen! 




In this episode, we tell the story of John Scott, and describe the recent work of Monica Wadwha. Although Dr. Wadwha's work is in marketing, I believe it has meaning for those of us in the sporting world, and we see similar effects in the biographies of Michael Jordan, Mark Allen, and Dan Jansen.

We also answer a few listener questions, and we wrap up with a remembrance of Jack Johnstone, the founder of triathlon.

Podcast, Episode 1!

The first episode of the Most Pleasant Exhaustion Podcast was released today!  Give it a listen!

On this podcast, we'll be doing interviews, reviewing products and workouts, talking about training philosophy, previewing races, and generally discussing issues of interest to the local, national, and international endurance community.  

In today's episode, I talked about my recent injury troubles. Specifically, I described Extra-corporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), which I underwent on January 13. I also described some of my findings related to psychology and sports injury.  

The takeaways from the convo about ESWT, if you're considering it for a chronic injury:

1. Ask your doctor about the treatment protocol (intensity, frequency, etc.).

2. Ask your doctor about the recovery protocol, since those vary from place to place, too.

Stay with me over the next few weeks if you want to hear whether the procedure was successful.

Also of interest is this blog entry from four years ago when I underwent a less-intense shockwave session to try and address the pain in my foot then.  Even though they used a lesser-intensity setting that day, I was without any numbing.  So it hurt.  A lot.

The takeaways from the convo about the psychology of injured athletes:

1.If you feel--like I do right now--that you're moodier, crankier, less-easy-to-get-along-with, and generally more emotional when injured, know that it's common.  It's part of what happens and has always happened to sportspeople when they suffer injuries.

   

2.If you have a healthy relationship with the sport--which is great!--you're less likely to take steps to keep yourself safe and healthy. Oddly, if you have an unhealthy, neurotic relationship with the sport, you're more likely to take steps to stay well.  

  

3. If you are feeling in the dumps thanks to an injury, you can alleviate those symptoms by doing pretty much ANY exercise. If you can't run, bike.  If you can't do that, swim. If you can't do any of them, go to the gym and lift some weights. Aerobic and non-aerobic exercise both have depression-reducing effects.    

Thanks for listening, and be sure to reach out with any questions, comments, or suggestions on Twitter (@pleasantpodcast) and Facebook (facebook.com/pleasantpodcast).  And show a little love to ITL Coaching and Performance, the coaching company I work for who is supporting the podcast.  ITL is on Twitter and Facebook, too!