Science Of Ultra

My guest today is Mark Burnley, PhD from the University of Kent. He's studies endurance physiology, especially the power-duration relationship. For example, he was part of the group that first validated the 3-minute all-out test to estimate critical power. He's spent much of his career questioning why we can only maintain exercise when the intensity is less than 20-30% of our ability to generate force…why do we have so much additional capacity when we can't sustain it?

Patrick Wilson (PhD) is an Associate Professor at Old Dominion University and author of a newly published book, The Athlete's Gut. He was a guest in episode 16. Today, we update our understanding of gut physiology from when he was first on the show but spend most of our time on lots of new and applied questions relevant to your training, racing, and adventures.

Andy Jones is one of the world's leading experts in human performance physiology, especially in the realm of endurance. Nike recognized this when they brought him onto the Breaking 2 project. He's most famous in many circles for his pioneering work using nitrates to boost performance. Yes, this is the beetroot guy. Today we talk about mechanisms of fatigue, critical speed/power, evidence-based approaches to training, and (of course) beetroot juice.

Father-Son World Record Marathon

Mapping your training and then seeing what events (races, or adventures) fit on your map, without bending it, keeps the focus on what’s most important…you. This method tells you which events you could run because it’s the method that fits events to your body rather than bending your body to fit events. It’s the only approach that will provide a lifetime of healthy and sustainable running progress.

This is a deep dive into carbohydrate periodization with Drs. James Morton and Julien Louis where we explain the science behind our recommendation of FUEL FOR THE WORK REQUIRED (e.g., enough but not much more) and GLYCOGEN THRESHOLD (i.e., train to low levels). We also explore issues of sex and age, how bone health may be critically dependent on carbohydrate availability (not just total calories), and several other important topics.

Dr. Ron Maughan is arguably the most recognized name in sports nutrition. I was fortunate to meet with him in St Andrews, Scotland for our discussion. In this interview we talk about his early days in sports, running with the likes of Don Ritchie among many others, and review some of the current recommendations on training and nutrition.

Our goal is never to get good at suffering. Our goal is to suffer less under the same conditions, not to make running easier but to run with greater ease.

Today’s conversation is with John Kiely and Craig Pickering. John was on episode 52; we talked the lack of evidence supporting periodized training programs. We begin with the current state of evidence in genetic testing for athletic potential and planning training. We move on to more useful ways of viewing your training program. It really is simple yet multitudes are derailed by chasing placebo effects for marginal gains on an inconsistent program. Oh, and we talk about placebo effects as well.

Cramping isn't well understood. But here's what we know right now.

Rest days are a staple of most running programs. But are they needed. In this episode we reframe our view of exercise, rest, and recovery time to help you make clearer decisions about when you exercise.

A T/F from each of our four coaches posed to the group to wrap up 2019. Does level running speed translate to uphill abilities, is training for a 200 miler fundamentally different from training for shorter distances, should you run through tweaks or injuries, is more running volume going to help you run 100-milers better...these are our main topics of conversation.

The main goals of this episode are to shed light on the origins of zone training, illustrate how the borrowing of the models by athletes is flawed especially when heart rate is used as the primary indicator, anchor a 3-zone model to training-relevant physiology, indicate the conceptual utility of a 5-zone model, and provide you with a general guide for distributing your training intensity volumes. Full script at https://scienceofultra.com/podcasts/112

Our four coaches present a variety of ideas and perspectives on taking time off. If you’re looking for a coach, or just have questions, you can reach David Roche at SWAPrunning.com Ian Sharman at sharmanultra.com Krissy Moehl at krissymoehl.com Shawn Bearden at ScienceOfUltra.com (shawn@scienceofultra.com)

A massive how and what on traveling, including cameo appearances from numerous elite ultra runners.