The Endurance Athlete Journey

Coach Justin White & Sports Dietitian Katie Kissane
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Running

The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast helps runners, triathletes, and endurance athletes train smarter, fuel better, and build long-term durability in sport. Hosted by Coach Justin and sports dietitian Katie, the show explores the training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset challenges endurance athletes actually face—without the confusion and generic internet fitness advice that often leads to burnout, inconsistency, and frustration. From first triathlons and swim anxiety to fueling mistakes, recovery, race-day expectations, and balancing training with real life, each episode combines practical coaching insight with evidence-based nutrition guidance and honest athlete conversations to help listeners better understand the “why” behind their training and fueling decisions. Whether you’re preparing for your first race or trying to become a more complete endurance athlete, this podcast gives you clear, experience-driven guidance you can actually apply to your training, recovery, and performance.

  1. 23h ago

    Aging as an Endurance Athlete: Body Composition, Performance and Training for Longevity

    Send us Fan Mail If you’re an endurance athlete getting older, the goal isn’t to preserve the training you used to do. The goal is to preserve your ability to perform. In Part 3 of our aging athlete series, we look at what happens when an experienced athlete still wants to get faster, stronger, and more competitive—but their body no longer responds to training exactly the way it once did. We cover body composition, strength, speed work, recovery, and why the best training plan may be the one you can consistently absorb for years to come. What You’ll Learn Why changing body composition doesn’t automatically mean you need to lose weightHow masters athletes can adjust volume, intensity, and recovery without giving up performanceWhy strength and consistency become increasingly important as you ageHow to keep pursuing ambitious goals without sacrificing long-term durabilityTimestamps 00:00 – Training updates and learning to let go of pace 14:24 – Body composition vs. body weight as you age 19:30 – Why being lighter doesn’t automatically mean performing better 29:05 – Stop trying to recreate what worked when you were younger 34:02 – Building muscle, losing fat, and the endurance training tradeoff 41:52 – Is improving body composition worth sacrificing aerobic training? 46:01 – Performance vs. longevity: Do masters athletes have to choose? 49:00 – Why a 7-day training week may not work for every aging athlete 53:58 – Consistency, injury prevention, and protecting future performance 56:00 – Sleep, stress, nutrition, and the recovery factors outside your training plan 1:03:33 – How strength training and speed work should change with age 1:19:25 – Bringing joy back into training as a masters athlete For coaching inquiries: Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

  2. Aug 13

    Aging as an Endurance Athlete: Recovery, Injury Risk and Why Your Training Has to Change

    Send us Fan Mail Your body may not recover the way it used to—but the harder part may be accepting what that means for the athlete you still expect yourself to be. In Part 2 of our series on aging as an endurance athlete, we look at why recovery takes longer, injury risk becomes harder to manage, and sleep, strength, fueling, hydration, and nutrition matter more as you get older. We also get into the mental side of that transition: feeling like changing or missing a workout is failure, comparing yourself to other athletes or your younger self, and carrying fear forward from past injuries. The goal isn’t to lower your standards. It’s to adapt your training so you can keep pursuing performance without constantly fighting your body—or yourself. What You’ll Learn Why the margin between productive training stress and too much stress gets smaller as you ageHow recovery, sleep, strength, fueling, hydration, and protein become more important for masters athletesWhy changing your training can feel like failure, even when it is the smarter decisionHow comparison, changing goals, and past injuries can affect the way you train and recoverTimestamps 00:00 – Listener reviews and introducing Part 2 03:31 – Hormone therapy and bone-health clarification from Part 1 07:01 – Are “normal” lab ranges optimal for endurance athletes? 14:13 – Food sensitivities, gut health, and changes that can come with age 34:30 – Why recovery gets harder as you get older 39:21 – Sleep, aging, and the recovery cost you can’t ignore 46:06 – When needing more recovery feels like failure 51:01 – Comparison, changing goals, and accepting where you are 54:13 – How injury risk changes for masters athletes 1:03:11 – Strength training and the shrinking margin for error 1:10:15 – Strength, speed, and changing performance priorities 1:16:51 – Recovery nutrition: protein, hydration, carbs, and fueling For coaching inquiries: Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

  3. Aug 6

    Aging as an Endurance Athlete: Hormones, Recovery, Bone Health and the Changes You Can’t Ignore

    Send us Fan Mail 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

  4. Jul 30

    The Endurance Rules That Don’t Work for Every Athlete

    Send us Fan Mail 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 claimsWhen your race goal should guide training and when completed training should reset the goalWhat treadmills and indoor bike trainers do exceptionally well—and what they cannot prepare you forWhy carbohydrate targets require more nuance than body weight, age, or a universal grams-per-hour formulaTimestamps 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

  5. Jul 24

    What to Do After a Disappointing Race: Should You Chase Redemption?

    Send us Fan Mail 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 athleteWhy illness, missed training, and panic training can turn one setback into a larger problemHow to tell whether a redemption race is driven by genuine motivation or the need to prove yourselfWhy 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

  6. Jul 16

    Should Endurance Athletes Use GLP-1s? The Risks of Chasing Race Weight

    Send us Fan Mail 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 performanceHow GLP-1s can affect fueling, muscle retention, recovery, and training qualityWhy rapid weight loss during a race build increases RED-S and injury riskWhen a separate, medically supported weight-loss phase may make more senseTimestamps 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

  7. Jul 9

    How to Stay Fit When You’re Tired of Following a Training Plan

    Send us Fan Mail 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 planHow guardrails help you stay fit without burning outWhy jumping from one race plan to the next can hurt long-term consistencyTimestamps: 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

  8. Jul 4

    Heat Acclimation: Why You Feel Slower—and How to Race Better in the Heat

    Send us Fan Mail Training consistently but suddenly feeling slower? Your normal pace is harder to hold, your heart rate is higher, and every workout seems to take more out of you. That does not necessarily mean you are losing fitness. Heat can mask the fitness you have built while adding stress your body must learn to manage. In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie explain how heat acclimation works, how to prepare for hot and humid conditions, and how to build heat exposure into training without compromising recovery. What You’ll Learn Why heat makes your normal pace feel harder even when your fitness is intactHow active training, sauna sessions, and other passive heat methods create adaptationWhy chasing cool-weather pace in hot conditions can undermine your trainingHow summer heat training can support stronger performance when temperatures fallTimestamps 00:00 Podcast update and current training plans 18:12 Why major races are being changed or canceled because of heat 27:36 The environmental risk athletes often leave out of race preparation 39:14 What heat acclimation changes inside the body 44:50 Race-day cooling strategies—and why they cannot replace preparation 50:20 Why every workout should not become a heat-training session 52:25 Active versus passive heat-acclimation protocols 58:10 How runners should adjust summer training volume and intensity 1:04:59 Why you should stop chasing pace during hot workouts 1:09:30 Feeling slow does not mean you are losing fitness 1:12:51 How heat masks fitness—and why it appears when temperatures fall For coaching inquiries: Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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About

The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast helps runners, triathletes, and endurance athletes train smarter, fuel better, and build long-term durability in sport. Hosted by Coach Justin and sports dietitian Katie, the show explores the training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset challenges endurance athletes actually face—without the confusion and generic internet fitness advice that often leads to burnout, inconsistency, and frustration. From first triathlons and swim anxiety to fueling mistakes, recovery, race-day expectations, and balancing training with real life, each episode combines practical coaching insight with evidence-based nutrition guidance and honest athlete conversations to help listeners better understand the “why” behind their training and fueling decisions. Whether you’re preparing for your first race or trying to become a more complete endurance athlete, this podcast gives you clear, experience-driven guidance you can actually apply to your training, recovery, and performance.

Information

  • Creator
    Coach Justin White & Sports Dietitian Katie Kissane
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    114
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Endurance Athlete Journey
  • Show Website
    The Endurance Athlete Journey

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