The Infirmary | Fixing Broken Endurance Athletes
Episodes
Episode 42: Stress + Rest = Growth: A Guided Breathwork Session for Mental Toughness
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most athletes swing between two bad options when things get hard: they back off because something in their brain, body, or heart says “too much,” ...
Episode 41: “‘Metabolic Efficiency’ is Just a Fancy Term for Getting Fit w/Elite Endurance Coach Ryan Bolton
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Bolton is an Olympian, competing at the first Olympic Triathlon in 2000, and he is also a long course champ, winning Ironman Lake Placid in 2002....
Episode 40: “Where Is My Mind? Flow State, Focus, and Interval Meditation”
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Coaches and athletes talk about the semi-mythical “flow state” a lot, but there is precious little information about how to achieve flow state. Th...
Episode 39: “10-Minute Guided Interval Meditation”
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The companion piece to Episode 40, this is is a guided meditation that will help you discover what your brain and body wants to do during a difficult ...
Episode 38: From a Ten-Year Break to 9:03 at Roth: Ultraman World Champion Gordo Byrn
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Endurance coaching legend Gordo Byrn joins us to discuss his return to racing after a 10-year break. The 2002 Ultraman World Champion and author of Fr...
Episode 37: Coaching The “Emotional” Athlete
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For well over the first half of my professional career, I was labeled an “emotional athlete.” That label seemed to mean, well, something else. In ...
Episode 36: “The Bonfire of Success,” with World Class Coach David Tilbury Davis
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
David Tilbury-Davis coaches or has coached triathlon household names such as Ashleigh Gentile, Lionel Sanders, Skye Moench, Corinne Abraham, Cody Beal...
Episode 35: Overtrained or Just Under-recovered? The Difference That Could Save Next Season
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Overtraining syndrome is rare, serious, and can end your endurance career if you're not careful. In this episode, we break down the differences betwee...
Episode 34: Cody Beals’ “Pathological Inability to Rest” and Resulting Burnout
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Canadian pro triathlete Cody Beals opens up about thoroughly burning out, wondering if his triathlon career was over after Ironman Chattanooga, and wh...
Why RPE Matters Just As Much As Power: Kolie Moore from Empirical Cycling on Training Smarter
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the most sophisticated training tool you have isn't your power meter, but your ability to feel the difference between sustainable and unsustai...
Episode 32: Rach McBride, Professional Triathlete and Cyclist, Recaps UCI Gravel World Championships
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I am joined by professional triathlete and cyclist Rach McBride to review their 2025 season, which saw them shift focus from professional triathlon to...
Episode 31: Why Your Zone 2 Training Feels Painfully Slow (And That's Actually Good)
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Zone 2” training has become incredibly popular in endurance sports, but most athletes misunderstand what it actually does and why it feels so fru...
Episode 30: The Complete Guide to Your First 70.3 Triathlon with Author Brittany Vermeer
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Endurance journalist and author Brittany Vermeer joins me to discuss her book, The Complete Guide to Your First 70.3 Triathlon. Brittany has been in e...
Episode 29: REPOST | The Norwegian Method with Author Brad Culp
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past six weeks, Norwegian athletes have take four of the six podium spots at the Ironman World Championships in Nice, France, and Kailua-Kona...
Episode 28: Training Durability | What Sticks Around and What Disappears First
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the athletes I work with, Robin Cummings, asked a deceptively simple question about heat training that opened up a much larger conversation: wh...
Episode 27: F-ing Fast Past Forty: Pro Josh Monda Keeps Getting Faster
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Monda raced as an age grouper for 17 years before turning professional at 40—displaying a patience you don’t often find in endurance sports. ...
Episode 26: How to Choose the Triathlon Coach that Fits YOUR Goals
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Choosing an endurance coach might be one of the most important decisions you'll make as an athlete, yet most people approach it completely backwards. ...
Episode 25: Elite Swimmer to Pro Triathlete, Lauren Brandon's 15-Year Triathlon Career
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris sits down with retired professional triathlete Lauren Brandon. An elite swimmer to triathlete success story, Lauren shares how her NCAA All-Amer...
Episode 24: How to Heat Train Effectively for Endurance Sports
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heat training is one of those topics that is a) poorly understood and b) deployed by coaches and athletes everywhere, which is…not a great combinati...
Episode 23: How Mental Skills Transform Athletic Performance with Sports Psychologist Brian Baxter
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This interview with sports psychologist Brian Baxter reveals how mental training techniques can transform athletic performance at every level. Baxter,...
Episode 22: Ironman Unveils New World Championship Qualification System
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The triathlon world erupted when Ironman announced their new age-graded qualification system for Kona. But after analyzing the actual numbers from rec...
Episode 21: What Holds Swimmers Back from Improving
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This comprehensive swim technique presentation reveals what really holds swimmers back and why swimming improvement is so different from cycling or ru...
Episode 20: Self-Coached vs. Coached: Finding Balance in Triathlon with Business Owner and Mom Annie Solonika
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this candid conversation with former Campfire athlete Annie Solonika, we dive into what really matters in the coach-athlete relationship from both ...
Episode 19: Professional Triathlete Ben Hoffman, or “Trying to Control More Doesn't Lead to More Control”
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris sits down with professional triathlete Ben Hoffman, who has won eight Ironmans, seven 70.3 races, and landed on the podium an unreal 28 times, o...
Episode 18: How Neglecting Your Swim Hurts Your Overall Triathlon Performance
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I have heard it a million times: a triathlete tells me “I swam and swam but it never changed my time, so I just stopped swimming.” I really feel f...
Episode 17: How to Pace a Hilly Race or Run
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the hardest skills for any endurance athlete to master is pacing, and when you’re running a hilly event or participating in a bike race with ...
Episode 16: What is Progressive Overload and How Can You Actually Use It?
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Progressive Overload” is a topic that gets tossed around a lot in endurance circles, but, just as with other topics like “FTP” or “core str...
Episode 15: The Norwegian Method with Author Brad Culp
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris sits down with Brad Culp, author of the 2024 Book The Norwegian Method: The Culture, Science, and Humans Behind the Groundbreaking Approach to E...
Episode 14: Basic Training | How Noob Gains Happen (and then Stop Happening)
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Remember what it was like when you had just set out upon your endurance journey? At first everything felt incredibly hard, but after a short amount of...
Episode 13: How To Approach Getting Faster, Part One, w/Phil Batterson, Ph.D.
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris sits down with Phil Batterson, Ph.D., host of the CriticalO2 podcast and physiologist for Moxy Monitor. They have a discussion about the oft-dis...
Episode 12: How to Build an Annual Training Plan that Actually Works
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we talk about the importance of annual training plans for athletes and coaches, focusing on the need for clear goals and structured tr...
Episode 11: Build the Engine First with Joe Howdyshell
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris sits down with Joe Howdyshell of Summit Endurance Academy, a mountain sport coaching company based in Breckenridge, CO. What is a “mountain sp...
Episode 10: How to Develop Mastery in Endurance Sports
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is “mastery,” and how can we develop mastery in endurance sports? What even IS mastery? What does it look, sound, or feel like? In this episo...
Episode 9: How To Get Lean and Fast at the Same Time w/Alex Larson
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You can find Alex at Alex Larson Nutrition and on Instagram and Facebook @alexlarsonnutrition, playing with three kids, or watching all the Star Wars ...
Episode 8: How Linsey Corbin Reviews a Year
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Linsey Corbin has been one of the most consistent professional triathletes of all time, qualifying for Kona 14 times, winning eight Ironman events, an...
Episode 7: How to Train to Give Yourself a Chance to Qualify
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Now that Ironman World Championship season is over for the year, after the women raced in Nice last month and the men just raced in Kona, we thought i...
Episode 6: Take It Seriously, Hold It Lightly with Annick Chalier
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Endurance Spin signups: https://www.campfireendurance.com/endurance-spin-202324
Episode 5: How to Arrive (and Thrive) in Kona
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a tale as old as…well, it’s probably around 40 years old, but for a sport as young as ours, that’s fairly venerable: a hard-working triat...
Episode 4: What is Fatigue Resistance, and How Do I Get More of It?
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fatigue resistance is an idea that has been around for a long time, but it’s having a bit of a moment recently. A few companies are trying to develo...
Episode 3: Training and Racing through Pregnancy with Emily Arcuri
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris sits down with elite amateur and Campfire Coach Emily Arcuri to talk about training and racing all the way through 32 weeks of pregnancy. Emily ...
Episode 2: Strength Training Simplified with Adam Goulet
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris chats with Campfire coach and professional triathlete Adam Goulet about why strength training is crucial for endurance athletes and how they can...
Episode 1: Three Years to Ironman?
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris talks through just WHY it takes so long to prepare correctly for an Iron-distance triathlon. We also talk about the great Gordo Byrn and his inf...