We brought some very sore legs into this great episode! The main topic was a new study on "Zone 2 Training," which gathered a panel of experts to review what Zone 2 means and why it matters. Our theory is that Zone 2 training is interacting with high-carb fueling to drive some of the performance revolution!

We also talked about a new study on heat training. It shows that heat-induced adaptations and fitness improvements seem to mimic one another, but may come from different sources. Thus, stacking them could lead to outsized benefits!

And get a big plate because there was a buffet of great topics! Other topics: leg soreness from downhill running, a follow-up study on trail supershoes, whether athletes without supershoes will be at a disadvantage on trails, weird heart rate zones, weird blood lactate curves, how athletes can vary from population averages, how we try to embrace pressure, pre-workout carbs, going for it at Western States, uphill treadmill workouts, feel v. metrics in harder workouts, joy in dark forests, and peeing in races.

The hottest soundtrack in the club is going to be made up of the whale songs on this episode. Drop it like it's waaoaoooooooooooaoaoo.

We love you all! HUZZAH!

-David and Megan

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We put on some supershoes for an extra boost for this great episode! A main topic was a question we get a lot: whether high-carb fueling during training is healthy in a broader sense. We not only think it's healthy, we think that the question is best asked another way: how much healthier is fueling your training than the alternative of underfueling? It's true that you probably don't want to be slurping a gel at 3 PM for a snack. But around training, try to fuel the work you're doing.

The big science topic was a new study on trail shoes with carbon plates, which theorizes that they won't be helpful for trail runners. We use the study to talk about the risks of broad conclusions from narrow protocols. It's possible that carbon-plated shoes won't take over trail running in the next decade. But we would bet that they do.

And this one was full of fun topics! Other topics: the pursuit of greatness, a Western States 100 training update, sharing vulnerability, the shoe disqualification at the US 100 Mile Championships, individual variation in training, frequency of racing, filming training videos, Zone 2 guidelines, the debate around stretching, building mental toughness, and setting boundaries.

Like Timothée Chalamet, we're really in pursuit of greatness. Actually, scratch that. We are really in pursuit of not getting sued by energy bar companies.

That will make sense soon. We love you all! HUZZAH!

Click "Claim Reward" for $80 at The Feed here: thefeed.com/swap

Buy Janji's amazing gear: https://janji.com/ (code "SWAP")

For weekly bonus podcasts, articles, and videos (plus hat purchases): patreon.com/swap

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We bought stock in baking soda before this record-breaking episode! It was a "No Secrets" Q+A, where we lay it all on the line. This one was so fun!

The first big question was on the deluge of world records set in the last week. Our theory is that compound gains are being harnessed from nutrition, supplements, and shoes that are changing how athletes can train and adapt across all endurance sports. We break down the shifts in training theory, and predict what comes next.

Next was a question about Kilian Jornet’s fasted workout and the theory behind it (and why we don’t recommend it). One fascinating wrinkle is how he took high-dose probiotics before the session. We use that as an excuse to dive into the wild world of probiotics science, where research breakthroughs are happening all the time.

Other Q+A topics: health v. performance, roads v. trails, encouraging a partner to fuel more, heart rate zones, visualization, zone 2 training, and more!

We love you all! Huzzah!

-Megan and David

Click "Claim Reward" for $80 at The Feed here: thefeed.com/swap

Buy Janji's amazing gear: https://janji.com/ (code "SWAP")

For weekly bonus podcasts, articles, and videos (plus hat purchases): patreon.com/swap

Check out the SWAP video series: https://youtu.be/C0w-orswOjE?si=YwIjAssJP2q4dLuj