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Elite athletes are using sodium bicarbonate—ordinary baking soda—to improve performance. Research suggests it can provide an advantage during certain high-intensity efforts. But does that benefit translate to everyday endurance athletes, and what are you giving up to get it?

In this episode, Coach Justin and Coach Katie examine the science behind sodium bicarbonate supplementation, its potential benefits for runners, cyclists, and triathletes, and the costs and side effects that rarely make it into promotional videos. They also challenge a bigger question: When does chasing marginal gains distract from the training and nutrition fundamentals that actually drive performance?

What You'll Learn

• Where sodium bicarbonate may improve performance—and why the evidence is less convincing for longer endurance events.
• The real tradeoffs of supplementation, including gastrointestinal distress, high sodium intake, and expensive products.
• Why copying elite athletes can be misleading, especially when your racing demands and performance limitations are different.
• How to decide whether a marginal gain is worth pursuing before investing money, time, and effort.

Timestamps

• 00:19 – Why are athletes consuming baking soda?
• 03:02 – How sodium bicarbonate works during exercise
• 05:51 – Which types of efforts benefit most?
• 14:28 – Why bicarbonate can't prevent every type of fatigue
• 20:41 – Should recreational athletes follow the professionals?
• 23:06 – Gastrointestinal side effects and race-day risks
• 29:23 – Research, dosing protocols, and practical challenges
• 38:12 – Maurten and other bicarbonate products: convenience versus cost
• 46:39 – What does a potential 1–3% performance improvement really mean?
• 55:24 – Why training, fueling, and recovery still matter more
• 59:24 – Sodium intake and other health considerations
• 01:05:33 – Is chasing marginal gains taking the joy out of racing?

The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast explores the training, nutrition, racing, and decision-making that shape endurance performance.

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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What happens when you still remember exactly what kind of athlete you used to be—but your current body isn’t ready to perform at that level yet?

Returning to endurance sport after injury, surgery, or significant time away creates a challenge beginners don’t face: you bring experience, expectations, old paces, old power numbers, and a clear memory of what capable used to feel like. The danger is letting that past version of yourself determine what you expect from the athlete you are today.

In this solo episode, Coach Justin breaks down how he rebuilt after years away from racing, what returning to the pool taught him about readiness and patience, and why confidence has to be earned through current evidence—not borrowed from past performance.

What You’ll Learn

• Why your past performance can show you what’s possible without telling you what you’re ready for today
• How experience can help a comeback—or create unrealistic expectations that rush the process
• Why confidence is built through preparation, repeated evidence, and trust in what your body can currently handle
• How Complete → Perform → Compete can help experienced athletes set the right expectations during different stages of a return

Timestamps

00:00 The athlete you remember vs. the athlete you are today
03:00 Why experienced athletes can struggle with patience
08:00 Returning athletes aren’t beginners
15:00 When an “easy” 1,500-yard swim isn’t easy anymore
22:00 What your past can—and cannot—tell you
24:00 Confidence comes from evidence
32:00 Adjusting the training instead of forcing the old standard
37:00 The Florida swim that changed the conversation
39:00 From comeback athlete to performance mindset
42:00 When “performing” starts becoming “competing”
45:00 Why proving you can finish doesn’t mean you should rush the next step
47:00 FOMO, Ironman, and knowing when you’re not ready yet

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com

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Are your best racing days behind you, or are you limiting what you believe is still possible? As endurance athletes get older, personal records become harder to chase, recovery changes, and the way we measure success can begin to shift. But does getting older mean you have to stop being competitive?

In this fourth installment of our Aging as an Endurance Athlete series, Coach Justin and Coach Katie explore the mental side of aging in endurance sports. Drawing from their experiences as coaches and masters athletes, they examine how expectations influence performance, why a faster finishing time doesn't always mean a better race, and how to continue pursuing your athletic potential without being defined by past results.

What You'll Learn

• Are you limiting your own potential? How assumptions about aging can influence training decisions and competitive ambitions.
• Does a slower time mean a worse performance? Why race execution, pacing, and nutrition matter beyond the finishing clock.
• What does it mean to reach your athletic potential? Why your capabilities today shouldn't be measured exclusively against your younger self.
• How do you stay competitive as you age? Rethinking goals, prioritizing consistency, and finding meaningful ways to keep improving.

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction: The mental side of aging as an endurance athlete

09:22 – Facing the emotional challenges of getting older

11:55 – Katie's perspective: When your fastest days may be behind you

17:24 – Justin's perspective: Finding new potential as an aging athlete

19:31 – Redefining competition, performance, and race success

22:50 – Is athletic potential fixed, or does it change with age?

28:09 – Age-group competition, age grading, and new challenges

33:29 – Why faster doesn't always mean better race execution

37:36 – Process versus outcome: The importance of training consistency

43:44 – How expectations influence competitiveness and potential

47:00 – Are athletes mentally limiting themselves as they age?

59:14 – Accepting realistic limitations without giving up on improvement

The Endurance Athlete Journey Podcast — Real conversations about endurance training, racing, and the pursuit of athletic improvement at every stage of the journey.

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com