The MicroCast
by Microcosm Coaching
Latest episode
5 Rules for Tune-Up Races (So They Don’t Wreck Your Goal Race)
5 Rules for Tune-Up Races (So They Don’t Wreck Your Goal Race)
About this podcast
The Microcosm Coaching Podcast helps endurance athletes—whether you're a road runner, trail runner, or training for your first marathon or 100-miler—get more out of their training with evidence-based advice, effort-based coaching, and expert mindset support. Hosted by professional coaches and athletes, each episode explores practical strategies for race prep, running recovery, mental performance, and sustainable training. If you want to build fitness, avoid burnout, and find more joy in running, you're in the right place.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 247 episodes
- 5 Rules for Tune-Up Races (So They Don’t Wreck Your Goal Race) · 57 minEvery race costs something, and the bill usually comes in weeks, not days. Taper, race, recover, rebuild, and a “quick” 50K can quietly eat a month of training. In this episode…
- Running Recovery Myths and Metabolism Mistakes: Replay! · 1 h 13 minThis is a replay of an episode about long runs while TJ is out of the office! Want to train smarter, fuel better, and understand what your body actually needs? This episode…
- 6 Speed Work Mistakes Runners Make (Strides vs. VO2 Max, Explained) · 58 minStrides and VO2 max intervals both mean running fast, but they do completely different jobs. Strides are short and smooth, and they train the way you move. VO2 max intervals are…
- 5 Mistakes Self-Coached Runners Make · 53 minCoaching yourself? These are the five mistakes we see self-coached runners make most, and they're easier to fall into than you'd think. TJ and Zoë start with a listener question…
- Running Advice That Aged Badly: 6 Running Myths Debunked (Lactic Acid, Stretching, Cadence & More) · 1 h 4 minLactic acid, static stretching, stability shoes, heel striking, 180 cadence, and icing everything: some running advice has not held up. Coaches Zoë Rom and TJ David cover six…
- Am I Ready to Move Up in Distance? (And Should I Practice Walking?) · 59 minReady for your next ultra distance? Maybe. In this episode, we tackle the question of when to move up from the 50K to the 50 mile, 100K, 100 mile, and beyond, and why the…
- Ability vs. Ambition, Repeating Races, and Why You Might Gain Weight While Training · 1 h 1 minZoë's article on Ability vs. Ambition YDS Episode on "Racing Weight" There's always a gap between where you are as an athlete and where you want to be. Zoë wrote about it for…
- How Much Volume Do You Actually Need? Minimum Dose, Optimal Dose, Frequency, and Distribution · 1 h 4 minHow many miles a week do you need to run to get better? It's the question coaches hear most, and the annoying answer is: enough to create an adaptation, not so much that you…
- A Leadville Win and a Leadville DNF: What Both Taught Us About Training · 1 h 3 minLeadville 100 week gave Microcosm both ends of the sport in a single day: coach TJ David's athlete McKendree Hickory won the women's race in her 100-mile debut, and TJ himself…
- Is Training Making You Slower? · 57 minYour easy pace is slower than it was two months ago. Workouts feel harder. You're doing more volume than you've ever done — so shouldn't you be getting faster? A listener wrote…
- Downhill Running Science: Eccentric Loading, the Repeat Bout Effect & Descending Technique · 58 minEmail us your listener questions or hot or nots at [email protected]. Check us out online at microcosm-coaching.com Downhill running is a technical skill, not a fitness…
- Recovery Is the Ceiling: The 5 Things Blocking Your Recovery (Plus Soft Rock, Hot or Not, and Debriefing Your First 100) · 60 minRecovery is the ceiling on your training — not your mileage, not your workout schedule. Zoë Rom and TJ David break down the five places recovery falls apart for endurance…
- Race-Specific Training: Are You Actually Training for YOUR Race? Plus: the best running belts, pre-race strength training, and make-up miles · 55 minou've built the fitness. Now what? This week we're digging into training specificity: how to shape your training around the actual demands of your goal race, whether that's a…
- What Fitness Actually Is: The 5 Systems Every Runner Trains (Plus Running in Wildfire Smoke) · 57 minWhat is fitness, really? VO2 max, lactate threshold, running economy, durability, and neuromuscular power — in this episode we break down the five distinct systems hiding inside…
- Heat vs. Altitude Training for Runners: What Actually Works (+ Golden Hour, Probiotics & Time-Based Training) · 1 h 4 minHeat training and altitude training are two of the most obsessed-over (and most misunderstood) tools in endurance running. In this episode, Zoë and TJ break down the actual…
- Durability: How to Stop Fading Late in Races (Plus Antihistamines, Yard Work & the "Ultra Bod" Myth) · 57 minDurability is the word every endurance runner has latched onto — but what actually is it, and how do you build it? Zoë and TJ break down durability for marathon and ultra…
- AI vs. Human Coaching, Hiding Your Heart Rate in Races, Cramps & Training in Humidity · 1 h 4 minSign up for our open house here! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0KnmFGBxZNYqTAZDNFSRUL86UXK7gCIVDDlLtWJBp5WoVvQ/viewform?usp=header AI vs. human coaching is the big…
- Building the Long Run: Endurance, Fueling, and the Mental Game of Going Long · 54 min🏃 Microcosm Open House — Wednesday, June 11th at 5:30pm MT (virtual). Meet the coaches, ask anything, no pressure. Sign up…
- How to Know If Your Training Is Actually Working (The N of 1 Experiment) · 1 h 7 minSign up for our free open house here! (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0KnmFGBxZNYqTAZDNFSRUL86UXK7gCIVDDlLtWJBp5WoVvQ/viewform?usp=header) How do you know if your…
- The 5 Metrics That Actually Matter in 2026 (And Why Most of Your Data Is Noise) · 58 minCheck out the fuel tracking app here! FuelFlow Running metrics, wearables, and training data get a reality check this week as Zoë and Kylee Van Horn cut through the noise of HRV…
