The Infirmary | Fixing Broken Endurance Athletes

Campfire Endurance Coaching · campfireendurance.com

Welcome to The Infirmary! We're sorry you're not feeling great. Our goal on The Infirmary is to solve the problems you are having in your endurance sport. Whether you are getting ready for your first triathlon, or you are a seasoned endurance athlete, we are here to help. Featuring discussions with coaches, athletes, and other business owners, we are confident we'll be able to help. Welcome to The Infirmary! We hope you'll be feeling better soon.

52 episodes

17d ago latest

fortnightly cadence

English language

Explicit rating

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Episodes 53

Episode 53: You Are Not the Voices in Your Head, or How to Fix Your Self-Talk
3d ago · 43:51
My coaching intake questionnaires ask about fitness history, equipment, fueling, and injury background, but the thing athletes flag most consistently is imposter syndrome — and it appears whether an athlete has done fifteen Ironmans or is two weeks out from their first sprint triathlon. In this solo episode of The Infirmary, I break down the two types of self-talk — motivational and instructional — and walk you through a three-part process for catching negative internal voices, tracing them back to their source, and giving them a more useful job. The episode closes with a free five-exercise wo
Episode 52: How to Achieve a Breakthrough Performance with Mark McCabe
17d ago · 0:10
Mark McCabe wrote triathlon into his social calendar in 2020, stayed stuck at a 5:45 for four years, and then decided to find out what would happen if he actually gave the sport what it was asking for. Two and a half years of consistent work later — including a build block that got replaced by 23,000-step days in Italy, a Zoltar fortune machine in a casino, and instructions from his coach that scared his wife — he finished Ohio 70.3 in 4:11:50, jumped from the 62nd percentile to the top 8% of his age group, and posted a 21-minute PR. This is the conversation about what actually caused that. Ch
Episode 51: Three Endurance Skills that Lead to Mastery
1mo ago · 47:01
I see the following situation far too often: an athlete who is completely reliant on their devices, doesn’t practice their fueling, and cannot change a flat tire. This kind of reliance is deeply fragile: it doesn’t take much to break it on race day. In this show, I walk through the three most important skills to an endurance athlete’s success, and there are far more qualitative measures than quantitative. We cover pacing, fueling, and equipment proficiency, ending with practical directions to improve at all three.
Episode 50 Live from Bend Camp: David Tilbury-Davis on the Mindset and Habits Behind Long-Term Athletic Success
1mo ago · 1:02:30
This episode is a live recording from Campfire's annual Bend Triathlon Training Camp, where co-coach and longtime collaborator David Tilbury-Davis sat down with campers for an open Q&A. David has coached over 30 years and worked with some of the most recognized names in the sport — Lionel Sanders, Ashley Gentle, Cody Beals, Sky Munch, Kaisa Sali, and many others — but what runs through every answer in this conversation is a conviction that coaching, at its core, is about human connection and behavioral engineering, not data dashboards. Links: Campfire Endurance 2027 Bend Training Camp: https:/
Episode 49: How to Face Your Fear w/Sports Psychologist Simon Marshall
1mo ago · 53:40
Simon Marshall trained the brains of endurance athletes for a living, and in this conversation he makes the case that the mental side of sport is the part most of us skip — right up until it costs us a race. Recorded during the pandemic and shared again in Simon's memory, the episode digs into what actually decides how race day goes: why everyone walks to the start line a little terrified, why your brain treats one bad comment like Velcro and ten good ones like Teflon, and why "just find your passion" is mostly a myth. Simon, who wrote The Brave Athlete with his wife, five-time world champion
Episode 48: Deliberate Practice in the Pool Leads to a TEN-MINUTE Olympic-distance Improvement
2mo ago · 36:03
Swim improvement is slow, frustrating, and worth every minute — and this episode is proof of that. Chris walks you through Alex W.’s amazing 2:35 to 1:52/100 threshold pace improvement in today’s episode: what wasn’t working, what Chris prescribed, and how Alex took the reins and put in the hard work. We track her development step by step: the front quadrant breakdown that was costing her propulsion, the drift toward her breathing side that threatened her open water navigation, the elbow angle problem that was limiting her pull power — and the specific drills that addressed each one. Along the
Episode 47: Justin Daerr on Intrinsic Motivation, Longevity vs. Performance, and Staying in the Game
2mo ago
Episode 46: Fixing the Brick—Four Studies on Running Off the Bike
3mo ago · 27:00
The difference between a well-trained bike-to-run transition and a poorly trained one is up to 10% of your run performance — and most athletes have no idea why it happens or what to do about it. In this episode, we look at four peer-reviewed studies on the physiology of brick runs, covering the nervous system disruption that starts before you even dismount, the fueling and breathing problems that peak in the first seven minutes of the run, and the biomechanical breakdown that results in the dreaded “Ironman hunchback.” You know you’ve seen that out there in the wild. You'll learn why long bric
Episode 45: Durability and Fatigue Resistance with Coaching Legend Joe Friel
3mo ago · 1:05:00
Joe Friel — author of the Triathlete's Training Bible, co-founder of TrainingPeaks, and one of the most influential coaches in endurance sport — joins Chris Bagg for a conversation centered on durability: what it is, how it is built, and why it matters more than most athletes realize. Joe explains how he developed the concepts of heart rate decoupling and efficiency factor in the early 2000s — more than fifteen years before sports scientists gave durability a name — and walks through the three-phase training structure he uses to build durable athletes from the ground up. The conversation cover
Episode 44: Triathlon Only Has Two Zones
4mo ago · 50:00
One of the issues with the established training zone systems out there is that, very often, there are more zones than we need, particularly for multisport training and racing. When zones were first established, most of the data came from road cyclists, who have more dynamic events and different demands placed upon them while competing. In a triathlon—even a short course triathlon—the goal is a steady, moderately-hard effort that you can hold for a long time. In this monologue episode of The Infirmary, I make the case that triathletes need just two training ranges: endurance and speed. I talk a
Episode 43: The Science of Sweat | How to Actually Fuel and Hydrate for Endurance with Tash Cooper-Smith
4mo ago · 59:00
Sports scientist and triathlete Tash Cooper-Smith from Precision Fuel & Hydration joins The Infirmary to demystify one of endurance sport's most confusing topics: fueling and hydration. Tash breaks down sweat testing, sodium concentration, carbohydrate intake, gut training, and the actual science behind cramping — and why the answer to most athletes' fueling problems is rarely as complicated as they make it. She also shares the story of her own athletic journey, from competitive gymnastics to Kona qualifier in four years, and what that experience taught her about personalizing nutrition for pe
Episode 42: Stress + Rest = Growth: A Guided Breathwork Session for Mental Toughness
5mo ago · 30:00
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,” or they panic, push too hard, and blow up. In this episode of The Infirmary we name the productive space between those two poles — the growth zone — and give you a practical tool to train your ability to stay there. Chris draws on his own racing career, including a painful lesson from Ironman Canada 2012, to explain why learning to sit with discomfort is a crucial and trainable skill, not a personality trait. The episode ends with a three-round guide
Episode 41: “‘Metabolic Efficiency’ is Just a Fancy Term for Getting Fit w/Elite Endurance Coach Ryan Bolton
5mo ago · 58:36
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. He coaches America’s top-ranked short-course triathlete, John Reed, and coaches or has coached Olympic Morgan Pearson, triathlon legend Ben Hoffman, recent star Sam Long, and many, many others. Ryan and I talk about a huge range of topics, including artificial intelligence (AI) in the coaching space, why “metabolic efficiency” isn’t anything you need to really pay attention to because it will happen as you get fit, and what it means to focus on
Episode 40: “Where Is My Mind? Flow State, Focus, and Interval Meditation”
6mo ago · 24:50
Coaches and athletes talk about the semi-mythical “flow state” a lot, but there is precious little information about how to achieve flow state. Those same coaches and athletes seem to leave it up to chance, but as you all (I hope) know, hope is not a strategy! In today’s episode, which is the companion piece to the guided meditation just below this one in the feed, we talk about ways to practice presence in your training and racing, since all that flow state is is a state of heightened presence in the moment, when distractions and obstacles seem to fall away. If you read last week’s Substack p
Episode 39: “10-Minute Guided Interval Meditation”
6mo ago · 20:30
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 interval or during a race. Practice this meditation to improve your ability to maintain a wide, soft, presence that improves your chances of accessing flow state in your training, racing, and life. Book a free training consult with Chris here: https://tinyurl.com/3b8shdav
Episode 38: From a Ten-Year Break to 9:03 at Roth: Ultraman World Champion Gordo Byrn
6mo ago · 1:06:55
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 From Lemon to Legend breaks down his training philosophy that led to a 9:03 at Challenge Roth. We explore why consistency matters more than any specific workout protocol, how he rebuilt his aerobic base starting with workouts so easy he didn't believe they'd work, and why most athletes overcomplicate their training. Gordo shares his "10, 20, 50" protocol and explains how patient application of ridiculously easy training builds the efficiency requir
Episode 37: Coaching The “Emotional” Athlete
6mo ago · 36:12
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 this case that “something else” appears to have been “undisciplined,” if the describer was being nice, or “riding like a stupid asshole,” if the describer wasn’t concerned with hurting my feelings. Faced with this description, which wasn’t ever really elucidated further until later in my career, I set about eradicating the problem. I had a problem with pacing, was the coaching feedback I probably should have received, but without clear guidance on ho
Episode 36: “The Bonfire of Success,” with World Class Coach David Tilbury Davis
7mo ago · 1:07:27
David Tilbury-Davis coaches or has coached triathlon household names such as Ashleigh Gentile, Lionel Sanders, Skye Moench, Corinne Abraham, Cody Beals, and Matt Hanson, and he’s been doing so for three decades. In this episode, David explains his “evidence-led” in contrast to “evidence-based” approaches, how he gives athletes autonomy within structured training blocks, and why understanding your race day "poker hand" matters more than race-day magic. We discuss block periodization across the four disciplines of triathlon, how the Norwegian Method is more a product of excellent professionalism
Episode 35: Overtrained or Just Under-recovered? The Difference That Could Save Next Season
8mo ago · 1:00:05
Overtraining syndrome is rare, serious, and can end your endurance career if you're not careful. In this episode, we break down the differences between functional overreaching (proper training), non-functional overreaching (under-recovery), and true overtraining syndrome (OTS, and again, it's really rare!). You'll learn the warning signs that separate temporary fatigue from something far more concerning, plus we walk through actual case studies of athletes who took years to recover from OTS. We cover the psychological patterns that lead to overtraining, a return-to-training protocol that can g
Episode 34: Cody Beals’ “Pathological Inability to Rest” and Resulting Burnout
8mo ago
Canadian pro triathlete Cody Beals opens up about thoroughly burning out, wondering if his triathlon career was over after Ironman Chattanooga, and what happened when he took his first real break in over 25 years of school, athletics, work, and professional endurance sport. We discuss the difference between intellectual understanding and actual practice when it comes to rest, why so many endurance athletes struggle with exercise addiction and forgoing necessary rest, and how Cody is rebuilding his relationship with the sport that's defined his adult life. We discuss fatigue resistance testing,
Episode 33: Why RPE Matters Just As Much As Power: Kolie Moore from Empirical Cycling on Training Smarter
9mo ago · 1:08:14
What if the most sophisticated training tool you have isn't your power meter, but your ability to feel the difference between sustainable and unsustainable effort? Kolie Moore launched Empirical Cycling in 2015 after noticing a gap in how coaches approached endurance training. With a background in biology, biochemistry, metabolism, and physiology from Boston University, plus his own experience as a national championship medalist in track cycling, Kolie recognized that most coaching focused too much on training plans and not enough on the biological processes actually driving adaptation. Nearly
Episode 32: Rach McBride, Professional Triathlete and Cyclist, Recaps UCI Gravel World Championships
9mo ago · 1:00:13
I am joined by professional triathlete and cyclist Rach McBride to review their 2025 season, which saw them shift focus from professional triathlon to Elite UCI Gravel World Championships qualifier. We chat about the realities of racing at the world championship level—the different (but sensible!) call-up system, competing independently against fully-supported national teams, and what it felt like to represent Canada on the world stage. We also talk a bunch about the training that Rach and I collaborated on throughout the season. instead of chasing higher FTP numbers (Rach’s is already excelle
Episode 31: Why Your Zone 2 Training Feels Painfully Slow (And That's Actually Good)
10mo ago · 31:04
“Zone 2” training has become incredibly popular in endurance sports, but most athletes misunderstand what it actually does and why it feels so frustratingly slow. In this episode, we debunk the misconceptions to explain how this training intensity establishes your aerobic infrastructure, why comparing yourself to professional athletes derails your progress, and how to embrace slow work now so you can do harder and more effective training later. You'll learn about the physiological adaptations that happen at this intensity, why a monoculture approach to training never works, and how years of co
Episode 30: The Complete Guide to Your First 70.3 Triathlon with Author Brittany Vermeer
10mo ago · 53:35
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 endurance media for 17 years, writing for Ironman, Triathlete, and Outside Magazin. Brittany shares the most common mistakes athletes make when tackling their first middle distance race, from nutrition mishaps to pacing errors, and we go beyond training plans to explore the mental game necessary for 70.3 triathlon success, the difference between racing as a test versus a challenge, and why racing by feel is a crucial skill to use alongside objecti
Episode 29: REPOST | The Norwegian Method with Author Brad Culp
10mo ago · 57:41
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, Hawaii. We sat down earlier this year to talk with Brad Culp, author of The Norwegian Method: The Culture, Science, and Humans Behind the Groundbreaking Approach to Elite Endurance Performance. Brad points out both in his book and in this interview that many Norwegians actually bristle when they hear their manner of training described as “The Norwegian Method,” because the way they train is fairly old-school: all of the principles they adhere t

Episodes

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The Infirmary | Fixing Broken Endurance Athletes

Episodes 53

Episode 53: You Are Not the Voices in Your Head, or How to Fix Your Self-Talk

Episode 52: How to Achieve a Breakthrough Performance with Mark McCabe

Episode 51: Three Endurance Skills that Lead to Mastery

Episode 50 Live from Bend Camp: David Tilbury-Davis on the Mindset and Habits Behind Long-Term Athletic Success

Episode 49: How to Face Your Fear w/Sports Psychologist Simon Marshall

Episode 48: Deliberate Practice in the Pool Leads to a TEN-MINUTE Olympic-distance Improvement

Episode 47: Justin Daerr on Intrinsic Motivation, Longevity vs. Performance, and Staying in the Game

Episode 46: Fixing the Brick—Four Studies on Running Off the Bike

Episode 45: Durability and Fatigue Resistance with Coaching Legend Joe Friel

Episode 44: Triathlon Only Has Two Zones

Episode 43: The Science of Sweat | How to Actually Fuel and Hydrate for Endurance with Tash Cooper-Smith

Episode 42: Stress + Rest = Growth: A Guided Breathwork Session for Mental Toughness

Episode 41: “‘Metabolic Efficiency’ is Just a Fancy Term for Getting Fit w/Elite Endurance Coach Ryan Bolton

Episode 40: “Where Is My Mind? Flow State, Focus, and Interval Meditation”

Episode 39: “10-Minute Guided Interval Meditation”

Episode 38: From a Ten-Year Break to 9:03 at Roth: Ultraman World Champion Gordo Byrn

Episode 37: Coaching The “Emotional” Athlete

Episode 36: “The Bonfire of Success,” with World Class Coach David Tilbury Davis

Episode 35: Overtrained or Just Under-recovered? The Difference That Could Save Next Season

Episode 34: Cody Beals’ “Pathological Inability to Rest” and Resulting Burnout

Episode 33: Why RPE Matters Just As Much As Power: Kolie Moore from Empirical Cycling on Training Smarter

Episode 32: Rach McBride, Professional Triathlete and Cyclist, Recaps UCI Gravel World Championships

Episode 31: Why Your Zone 2 Training Feels Painfully Slow (And That's Actually Good)

Episode 30: The Complete Guide to Your First 70.3 Triathlon with Author Brittany Vermeer

Episode 29: REPOST | The Norwegian Method with Author Brad Culp

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Episodes 53

Episode 53: You Are Not the Voices in Your Head, or How to Fix Your Self-Talk

Episode 52: How to Achieve a Breakthrough Performance with Mark McCabe

Episode 51: Three Endurance Skills that Lead to Mastery

Episode 50 Live from Bend Camp: David Tilbury-Davis on the Mindset and Habits Behind Long-Term Athletic Success

Episode 49: How to Face Your Fear w/Sports Psychologist Simon Marshall

Episode 48: Deliberate Practice in the Pool Leads to a TEN-MINUTE Olympic-distance Improvement

Episode 47: Justin Daerr on Intrinsic Motivation, Longevity vs. Performance, and Staying in the Game

Episode 46: Fixing the Brick—Four Studies on Running Off the Bike

Episode 45: Durability and Fatigue Resistance with Coaching Legend Joe Friel

Episode 44: Triathlon Only Has Two Zones

Episode 43: The Science of Sweat | How to Actually Fuel and Hydrate for Endurance with Tash Cooper-Smith

Episode 42: Stress + Rest = Growth: A Guided Breathwork Session for Mental Toughness

Episode 41: “‘Metabolic Efficiency’ is Just a Fancy Term for Getting Fit w/Elite Endurance Coach Ryan Bolton

Episode 40: “Where Is My Mind? Flow State, Focus, and Interval Meditation”

Episode 39: “10-Minute Guided Interval Meditation”

Episode 38: From a Ten-Year Break to 9:03 at Roth: Ultraman World Champion Gordo Byrn

Episode 37: Coaching The “Emotional” Athlete

Episode 36: “The Bonfire of Success,” with World Class Coach David Tilbury Davis

Episode 35: Overtrained or Just Under-recovered? The Difference That Could Save Next Season

Episode 34: Cody Beals’ “Pathological Inability to Rest” and Resulting Burnout

Episode 33: Why RPE Matters Just As Much As Power: Kolie Moore from Empirical Cycling on Training Smarter

Episode 32: Rach McBride, Professional Triathlete and Cyclist, Recaps UCI Gravel World Championships

Episode 31: Why Your Zone 2 Training Feels Painfully Slow (And That's Actually Good)

Episode 30: The Complete Guide to Your First 70.3 Triathlon with Author Brittany Vermeer

Episode 29: REPOST | The Norwegian Method with Author Brad Culp