Episode 19: Hitting World Records as a Masters Athlete with Guest Sue McDonald

11/22/24 • 46 min

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with personal trainer, running coach and multiple Masters world champion track & field athlete, Sue McDonald. Rick and Sue discuss her athletic background as well as her coaching business. Additionally, Sue discusses important factors in working with Masters athletes, why she enjoys track events vs. longer road races and how she balances her training with her other obligations.

About Sue McDonald

Sue McDonald is one of the most successful masters track and field athletes in the world who also ran on the national level and competed in the Olympic Trials. Sue has multiple Masters world and national titles on the track, as well as many accolades including the 2023 USATF and World Masters Track & Field Athlete of the Year awards!
Areas covered in this podcast:

1. Could you tell me about yourself including your athletic background and your coaching/fitness business?

2. Like many coaches, you’re balancing a lot including coaching, training and family. However, you’re training for multiple track events at the highest level of masters athletics. How do you balance everything?

3. What are the primary events that you’re currently training for?

4. Masters athletes represent a meaningful demographic for our coaches. From a coaching perspective, what are some things that a coach should consider when working with a masters athlete?

5. The prevailing belief is that as humans get older, they get slower. While this is true from a physiological standpoint, we also see some masters athletes staying at the same speed or getting faster as time goes on. When working with masters athletes, what things do you find most valuable in retaining or increasing an athlete’s speed as they get older?

6. Speaking of which, what are some of your current records and associated times?

7. You also do pole vault. What does the training look like for that?

8. It seems that a lot of runners now are trending toward longer distances (i.e., ultramarathons) and not so much shorter distances – especially track. What is the allure for you of track vs. longer road races or ultrarunning?

How, if at all, has your recovery strategy changed over the years?

About Sue McDonald

1. Could you tell me about yourself including your athletic background and your coaching/fitness business?

3. What are the primary events that you’re currently training for?

4. Masters athletes represent a meaningful demographic for our coaches. From a coaching perspective, what are some things that a coach should consider when working with a masters athlete?

6. Speaking of which, what are some of your current records and associated times?

7. You also do pole vault. What does the training look like for that?

How, if at all, has your recovery strategy changed over the years?

Previous Episode

Episode 18: Business Start-Up Success with Guest Ryan Frankel

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with triathlete and serial entrepreneur, Ryan Frankel. A former investor at Goldman Sachs, Ryan has founded multiple companies, and appeared on the hit show, Shark Tank. Rick and Ryan discuss assessing risk, start up financing and mistakes to avoid, among other topics.

About Ryan Frankel

Ryan Frankel is a serial entrepreneur, triathlete and former investor at Goldman Sachs. Ryan has founded multiple companies, and appeared on the hit show, Shark Tank. Ryan recently launched his latest start up, Workup (workuphq.com), which aggregates quality and ethical wellness/health companies in an online marketplace format.
Areas covered in this podcast:

1. Could you tell the listeners a bit about yourself and how you came to be an entrepreneur?

2. Goldman, and perhaps most of the finance industry is known for long hours, high intensity and a collaborative work environment. How did your time at Goldman influence and shape your entrepreneurial journey?

3. Corollary to the prior question, how has your time as a triathlete influenced your experience as an entrepreneur?

4. Let’s talk risk. Start-ups and small business in general are often perceived as being very risky as compared to working for someone else. That said, I’ve had many friends that have lost their ‘9-5’ jobs in the last few years. So do you think in today’s current economic and work climate, is being self-employed any riskier than working for a company?

5. As someone starting a business, what would be advice for them to reduce the risk commonly associated with a start up?

6. Most coaches are not going to be looking for investors or external capital to start their coaching businesses. Aside from what funds a coach already has in the bank, what are some other creative ways that a coach could raise money to bootstrap their start-up coaching practice?

7. In your time as both working for GS, as well as an entrepreneur, what are some of the most valuable lessons that you have learned that would apply to coaches looking to start and/or scale their business?

8. What are some of the mistakes that you’ve made that you could share with our listeners with respect to things to be aware of and potentially avoid?

Lastly, what was it like being on Shark Tank?

Next Episode

Episode 20: Interpreting Physiological Testing Data with Guest Mike Weiss

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with environmental and exercise physiologist, Mike Weiss of Alta Health and Performance Solutions (www.altahps.com). Specifically, Mike discusses what the most popular physiological tests are, as well as how to interpret and apply the results.

About Mike Weiss

Mike Weiss is an environmental and exercise physiologist who owns his own practice – Alta Health and Performance Solutions in northern California. Mike is also an endurance athlete who focuses on ultrarunning.
Areas covered in this podcast:

1. What is your background and how did you get into physiological testing?

2. Physiological testing is becoming more popular, in part due to the interest in the ‘Norwegian Method.’ However, in your own summation, why is testing important?

3. Ideally, when and at what intervals should an athlete get tested throughout a year?

4. For endurance athletes, the two most popular main physiological tests are VO2 Max and lactate. Could you explain a bit about each test, why they are important and how they correlate to each other?

5. What are some limitations with respect to VO2 Max testing (i.e., muscular fatigue, etc...)?

6. If a person doesn’t have access to a lab, what are some field tests that they can perform to approximate lactate threshold and VO2 Max?

7. From the perspective of implementing training intensities, or for lack of a better word, training zones, could you explain how to apply the results of a VO2 Max and Lactate threshold test?

8. What can an individual expect to pay for a VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold test?

Are there any individuals where a VO2 max test would be contraindicated?