TrainingPeaks Founder Dirk Friel on AI, the Future of Coaching, and New Tech for Runners

01/18/24 • 59 min

Dirk Friel is the co-founder of TrainingPeaks, the largest training platform in the world for athletes. He’s also a talented athlete who explores the mountains through cycling and ski mountaineering.

In 2017, Dirk was named Business Person of the Year by Boulder, Colorado’s Chamber of Commerce. What began as a coach-focused triathlon training platform now includes running, cycling and a host of other sports, And soon they’ll be launching Training Peaks Strength for coaches as well!

Dirk and I discuss how training has evolved since the early days of faxed training plans, and where it is headed with the rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

Our conversation covers:

The future of coaching and the impact of AI
Why coached shouldn’t worry about losing their jobs to AI
How TrainingPeaks harnesses AI to assist coaches and athletes
Upcoming technology for athletes and coaches
What has surprised Dirk from his decades of work with endurance athletes
Challenges currently facing the coaching industry

Dirk has had a huge impact on the world of endurance training and continues to influence coaches and athletes through his training platform. Our conversation will help you think about the current and future role of technology in your own training!

Links & Resources from the Show:

Follow Dirk on Instagram
Learn more about Dirk
Listen to the TrainingPeaks CoachCast
Follow Training Peaks on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter
Sign up for our email list to hear about my new training plans on TrainingPeaks!

Thank you DrinkLMNT!

A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.

DrinkLMNT's products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

If you’re not familiar, LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. They make electrolytes for athletes and low-carb folks with no Sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. I’m now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.

Boost your performance and your recovery with LMNT. They’re the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and quite a few professional baseball, hockey, and basketball teams are on regular subscriptions. So check out DrinkLMNT to get a free sampler pack and get your hydration optimized for the upcoming season.

Thank you MOBO Board!

Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that’s set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly!

Even if you’re a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You’ll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it’s not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength.

I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com.

Dirk and I discuss how training has evolved since the early days of faxed training plans, and where it is headed with the rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

Our conversation covers:

The future of coaching and the impact of AI
Why coached shouldn’t worry about losing their jobs to AI
How TrainingPeaks harnesses AI to assist coaches and athletes
Upcoming technology for athletes and coaches
What has surprised Dirk from his decades of work with endurance athletes
Challenges currently facing the coaching industry

Links & Resources from the Show:

Follow Dirk on Instagram
Learn more about Dirk
Listen to the TrainingPeaks CoachCast
Follow Training Peaks on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter
Sign up for our email list to hear about my new training plans on TrainingPeaks!

Thank you DrinkLMNT!

Thank you MOBO Board!

Previous Episode

Entrepreneur Sam Parr on the Longevity Lifestyle: Running, Weightlifting, and Living to 130

Sam Parr founded The Hustle in 2014, a business newsletter that he grew to over 3 million readers (and 8 figures in revenue) before selling it to Hub Spot. His most recent company, Hampton, is a membership community for entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs. Sam also hosts the incredibly popular business podcast called My First Million.

In high school and college, Sam ran competitively at a variety of distances, and has completed several half ironman triathlons. While running is no longer his primary focus, he sets quarterly fitness goals that have pushed him to some pretty incredible accomplishments. Last year he completed the same tests as the NFL combine, scoring as well as an average wide receiver.

Sam and I discuss how he balances his work with his fitness and longevity aspirations, and how he tracks just about every area of his life to keep improving.

Our discussion covers:

Sam’s background in running and how it has evolved
His love for the simplicity and suffering of individual sports
How Sam’s wife helped turn his focus toward wellness and nutrition
Why he uses coaching for so many different aspects of his life
How Sam uses goal setting to hit remarkable achievements
What he does on a daily basis to promote his health
Challenges Sam is contemplating for 2024

If you're looking for inspiration in the new year, Sam's story is incredibly motivating. Enjoy!

Links & Resources from the Show:

Listen to Sam’s podcast, My First Million
Learn more about Sam’s company for founders and CEOs: Hampton
Follow Sam on Instagram and Twitter
Check out Sam’s original business newsletter, The Hustle
Strength training is essential for success. Learn how to do it right here.

Thank you Inside Tracker!

InsideTracker is the blood testing company that helps you prioritize your healthspan and longevity by evaluating your bloodwork, DNA, and lifestyle.

Just one test gives you your very own personalized health dashboard, showing you over 40 biomarkers. More importantly, InsideTracker explains which ones fall outside of your custom normal range and provides advice and recommendations on how to move them into the correct range.

Using InsideTracker is like having your very own personal wellness consultant that tells you what’s wrong and how to fix it. Sam uses them to improve his own health and mentions them in this week’s episode. Go to InsideTracker to save 20% today on any of their tests, and start being the healthiest version of yourself!

Thank You Previnex!

After resisting most supplements for the better part of my life, I’m cautiously changing my tune. I’m now a Masters runner and in my personal life, I’m optimizing for longevity. I want to be my healthiest self for as long as possible and I’m excited to partner with Previnex to make that happen.

Previnex uses the most bioavailable, clinically tested ingredients, the optimal form and dose of each ingredient, pharmaceutical grade manufacturing, testing of raw ingredients and finished products. For every purchase you make, they also donate vitamins to kids in need.

Their new Muscle Health Plus is something I'm now taking. Turning 40 - and having a thin frame - has made me realize that I need to prioritize lean muscle mass to stay healthy and age well. Muscle Health Plus has creatine, essential and branched chain amino acids, and it's designed in a way to maximize protein synthesis and the absorption of amino acids.

With clinically proven ingredients, I hope you'll try it. Use code jason15 for 15% off your order at Previnex!

Next Episode

The Endurance Episode: Zach Bitter on How to Push the Boundaries of Endurance

Do you want to have a monster aerobic engine? No matter what your level of experience, you can learn how to build volume safely and implement intensity to get the most from your training miles.

Zach Bitter was formerly the 100-mile world record holder, and is currently the American record holder in the 100-mile and 12-hour events. He's a four time national champion at the 50-mile, 100k and 100-mile distances between 2012 and 2021.

Zach has won some of the country’s most competitive ultra races and competed on Team USA’s 100k world team on three occasions. He is also a coach and host of the popular podcast, Human Performance Outliers.

Our conversation today focuses on:

Zach’s journey to 100+ mile weeks
The process of learning to truly race a 100 miler
How Zach maximizes his benefits from zone 2 running
Understanding how and when to train in zone 3
The holy grail of distance running: how to run faster at a lower heart rate
Zach’s preparation heading into a fast 100 miler
How Zach uses cross-training in various ways through the training cycle
Advice for new and lower mileage runners to take their training to the next level

No matter what distance you're training for or where you are at in your running journey, my discussion with Zach will help you build your own massive endurance engine!

Links & Resources from the Show:

Learn more about Zach’s training and coaching
Follow Zach on Instagram and Facebook
Listen to Zach’s podcast: Human Performance Outliers
Follow Zach’s training on Strava
Check out our YouTube channel for more actionable advice to reach your endurance goals

Thank you Previnex!

Muscle Health Plus will help you prevent muscle damage, which is particularly important for aging runners who want to protect themselves from muscle loss and recover faster after hard workouts. As is true for all of their products, Previnex adheres to the highest of standards: their ingredients are clinically proven to do what they say they’re going to do.

Previnex offers a 30-day money back guarantee. If you don't feel the benefits of their product, you get your money back no questions asked. With their focus on quality and customer satisfaction, I hope you’ll try it! Use code jason15 for 15% off your first order at Previnex!

Thank you CXP SPORT!

Our newest sponsor is CXP Sport. They make the world’s most advanced underwear, engineered specifically for optimal sports performance with their patented pressure regulation technology.

CXP Sport collaborated with ultra runner Zach Miller to create an amazing product. It has no-chafe, bonded seams, 4-way stretch sweat wicking fabric, and temperature regulating features that keep you cool when you start to get hot.

For me, CXP’s performance underwear is snug, fits well, and most importantly, I just don’t think about them when I go running. They're that comfortable. For endurance runners who have to run for a long time, the goal is to have gear so good that it works without any problems!

You can check out their Endurance XP, Run XP, and React XP performance underwear collection for the most comfortable pair of underwear you’ve ever worn. Use discount code CXPStrength for 20% off all their products at CXP Sport.