51: Partner Finances, Climate Change, Fasting

Juggling work-life balance can be a real three-ring circus, which Lauren & Jesse know first hand. Led by listener questions, the Work, Play, Love Podcast is all about sports, biz, and family. [ASK YOUR QUESTION]

51: Wealth and Relationships, Climate Change, Business Lessons and Sport, Love Follow-Ups

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Description:

Sometimes you gotta go all-in on business while sacrificing some play time. Sometimes you and your partner are feeling the exact opposite of one another like yin and yang. It’s not perfect, but maybe that’s what balance is! There’s no precise science to juggling work play and love, there’s no “shoulds” or spreadsheets to tell you where to spend your time and energy. Lauren and Jesse take a look at how you can still find balance even in unlikely circumstances. How can you train to be your best when you’re already on your feet all day? How do you handle a big wealth gap in your relationship? Should climate change factor into your discussions about starting a family? And if you’ve been all-in on business, how can you use that experience in sport? Lauren and Jesse tackle these questions, plus they wonder about the meaning of life and share a bunch of follow ups about love.

What's Goin' Onnnn?!

Jesse’s a lil’ bit tuckered out. And for good reason. He’s been laser-focused on the future of Picky, which has been taking up roughly the same amount of time and brainpower as a Kona training season. Happily there’s some great news to share. Jesse talks about Picky’s latest record-setting month and the circuitous path to becoming clear on where the business is headed. Plus, now that the boot’s off, Jesse’s been enjoying Zwift even more, and recently ran (or biked) into another pro triathlete…virtually. Tune in to hear what happened.

For Lauren, coaching is ramping way up. New athletes. New recruits. It’s pretty great. Plus, her athletes are heading into competitions and she’s on “coach high alert.” Lauren explains how she’s hyper sensitive to the information she’s receiving about her athletes and how that’s more stressful than you might think. Ultimately, it’s satisfying to help her team perform at their best.

Tasty Bites

13:22 – What is the meaning of life, and what happens to us when we die?

Because life is both long and short at the same time, the meaning of life is to live as long as you can until you’re ready to die. As to what happens to y’all—lots of folks have lots of opinions about this. But one thing’s for sure. We can definitely have an afterlife in the people we’ve impacted while we’re alive.

16:05 - What are your thoughts on running on an empty stomach? Is it harmful to train on an empty stomach, fueling only with water? Would more a traditional fueling plan help me perform better?

Generally speaking, It’s not harmful to train on an empty stomach depending on how hard or long you train. However, you do deplete your glycogen stores after about 60-120 minutes of working out (possibly less if you work out as soon as you wake up). If you want to optimize your performance to be your best, you will need to fuel and hydrate rather than run on an empty stomach.

That said, if you’re happy with your performance, and if running on an empty stomach works for you, don’t fix something that’s not broken! 

19:20 - I hold a Master’s degree in kinesiology and have completed coursework toward a PhD. Should I take the USATF Level 1 coaching program in order to design my own program?

We don’t have personal experience with this course. Based on feedback we’ve heard, this is a highly technical program that teaches you granular information about track and field events (among other things!). You can probably create your own program with the information you know supplemented with awesome coaching info out there on YouTube and in other resources like Hanson’s.

21:46 - I’m a runner with flat feet. Is it OK to hack my spiked shoes so I can use comfy insoles? Or should I just wear racing flats for 800m, 1500m, 3000m track events?

It’s normal for your feet to be pretty sore after racing in spikes, but here are a few things you can try. First, test out different spikes! Many local running stores will have “Spike Night” at the beginning of the season to give athletes the opportunity to try out different spikes. Next, do some of your training in spikes to help prepare yourself for races. And lastly, if you’re running a lot of events, wear flats for the majority of them, and wear spikes to the events you really want to nail, no pun intended ;)

23:56 – Shout Outs

Jesse and Lauren give some shout outs to new products and their sponsors. Lauren is pumped to let you know that there’s a new, beautiful Compete training journal coming out. Head over to Believeiam.com to learn more about the very awesome Believe lineup of training journals. Jesse gives a shout out to his sponsor, RedBull and reflects on how supportive they’ve been in an unpredictable year of racing and injury.

Meat & Potatoes

26:04 - Any tips on keeping up a strong training schedule while working on your feet all day?

Yes! Here are a few tips for staying strong and avoiding injury when you’re on your feet at work: 

• Listen to your body—make sure you pull back when you aren’t feeling great
• Consider reducing your training to 5 days a week or fewer
• Consider putting your hardest workouts in your schedule when you are most rested—before the cumulative stress of being on your feet all day depletes your energy stores

Any fueling tips for someone who goes six or more hours between meals?

You gotta get your snack on! Make sure you fit some snacks into your schedule. Try to make them healthy and balanced. And make sure there are some carbohydrates in the mix to restore your energy. We’ve heard there are some pretty awesome snacks from Picky Bars…

30:03 - How do you handle a disparity of wealth in a relationship?

Try sitting down with your partner and brainstorm what you’d like your financial future to look like. Money is a tough issue for folks, so explain how you feel and make sure you create a space where your partner won’t feel shame. Then, consider sitting down with a financial planner who can help you set goals and make a plan for the future.  

36:10 - When it comes to climate change do you think there is more we can do as active people?

You can absolutely do your best, personally, to reduce your carbon footprint and your environmental impact. But another way to be active is to get politically active! Vote! Vote for candidates whose views and policies on climate change you support. Even better? Spread their message and try to help other folks vote for them as well. Having a legislative impact is a great way to affect change.

Do you think climate change should be a deterrent for having kids?

The Earth is changing and climate change is affecting (and will continue to affect) the way people live. Your kids may not be able to enjoy the outdoors the same way that you did, but people adapt. As the planet changes, people will enjoy life in new ways. Life will be worth living. If you want a family, have a family. 

46:28 - What have you learned in business that can help you in sports and athletic performance?

If you’re a business-minded person, there are a ton of things you can bring to the playing field. Here’s some food for thought:

• Making a business plan is like making a training plan. And like a business plan, you have to have the flexibility and the discipline to change course when you’re presented with new information
• Like in business, don’t fall victim to the fallacy of sunk cost. If something’s not working, you have to do what’s best for your body or your performance, even if you’ve invested a lot of time and effort into a different strategy.
• Bring your experience of planning and forecasting to your sport.
• Settle in to quarterly and even monthly reviews with yourself and/or your coach.
• Keep the ideas of “burnout,” and “employee retention” in mind—it can help you stick to your sport and avoid injury.

Follow-Ups

Lauren and Jesse field some follow-ups to the “Love” episode. See what your fellow listeners had to say about some of the questions from episode 50.

52:46 - A listener writes in with a podcast recommendation for folks who want a deeper dive into the topic of polyamory. Check out this conversation with Aubrey Marcus and Whitney Miller on the Lifestylist Podcast. 

53:22 - For another take on monogamy, polyamory, intimacy and sex, a correspondent suggests Esther Perel’s Mating In Captivity.

54:39 - A mom writes in to share her experience of keeping “the spark” alive and well after kids are in the picture.

55:10 - Still having trouble feeling sexy time with kids running around and full-time jobs? A couple Work-Play-Lovahhhs write in to share their successes with scheduling intimate time together. Lauren and Jesse riff on whether or not they think this would work for them.

59:11 - The final follow-up from the looooovvvee episode comes from a queer athlete who has been searching for queer community in the running world. They recommend checking out OUTRun, the online community created by pro trail runners and LGBTQ+ couple Addie Bracey and Corey Conner.

As always, submit your work/play/love question at pickybars.com/workplaylove - Thanks for listening!

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