The “Rest Day” Podcast - Episode 0
Why I Started The Rest Day Podcast (and Who It’s For)
There’s no shortage of endurance sports content out there. Training plans, race recaps, reels, hot takes, performance hacks—endless scrolling, endless noise.
So why start another podcast?
Because a lot of the conversations worth having about endurance sports don’t fit well on social media.
This Isn’t a Podcast for Algorithms
The Rest Day Podcast isn’t about controversy, outrage, or selling ad space to mattress companies. It exists for a much simpler reason: connection.
Over the years, athletes I coach, people I train with, friends, family, and others in the endurance community have all said the same thing in different ways:
“I’d love to hear more of how you think about this stuff.”
Training. Racing. Coaching. The industry. The mistakes. The funny moments. The identity shifts that happen when endurance sports stop being something you do and start being something you are.
Social media is bad at holding those conversations. Podcasts are good at it.
So here we are.
What You’ll Hear on The Rest Day Podcast
This podcast lives somewhere between coaching office hours, a post-workout coffee chat, and a long run conversation that accidentally gets philosophical.
Topics will include:
Endurance training and racing insights
Coaching stories and program updates
Behind-the-scenes looks at races and events
World Championship travel and race experiences
The psychology of amateur endurance athletes
Athletic integrity and why it matters more than you think
Humor, jokes, memes, and stories that don’t belong in an Instagram caption
It won’t be on a fixed schedule. It drops when there’s time and something worth sharing.
Timestamped Chapters – Episode 1: Why the Rest Day Podcast Exists
00:00 – Welcome to The Rest Day Podcast
Why this podcast exists and why it’s not another generic endurance sports show.
01:45 – Why I’m Not Doing This for Ads or Algorithms
Rejecting controversy, clickbait, and mattress-company sponsorships in favor of real connection.
03:15 – My Complicated Relationship with Social Media
Why social media often feels bad, what it’s good for, and why podcasts feel healthier.
06:10 – What This Podcast Will Actually Cover
Business updates, coaching insights, race stories, humor, philosophy, and community shout-outs.
08:45 – Endurance Sports as Identity
What happens to your sense of self when endurance sports become a big part of your life.
11:10 – Athletic Integrity in Amateur Racing
Why amateur endurance sports rely heavily on honesty and personal responsibility.
13:00 – Why It’s Called The Rest Day Podcast
Rest days in training, rest days in life, and the myth of “easy” days.
15:10 – Does a Rest Day Still Rack Up TSS?
Chores, errands, and the untracked fatigue that no watch captures.
16:40 – Other Podcast Names I Considered (Off the Bike)
Triathlon wordplay, cycling culture, and being “off your rocker.”
18:40 – Program Update: Raven Ready Early Bird Tri Training Program
Sold-out beginner triathlon program at Carleton University and what’s coming next.
21:10 – Assistant Race Director at the Winterman Triathlon
Behind-the-scenes race directing, cold weather racing, and post-race ramen logistics.
23:30 – World Championships, Florida Racing, and Stories to Come
Spain, Team Canada, racing with athletes, and future episode previews.
25:30 – Life Outside Endurance Sports (Curling, Beer, and Balance)
Why it’s healthy to be bad at something and have a sport with zero performance goals.
27:00 – Closing Thoughts & Happy Rest Day
Final sign-off, canal skating, and what to expect next from the podcast.
Why “Rest Day”?
A rest day is one of the most universal concepts in endurance sports—and one of the most misunderstood.
If you don’t take rest days, you probably already know who you are.
But rest day isn’t just about training load. It’s about perspective. Stepping back. Remembering that endurance sports are part of life, not the entire thing.
Ironically, rest days often rack up more fatigue than training days:
Errands
Chores
Gardening
Laundry
Carrying life up and down stairs
No power meter captures that, but your body sure does.
The Rest Day Podcast lives in that space—the unmeasured, unstructured, very human side of endurance sports.
Amateur Endurance Sports Run on Integrity
One of the themes that will come up often on this podcast is athletic integrity, especially at the amateur level.
Rules enforcement is lighter. Stakes are lower. Which means the sport relies heavily on personal honesty.
Every race presents new examples—good and bad—and those moments are worth talking about. Not to shame anyone, but to understand what kind of athletes we want to be.
Community, Coaching, and the Ottawa Endurance Scene
This podcast is also a hub for updates:
Coaching programs and athlete achievements
The Raven Ready Early Bird Tri Training Program at Carleton University
Local races and collaborations with Somersault events
Race directing experiences and behind-the-scenes logistics
If you’re part of the Ottawa endurance community—or adjacent to it—you’ll hear familiar names, places, and stories.
Life Outside Endurance Sports Matters
Endurance sports are powerful. They shape identity fast.
That’s why it’s important to also be bad at something on purpose.
For me, that’s curling. No performance goals. No optimization. Just two hours of fun, friends, and a beer afterward.
That balance matters more than most training plans acknowledge.
What’s Coming Next
Future episodes will include:
World Championship stories from Spain
Racing and traveling with coached athletes
More philosophy, more humor, more real talk
The occasional tangent (probably about TSS, or why elevators prove that “a ton of people” isn’t that many people)
If it’s your rest day—happy rest day.
If it’s not, look forward to one.