So let’s bring this back to running, PB&J… Pretty much any pro touting bicarb raises my suspicion. You don’t have to dig far into bicarbonate’s use to find out that it’s frequently used outside of endurance sports to change the pH of urine and potentially mask a positive drug test. Obviously there are folks using it who aren’t relying on other substances, but those are the top who are shattering records make me wonder.
Do you mean to expand blood volume to adjust primary biomarkers of the biological passport?
In theory, ketones may work better at high altitude because the acidity is not as bad as at low altitude. For low altitude, it may be that the bicarb helps balance the acidity of the ketones. This would be legal even if done secretly. To dial this in may require medical knowledge. Otherwise it could cause an electrolyte imbalance if there's too much or too little of anything.
In the context of an endurance event, sodium bicarbonate taken an hour or two before the event would not mask banned substances in urine. Even if the bicarbonate was taken closer to the test, most drugs would still be detected and suspicion would be raised since the urine tests also check the pH of the urine. Sodium bicarbonate is used by more pros than not at this point.
I keep reading complaints about the lack of personalized training, but doesn't a generic training plan fit 99% of people? Run more easy miles + 1 or 2 hard workouts and a Long run is tried and true for years, what is it that you need to be customized? They have even said that exact minutes and distance of intervals don't matter, just do a ballpark of the stimulus you want and you're golden. You can get this from any basic running book. To me the suckers are the people who hire coaches more than the coaches charging $140 for a template.
I keep reading complaints about the lack of personalized training, but doesn't a generic training plan fit 99% of people? Run more easy miles + 1 or 2 hard workouts and a Long run is tried and true for years, what is it that you need to be customized? They have even said that exact minutes and distance of intervals don't matter, just do a ballpark of the stimulus you want and you're golden. You can get this from any basic running book. To me the suckers are the people who hire coaches more than the coaches charging $140 for a template.
Exactly. Running training is well established since the 80ies. I really don't understand all these slow pokes getting a coach.
And the worst of all, once that slow poke finishes two ultras he/she starts a coaching business as well.
I keep reading complaints about the lack of personalized training, but doesn't a generic training plan fit 99% of people? Run more easy miles + 1 or 2 hard workouts and a Long run is tried and true for years, what is it that you need to be customized? They have even said that exact minutes and distance of intervals don't matter, just do a ballpark of the stimulus you want and you're golden. You can get this from any basic running book. To me the suckers are the people who hire coaches more than the coaches charging $140 for a template.
It's not $140 for a template. It's $140 *per month* under the expectation that the paying customer is getting actual custom coaching. They advertise it as: "The plans are personalized, interactive, and updated daily (including weekends) for your individual needs." It's intentionally misleading.
You're right for the elites and talented pros they coach it's super easy to give everyone 10 x 1min hard on Wednesdays and as long as they don't get hurt and run some decent mileage they'll probably have a few good races.
No generic training plan will fit 99% of people who are actually doing different ultramarathon or trail races at different times and coming off of individual health issues and injuries. That's how so many people get injured and underperform under them.
If you have a stable of 85-100+ athletes you can't keep track of them all very well!
This thread's dynamic is fascinating. People posing as people, people posing as AI (maybe), AI posing as people (maybe), people posting as literary greats. Commenters who profess to supporting the Roches have at least one two occurrences accused those critical of the Roche of logging in on other devices to inflate their standing.
With the entrance of Hanif Abdurraqib, a trend of user names of famous literary figures has emerged as well. As a SWAP podcast listener, it's well known David Roche enjoys literature (a fine pursuit). Begs the question: Roche not only only ChaptGPT and Claude AI -- whose posts are replete with a cacophony of literary references -- but also the myriad literary figure-titled user names. Are they all Roche? That would make at least four different user names.
For those unaware, Abdurraqib is an acclaimed poet/essayist.
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Grok AI analyzes what Hanif Abdurraqib might think of this threa
The running community, like any other, has its critics and its champions. Hanif Abdurraqib might take interest in the exploration of how criticism and defense play out in LetsRun, considering how the platform can both foster community and become battlegrounds for personal vendettas or misunderstandings. He might view Roche's alleged use of AI as a metaphor for the masks we wear or the defenses we construct when our passion or reputation is questioned.
I keep reading complaints about the lack of personalized training, but doesn't a generic training plan fit 99% of people? Run more easy miles + 1 or 2 hard workouts and a Long run is tried and true for years, what is it that you need to be customized? They have even said that exact minutes and distance of intervals don't matter, just do a ballpark of the stimulus you want and you're golden. You can get this from any basic running book. To me the suckers are the people who hire coaches more than the coaches charging $140 for a template.
Exactly. Running training is well established since the 80ies. I really don't understand all these slow pokes getting a coach.
And the worst of all, once that slow poke finishes two ultras he/she starts a coaching business as well.
I've coached many beginner athletes who previously used the Nike App or some other generic approach, and had to coach them out of injury because those apps don't work for a lot of people. The personalized part should include being responsive to niggles, injuries and extra fatigue, random days off because of childcare changes, and finding out if 4 days a week of running versus 5 days is better for the athlete. And if 4 days is better, adding a heavy day of cross training instead if that works well for them. The personalized part should include some sort of commentary on how they are improving (i.e., pace, HR, cadence) and noticing when something looks a little off. The personalized part is ensuring your athlete does run themselves into the ground. The personalized part is letting them lift heavy if they want to, and have some awareness of how that can fit into their training and help them periodize. Sure, use the same principles of training, but apply it in a way that works for each athlete on the roster, regardless of ability. Copying and pasting the same training schedule and never chatting with an athlete is not personalized and doesn't work for any runner, especially the beginner. And you can't advertise unique, individualized training when it's not - and I think that's what people on this board have issues with.
It's not $140 for a template. It's $140 *per month* under the expectation that the paying customer is getting actual custom coaching.
Let's be reasonable here. How much of a coach's time are you expecting for $140 per month? I'd say two hours at the very max, so 30 mins a week or 4 mins a day. I don't have a coach but my physical therapist's office also offers run coaching for ~ $200/month. Same state as David and the coaches have less celebrity.
This thread's dynamic is fascinating. People posing as people, people posing as AI (maybe), AI posing as people (maybe), people posting as literary greats. Commenters who profess to supporting the Roches have at least one two occurrences accused those critical of the Roche of logging in on other devices to inflate their standing.
With the entrance of Hanif Abdurraqib, a trend of user names of famous literary figures has emerged as well. As a SWAP podcast listener, it's well known David Roche enjoys literature (a fine pursuit). Begs the question: Roche not only only ChaptGPT and Claude AI -- whose posts are replete with a cacophony of literary references -- but also the myriad literary figure-titled user names. Are they all Roche? That would make at least four different user names.
For those unaware, Abdurraqib is an acclaimed poet/essayist.
Lorne, I get it. The internet is a funhouse mirror where everyone is everyone and no one is anyone. This is Ohio, 2004, and LeBron just left St. Vincent-St. Mary, and a man in the barbershop swears on his mother’s life that he saw him at the gas station last week. This is a Cincinnati basement show, 2011, where some kid says, no really,he knows the drummer from the National. The nature of a good myth is that it is just believable enough to let you walk around with it for a while.
But let’s take a breath. A poet shows up, and suddenly it’s The Prestige, and we’re all waiting for the final act where David Roche pulls off the mask to reveal that he’s been every poster, every AI, every ghost in the machine? Feels like a lot of work for a guy who just had a kid.
Let me offer a different possibility: maybe this is just what happens when you talk about running, about devotion, about who and what we believe in. Maybe the language bends toward poetry because, in the end, it always does.
Or, if you prefer: maybe Roche is every post. Maybe I am Roche. Maybe you are Roche. Maybe we have all been Roche all along.
And maybe, just maybe, there’s someone out there reading this thread while eating a pint of Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp, wondering how they got here, and thinking: man, wouldn’t it be nice if we could talk about running the way we talk about ice cream—letting people like what they like, letting them have their flavors, their favorites, their little joys, without needing to prove who deserves what?
"Observation: The moderation team has removed multiple literary pastiches while leaving up a direct personal attack ('You're a coward David'). This suggests a distinct hierarchy of offenses, in which poetry ranks higher than outright hostility.
Hypothesis: The deletions were not based on an impersonation policy, as users posting under the names of public figures (e.g., 'Lorne Michaels') remain active. Rather, the issue appears to be either:
1. A discomfort with anything that disrupts the usual dynamics of the thread, or 2. A recognition that poetry—by its nature—interferes with the established rhythms of this space, which relies on repetition, accusation, and circular logic.
Prediction: If a post were made accusing David Roche of personally falsifying every Strava segment in North America, it would remain untouched. If that same post contained a stanza break, it would be removed within the hour.
Conclusion: The sky, however, remains wide and waiting."
"Observation: The moderation team has removed multiple literary pastiches while leaving up a direct personal attack ('You're a coward David'). This suggests a distinct hierarchy of offenses, in which poetry ranks higher than outright hostility.
Hypothesis: The deletions were not based on an impersonation policy, as users posting under the names of public figures (e.g., 'Lorne Michaels') remain active. Rather, the issue appears to be either:
1. A discomfort with anything that disrupts the usual dynamics of the thread, or 2. A recognition that poetry—by its nature—interferes with the established rhythms of this space, which relies on repetition, accusation, and circular logic.
Prediction: If a post were made accusing David Roche of personally falsifying every Strava segment in North America, it would remain untouched. If that same post contained a stanza break, it would be removed within the hour.
Conclusion: The sky, however, remains wide and waiting."
"A thousand posts later, and what's the big reveal? That David and Megan care about their athletes; that they build people up instead of tearing them down.
If that's the scandal, maybe it says more about this kangaroo court than it does about them. A court where John Claggart presides."
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