Hi James. Can you explain why you said that vegans and vegetarians need to consume more protein? I'd think that in the same conditions we're all have the same demands, don't we?

James great video as always. Why would you suggest a vegan athlete would need the upper end of the protein suggestion?

Hey James, love the channel and all your advice. I regularly send your videos to mates. Just a note on that paper Trommelen et al paper with 100g protein... the participants were in a fasted state (approx 11 hours) and they did whole body resistance training before consuming a protein drink with no other food such as carbs, fat or fibre that might change how protein is absorbed/transited through the gut. Obviously that is nothing like what endurance athlete would do (Remco Evenepoel probably weighs around 55kg and has 1400 calories for breakfast before 7-8 hours of cycling). So I'd be cautious about mentioning it in guides for endurance athletes. (As a side note, Trommelen has a paper where they conclude protein ingestion before bed is essential for athletes. When I pointed out that the study design had the night time ingestion group consumed 40g/kg body weight more than other group and that we can't know if the extra protein led to greater MPS or if it was the fact it was at night, he just said "Yeah but protein before bed is still essential".)

Imo Garmin predicts what you are in theory capable of, but whether it is smart to attempt it... I ran my first half marathon a year ago (1h46m) and I was plagued with injuries afterwards. Now after having ran again for a couple of months my Garmin is giving me a 1h34m half and 3h29m marathon prediction. Perhaps I might be capable of it, but I definitely won't be attempting it. Going for a 'safe' sub 4 instead.

Thank you for this super clear video and explanations ! On the way to my first Triathlon, this is super helpful !

Cleaned up my diet and got Zwift around New Year's. Down 5.2kg so far for January but I suspect the weightloss will slow down as I approach my goal. The best part is I can do a ride almost every day no matter what the weather and its fun to mix it up with races, workouts and group rides. I feel great improving my V02Max and my RHR is 51bpm at age 45 even tho im still north of 22% bf!

Your tips are super helpful! Thanks a lot

Finished my first half marathon yesterday for 3 hours.

I am sorry but i disagree to the content. Training fatmax should not be done by stuffing yourself with carbohydrates. The trick is to use carbs when you need them.

Fk me 30g sugar 😂 that’s 💩

ABSOLUTELY love ambrosia rice pudding so…

The section at the end was perfect I was about to do the same thing. It is good if you leave the links to the research it wont hurt anyone. Thanks.

Fueling is done the day before. For morning workouts, fasted is the way to go, upto 60 minutes for running or 2hrs for cycling. Any longer then 30-60g per hour of fast acting carbs should suffice. If not, it's the training and rest that need more attention, not the fueling.

James another Goody. Thanks

Quick question. For endurance training, the LT2 marker isn't really that important to know (I'm talking endurance running ie: longer than marathon distance at a minimum). So on that basis stopping the test after LT1 is achieved I'm guessing would be fine? I understand LT2 becomes vital for shorter distances (up to marathon but probably more so a bit shorter)

I’m doing my first ever half marathon in march 2025

Pro runner and prolific KZbinr Sage Cannaday has a lot to say about the misconceptions about being a vegan athlete. He points out that protein is easy to obtain since it is pretty ubiquitous in pretty much all food. After all, cows are vegetarian and yet they somehow manage to pack on a lot of muscle.

Maybe this could work for someone out of shape who just wants to lose some weight and be a little healthier. But for athletes who are focused on performance this makes no sense at all for a bunch of reasons. You already mentioned it not being a good idea to eat a lot of heavy stuff right before exercising but also, most serious athletes will work out for much longer than 30 minutes and at different intensities throughout the week. Another point is that the amount of protein should probably vary according to the weight of the person and their needs.

👉Smash your next event with this carb loading plan! www.nutritiontriathlon.com/carb-loading-plan?(general)&

What are some good meals to have

I recently upgraded to the Vivoavtive 5 which has HRV, Body battery and Sleep Score and I am experiencing exactly what you are talking about. I'm becoming fixated on the data and I think that is stressing me out, which is making the data worse. I think I am going to take your advice and take a step back from focusing so closely on the day to day data and just listen to my body. Thanks for the pep talk. Cheers!

This is so interesting. Garmin is very useful, and helps me to focus on stress, less drinking etc. But sometimes the data is completely "off" compared to real conditions. So instead of feeling bad, I try to "allow to disagree". Like when Garmin tells me to take 93 hours of recovery after a 1 hour training session with friends.

I have always felt their body battery to be very much in line with how I feel during the day.

Some great points made here. My enduro 3 is pretty spot on tbf. I find that it guides me to think about how I actually feel. With a tendency to over-do things, the watch has definitely put structure into my training. Personally the purchase has changed my life! Got me off the sofa into training for a 50k ultra. But i definitely agree that the metrics should be a prompt to check in with your body, not to be taken too seriously. Although it tells me I'm 37yrs and I'm actually 42yrs, so maybe I'm being biased 😂

do you also making your own gels?

Cocoa pebbles and a banana with fat free milk

Training for my first 70.3. Seems like the best explanation on the topic. Terrific job! Hope to come back here to give you my feedback :)

Does this mean you could technically get some kind of consumable gel (like Chargel for example) and add a .3geams of baking soda into it, and it would have the same effect? Like the benefit of reducing stomach discomfort and still gaining the benefits of the sodium bicarbonate?

Thank you very much for this interesting and very useful guide on doing your own Lactate Threshold Testing.

you should use a chest strap

Great info, this guy deserves more followers. Thank you 👏🏼

This video is a gold man. Keep up the good work.

Garmin predicts I could run the 5k in 33:03, but I barely can do sub 40 😢 at least it believes in me.

I started running in April. I've lost 60lbs since then and am lean again. My longest run before today was 10 miles. Today I just kept going and ran a half Marathon with no walking. It's raining and 35 outside as well. And I ran it fasted (I always workout fasted) and in a long term calorie deficit. Also i brought no water. Pretty pumped. I don't think I wanna do a full marathon next. I got pretty bored toward the end of my run today.

Stop giving crappy info... encourage people to stay away from maltodextrin its worse for the body than sugar

i agree. i hate waking up in the middle of the night worrying about my sleep score lol. my body battery is never 100%, even though i wake up feeling 100%. at this point, i've been putting in more effort to defeat the garmin algorithm. i tried pace pro, and it gave me better sleep scores, while garmin always gives me fair scores. but i will say, the estimates are pretty good. after a few weeks of activity, garmin said my vo2 max was 44. i went to a sports lab a few months later and got the same exact score. garmin also gave me very bad sleep scores when i was eating late, going to bed at 4am, and waking up at 12pm. when i stopped eating so late, and starting going to sleep at 10/11pm, and waking up around 6-7am, my sleep score improved, and i actually do feel better. garmin isn't really designed for athletes. it's more so for casuals. i usually run 40-50 miles a week. when i tried garmin's daily suggested workout, it tapered me down to 20 miles. i also never take its advice for rest days. in my opinion, you should never have a day where you do absolutely nothing. you should at least walk a few miles. continuous blood flow is always best for the legs and heart. however, after my half marathon, garmin suggested i do nothing for two days. i went and walked anyway, and i think garmin was right. i was sweating more than usual, and obviously not recovered.

Very good video - I did it few times just coz I wanted to be sure that I was doing right thing and every time was the same conclusion, better without it. in the last 4 years with my daily basis tracking just engaging in analysing statistics been giving me more (headache) focus on statistics than actually training.

I will join a walking 🚶 or running 🏃‍♀️ club in west Cary, NC.

Thanks 🙏 I will definitely try running 🏃 again at age 41 since I always walked a lot since the start of the pandemic 😷 5 years ago

Thank you so much for your time creating these videos. I've learnt so much about race nutrition since watching your channel. I have my first 70.3 in September 2025 and I was seriously lacking knowledge about hydration and nutrition until now. And thank you for making a specific video about Ironman nutrition! Goldmine.

I just started running, and the havoc it brings on my bowels is otherworldly. I run, get home then violently shit then feel like crap the rest of the day. Progress

Thank you for this excellent and inspiring discussion! I'm mostly plant based (other than occasional fish here and there living in the Gulf Coast). So much great information and knowledge bombs in this episode. This led me to your website and following Lizzie on Instagram! Looking forward to up my performance, nutrition, recovery, and improve time this year in 70.3!

Garmin is guessing? I think you should look at how regressions are done and how they are utilised by garmin. It will work for majority of users. You feel like Garmin guesses is bot objective.

Hey. Really enjoyed your video but I disagree on one part in regards to running results on the treadmill you suggested a 17km threshold runner goes up 1.5 every step. I would suggest this is too much to get all the readings you need. As you approach the predicted threshold I think it’s worth using smaller increments to get the correct data. For example my L1 and L2 are within 1.5km/h of each other so to get the right numbers I’d need a small testing jump

stopped watching when dude said carbs are key for a half marathon xD wtf

I've run about five 10k races but haven't run for about 18 months and want to do another run in 4 months. Do you think it's beyond me to run my first half or would you do a 10k?

thank you! what about potassium and magnesium? How much do I need to add without sh*tting myself and peeing like a race horse? Thanks!

My vo2 max is lower than yours on Garmin but my race predictions (which I think are atleast 20%) optimistic are a tad faster. I wonder why that is.

I don’t believe what the watch told me but I use the good thing the watch tell for motivation 😂😂

Regular table, sugar and regular salt. That's pretty cheap, should be using something like cane sugar and himalayan pink salt.That way, you're getting proper minerals and sugars. Gatorade is a terrible sports drink. Brand full of sugar and unhealthy ingredients. And I would not use that as a basis for creating another energy drink.