The MicroCast

Oct 20, 2026 — This is a replay of an episode about long runs while TJ is out of the office! Want to train smarter, fuel better, and understand what your body actually needs? This episode unpacks the real science behind endurance training and fueling—no...

Oct 14, 2026 — Strides and VO2 max intervals both mean running fast, but they do completely different jobs. Strides are short and smooth, and they train the way you move. VO2 max intervals are long and brutal, and they train your heart. Mixing them up is one of the...

Oct 07, 2026 — Coaching yourself? These are the five mistakes we see self-coached runners make most, and they're easier to fall into than you'd think. TJ and Zoë start with a listener question about the best time of day to train. Physiology gives late afternoon a...

Oct 01, 2026 — Lactic acid, static stretching, stability shoes, heel striking, 180 cadence, and icing everything: some running advice has not held up. Coaches Zoë Rom and TJ David cover six common myths, what the research actually shows, and why some of these ideas...

Sep 22, 2026 — Ready for your next ultra distance? Maybe. In this episode, we tackle the question of when to move up from the 50K to the 50 mile, 100K, 100 mile, and beyond, and why the "ladder" framing might be steering you wrong. Distance alone doesn't say much...

Sep 16, 2026 — Zoë's article on Ability vs. Ambition YDS Episode on "Racing Weight" There's always a gap between where you are as an athlete and where you want to be. Zoë wrote about it for UltraSignup , "Closing the Gap Between Ability and Ambition", and this week...

Sep 09, 2026 — How many miles a week do you need to run to get better? It's the question coaches hear most, and the annoying answer is: enough to create an adaptation, not so much that you can't absorb it. The body doesn't experience a mileage total. A mile on a 14er...

Aug 26, 2026 — Leadville 100 week gave Microcosm both ends of the sport in a single day: coach TJ David's athlete McKendree Hickory won the women's race in her 100-mile debut, and TJ himself dropped at the Winfield turnaround after nearly fifty miles of not being...

Aug 19, 2026 — Your easy pace is slower than it was two months ago. Workouts feel harder. You're doing more volume than you've ever done — so shouldn't you be getting faster? A listener wrote in with exactly that question, and it turned into a full episode. Coach TJ...

Aug 12, 2026 — Email us your listener questions or hot or nots at microcosmcoaching@gmail.com. Check us out online at microcosm-coaching.com Downhill running is a technical skill, not a fitness problem, and this week Zoë Rom and TJ David break down the science of...