Sunrise from the porch March 2025. No filter.

Welp, my aim of a monthly (maybe weekly) newsletter completely went off the rails mid February. I knew it would be challenging to keep that up. But I've never had a problem with failing and starting again. So here we are.. 

Today - some updates, some interesting reads, some thoughts..

Also, if you are interested in past newsletters, you can find them on the website here. 

I've lowered prices again! Why? Well a few reasons, given the over saturation of the coaching market (isn't every athlete also a coach?) and zero gateway to entry - lowering prices is necessary to stay competitive in the market. Secondly, I've had far too many conversations around how expensive coaching is and the limited value that many people find in coaching (as well as hearing about some very disappointing experiences from athletes being coached by people that I directly know who are failing to meet even a minimum of responsibility and professionalism) - this coupled with the overall lack of knowledge in the community currently has actually made me feel embarrassed to call myself a coach. Lowering fees so that hopefully no one would place me in such a category (essentially over priced and not worth the value) Thirdly, who knows what will happen with the economy and tariffs - but the latest on consumer confidence suggests it is at a 12 yr low. I think the best we can hope for is recession, worst is likely depression. So it feels appropriate to try and reduce prices to try and stay affordable in the coming times. Like many coaches, I didn't get into coaching to "get rich" ha! I enjoy helping people and sharing my love of science, movement, health, and performance.

I have never offered coaching this low- so if you've been on the fence or know folks that would benefit, reach out!

Level 1 multi- sport ($199); Weekly custom schedule, unlimited changes, feedback every 1-2 days, 4x 60 min calls, pre-race planning, race day and every day nutritional guidance, strength sessions, unlimited email communication (24 hr response time).

Level 1 single-sport ($149); Same as above with strength session support.

Level 2 multi-sport ($129); Monthly custom schedule, 1 schedule change per month, feedback on 1-2 sessions each week at the end of the month, strength sessions, nutritional guidance, 2 pre-race planning sessions each 6 mos, 1-2 emails per week as needed (response with the week), 2x 60 min calls per month.

Level 2 single -sport ($79); Same as above for a single sport, includes supporting strength sessions.

Performance plans ($12.50/week, minimum 3 months up to a year); A custom plan built around your life, commitments, and focus. No feedback, calls, or communication and calls can be added on for 30% discount for data deep dives and pre-race planning.

Consult calls; 1 hr ($50) and 30 mins ($30) - for anyone looking to get some guidance on training, racing, nutrition, mindset, etc.

For now I've put the live and on-demand group rides on hold. We didn't have enough interest unfortunately. But if you are interested in joining in the future - drop me an email and I will add you to my wait list.

Group training (multi and run- crew) are also on hold due to lack of interest. Again, if you may be interested in the future, drop me an email and I will add you to the wait list. 

All of this information is updated on the website under the "coaching" tab.

Most people reading this are already coached or self-coached and not looking to be coached, but if you know of people that may be interested in working with a coach - would you mind forwarding my newsletter to them? Or pass along my email and encourage them to reach out! I love working with athletes across the board- from performance A-race driven to those looking to focus on health, movement, and longevity.

A fantastic N=1 study by Marco Altini on his metabolic efficiency journey here.

A recent study that (unsurprisingly) shows strength training improves running economy here.

Another recent study shows that oral contraceptives does not influence muscle protein synthesis here.

And another study on minimal influence of menstrual cycle or hormonal contraceptives on performance of female rugby players here.

(Both of these at odds with the popular, yet not entirely scientifically supported theory that woman MUST modify training around menstrual cycles. Interestingly a deep dive into scientific literature of the most popular "influencer" to make a whole lot of money off of this theory - shows mostly stand and opinion articles in the medical arena and/or retrospective studies (wherein external conditions are likely to have been highly variable). 

Of course if you feel like crap, slept like crap, ate like crap, work was crap- AND you're in high hormone phase - certainly adjust your session to better accommodate your capabilities on the day. However if you feel good on the day - don't feel pressured to adjust based on your cycle. For most of my teens, 20s, and into late 30s, my cycle was a non-issue. That may not be true for everyone - so the short, do what is best for you given your circumstances!

Some deeper stuff:

One can not have a fundamentally changed experience of the universe without letting some part of the self go. Some part of us must be allowed to die for a fundamental change to take place. For a new outward expression of self to be lasting, it must grow out of a fundamental change to the underlying self. - Ian Holmes on Substack.

In Dune, Frank Herbert called it "the attitude of the knife," cut off what's incomplete and say "now it has finished, for it has ended there." So finish it, and walk away, forward. Only acts undertaken with commitment have meaning. Only your best effort matters. Life is a Meritocracy, with death as the auditor. Inconsistency, incompetence and lies are all cut short by that final word. Death will change you if you can't change yourself. - Mark Twight on Substack 

Shared this with one of the athletes I work with recently. It's about a decade old now and rings more true and wise with each passing year. "Like most dogs, they have it figured out. Happiness is so much simpler than you might think."

I also wrote a bit about my coaching experience and thoughts around the current market/times/difficulties here. Several people reached out to ask if I was still coaching. Yes, I am still coaching and I have no plans to stop coaching despite the financial struggles and uncertainties. I coach for the love and I hope I can continue to make ends meet in other ways.

Coach Michelle and I have been having so much fun discussing various aspects of performance. You can check out episodes on spotify or youtube.

That's it for now. Hopefully I will get back to writing a bit more consistently on Substack and getting this newsletter out at least once a month.

As always, I appreciate your support. If you found anything useful in this newsletter and think someone else in your life would benefit, would you forward them this email? They can subscribe on the website using the link below! 

Also, if you have topics you'd like me to cover or deep dive with Coach Michelle on in the podcast, drop me an email and let me know! I'm here to help!

~Coach M.