Welcome to day three of our Haute Route coverage as Matt and his Team take off on stage 2 of the 7-day journey from Nice to Megève. The Drunken Donkeys face a sobering set of climbs in the stage known as the Two Giants. In a tour of Le Tour, so to speak, the team faces the Col d’Agnel and the Col d’Izoard, both of which have held prominent roles in Tour de France. Matt provides an update on the challenge of the day, the status of his teammates, and what to expect moving forward. Be sure to check...
Aug 22, 2022•4 min
Welcome to day zero of our Haute Route coverage. The day before the excitement begins with stage 1 tomorrow. This is our first daily report and official kick-off show. Matt and his team are assembled and ready to ride. In this first preview of the Haute Route Alps, Matt introduces us to the gang and sets the scene for things to come. Be sure to check out our daily video breakdown of the day, every day, and follow us on all of our social media platforms for coverage of Matt's Journey. We'll have ...
Aug 20, 2022•9 min
We have a special abbreviated podcast this week as Matt prepares for his journey to tackle the Haute Route Alps. In this episode, Matt provides a quick look at our daily coverage of his progress through the Haute Route and what we can expect. Beginning August 20th, Matt will provide daily field reports sharing his observations and insights as he and his two brothers navigate 7 days of some of the toughest cycling in the world. Matt will bring us coverage from the road as he makes his way across ...
Aug 17, 2022•5 min
In this episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, Ironman Master Coach Matt Dixon frames his preparation and training path as he sets his sights on the Haute Route Alps, a 7-day cycling challenge through the heart of the Alps. The Haute Route Alps is thought of as one of the toughest endurance cycling events in the world and is the original version of the Haute Route Series of events now spanning the globe. Matt and his team, consisting of his two brothers and a group of friends, will traverse some o...
Aug 10, 2022•50 min•Season 5Ep. 231
Whether you’re an amateur or a professional athlete, there is no greater source of frustration than repeated cycles of niggles and injuries. It can derail your progression, dismantle race performance, erode confidence, and dilute your motivation. While there are myriad reasons for various kinds of injuries, the good news is that most can be preventable, and manageable by adopting practical habits and tactics. In the first episode of our three-part series on injury management and prevention, Matt...
Aug 03, 2022•38 min•Season 5Ep. 230
Matt welcomes Purple Patch Pro Athlete, Line Thams, to the Podcast. Thams is a professional triathlete from Denmark, focusing on short-course ITU racing. She sits down with Matt to provide insight into dealing with stress and adversity. Thams shares her own story of coping with family tragedy and trauma and how to leverage adversity to emerge stronger in sport and life. Over the last few years, Thams has had to navigate her mother’s stroke and subsequent coma, her partner's battle with cancer, a...
Jul 27, 2022•59 min•Season 5Ep. 229
Welcome to another "Ask Matt Anything" edition of the Purple Patch Podcast. In part 1 of our 2 part series of Q & A episodes on all topics related to racing, Matt answers your voicemails and emails on race preparation and practices. In this installment, Matt answers your questions related to: Integrating sufficient recovery into training The constraints of metrics and how to move beyond them in your athletic performance Implementing race day hydration The logistics of fueling and hydrating o...
Jul 20, 2022•46 min•Season 5Ep. 228
In part 2 of our observations and lessons of 2022 so far, Matt takes a step beyond life performance and focuses on endurance sports and triathlon performance. After two years without specific goal-driven events to anchor training to, many athletes are either searching to build on the positive adaptions made during the shutdown or are looking to get their training back on track. Matt shares key insights on the habits born during the lull of the past two years and offers an approach to adapting th...
Jul 13, 2022•37 min•Season 5Ep. 227
As we approach the midway point of 2022, it is important to pause and reflect on the challenges we faced and lessons we learned throughout the year surrounding our overall performance in life, and the habits we can establish moving forward to set ourselves up for success. In part one of our two-part series on Lessons from 2022 so far, we look closely at how we were able to adapt our lives to the slower pace and smaller scale of life in the bubble, to determine the challenges we face as life afte...
Jul 06, 2022•44 min•Season 5Ep. 226
For the time-starved athlete, the traditional approach to training for an Ironman or half Ironman can sometimes feel like a part-time job. Some athletes struggle to meet the demands of programs built on a foundation of accumulated weekly training hours. They often come up short when attempting to balance the demands of life and sport. Many athletes come away feeling as though the training is consuming their life, yet their race results are not reflecting their efforts or they are left trapped in...
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 5Ep. 225
Matt welcomes Ironman World Champion swimmer and CEO and founder of Sailfish, a triathlon performance apparel company, Jan Sibbersen, for Part 2 of their discussion in which they focus on success in open water swimming. With more than 35 years of competitive swimming experience, Sibbersen shares his insights and best training practices for athletes both with a swimming background and without. In today's show, you'll learn three main things: The key differences between pool swimming, and open wat...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 224
Matt welcomes the founder of wetsuit company Sailfish, and Hawaii Ironman World Championship swim course record-holder, Jan Sibbersen, to the show. Part 1 of this 2 part series covers Sibbersen’s road to conquering the Kona swim record in a comeback performance at the age of 43 and how his swimming background influenced his success in the water and inspired him to build a business from the ground up. With Sailfish, a company he started 15 years ago, now expanding into the U.S. market, Sibbersen ...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 5Ep. 223
If you are reading this, it’s likely because you share a common thread with many athletes, which is the desire to improve your athletic and personal potential. Dedicating yourself to learning and applying best practices and methods for achieving enduring health and high performance seems straightforward enough. Unfortunately, the challenge many people face is being able to filter through the blizzard of information and advice from performance experts and coaches. With health gurus, high-performa...
Jun 08, 2022•43 min•Season 5Ep. 222
So you’ve gone all-in and put your training in the hands of your coach. It’s their role to build the framework of performance and provide clarity, accountability, and guidance through your evolution as an athlete. But how does a coach evolve beyond education and experience to become a more effective pillar of support? How do they improve themselves and grow in order to help you, the athlete, thrive? Matt answers that question with the help of Purple Patch Coach Mike Olzinksi and leading performa...
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 5Ep. 221
Welcome to another "Ask Matt Anything" edition of the Purple Patch Podcast. In this episode, Matt answers your voicemails and emails on all topics related to run performance. In this installment, Matt answers questions related to: Running with a high heart rate Coming back from injury Dealing with the incessant niggles Fostering a lifelong love of running potential in children Arriving on race day injury-free and ready to run healthy Episode Timestamps 0:00-02:10 Welcome and Episode Introduction...
May 25, 2022•48 min•Season 5Ep. 220
Does it sometimes feel like the training you’ve been prescribed doesn’t fit comfortably into your life? Does your training volume have you feeling like a zombie rather than a finely tuned athlete? Did your coach still schedule a bike workout even though you made clear notes that you had a work trip with no access to cycling? Do you struggle to understand the big picture of your training? Does your coach keep pushing for commitment and focus even though you’re already stretched too thin? If so, y...
May 18, 2022•49 min•Season 5Ep. 219
The endurance training circles are buzzing again about this (not-so-new) trend - Let's call it Zone 2 training, or to put it another way, training that is high in volume in low in intensity. There is inherently nothing wrong with this style of training unless it doesn't work in your time-starved life. Today, Matt discusses training optimization and getting the most out of your training time as a time-starved athlete. You shouldn't chase the same training hours as someone who has similar fitness ...
May 11, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 218
Athletes often hear coaches talk about the importance of remaining focused and fully present in all of their workouts, but should this apply to every single training session? Should every training session really demand your full attention? The mission of this episode is to provide a framework around your training mindset that will both optimize the results from your training and also prevent the performance journey from becoming a second job. The KEY for any athlete, but especially the time-star...
May 04, 2022•54 min•Season 5Ep. 217
Matt welcomes back Kyla Channell and Stevie Lyn Smith, for Part 2 of a discussion around nutrition for female athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Part 1 is HERE. Both Stevie and Kyla bring with them a wealth of expertise, passion, and decades of experience in this particular area of fueling for the female. Stevie Lyn Smith, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDN, is one of the lead dieticians with our partner, InsideTracker . She's an experienced Registered Dietitian, board-certified in Sports Nutrition, with a histo...
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 216
On our final Race Ready Replay, Matt provides his insight on successful race day execution. It is a "Dixon Deep Dive" into all of the elements to ensure you are able to meet your trained potential with race day performance. It is normal and common for you to feel a little anxiety, even fear, when you return to racing. You are rusty, it has been a while, and the event feels bigger because of the gap from the last race. Acknowledge and even embrace the feeling. Why? Because what you are feeling is...
Apr 25, 2022•35 min
Right now across athletes, leaders, employees, parents - many folks are overwhelmed and struggling. Between a return to the office, school, financial uncertainty, global unrest, training, and more, you may find yourself in a state of anxiety, descent, or even apathy. You are STRESSED. Today, we explore this word, STRESS , and unpack the pros and cons. We want to ensure you have an empowering attitude and mindset with the word so that you can build a toolbox that will help you not just cope with ...
Apr 20, 2022•54 min•Season 5Ep. 215
The Purple Patch Race Ready Replays stride towards the finish line this week where Matt takes you through all you need to know to help facilitate hitting your potential on the run - including shoe choice, nutrition, terrain, and even walking your way to your fastest run performance. It is a triathlete’s guide to run success. You come out of T2 and all you need to do is run to the finish. What could go wrong? Well, apparently, a lot. The run is the most common discipline for your race to unravel....
Apr 18, 2022•50 min
Welcome to another "Ask Matt Anything" edition of the Purple Patch Podcast. Matt answers your voicemails and emails on all topics related to training and performance. In this installment, Matt answers your questions related to: Prepping for a wetsuit legal swim when you don’t have access to open water In the spirit of the Purple Patch ethos, “evolve or die,” how have Matt’s books evolved? Handling stress and overwhelm Dialing in bike cadence when racing How to factor bike commuting into your tra...
Apr 13, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 214
The Purple Patch Race Ready Replay Series rolls on this week with an hour of power on all things related to bike performance and race-day execution. Optimum bike fit, posture, equipment, and pacing strategies are all covered in this episode that features two of the best in the industry, Ivan O'Gorman and Chris Soden of IOG Bike Fit and Consulting . As you’ll hear, IOG’s approach to consulting is informed by research, while their recommendations are driven by years of experience. Put simply - the...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Matt welcomes two powerhouses of nutrition, Kyla Channell and Stevie Lyn Smith, for a deep-dive discussion around nutrition for female athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Both Stevie and Kyla bring with them a wealth of expertise and passion in this particular area of fueling for the female. Stevie Lyn Smith, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDN, is one of the lead dieticians with our partner, InsideTracker . She's an experienced Registered Dietitian, board-certified in Sports Nutrition, with a history of working w...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 5Ep. 213
The swim leg of any triathlon is one that elicits stress and fear. You’re entering into murky water with the blinding sun in your eyes. There are choppy waves that are seemingly predestined to make their way into your lungs. All the while, you’re getting very physical with hundreds of your closest friends. Swim anxiety is real, especially in open water swimming. Today, Coach Matt Dixon and Coach John Stevens diffuse some of the stress around triathlon swimming and frame strategies to help you ap...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 10 min
As an endurance athlete, it's not uncommon to experience niggles in training and racing - tightness, numbness, discomfort, lack of mobility, and - yes - pain. But, is all pain bad? Does it always mean something is wrong? Pain is an important positive sign to highlight issues that are going on with your body, and there isn't anyone that knows more about pain than Dr. Tim Deer, President and CEO of The Spine & Nerve Center s in Charleston, West Virginia and Chairman and Founder of The American...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 5Ep. 212
This week, we built the show for those getting ready to launch into their race season. Races are coming thick and fast and, for the first time in a couple of years, we are charging ahead at full steam. We know you have questions. How should I pace? What should my mindset be for this first event of the season? What lessons will I draw? How can I assess the success of my race? What if I don't reach my time goal? What should I pack? Matt has answers and that's why this episode not only provides you...
Mar 23, 2022•57 min•Season 5Ep. 211
The last two years have been turbulent and full of forced change. What was normal, suddenly wasn’t and, whether we liked it or not, almost all of us had to evolve and change. We also know that by listening to these podcasts and following Purple Patch, you want to thrive and amplify your performance in your health, work, and life - all while getting faster. It sounds too good to be true, but is it? At Purple Patch, we think not. We are your tent-peg in the perpetual storm of change; a grounding o...
Mar 16, 2022•56 min•Season 5Ep. 210
Welcome to a special "Ask Matt Anything" addition of the Purple Patch Podcast. Matt answers your voicemails and emails on all topics related to training and performance. In this first installment, Matt answers your questions related to: Best Practices on Heat Acclimation for Hot Races What to Expect When You Transition from Road Bike to TT Bike The Minimum Amount of Running to Be a Successful Triathlete Running on Variable Terrain When to Build in a Complete Rest Day Not only does Matt answer th...
Mar 09, 2022•47 min•Season 5Ep. 209
