Purple Patch Podcast

Professional Triathlete, Jesse Thomas, reminisces with his long-time coach, Matt Dixon, about his first unsuspecting win at the Wildflower Triathlon Festival in 2011 and how a pair of cheap sunglasses launched a storied career in the sport.

Matt Dixon and Peak Performance Author, Brad Stulberg, give their experienced perspective on the landscape of improving performance globally across many disciplines in sport and life. Stulberg also talks about his recent diagnosis of Pure O-a rare anxiety disorder.

Purple Patch Resident Nutritionist, Kyla Channell, returns to discuss specifics on the habits of hydration, both in training and in daily life. Plus, in the show notes, download a free cheat sheet with all of the specific tips and ratios.

After losing a daughter, her father, and suffering the devasting effects of chronic fatigue in a short time span, Marina Gelman had abandoned hope of ever reclaiming her life as a runner and fitness enthusiast. In 2012, at 240 pounds, she reached out to Matt Dixon and Purple Patch Fitness for help. This is a story of hope and promise. Adopting an athletic mindset, regardless of where you find yourself, just may be the one spark to save your life.

Matt Dixon covers the critical topic of hydration through two lenses: the principles and key actions around hydration in training and racing -and- the role of hydration in your daily life, including recovery from training, tissue health, mental alertness, and energy management. In addition to discussing the importance of hydration in these two key areas, Matt then lays out simple habits that you can integrate into your routine for peak performance in all areas of living.

Two of endurance sports greatest thinkers go toe to toe on all aspects of performance. Indulge in an educating and insightful “Inside the Coaches Studio“ conversation with Matt Dixon and author and coach, Steve Magness, co-author of the recent book, Peak Performance. This conversation raises the collective process of coaching and you’ll hear their thoughts on topics including coaching, mindset, managing pain, athlete development, and even discussion on the subject of doping.

The kitchen doors swing wide open and your burning nutrition and fueling questions get answered with Purple Patch resident Endurance Sports Nutritionist, Kyla Channell. Matt and Kyla dive right into the weeds on what can be a confusing and emotional subject -nutrition and fueling through a performance lens. They dispel myths about popular diets and talk about what is most vital to an athletic mindset: nailing recovery, consuming the right amount of nutrients and eating whole foods. 

Matt breaks the complex subject of nutrition and fueling down into meaningful and actionable steps for athletes at all levels. In addition to building parameters around proper nutrition and fueling, he also discusses the importance of this sustainable habit and the causes and effects of poor nutrition and fueling habits.

Matt defines his Three Components of Recovery (Sport Specific Recovery, Lifestyle Recovery, Qualitative Recovery Modalities) and, via real-life stories of Purple Patch athletes Chris Lieto and "Becky," illustrates how you can incorporate these three forms of recovery into your training plan. 

He was a Head of International Growth at Facebook and VP of Growth and Product for Uber. These days, Ed Baker is setting his sights on personal growth in the world of triathlon. This is an episode for those who are on a constant quest for learning and self-improvement. The pursuit of success, whether it’s in business or sport, is truly all about the journey and putting yourself in situations where you can learn from others; even if those others happen to be professional triathletes!

Dr. Chris Winter, MD, is the medical director of the Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine in Virginia and also one of the country's leading sleep researchers. He is also the author of, "The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It." He and Matt discuss the undeniable bond between the quality of sleep and performance improvement. As Dr. Winter writes, “Sleep isn’t sexy, but it is a performance enhancer, and the wise leverage it to their advantage.”

Matt dives deep with Carmel Galvin, CHRO of Glassdoor, about integrating high performance, training, and community into a time-starved life.  They also chronicle Carmel's personal performance journey and how multisport training has helped her thrive as a Business Executive, Wife, and Mom. It's inspirational and full of personal moments of overcoming her own deep-rooted fears, obstacles, and getting up, quite literally, when you get knocked down.

Sonia Bracegirdle, Cecilia Davis-Hayes, and Laurence Delisle are the antithesis of what you might stereotype as a typical professional triathlete. They're new to the pro circuit, but, collectively, their academic, business, and sporting accomplishments make up a body of work that is highly impressive even from the loftiest set of standards. They talk about their journey to world-class, their approach to performance, their fears, visions of success and more.

Coach Matt Dixon dives deep with three of his Purple Patch professional triathletes - Sarah Piampiano, Laura Siddall, and Kevin Collington. They talk openly and honestly about overcoming personal challenges on the way to world-class performance. They also dish on their definition of success, their approach to training, and how they embrace pain as three of the top athletes in the world!

Matt discusses the first Purple Patch Pillar of Performance:  Endurance.  Learn how to set up your training week and consistently nail the basics.  You will hear why the focus of your training should be to achieve the necessary volume while combining it with healthy lifestyle practices to improve performance and avoid accumulated fatigue. As he says in this episode, "If training becomes a monkey on your back, you will rip the monkey off." Let's learn how to keep the monkey off your back.