Welcome to Episode 38 of the Kinda Fast Podcast. In this episode, Claire and Travis break down the running term maximum heart rate and explain why it matters for training, pacing, and understanding your effort zones. They also share a simple way to estimate your maximum heart rate and talk about how runners can use that information to train smarter.

They also cover several major stories from the running world, including Jacob Kiplimo reclaiming the half marathon world record, the dramatic finish at the LA Marathon, and new updates from the U.S. Half Marathon Championships after Jessica McClain was directed off course. Claire and Travis unpack what happened, why these stories matter, and what runners can take away from each one.

In the deep dive, they focus on mental strength and mindset in running. They walk through four practical mindset shifts that can help runners stay focused, adaptable, and resilient when training or racing gets hard. Plus, Travis answers a listener question about a tough tempo run after a recent race and explains why one difficult workout does not define an entire training cycle.

In this episode:

• What maximum heart rate means and how to estimate it

• Why heart rate training matters for runners

• Jacob Kiplimo’s latest half marathon world record

• The dramatic finish and controversy at the LA Marathon

• Updates on the U.S. Half Marathon Championships

• Why mindset plays such a big role in running performance

• Four mental shifts to help you run stronger

• Why one bad workout is not the end of your progress

Join the Kinda Fast community at upwardrunning.com/kindafast and use code kindofast for two weeks free inside the RunClub App.