Have you ever taken a life-changing smoke break? NMA's own Susan Lacke has, when her old boss, Carlos, convinced her to start working out with him. Twenty months later, she was running her first Ironman triathlon, writing for NMA, and launching a new career. And it was Carlos's never-wavering support that she believes made it all possible. In today's episode, we speak with Susan about that epic friendship, her new book, and the power of supporting someone through their goals.

Every runner goes through slumps. Life gets busy, the weather gets hot (or cold), and whatever “running mojo” looks like to you, you’ve lost it. I’m no different, and I’m in the midst of a slump now: the training I had planned for a fall marathon never really got off the ground, and my running for the past few months has been next to non-existent. But something is different this time. This time, I don’t feel guilty about it. Somehow (meditation, maybe?) I’m at peace with the slump. I’m not beating myself up for letting the marathon goal slip away. I can see this for what it is, without judgement, and in a strange way I feel free — with a newfound excitement about other types of training. As it turns out, co-host Doug is dealing with a running slump of his own. Except he’s one week away from a 50K, and his training looks a lot different from mine. In today’s episode, we talk about our slumps and how we’re embracing the lack of motivation instead of fighting it. If you’ve been in a slump recently, or you’re in one right now, this one is for you.

Jeff Sanders' ability to rise early, stay motivated, and get stuff done has long been an inspiration to Matt and Doug. In today's episode, Jeff shares how his productivity philosophy has changed over the years, and the major life shift he made after stress landed him in the hospital.

From mid-pack runners to professional triathletes, we've had the opportunity to share a lot of stories and advice from vegan athletes on this podcast. But today's interview is a first. I'm excited to share my conversation with vegan midfielder for the LA Galaxy, Baggio Husidic, about his diet, training, and how going plant-based is making him a better athlete.

How does a classically trained French chef turn into one of the most popular vegan recipe developers on Facebook? In today's episode, Jean-Philippe Cyr, known to most as The Buddhist Chef, shares his take on maximizing flavors, mindfulness, and why it's important to keep recipes simple if we want to grow this community.

Over 200 episodes! Can you believe it?! Today we look back at the most popular episodes of all time, and share a little insight about what's to come in the next 100. We laugh. We cry. We party like there's no tomorrow (eh, I wouldn't go that far...). Enjoy.

Thumb through just about any parenting book and nearly every chapter will focus on the child. But that's the wrong approach, according to Sid Garza-Hillman. Sid believes that building a thriving, healthy family starts with a thriving, healthy parent. In today's episode, we sit down with Sid to discuss his brand new book Raising Healthy Parents, and why a vegan nutritionist felt called to write a parenting book. Oh, and because it's Sid, we also talk about cold showers. Love that guy.

Between the current advances in plant-based meat alternatives and innovations taking place in the "clean meat" industry, the food landscape as we know it could change dramatically over the next several years. How will these changes impact our understanding of what meat is, and will that effect the vegan movement? We sit down with Jackson Long and Aaron Stuber of the Thought For Food Podcast to discuss.

Over the past few years our Netflix feeds have seen several high-profile documentaries designed to push the vegan movement. They promote health, environmental, and animal rights benefits in a way books or articles simply can't. But these documentaries have also sparked blow-back both online and off. So it begs the question: Are vegan documentaries good for the movement? We try to answer that question in today's episode.

Thinking about running your first ultramarathon? You won't regret it, we promise. But... There are a few things you should probably know first. Actually there are 17 things. Here they are.