Sometimes going on a family vacation means finding…adventurous ways to strike the work-play-love balance. Whether you’re karate-chopping your way through jungle-like conditions on trail during a run date, celebrating an exciting Black Friday for your business, or navigating your infant’s new-found love of the word “no,” there’s rarely a dull moment. The Flomas family is back from Maui, and Lauren and Jesse are ready to kick off the holiday season with some of your questions. In rapid fire you’ll find out if you can microwave Picky Oats, the ideal sports bra for nursing mothers, and what to do with old sponsor gear. Other listeners wrote in about:

• As a coach, how to help an athlete celebrate successes when they don’t stop to do so themselves.
• Achieving work/play/love balance in the information age
• Moving on from a long-term coaching relationship or training situation
• Applying for a coaching job as a young, female athlete

Lauren points out the importance of practicing feeling satisfied with your athletic achievements. Just like your physical training, you need to prepare emotionally for your races—or you may end up achieving your highest goal without feeling satisfied. Being in tune with yourself applies to the next two topics as well. With so many opinions out there about how to live, how to raise your kids, how to eat, and how to work out, Jesse and Lauren share how they navigate the noise and strive for balance. And if you’re considering leaving a long-term coaching relationship, Lauren recommends healthy communication with your coach to see if you can make positive changes in your training, but both Jesse and Lauren agree that it’s important to check in with yourself and make changes based on what you think will be best for you. Lastly, a young athlete writes in to ask how she can best compete for a job as head coach given she’s younger, but not less qualified than other applicants. Jesse and Lauren offer some tips on how to approach the conversation, but it sounds like this young coach is ready to rock her interview.

As always, submit your questions—long-form, or rapid-fire—to: pickybars.com/podcastQs