We're building something for endurance athletes. Before we build the wrong thing, we want to talk to people who actually do this.
dreamlab is a private wellness facility 15 minutes from Madison. We have a hyperbaric oxygen chamber (1.5 ATA), deep tissue near-infrared light therapy, and we're adding lactate/glucose testing. We want to understand how these tools fit into real training — not how we think they should fit, but how they actually would.
This isn't a survey. These are the things we'd want to talk about over a beer. If you're an endurance athlete and any of this resonates, we'd love to hear from you.
Your training
What does a typical training week look like 20 weeks out from a race?
We want to understand the volume and rhythm so we can figure out where sessions fit without adding stress.
What about eight weeks out? Race week?
The taper is different. We want to know if recovery tools matter more or less as the race approaches.
When do you feel the worst physically during a training block?
What hurts, what's inflamed, what won't recover on its own. Where's the bottleneck.
What does your recovery routine look like right now?
Massage, chiro, ice baths, compression, supplements, sleep hacks — what do you actually spend time and money on.
The data
Do you track lactate? How often?
We're looking at adding a research-grade lactate/glucose analyzer. We want to know if athletes actually use this data or if it sits in a spreadsheet.
What do you do with your lactate numbers?
Adjust zones? Change nutrition? Show your coach? We want to understand the action that follows the data.
Would you pay someone to test and interpret it for you?
Honest question. We're trying to figure out if testing is a service or a commodity.
What data do you wish you had that you don't?
This is the open-ended one. Maybe it's inflammation markers. Maybe it's sleep quality correlated with training load. Maybe it's something we haven't thought of.
The money
How much do you spend on recovery per month during training?
No judgment. We want to understand what the market actually looks like for someone in the middle of a training block.
If someone offered you 3x/week hbot + nir during a training block, what's that worth to you?
Ballpark. Not what you'd pay — what it's worth. There's a difference.
Would you buy a 10-pack? A 12-week training block package?
We're figuring out how to price this. Commitment pricing vs drop-in changes everything.
$150 for a 40-minute session — in the range or out of the range?
Direct question. We'd rather know now.
The experience
Have you tried hbot or red light therapy?
If yes, what was it like. If no, what would make you try it.
What would make a recovery facility worth driving 15 minutes for?
We're not downtown. We're on a property with five horses and a creek (Badfish Creek, fed by the Nine Springs outflow). Some people love that. Some people want convenience.
Would you want an AI agent that tracks your training, knows your race calendar, and can answer questions about recovery?
We're building this. We want to know if it sounds useful or if it sounds like a gimmick.
The story
Tell us about your worst race. What happened to your body?
Tell us about your best. What was different?
If you could go back and add one thing to your prep, what would it be?
If any of this is interesting to you, we'd love to talk. This is early — we're building this for real athletes, and we'd rather get it right than get it fast. Reach out and let's talk.
Applications are open, and a person reads every one.