1) Podcasts are REALLY hard to monetize - in other words, make money as a standalone venture. Unless you are a Tony Robbins level of "celebrity", they really are best utilized by others as a promo for other services that you offer. Content Marketing is the term that best applies. Triathlon is such a niche market, that really it's ONLY people like a Bob Babbitt or to a lesser degree a Taren Gasell, that is having a reasonable go at this. And even here - you need to have this content VERY professionally done, and that takes a HUGE amount of time out of your day/week.
2) As to the OP's post about KQ for under 40 men. I'd say that it's not that far off. You would need to look at something under 9:30 as having a good shot. I say this from, experience as an athlete in that range myself, coaching and advising a number of others, and observing and watching many IM races.
Many here will scoff at the idea that sub-9:30, is doable by many - but the very fact that it has become SO competitive, is a testament to the fact that it is doable by more than you think. If you break it down and look at the balanced time slit goals it's a 1:00 swim/ 5:00 - 5:15 bike/3:00 - 3:15 run. Many here will think this crazy "fast" but it really is not. For athletes who have been in triathlon for many years, this is actually the average training paces for them - in other words over the course of a training year, on average - this is the pace they are holding for much of their training.
I know crazy! But, another key detail, that rarely get's looked at, is the number of years it's taken these athletes to reach this level. My guess is that if you looked at ALL KQ athletes who have gone under 9:30, is that they have been training at a high level for between 5 - 10 years. Sure there are the exceptions, and forums and social media are always quick to point out the extreme exceptions - "My friend trained for 2 years and KQ'd". In fact, I work with an athlete that did it in 1 year!! But if you take a deep dive into those exceptions, there is always details that but them in the Extreme Exception category - forget about them! ALL others are working hard, putting in the time, and keep doing it year after year, after year.
The problem with many who are trying to KG that I see - an unwillingness to look/think and look long term (5 - 10 years) and to adopt some "unorthodox" training strategies. ( I say unorthodox - but they really are just training - 101, but that's why they are "unorthodox - they are just really simple).
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
See you in 2020!