001: Quality vs. Quantity: In our running, health, and relationships

Hey there!  Thanks so much for tuning in to our first episode of the Real Life Runners podcast!

In this episode, we dig into the concept of quality vs. quantity, and how that topic can relate to running, our health, and our relationships.  It’s a topic of debate in all of these areas, so we break it down and give you actionable steps to improve each area today!

RUNNING

Most training plans are broken up into 2 overall philosophies: Quality vs. Quantity.  We talk about the difference between each approach, and which approach we believe in, based on our research, human physiology, and our experience with runners on all levels.  

We give you our general guidelines on minimal weekly mileage for certain race distances, and talk about why your weekly mileage depends on your goal.  If you are looking to just finish a goal race, then you can get away with the minimal mileage guidelines, but if you are looking to hit a specific time or personal best time, you will likely have to increase your mileage, with specific workouts aimed to help you reach that goal.  

We talk about our recommendations for how many days a week you should be running and how you should structure those days, including how many workout days you should include versus recovery days.  We also give you what each of us chooses to do (which is very different from each other!)

Let's not forget: We are more than runners.  We are real life runners, so how does this concept of quality vs. quantity apply to our lives outside of running?

We get into how this concept applies to our sleep and what new research is saying about how much sleep we ACTUALLY need per night (Hint: it’s not the 8 hours that we all thought!).  Our natural sleep patterns are broken up into cycles, and we will review what those cycles mean, and how they can help you determine the best amount of sleep for YOU!

We also discuss how this concept applies to our relationships, especially with our kids, and why we believe that quality time with our kids is more important than the quantity of time we are with them.  Let’s face it, we are all busy, and time is becoming a very precious commodity.  We will give you actionable steps in this episode to increase the quality of the time that you spend with your kids, even when it’s not as much time as you might want.  

Highlights of the Episode:

Different philosophies in running. 1:28

Quantity method. 3:12

Quality approach. 8:05

The 80/20 rule 14:38

The effects of quality over quantity approach in our health. 20:40

The different sleep cycles. 23:02

How to improve the quality of your sleep. 25:52

How quality over quantity approach applies to parenting and relationships. 33:18

Links and Resources talked about in this episode:

80/20 Running by Matt Fitzgerald

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/how/external-factors

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/between-you-and-me/201307/your-sleep-cycle-revealed

Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson

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 Check out our other episodes here:

Episode 2: Carbo-loading vs. Fat-adaptation

Episode 3: Strength training for runners

Don't forget: The information in this website is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition or to provide medical advice. It is intended for general education in the areas of health and wellness. All information contained in this site is intended to be educational in nature. Nothing should be considered medical advice for your specific situation.