Running can be a challenge and it can get especially hard when we are adding in workouts at higher intensities.  Naturally, when we find a workout that we are good at, we are going to want to repeat that workout. That’s where we can get into a little trouble. 

Over time your body will become very efficient at accomplishing your favorite workout, and you will stop taking in significant benefits.  It will not be pointless, and certainly not negative, but you will not be progressing very much.  

When you want to see improvement, you must put your body into a state of stress.  You must move outside of your comfort zone. You must first recognize what your comfort zone is, and then try something else.  

On this episode, we talk about how Angie and I have very different comfort zones, and what we both need to work on that makes us feel uncomfortable. 

Here are some quick options:

• Find a race distance you do not normally run
• Find a pace you...

For years, we have been taught the lesson that if we workout either long or hard, our body will be so tired and so busy repairing itself, that our immune system will be compromised.  We have possibly experienced a cold following a big race, or have heard anecdotes of friends who fell victim to the dreaded post-race illness.  

On this episode, we look into the research and discuss the current scientific understanding of exercise and our immune system. 

First, let’s start with this:  the immune system is incredibly complex.  There are dozens of cells used together inside the body to fight off infections and diseases in a complicated dance that we are just not getting into.  Many of the studies checked for levels of specific markers, or one of the immune system cells, in the bloodstream. When results showed a drop in cell count, it was concluded that the immune system was weakened.  End of story.  

Second, many of the studies...

Running drills are an often neglected aspect of a complete running plan.  

Newer runners may not understand how to perform the drills or may not see them as something of value they should add.  

Veteran runners with experience in the drills can start to ignore them in the name of fitting the workout into a short period of time and trying to maximize time running.

Either way, these runners are missing a solid component of a training plan.  Drills allow runners to improve range of motion and mobility, improve running efficiency, incorporate body weight strengthening, and optimize a warm-up before a workout or race.  

Running drills also allow runners to view running as a skill that can be practiced and improved.  Running seems fairly simple, but without well established form, running can quickly lead to injury.  

In this episode, we cover several varieties of drills and when they could be best incorporated into your plan.  

• Part of a warmup...

Today’s episode is a lesson in word choice and how internal control is much more fulfilling and leads to greater long term success than external control.  

The premise of the show is this difference between telling yourself that you can’t do something versus telling yourself that you won’t do something.  

The ideas surrounding the word “can’t” are very restrictive and confining.  Whether you are moving forward in a health journey from an eating or running perspective, there are certain rules to follow that say what you can and cannot do.  When you do not connect to the rules, or you had no say in the creation of the rules, people tend to rebel and push back against them.

Can’t puts the control or a set of rules or beliefs outside of you.  It can feel safe, but it cannot provide real joy. When the control is external, it can be magnified when the rules do not seem to apply evenly to everyone.  Just as two...

In today’s episode we discuss one of the often neglected components of base building, balance and stability training.  To be fair, strength training should be a continuous process, but if you are also in the process of increasing mileage, do not fall for the trap of spending more time running at the expense of stability training.  

Running is basically a constant repetition of hopping from one foot to the next with very little time spent on the ground during each step during which you need to create enough power to propel your body back off the ground and forward.  We run through some snazzy number in the episode, but the idea is that during an hour long run, you somewhat perform a 20 minute single leg stance. Try that, and you are likely to be much more sore than from the run.

As we run, we use some strategy to not fall over.  First the stabilizing muscles in the ankle fire, then the muscles stabilizing the knees and hip keep our posture upright and not...

Today’s episode is a little touchy-feely and asks you to actually get in touch with your emotions, but it’s entirely possible (and quite probable) that this episode will change your running more than us providing a variety of new workouts for you to try.

First, let’s establish one thing.  No one is starting with running from scratch.  Even if you have never run a step, you have some belief about running and how it relates to you.  This could be positive, as I thought the best part of every practice growing up was the part where we just ran.  Or negative, as Angie knew running as the thing you had to get through at the start of practice before “real practice” could begin.  

If you have run, regardless of the break or time off, you have physical and mental experiences with running that will carry over when you continue your running journey.  You can get back in shape easier than path to the same fitness level on the second...

One of the steps to improving as a runner is incorporating speed or races into your training plan.  Before you can just start running faster, you must make sure that you are prepared to run fast with as little chance for injury as possible.  

One way to reduce injury risk is to keep only a small amount of your weekly running done at a fast pace and the other is the topic of this episode: how and when should you warm up.

Warming up is useful to establish a routine before training or racing hard.  It also increases blood flow to the needed muscles. It is incredibly useful in getting the coordinated movements of running working correctly before you push yourself.  The nerve network should be smooth and firing in sync if you plan on getting positive results from a race or workout.

Warming up should be done before essentially every hard effort.  The easier the effort, the shorter the warmup can be. At steady state effort, I simply like to run my first...

If it works, just do more of it.  

The theme of today’s episode is increasing mileage.  Why it would be a good idea, and why might it be a bad idea.  

First, upping mileage is a great coaching trick for easy improvements.  If runners have become comfortable with their current training level, then increasing weekly mileage by 10-20% is almost guaranteed to give positive results.  Changing speeds will also give results, but it’s easier to tell someone to run 5 miles instead of 4.

Also, for basically any race lasting longer than a minute or so, the primary energy system needed is the aerobic system.  Running longer and slow is a great method of improving this system. The greater the race distance, the more important the aerobic capacity, and the more a few extra miles will create a benefit.  

However, the philosophy behind so much of our coaching is to do the least required to reach the goal fitness.  With this view in mind,...

087: Lacking motivation? Every action in our life is a choice.  Also, when we choose one path, we automatically choose not to follow any other path.  Choosing to go for a run today may be an easy or difficult choice. You are not required or forced to do this, so when the motivation wanes, how do we muster the energy to get out the door?

Resources:

• Our Coaching Programs and Training Plans
• Our Favorite Products to Make Healthy Living Easier 
• We have SHIRTS! Show your Real Life Runner Pride!

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Kevin ...

Who among us is not a little crunched for time and struggling to get in the most optimal workout or workouts each week.  Add in a long run, formwork, strength, proper nutrition, not to mention getting enough sleep and it can all get a little overwhelming.  

On this episode we talk about how to get the biggest bang for your workout buck, or in other words, how you can optimize your running time. The idea is what we like to refer to as multi-system workouts.  

Some examples: 

1. Start fast and move to steady
   • Warmup, start fast - do one mile at 1 mile to 2 mile race pace, short/incomplete recovery (about half the time it took you to run that mile), then move into a medium distance tempo run for 10-20 minutes (at 1 hour race pace), cool down 
2. Cut Down Workout
   
   • Pick any interval- I like quarters- and keep dropping the pace every set
   • 4x4x400 with pace dropping from 10k to 5k to 3k to mile
   • Increase recovery as the pace drops
3. Pyramids 
   • ...