THE TAPER: Frequently Asked❓s . Have you ever wondered…👇 . ❓CAN I RUN FASTER ON EASY RUNS DURING THE TAPER? NO! You want to continue running the same easy pace on your easy runs. As your legs carry less fatigue, it may be tempting to speed up the pace. Do NOT do this! Allow your body to recover and save it for race day! . ❓SHOULD I TEST MY FITNESS? NO! You want to save the race for race day. The "hay is in the barn" as the old saying goes. You have already done all the training. Reflect on your...
Sep 16, 2022•41 min
Podcast Episode #171 🎙 ✅ TEMPO RUN is a *HARD EFFORT* run We only want to run 20% of the time at most! “Tempo” is a general term for comfortably hard running for a prolonged period of time. There are different types for different purposes! Marathon pace tempos, half marathon pace tempos, threshold tempos . THRESHOLD RUN: ✅ A TYPE of tempo run, also known as a "lactate threshold" run ✅ You want to run at a pace where lactate does not accumulate in the blood during the workout but instead stays a...
Sep 09, 2022•49 min
WHY DO YOU RUN? Podcast Episode #170 🎙 . → What is your intrinsic reason for running? → Why did you begin running in the first place? → Maybe you run to challenge yourself. → Maybe you run for the community. → Maybe you run to show your kids that you can reach your goals with hard work. → Whatever your reasoning is, you get to decide what pushes you everyday to get out and run. → We want to dig deep to find the reasons why we decide to lace up and get the miles in each week. → Uncovering your "...
Sep 02, 2022•50 min
HOW DOES STOPPING ON LONG RUNS AFFECT YOUR TRAINING?🤔 Podcast Episode #169 🎙 . PHYSIOLOGICALLY👇 ➡️ The benefits are not as great if your heart rate drops too low on several stops throughout your run. Benefits for building running endurance occur when your heart rate is elevated and muscles are working for extended periods of time. If you are stopping for 10+ minutes on a two hour long run, you likely won’t reap as much benefit . REASONS FOR STOPPING👇 ✅ Feeling fatigued: If you're constantly ...
Aug 27, 2022•52 min
RUNNERS & THE COMPARISON TRAP 🪤 Podcast Episode #168 🎙 . Have you ever gotten caught into the comparison trap with your running? 🙋🏻♀️ This is super common and something many runners go through . Not only do many runners get caught up in comparing themselves to others, but they may also start exhibiting people-pleasing behaviors and showing signs of extrinsic instead of intrinsic motivation! . HELPFUL REMINDERS:👇 ✅ You are a 100% unique individual with a different background, different ...
Aug 20, 2022•36 min
Have you ever "peaked too early" for a race? . How to avoid this👇 PERIODIZE YOUR TRAINING aka don't do the same training all year long and have different seasons for different aspects of training . 1️⃣ BASE BUILDING: This is the foundation of any endurance training plan. The focus here is aerobic development with an emphasis on easy miles. This phase could include shorter speed workouts, like fartleks and strides, more strength training, building on your long runs, etc. You want to be pushed a ...
Aug 12, 2022•53 min
HOW DOES EASY RUNNING MAKE YOU FASTER? 🤔 Podcast Episode #166 🎙 . As runners, we can have a distorted view on what “easy” means. Distance runners are taught to “push through the pain”. We know how to push ourselves to the limits. Sometimes we aren't slowing down enough on our easy days . As coaches, we are firm believers in the 80/20 rule from Matt Fitzgerald. 80% of your weekly mileage should be run at a slow and easy pace; the remaining 20% is reserved for faster/moderate running (tempos, sp...
Aug 06, 2022•53 min
TOP 6 TRAINING MISTAKES WE SEE Podcast Episode #165 🎙 . ❌ NOT ENOUGH RECOVERY: You can't maximize yourself as a runner if you're doing a lot of other activities (Orange Theory, CrossFit, etc.) Many athletes try to train for races while also doing activities like this. When training specifically for a race, try to focus on the specificity of training and taking classes like this after your race is done . ❌ TOO FAST ON EASY DAYS: Plug in a recent race result into a VDOT calculator to find out wha...
Jul 30, 2022•58 min
PRACTICING HYDRATION FOR RACE DAY Podcast Episode #164 🎙 . STEP 1: Research your marathon course offerings ✅ Larger races will have all of this info online ✅ May need to email race director for smaller races ✅ Most races are pretty consistent from year to year ❌ Some races don't allow hydration packs or have unmanned water stops. This is why research is so important! . STEP 2: Practice, practice, practice during long runs! ✅ During some long runs, set up a table with water outside of your house...
Jul 22, 2022•43 min
HAVE YOU EVER DONE BACK TO BACK LONG RUNS? 🏃♀️🏃 PODCAST EP. 163 for more! . They might be best for you! Here's why:👇 . ✅ THE 3 HOUR LONG RUN: As proven in research by Jack Daniels and other exercise physiologists, there is more risk than reward when running longer than three hours in marathon training. For many athletes, you aren't able to get 20 miles in within a 3 hour training run. So we split it up into two runs on a Friday night and Saturday morning, for example . ✅ NO MORE THAN 30% OF ...
Jul 15, 2022•50 min
ADJUSTING YOUR PACES IN THE HEAT 🔥 PODCAST #162 🎙 . If you run your usual paces that you would in perfect temperatures while running in higher temps, you end up racing your workouts and running too hard. This can lead to injury, burn out and performance stagnation. We want to avoid this by adjusting our paces! . OUR TOP TIPS TO HELP WITH THIS TRANSITION: ✅ Some athletes don’t struggle as much in the heat compared to others. Try not to compare yourself to others! . ✅ Along those same lines, kee...
Jul 08, 2022•32 min
HOW MANY MILES PER WEEK SHOULD YOU RUN? 🤔 . PODCAST EPISODE #161 🎙 . Factors to consider:👇 ✅ YOUR RUNNING HISTORY: Take into account previous training cycles and your consistency over your years as a runner. Think about how you felt on 10, 20, 30, 40 miles per week. Where have you historically thrived in terms of mileage? . ✅ YOUR CURRENT LIFE SITUATION: Starting a new job, taking care of sick parents, raising young children, etc. These are all situations that may require you to run less mile...
Jul 01, 2022•47 min
Have you ever gone out HARD in a race then crashed & started slowing down? It’s super painful right? Not only physically but it’s hard on the ego! Starting a race FAST then slowing down is called “positive splits”. We often find that the opposite approach of starting slower and finishing faster allows for athletes to push harder at the end of the race & gain confidence resulting in faster times! This type of approach to starting SLOWER and finishing FASTER is called NEGATIVE SPLITS 💪 . ...
Jun 24, 2022•45 min
WHAT ARE THE TOP 6️⃣ LONG RUN MISTAKES? Podcast Episode #159 🎙 . You can improve your training and race success by tweaking a few things with your long runs!👇 . 1️⃣ LONG RUN TOO LONG COMPARED TO WEEKLY MILEAGE: Your long run shouldn't be more than 33% of your total weekly mileage! You will have a tough time with quality workouts if you're doing too much volume in one long run . 2️⃣ LONG RUN TOO FAST COMPARED TO CURRENT VDOT FITNESS: Many runners want to "prove" their fitness in a long run by a...
Jun 17, 2022•41 min
SUMMER TRAINING TIPS Podcast Episode #158 🎙 . Summer miles can be draining! With the heat, humidity and sun, you can really overdo it if you don’t adjust your training . Check out our top summer training tips so you don’t burn out and continue to feel strong: . ✅ SLOW DOWN: Whatever paces you normally run in the Fall and Spring will NOT be the same in the Summer. Anything above 60 degrees will slow your paces down, especially if it’s humid! DON’T force paces & trust that you aren’t getting ...
Jun 10, 2022•38 min
TOP 5 MARATHON TRAINING WORKOUTS 👇 Podcast Episode #157 🎙 . 1. Easy runs: The cornerstone of marathon training. You can have a VERY successful marathon doing only easy runs. 80% of your total mileage should be EASY. If we had to pick the most important run for marathon training, it would be this (2-3 minutes per mile slower than 5k pace, 1-2 minutes per km slower than 5k pace) . 2. Long runs: Anything over 90 minutes is considered a long run. 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours is the bread and butter leng...
Jun 05, 2022•31 min
HOW TO BUILD UP FOR YOUR FALL RACE Podcast #156 🎙 . Many runners will begin a training cycle and jump into ❌ TOO MUCH ❌ TOO SOON . How can we avoid that and have a successful training cycle? . THE PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD PRINCIPLE This means:👇 ✅ Starting where you’re currently at ✅ Take the average number of miles you’ve run in the last 6 weeks and start there ✅ You want to avoid a big ramp up when your training cycle “begins” and make sure to only increase your mileage by MAX 10% each week ✅ You...
May 27, 2022•35 min
COMING BACK AFTER INJURY: What to do and how to come back stronger 💪 Podcast Episode #155 🎙 . With running being such a high impact sport, injuries and flare-ups are bound to happen as a runner if you do it long enough and you’re training to get faster. Nothing is more frustrating than an injury for a runner, but we want to set you up with tools to limit your amount of time off and keep you running for a lifetime! 🙌 . Coming back after an injury or time off is going to look different for ever...
May 22, 2022•34 min
IS YOUR TRAINING STAGNANT? Podcast Episode #154 🎙 . If this is the case, one of two things is going on: ❌ You're doing too much ❌ You’re not doing enough . For those not doing enough:👇 Improvements happen really quickly when you start running or start a new training program However, over time, you have to do more to see even less results as time goes on. This is the law of diminishing returns It can be frustrating to have to work extra hard to only get a 30 second marathon PR! But this is the ...
May 13, 2022•27 min
SETTING RACE DAY GOALS 💥 Podcast Episode #153 . REFLECTION QUESTIONS: ✅ How many days were missed in your training block? ✅ Were you sick a lot? ✅ How long have you been running in total? ✅ What have your last few years of running look like? ✅ Running is a mental, physical and emotional sport ✅ Where is your head at? ✅ Are you EXCITED about the race and having goals? ✅ Have you had any injuries? ✅ Do you thrive off of pressure or get anxious with time goals? ✅ What was my last race at this dist...
May 06, 2022•32 min
GET THE EXTRA EDGE ON RACE DAY Improve Your Mental Toughness 💪 Podcast Episode #152 🎙 . TOP 3 Ways to Improve 👇👇👇 FIGHTING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS Have you ever thought:👉 ❌"Should I really go “x” amount of miles today?” ❌ "It's just too hilly, too hot, too cold, etc." ❌ "What's the point of going out and doing this run?" Thoughts can get out of control if you let them Instead of allowing your thoughts to adjust your actions, let them just "be". See your thoughts as neutral rather than negative. ...
Apr 29, 2022•35 min
Coach Meghan Roth! Meghan has been a coach with Run4Prs for 4 years. Before coaching with us, she was a personal trainer and coach for several years at a big box gym. She ran her first marathon 14 years ago and has since shaved a significant amount of time off and qualified for the Olympic Trails in the marathon. In this episode we will discuss her 2020 Olympic Trails Marathon experience, training during pregnancy during the 2020 pandemic and her recovery after a C-section delivery in December 2...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 28 min
It’s not just the Newton Hills, the whole course has rolling hills! Try not to obsess over pacing too much and focusing more on effort. It is a crowded race so make sure you plan accordingly. We want to make sure to stay properly hydrated and fueling during the race. It can be shoulder to shoulder runners for several miles but don’t let that be an excuse to miss those first few aid stations. The Newton hills are about as hard as people make them out to be. However, there is also a lot of downhil...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 1 min
For a free 7 day trial you can fill out the form at www.run4prs.com Assessing your strengths and weaknesses is key for building self awareness and also knowing what you should work on! When we know where we could use a little work, we can channel our energy to that area of life. This is important for your personal life as well as for your running. You will be able to better reach your potential when you know what direction to go. We have 3 areas of runner traits we are going to address in this e...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 6 min
We are doing a little different format today interviewing a Run4prs coach! Many of our coaches were interviewed back in the beginning episodes of this podcast and we wanted to bring it back! Kat talks about her journey into running from 10+ min pace half marathon to 3:16 debut marathon. We also chatted about navigating a major life change in careers while continuing to train at a high level. Www.Run4prs.com for a free 7 day trial
Apr 02, 2022•59 min
www.run4prs.com free 7 day trial! Podcast #147: ALL ABOUT RUNNING SHOES 👟 ✅ How to Find the Perfect Shoe ✅ How to Begin a Shoe Rotation ✅ Carbon-Plated Shoes: Should You Wear Them? . There are three categories of running shoes:👇 ✅ Neutral: Good for little to no ankle rotation inward (pronation) ✅ Stability: Good for mild to moderate pronation ✅ Motion Control: Bulkier stability shoe for pronators . There are also different stack heights and heel to toe drops in shoes that can make a difference...
Mar 26, 2022•50 min
AEROBIC VS. ANAEROBIC: BY RACE DISTANCE 🏃🏽 Podcast Episode #146🎙 . If you're training for the 1 mile all the way up to the marathon and beyond (which is most of us amateur runners!), you should (in most cases) be training your AEROBIC system more than your ANAEROBIC system 👊 . ✅ AEROBIC SYSTEM: This is the predominant system used for races longer than 3 minutes. This system produces energy via OXYGEN. The aerobic system doesn’t create nearly as much power as other systems, but its capacity i...
Mar 19, 2022•55 min
BENEFITS OF HILL WORKOUTS 🏔 Podcast episode #145 🎙 . Hill workouts will help build you into the runner you want to be! Everyone wants great form, strength, and confidence, so add some hill workouts to your training routine for big improvements: . ✅ Improves form: It’s difficult to run uphill with bad form! Running hills naturally gets you up on your forefeet, forces you to lean forward, and requires you to use your arms efficiently and effectively. They also force you to shorten your stride an...
Mar 11, 2022•51 min
MOBILITY, STABILITY & BREATHWORK FOR RUNNERS Podcast Episode #144 🎙 . DID YOU KNOW: Mobility and balance decline naturally as we age. It’s important to incorporate mobility & stability exercises into our routine to counterbalance the natural decline we will inevitably face. We know, we know– it’s not the most FUN topic and it’s hard to add another thing to our training plate. But these exercises don’t need to take a ton of time! You can get the benefits with just a few minutes a few tim...
Mar 04, 2022•42 min
6 WAYS TO BECOME A BETTER RACER 🤩 Podcast episode #143 🎙 . Racing is a skill that takes time to develop. Pacing, fueling, mental toughness, etc. There are so many parts to racing that you can continually improve upon . 👉 PACING: Running negative splits & finishing races strong takes a ton of practice. Feeling out the effort and knowing when to hold back and speed up is not an easy skill to acquire! HOW TO GET BETTER:👇 ✅ Race more: Not every race you run is going to be a PR. But you can r...
Feb 25, 2022•55 min
