Pam is a Team Strength Running member. Every month, I get the team together for a live video coaching call. We talk about workouts, scheduling races, planning around vacations and injuries, and how to strategically plan a season . I recently asked the team if anybody was planning a BIG goal and wanted to come on the podcast to talk more about how to achieve that crazy goal. [These opportunities are only available to Team SR members. Learn more about the team here .] Pam stepped up. She’s not new...
Oct 09, 2018•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast To kick off 2018, we’re focusing on strength training for runners . And there’s an undeniable advantage from getting the fundamentals right before you learn how to start lifting weights: Progress is faster (you get better sooner!) Risks are mitigated (far fewer injuries!) Results are more substantial (you get stronger !) My goal is to help you limit the early mistakes as you start lifting weights so you can enjoy all of the benefits of strength training exercises : power fewer injuries speed coo...
Oct 05, 2018•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you don't know Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, you're missing out. He’s a professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine and a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reservists. He designed the US Air Force Efficient Running Project and has presented running workshops on over 50 military bases. Mark has been a national-level Masters runner, completed more than 100 marathon and ultra-marathon races, and is a two time winner of the Air Force Marathon. His PR? A staggering 2:24. He's also strongl...
Sep 17, 2018•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tempo runs are beneficial for virtually every runner – from milers to marathoners, tempos are nearly ubiquitous. Of course, they’re a staple for longer distance runners training for the marathon and beyond. If you’re not familiar with this type of workout, there are three popular definitions: 1. Comfortably hard. A pace that’s faster than “moderate” but not exactly “hard.” If you have a high training age and prefer running by feel or perceived effort, this may be the most helpful definition for ...
Sep 13, 2018•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Most coaches - including myself - don't have the tools to discuss this serious issue. I have no personal experience or training with eating disorders in runners (though I have friends with disordered eating). So I brought on someone who does: Annyck Besso. The goals of this conversation are threefold: Give coaches better tools to educate, help, and guide their runners with eating disorders Open a dialogue among all runners and foster a healthy, productive conversation Provide resources to those ...
Aug 30, 2018•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast I'm not promoting running trails because they're beautiful . Or awe-inspiring . Or jaw-dropping . Though, that's certainly an added bonus! Trail running is a welcomed alternative to road running because it's a different type of stress that helps you become a better runner: The uneven surface can limit the repetition of running, thereby reducing your injury risk The varying terrain and obstacles (rocks, roots, holes, more turns and elevation changes) requires more athleticism Softer surfaces can ...
Aug 15, 2018•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Ryan Smith is a lead instructor for the Institute of Clinical Excellence in the Fitness Athlete division. He specializes in treating individuals who participate in CrossFit, Olympic Lifting, powerlifting, and other recreational sports like running. He also specializes in pelvic health therapy, utilizing an external approach that focuses on education and management of diastisis recti, pelvic organ prolapse, and post-partum issues. Ryan is an avid supporter of the Senior Rehab Project and prom...
Aug 09, 2018•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan Marcus is to running as Charlie Munger is to investing: a coach that uses “elementary, worldly wisdom” to mold his athletes into high-level runners. His past coaching and running industry experience includes: Assistant track coach at Portland State University Division I / NAIA / post-collegiate club / Oregon High School levels Involvement with the Portland Track Festival, USA Track & Field, NIKE’s Bowerman Track Club, and the Run Portland/Team Athena running clubs He was appointed USA T...
Jul 30, 2018•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast You might recognize Tina from Episode 31 of the podcast. She’s an 11-time All-American athlete and elite athlete for Great Britain who’s run in two British Olympic Trials. Tina recently overcame amenorrhea by taking a break from training, had a daughter, and is now returning to competitive running. But we’re not here to talk about Tina. We’re here to talk about YOUR questions, problems, and struggles. In this conversation, we’re discussing: If you can only run a few times per week, should those ...
Jul 15, 2018•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nichola - or Nic as her friends call her - has such a long list of credentials and accomplishments that I simply can't share them all here. But just a sampling of her education and experience demonstrates her expertise: Graduated from Loughborough University with a First Class Honours Degree in Sports & Exercise Science Graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a post-graduate diploma in Dietetics Holds a Master's Degree in Health Science Published author in the Journal of Human Nutritio...
Jul 02, 2018•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’m a proud omnivore. I firmly believe that eating a balanced, “whole-foods” diet is the key to both long-term health and improved running performance. But the issue isn’t which diet is best, but the results that a certain diet can give to you. Over the past decade, I’ve been borderline obsessed with discovering the optimal diet for running performance. I’ve read many of the best diet books, interviewed Registered Dietitians, pro athletes, and best-selling diet authors: Q&A Podcast with Anne Mau...
Jun 21, 2018•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Angie and Trevor Spencer are the hosts of the Marathon Training Academy podcast and have helped thousands of runners over the years successfully run their first marathons. Angie ran her first marathon in 2008, promptly got injured, but turned things around in a big way: since then, she's run 51 marathons and 4 ultras with not a single injury (!). A Registered Nurse, she also has USATF-Level 1 and RRCA-Level 2 coaching certifications. Trevor followed in his wife's footsteps and went from couch po...
Jun 18, 2018•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the years of coaching hundreds of athletes to new personal bests from 1.5 mile military fitness tests up to the 50-mile ultramarathon distance, I’ve been given a “private look” inside how runners approach their training. And most of the time, I’m horrified! There’s no progression. They avoid race-specific workouts. I see pacing mistake after pacing mistake. If you want to run faster you need to take the next logical step in how you prepare and plan your training schedule. Even though you mi...
Jun 07, 2018•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alex Hutchinson holds a PhD in Physics from Cambridge, a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia, and is a former national-class runner in Canada. He’s written for Runner’s World, Outside Magazine, The Globe & Mail, Popular Mechanics, and many other major media. I’ve been pestering Alex to write another book after Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? became one of my favorite exercise science myth-busters (if you haven’t picked it up yet, I highly recommend it). And he finally delivered! His new b...
May 21, 2018•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Warrior Dash is a fun vacation from more traditional road racing. If you’re bored and need a new challenge, an obstacle race might be just the cure. They’re fun – but you need the right training to prepare yourself for the challenge of completing a difficult obstacle course. With obstacles every few hundred feet on courses that are almost always hilly with uneven terrain, it’s downright difficult to maintain your pace and get in a groove. For most runners, it’s a challenge just to run in between...
May 18, 2018•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sam started running in 2002 to lose the weight he put on in college. But his training really picked up years later when he started racing more in 2015. He told me: I set a goal to run another marathon in December, 2016 with a goal of a BQ. I dumped weight lifting and boot camps, to focus on running. I jacked up my miles going from running 10-15 miles and week quickly to running 30-40 miles a week. Leading up to the marathon I developed plantar fasciitis but was able to train through it. A week b...
May 10, 2018•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Heather Caplan is a Registered Dietitian, certified running coach, and host of the RD Real Talk Podcast . She’s also the former Head of Nutrition and Coaching at tech startup Spright, Inc. She’s also worked in corporate wellness coaching and public health nutrition counseling. Her work has been featured in national media such as Runner’s World, The Washington Post, Women’s Running, Outside Online, and others. Heather is on the podcast today to answer YOUR nutrition questions: Are superfoods legi...
May 01, 2018•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Running uphill (against gravity) stresses your body in a unique way that you can’t mimic on flat land. That stress results in some fantastic adaptations and benefits: There’s less impact running uphill so it’s easier on your joints and connective tissues Hills “force” you to run with better form, reinforcing a more efficient stride Running up steep grades builds power more safely than running fast on flat terrain Hills provide the most specific strength work runners could ask for Hill workouts b...
Apr 26, 2018•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast In reality, we have to make time and shuffle our schedules to accommodate all of our responsibilities: Kids and family Work and professional obligations Social events Sleep? Maybe? It's no easy feat to train well, work, have a family, and find some free time to read or have fun. I remember back to one of the most challenging times of my life: the year after college when I had a 75-minute commute and a 9-hour work day. That meant I was running 80-85 miles per week at 5:30am in the dark, in the fr...
Apr 17, 2018•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tyler Andrews was a competitive Division III runner - but certainly not a multiple All-American or other kind of standout performer. But that never stopped him from chasing big goals. After graduating from Tufts University, Tyler kept training and improving. He's since qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials and currently holds the world record for the fastest half marathon ever run on a treadmill (63:38). Now he has his sights set on another world record: the 50K ultramarathon distance. And t...
Apr 09, 2018•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s no easy feat to run a marathon under three hours. It’s faster than the fastest Boston Qualifying time of 3:05 (for young men) and according to one analysis, only 4% of men and just 1% of women achieve this level of performance. An article from LiveStrong notes that: “the nonprofit organization RunTri used the times of 230,251 finishers in 25 races to determine that in the 2011-2012 marathon season the average time for any person, regardless of gender or age, was 4 hours, 24 minutes and 0 se...
Mar 28, 2018•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Henry Wynne has an unusual origin story: he’s a former lacrosse player who had no interest in running but his parents encouraged him to stick with the sport in high school. Fast forward about 10 years later and today, he’s an elite middle-distance athlete sponsored by Brooks . A former runner for the University of Virginia, he's had several notable accomplishments over the years: 2016 Indoor NCAA Mile - Champion 2016 Outdoor NCAA Mile - 3rd 4 x All-American School Record Holder, 1500m His person...
Mar 05, 2018•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast I had the pleasure of getting to know Maggie last fall when she modeled the exercises for our new strength training program . We spent a few hours at a weight lifting gym called Barbell Strategy in Boulder, CO. Maggie and Addie Bracy (2x Mountain Runner of the Year) demonstrated 40+ exercises and we had a videographer to capture all of the magic. During her time at the University of Arizona, she won the PAC-10 Steeplechase Championship (she'll also tell you that she's twice won her beer in weigh...
Feb 26, 2018•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dimity is the cofounder of Another Mother Runner - one of the largest communities you'll find for women runners. Besides the blog, the AMR ecosystem includes a helluva lot: The Another Mother Runner podcast AMR retreats Run Like a Mother Train Like a Mother Tales From Yet Another Mother Runner The AMR store I'm publishing this episode as an excerpt from Team Strength Running (if you're not sure what that is, sign up here and I'll give you all the details next week). Dimity is on the Strength Run...
Feb 15, 2018•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two years ago, I was interviewed for an event called The Running Summit. I spoke about wide-ranging topics: How I started running My injury prevention philosophy The biggest areas of improvement for runners Strength training do's and don'ts Warm-ups and cross-training My favorite aspects of coaching How running "scales" My favorite running authors The two principles of sound form you must remember Who benefits from getting a coach? How to build your mileage more safely than the 10% rule Why 'Run...
Feb 06, 2018•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast You might recognize Jesse as the dude who races in Aviators (there's never an inappropriate time for Aviators). He was an All-American and school record holder at track and field powerhouse Stanford University. After graduating with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Jesse started a company and got an MBA before going pro in triathlon in 2011. You might say that Jesse likes to stay busy. Today, he's the CEO of Picky Bars - a company he cofounded with his wife Lauren Fleshman - and an elite tri...
Jan 31, 2018•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast I've fielded hundreds of lifting questions from runners who all want to know, " How do I lift the right way? " It's a great question. In fact, it's THE question! Knowing how to lift properly will: Save you a lot of wasted time Give you the actual results you want Reduce your injury risk But without knowing WHY runners should lift then it's impossible to answer HOW runners should lift. Do runners need to build strength? Or power? Or neuromuscular coordination? When is the right time to work on ea...
Jan 24, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cross-training is supplemental exercise that can be helpful to your running, like cycling. But just like form drills , strides, or dynamic flexibility exercises, I consider strength training to be an integral part of how to train distance runners. If you’re not strength training, then you’re not training. Running by itself only gets you so far. It’s a fairly one-dimensional form of exercise, after all. If you look at how pro runners train (hell, even high school runners), you’ll see a lot of “ot...
Dec 19, 2017•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’m doing something a little different today in that I’d like to share with you what I think are the best gift ideas for runners this year. Now as a running coach, my focus is on improvement so I’m only going to recommend things that are going to help you improve. That’s why I won’t be suggesting sweatshirts, socks, shoes, or anything like that. Those are “nice to haves” but what’s in this episode are gifts that will help you get to the next level. I also want to be completely transparent on thr...
Dec 07, 2017•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast I invited Nick to share as much detail as possible about his marathon training, race strategy, and post-race recovery so you can understand how an elite marathoner tackles the race. Just recent he posted on Instagram : To run your best, you have to put in the work, know your body, and keep reminding yourself that you can do it. Train both your mind and body. And today, you'll hear what "the work" means to a professional marathoner. You'll learn: How many weeks Nick prepares for the marathon Why ...
Dec 04, 2017•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
