Run4PRs

Intentional training is key to success. We all know this in regards to marathon training or half marathon training. We will try to find the perfect plan leading up to our goal race. We stick with it, we train with a purpose! We practiced our fueling. We hit the mileage. We run the workouts… But marathon training blocks are usually only 12-20 weeks long. What are we doing the other 40-32 weeks out of the calender year? Those weeks add up and they matter! A lot of athletes as we head into the offseason or winter months will throw in the towel on following a plan and instead just do what feels good or run when they want to. As a runner, you may find improvements doing this approach in the early years of your running journey, but if you are inching towards wanting to reach your potential in the sport, the law of diminishing returns will come in. You will be to be more intentional about how you train during the MAJORITY of the year not just the 16 week marathon block How many miles should you be running year round? MORE MILES = improved running efficiency and body adapts to the load We all know this intuitively, we think people who have been running for a long time have an ‘advantage’ Is it appropriate to run workouts year round? The types of workouts matter Let's say peak training for a marathon you run 6x 1 mi workout.. During offseason this may be 3-4x 1 mile What are some of the key workouts you want to keep year round? Threshold Top End speed/strides Medium Longer runs 90-120 min Setting & defining goals If you don’t know what your goals are with running, you can’t actually structure training You have to know the direction you want to go in

With fall marathons occurring soon, we are right around the corner to offseason training. If you follow runners on social media you will notice a few trends… Either there are the athletes who take time off after their goals races and then there are those athletes who appear to continue to train and put in some serious mileage even after 2 back to back marathons this fall. Why do some people appear to never take an offseason? Can you get away with that? Is it helpful or harmful in the long run? Today we are going to give you the guidelines to perfect your offseason and avoid any burn out or injuries in the future. We always take a little bit more of a conservative approach for this reason. Whenever we talk about any topic in running it’s important to remember out background is to help you stay in the sport of running for decades and reach your potential along the way. What is the typical protocol for the offseason after a 5k, half & full marathon Depends on how long the cycle was How does athlete feel? When was last time off? How long do you need to take completely off? 1-2 weeks is typical Can get away with less  Forces you to take the time before you ‘need it’ It is uncomfortable Helps you get used to not doing the same thing constantly/avoid black and white thinking What is a reverse taper? What is sounds like Spread out over more time than a taper No workouts for a few weeks How much mileage should you run during the offseason 50-80% of peak mileage How long should your long runs be? Not very long Less than 50% of your peak mileage long runs What if you have a spring marathon or another goal coming up with a deadline? Doesn’t matter Plan better What happens if you feel good and want to keep training at a high level without an offseason? Why do some people appear to never take an offseason but yet still crush it? When should I reintroduce workouts again? What is it normal to feel like? Should you strength train?

Pacing properly in a race is key to actually racing to your potential and being able to run a time that is reflective of your fitness. The biggest mistake more athletes make is going out ‘too fast’ in a race. There can also be the mentality of holding back too much or starting too slow, but they are rare. We want to aim for our races to be even split or even a slight negative split. In recent years, we see more elites and pros positive splitting races and some even setting records doing so, but historically the way that MOST world records were set was from negative splits. This means starting a little slower than you finish. In a marathon it might look like a 3:59 marathon splitting 2:00 the first half then 1:59 the second half. It doesn’t have to be drastic.  The biggest barrier to pacing is not necessarily knowing where your fitness is at going into the race, but it is more the execution of the pacing plan. We need to remember that you are NOT a robot. Pacers and pace bands are a great idea in theory but today we are doing to do a deeper dive as to why it may not be the best approach Does your watch help or hurt? Should you use a pace band Are pacers a good or bad thing What if you are following the pacing plan and you feel good or you feel bad How can you learn to listen to your body more?

256. HELPING WITH RACE NERVES Worrying is suffering twice :) We have all been there. We all get nervous on race day to an extent. Some suffer from more race day anxiety than others. We care about our performances. We put a lot of time and energy into our training, and we hope that it all pays off on race day. It is good to care about your running, but we don’t want to be so nervous for a race that it makes us miserable! Today we are going to be chatting about ways to find zen and peace in the days and weeks leading up to race day!I like to find what my triggers are and things that really make the race day anxiety worse. Imposter Syndrome: You don’t have to run a certain time PRESSURE on ourselves Running FOR YOURSELF & NOT OTHERS You aren’t alone in feeling nervous What are some things that make race day anxiety worse for you? What are the ultimate fears associated with anxiety. Sometimes it’s the same 1-3 ‘what ifs’ that we continue to circle back to in our mind. If we are able to isolate what exactly we are worried  may happen, we can then ask ourselves ‘realistically, if this did happen, would you be okay?” 1.More confidence 2. Experience racing when things go wrong Taking the scary monster out of the dark and exposing it Don’t put pressure on yourself by talking up big goals or oversharing. Some people love pressure: others do not! Journaling Talking with someone Meditation Trusting your process: you did the work. This is what you do every day Putting your running in perspective: it is a hobby Remembering other people are nervous too!

A lot of our content on the podcast and social media is about running marathons. Naturally many people want to improve their running which is sometimes measured in running your ‘fastest times’. This podcast episode is going to be talking about all the ways you can run your fastest marathon time. We won’t limit this episode to just ‘training tips’ but we will also add ways you can select a fast course, fast shoes & fueling optimization to get the best performance you possibly can. Why would someone opt for the fast shoes and a fast course? If you have a specific time goal you want to run to qualify for Boston or something, this is going to help you shave the most time off. Remember: revel races are BQ races. Not everyone ‘agrees’ with that, but Boston is the one who makes the rules, not us! How to train to run your fastest marathon Base mileage You have to WANT IT- you have to be ready to RACE IT- it’s going to be uncomfortable A, B, C races Specific training Long runs & threshold workouts Fast half Find the fastest possible course & refuse to race in insanely hot temps Summer, spring & early fall marathons all have the potential to be hot. It’s just simple math that you will NOT run as fast in 70 degrees as you would in 50 degrees. You want to consider having a few races to select from and not be tied down to one specific race because if it’s 80, time goal is likely out the window. Why waste your training? Go for courses that are FAST. Downhill or pancake flat. Hilly races will be more challenging and will lead to slower times Fueling Carb Loading increases your performance  Fueling DURING Super shoes Carbon plated shoes can lead to an increased performance

As we get closer to fall races, more athletes are getting ready to run their fall races. As we get closer to these races, it is good to talk about one of the most important parts of your training plan: the taper! What exactly is the taper? It’s not exactly a time to kick back and relax/do nothing. The taper is going to give you a chance to peak for your race at the right time. If you do too short of a taper, you run the risk of feeling heavy legs on race day. If you do too long or extreme of a taper, you might feel out of the swing of things when the gun goes off on race day. We will be tapering by reducing the volume but keeping in some intensity so that your legs still have the bounce in them. During the taper, you may feel worse because your body is in recovery mode. This might cause athletes to freak out mentally, but don’t worry! This is all apart of the process. How long should the taper be for a marathon or half marathon? Marathon 2 weeks vs 3-4 weeks Half Marathon 2 weeks Should you taper for all races or just A races? What are your goals? B races are most of your races Tapering & recovery is a bit of a waste of time What % of weekly mileage should you be running during the taper First week 70-80% of peak miles Second week 70-80% of previous week Third Week 70-80% of that prior week but it’s race week so it might be more What should you eat? What should your sleep look like? Is it okay to go faster on your easy days? What if you feel like crap? Phantom pains What if you feel really good and want to test your fitness?

We focus a lot on setting time based goals. Round numbers always sound and look cool, but what else is there when it comes to setting goals? Did you know there are other ways to measure progress? Non-time based goals can be great for all athletes because they allow us to measure progress against

Most athletes are on a quest to improve. People like to see progress and no one wants to see that their hard work is actually moving them in the opposite direction of where they want to go. However, when there is not enough recovery in your training program, your body is not able to recover from the stressload of training. If you cannot recover from the stress of training, you will not be able to make adaptations that will make you a better athlete. Instead of improving, you will end up frustrated and sometimes injured as the stress continues to pile up. OR there is also the athlete who isn’t pushing hard enough. They may be stuck in their comfort zone doing the same workouts or training for the same. There are warning signs that this process has begun and that you may want to consider backing off. Today we will chat about the signs that you may be flatlining and how to stop it from happening MORE ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER TRAP What do you think is more common: athletes who are doing too much or athletes who are not doing enough “I felt good”---> your body is so used to not feeling good that you have forgotten what feeling good actually feels like Stress variables actually make you feel really good→ fight or flight mode for too long is not great Cut back weeks Mileage Workouts & easy runs What is a sign that someone has too much stress in their training? How will your workouts go How will your resting HR be impacted How will your races go Will female athletes lose period How long does it take to start to see these things What are signs someone is not working hard enough Not doing workouts 20% hard running Easy running can only get you so far You need new stimuli Need more directions & specificity  Cannot do the same training/workouts over and over and expect different results. What are signs YOU ARE IN A SWEET SPOT Making steady improvements in workouts Adapting to the load… maybe 1 year ago 40 miles a week was out of reach but now you do it regularly Adaptations happen over time so you need to look back 2-3+ months. This becomes harder when we are constantly in a marathon training cycle or recovering from our latest event. Are we racing and recovering or are we able to train consistently?

Many athletes want to know when they should start training for their goal races. You may have trained for a race in the past and felt that you either were not prepared enough OR you felt the training cycle was a little long and you felt a bit burnt out. Today we are going to chat about different ways you can break up training so that you will have more longevity in the sport over the long term AND peak for your races at the right time.  I have heard a lot of people on IG say the phrase ‘I peaked too soon’ for a race. This is likely referring to the feeling that about 1-2 months BEFORE the goal race they were feeling amazing then slowly you started to not feel so great and potentially got slower and were not mentally in it. This ‘peaking too soon’ is something we would like to avoid as athletes and we are going to discuss how Example mileage if you peak at 50 miles/week for marathon training OFFEASONS You may have gotten away with not doing one in the past but if you are in the sport for a long period of time it will catch up with you All sports have offseasons Avoid black or white thinking Making sure that you take rest/recovery time OFF after a goal race Full week NO running if not longer Solid 4+ weeks without ANY workouts  Solid 4 weeks with no more than 60% of peak mileage (30mpw if 50) have a proper offseason after a big race Offseason mileage can build back gradually but want to keep it still under 70-80% of peak (40mpw is 50 is peak) BASE BUILDING Making sure you have a solid aerobic base in place before you begin a new training cycle I like to see 6-12 weeks of running at that 70-80% of peak mileage Adding in fartlek workouts Increasing long run but not having much longer than 20-30% of weekly mileage (cap at 12 for the 40 mpw runner) When you start ‘marathon training” Base building phase lasting 4-10 where you are either increasing Mileage Workouts Long runs Peak training for marathon or half should be limited to 8-14 weeks at right around peak mileage Cut back weeks TAPERING 2-4 weeks First week 25% reduction (38 miles) Second week 25% less than 1st week (29 miles) Third week would be basically nothing

The marathon is a very popular distance. Last week we chatted all about the importance of building a proper marathon training plan. This week we want to dive into the details of what type of workouts really matter when it comes to success in the marathon. We often see runners doing speed workouts during marathon training. This is not often the most effective way to become faster at the marathon. The marathon is 99% aerobic in nature, so it is very important to work on building that aerobic system. We are going to chat about the 5 workouts that are the best for marathon training. Here is a brief overview of what they are: the long run, easy runs, steady state runs, threshold runs, & medium long runs.  WEEKLY MILEAGE: We want to look at the history of an athlete Mileage is key and becomes very important in the marathon training basket You can BS a 5k “I am not a high mileage runner” EASY RUNNING should comprise 80% of your training plan 80% of weekly miles should be 2-3 min slower than 5k pace 45 miles per week→ 36 miles easy 40 miles per week→32 miles easy LONG RUNS should typically be done at an easy pace unless there is a workout portion in the long run in which only part of this weekly long runs will be fast. If you run 45 miles per week and your long run is 15 miles, we cannot run the full 15 miles at marathon pace because this would be 33% of your weekly mileage as a hard effort. Within a 15 mile run you may do 5 miles at marathon pace and this would be 50% of your weekly workout mileage. A long run is a stress day already- when you add pace work it makes it even more stressful! MEDIUM LONG RUNS There is a lot of talk about long runs when you are marathon training, but what about the medium long run or the med week long run? This is a run that is shorter than your longest run but a little longer than your weekday run. Let’s say you are running 45 miles per week with a 15 mile long run. You have 30 miles to split between the remaining 5 days of running. Sure, you could run 6 miles every day, but where we find people have more success is doing 1 medium long run mid-week. This might look something like rest, 5, 10, 4, 7, 4, 15. The 10 mile run in the middle of the week is a medium long run. This run helps to build endurance and your aerobic base.  Tempos & Steady State Runs This is where the fun comes in. The 20% hard efforts. Some of these workouts might be mixed within a medium long run or long run.  20% of weekly mileage can be workouts Best workouts are tempos 45 miles per week → 9 miles can be workout  2 workouts per week could be: 2 x 2 mile tempo + 5 x 1 mile 40 miles per week—> 8 miles can be workout 2 workouts per week could be: 2 x 2 mile tempo + 4 x 1 mile Threshold workout vs tempo workout Marathon pace vs steady state

Fall Races are just around the corner and many athletes are gearing up for events that are over 90 min in duration. Did you know that fueling becomes more important as your race gets longer? Many ultramarathoners attribute ‘fueling’ as their biggest barrier to finishing. When it comes to the marathon distance, fueling allows you to reach your potential on race day running faster paces for a longer distance as shown by research. We often hear about bro science of the benefits of fasting or we have heard people talk about fasted cardio… If your goals are to run to your potential going faster & further, fueling is a critical part. You will not run as fast in a fasted state over a long distance. Now we are approaching the season of long runs getting longer, it is important to start to train for how we will approach the race. You don’t want to wait until race day or a few weeks before your race to practice fueling. You need to start NOW.  Races are great because they provide water cups you can grab on the course without the need for you to carry water (unless you want to) or plan out how you will stay hydrated. It seems like this would make things easier for you on race day but how do we expect to be able to ace the water stops in a race running at race pace if we have not practiced this skill in training. Today we are going to be talking about practicing our water stops/fueling.  Research the course offerings 1- What will the race be serving? 2- How frequent are the water stops? 3- Am I allowed to run with water during the race? 4- Are they self served or manned by people handing them out? Practice fueling on the run 1- Training the gut to take in fuel while running 2- Training the gut to run with water 3- Start NOW so body has time to adapt 4- Do you stop for a long run? 5- Can you run and drink? Pinching the cup Neurotic you don’t always need to run through the water stops Putting it together 1- Mile by mile fueling plan 2- Gu every 30-45 min 3- water sips at every stop 4- walking or running through the stops?

A lot of our content is catered around the marathon distance. We know that the marathon is super popular and many people when they first start training for marathons will start to follow more specific training as the distance is super daunting THUS we have a lot of content to reach those people. However, did you know that most elite marathoners actually focused on the 5k distance first? That is right! Focusing on the shorter distance races can actually make you a better marathoner. Today we are going to shift focuses on shorter distance races for a bit because it IS an important topic. Training for shorter distances races might be all the rage this time of year if you are not gearing up for a fall marathon. Many athletes set their sites on local 5k races during the summer months. Is training for a 5k significantly different than training for a marathon? There are a lot more similarities than differences, but today we are going to go over exactly what these differences are and how YOU can capitalize on your potential in the shorter distance races while still having a great base to ramp up for marathon training. Training Differences More speed endurance training/intervals  More racing in general If you haven’t reached your potential in the 5k or raced the distance often, one might be in good 5k shape after or during a marathon training cycle. Aerobic development is transferable.  Give up on the old mentality and go into something new So many fun distances Stomach felt weird running that fast I was not used to the pain “That is it?” Race Day Approach What does the warm up look like? Mental readiness Set Realistic Expectations & Have a Proper Pacing Plan 1- Do you think pacing is important? 2- Can you race without pacing correctly?? 3- What happens if you go out too hard? 4- How can you ensure the best chance for a negative split and to hit your goal?

It is HOT outside! It is that time of year again where the heat, humidity & dew point  is really starting to drag us down. We wanted to do a podcast chatting about this weather and what it all means for us. We should all be adjusting our paces in this heat anytime we run in over 60 degrees. There are temp conversion calculators out there created specifically for this. Have you ever heard the phrase, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity? We will chat specifically about the humidity and dew point factors. What is the common theme you hear this year from athletes? It depends on the intensity of the summer Checking the weather and being aware but analysis paralysis  Knowledge is power  Humidity is the measurement of moisture in the air. 60 degrees with 30% humidity vs 99% humidity is completely  I know there are a lot of calculators out there to adjust paces: is it more variable than that? What are signs you struggle more in the heat than others? Should you keep a log of temps and workouts? How do you survive a full summer of training? Midwest is ideal for fall marathon training Not ideal for spring marathon  Starting workouts at 5am or taking them inside? Adjust training to have the hottest weather days be easy days? How much is too much adjusting? How does the humidity make things harder than the heat? Is the humidity typically better later in the day so those early morning workouts are even harder? Dew point is the temp at which the air is 100% humidity: so if it’s only 78 degrees but the dew point is 72, that means that at 72 degrees it is 100% humidity which is insanely humid Humidity above 70 degrees is going to start to feel very hard and pace adjustments need to be made Does this mean you are losing fitness?246 Will this actually make you more fit in the fall? What if you keep bombing workouts? Should you skip to more of an effort based approach? Should you ignore HR and paces? What are some last min tips for staying cool?

www.run4prs.com Training for a marathon is a big deal! We want to make sure your training cycle is framed up with the best shot of success at performance. At the time of this release we are about 17 weeks away from the Chicago marathon. Lots of questions pop up over the course of training. How long should my longest long run be? What if I have to miss a week because I’m sick? Should I increase my long run every weekend? Should I race a half marathon 3 weeks out from my marathon?  We will be going over the entire cycle of the marathon including the key long runs and workouts. We also want to chat about the timing of your races How many weeks should I train? Working backwards from your goal marathon date give yourself at least 16-20 weeks to build up from your longest run of 12 miles up to 3 hours Every other week or 2 weeks build, 1 week cut back 3 weeks build, 1 week cut back Should you do 20+ milers or opt for back to back long runs? 2-2.5 hours is the sweet spot for long runs 3+ hour long runs take longer to recover from What pace? Add in workouts when you are at the level Most long runs should be done at an easy pace When should you schedule races? Closest half marathon RACE 6-8 weeks out Could use a half marathon as a workout at GMP 5k-10k either in the build up or as a tune up 4-6 weeks out Doing these races as a cut back week Be aware that racing to frequently during a marathon cycle makes it challenging to hit peak mileage week after week Limit racing so you can maximize training Still want to have practice pushing yourself Should you make up any long runs that you miss? & building long runs every week Usually not but if it was a major long run, you may opt to have your sick week be your cut back week and move things around This is why cutback weeks built in in-advance are helpful Building every week is not wise Should you train using goal paces or at current fitness? Current fitness not where you want to be Best workouts to do Threshold– less volume 5 x 1 mile 8 x 1k 6 x .75 mi 4 x 2k 3 x 2 mi 4 x 1.5 mi Steady State or MP work- more volume 3 x 2 mi 4 x 2 mi 8 x 1 mi 5 x 1.5 mi

We did a podcast about postpartum and pregnant running back in spring of 2021, and we decided to do another episode about this topic to answer questions we have gotten from our listeners. In this podcast Coach Mary will be joining me in chatting about her 2 pregnancy and postpartum running experiences. I am a mom of 3 kids 6 and under myself. Together we have had our share of struggles and triumphs during this stage of life. We hope sharing our experiences can help you navigate this season without feeling so alone. We will be talking about lots of pregnancy and postpartum related things in this episode, so if that isn’t your jam, probably best to skip this weeks episode :) We also are not medical professionals and just sharing our our experiences. Please consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program or advice on your specific situation. Pregnancy Experiences: Pre pregnancy & TTC Lots of messages about how long it takes to get pregnant Does running impact fertility? Have you ever lost your period from running First Trimester Symptoms  How does training change Fear? Second Trimester Symptoms  How does training change Unsolicited advice? Third Trimester `Symptoms  How does training change Birth Experiences: “Does training help with birth” C section vs vaginal Spontaneous vs induction Epidural vs no epidural Birth = so many unknowns Recovery timeline Rest/Healing 2 weeks Walks 4-12 weeks Core engagement exercises expecting and empowered  Pelvic floor PT Walk/Runs 6-12 weeks What is postpartum like? Everyone’s situation is different Sleep Help/support Recovery Desire to train Is postpartum running harder than pregnant running? Expectations vs reality  It took you a long time to build the fitness before pregnancy, so it will take awhile to get back to old levels Pregnancy takes 9 months to make the baby… give yourself time to get back to feeling like yourself Breastfeeding How do you ‘maintain your supply’ Best breastfeeding sports bras pumping/feeding before and after runs Mastitis Training How long does it feel to get back to norma How long does it take until you sleep again? How do you find the time to train?