Running with Coach Jay

In this second episode with Phil Wharton he continues telling his origin story, specifically how he and his father Jim grew their clinic in New York, NY, helping a variety of clients. Phil then moved west, to Flagstaff, AZ, both to help the elite runners training there (7,000 ft of elevation) and to continue his running dreams. With several tangents about longs and meditation, this episode is fun and conversation. We hope you enjoy it. To learn more about Phil's work visit @WhartonHealth on Instagram.  As always, if you enjoy this podcast I'd greatly appreciate you taking a moment and leaving a review on iTunes.  Enjoy!

Jeff Boelé is one of the finest coaches I know, and one of the people I've most enjoyed collaborating with. He coaches a group of professional and semi-professional athletes in Boulder called Elevated Performance. In this episode, we talk about Jeff's approach to coaching distances from one mile to 26.2 miles. This is a great episode for an adult runner who wants to understand training on a deeper level. Jeff's been part of the Boulder Running Camps virtual camps and we discuss how effective his videos and his participation has been extremely helpful in delivering outstanding content, specifically training videos, to high school and middle school athletes. If you like Jeff's presentation style and you know a high school or middle school athlete who wants to improve, check out the camp and give them the opportunity to learn from Jeff and me. Finally, I highly recommend you check out the videos I've done with Jeff on YouTube. I have a playlist with all of Jeff's videos and if you're serious about improving you'll find them informative.

The term 'speed work' is problematic for a very simple reason: when a coach or athlete uses the term, another coach or athlete often has a different definition. Obviously, there are words such as 'love' or 'kindness' that will mean different things to different people. But in running it's important that the words used to describe training mean the same thing to the coach and athlete involved in the process of improvement. In this episode, I'll explain what the term 'speed' means for serious runners. And I'll explain why the term 'race pace work' is a crucial element of my approach to training. When these two words are effectively used together an athlete can train intelligently and race fast. What questions do you have about speed work? Email me at jay@coachjayjohnson.com. Enjoy!

I'm so excited to share this first episode of Friday's with Phil. Phil is Phil Wharton of Wharton Health - WhartonHealth.com and @WhartonHealth on Instagram. I've known Phil for well over a decade and he's a wonderful combination of wise running-sage and practical coach.  In this first episode, Phil will walk us through his journey as an athlete and therapist, explaining how he was able to correct a severe scoliosis with the Active Isolated Flexibility - AIF - that he and his father Jim Wharton have taught runners all over the world.

Jeff Messer, PhD, is my guest on this episode. I recorded the episode with Jeff in the spring of 2020 for the Coaching Runners Podcast, at a time when runners were asking a simple question: Can I train as I normally do during Covid? Because so many runners are asking the same question as we head into the winter, I thought I should repost this interview. Jeff shares his recommendations based partly on two primary research articles, which you can read at the links below. The conversation also includes a discussion of training for high school athletes, which I think you'll find interesting if you're a student of the sport. Thanks Jeff! Debunking the Myth of Exercise-Induced Immune Suppression: Redefining the Impact of Exercise on Immunological Health Across the Lifespan. Campbell JP1, Turner JE1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29713319 The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system. David C. Niemana,⁎ and Laurel M. Wentzb https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6523821/  

Alex Lyons is a tremendous coach and I'm so happy he not only joined me on the podcast, but that's he's part of the Boulder Running Clinics 2020-21 Winter Webinar Series.  Alex is the girl's coach at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois. The girls have had tremendous success in both cross country and track during his time as the head coach. Alex spent part of his collegiate running years at American University where Matt Centrowitz was his coach and we discuss how Coach Centrowitz's approach influenced his coaching. In this wide-ranging conversation, we spend a significant amount of time on training and why he does what he does with his athletes. Thank you Alex for being the first guest in the podcast!

In this day and age, most serious runners know that they need to do workouts that build their engine and they need to follow up that workout with some strength and mobility. Similarly, on a recovery run, they need to run controlled and they need to get in some strides. A long run and some flexibility work are what most serious runners employ once every week or ten days to ensure long term success. In this episode, I talk about the importance of the word "and" as we move into what will no doubt be a difficult winter. We're uniquely equipped as endurance athletes (and coaches) to deal with these unprecedented times.  You may be familiar with the Stockdale Paradox, from Jim Collin's book Good to Great, which says that you must maintain unwavering hope and confront the brutal facts of your situation. I explain how this is an extremely helpful way to view this situation - having faith that we will be able to run races or simply do a long run with a group of friends, yet not set a deadline on when this will happen. I wrote about this in my newsletter for high school coaches in the spring of 2020. Click here to read that newsletter. I write emails for adult runners as well - go to CoachJayJohnson.com and sign up for my weekly emails for adult runners.

Welcome to the Running with Coach Jay podcast! Jay explains that this podcast, for adult runners, comes out multiple times a week. Most weeks there is a long-form interview, as well a couple of shorter episodes to help runner realize their ponential. Thanks for tuning in!