Hey, hey, hey, you guys. It's your coach, Alicia.
Good morning, good evening, good day.
Are you ready for the long run again?
We have this first minute to get our life together, check our
surroundings, double knot our shoelaces, get our phones,
headphones all set. Smiles on those faces and
looking ahead where you're going to do 5 minutes of running
drills and then I'm going to tell you to start your watch.
So don't start your watch until I say so.
Looking ahead again. From there, we're going to go
into a 5 minute easy pace warm up, 55 minutes of some Zone 2
running, steady, comfortable, conversational.
We're going to talk, we're going to chat, we're going to guide
you, you're going to have fun, and then we will simply cool it
down. So about an hour and 15 minutes
on your feet. Are you ready?
OK, from here, let's get into some running drill.
So we're going to start. We should be in a walk right
now. All right, Good old knee hugs.
Just alternating. Step, step, step, pull that knee
into your chest. Step, step, step, pull that knee
into your chest. Maybe you're coming up onto your
toe, opening up the chest. Breathing.
This time is for you. We have 5 minutes of running
drills. If you have some that you are
your favorite, feel free to lean into them.
But we're just waking the body up.
Let's do some hamstring stretches.
Reaching down, touching the toes, stand it back up, reach
down, touch your toe, stand it back up, alternating feet again,
stretching the back of the legs, hinging from the hips, reaching
as low as you can. Awesome.
All right, Next up we have toys, soldiers or Frankenstein.
So if you have imagined that you're just going to kick your
leg out nice and straight in front of you again, leaning into
that hamstring, kick it up as high as you can with control.
Walk, walk, walk, kick, walk, walk, walk, kick, you get the
gist. Breathing, breathing, breathing.
And if none of these make sense to you, just make it up as you
go. OK, these are running drills.
I want you to now get up on your tip toes.
I know we all know how to do that.
Reach up, stretch tall, open up your arms to the ceiling like
you're grabbing a cloud from the sky, and lengthen.
Now we're going to do the opposite.
I want you to walk on your heels.
OK? Get those toes up.
We're waking up the front of our shin.
You guys, I know I've said this repeatedly, but if you ever deal
with any kind of shin shin splints, walking on your heels
with your toes up all all around the kitchen while you're cooking
and walking around the house is amazing.
Definitely want to do it with shoes on though, All right, And
then into those heel toe walks. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Don't worry about what other people are looking at you or
doing. Just think that man, this runner
means business. They are out.
They are doing all the things to keep them from getting injury
from right, keeping it dynamic, keeping it moving.
All right, let's go into some arm circles here, like you're
swimming in a pool. Give me with your right arm only
just a nice huge circle reaching all the way up, around and back
two or three times and then switching to the other arm,
keeping your core engaged, trying not to sway too much.
Nice job breathing. And maybe now you might be
taking it into some jog drills. OK, so jog, jog, jog, walk it
out. Jog, jog, jog, walk it out.
Totally up to you. I know I'm all over the place
right now. We got about 45.
Actually, we got about a minute. Let's do some walking lunges.
Really dope. Wake up those quads pushing off
that back toe. Nice job.
Not a ton. Again, warming up the body, not
trying to destroy the body. Awesome.
And right here, now I want you to stop and we're going to go
into some Pogo hops. So I just want you to get up on
your midfoot. Your knees are almost locked out
and you're just jumping up and down like you're on a Pogo
stick, just hopping up and down. There you go.
And then maybe from here you take it into some moving
marches. OK, so we're just marching,
driving the knees up, marching. Maybe you're taking it into
while you skip. I'm going to give this last 60
seconds to you to play. Maybe you do some skips, some
jogs, some logs, some lateral movements, some lateral lunges,
throwing tons of things just out in the air.
And I simply want you to just simply warm up, OK?
Lean into what feels a little tighter.
Keep the motion going and in 30 seconds we're officially going
to start our watch. OK, we are going to start
running. Workout begins.
This is what I'm talking about, taking that time to truly warm
up. OK, in 20 seconds we are going
to start. I'm going to get my watch going
as well. Nice job you guys.
We take off, we start that watch.
We're starting in easy, easy zone.
One in three, two and one. Nice work.
We are here for 5 minutes. I want this run to feel easier
than easy. I want you to stay present, I
want you to stay relaxed, and I want you to smile.
Those warm up drills are over. They're movement rehearsals.
I want you to notice your posture right now.
Are you hit? Are you standing tall?
Are you nice and light on your feet?
Really dial into your body and focus on your efficiency.
Now while we are warming up, we're settling in an easy jog
Zone 1. Again.
This should feel almost too easy.
If it feels like you're running through molasses, you're doing
it right. Keep those ears stacked over
your shoulders, shoulders over hips, landing light underneath
your hips, hands relaxed, jaw relaxed, and breathe.
Now. Just because you're running easy
doesn't necessarily mean your cadence needs to be slower.
When I look at the data on my runs, on my athletes runs, old,
young, all the genders, cadence stays the same throughout
anything. It gets a little bit faster the
faster I go, but it stays this controlled 170 to 180 cadence.
I've been getting a lot of questions lately about it, so
that's kind of why I wanted to bring it up to you.
It's not about heel toe landing. It's really, it's about landing
underneath the center of your mask, landing underneath the
hips, quick light steps underneath you.
That's where the efficiency lives.
And that's making sense. Now.
I just want you to breathe, relax the shoulder and the
limbs. We're here for the long run.
Literally. Try not to go any faster, any
slower with keeping it easy. That zone one looking ahead
again, we have a 55 minute zone 2 effort, so we're just going to
pick up the pace slightly, nothing crazy.
I want you to build confidence in today.
I want you to learn something about yourself.
I want you to have fun. Really lean into this music,
lean into your views and run happy.
Pull those shoulders away from the ears.
Chin is neutral. You're looking ahead.
Your hips are tucked under in through the nose, out through
the mouth. Stay calm, stay, stay relaxed.
Now if you're anything like me, I will say sometimes in the warm
up, in the first five, sometimes 15 minutes, my heart rate is
just accelerated. Sometimes I always wonder why
that is and it's actually, there's science behind it when
I'm not going to go too crazy into it, but there is valuable
reasoning why we warm up. OK.
I promise by doing these warmups, it's going to make the
main set feel that much better. And sometimes you might know
it's yes, when I get into that first mile, that first 3K, now I
feel like I can actually run. I can actually chill out, right?
My heart rate settled down very normal.
Just wanted to validate that feeling.
So if right now you're like, I don't know how I can run for
another hour. Don't worry, we're going to get
through this together. Breathe, stay relaxed, keep
trusting the process. We have about another minute
before we simply settle into our main set, our 55 Zone 2
endurance effort. You got this.
Don't be scared, be excited. Breathing through the nose, out
through the mouth. I'd love to know where you're
running. What are your views look like?
I love when you guys tag me in your views.
I've been getting beach views. I've been getting trails, I've
been getting treadmill views. Hey, if you're anything like me
right now, my training has been unfortunately too much time on
the treadmill. All right, you guys, if you're
with me in 5 seconds, we are going to pick up the pace ever
so slightly gradual 321, nice job, 55 minutes on the clock.
So we've warmed up, we've done our running drills, 5 minute
warm up is done. Maybe you're continuing this
warm up, feeling a zone 1 to zone 2 difference.
It varies for a lot of people. OK, so how do you know you're in
zone two? Well, one, I just want you to
settle in. This is your endurance zone.
It's conversational, it's steady, it's sustainable, OK?
It's very individual. And I will say, the more
consistent consistently you run, the more often you run, the
longer you run, the zones will change, they will get better,
they will improve, Your heart rate will come down.
But at the end of the day, you could hold this for hours.
This is the power of Zone 2. It is invisible and it's a
range. It's not flashy, but it unlocks
everything else. I say we're building that
aerobic engine now. If you're going longer than 75
to 90 minutes, I want you fueling early and often, taking
gels, taking electrolytes, staying consistent with water.
Don't wait until you're thirsty or tired, right?
But with these easy runs, I asked you one forcing you to
keep it easy, right? But you can get away with having
just a really good, I would say. What are the two meals you've
had before this run? OK, So typically it would be
breakfast and last night's dinner, OK.
Or maybe it's breakfast and lunch and then you're going out
for your run. If you fueled well during those
last two meals, you might have enough fuel to get you through
this run. OK, And maybe before you met me,
you did all of your runs fasted or without fueling.
Because I don't want to have a stomach issue or I just don't
like to have stuff in my belly and then go for a run.
It's not comfortable, OK? But what I'm telling you is that
you will feel better with carbs, OK?
You will feel better with electrolytes, but it takes
practice, it takes playing, it takes trying and trying and
trying. What worked for you 10 years ago
might not be working for you anymore.
What worked for you 2 months ago might not be working for you
again. OK, nutrition is constantly
evolving where you're constantly learning, but we are in a huge
fueling era. Let's call it what it is.
I don't know, but I will give you permission that you know
yesterday's a long run, but we are still under technically that
75 minute mark and we are keeping it easy.
So I'll give you permission to just have water and electrolytes
and it's OK that you don't have a gel every single run that
you're on, especially in these long runs, OK, as long as you're
keeping it aerobic, you'll be fine.
Now it's once we start going into that Zone 3, we start
burning through our carb storage that we're going to kind of hit
that bunk and we're going to start feeling sluggish.
We're going to start maybe getting that headache post
workout and wondering why do I even run?
I hate this. That is not what today's about.
OK, I was listening to a podcast the other day and I'm not going
to say the athlete because he's a very young individual, very
fit individual. In fact, he even said his Zone 2
heart rate, he could be running a 550 per mile pace, which is
incredibly fast. So fast that one second, I can't
do two things at once. OK, we're going to continue on
that. Just ignore what I'm just
talking about. Anyway, this athlete can run
extremely fast and his heart rate is very low.
Now if he continued to run at that pace, his body would break
down. OK, so I say this zone 2 with a
grain of salt. Again, it's a range.
It's a feeling, your paces, your heart rate, how you feel
matters. I just want you to know that
this is lighter. It's minutes.
It could be one minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes slower than
your normal pace than your race pace, depending on whether
you're training for 1/2 marathon a marathon A5 Ki know I'm I'm
confusing you right now. I just want you to remind
yourself just keep running. You're doing great, but if it's
90° outside, if it's very humid outside, you will your zone
toothpaste will change. So I can't exactly say run this
pace, run this effort on hills, right?
It is a feeling. So ultimately you can check in
with yourself by how's your breathing?
Does it feel easy in through the nose, out through the mouth,
shake out your shoulders, drop your drop any tension you have
in your shoulders and just relax, relax.
Hopefully you're really starting to settle in and you're just
taking in your views, right? One, somebody reached out to me
on Instagram, Danny and asked if I can do a trail specific guided
run and I was like, that sounds amazing, but I have no idea what
your elevation is. So that makes my job very
challenging. I'm not going to tell you to run
really fast when you're heading up some crazy switchbacks,
right, but I hope you are running easy.
I hope where you are running. It is nice on the feet and it's
it could be a challenging course.
I actually challenge you to go to some rolling hills right now.
Go go to the inclined areas and when you hit those terrains,
listen to your body. Don't keep that pace and run up
the hill and burn through any glycogen stores that you have.
Try to keep it easy and if you do, if your heart rate does
spike up a little bit, it's OK Bring it right back down, but
try not to walk, OK? The ultimate goal of today is to
continuously run. OK practice fueling, drinking,
hopefully something with electrolytes in it while you are
running. That is a practiced that is why
can't I think of the word a practice skill.
That is a skill, right? Having the right water bottle,
being able to take a gel while running, OK, again, it's another
skill. Smiling while running, That
might be a new one for you. Even I catch myself just being
so in the zone and focused that I forget to like, breathe in the
roses and blow out the candles, right.
I forget that I'm just right foot, left foot, right foot,
left foot, hips, top, shoulders, back, that I'm just like, chill
out Alicia. Sun is going to continue to
shine whether it's raining out. Just find out what is motivating
me now and just hold on to it. You guys are doing so well and
I'm just, I felt like I'm rambling.
I've got so many notes to talk about.
So I kind of wanted to be a big distraction for you today, but
also leave you with some motivation we do with some
education and get you excited about the next long run, right?
So let's talk about traveling while training.
So I have one athlete right now who is having a little birthday
celebration. She's been sending me all these
gorgeous views. But it's, you know, running
through some new terrain is 1 very exciting.
But then you're like, what if I get lost or I don't know the
area or it's not familiar to me, right?
But I want you to change your mindset.
I get to run through new scenery.
It's OK. I have technology.
I have a phone. What's the worst that can
happen? OK, try stop what is in
everything and just go. Just go.
But being mindful of doing it because you need to do it versus
doing it because you get to do it.
Remind yourself that, right, you're healthy, you're strong,
you get to go out there, you get to challenge yourself, but just
be mindful again, staying on top of your fueling needs, on top of
sleep, giving yourself grace, giving yourself permission.
If you need to walk, walk, right.
You need to stop and ask for directions.
You need to, you know, if you're out with a with a bunch of
family and friends, like maybe set your alarm a little earlier,
knockout that run before anybody wakes up and they don't even
know you're gone. I recently as you guys know I
went on a little trip and that is exactly what I did.
I woke up early, I was back showered, making breakfast
before anybody was even awake. Now I wasn't perfect, did my
best. Sometimes I did sleep in and I
paid for it in in the heat and extra traffic.
But being safe was an ultimate thing.
I am in a place that I am not familiar with, so I don't want
to get picked up for anything like that, right?
I don't know my surroundings as well.
So I'm going to stay close to home and maybe just run laps
around the resort. OK, Again, I again, I just want
to applaud you for just being out, coming out on this long
run. In case you're wondering, we are
about 12 minutes into this 55 minute run.
You guys are crushing it and I hope you're now just like I
said, you're, you're feeling pretty good.
You're feeling like, OK, I can do this.
That first bit I always think is the hardest.
Honestly, the last bit is going to be the best part because
you're so close. And I will give you that
reminder of the out and back if you're going out and back.
And yeah, just keep on, keep on running, keep on right footing,
left footing, this. You're in the flow now, OK?
Remember, your endurance isn't just about mileage, it's about
efficiency. OK, So going back to cadence
right now, it might be off a little bit or you might be
worried about it or maybe you're dealing with an injury and being
mindful by first realizing, OK, what is my current cadence?
What do what, what do I want to achieve?
So if your cadence say is like around 160, well, let's try to
get it to 165 first, OK, let's not just jump to 180, right?
Or one even 170. But once you get it there,
you'll never go back. That's that's always what all my
athletes say. It's it's a struggle to break
the habit, just like any habit, right?
But then once you do it and practice it and be consistent
about it, suddenly it's something that just happened.
My kids, they have, we are nearing the end of summer
vacation, getting ready to go back to school and they are
driving in bonkers. I, I've, we've gotten rid of all
technology. We've, you know, punishing
doesn't doesn't do them anything.
And it's kind of cute though, because now it's like, oh,
they're playing with all these toys that they didn't ever play
with before, right? But one thing that I will say I
really love about this all is that like, we will all go into
my bed and just watch HGTVI. Love.
That is something that I grew up doing with my dad and I love
that they are finding joy and watching rehab shows.
You're probably like wondering where are you getting at with
this? All that to say is one of the
shows we were watching is Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis who is
also from Michigan. So that's why I want to adore
her. But she is rehabbing 2 houses,
one in Wyoming and one in Detroit.
And I remember watching her in past seasons too, is that she
was always a runner and she talked about in an episode she
runs every single day to clear her head as like a mental
release to start her day. And I was like reflecting on
that. I'm like, here I am.
I'm a running coach and I can't say I necessarily have that.
Like I need to run every day. I'm more of like a four times
per week kind of runner. I also like riding my bike.
I also enjoy just going for a walk.
But I can relate to that and that I just need movement,
right? I need to sweat.
I need to, I am a better person because of it.
And so this is where I really kind of want you.
I hope this kind of homes in and just what physical exercise does
for us and when we can keep it easy.
So right now I do want you to just, if you're wearing your
heart rate monitor, just take a peek now at your heart rate.
Or if you're not, you know, put your hand on your throat and
just feel your heartbeat relax in through your nose, out
through your mouth and remind yourself running easy.
Running is fun. Running does not, should not
always be hard. In fact, it should be easy.
I say easy. It should be conversational the
majority of the time. Breathe.
One thing I catch myself with, I will, you know, admit I tend to
constantly be at the top end of my zone 2 all the time, so much
that I'm like hovering zone 2, zone 3.
And I, I'm giving you permission to be like, it's OK, because are
you still able to stay conversational?
Now, that might not be the case right now.
Can you tell me what you had for breakfast this morning?
Feel free to share. I had some zucchini bread with
some yogurt and an espresso with cough cream and cold foam.
Yeah, see, I'm relaxed. Obviously I'm not running at the
moment, but you get the gist, right?
The other day when I was out on an easy run and I am see, this
is me. I'm, I'm opening up to you guys.
I my sister called me and I'm like, I'm so glad you called.
I'm we need to have a conversation.
Get me through this run and I literally grunted.
I was on an incline, so I'll give myself grace there.
I was on this gradual incline and I just had to start walking
because I'm trying to talk to her and I'm like, and so I just
started walking and I gave myself full permission to walk.
And then I noticed as that incline steadied out, I was able
to get back into it Jaws and it was great.
So maybe this is my sign. I need to do more hills, right?
Maybe this is your sign. It's OK.
Maybe that's all you do is hills.
My oh gosh, I have so many athletes who I would kill to
have the hills that they are forced to run in constantly.
But they were like, I just want some flat ground.
This is why I have to run on a treadmill because there's no way
I would be able to run in zone 2 because it is just too hilly
here. It's too terrain here.
I get it. I understand you.
I feel you and I swear I think my next run is going to be a 15
minute uphill treadmill jog because we're going to talk
about that on another episode. But all that to say, like what
is that thing for you? Maybe it is running that that
you look forward to. Maybe it's your cup of coffee.
I know that for sure is my thing.
It's like I am just a better person after my cup of coffee.
Not that I say I don't need it, but I need it.
I I just love it, right? It calms me down.
It's kind of that that and I would say sunrises because I'm
very much an early riser. I just truly love watching the
sunrise, watching the sunset, having that reset to the day.
I hope maybe you can relate. It's something we can talk about
globally, right? The sun rises and sets
everywhere. Whether you choose to enjoy it
is up to you, right? Amazing work, you guys.
You're crushing it. This is the quiet work, these
minutes right here. They're building the foundation
so you can go hard on your hard days and on your big days again.
Let's talk a little bit about running economy.
These things add up, right? So just make sure you're driving
your elbows back, you're keeping your hips tough to slight
forward lean from the ankles. The smoother you move, the less
energy you waste. I was training live.
I do a GTX treadmill class and oh gosh, this one athlete, she,
I can tell she's been working on her form, but I don't know if
she knows she knew what was going on.
She was just bouncing up and down, running on her tippy,
tippy toes. So I gave her the, the, that
analogy of like, I'm going to put my hand and I want you to
imagine the ceiling is right above your head, right?
You're running, you're in a cave, you're, you're in a
tunnel. And you, if you bounce up and
down, you were going to hit that ceiling.
Let's not do it right. Immediately when her shoulders
tensed up and she was like, you know, crouching down because
she's going to do you want to hit the ceiling, right?
But suddenly something shifted. It was that visual cue that was
like, oh, oh, I'm not wasting energy bouncing up and down.
I'm waste. I'm not wasting.
I'm being efficient and moving my body forward, pushing off the
floor back versus pushing off the floor up.
OK, so when you push off the ground, propel yourself forward.
That makes sense. Good.
Great, amazing work you guys do a little time.
Check here we are over 21 minutes into this 55 minute
effort. Breathe.
Run a little lighter, run a little taller.
Just because I say don't hit that ceiling doesn't mean I
don't want you running taller. OK, expand your spine, make up,
take up space. Now let's talk gear.
Shoes matter. I have been kind of silent about
my marathon training journey and I don't know why.
Part of me I'm thinking like imposter syndrome, like who am I
to be out here running a marathon?
And then I'm like, I need to be talking about it more.
Part of me, I'm just enjoying summer, right?
And trying to make the most of it.
And sometimes it can be a little daunting to just have to take
video of myself running for social media purposes.
But I'm like, this is educational.
This is important. I need to do this more.
And I will do this more. But I do talk about it down
here, right? My marathon training has been
going phenomenal. It hasn't been perfect by any
means, but I feel great. The distance scares the hell out
of me, scares the bejesus out of me.
But I have to say, my husband. Shout out Mike, my family, my
children, my run, my running friends say you guys have been
so motivational and inspirational and empowering,
but those this distance scares the crap out of me.
I will say dealing with some stomach issues, but I keep
practicing. So maybe, you know, maybe you're
in this moment and now like, Oh my gosh, I have a sensation in
my stomach right now. I don't know what to do.
Sometimes it might be just you're going a little bit too
hard. The body temperature is heating
up a little bit and you're twisting.
So just relax, calm down, take a little spill water.
I you know, sometimes it is not fueling, dehydrating yourself
that is causing the stomach issues.
I will say that OK, again, I'm not a registered dietitian.
I do have a lot of nutrition certifications and experience,
but not fueling is you know, if you're scared to fuel because
you will have a stomach issue, let it go OK And if you you're
practicing and it keeps failing, keep practicing, try something
different. Keep it simple, just trust that
you are doing yourself a disservice by not eating, by not
fueling your body. Fuel your workouts, fuel your
workouts before, fuel during, fuel after, and then focus on
just normal eating for the rest of the day.
Peach, Peach. Amazing wifey guys.
Form check. Restock your form.
Nice and tall. Hips forward.
Quick, short steps. Reset.
You got this? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We are 30 minutes total into this run. 25 minutes into this
zone 2 effort. How you feeling?
Got this feeling. All right.
Take a little sip of water. Reset.
This is where endurance work really pays off.
Staying steady when it's easy to check out.
OK. Sometimes running is about PRS,
Sometimes it's about headspace, sometimes it's about your
health, but all of it counts. So what season are you in right
now? We look at a little deep on you
guys, OK, we're going into summer into fall.
We've been having these nice, crispy, cool mornings and nice
hot afternoons and I am loving and being able to open up the
windows in the morning, let the fresh air in.
It is amazing. But what season are you in the
kids for again? For me, I'm getting ready to go
back to school and I'm like, I hate to say it, but I'm so ready
for like routine again, right? I love them, but I'm ready for
them to have just structure. I'll have better structure.
They'll have structure. We're all better for it.
We all work better with routines.
But summer is short lived, so I'm always taking it one day at
a time. I told the kids tonight we're
going to drive down to the beach.
Maybe we're at our bikes, but we are going to watch the sunset
and saying it now because it's going to happen I'll post on
Instagram later. You guys will be like well,
different day all right, you guys.
So yeah running I I was like, oh, we're talking gear about
gear shoes matter. I am.
It's weird. I I grew up, I loved Nike,
right? I worked for Under Armour and at
Under Armour they were like, you cannot wear Nike.
But then I hated Nike and then I watched the movie.
Didn't know the name of it. Right.
Sweet. I'm going to totally screw it
up. Comment on this thing when you
remind it, if I can come up with it.
And I feel like talk about Michael Jordan and how they came
up with Air Jordan and story and I feel like I had this different
appreciation for Nike, even though they are like the top
dogs. And it's like, no, we got to
root for the underdogs anyways. I'm sure we all have a story
about a pair of Nikes we've ran in.
But As for me right now, and it's not for everybody, I would
say like you have a shoe, stick with it because the size will be
the same. Your feet are good, but as yeah,
so currently I I feel like I've been wearing Nikes a lot lately.
I will say I don't know if any of my athletes are ASICS tends
to be very popular. Brooks, they got the white toe
box. Sauconies, they got some really
great ones. Pumas, Pumas come out with some
good ones too. And I mean, at the end of the
day, shoes, it is very individual, but I just want you
to have a shoe And, and I'm going to ask you, how long have
you had the shoe? I want you to now, not now after
you're done running, I want you to take your shoes off and flip
them around. They'll do this all the time
with my athletes and ask you to just look at the shoes.
Are they, are they the same? Is there any wear and tear on
the tread? How long have you had this?
Have you been running in this shoe?
I personally like to have A2 shoe rotation.
So I have an easy shoe that I do all my easy runs, my chill runs
and and I have my super shoe that I do my hard runs and you
know, I alternate like my easy runs and my long runs.
So depending on how I'm feeling, I will run my speed shoes.
If I'm like feeling sluggish, I'll put my speed shoes on
because it's like a mindset thing, right?
I just ordered the new, not the new the Alphafly Threes.
So they are geared for the marathon and I'm super pumped
about it. They should be arriving like any
minute now. I also have a my birthday coming
up, so it's my little birthday gift to myself.
So treat yourself. Shoes matter though.
So there's a lot happening in the shoe technology space and
I'm I'm sure I've talked about it before, but not just from
it's going to make you faster. You don't.
You shouldn't just be racing in it while you know if you want to
go for it, but you'll be able to run faster with your heart rate
lower. Your shoes will take the brunt
impact that normally your body would be taking because of the
cushion, because of the the plate in it.
And you can then now go harder and recover better.
So a lot of really cool things about shoes.
And then my caveat there is try to do your strength training
barefoot or get take off your shoes when you're not running,
right to still work on your feet muscles, your ankle
stabilization, your calves, all those things because strength
matters. Our feet matter, our ankles
matter. And if we're in those shoes
constantly, we can lean into some issues.
How we feeling? Yeah. 30 minutes over 30 minutes
into this 55 minute effort, we're just like cruising on
through. Feel like I'm just like on the
phone and with my sister and we're just having a
conversation. Except I'm just doing all the
talking. OK, back to shoes.
Moving on. No.
So take a look at the bottom of your shoes after this run.
The goal is that the the tread is at least even.
But if there's a lot of wear and tear by the heels, that is a red
flag to me. I see.
What I see there is that you're probably dragging your heel a
little bit and you're likely either over striding because
you're constantly landing on that boom.
And it it tells me too that you're working harder and you
don't need to. Is there any wear and tear in
one spot of the shoe that's not on the other shoe?
OK, Again, we want balance. So if there's tread, which is
fine to have some wear and tear, but is it balanced or is there
one side that's off than the other?
Not necessarily a red one, but it's one of those things that
everybody is different. I have one athlete who, gosh, I,
he sent me so many videos of himself running and I, I, you
saw these videos, you would be like, I don't know if you should
run, but he is a runner by all means, and he's healthy and
strong and getting ready to run a marathon and he's going to and
he's pain free. It's just his body over the many
years that he's been running has adapted to this and this is just
how he is. So just because something is
different than the norm doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad
thing. OK.
There is no perfect running harm that's stated, that's factual,
just like there isn't, you know, a perfect eat meal planned or
free run plan, right? It's all individual.
And I hate to say, I wish, I wish I could tell you what
exactly what to do, right, But we're all very different
internally and externally. And but with that, you know,
maybe you add a little shoe rotation into your mix, have
some speed shoes, have some nice Christian work for those long
runs. Maybe you have some trail shoes,
right? That's obviously another one in
itself, like getting out. Just like with bikes.
We have Rd. bikes, we have gravel bikes, we have mountain
bikes, we have indoor trainers. Gear is a mindset.
What are you running in? Look at Kate Courtney Dewalder.
I love her. She's an ultra marathon.
She runs these crazy long races in border shorts and T-shirts
very off like you would never see like a normal.
You know most people are running in like sports bras and spandex,
right? Because of they want to be the
most the least weight possible. She's just like, I'm not here
for the long run. I'm going to wear what I want to
wear. I have no, she's just who she
is, right? So own that, but you know, be
mindful of you're not getting any kind of chafing.
I just say we run better when we look better and when we have a
new running outfit, right? That is usually a little bit of
motivation to get us to go out. So when was the last time you
bought like some new running socks?
I feel like that's been my thing lately.
I just want some good compression socks.
I want good running socks. Get out of those thick, cottony
socks. I am prone to blisters,
especially in my pinky toes. And anybody else relate?
So if you're not making sure one, you're cutting your nails
nice and short but keeping your toes right now, I want you to
just spread your toes out in your shoes.
Take up some space in your shoes.
Make sure they're not squished together.
Push off that big toe right now. There you go.
I hope that put a little smile on your face.
If you are doing it out and back, let's go ahead and turn
around. I would like to again turn you
around a little later than normal just so you have some
guaranteed cool down time. But we are 40 minutes into this
run, 35 minutes, 36 minutes, almost into our 55 minutes Zone
2 effort. Can you tell, still tell me what
you had for breakfast today? Can you still keep your heart
rate nice and steady? Take a little sip of water, calm
your heart rate, stay relaxed. You're doing amazing.
Let's talk some more gear. Are you running with a handheld?
Oh, I am very much a handheld runner.
I enjoy having a nice handheld. Different than running with a
water bottle in your hand. OK, to have a nice running
handheld. Maybe this is bougie, I don't
know, but you can keep your grip nice and nice and relaxed.
OK, I can store some extra gels in my handheld and store.
I mean, technically you can store your phone there, right?
I, I personally use a running belt that I keep my phone in and
maybe some extra gels and then I run with a handheld.
Some of my athletes swear by their vests.
Some of them have their belts with little waters in their
belt. OK, for me, I just feel like I
struggle getting water. I just, again, it's something I
just need to practice with, but I feel like I just really, I'm
OK with my my handheld water bottle.
But maybe that's something you splurged on for your birthday or
for your next race. Maybe it's signing up for that
race, right? You've been training.
What are you and what are you so scared of?
Look into some races doesn't matter how old you are, how
young you are, how new you are to running if you've been
running forever, sign up for that race Oh my gosh the fight
you know the 5K is like the most popular race out there there's
nothing to prove just get out there if it gives if it's going
to give you motivation to keep showing up daily, unlike Nicole
kerz, who just she just runs every day right.
I feel like I need a little bit more, especially as the seasons
change. I'm suddenly like should I put
pants on or sure it's OK still? Do I need to wear a jacket yet?
I need to warm up a little bit longer.
No, but gear is a mindset. When you look good, you feel
good. When you got good gear on, you
feel like you can run faster, you feel better, you're more
prepared. I always say, my husband always
says, 'cause I, I say, I always say and I say what?
I've probably never said this, but there is never bad weather.
You're just under prepared. So think about this.
You have a run scheduled. Maybe it was this morning and
it's now pouring rain. Should you not run or do you
have the right gear to run in the rain?
Maybe you need to do a little switch around because I wouldn't
recommend doing some speed work and it's pouring rain, right?
That's just asking for an injury.
But that doesn't mean you can't run.
What if it's going to run on your race?
Like you need to practice these things now I, I you, you can
also go on the treadmill and that's fine too.
I am very guilty of that, but be OK with the weather if it's, I
personally find like 40 degrees, 50° when I as as you adopt the
most optimal weather out there, which is like 10°C if I'm
thinking of right. Just, you know, above freezing,
anything's getting too hot. It's like, yeah, it is an
acquired taste. Never used to say that until I
really started running longer and now I'm like, I want the
cold, just give me the cold. No, anybody who can run in the
Caribbean and the Florida and heap, heap, heap.
I give you guys so much credit. You guys are amazing.
But with that, having the right gear, whether it be a running
vest or or layers, make sure you're layering as you head into
sewer temperatures. But running start OK, going back
to those thick cotton socks, you're just asking for blisters.
Promise. Okay, back into our our check
queue form reset. Tuck those hips under re engage
your core. Breathe driving those knees
underneath their hips landing softly pushing off the floor.
Chins are neutral. We are smiling still.
Yes. Clear your head, take up space.
Remind yourself that you get to do this.
You're doing this. You are in it.
You're staying power. That is endurance.
You're proving right now that you can keep showing up steady,
strong and patient. Enjoy this.
Keep grieving, keep trusting the process.
We are way closer to the finish line than you think.
So freaking proud of y'all. Are you still smiling?
Perfect. Finding motivation in this Zone
2 efforts. So now let's kind of shift gears
a little bit and let's just look at some big picture.
Usually this is the kind of stuff we talk about in January,
right? Big audacious goals, big picture
stuff. What in this season of your
life? Maybe it's in the next 6 months,
maybe it's in the next year, maybe it's in this month.
What are your running goals? I would love to hear them.
You know me, shoot me Adm on social media at running workouts
or comment on this workout. What are your running goals?
Do you have some big goals? Is it to sign up for a race?
Is it to run your first marathon or ultra marathon?
I know there's a few of you guys out there, probably more than I
even know who are set off to do some 50 KS and you're just
haven't hit the button right? You're just looking and you're,
you're maybe having some imposter syndrome or questioning
your life decisions or constantly fighting that injury.
Let's pull back the curtains, figure out why are we getting
injured. Likely it's a nutrition error.
Likely we're going too hard too often.
Likely it's a gear issue. Straight, simple, but asking for
help reaching out. Go see your physio.
Go see your PT do the maintenance work.
Have you been putting in the strength training?
Have you been foam rolling? Have you been focusing on sleep?
Some of my top, top athletes, they're crushing it in their
sessions in the gym, they're crushing their workouts.
And then I look on their garments and I can see their
health reports and their training readiness and their HIV
and their resting heart rate is up and they're sleep, they're
getting like less than five hours of sleep now, just like
what is going on there's we need to pump the brakes until we can
get our sleep up above 6 hours, Above 7 hours.
For me, it's closer to like 8 to 9 hours.
I'm not OK with it. OK, so rather than again,
focusing on just your training, look at the bigger picture.
What are your running goals? Do you want to run faster?
Do you want to be able to continue to run longer without
your heart rate going up? Yes.
OK, and let's let you know like let's think about some ways that
we can do that. Obviously looking at your last
six months of work, not just your last month, not your last
three months, I even like to see like a 90 day background.
OK, I have this one athlete that I'm training, so cool.
I started with him. He was getting ready to do his
70.3, so an iron half Iron Man distance and injured, injured,
injured, injured, injured. He just wanted to finish the
race. We all, I mean obviously the
great thing about triathlon is it is a three sport, technically
4 sports. We had strength training in
there, but we pulled back the curtain.
We focused on getting got him into physical therapy so he was
able to 1:00 work on his weaknesses and we he not only
crushed his time, he beat his time of by 20 minutes.
He said a 20 minute PRI was like wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
Now I see the fitness, I see the behind the scenes, but there's
something special that happens on race day with a proper taper.
That's another thing we could talk about, but we'll save it
for another day. Holy crap you guys, we have just
9 minutes left until we go into some 4 striders and then we're
done. Holy crap, like keep.
I hope you have a huge smile on your face right now and you're
crushing it. Wow.
I just I can't believe that we're already here, but OK, let
me go back to let me go back to Jason.
And so now Jason crushes it. We take a little deload, but not
a ton and we just focus on main maintenance.
And now he is training for a marathon with the big picture to
do the full Iron Man distance like classes, which is one of
the hardest courses for Iron Man.
And his weakness and in his part that he always gets injured in
is the wrong aspect for it. And so we're making this
marathon block not only just about running right, because we
don't want to lose all of his amazing fitness from that Iron
Man, but cross training. I know I can talk about this one
a lot, but incorporating the bike, incorporating swimming and
blending and taking off like building from his massive
aerobic engine that he built from his training and going
right into a marathon training block by not having to run.
He's we are running four days a week for him as well and he
feels phenomenal. So don't always just stick to a
training plan because that's what the training plan says.
Feel free to adapt, to adjust, to be individual, to be you.
OK, and reach out to a coach. All right, It is.
I'm always amazed when most of the time when I get an athlete
one, it's because they've reached out to me because
they've learned so much about from running or they've grown so
much as an athlete. But a lot of times it is from
constantly having an injury, injury, injury, injury and they
just want to run happy. So I hope right now you are
truly running happy and taking in the sceneries, enjoying the
journey and that you get to run. Because at the end of the day,
that's what really happens, right?
That you're having joy, that you are giving time back to you,
whether it's from listening to this podcast or just freeing
your brain of not having to think for an hour.
Maybe you're extra thinking too much or it's forcing you to
think right. So you're not getting injured.
And I hope you're just being relatable.
Maybe I'm I'm the reason of your spending, your terrible spending
running habits. You can blame it on me and wow,
I need some water here. I can feel a tickle in my throat
I need. I didn't bring anything to the
mic with me. I haven't stopped talking.
I feel like I need to go silent and just let you guys be.
But I just want you to know how proud I am of you and I.
I would love to know why you run.
Is it because of health? Is it because of confidence?
Is it clarity, strength, resilience?
Is it what season of life are you in right now?
It's a community. I am just want to keep you going
as we close out and head into the best part of this run.
Coming up here are striders because because you have run
easy and you're eager to to let loose to wake up the system.
I also want to remind you that striders are not sprints.
They are just, we are simply just turning over the legs,
reminding our legs what speed looks like.
And when we can run on tired legs, it's a good, it's a good,
good, good feeling. Now, right now you're running
and you're like, I am beat. This is awful.
I feel like garbage laugh right now.
It's OK, but I'm going to ask you how much?
What did you have to eat your last two meals?
Was it enough? Are you hydrating?
Are you having stomach issues? Are you tense?
Are you stressed? Are you sleep deprived?
Is it a hilly terrain? How is the temperature outside?
Right? So, so many factors come into
play. But finding joy, trusting the
process, staying consistent, and reminding ourselves that we get
to do this and that it is easy. You are actually running easy
right now, right? And that could be barely a walk,
right? It could be a pace that you're
running so slow that you can walk in, or maybe it's a really
fast place, but I'm still just trying to hold you back.
I want you to stay conversational because if I know
if you're conversational, you're using oxygen, and if you're
oxygen, you're using oxygen. I know you're staying aerobic
and that means you're not staying anaerobic, which is
you're breathing heavy and you're really trying to fight
your body to cool itself down. So be smart out there.
Run happy. And just like that you guys, in
3 minutes we are going to do our first of four quick striders and
then cooling it down. Holy crap this is awesome.
You are awesome. I hope you're smiling right now.
Just reminding you again that sometimes you're chasing PRS,
sometimes you're chasing a distance, maybe you're running
for headspace. It all counts.
What season are you in right now?
Are you in a gross season? Are you in a recovery season and
exploration season, trying new things, testing the waters?
But endurance is a staying power.
The fact that you're still here, you're still moving, that's the
power you'll bring in to the rest of your life.
And for that, I'm so freaking proud of you.
I'm going to say that again, endurance is staying power.
The fact that you're still here, still moving, that is the power
you'll bring into the rest of your life.
All right, keep, keep, keep, keep coming on.
Keep, keep running. Easy right foot left with this
crap. Let's work.
I saw this quote and I took a screenshot.
I wanted to read it to you. I just want you to stop trying
to prove fitness and start trying to do what is best to get
you to the starting line. Fit, healthy and ready to go.
The need to prove oneself comes from insecurity.
It's a lack of trust in the plan and the process.
Wow. Stop trying to prove fitness and
start trying to do what is the best to get you starting to the
starting line. Fit, healthy and ready to go.
Boom. I can just end on that, right?
But we're not because in 30 seconds it's go time, go time
being the fun is just getting started.
We're going to turn those legs over for a quick 30 seconds,
pick up our pace ever so slightly depending on how fresh
you're feeling or how good you're feeling.
And then we're going to recover back into that zone one for 90
seconds and we're going to repeat in 10 seconds.
We take off reset re tuck put that smile back on your face in
three 21. We take off for 30 seconds yes
you can just turn those legs over pick up those legs right
foot left foot Dr. drive drive drive drive drive stay in the
fight. This is fun fast is fun.
You get to do this. You're amazing.
Keep crushing it. 4543 21 nice jab, one down 90 seconds here
where we're recovering for zone one.
OK, the goal here is really not to walk.
But even if you have to walk, I, I give you permission.
You've gone this far. But if you are going to go walk
in about 10 seconds, I do want you to get back into that jog.
Easy jog. We're just flushing the legs
out. Keep breathing, keep crushing
it. 30 seconds down and one minute still left to recover.
One down total, 3 to go. Amazing.
We've talked so much today about why we run the seasons of life,
the invisible work of zone Two, gear, shoes, efficiency,
fueling, hydration, cadence. I hope you've taken something
from this run. If anything, it's just the good
music that's flowing behind the scenes.
Less than 30 seconds. We take off first rider #2 we're
going to be on that mid foot. We're going to be driving those
knees. Our hips are going to be tucked
under. We're engaging that core.
We take off in 10 seconds. OK, put your mind right.
Breathe. Nothing crazy.
It's not a Sprint. OK, In 321, let's drive 30
seconds. Push, push, push, push, push,
push. You got this.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
All the way through. It's tucked, shoulders relaxed.
Open up. Those lungs.
Last 10 seconds. Right here.
Go, go. Go, Go, go, go.
Yes, you can 454321 recover Zone 1 recovery.
Let that heart rate come down. Focus on your heart rate right
now. I'm just calming your breath not
to panic. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Going back to why we run our health, our confidence, clarity,
strength, resilience. This is strength, this is
clarity. This is confidence.
When you're tired, can you keep going?
We're not quitters. We keep going.
Breathe. One minute down.
We got 30 seconds to recover and we're already into number 32
down to to go. Amazing job, you guys.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. Just focus on staying calm.
Focus on that heart. In 30 seconds we take off 33333.
Do you think you still had it in you love throwing these drivers
in at the end. Again, it's nothing crazy.
I just want you to accelerate a little bit faster than what you
did before in 321. Let's go. 30 seconds.
Let's work. Turn those legs over.
Remind yourself that you are fast, you're strong, you are
capable, and you can do this. Keep crushing it, keep seeing
you halfway through. Let's go.
Let's go right foot, left foot. Relax the shoulders, drive those
elbows back. Put that big huge smile on your
face. You are strong and hold back.
Recover. Deep breaths through the nose,
out through the mouth. Keep the keep your head above
your heart. Stand tall, breathe.
One more to go and then we're done.
Then we're done. Then I give you full permission
to walk, breathe, enjoying this 92nd recovery, the fact that you
are here still, you're crushing it and so, so incredibly proud
of you. You are amazing, you are
awesome. You are you, and nobody else has
that superpower but you. The recoveries always go by way
faster than the actual work, right?
In 30 seconds we take off for our final strider.
Not that I want this one to be any faster than the last.
I want it to be exactly the same.
I want it to be perfect. I want it to be the best that
you have to give. When I say perfect, I mean
perfect form. I mean hits tacked under.
I mean chest crowd. I mean core engaged.
Are you ready in 321? Let's go.
Final 30 seconds here. Keep crushing it.
Keep running with your heart. Keep running with your mind.
Keep running with your strength within.
Dig deep. 15 seconds to go. You got this all the way through
all the way through all the way through come on last 10 drive
drive, drive, drive, drive 454321 amazing job you guys 90
seconds to recover and then we just head into that cool down
Wow let that oxygen come and keep moving OK, don't I know
it's very it'd be very easy to just stop and bend over at the
waist bend there, but keep moving keep your head above your
heart stay calm, stay focused, keep smiling.
It's over. It is over.
You're welcome to stop your watch or you can keep it running
for a little bit longer. I'd actually love to see another
minute of just what your heart rate can come down to quickly
because the coach and me when I can see a heart rate come down
quickly, that tells me you're in a good spot while you are
getting the oxygen back into your brain.
Taking this in, I want to read you another note I saw and it's
it's kind of deep. So you ready?
This is for anybody who is dealing with change and maybe
dealing with some criticism. Change is change.
Change is hard, OK? Your new life is going to cost
you your old one. It is going to cost you your
comfort zones and your sense of direction.
It's going to cost you relationships and friends.
It's going to cost you being liked and understood.
It doesn't matter. The people who are meant for you
are going to meet you on the other side.
You're going to build a new comfort zone around the things
that actually move you forward. Instead of being liked, you're
going to be loved. Instead of being understood,
you're going to be seen. All you're going to lose is what
was built for a person. You no longer are remaining
attached to you. Your old life is the 1st and
final act of self sabotage and releasing it is what we must
prepare for to truly be willing to see real change.
Wow, at any point of these I can relate to them all.
Fear of judgement, fear of imposter syndrome.
But when you close one door, you open a whole new door for love
and friendship and support and sometimes it's going to hurt.
And I want you to lean into focusing on you and what brings
you joy and love and self worth. Don't let any everybody ever
take that away from you. This is your space.
This is you. And I just want to say I love
you and mean it. And I'm so freaking proud of you
guys. A lot of you've been requesting
these long runs more. I can't believe you actually
enjoy listening to my voice. Oh man.
But I don't want to ramble on too much longer.
I need to get some water. We go head out for my own run
and I look forward to hearing all of your comments and how far
of a distance you ran, where you ran today and keep showing up
for yourself. Keep it easy.
Check your heart rate. Did you were you able to stay in
that zone 2? How is your pace improving?
This is a great run to come back to Austin and reassess yourself.
Keep crushing your goals, keep taking those risks and keep
showing up for yourself. Have a great day, love you.