1
00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,880
You're listening to episode 249 
of the Marathon Running Podcast.

2
00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,680
In this episode, we're going to 
talk about how to run faster 

3
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:17,840
without killing yourself. 
This is the Marathon Running 

4
00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,400
Podcast by Letty and Ryan from 
We Got the Runs. 

5
00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,720
Join us in our running community
for weekly content that is 

6
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,840
motivational, educational, and 
inspirational. 

7
00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,480
And let the Marathon running 
podcast take you from the 

8
00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,040
starting line to the finish line
and beyond. 

9
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,480
Hey runners, and welcome to 
episode 249. 

10
00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:42,520
My name is Ryan. 
My name is Lee. 

11
00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,600
And we are the people of the 
Marathon Running Podcast and 

12
00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,600
YouTube channel. 
If you guys haven't checked out 

13
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,680
our YouTube channel, it is at 
Running Podcast. 

14
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,240
And on there we do shoe reviews,
gear reviews, vlogs, all kinds 

15
00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,400
of running content. 
And hopefully we can get some of

16
00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,120
you listeners to maybe also do 
the visual. 

17
00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,480
We do not post the podcast on 
there yet. 

18
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,440
Maybe in the future, but at this
point this is audio only. 

19
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,760
What's your latest video? 
Oh, my latest video is probably 

20
00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,600
a shoe review at this point. 
We're pre recording by a week. 

21
00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,520
So that's what I'm thinking. 
I also recently made a video on 

22
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,280
explaining or demystifying the 
different foams. 

23
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,200
So you have TPU, Eva, Piva, all 
those foams. 

24
00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,080
So the recent video that we 
posted last week is what the 

25
00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,200
foam meaning what are these 
foams? 

26
00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,600
That could be interesting. 
Yeah, it's a short, quick listen

27
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,160
or view. 
So anyway, so you guys are here 

28
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,320
because you want to know how to 
get faster without killing 

29
00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,240
yourself. 
And what do we mean by that, 

30
00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,480
Ryan? 
How to optimize your training? 

31
00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,560
Yes, exactly. 
If you are like me that loves 

32
00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,920
running easy runs and longer 
runs but never really pushes 

33
00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,440
herself, the idea of trying to 
get faster sounds very daunting.

34
00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:09,280
And I recently subscribed to the
AB Runna for the London Marathon

35
00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,640
to see if I could get faster 
with it. 

36
00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:13,480
And I'm following the training 
plan. 

37
00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,960
And I think, you know, Runna is 
known to be pretty aggressive in

38
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,480
the workout it gives you. 
So I do feel like at this point 

39
00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,120
I'm almost killing myself 
because I am basically sometimes

40
00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,040
even dry heaving after my 
workouts. 

41
00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:32,880
And the idea is that maybe, 
well, for me, this is probably 

42
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:34,840
not balanced. 
I'm probably doing stuff that is

43
00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,160
too fast for me. 
And the idea is to kind of 

44
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,120
balance it, right? 
Balance is good. 

45
00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:42,720
Yes. 
We'll see if it makes you 

46
00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,120
faster. 
Exactly. 

47
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,880
So who are you talking to? 
Yeah, so our expert for today is

48
00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,840
coach Erica Weitz. 
She has been running since age 

49
00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:52,480
5. 
She's now in her 30s. 

50
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,520
So you do the math. 
She's also an elite runner and 

51
00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,000
she's competed in the Olympic 
trials before. 

52
00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,000
And so she's had a long journey 
of running, but also coaching 

53
00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,520
runners and she's really good. 
So it's kind of interesting to 

54
00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,440
get her input on how to create 
that balance, what are the 

55
00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,240
important runs to implement 
during your week and how to 

56
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,320
really make this a more pleasant
experience. 

57
00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,200
And then again, not kill 
yourself. 

58
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,320
And by not killing yourself, 
obviously we also mean do not 

59
00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,440
injure yourself, etcetera. 
I think we all run at age 5. 

60
00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,200
We all ran at age 5, but we 
didn't compete in races like she

61
00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,160
did. 
Her dad was also an elite 

62
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,400
runner. 
So so with that comes the whole 

63
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,360
OK, now she's got a race. 
So she's done races when she was

64
00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:40,880
younger as well. 
Got you. 

65
00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,440
So you want to get into it? 
Sure. 

66
00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,800
So without any further ado, 
we're not going to play our 

67
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:51,720
conversation with Erica Whites. 
All right, I'm back on with 

68
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,640
Coach Erica. 
Erica, thank you so much for 

69
00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,320
joining us again. 
Thanks so much Letty. 

70
00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,520
I always love being on your show
and talking with you. 

71
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,840
Yes, and I love having you 
because of your experience. 

72
00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,320
You're an Olympic trial runner 
and you have so much running and

73
00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,000
coaching experience. 
So with that, in your 

74
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:10,880
experience, I'm going to ask you
what is the biggest 

75
00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,280
misconception that you feel 
runners have about getting 

76
00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,760
faster? 
Oh yeah, that's a very good 

77
00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:18,920
question. 
There are a lot of 

78
00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,760
misconceptions, and I would say 
the biggest 1 is like pushing 

79
00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,040
yourself and running hard every 
day. 

80
00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,040
A lot of people think that if 
they're not completely exhausted

81
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,320
at the end of their run that it 
wasn't a good run. 

82
00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,800
And The thing is, you want to 
make sure that you're having 

83
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,320
those easy days in between your 
hard workouts. 

84
00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,800
And as a beginner, maybe 
starting off, you may only do 

85
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,680
one hard workout a week. 
And then, you know, as you 

86
00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,960
progress, maybe two, maybe 3, 
usually around that. 

87
00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,680
So The thing is you got to make 
sure that you're recovering. 

88
00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:52,240
You got to make sure that you're
running easy on your easy runs. 

89
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,280
So that way you can give it your
all on your hard runs. 

90
00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:57,360
I know I always talk about that 
and it always drives me crazy 

91
00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,920
with people that I see like 
running hard every day. 

92
00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,920
And I'm like, just just sit 
back, don't say anything. 

93
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,600
But when it comes to my 
athletes, I'm very adamant about

94
00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,400
that. 
So yeah, I've had, I've had 

95
00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,840
situations where I noticed that 
people's easy runs are too close

96
00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:14,560
to their in pace, to their like 
speed workouts or their tempo 

97
00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:15,800
runs. 
And I'm like, all right, 

98
00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,200
something needs to be changed 
here. 

99
00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,280
So yeah, there's lots of ways of
slowing yourself down and it can

100
00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:25,720
be very humbling at first, but 
then when you run fast on your 

101
00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,280
fast runs, you're going to be so
happy. 

102
00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:29,120
And then your races will show it
too. 

103
00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,240
So I'm assuming with that, that 
you've had that before where you

104
00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,240
had a runner that was 
overtraining. 

105
00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,960
So maybe you can share how that 
interaction was with that person

106
00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,200
and how it ended up helping him 
to not overtrain anymore. 

107
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,920
Yeah, yeah. 
Well, there's two different 

108
00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,480
things like overtraining, but it
could also be under recovering. 

109
00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,600
So when it comes to my athletes,
like I make sure they that we 

110
00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:56,680
set up the plan so that they're 
not overtraining. 

111
00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,120
And if they, you know, sometimes
we need to, I need to specify 

112
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,080
like how fast I want an athlete 
to run on their easy runs too. 

113
00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:09,000
And usually it's a conversation 
pace, but then there's times 

114
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,040
where you can have a 
conversation even running quick 

115
00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,640
if you're really conditioned. 
So you want to like slow 

116
00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,280
yourself down and maybe even 
take a look at the heart rate. 

117
00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:19,280
You don't want to get too 
obsessed with it, but that's a 

118
00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:23,480
good way to like kind of gauge 
where you're running and how 

119
00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,040
you, how you feel. 
And if your Garmin tells you 

120
00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,920
something, it may or may not be 
accurate depending on how new 

121
00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,680
your Garmin is. 
But you might want to try and 

122
00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:34,600
invest in like one of those 
heart straps. 

123
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,760
They go on your arm or on your 
around your chest. 

124
00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,000
And then that can sync with your
garment and it can serve as a 

125
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,760
more accurate measurement of 
your heart rate. 

126
00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:49,880
So that will help a lot. 
And sorry, the question was, Oh 

127
00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,560
yes, I did have an athlete who 
was, I have had several athletes

128
00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,760
in the past who I noticed that 
like their paces were pretty 

129
00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,880
close, like their easy run pace 
was maybe like 30 seconds 

130
00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,920
different from their tempo pace.
And so I had them run. 

131
00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,280
I think it was the 8020 rule 
that book that talks about like 

132
00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,400
80% of your runs being easy and 
20% of being fast. 

133
00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,240
And then some people say that's 
not accurate, but you know, it 

134
00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,240
is, it is pretty accurate. 
But with your speed workouts, 

135
00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,360
like it may be a little more 
than 20% if you're, if you're 

136
00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:26,040
really advanced. 
But I had this athlete read that

137
00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:27,920
book just as like extra 
reinforcement. 

138
00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,360
So she was hearing it from me 
and she was also like reading a 

139
00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:32,400
book. 
So I was like hearing it from 

140
00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,400
two different sources. 
It kind of sinks in more. 

141
00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,720
So she started taking it like 
much easier on her easy runs, 

142
00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,480
like running maybe a minute and 
a half to two minutes slower 

143
00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:42,960
than she was before. 
And then of course, sure enough,

144
00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,760
her tempo runs got like a half, 
half a minute to about a minute 

145
00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,360
faster overall. 
So that was a big difference. 

146
00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,160
And then her races started 
showing up way faster too. 

147
00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,280
And like PR after PR, and that 
doesn't always happen, but in 

148
00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,840
the beginning it can. 
And then sometimes we plateau a 

149
00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:01,560
little bit. 
That's normal. 

150
00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,560
So it's really important to like
take recovery weeks too. 

151
00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,680
Another big myth I want to 
mention is some people just keep

152
00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,600
building, building, building and
they never take recovery weeks. 

153
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:14,160
And that's like so, so 
important. 

154
00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,200
So like your training is usually
broken up into like phases and 

155
00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,600
usually that's like three-week 
blocks at a time. 

156
00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,320
And then at usually after that 
three-week block and it could be

157
00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,680
two weeks, it could be 3 1/2 
depending on the athlete. 

158
00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,400
But after that block usually 
have like a recovery week. 

159
00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,919
And I know for me, because I 
have a coach too, even coaches 

160
00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:36,640
need coaches. 
My coach has me go really I'm 

161
00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,480
pretty, pretty intense build up 
on that three-week build and 

162
00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,880
then on the recovery week it's 
very, very down. 

163
00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,840
So like I'm on my recovery week 
now I have extra energy, I'm 

164
00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,720
feeling good and I feel like I 
need this recovery week because 

165
00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,640
those three weeks were like they
were intense. 

166
00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:58,600
And so like I might have two or 
three days off of my recovery 

167
00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,600
week, but then on those 
three-week builds, I may not 

168
00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,880
take any days off. 
So usually with my athletes, I 

169
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,080
always have them take like a day
off a week usually. 

170
00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,760
And a lot of people don't like 
to do that, but I'll have them 

171
00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,480
like cross train on that day off
if they don't want to, If they 

172
00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:13,320
want to do something, they're 
like, I can't take a day off. 

173
00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,960
Like yes, you can just do 
elliptical, cycling, awkward 

174
00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,400
jogging, anything but running. 
But then a lot of people enjoy 

175
00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,800
that day off. 
So the day off's important, but 

176
00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,760
then the recovery weeks are 
really important too because it 

177
00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,640
gives your body like that full 
week to, you know, repair those 

178
00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:33,200
muscles and all those and just 
like kind of relax mentally and 

179
00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,200
physically. 
So that helps your overall 

180
00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:36,360
training. 
So then when you get to that 

181
00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,840
next three-week block after the 
recovery week, you're ready to 

182
00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,120
build up and you can run 
stronger than ever. 

183
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,280
I love it and I love it that you
are still training super hard 

184
00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,240
too because then your athletes 
can also look up to you and see 

185
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,240
you as a role model and see how 
easy you take your recovery 

186
00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,120
weeks versus your build out 
weeks. 

187
00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,200
So with that, it looks like a 
good balance plan has this 

188
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,920
intensity of recovery 
consistency. 

189
00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,760
And then obviously you know 
you're known for strengths and 

190
00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,120
flexibility, so maybe we can 
talk about consistency a little 

191
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:09,040
bit. 
What are your top tips for 

192
00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,440
helping runners staying 
consistent even when they're 

193
00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,680
busy? 
Oh yeah. 

194
00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,480
So I always say like from the 
beginning, start with your why, 

195
00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:23,160
so know like why you want to run
and like what your biggest goal 

196
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:27,320
is and always have that goal in 
mind knowing that you have this 

197
00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:28,800
goal there. 
You're going to wake up. 

198
00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:30,080
Some days you're going to be so 
excited. 

199
00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,960
I can't wait to run and I'm 
going to go crush this workout 

200
00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:34,680
so I can, you know, get closer 
to my goal. 

201
00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:36,520
And then there's going to be 
days when you wake up and you're

202
00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,000
like, I just don't want to run 
today. 

203
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,720
I don't feel like it. 
I have so much other stuff to 

204
00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,520
do. 
I'm tired, I want to sleep. 

205
00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,400
But then you think about that 
goal and you're like, I'm just 

206
00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,160
going to go do it, you know, And
not every runs going to be like 

207
00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:50,200
your best run ever. 
But if you go out there with 

208
00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,320
that goal in mind, you're going 
to get it done. 

209
00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:55,520
And then I always tell people 
like for me, anytime I don't 

210
00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,520
want to do a workout and there's
times when I don't feel like 

211
00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,720
running 2, which is crazy people
think, but it's true. 

212
00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,440
I don't always want, I'm not 
always excited about it, but I 

213
00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,240
think like, hey, I got this 
goal. 

214
00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,600
I I'm going to reach it. 
I want to reach it. 

215
00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,840
The only way to do is if I get 
this done, so then I get it in 

216
00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:14,880
like an example is that I was, 
it was pouring rain the other 

217
00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:17,880
night and this was a couple 
weeks back when it was like we 

218
00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,240
had a cold front in Florida, but
it actually was cold. 

219
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,120
It was cold, it was raining. 
The track that we have locally 

220
00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,960
doesn't have lights on it. 
The track is not a rubber track 

221
00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,480
either. 
It's like a hard paved track. 

222
00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:33,280
There were actually a couple 
people out on the track, which 

223
00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,840
was crazy, but most of my 
friends that I saw, they were 

224
00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:37,720
like, oh, I don't want to do the
workout today. 

225
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,360
Like, or I thought I was going 
to run with a bunch of people 

226
00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:41,760
and they were like, we're just 
running easy. 

227
00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:42,880
We don't want to run in this 
weather. 

228
00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,600
And I was like, I'm doing this 
workout no matter what. 

229
00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,920
And maybe some of the paces were
like a little bit slower, but I 

230
00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:52,040
was running through puddles. 
I was, it was pouring rain. 

231
00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,400
It was cold and I just took my 
jacket off because it was soaked

232
00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,200
and just ran in my crop top and 
shorts because I just had to do 

233
00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,200
it. 
But, you know, it wasn't a fun 

234
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,040
experience. 
Like it was OK in the middle to 

235
00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,520
end, but like in the beginning, 
you know, you're cold or rainy, 

236
00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,400
wet. 
But I was just thought about. 

237
00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,840
All I was thinking was Boston. 
I'm going to get this fast time 

238
00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,120
at the Boston Marathon. 
I'm going to have a breakthrough

239
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:15,440
race. 
And this is going to help me get

240
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,880
there. 
And that's why you're an elite. 

241
00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,680
And you know, it's so funny that
you say that because my one 

242
00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:23,880
question that I asked all the 
athletes, as you know, I was in 

243
00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,440
Kenya for for a run camp with 
the fastest marathoners in the 

244
00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:29,440
world. 
The one question I asked each 

245
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,600
one of them was what do you do 
when you don't want to do a 

246
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,640
workout? 
And every single one of them 

247
00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,800
looked at me very bewilderedly 
and said, what do you mean? 

248
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,840
And I explained, well, what if 
you are tired? 

249
00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,440
And they just said this is the 
distance you're going to 

250
00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,280
complete, so you're just going 
to do it. 

251
00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,360
So I guess that's why your 
mindset is already stronger. 

252
00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:52,520
So thank you for reinforcing 
that. 

253
00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:55,360
I'm sorry, I was gonna say it 
makes you stronger too. 

254
00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:59,360
Like every time you push through
that difficult scenario, like 

255
00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,240
you're able to push through pain
more efficiently and you're able

256
00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,640
to get through it and it doesn't
feel as bad really. 

257
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,840
Yes. 
And then when you go to Boston 

258
00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,840
and it is a tough time, then you
remember all the hard things 

259
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:16,240
that you did for this, for this 
particular race, and then I'm 

260
00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:18,440
sure that'll help you to power 
through it. 

261
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,000
Exactly. 
Yeah, and the faster you run, 

262
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:26,160
the faster you're done. 
I have that it yet has to help 

263
00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:31,400
me though. 
So anyway, let's talk about some

264
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,560
more about the science behind 
easy running. 

265
00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,200
What about these easy runs? 
Why do they help us so much? 

266
00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,280
Oh yeah, so the easy runs help 
to build your cardiovascular 

267
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:48,800
endurance and help to build your
fitness and takes less stress 

268
00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,800
off your body too. 
So you're able to get like that 

269
00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,120
good cardio build without 
worrying about like tiring your 

270
00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,960
legs out. 
Also that movement, that gentle 

271
00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,840
movement will help you to 
recover from a previous workout,

272
00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,080
help you to feel better. 
You can almost think of it as 

273
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,880
like, as like a recovery one of 
your recovery tools, like, you 

274
00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:10,920
know, an easy run can serve as a
good recovery tool because 

275
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,400
you're like spinning out your 
legs instead of like, you know, 

276
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,920
if your take off the day after a
hard workout, sometimes your 

277
00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,440
legs get really stiff if you're 
not like moving them as much. 

278
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,400
So you want to make sure that 
you're, you know, you're 

279
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,640
spinning out those legs, you're 
you're shaking out the cobwebs, 

280
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,040
they say. 
And that way it helps you 

281
00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,880
recover from the the previous 
run and also helps you to adapt 

282
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,440
too. 
So as long, you know, staying 

283
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,600
consistent with your running and
keeping up those easy runs in 

284
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,800
between your hard workouts, and 
that's going to help you to 

285
00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,120
become a better runner overall 
on your legs and your body and 

286
00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,040
your mind and get used to it. 
And yeah, it's also a good way 

287
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,720
to clear your mind. 
And you know, if if you start 

288
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,600
thinking about some things or 
listening to music or podcasts 

289
00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,640
or audible or anything, you can 
always like just kind of zone 

290
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,280
out and get that easy run in. 
Perfect. 

291
00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,640
OK, so let's talk about the flip
side of that. 

292
00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,120
Let's talk about the hard stuff,
the intervals. 

293
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,480
What are some common mistakes 
that runners make while they're 

294
00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:12,320
doing their intervals, and how 
can they avoid them? 

295
00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,080
Yeah, definitely. 
I think the most common would be

296
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,400
like going out too fast in the 
first interval because we always

297
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:21,560
feel good in the beginning. 
And a lot of people do that in 

298
00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:23,800
races too. 
And then, you know, they end up 

299
00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:25,600
burning out. 
I used to be one of those people

300
00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,640
in high school as a front 
runner, Like I'd get so excited 

301
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,560
and go out really quick in the 
first lap and then I might get 

302
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,120
past. 
And it took a really long time 

303
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,600
to like, be able to like stay 
patient in the beginning because

304
00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,400
because of the adrenaline of the
race, your body is always going 

305
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,840
to feel really good in the 
beginning and you're not tired 

306
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:45,120
yet because you haven't run as 
much. 

307
00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:47,760
But then that pace doesn't feel 
so great after a while. 

308
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,000
So you got to really know where 
you're at when it comes to 

309
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,880
workouts. 
So usually when I give athletes 

310
00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,480
a workout in the beginning, I'll
usually start them with 

311
00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,800
something like short, some short
intervals and kind of gauge how 

312
00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,440
they do. 
But it's hard to set a pace when

313
00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,880
you don't really when an athlete
maybe doesn't have like a race 

314
00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,920
time to go by or like maybe if 
they did did run a race 

315
00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,040
recently, I'll try to use that 
previous race kind of as a 

316
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,240
gauge, but give them a range of 
times to hit. 

317
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:18,160
So I'll always instruct them to 
like go out on the easier end of

318
00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:20,800
that range, at least for the 
first one or two reps and see 

319
00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,960
how they feel. 
And then if that feels like 

320
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,600
pretty challenging, maybe stick 
to that easier end of the range.

321
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,040
But if it feels like, oh, they 
could push themself a little bit

322
00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:30,960
more than maybe towards that 
middle to end of the workout, 

323
00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,600
maybe aim for that like middle 
to fast part of that range. 

324
00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,360
And then that helps them to not 
go out too quick. 

325
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:43,160
Another thing is like there's 
certain runs, interval runs 

326
00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,760
where you're going to walk in 
between or maybe you're going to

327
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,720
stand in between, but then 
there's others where you're 

328
00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,160
going to jog in between. 
It depends on what kind of 

329
00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,720
workout you're doing. 
But most of the workouts that I 

330
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:56,160
have my athletes do, you're 
jogging in between, whether it's

331
00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,200
like 5K through a marathon, 
unless it's like, let's say 

332
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,720
you're doing strides or maybe 
it's a Vita 2 Max workout where 

333
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,960
you're really pushing. 
Then we'll have like a full 

334
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,040
recovery in between. 
But most of like the intervals 

335
00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,319
or the tempo, like tempo, broken
tempos, you're going to jog in 

336
00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:13,520
between because the jog makes 
you stronger and the run makes 

337
00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,280
you faster. 
And you got to be fast and 

338
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,760
strong to be a fast 5K through 
marathoner. 

339
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,119
So, so that's a really good, a 
good thing. 

340
00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:23,960
Yeah. 
You got to make sure that making

341
00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,880
sure that you go out at a 
comfortable pace, comfortably 

342
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,680
quick, I would say. 
And then, you know, pick it up 

343
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,480
as you feel good. 
And you as an elite runners, how

344
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,120
good are you at this point at 
doing those? 

345
00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:43,600
For example, Yasso 810 * 800, 
how good are you at gauging the 

346
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,520
speed? 
So that way I know that the goal

347
00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,640
is always to do the last ones 
finish faster than the beginning

348
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,320
ones. 
How good are you at gauging 

349
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,520
yourself at this point and what 
are some tips for that? 

350
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:57,920
Oh yeah. 
Well, I would say like I have a 

351
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,560
lot of experience with training 
and, but I'm not always at the 

352
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,520
same level of fitness as I, you 
know, sometimes it changes like 

353
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,600
if you come back from a break 
or, or maybe you're in your peak

354
00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,080
fitness and your best. 
I would say that's a tough one, 

355
00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:18,480
but I do like to keep my watch 
beeping every half mile. 

356
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,160
So like if I'm doing like longer
intervals, at least know where 

357
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:23,160
I'm at for that half mile if I 
need to pick it up or slow it 

358
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,360
down for the second-half. 
I noticed recently in myself 

359
00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:28,720
that I have been going out a 
little too fast in the first 

360
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:30,880
Rep. 
So if I have training partners 

361
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,360
that I'm running with, because I
I'm like aggressive, I want to 

362
00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:37,120
get after this workout, but I 
want to make sure that I can 

363
00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:38,880
sustain the pace throughout the 
workout. 

364
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,760
So yeah, if I have training 
partners, like I'll say, hey, 

365
00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,200
you lead the first and second 
one because that way I won't go 

366
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,680
out too fast. 
Like you can maybe try to slow 

367
00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,000
us down. 
And then I don't want to ruin 

368
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,280
the workout for other people 
too. 

369
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:55,680
So yeah, just like kind of 
relaxing in the beginning is 

370
00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:58,560
always helpful and it's good 
because the first Rep shouldn't 

371
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,880
feel like insanely hard if 
you're going to have like 15 

372
00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,800
reps or something. 
And then yeah, most of the runs 

373
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,200
that I do, most of the runs that
I've been doing recently, like 

374
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,320
the last, usually I'll keep a 
consistent pace throughout. 

375
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:15,720
But a lot of times I really do 
like to challenge myself and see

376
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,760
like maybe I can go faster on 
this last Rep. 

377
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,640
So the best way to do that is 
just like, you know, consciously

378
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,000
telling yourself to relax 
throughout the Rep. 

379
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,360
And yeah, when you tell yourself
things like your body will 

380
00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:30,240
actually listen to that 
sometimes. 

381
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,320
So yeah, so try doing that. 
Like if you tell yourself to 

382
00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,160
relax your shoulders or those 
little reminders you can give 

383
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,480
yourself that will help you to 
run a successful workout and not

384
00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,240
go out too fast. 
Perfect. 

385
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,560
Erica, thank you so much. 
We've learned so much about 

386
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,040
consistency, recovery, and the 
importance of easy runs. 

387
00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,480
If people want to reach you, how
can they best find you? 

388
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,680
Yeah, definitely. 
They can find me through 

389
00:19:53,680 --> 00:20:00,080
Instagram at at Erica Whites 
runs and that's ERICAWEITZ and 

390
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,360
runs RUNS, but they can check 
out my website at 

391
00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:08,040
exclusiveendurance.com. 
And yes, you can send me an 

392
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,240
e-mail at Erica at 
exclusiveendurance.com and would

393
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,320
love to hear from you. 
Perfect. 

394
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,000
And we will link everything in 
the show notes. 

395
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,520
Thank you so much. 
Thanks Bloody. 

396
00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,520
Thank you so much, Erica, for 
coming on and speaking with us. 

397
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:28,080
As always, you've provided us 
with a ton of information, tips 

398
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:29,680
that we can implement in our own
running. 

399
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,920
And you listeners, like I said, 
if you want to learn more about 

400
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,840
Erica or consider coaching with 
her, of course, we're going to 

401
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,880
link her in our show notes as 
well. 

402
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,480
Always good to catch up with 
Erica. 

403
00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:43,320
Yes, it is. 
And she's running Boston this 

404
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:48,160
year, so hopefully we can see if
she can once again qualify for 

405
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,960
the Olympic Trials or if she'll 
do it later in the year. 

406
00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,000
We'll see. 
We'll see how how she'll do. 

407
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,920
Sounds good. 
All right, so then that 

408
00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:58,600
concludes our episode of this 
week. 

409
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,200
Stay tuned for next week. 
Next week we will hopefully have

410
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,040
another interview with a run 
coach, and that's gonna be all 

411
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,920
about imposter syndrome. 
Ryan, have you heard of imposter

412
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,920
syndrome? 
Yes, you talk about it all the 

413
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,160
time. 
Oh, I mean, I do struggle with 

414
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,840
that my whole life I guess. 
You say it a lot. 

415
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,520
I do. 
Well, I feel like an imposter. 

416
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,960
I'm a lawyer, but then I feel 
like someone's going to find out

417
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,200
I'm not a real lawyer even 
though I am a lawyer. 

418
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,520
Like when I passed the bar, I 
passed it in California on the 

419
00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:34,560
first try, which is great, but I
felt like I had cheated the 

420
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,160
system and I don't know why I 
feel like I cheat the system all

421
00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,440
the time. 
Like even when I ran my fastest 

422
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,200
marathon felt like I was 
cheating the system. 

423
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,960
When I had my children and I 
went through childbirth, I felt 

424
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,080
like I had cheated the system 
and I hadn't really birthed 

425
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,680
them. 
I don't know why I have such 

426
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:55,280
strong imposter syndrome 
feelings, but I guess can't. 

427
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,640
I can Google that until next 
week and then I'll tell you guys

428
00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,680
about what we why we figured 
out. 

429
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,640
Maybe there was something 
traumatizing that happened in my

430
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:03,880
childhood. 
That's what I was thinking. 

431
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:11,040
Really. 
I don't know, I mean maybe sense

432
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:13,360
of inacquacy or something. 
What's inacquacy? 

433
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,120
Inadequacy. 
Oh. 

434
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,640
Oh, oh, no, you make me feel 
like I'm not enough. 

435
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,920
All right, so I'm gonna go cry 
myself to sleep. 

436
00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:26,320
And with that. 
Have a good week of running. 

437
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,960
Thanks for tuning in. 
For more information and 

438
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:35,880
marathon running news, please 
head to 

439
00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:41,200
www.marathonrunningpodcast.com 
and we'll be back next week.

