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This episode of The Doctors of 
Running podcasts is sponsored by

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runcare.org. 
Created by physicians, 

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therapists, and trainers, 
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have providers in all 50 states.
If you're a doctor or physical 

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Visit runcare.org today to learn
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to 
the Doctors of Running podcast, 

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where we, a group of doctors at 
physical Therapy, discuss the 

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art and the science of the stuff
that we're putting on our feet. 

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I'm Andrea Myers, and today 
Megan Flynn is joining me. 

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Hey, Megan. 
Hi, how are you? 

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Good. 
How are you doing? 

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Good. 
Good. 

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Thanks. 
And today's episode is all about

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coaching. 
Megan and I are both run, and 

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I'm a bike coach too, and we 
thought that it would be a 

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timely episode to talk about who
might benefit from a coach, 

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different types of coaching, and
just all the things that coaches

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can help with. 
And also, who maybe doesn't need

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a coach? 
So first let's get into our 

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subjective. 
And the subjective for today is 

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do you use a coach for your 
training? 

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So Megan, I I know the answer, 
but do you have a coach for your

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training? 
So yes, I do. 

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I have a coach for, so I have a 
run coach and then right now I 

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actually just hired A triathlon 
coach starting to switch over to

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triathlon. 
But I have tried to coach myself

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in the past and it's just it's 
tough to do. 

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No matter like how how many 
people you coach outside of 

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yourself. 
I think it's a tough thing to 

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do. 
What about you? 

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Yeah, I have a run coach. 
When I was bike racing, I had, 

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you know, outside coaches. 
My husband coached me for a 

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while. 
But then most of my racing 

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career, I actually coached 
myself. 

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Like, I kind of got to the point
where I knew what I needed to do

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at different parts in the season
or what I needed to do to get 

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ready for a particular race. 
So when I transitioned over to 

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running a few years ago, I tried
coaching myself, but I just 

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realized I had too many blind 
spots with running. 

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You know, I hadn't trained 
seriously and running since 

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college, basically. 
So, and it definitely has helped

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me, having an outside coach who 
just takes that mental burden 

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off and my coach tells me what 
to do and hopefully I can do it.

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Yep. 
Yeah, that's so true. 

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Always. 
Like I've noticed for myself, 

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and you're probably the same way
that I'll always like, I'll 

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write my plans for all the 
people I coach and then I'm 

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going to put myself probably 
last and then be like, Oh my 

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God, what am I supposed to do 
today? 

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What should I do? 
What makes sense? 

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And then it never, It's never 
the best decision like to just 

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kind of figure it out as the day
comes. 

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Unless, of course you're like, I
don't know. 

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According to Walter, I guess 
does that, but that works for 

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her for sure. 
Yeah, I think, I think it when 

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you're self coaching, it's too 
easy to get swayed by like how 

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you feel in the moment or how 
you feel that day. 

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I mean, I know like in the 
middle of marathon training, a 

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lot of my workouts, I definitely
wouldn't pick for myself just 

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based on how tired I am. 
But that's the point of marathon

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training is training when you're
tired. 

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So yeah, it's. 
I absolutely have benefited from

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having a coach in my little 
running comeback here. 

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But that's what we're going to 
talk about today is just all of 

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the things about coaching, some 
of the things that we've learned

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over the years, both as athletes
and as coaches. 

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So just so our listeners know, 
Megan, what type of coaching do 

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you do? 
So I do. 

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I coach athletes post 
collegiately from the mile up to

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the marathon. 
Outside of that I also coach at 

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the high school level. 
So training from I focus on 

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distance events, so usually mid 
distance to distance so 800 up 

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to the 3200 and then for cross 
country focusing on the 5K there

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for New Jersey cross country. 
And your team had a pretty 

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successful year last year, Ryan.
Yes, we did. 

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Yeah, as a team, the the track 
team tied to win the sectional 

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title for Group 3 N 2, if that 
means anything to any New Jersey

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people out there. 
But yeah, and then this past 

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cross country season, we made it
to groups for the first time in 

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a few years. 
So I'm looking forward to her 

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getting started in a little over
a month for the spring season. 

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That's awesome. 
Well, good luck in the track 

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season this year. 
We'll have to look out for your 

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results. 
Thank you. 

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All right. 
So first, I think the biggest 

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question that we should address 
first is just who might benefit 

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from a coach. 
And actually the idea for this 

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episode, Megan, came from an 
Instagram post that you had, I 

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think a week or two ago. 
So talk a little bit about what 

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you posted. 
I Of course we'll talk about the

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different types of coaching or 
ways to be coached, but in from 

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your perspective, the type of, 
let's just say, runners who 

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would benefit from a coach, What
would you say about that? 

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So there are. 
So we put out the post through 

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Cadence or my physical therapy 
clinic. 

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But so the self coaching option 
definitely works for some 

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people. 
It's like for people that have 

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either been in the sport for a 
while, really don't really have 

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like goals accepted to like 
start moving or just like kind 

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of exercise, just get into a 
routine. 

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But yeah, so going back to like 
people that have been in the 

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sport for a while, they know how
to race, they know their bodies,

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they know what they need to do 
and they have no problem like 

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writing their plan, executing it
and kind of going with emotions 

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there. 
Now the problem that happens 

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there, like if somebody's doing 
that for a while is that 

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sometimes they might hit a 
plateau. 

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So you might have been, you 
might be in the sport for like 

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1520 years, maybe more, and you 
just can't seem to break that 

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next barrier. 
So that's when I think it's 

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appropriate for somebody to 
start looking for that 

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one-on-one coaching. 
So that could be in a number of 

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different ways. 
One being just a cookie cutter 

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plan like here's your plan from 
a coach after like talking to 

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them. 
Maybe not cookie cutter, it's 

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not not the best word but here's
your plan. 

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Go execute it like we'll talk 
before the race. 

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Come up with racing strategies. 
I'm here if you need, but your 

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job is just execute this like 
3-4 month plan. 

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Then there's also another tier 
that we decided to offer that's 

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more of like a fluid plan. 
So this is, this is one that 

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most of most of my clients do 
this one. 

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So it's like that weekly 
communication, it's it's 100% 

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custom like individualized. 
And I think this one is probably

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the most effective for reaching 
those goals and getting past 

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like a plateau for a number of 
different reasons. 

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One, you have somebody holding 
you accountable. 

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Like you have somebody that's 
checking your workouts every 

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day. 
Are you doing your easy runs? 

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Are you doing your strides? 
Are you doing your long runs, 

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tempos, all of that? 
You have somebody to bounce 

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ideas off of. 
So if you're not feeling great 

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or if you want to try something 
new, OK, you have a coach that's

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supposed to or that should have 
that expert knowledge that can 

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at least like kind of guide you 
in the right direction but also 

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be there on the good days and 
the bad days. 

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So if you have a bad workout, 
which is going to happen, you 

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have somebody that you can reach
out to and just kind of like 

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reflect on it, focus on the 
takeaways. 

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But yeah, so I think the 
one-on-one coaching and somebody

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that hires a coach is looking to
reach like a next level or 

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looking to like better organize 
their time efficiency and just 

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accountability. 
Yeah, I think that's a big thing

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that maybe people don't realize 
that coaches do. 

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Like a lot of people think 
coaching is just about the 

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training plan. 
But a lot of coaching is not 

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about the training plan. 
It's helping you figure out how 

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to balance training with your 
life. 

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Or like, what should you do with
your training if you get a cold 

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or if you get COVID? 
What should you do if you get 

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injured? 
What should you do if you didn't

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sleep the past three nights 
because you know your dog or 

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your kid is sick? 
We tend to make bad decisions on

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our own in those situations. 
I know I sometimes certainly do.

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So it helps to have that like 
objective outside person who 

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knows you, who knows your goals,
saying OK, this is what you need

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to do given these circumstances.
This is how we're going to 

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adjust your training to keep you
on track for your goals without 

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you trying to do a workout when 
you're sick or trying to push 

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through after three nights of no
sleep. 

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So coaching, It's not just about
the training plan. 

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It's about a lot more than that.
Right. 

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And it's so much better having 
someone. 

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So I've definitely been there 
too, like being sick. 

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I mean, like, am I just, like, 
skipping this workout, blah, 

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blah, blah and like, having 
somebody else, like an outsider,

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be like, no. 
Like, this isn't going to derail

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your training. 
If anything, like, if you try to

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push through this injury, this 
sickness illness, it's actually 

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going to put you back even more 
than if you just take like, the 

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day or two, let your body catch 
up. 

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And like, just having somebody 
else say that to you is 

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sometimes enough to be like, Oh 
yeah, that's obvious. 

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Absolutely. 
Like when I was bike racing 

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professionally, like of course 
the focus is a little different.

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And I mean, I raced through 
being sick. 

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I raced when I was injured, like
I did a lot of things that you 

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did because of the level of the 
sport that, but they were 

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definitely not like the best 
choice for your body. 

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And a couple of years ago, you 
know, I was training for a 

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marathon and I got, you know, 
cold. 

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And I texted my coach to say 
like, hey, what should I do? 

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And he said your health is the 
number one priority and always 

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is. 
And it was such a simple 

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statement. 
But like, compared to what I did

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in my cycling career, that was 
not always the truth. 

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Like, I often put my health 
second to racing. 

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But like, just having him say 
that to me was like, yeah, what 

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am I? 
Why am I being stupid? 

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Why would I try to do a workout 
when I have a cold? 

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It's just going to make it last 
longer and it's going to set me 

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back even more. 
But like, that one statement was

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worth, like all of the money 
that I paid for the coaching, 

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you know? 
Yeah. 

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And honestly, that's like, yeah,
that's part of being a coach, 

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Like being able to like, rein 
you in, then help you see big 

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picture, like the important 
things. 

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Yes. 
So is there anyone who, in your 

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opinion, doesn't need a coach? 
I'd say somebody that's just 

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looking for, like I could, I 
could argue this too. 

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But somebody that's just looking
for, like, just fitness goals, 

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like just wants to get out the 
door three days a week, 20 to 30

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minute runs. 
Like, sure, like that. 

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Like as long as you're like 
following a routine, you're not 

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like like jumping way up in 
mileage one week or like 

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overdoing it and coming back 
down the next week. 

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But yeah, I think if if 
somebody's just looking to like 

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get in shape, maybe just get 
started with running, that could

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be, that would be appropriate. 
Yeah, What about? 

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You. 
Yeah, like if they found like a 

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coach to 5K program and followed
it because of course, like, if 

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you're new, it's really easy to 
make mistakes because because 

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you don't know what running is 
supposed to feel like. 

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A lot of new runners tend to run
way too fast. 

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That's how a lot of people end 
up hating running is because 

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they're running way too hard. 
Like they're running at, like 

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what is their race pace every 
day? 

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I I was just going to hear that.
So this one friend that I've 

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been trying to get them into 
running for so long and then 

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they told me the one day they're
like, I just, I go out and run 

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as hard as I can and I just 
can't get past 3 miles. 

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It's like that's not how you're 
supposed to do it. 

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00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,560
Yeah, no wonder you hate it. 
If I had to race every single 

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day, yeah, I'd probably start 
feeling a little burnt down. 

239
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,280
Yeah, for sure. 
It's like, why don't you take it

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like back a little bit, maybe 
like a minute, a mile, and now 

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they're up to like 5 miles. 
They're running consistently. 

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Starting to get into it, but. 
That's awesome. 

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I think the other type of person
who maybe doesn't need a coach 

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is someone who like, really is 
curious, is willing to read like

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00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,840
a few, like self coaching books 
to like figure out how to train 

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themselves. 
But I think that kind of takes a

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special person to be one. 
Like in tune enough with 

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yourself to know if you're 
overdoing it, if you're under 

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doing it, if you have to make 
adjustments. 

250
00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,400
But I think for a lot of people,
coaching yourself can be a lot 

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00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,160
of fun because you're basically 
running an experiment on you. 

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00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,280
And you know, if you're willing 
to take some risks and you're 

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not like training for a huge 
goal event, then it's fun to 

254
00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:07,000
see, OK, well what happens if I 
try like this type of workout or

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00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:12,880
what happens if I start adding 
like one AA weekend and just see

256
00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:18,400
seeing how your body responds. 
So, but I do think that it takes

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00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,800
a special person to be self 
coached. 

258
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,280
Yeah, like, really do your do 
your homework, do your research,

259
00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,240
use resources. 
Yeah. 

260
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:32,080
Yeah, so there's so many 
different ways to get coaching 

261
00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,360
these days, especially with the 
technology. 

262
00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,000
So of course the type of 
coaching you and I are talking 

263
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,520
about is either in person 
coaching like what you do with 

264
00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:45,440
your high schoolers, or online 
coaching, which is what I mostly

265
00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,760
do with my clients, although I 
do get to run or ride with them 

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00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:50,640
occasionally if they live 
nearby. 

267
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:56,000
But there's other types of 
coaching where, like, you maybe 

268
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,720
aren't interacting with a human 
at all. 

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00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:02,400
Like, you can go on training 
peaks or other platforms and 

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00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:04,840
just buy a training plan that a 
coach wrote. 

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00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,560
Now there's AI coaching 
platforms that will modify a 

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00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,560
training plan based on how you 
respond to it. 

273
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,160
So what do you think about 
those, Megan? 

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00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:20,640
And have you seen anybody have, 
like, success with those? 

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00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:25,720
Like just, you know, plug and 
chug training plans or the AI 

276
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:27,720
ones? 
I have had people have some 

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00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,520
success with just like the 
cookie cutter training plans. 

278
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:36,040
But like that being said, 
everybody's different and of 

279
00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:40,560
course there's like this plan is
going to work for somebody. 

280
00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,560
Like that's why it was created 
at work to help somebody achieve

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00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,720
their goal. 
So I think that can kind of like

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00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,840
fall under the same thing as 
like almost self coaching where 

283
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:52,960
you're following a cookie cutter
plan. 

284
00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:56,640
If it works, awesome. 
If not, OK, you experimented, 

285
00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,240
you tried, you know this 
approach doesn't work, Try 

286
00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,520
another one. 
And then the AI ones, I haven't 

287
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:05,960
had too much experience with 
them. 

288
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,600
I know, like you can put in like
all your data and it collects 

289
00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,080
everything. 
But again, you're not getting 

290
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:18,640
that like feedback that you 
would get from like a human 

291
00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:19,400
coach. 
I guess. 

292
00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,560
Like you're you're not getting 
like, oh that work out, Like how

293
00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:25,520
did it feel? 
What was like your effort? 

294
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,960
What like what do you think? 
I don't know. 

295
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,200
And then like talking about 
other things like nutrition and 

296
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:33,800
race strategies. 
I don't know if do you get all 

297
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:38,400
that with the AI. 
Well, I one, I haven't tested 

298
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,920
out an AI coaching platform. 
I think it would be very 

299
00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,760
entertaining, but just think 
about some of the responses that

300
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,280
you get from AI, like when Bach 
had AI right. 

301
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,120
I think like a Nike Pegasus shoe
review. 

302
00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,400
It got some things right, but 
then some things were like way 

303
00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,920
out of left field. 
So, and I mean that's one thing 

304
00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,120
for it to get like a shoe review
wrong. 

305
00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,040
Like, people probably aren't 
getting hurt from that, but if 

306
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,680
you get a coaching plan wrong, 
you potentially could get hurt 

307
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:11,960
from that. 
So I think that AI has enormous 

308
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,560
potential, but I just don't 
think that the algorithms are 

309
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:21,240
there yet for it to be anywhere 
close to that of a like a good 

310
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,240
human coach. 
But who knows? 

311
00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:30,440
I mean, maybe someday they will 
be better, but I certainly 

312
00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,920
wouldn't choose an AI program 
over a, you know, experienced 

313
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,600
human. 
Plus, like like talking like 

314
00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:43,680
race strategies and everything, 
like if we if one of us has run 

315
00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,640
the course or by the course, 
we're going to be able to break 

316
00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:51,880
it down so much better and in 
more detail than AI in my 

317
00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:52,600
opinion. 
I don't know. 

318
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,880
Like I said, I haven't really 
used it that like I haven't used

319
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,560
it at all for coaching plans or 
anything, but I know it's out 

320
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:00,520
there. 
But right, they're just. 

321
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,360
I don't know. 
It's just pulling data from the 

322
00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,240
Internet, right? 
So like, think about, like you 

323
00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,000
and I both were in Philly last 
year. 

324
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:13,640
We both read like very divergent
opinions on like how hilly the 

325
00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,040
course was. 
So, like, if AI just pulled 

326
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,800
other people's reviews of the 
course, like, what would it tell

327
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,680
you? 
Yeah. 

328
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:28,480
It's also probably. 
Perspective, right? 

329
00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:33,600
Yes. 
Another thing I would say about 

330
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,600
like those kind of cookie cutter
training plans is yeah, they can

331
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,520
be very beneficial for some 
people, but I think people 

332
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,800
should feel free to modify them 
to make them fit your life. 

333
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,440
Like just because the cookie 
cutter plan you bought has like 

334
00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,720
the long run on Saturday doesn't
mean your long run has to be on 

335
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:54,880
Saturday. 
Like move it to Sunday or move 

336
00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,040
it to Friday or whatever day 
works better for you. 

337
00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:03,000
You might be someone who needs 
two days off of running and the 

338
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,240
plan you bought maybe only has 
one. 

339
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:09,000
Well that's OK. 
Take one of the easy run days 

340
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,640
and turn it into either another 
day off or like a easy cross 

341
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,360
training day. 
So those pre written plans can 

342
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:22,600
be like kind of makes like a 
good framework for like a plan 

343
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:27,360
you can personalize for you. 
But I think you do have to one 

344
00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:31,080
know a little bit about what 
works well for you and also be 

345
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:36,120
willing to not take the plan as 
like gospel like OK, this was 

346
00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:39,560
not written specifically for me.
I'm going to change it so it 

347
00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,720
fits better with my life, or I'm
going to change it so it fits 

348
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,360
better with like the training 
that works better for me. 

349
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:51,000
I agree with that 100%. 
Like no training plan, no matter

350
00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,520
if it's a cookie cutter plan, if
it's coming from somebody, like 

351
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,520
one-on-one should never be like 
a concrete. 

352
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,040
This is what it is. 
No flexibility at all. 

353
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,920
As things come up, work, things 
happen, life things happen, you 

354
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,520
get sick. 
Like it has to be. 

355
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:11,360
Yeah, it has to be flexible. 
Right. 

356
00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,600
And yeah, and be flexible with 
yourself too is key. 

357
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,160
So now let's talk about one of 
the most popular types of 

358
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,280
coaching, which is doing 
whatever your friend is doing. 

359
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:31,040
I've actually had coaching 
clients ask me if I will coach 

360
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:36,080
them and then can their friend 
also just do the same workouts? 

361
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:42,320
And my answer is always no, 
because I don't know anything 

362
00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,800
about your friend. 
Like, does your friend have the 

363
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,920
exact same life that you do and 
the same like, physiological 

364
00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,400
parameters that you do? 
Probably not. 

365
00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:57,720
But Even so, if your friend has 
a coach, or if your friend 

366
00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,080
bought a training plan for the 
New York Marathon or whatever, 

367
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:05,080
that doesn't mean that you 
should do exactly what your 

368
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,880
friend is doing. 
Like maybe like you could do key

369
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:13,680
workouts together, or maybe you 
guys can meet up and like run on

370
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:17,360
the same bike path together, but
maybe you do like slightly 

371
00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:22,080
different things. 
But it is often a recipe for 

372
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:28,400
injury burnout disaster if you 
try to just do whatever training

373
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,880
someone you know is doing. 
Yeah, because before you know 

374
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,920
it, you're going to end up like,
say you're jumping in with a 

375
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:35,600
friend here, jumping in with a 
friend there. 

376
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,480
You're going to end up doing 
like four or five days of high 

377
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,840
quality hard work. 
And that's just in my opinion. 

378
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,400
Or like, yeah, like you said, a 
recipe for disaster injury. 

379
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:50,480
Like burnout, which is tough to 
come back, come back from. 

380
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,040
But but yeah, like, even like 
what you're saying, Like, even 

381
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,400
meet up with a friend to do a 
workout. 

382
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,080
Like if you don't have the same 
thing or the same exact workout,

383
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,040
even just having somebody out 
there with you like just like 

384
00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,440
that you see every so often, 
Maybe you're like doing an out 

385
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,760
and back. 
You see them like twice a loop. 

386
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,480
That's enough to make a big 
difference in your workout, even

387
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,040
if you're not doing the same 
exact thing. 

388
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:16,960
Oh, definitely. 
I do that with my training 

389
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,920
partners all the time. 
Like we'll meet up and like do a

390
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,040
certain loop or do a certain 
section of the bike path and 

391
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,200
maybe like warm up and cool down
together. 

392
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,440
But just like having someone out
there, like, it's motivating 

393
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,280
because you know, your friend is
like working hard too. 

394
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,880
And when you pass each other, 
you can like cheer each other 

395
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,040
on, you know, So it doesn't have
your workouts, don't have to 

396
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:44,480
line up to meet up. 
It can be very fun and helpful 

397
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,920
at the same time, just being out
there together. 

398
00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:52,360
So let's assume that somebody 
has decided that they need a 

399
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,160
coach, like some type of 
coaching. 

400
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,120
So and people ask me this 
question a lot. 

401
00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,320
Well, how do I know like what 
type of coach is right for me 

402
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,480
and how can I find the right 
coach? 

403
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,760
So what would you recommend to 
somebody who asked you that 

404
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:09,760
question? 
How could they get started? 

405
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,880
So first I tell them to ask 
around. 

406
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,640
Ask people that they run with. 
Ask people in their running 

407
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:21,040
community who they work with and
who they would recommend. 

408
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,440
Then you can reach out to them. 
Usually coaches would schedule 

409
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,240
like a phone call where you just
get to know each other, get to 

410
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,400
know if you're a good fit. 
If you agree with their training

411
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,280
philosophies, that would be 1 
route. 

412
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,640
Another route is I know through 
like through the RRCA and I 

413
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,600
think USATF has a database too. 
You can actually go on there, 

414
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,800
type in your location and it'll 
come up with probably a couple 

415
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,480
100 coaches. 
You have to narrow that down, 

416
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,840
but usually they have like if 
they're like beginner, 

417
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:59,840
intermediate, advanced, and what
specific distances they focus 

418
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,400
on, what about you? 
Would you have anything else to 

419
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,360
add to that? 
Yeah, I I'm glad you brought up,

420
00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:08,320
like having a phone call with 
the coach. 

421
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:12,240
That's really important because 
every coach has their own 

422
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,080
philosophy. 
And, you know, hopefully the 

423
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,200
coach that you end up working 
with isn't just like applying 

424
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,080
like a bunch of cookie cutter 
plans to everybody. 

425
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:24,040
Like hopefully they're actually 
considering you and developing a

426
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,280
program for you. 
But some coaches emphasize, 

427
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,160
let's say, higher mileage for 
the marathon. 

428
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,120
Some coaches really want their 
athletes to run seven days a 

429
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:37,720
week. 
Some coaches really emphasize 

430
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:39,880
strength training or cross 
training. 

431
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:45,920
So it's important that you find 
a coach whose style lines up 

432
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,840
with what works for you if you 
know what works for you. 

433
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,040
The other thing is, 
communication is really 

434
00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:56,120
important, and you need to be 
comfortable communicating with 

435
00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,640
your coach to get the most out 
of their coaching. 

436
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:04,680
I encourage my coached athletes 
to talk to me all the time, like

437
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,600
they can text me or call me 
whenever they want because the 

438
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,600
more they tell me what's going 
on the better. 

439
00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,920
I can coach them. 
If I don't know that, like you 

440
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,320
didn't sleep last night or that 
you know you've got all this 

441
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,760
life stuff going on or you fell 
down the stairs and you're 

442
00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,000
wondering if you should do your 
workout the next day. 

443
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,800
Like I can't help you. 
But if you tell me what's going 

444
00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,560
on, then I can help you problem 
solve and figure out what to do 

445
00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,960
given the circumstances. 
So you've got to find someone 

446
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,400
you're comfortable talking to. 
I've certainly talked to coaches

447
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:44,520
who, you know, they are so proud
of how smart they are that they 

448
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,120
aren't exactly the best 
communicators. 

449
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,480
Like, here's the training. 
Don't bother me. 

450
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,920
You know I don't have time to 
talk to you about what's going 

451
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,520
on. 
You don't want a coach like 

452
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,320
that. 
Like you want somebody who has 

453
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,000
time for you and who has time to
answer your questions. 

454
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:05,520
So make sure before you sign up 
with someone that you feel 

455
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,520
comfortable talking to them and 
asking questions. 

456
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:11,400
And you like the way they 
explain things. 

457
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,560
Because if in your first phone 
call, it doesn't feel like a 

458
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,240
good connection. 
I mean, you know, your people's 

459
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,680
relationships can improve over 
time, but you need to feel some 

460
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,240
sort of connection when you 
first talk to somebody. 

461
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,440
If they're very abrupt and just,
you know, dismissive of 

462
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,160
questions you ask in an 
introductory phone call, then 

463
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,560
they're probably not going to be
the right person for you. 100%, 

464
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,240
I agree with that. 
Like that intro call, in my eyes

465
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,560
as an athlete and a coach is one
of the most important things 

466
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:49,000
because that sets the stage. 
Like that shows you OK, is this 

467
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,880
coach willing to work with me or
do they? 

468
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,120
Are they listening to what I'm 
saying? 

469
00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:55,760
Are they taking the time out to 
get to know me and like using 

470
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:57,480
this information to create a 
plan? 

471
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,280
Or if it's like a quick like 
short call, how how are you? 

472
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:03,760
How is this coach like? 
I would ask myself how is this 

473
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,760
coach going to write a plan for 
me when they might not have even

474
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:12,040
asked about my goals, you know? 
And that communication aspect's 

475
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,600
important, like in all all forms
of coaching, like, especially 

476
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,960
when you're not in person, like 
in person, I do think. 

477
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,320
And if if I could be everywhere,
that would be great. 

478
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,800
But it does help like seeing, 
actually seeing the effort, 

479
00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:32,160
seeing how the workout goes, 
like how how tired are you after

480
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,800
each Rep all that. 
But if you're not there as a 

481
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:39,680
coach, which 99% of the time 
we're probably not, then that 

482
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,640
communication is so important. 
Because if you're if you're 

483
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,520
training for a marathon, we use 
that as an example and you're 

484
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,920
finishing a like 2 mile tempo 
and you're like huffing and 

485
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:51,920
puffing. 
That's not, that's probably not 

486
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,720
marathon pace and that's not 
we're not challenging the right 

487
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:56,080
system there, so we have to 
adjust. 

488
00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:00,960
But we won't know at the coaches
won't know if if you don't, if 

489
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,480
if you don't communicate that 
with them or feel comfortable 

490
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,320
telling them that. 
Yeah, so that that's a good 

491
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:10,840
point too, is that it? 
The athlete has a responsibility

492
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,960
to inform the coach how things 
are going. 

493
00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,760
Like most coaching platforms, 
you know, have like a comment 

494
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,360
system or like a messaging 
system where you can like, write

495
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:23,080
down how you felt during the 
workout. 

496
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,280
Use that. 
Like, I and most of my athletes 

497
00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,840
are really good with sending me 
little notes every day. 

498
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,960
But the more you tell your coach
about how you're feeling, the 

499
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,480
better they can help you if you 
don't tell them anything. 

500
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,680
We can only go off of, you know,
the data from your watch, your 

501
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:44,600
pace, your heart rate, your 
power, if you're a cyclist or if

502
00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,240
you're using a running power 
meter. 

503
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,600
But that's not enough. 
We want to know the subjective 

504
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,800
stuff like how you felt. 
Did it feel hard? 

505
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,760
Were you tired? 
Were you crabby? 

506
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,240
Were you afraid of the workout? 
Like that all helps us 

507
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:02,040
understand you better. 
So I would also say another 

508
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,120
important question to ask the 
coach because some coaches do 

509
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,160
restrict communication. 
Like there are different levels 

510
00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,080
of coaching plans where maybe 
you get like 1 phone call a 

511
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,360
month with your coach, maybe you
get one e-mail a week. 

512
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,880
Or there's like unlimited 
communication like what I do 

513
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,280
with my athletes. 
But find out what it is in 

514
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:26,640
advance and maybe that limited 
communication will work well for

515
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:28,120
you. 
You've just got to know 

516
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,360
yourself. 
But if you think you're going to

517
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,920
need more feedback than that, 
don't sign up for one of those 

518
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:39,000
limited communication plans. 
But I just, I think both of us 

519
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,600
agree you we can't overemphasize
the importance of coach athlete 

520
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,760
communication. 
Yeah, like I'll, I'll tell my 

521
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:51,000
athletes to like after every 
run, almost even usually the 

522
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,560
easy runs too. 
But put the notes in there. 

523
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:58,880
Like I use training peaks for to
give my plans to my athletes. 

524
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:03,200
But even like like the the 
comments in there are so 

525
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,480
important for us to see. 
Like we've been talking about. 

526
00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:09,600
But also for the athlete to see 
like looking back, like for 

527
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,520
example, if you've like this 
nagging hip injury that you're 

528
00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:14,600
like, oh, it's, it's nothing, 
it's nothing. 

529
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,240
But you just write it down and 
then like, Fast forward a few 

530
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:19,560
weeks, you're like, oh man, it's
been bothering me almost a 

531
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:20,600
month. 
Like this is a problem. 

532
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,680
I should probably get it looked 
at like things like that. 

533
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:28,280
Also like using that, like the 
communication pieces, like the 

534
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,760
training log to look back at key
workouts before a race. 

535
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,240
Like, how did you feel on this? 
And like, watch yourself 

536
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,360
progressing over the course of 
the training plan. 

537
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,800
But yeah, I think I mean 
communication. 

538
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,200
You can't stress it enough. 
Definitely. 

539
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:43,560
And yeah, using I use training 
peaks too. 

540
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,040
But yeah, whatever platform 
you're using, even if you're 

541
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:49,640
just recording your training in 
a notebook, the more you write 

542
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,720
down for yourself, even going 
back and looking at that is so 

543
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,520
valuable in helping you develop 
as an athlete. 

544
00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:00,200
And also just to show you how 
far you've come, you know, at 

545
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:04,440
the beginning of a marathon 
training block, if like a three 

546
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:07,880
mile tempo felt at a certain 
pace felt kind of challenging 

547
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,680
and then now you're 4 weeks away
from the race and you just did a

548
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,680
10 mile tempo and it wasn't that
hard. 

549
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:18,080
Like that can be really 
motivating and encouraging and 

550
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,680
it just gives you some 
perspective on how far you've 

551
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,160
come. 
So yeah, absolutely. 

552
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:28,920
Use that self reflection as a 
way of like, further deepening 

553
00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,680
your understanding of how your 
body works and how you respond 

554
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,520
to training. 
So, Megan, should a athlete 

555
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,920
adjust their life around their 
training, or should their 

556
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:44,840
training fit into their life? 
So initially thinking of this 

557
00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,160
question was like this is an 
obvious answer. 

558
00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:51,240
Unless running is putting like 
food on your table or money in 

559
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,960
your pocket, then the training 
should fit into your life. 

560
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:57,200
Then I started thinking about it
a little bit more. 

561
00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,880
There are sometimes when you 
have a commitment to a goal that

562
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,280
there might be some lifestyle 
changes that need to be made. 

563
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:08,720
So if you're somebody that likes
to go out all the time, stay up 

564
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:12,080
late, you're going to have a 
long run in the morning one of 

565
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:13,680
those days. 
And you're going to have to like

566
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:17,720
make some lifestyle changes to 
support that long run so you 

567
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:21,360
don't get injured. 
So you don't, I don't know, so 

568
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,600
you can actually like, work 
towards your goal. 

569
00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:29,800
Another thing is diet. 
If you are what you eat right to

570
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:31,960
some capacity, especially when 
it comes to training. 

571
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,080
If you're not feeling properly, 
you can't possibly expect your 

572
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:41,600
body to give to give everything 
you need in order to hit all of 

573
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,560
these these runs, these these 
goals. 

574
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,680
So something that seemed like a 
very black and white answer to 

575
00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:50,600
me. 
Of course, I feel like as PTS 

576
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,760
were trained to do, this became 
like a little bit of a Gray 

577
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:57,320
area. 
But yeah, so to an extent, some 

578
00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:59,640
sacrifices need to be made if 
you're committed to your goal. 

579
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:02,520
Definitely, yeah, I I totally 
agree with that. 

580
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:05,960
Like goal setting is so 
important, but an appropriate 

581
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,560
goal setting is important. 
Once you've committed to a goal,

582
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:14,880
whether it's training for a 
marathon or, you know, racing 

583
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,720
your first 5K, you are going to 
have to make some adjustments to

584
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:23,360
meet that goal. 
And the more audacious your goal

585
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,400
is, the more adjustments you 
might have to make. 

586
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,640
Like marathon training in 
particular, you can't be out at 

587
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,720
the clubs every night of the 
weekend and then sleep for two 

588
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:35,760
hours and think that you're 
going to do a 20 mile long run. 

589
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,560
You might be able to do that a 
couple times, and especially if 

590
00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:43,240
you're younger, but that's not 
going to be like your normal 

591
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:48,400
routine. 
But where I would say that your 

592
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,160
training should fit into your 
life is that, like I said 

593
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:56,040
earlier, like a lot of people do
their long runs on Saturdays or 

594
00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:00,920
Sundays, but maybe you have a 
job where you work on the 

595
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,400
weekends and you have Mondays 
off. 

596
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:08,239
Should you try to force your 
long run on Saturday or Sunday 

597
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,760
just because that's what most of
the people you know do? 

598
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,679
Or does it make more sense to do
it on the day that you have more

599
00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:17,400
time and can maybe sleep in? 
I would vote for doing it on the

600
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,440
day that you have more time and 
can sleep in. 

601
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,440
So you know, Megan and I have 
both competed at a high level 

602
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:30,520
while working full time or while
being in school, and you have to

603
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,480
figure out how to make 
everything fit in. 

604
00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:35,280
And sometimes you have to get 
creative. 

605
00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:42,159
So I think a good coach can help
you figure out well, OK, how can

606
00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:46,239
we make your training gel the 
best with like your life 

607
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,760
commitments? 
But then also here are the 

608
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:53,920
things about your lifestyle that
you might want to improve to 

609
00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,000
help you achieve your goal. 
Yeah, definitely. 

610
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,040
I mean it is like obviously like
both of us working like full 

611
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,520
time jobs. 
It is tough to get everything 

612
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:09,400
in. 
But I someone I there was a 

613
00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,080
saying that like everyone has 
the same 24 hours a day. 

614
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,360
It's just up to you how you use 
it. 

615
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:20,400
So obviously the times you're at
work, yeah, those times are off 

616
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:24,080
limits for the most part, right?
In order to get like to go out 

617
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:25,960
for a run or workout or 
something. 

618
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,480
But you have this time in the 
morning, say you start work at 

619
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,800
like 8:00 or 9:00. 
If if you're up early, you can 

620
00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:34,680
get a lot of stuff done in the 
morning, like before you even go

621
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,200
about your day and then it's on 
you. 

622
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,240
If you're waking up early to OK,
you need to make sure you're 

623
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,000
getting to bed at a certain time
or at least like trying to go to

624
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:47,720
sleep so you can give your body 
a chance to recover and sustain 

625
00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:52,120
that schedule. 
But yeah, like making sure like 

626
00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,360
look, look at your schedule and 
see what kind, what changes can 

627
00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:00,720
I make to make everything fit. 
And obviously there, there's a 

628
00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:03,760
limit there, which is where, 
like what you're saying, a coach

629
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,800
comes in and can either help you
get creative or modify the plan 

630
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,000
a little bit to make it fit your
life better. 

631
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:15,240
Because I've, I've, I've said 
this before but like there's 

632
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:19,480
this seven day training plan 
that like every seven days you 

633
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,360
do a long run. 
You have two workouts in there, 

634
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,960
but it doesn't have to fit seven
days. 

635
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:28,000
It can be 8 days, it can be 9 
days, it can be 14 days if 

636
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,800
that's what works best, if 
that's the only way you can get 

637
00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:34,040
all the work in and the coach to
work with you on that. 

638
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:38,000
Definitely, yeah. 
There's there's so many ways to 

639
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:43,720
train and coaches who have a lot
of experience helping people 

640
00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:47,080
with busy lives figure out how 
to fit it all in can help you 

641
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:51,800
figure out how to fit it into. 
So let's talk a little more 

642
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:54,240
about other things that coaches 
can help with. 

643
00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:57,600
So we've talked a lot about like
work, life, training, balance. 

644
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,720
But let's talk a little bit 
about adjusting goals after 

645
00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:05,360
illness or injury, because 
sometimes, and I mean the 

646
00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:10,120
marathon trials were this past 
weekend, Sadly, we saw a few of 

647
00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,760
the favourites drop out. 
I feel so badly for Molly Seidel

648
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,480
and Emma Bates with their 
injuries. 

649
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:23,040
So if you have a big injury and 
you're going to be off running 

650
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:27,440
for a month or more, or if you 
got, you know, really sick, 

651
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:31,720
let's say you had like really 
bad COVID or really bad 

652
00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,520
pneumonia or something and you 
didn't run for several weeks. 

653
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:39,600
That often does mean, you know, 
maybe you don't do that goal 

654
00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:41,320
race that you were training 
towards. 

655
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:45,440
Or if you do, you've got to 
really adjust like your pace or 

656
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,160
time goals. 
And that's something that I 

657
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:53,560
think when you're on your own, 
you can make some poor choices 

658
00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,240
because especially if you're 
like a really goal driven 

659
00:37:56,240 --> 00:38:01,280
person, like, Oh my gosh, I've 
got to keep training hard so 

660
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:04,040
that I can, you know, run this 
marathon in a month. 

661
00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:09,320
Or like, I know that the doctor 
said that I shouldn't run for 

662
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:13,200
four weeks, but maybe I can 
start running after three weeks.

663
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:17,120
And that'll, you know, let me be
ready for this race. 

664
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,520
We can come up with some really 
bad ideas for ourselves. 

665
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:28,600
And often you need somebody 
who's like, no, this is what you

666
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:31,400
need to do to 1 prioritize your 
health. 

667
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:36,160
But two, let's try to figure out
One, Is the original goal still 

668
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:39,400
possible? 
Do we need to modify that goal 

669
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,640
where you still do the race but 
maybe the time goal is 

670
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:45,520
different? 
Or maybe the goal is just to 

671
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:51,640
finish without being in pain? 
Or if that's not possible, OK, 

672
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,960
we're not going to do this race,
but let's see what we can pivot 

673
00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:59,400
to that still, you know, lets 
you work towards something, but 

674
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:02,520
lets you be prepared for that 
new goal. 

675
00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:05,520
Yeah, definitely. 
Like, like what you were just 

676
00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:08,480
saying, like picking another, 
like if if you are out of 

677
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:12,320
running or you're not able to 
train for an extended period of 

678
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,880
time, like picking another 
another target race. 

679
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:17,800
Like, sure. 
Like if you have this entry, 

680
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,640
you've been looking forward to 
running the race and you're 

681
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:26,160
going to be allowed to run like 
medically, then sure, do it. 

682
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:28,640
Enjoy it. 
Like, I feel like any time 

683
00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,080
you're in a race environment, at
least at least for me, any time 

684
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,560
I'm in a race environment, 
whether it be for a race tempo, 

685
00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:36,840
like it just reminds you of like
how awesome the sport is. 

686
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,760
Like the amount of people that 
come out to cheer and support. 

687
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:42,120
It's just like, Oh yeah, I love 
this. 

688
00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:45,520
I can't wait to like get get to 
that next target race, you know?

689
00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:49,520
So adjusting that is definitely 
important. 

690
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:57,000
And then even if your A goal 
isn't on the table for like say 

691
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,560
that initial race, the next 
target race, or even the one 

692
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:03,400
after that, like you still keep 
it, it should still be in your 

693
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:05,480
mind. 
It should still be that A goal. 

694
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:08,760
But you're allowed to have B 
goals, C goals, D goals all the 

695
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:11,360
way through to Z. 
If you want like anything, 

696
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:14,160
that's going to help you see 
that progress toward A. 

697
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:17,680
Because if you do like 3 races 
and each one's getting like a 

698
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:20,760
minute or two faster, you're 
heading in that direction before

699
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,040
you know it. 
You're going to be like, OK, 

700
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:26,080
hey, the next goal, that's 
that's the a goal and you'll be 

701
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:27,760
there. 
Yeah, yeah. 

702
00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:31,560
And I'm glad you brought brought
up goals because I think one 

703
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:35,040
thing that coaches help people 
do is setting appropriate goals 

704
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,040
or helping people just set 
goals. 

705
00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:41,560
Because so many people just run 
and they don't really have any 

706
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:45,520
like concrete goals besides just
like, oh, I want to do this or I

707
00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:49,800
want to do that race. 
But setting like not just like a

708
00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:54,000
time goal or a pace goal, but 
also like I'm going to finish 

709
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:58,960
this race, you know, without 
walking at all in this marathon 

710
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:03,640
or I'm going to finish this race
and negative split in like 

711
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:10,600
there's so many metrics or ways 
to quantify progress. 

712
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:14,960
And I think that having a coach 
can help you identify some of 

713
00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:19,400
those, so that, like, your 
achievement of a goal isn't only

714
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:21,360
based on, like, your finishing 
time. 

715
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:26,040
I think the one thing that I get
asked a lot by my coaching 

716
00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:30,200
clients is, OK, I'm thinking 
about doing this, Is this like a

717
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:33,600
reasonable goal for my current 
fitness and for how much time I 

718
00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:36,200
have to train? 
Because, you know, you're 

719
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:39,320
hanging out with your friends, 
people are on their phones and 

720
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:44,080
oh, let's enter the lottery for 
this ultra marathon. 

721
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:50,920
So you do it and then you get in
and it's like, oh crap. 

722
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:56,800
And you really need somebody who
is objective and who isn't. 

723
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,280
You know, it's good having 
friends who, like, encourage you

724
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:03,840
to do crazy things, but you need
someone who's going to be honest

725
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:08,080
with you and say, look, based on
like the time you have to train 

726
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:11,920
your current fitness levels. 
This is what you're going to 

727
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,520
need to be able to need to do to
be prepared. 

728
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,320
And then that helps the person 
make an informed choice about 

729
00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:21,840
whether or not they're going to,
you know, actually try to do 

730
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:25,680
that ultra marathon. 
Because it can be really, of 

731
00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:30,360
course, discouraging if you 
like, set your goal way too high

732
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,760
and then get injured or get sick
in the process. 

733
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:37,320
Or you get to the event that 
you've spent a lot of money, you

734
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,240
know, preparing for and 
traveling to, and you're just 

735
00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:44,680
completely underprepared. 
So coach can help you identify, 

736
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,400
like, is this a reasonable goal 
for me? 

737
00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:51,760
And here's what your training is
going to look like. 

738
00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,160
Is this something you're willing
to do? 

739
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:58,120
Because especially when you talk
about like longer distance 

740
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,680
races, people don't realize 
what's like necessary to be 

741
00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,560
prepared. 
And it's better to know ahead of

742
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:09,760
time and to decide, you know, I 
really don't want to do that 

743
00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:14,200
than to like get into it and 
like realize how miserable the 

744
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:24,320
preparation is. 
Yeah, so, so my my running coach

745
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,640
says before it races. 
He asks. 

746
00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:30,920
Like in talking about goals, 
it's like, what? 

747
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:34,760
Instead of like focusing in on a
time which I had been doing for 

748
00:43:34,760 --> 00:43:38,960
like the last few races, the 
last few marathons I've done, he

749
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:43,200
would ask me what besides the 
time would define success for 

750
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:46,120
you in this race? 
Like take the time away, what 

751
00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:49,080
would it take for you to 
consider it a success? 

752
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:53,000
And I found that question to be 
like challenging at 1st and I 

753
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,600
was like OK, there are a lot of 
other things to be focusing on 

754
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:58,960
besides the time and you and I 
both know any. 

755
00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,880
I feel like most experienced 
runners know the second you take

756
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:08,000
that like pressure off of that 
one specific, like it's this or 

757
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:13,560
nothing, then it all of a sudden
happens and becomes easier and 

758
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:18,000
it's more enjoyable. 
So I I find that question to be 

759
00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:21,600
very helpful for as a coach. 
Also like relaying it to my 

760
00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:26,040
athletes, like to find success 
for you in this race, take out 

761
00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,320
like the specific time. 
What does that look like for 

762
00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:29,560
you? 
Yeah. 

763
00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:33,560
I love that and I think that 
everybody could use that in 

764
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:37,840
their, you know, run goal 
setting and can definitely help 

765
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:43,880
people find like just that extra
something special to push during

766
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:46,440
the race when you're not just 
focused on time. 

767
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:51,080
I think another thing coaches do
a good job at, and we talked 

768
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,800
about this a little bit, is it's
just someone who's helping you 

769
00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:59,280
with that like motivation and 
positive reinforcement piece. 

770
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:05,480
A lot of endurance athletes are 
very type AI think you and I 

771
00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:08,360
could both consider ourselves 
guilty as charged there. 

772
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:13,120
And it's really easy to be 
negative about how you're doing 

773
00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:14,960
even when you're doing quite 
well. 

774
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:18,960
Like because you always want to 
be doing just a little better or

775
00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:22,440
you feel like you should be 
doing just a little more and 

776
00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:26,640
just having like somebody say 
like you're doing a really good 

777
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:29,040
job in training. 
Like look what you did today, 

778
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:32,440
that type of workout was really 
hard for you two months ago. 

779
00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:38,040
Like it's just simple stuff, but
it's so important in like 

780
00:45:38,720 --> 00:45:43,520
helping the athletes psyche. 
So and you know it doesn't just 

781
00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:47,280
have to come from a coach like 
your spouse could give you that 

782
00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:51,120
positive reinforcement or one of
your friends, but that's 

783
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:53,960
dependent on them actually like 
getting what you're doing, you 

784
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:57,400
know. 
So I think a coach is just that,

785
00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:00,720
like mental coach. 
You know, coaches aren't just 

786
00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:03,440
physical coaches. 
It's not just about the training

787
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:08,680
plan, but it's about that 
psychological reinforcement of 

788
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:12,240
where you're at, how far you've 
come, how you're doing. 

789
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:15,600
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 
And I feel like, yeah, it does 

790
00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:19,520
mean more coming from the person
that's like providing you the 

791
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:23,480
plan and the person that like, 
is helping you get to the goal. 

792
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:28,280
Because if they're out as an 
athlete, I trust my coach will 

793
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:30,880
also tell me if there's 
something I need to improve on 

794
00:46:31,240 --> 00:46:33,040
which like that. 
I don't know. 

795
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:36,480
I'm I'm a kind of athlete. 
I like getting that like that 

796
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:38,760
kind of feedback too because 
that's how that's how you grow. 

797
00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:45,560
And yeah, but like that means 
when they come to you with this 

798
00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:50,120
like positive, like 
reinforcement or like looking 

799
00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:52,960
back at this workout and trying 
to like switch, like if you had 

800
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:57,120
a bad, if you claim you had a 
bad workout and then your coach 

801
00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:00,040
is like, no, look at this, the 
goal of this workout was to do 

802
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:03,920
this and you accomplished that 
and three weeks ago, four weeks 

803
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,760
ago looked like it was much 
harder for you, You were going a

804
00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:09,800
little slower. 
But like putting it in 

805
00:47:09,800 --> 00:47:15,440
perspective and having them give
that positive like feedback when

806
00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:18,920
when appropriate of course I 
think is very helpful and 

807
00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:21,200
meaningful as as an athlete and 
coach. 

808
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:23,560
Definitely, yeah. 
And yeah, hopefully your coach 

809
00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:27,280
isn't just like a rah, rah, you 
know, always positive. 

810
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:29,160
Like they need to be honest with
you. 

811
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:34,840
But having objective feedback is
important. 

812
00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:36,840
Yeah, that's. 
That's a better. 

813
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:42,160
I think one of the other things 
that a coach can be really 

814
00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:47,080
helpful with is just connecting 
you to like a network of run 

815
00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:50,280
professionals. 
So like if you need a sports 

816
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:56,400
nutritionist or you need a, you 
know, mental coach, or you need 

817
00:47:56,440 --> 00:47:59,040
APT who's well versed in 
running. 

818
00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:03,320
Like if your coach is somewhat 
local to you, they should be 

819
00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:05,040
able to connect you to those 
people. 

820
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:08,040
Because it's a you know, as 
runners, we need people who 

821
00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:13,120
understand us and hopefully your
coach has a whole professional 

822
00:48:13,120 --> 00:48:16,120
network of people that they can 
refer you to when you need 

823
00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:19,800
specialized services. 
But I completely agree with 

824
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:22,400
that. 
So I want us to talk next a 

825
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:26,680
little bit more about like how 
coaching works. 

826
00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:29,760
So coaches look at a lot of 
metrics, right? 

827
00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:33,360
Like, well, you know, we just 
said that numbers aren't the 

828
00:48:33,840 --> 00:48:36,160
only thing. 
They are important, especially 

829
00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,680
in like figuring out how 
somebody is progressing. 

830
00:48:40,240 --> 00:48:44,400
So Megan, when you're coaching 
like what metrics are you 

831
00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:47,880
looking at to help figure out 
and how your athletes are doing?

832
00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:54,520
So I mostly use some combination
of pace, RPE and occasionally 

833
00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:58,560
heart rate. 
The heart rate I kind of so 

834
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:02,800
heart rate training I use very 
sporadically, I mean unless 

835
00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:07,200
somebody has like the chest 
strap or like the arm, the 

836
00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:12,560
armband, that's really the only 
time that I'll really look at 

837
00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:15,920
the heart rate data. 
And for that I do use more of 

838
00:49:15,920 --> 00:49:24,120
like a trend like OK, are you 
like if your if your resting 

839
00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:28,320
heart rate is higher now like 
OK, maybe maybe you're sick 

840
00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:33,120
maybe like something's going on.
But for the most part I'll I'll 

841
00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:38,600
go on pace in RPE because I 
think in a race for one RPE I 

842
00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:42,040
think is like probably the most 
important and RPE is rating of 

843
00:49:42,040 --> 00:49:45,480
perceived exertion and it's 
usually from zero to 10. 

844
00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:50,840
Zero being like you're sleeping 
to 10 being like you can't push 

845
00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:52,440
yourself anymore you're about to
fall. 

846
00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:54,880
You're about to like pass out 10
being like the hardest. 

847
00:49:55,200 --> 00:49:58,360
So I'll I like to have my 
athletes give like a zero to 10 

848
00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:02,680
scale of how hard they're 
working in in the workouts 

849
00:50:02,680 --> 00:50:07,200
because that's what's going to 
translate into the races and 

850
00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:10,920
that's what's going to be the 
most consistent because pace can

851
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:13,040
fluctuate. 
Like I'm talking like easy runs.

852
00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:15,120
Obviously your easy pace is 
going to fluctuate. 

853
00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:17,400
I never give a pace for easy, 
easy runs. 

854
00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:23,480
It's always RPE for me, but your
pace can fluctuate so much given

855
00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:27,200
like so many different factors 
like your fuelling, your 

856
00:50:27,200 --> 00:50:31,360
hydration, how are you sleeping,
how stressed are you? 

857
00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:33,560
So that's going to affect your 
pace. 

858
00:50:33,560 --> 00:50:36,720
Whereas your RPE for an easy 
run, we'll say should be like 

859
00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:40,600
around 4, four out of 10/5 out 
of 10 maybe. 

860
00:50:40,960 --> 00:50:43,880
And then if we're going up to a 
marathon effort like OK, like 

861
00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:46,440
let's say like around 7-8 out of
10. 

862
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:51,720
So that usually lines up with 
like a pace or trends toward 

863
00:50:51,880 --> 00:50:53,880
toward a pace. 
So you know around like what to 

864
00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:56,080
aim for come race day if you are
checking your watch. 

865
00:50:56,080 --> 00:51:03,160
But for me the most important 
data points are pace and RPE. 

866
00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:05,440
Yeah, I would. 
I would agree with that. 

867
00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:07,800
I use heart. 
I don't prescribe heart rate 

868
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:11,160
training, but I do look at my 
athletes heart rate, especially 

869
00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:13,560
if I have a lot of data from 
them. 

870
00:51:14,080 --> 00:51:17,120
Like even when I'm onboarding a 
new client, I I also use 

871
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:19,880
training peaks. 
And I'll ask them to upload like

872
00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:25,160
their old data so that I can see
like, OK they did this 5K race, 

873
00:51:25,160 --> 00:51:27,480
what was their heart rate like? 
What was their heart rate like 

874
00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:29,280
in this marathon? 
You know like you just see 

875
00:51:29,640 --> 00:51:32,520
trends because yeah, if you're 
only looking at heart rate data 

876
00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:35,240
from like a week's worth of 
running, it doesn't really tell 

877
00:51:35,240 --> 00:51:39,080
you much. 
But I don't prescribe heart rate

878
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:43,680
based runs because heart rate 
can be affected by so many 

879
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:51,120
things like heat, hydration, 
fatigue, caffeine, and too many 

880
00:51:51,120 --> 00:51:53,480
things to use heart rate as a 
prescription. 

881
00:51:54,240 --> 00:51:58,560
Depending on the level of 
athlete I'll either use like an 

882
00:51:58,560 --> 00:52:00,520
effort level. 
I don't. 

883
00:52:00,640 --> 00:52:04,680
I personally don't like the RPE 
scale because I have trouble 

884
00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:09,240
like quantifying my effort like 
it's just never been a thing for

885
00:52:09,240 --> 00:52:11,120
me. 
So I'll usually like just use a 

886
00:52:11,120 --> 00:52:16,760
descriptor like easy or steady 
or medium hard and like describe

887
00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:18,400
to them what it should feel 
like. 

888
00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:23,280
But with more experienced 
runners, I will use like 10K 

889
00:52:23,280 --> 00:52:27,880
pace, 5K pace, marathon pace and
they know that. 

890
00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:32,160
When I say that, I don't mean 
like you have to stick to this 

891
00:52:32,160 --> 00:52:35,840
exact, you know, 630 per mile 
pace. 

892
00:52:36,160 --> 00:52:40,800
Like make it feel like what 1/2 
marathon would feel like to you.

893
00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:45,640
And knowing that, like their 
pace is going to range based on,

894
00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:50,640
you know, the temperature of the
terrain, hydration, level of 

895
00:52:50,640 --> 00:52:57,520
fatigue, all sorts of things. 
I also like to do like fitness 

896
00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:00,560
tests with my athletes, both 
cyclists and runners. 

897
00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:05,600
For runners, I'll have them do a
2 kilometer time trial, which 

898
00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:08,120
then can be used to set their 
training paces. 

899
00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:13,000
But of course they've got to be,
you know, the they have to have 

900
00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:15,680
given a maximal effort, you 
know, like they shouldn't have 

901
00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:19,640
felt like something went wrong 
and they were too slow that day,

902
00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:22,280
or like something else kept them
from doing their best. 

903
00:53:22,760 --> 00:53:25,200
And you have to keep updating 
that of course. 

904
00:53:25,760 --> 00:53:28,920
But you can also use like a 
recent race or a couple of 

905
00:53:28,920 --> 00:53:33,240
recent races if people are doing
shorter races to set their 

906
00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:35,480
training paces. 
Again like. 

907
00:53:36,200 --> 00:53:39,760
And I make sure my athletes know
that like your training paces 

908
00:53:39,760 --> 00:53:42,040
aren't set in stone. 
It depends on a lot of things. 

909
00:53:42,040 --> 00:53:47,840
So it's OK if it fluctuates 5 to
10 seconds a mile, but I and I 

910
00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:54,160
personally like to train based 
on pace, but then also based on 

911
00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:57,680
effort like. 
So if I'm supposed to be at 6:20

912
00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:01,520
but I'm running into a 20 mile 
per hour headwind, I know it's 

913
00:54:01,520 --> 00:54:07,280
going to be more like 630 or 
635, you know, But it it just 

914
00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:12,320
depends on the athlete how I 
tell them to train, you know, 

915
00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:14,120
like what's going to work best 
for them. 

916
00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:20,120
I tried running power meter for 
a while, just like to see what I

917
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,800
thought of it and I was 
definitely not impressed. 

918
00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:26,720
It certainly is not the same as 
a cycling power meter. 

919
00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:31,600
I don't like how it works 
differently depending on the 

920
00:54:31,600 --> 00:54:35,560
shoe that you're wearing. 
Especially as a shoe tester 

921
00:54:35,560 --> 00:54:41,840
that's a big problem. 
But for cyclists, if you want 

922
00:54:41,840 --> 00:54:44,960
the most objective training 
data, you've got to have a power

923
00:54:44,960 --> 00:54:49,480
meter because it is literally 
measuring the force you're 

924
00:54:49,480 --> 00:54:53,960
putting into the bike. 
So maybe someday runners will 

925
00:54:53,960 --> 00:54:56,320
have a similar metric. 
But right now running power 

926
00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:59,840
meters are definitely not that, 
and the power estimates you're 

927
00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:02,840
getting from your watch are 
definitely not that. 

928
00:55:02,840 --> 00:55:07,000
So I would never use that metric
to prescribe training to 

929
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:10,200
somebody. 
Have you experimented with 

930
00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:12,520
running power at all? 
I haven't. 

931
00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:16,440
I have some clients that have 
asked me about some PT clients 

932
00:55:16,440 --> 00:55:17,880
that have asked me about it that
have. 

933
00:55:18,120 --> 00:55:22,000
I think I'm blanking on the 
name, but it it clips onto like,

934
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:23,520
yeah, the top of your shoe. 
The stride. 

935
00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:28,160
Yes, thank you it it clips onto 
there and it gives you so much 

936
00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:33,120
data like I was looking through 
I was looking through one of the

937
00:55:33,480 --> 00:55:35,720
data screens and it's like you 
could it. 

938
00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:38,600
It gives you so much information
is the is the point of that. 

939
00:55:38,600 --> 00:55:40,920
But you could spend all day 
looking and analysing it. 

940
00:55:41,240 --> 00:55:42,960
But yeah I don't, I don't really
know. 

941
00:55:42,960 --> 00:55:46,800
I haven't. 
I haven't used it myself and I I

942
00:55:46,800 --> 00:55:50,160
don't know how how accurate it 
is or like some. 

943
00:55:50,160 --> 00:55:54,560
Some people I know swear by it 
and like have run huge PRS just 

944
00:55:54,560 --> 00:55:57,920
by using power. 
So I guess that goes back to 

945
00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:02,040
like everyone's different. 
Some things work great for 

946
00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:05,760
others and some people it 
doesn't work for. 

947
00:56:05,760 --> 00:56:09,240
But yeah, I haven't really. 
I haven't used power for running

948
00:56:09,240 --> 00:56:12,720
at all in my training personally
or for my athletes. 

949
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:17,840
I could see it work if you only 
had like a couple pairs of shoes

950
00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:22,200
that you normally wear and if 
you were doing like a big city 

951
00:56:22,200 --> 00:56:25,960
marathon where you know your GPS
watch isn't going to be accurate

952
00:56:26,320 --> 00:56:29,080
because the stride the it's 
called a stride. 

953
00:56:29,080 --> 00:56:34,120
The power meter can also give 
you like a pace, like it tells 

954
00:56:34,120 --> 00:56:38,680
you how fast you're running, and
I know others who have used that

955
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:41,920
to give them like their real 
time pace when they knew their 

956
00:56:41,920 --> 00:56:44,160
GPS pace was going to be really 
off. 

957
00:56:44,280 --> 00:56:48,600
That's that's very helpful. 
But for me, like I probably 

958
00:56:48,600 --> 00:56:52,000
tried it for like a month and 
just looking at the numbers, 

959
00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:57,600
they didn't correlate to the 
pace I was running, the effort I

960
00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:02,160
was running like there were just
too many extremes in the data. 

961
00:57:02,640 --> 00:57:07,200
So for me, I just didn't feel 
like it was a valid way of 

962
00:57:07,560 --> 00:57:12,320
measuring my effort and I'm sure
that the device will improve 

963
00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:17,880
over time, but it right now I 
don't think it's really there 

964
00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:21,400
yet. 
So let's talk a little bit about

965
00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:26,520
the metrics training PEAKS uses,
where it tells you your acute 

966
00:57:26,520 --> 00:57:31,360
and chronic training load. 
So how do you use that with your

967
00:57:31,360 --> 00:57:36,480
athletes, Megan, and how does it
help you plan their training? 

968
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:40,480
So the acute acute training 
would I use more for like that 

969
00:57:40,480 --> 00:57:45,280
like week to week basis like 
it's easier to see OK like I 

970
00:57:45,280 --> 00:57:47,840
like to go either like a two 
week or three-week build and 

971
00:57:47,840 --> 00:57:50,800
then a down week. 
But you can see like use that to

972
00:57:50,800 --> 00:57:54,080
see if there was a huge jump in 
their training load because 

973
00:57:54,080 --> 00:57:56,680
that's usually the sign that OK,
we need to probably take it down

974
00:57:56,880 --> 00:58:00,400
closer to that two week interval
versus like if it's more of like

975
00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:05,520
a steady increase and that they 
are recovering and like they're 

976
00:58:05,520 --> 00:58:10,080
not showing any like major peaks
there or spikes, then we're 

977
00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:11,480
good. 
We can like stay steady. 

978
00:58:11,720 --> 00:58:13,880
Whereas like the chronic 
training mode, I'll usually look

979
00:58:13,880 --> 00:58:17,760
at that like maybe once every 
couple weeks just to see like 

980
00:58:17,960 --> 00:58:22,080
OK, how are we progressing, how 
are they recovering? 

981
00:58:23,080 --> 00:58:26,080
Was there any giant, like, if 
there's any spikes in the 

982
00:58:26,080 --> 00:58:27,480
chronic training mode, that's 
usually a sign. 

983
00:58:27,480 --> 00:58:29,160
Like we need to take it back at 
least. 

984
00:58:29,560 --> 00:58:31,160
At least that's how I read it. 
What about you? 

985
00:58:31,640 --> 00:58:36,200
Yeah, same like you don't want 
to have huge jumps in like 

986
00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:40,520
weekly TSS score because that's 
where you could set somebody up 

987
00:58:40,520 --> 00:58:44,800
for injury. 
But if you have somebody who has

988
00:58:45,160 --> 00:58:48,560
a higher chronic training load, 
then that person will be able to

989
00:58:48,560 --> 00:58:53,200
absorb bigger jumps in acute 
training load than someone who, 

990
00:58:53,600 --> 00:58:56,960
you know, let's say, is only 
running, you know, 3 miles three

991
00:58:56,960 --> 00:58:59,320
days a week. 
So it's a really nice tool for 

992
00:58:59,320 --> 00:59:03,720
coaches to use to plan training.
But as an athlete, you also get 

993
00:59:03,720 --> 00:59:07,840
to see those numbers and it can 
kind of be helpful for you to 

994
00:59:07,840 --> 00:59:12,000
see, oh, OK, my acute training 
load is pretty high. 

995
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:15,120
My fatigue score is pretty high 
and I feel really tired. 

996
00:59:15,120 --> 00:59:17,960
So I guess that all, you know 
correlates well. 

997
00:59:17,960 --> 00:59:22,760
There's a good reason for that. 
If somebody and of course 

998
00:59:22,920 --> 00:59:27,400
training peaks, those numbers 
become more accurate, the more 

999
00:59:27,400 --> 00:59:30,920
data that's in there. 
Like if you've just signed up 

1000
00:59:30,920 --> 00:59:34,240
with a coach who uses training 
peaks, those numbers aren't 

1001
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:37,600
going to be really helpful for 
you in the first month or two 

1002
00:59:38,040 --> 00:59:41,880
because you've got to build up 
that data in training peaks 

1003
00:59:41,880 --> 00:59:44,720
before, like the numbers are 
actually reflective of what 

1004
00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:48,320
you've been doing. 
But it's it's a good way for 

1005
00:59:48,320 --> 00:59:52,480
athletes to kind of visualize 
what their training loads have 

1006
00:59:52,480 --> 00:59:56,840
been like. 
Other things that coaches tend 

1007
00:59:56,840 --> 00:59:59,720
to look at are things like 
resting heart rate, heart rate 

1008
00:59:59,720 --> 01:00:04,280
variability, sleep data. 
All right, So let's talk a 

1009
01:00:04,280 --> 01:00:08,920
little bit about some recovery 
metrics that coaches might use 

1010
01:00:08,920 --> 01:00:12,960
to gauge whether a person is 
recovering well from training if

1011
01:00:12,960 --> 01:00:15,720
they're getting sick. 
So the two main ones that I 

1012
01:00:15,720 --> 01:00:20,400
would look at are a person's 
resting heart rate or their RHR 

1013
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:22,880
and heart rate variability or 
HRV. 

1014
01:00:24,440 --> 01:00:29,000
Again, you've got to have data 
from somebody for a long period 

1015
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:33,000
of time to know, like what their
typical resting heart rate is. 

1016
01:00:33,320 --> 01:00:37,400
You can't just coach someone for
a week and say, Oh my gosh, your

1017
01:00:37,400 --> 01:00:40,200
resting heart rate's high or 
your HRV is low. 

1018
01:00:41,360 --> 01:00:44,240
You've got to have more 
historical data than that. 

1019
01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:49,240
But of course a person's resting
heart rate in a highly trained 

1020
01:00:49,240 --> 01:00:53,080
athlete is going to be lower to 
resting heart rate. 

1021
01:00:53,080 --> 01:00:57,320
For a normal, you know, non 
endurance athlete individual is 

1022
01:00:57,320 --> 01:01:01,160
60 to 80. 
But in endurance athletes it can

1023
01:01:01,160 --> 01:01:05,520
be quite low. 
Some like very elite athletes 

1024
01:01:05,520 --> 01:01:08,720
might even see it in the 20s, 
but more commonly it's in the, 

1025
01:01:09,240 --> 01:01:14,960
you know, 40s to low 50s. 
Heart Rate variability is 

1026
01:01:14,960 --> 01:01:19,880
basically measuring the 
variability between heartbeats 

1027
01:01:20,560 --> 01:01:25,680
and when somebody is more 
recovered and in better shape, 

1028
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:29,640
their HRV will be higher. 
So your HRV number will be 

1029
01:01:29,640 --> 01:01:33,280
higher when you're more rested, 
when you haven't done a big 

1030
01:01:33,280 --> 01:01:36,040
workout, when you didn't run a 
marathon the day before. 

1031
01:01:36,640 --> 01:01:40,000
If you're getting sick, if 
you're really fatigued, you 

1032
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:44,440
might see your HRV lower. 
Unfortunately for women, our 

1033
01:01:44,440 --> 01:01:49,400
menstrual cycles affect our HRV.
So if you see that your HRV is 

1034
01:01:49,400 --> 01:01:52,680
lower at certain times of the 
month, well then that's just 

1035
01:01:52,680 --> 01:01:56,160
more of a hormonal thing. 
But that can also affect the 

1036
01:01:56,200 --> 01:01:59,360
utility of looking at HRV to 
gauge your recovery. 

1037
01:01:59,880 --> 01:02:06,000
So Megan, do you use these 
metrics when you are looking at 

1038
01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:09,480
your athletes data? 
And if so, like what do they how

1039
01:02:09,520 --> 01:02:14,240
much weight do you give to them?
So I usually use resting heart 

1040
01:02:14,240 --> 01:02:18,000
rate more than HRVI know some 
some people's watches like 

1041
01:02:18,000 --> 01:02:20,840
automatically upload into 
training peaks and give like a 

1042
01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:25,640
like a daily stress score which 
I guess could look be looked at 

1043
01:02:25,640 --> 01:02:30,040
like similar to HRV but opposite
and at the higher stress score 

1044
01:02:30,040 --> 01:02:33,760
is obviously worse and the lower
stress score is better. 

1045
01:02:34,080 --> 01:02:36,400
But I mostly use resting heart 
rate. 

1046
01:02:36,400 --> 01:02:38,840
And again like you said, like 
following that trend. 

1047
01:02:38,840 --> 01:02:43,800
Like if if I just started 
working with an athlete and I 

1048
01:02:43,800 --> 01:02:46,800
see their resting heart rates 
fluctuating by 5 beats per 

1049
01:02:46,800 --> 01:02:49,760
minute or something or 10 beats 
per minute, I'm not gonna really

1050
01:02:49,760 --> 01:02:53,200
think twice about that. 
Whereas if I'm looking at an 

1051
01:02:53,200 --> 01:02:55,520
athlete that I've been working 
with for a couple of years now 

1052
01:02:55,520 --> 01:03:00,200
or even like a year and I'm 
seeing like that 5 to 10 beat 

1053
01:03:00,200 --> 01:03:03,480
increase overnight or like that 
of of their resting heart rate. 

1054
01:03:03,800 --> 01:03:07,920
That could be a sign that 
they're a they're not recovering

1055
01:03:08,280 --> 01:03:13,400
right or they're not recovering 
well or they might be have an 

1056
01:03:13,400 --> 01:03:17,520
increase in stress or they're 
they might be getting sick or 

1057
01:03:17,520 --> 01:03:19,160
their body's fighting something 
else off too. 

1058
01:03:19,160 --> 01:03:24,240
But usually, like I'll use the 
resting heart rate in a trend as

1059
01:03:24,240 --> 01:03:28,280
a sign to like either give them 
an extra easy day or to even 

1060
01:03:28,280 --> 01:03:30,640
like do like an extra check in 
like, hey, what's going on? 

1061
01:03:31,360 --> 01:03:35,680
Yeah, yeah, I would agree. 
Resting heart rate is a more 

1062
01:03:35,680 --> 01:03:39,200
consistent measure. 
Like if you see that it's higher

1063
01:03:39,200 --> 01:03:43,760
than normal, it usually means 
that something is going on. 

1064
01:03:44,080 --> 01:03:49,400
Whereas if you get like a 
weirdly low HRV reading, you 

1065
01:03:49,400 --> 01:03:52,960
don't really know well, is this 
just like a blip in the data or 

1066
01:03:52,960 --> 01:03:55,080
is this actually like something 
going on? 

1067
01:03:55,480 --> 01:04:00,560
So I think, well, I definitely 
put more weight on resting heart

1068
01:04:00,560 --> 01:04:02,360
rate than heart rate 
variability. 

1069
01:04:02,920 --> 01:04:06,680
So you know, now we've talked 
about resting heart rate and 

1070
01:04:06,680 --> 01:04:10,840
HRV, and those are both things 
that our watches can track. 

1071
01:04:11,280 --> 01:04:16,760
And our watches also give us a 
lot of fitness information that 

1072
01:04:16,760 --> 01:04:22,200
may or may not be very helpful. 
So I know my watch tells me what

1073
01:04:22,200 --> 01:04:26,800
my VO2 Max is, It tells me how 
many hours of recovery I need 

1074
01:04:26,800 --> 01:04:30,520
after a run. 
It tells me if my training is 

1075
01:04:30,520 --> 01:04:34,360
productive or not. 
And often I find those features 

1076
01:04:34,360 --> 01:04:38,120
very annoying because I find its
recommendations to be wrong. 

1077
01:04:38,480 --> 01:04:41,680
So I actually sometimes just 
turn off all of those 

1078
01:04:41,680 --> 01:04:44,960
recommendations. 
But what's the deal with all 

1079
01:04:44,960 --> 01:04:47,120
these recommendations from our 
watches? 

1080
01:04:48,440 --> 01:04:52,040
What is it basing like? 
How is it estimating our VO2 

1081
01:04:52,040 --> 01:04:54,880
Max? 
And how accurate is it, Megan? 

1082
01:04:55,160 --> 01:04:58,000
So for the most part, to 
estimate your VO2 Max, it's 

1083
01:04:58,000 --> 01:05:00,200
using your heart rate data. 
It's using the heart rate data 

1084
01:05:00,200 --> 01:05:04,400
that the watch is collecting. 
Which again, if you're not 

1085
01:05:04,400 --> 01:05:06,880
wearing like a chest strap or 
you're not wearing like some 

1086
01:05:06,880 --> 01:05:12,480
sort of external heart rate 
monitor, it's not not the most 

1087
01:05:12,480 --> 01:05:16,160
accurate reading unless, I mean,
it's trying to read your radial 

1088
01:05:16,160 --> 01:05:18,000
pulse. 
And for the most part, we wear 

1089
01:05:18,000 --> 01:05:19,800
our watches on the top of our 
wrist. 

1090
01:05:19,800 --> 01:05:23,560
Some people wear it on the other
side, but it's constantly moving

1091
01:05:23,560 --> 01:05:25,560
as you're running. 
It's constantly moving like even

1092
01:05:25,560 --> 01:05:27,240
as you're walking, moving 
throughout the day. 

1093
01:05:27,480 --> 01:05:30,480
So it needs to be taken with a 
bit of a grain of salt. 

1094
01:05:31,480 --> 01:05:33,760
That being said, like, we'll go 
back to the trends. 

1095
01:05:33,760 --> 01:05:37,880
Like maybe that VO2 Max number 
isn't like if we were to get you

1096
01:05:37,880 --> 01:05:41,240
on a treadmill and do like a VO2
Max test, it might not be 100% 

1097
01:05:41,240 --> 01:05:43,600
accurate. 
But if on your watch it's 

1098
01:05:43,600 --> 01:05:47,440
staying like consistently around
the same and you see like an 

1099
01:05:47,440 --> 01:05:50,280
increase by like a point or two 
as you're like as you're going 

1100
01:05:50,280 --> 01:05:52,720
through a training program like 
OK, that could mean a sign of 

1101
01:05:52,720 --> 01:05:55,640
increased fitness. 
Or if you're taking some time 

1102
01:05:55,640 --> 01:05:58,240
off and it goes down, yeah, of 
course you're going to lose 

1103
01:05:58,240 --> 01:06:00,200
fitness when you take a break, 
which is fine. 

1104
01:06:01,320 --> 01:06:04,240
But that being said, the number 
it gives you I don't think 

1105
01:06:04,240 --> 01:06:07,960
should be used as like this is 
my VO2 Max. 

1106
01:06:08,000 --> 01:06:10,000
I'm going to go into Jack 
Daniels book and look at the 

1107
01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:14,920
chart and this is what I can run
because as much as I wish my as 

1108
01:06:14,920 --> 01:06:18,400
much as I wish my watch was 
correct, it is not. 

1109
01:06:18,400 --> 01:06:21,040
It is very far off from what 
what I know I can do. 

1110
01:06:26,760 --> 01:06:29,680
Yes, sadly the watch is not very
accurate. 

1111
01:06:29,680 --> 01:06:32,880
But yeah, I agree like that you 
can use it as a trend. 

1112
01:06:33,200 --> 01:06:36,240
Like if you see that it's gone 
up, well, you probably had a 

1113
01:06:36,240 --> 01:06:41,720
race or a workout that exceeded 
your performance, your previous 

1114
01:06:41,720 --> 01:06:44,680
performances. 
And if you took some time off, 

1115
01:06:44,680 --> 01:06:47,880
if you've been sick, you come 
back, you're running a little 

1116
01:06:47,880 --> 01:06:50,760
bit slower for a given heart 
rate and it goes down. 

1117
01:06:50,760 --> 01:06:53,800
Yeah, it's probably accurate 
that your fitness has gone down 

1118
01:06:53,800 --> 01:06:57,520
a little bit, but you can't just
say, Oh my watch says my VO2 Max

1119
01:06:57,520 --> 01:07:01,440
is this and brag to your friends
and expect that it's actually 

1120
01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:04,400
accurate. 
If you want your actual VO2 Max,

1121
01:07:04,800 --> 01:07:07,840
there are plenty of places to go
get that tested, but you have to

1122
01:07:07,840 --> 01:07:12,480
wear a big face mask and run 
pretty hard on the treadmill or 

1123
01:07:12,480 --> 01:07:16,480
ride your bike on the trainer. 
So if you really want to know 

1124
01:07:16,480 --> 01:07:20,320
that number, you can know it, 
but it's actually not the most 

1125
01:07:20,320 --> 01:07:23,400
useful number to know. 
In terms of fitness, knowing 

1126
01:07:23,400 --> 01:07:26,960
your lactate threshold is way 
more important for like setting 

1127
01:07:26,960 --> 01:07:31,120
training paces and knowing like 
your current level of fitness as

1128
01:07:31,120 --> 01:07:34,320
compared to VO2 Max. 
I I have found lactate threshold

1129
01:07:34,320 --> 01:07:35,520
like. 
I'm starting to look into it 

1130
01:07:35,520 --> 01:07:39,600
more and debating getting like 1
to use either like in the clinic

1131
01:07:39,600 --> 01:07:45,080
or like to do VO2 Max tests in 
the future but also in workouts 

1132
01:07:45,080 --> 01:07:49,320
because that's a very good 
metric to use that you can in 

1133
01:07:49,320 --> 01:07:54,720
real time check like if the 
effort you're giving out in a 

1134
01:07:54,720 --> 01:07:59,240
workout or putting forward if 
that is lining up with the goal 

1135
01:07:59,240 --> 01:08:02,240
of the workout. 
So for example, like the first 

1136
01:08:02,240 --> 01:08:09,840
lactate, the LT1 they call it. 
If you're aiming for around this

1137
01:08:09,840 --> 01:08:12,760
like lactate level and you check
like in between reps and you're 

1138
01:08:12,960 --> 01:08:15,160
hitting that, that usually 
equates to around like your 

1139
01:08:15,160 --> 01:08:19,120
marathon, around marathon pace 
marathon, maybe half marathon, 

1140
01:08:19,120 --> 01:08:22,720
but it's just a good way to like
check. 

1141
01:08:22,720 --> 01:08:24,399
Am I challenging my body 
appropriately? 

1142
01:08:24,399 --> 01:08:27,640
Am I overdoing it? 
Could I or should I push harder?

1143
01:08:28,479 --> 01:08:31,479
But yeah, so that's another 
thing on on lactate thresholds, 

1144
01:08:32,640 --> 01:08:37,560
which is I think the watch gives
to you also, but again it's 

1145
01:08:37,560 --> 01:08:40,560
using heart rate data that might
not be 100% accurate. 

1146
01:08:40,600 --> 01:08:43,840
Yeah. 
Did you read Megan that there 

1147
01:08:43,840 --> 01:08:47,920
will soon be a continuous 
lactate monitor, kind of like 

1148
01:08:47,920 --> 01:08:50,600
the continuous glucose meters 
that people are using? 

1149
01:08:50,600 --> 01:08:54,720
No, I didn't hear that. 
That would be very interesting. 

1150
01:08:54,840 --> 01:08:57,680
Yeah, like within the next few 
years. 

1151
01:08:57,800 --> 01:09:00,080
That I feel like that would be. 
Me too. 

1152
01:09:00,240 --> 01:09:03,080
Very helpful. 
Like, think about how much that 

1153
01:09:03,080 --> 01:09:07,359
could help you during a race to 
like, especially a longer race 

1154
01:09:07,359 --> 01:09:09,359
to like, really dial in your 
pace. 

1155
01:09:09,479 --> 01:09:14,200
Yeah, I mean I could see, I 
could see that being a metric 

1156
01:09:14,439 --> 01:09:19,439
outside of like the RPE and 
PACES that I would probably that

1157
01:09:19,439 --> 01:09:22,439
I would like to try to use that 
would be very interesting 

1158
01:09:23,319 --> 01:09:25,760
because it's literally what's 
going on inside your body. 

1159
01:09:26,240 --> 01:09:28,000
At that time, right? 
Yes. 

1160
01:09:29,640 --> 01:09:33,160
Here's hoping it will come out 
sooner rather than later and not

1161
01:09:33,160 --> 01:09:37,720
cost $5000. 
So any other you know? 

1162
01:09:37,720 --> 01:09:41,080
We've covered a lot of topics 
today regarding coaching. 

1163
01:09:41,479 --> 01:09:44,600
Do you have any other 
recommendations to someone who 

1164
01:09:44,600 --> 01:09:48,720
maybe is interested in getting a
coach that we haven't already 

1165
01:09:48,720 --> 01:09:52,200
covered and something to think 
about or just what to look for? 

1166
01:09:53,319 --> 01:09:56,920
Any final thoughts? 
I think the most important thing

1167
01:09:56,920 --> 01:10:01,360
is like, is to take the time to 
do the research, talk to other 

1168
01:10:01,360 --> 01:10:07,120
people, get to know the coach 
before before hiring them to ask

1169
01:10:07,120 --> 01:10:09,760
for a sample plan. 
Because this is somebody that 

1170
01:10:09,760 --> 01:10:11,880
you're going to have regular 
communication with and that's 

1171
01:10:11,880 --> 01:10:14,440
going to help you that it's 
supposed to be helping you 

1172
01:10:14,440 --> 01:10:17,480
achieve something that you're 
very committed to. 

1173
01:10:17,480 --> 01:10:22,560
So make sure you're very 
thorough before before signing 

1174
01:10:22,560 --> 01:10:25,880
on or before, like starting with
a coach and be honest with 

1175
01:10:25,880 --> 01:10:27,440
yourself. 
If it's not working and you just

1176
01:10:27,440 --> 01:10:31,480
started for like your own month 
or so in, have that conversation

1177
01:10:31,480 --> 01:10:33,680
with the coach and see if they 
can make any adjustments. 

1178
01:10:33,680 --> 01:10:37,840
And if not, then OK, that didn't
work, try another. 

1179
01:10:37,840 --> 01:10:42,360
But yeah, do do do your homework
before before hiring coach. 

1180
01:10:42,440 --> 01:10:45,400
Make sure they're a good fit. 
Yeah, I totally agree. 

1181
01:10:45,400 --> 01:10:47,960
Yep. 
Interview coaches don't just 

1182
01:10:47,960 --> 01:10:52,320
talk to one, talk to a few. 
Make sure it's someone you 

1183
01:10:52,320 --> 01:10:54,480
communicate, can communicate 
well with. 

1184
01:10:55,080 --> 01:10:58,880
And don't hesitate to give that 
coach feedback if the initial 

1185
01:10:58,880 --> 01:11:01,840
training isn't working because 
the coach is getting to know you

1186
01:11:01,840 --> 01:11:06,040
too. 
So if the first method they try 

1187
01:11:06,400 --> 01:11:09,520
doesn't really sync with, you 
know, your body or your 

1188
01:11:09,840 --> 01:11:12,800
schedule, then tell them. 
And if they're a good coach, 

1189
01:11:12,800 --> 01:11:14,200
they should be able to adjust 
it. 

1190
01:11:14,520 --> 01:11:17,720
So thank you for joining us 
today. 

1191
01:11:18,720 --> 01:11:22,280
As always, we love to hear from 
our listeners, so leave us a 

1192
01:11:22,280 --> 01:11:26,800
review, send us an e-mail at 
doctorsofrunning@gmail.com. 

1193
01:11:27,360 --> 01:11:30,000
And thanks for joining me for 
another episode. 

1194
01:11:30,000 --> 01:11:32,120
Megan, it's always fun to have 
you on of. 

1195
01:11:32,240 --> 01:11:35,240
Course, thanks for having me. 
And we'll see you next time.