RunnersConnect Run to the Top Podcast show

RunnersConnect Run to the Top Podcast

Summary: We interview the doers and thinkers in the running world, whose training concepts, depth of knowledge, and stories are so powerful that just hearing them will change the way you approach your running and training. Our mission is to provide you with unparalleled expertise and knowledge about training and racing to help make you a smarter, fitter, and faster runner. We're fellow runners and experts in one thing only - improving your running. If you've ever started a run at 3am or run circles in a parking garage to make sure you got in your run for the day, this podcast is for you.

Join Now to Subscribe to this Podcast
  • Visit Website
  • RSS
  • Artist: RunnersConnect
  • Copyright: Copyright 2022 RunnersConnect. All rights reserved.

Podcasts:

 You are Probably Hydrating Wrong: Sweat Expert, Andy Blow - 09/02/2020 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 40:59

You Are Probably Hydrating Wrong: Sweat Expert, Andy Blow   Are you over-hydrating during your runs? Under-hydrating? How can you even tell and what should you do about it?  Sweat, dehydration, and cramping expert Andy Blow talks sodium, fluids, and performance with Coach Claire in this super informative episode.   Andy has a degree in Sport and Exercise Science and was a regular podium finisher in elite short course triathlon racing in his younger days, but he learned about dehydration the hard way. Andy found that he suffered more than most racers in heat and humidity and at longer Ironman distances, frequently visiting the medical tent due to cramps and dehydration despite following common hydration protocols, and he ended with poor race results.   Andy sorted out his hydration needs thanks to years of trial and error. Turns out, he’s a very salty sweater. As proof that one size does not fit all when it comes to hydration, Andy loses nearly twice as much sodium per liter of sweat than does his head of operations, Jonny.    Motivated by his struggles, Andy specialized in electrolyte replenishment and founded Precision Hydration with the help of respected heart surgeon, Dr. Raj Jutley, who introduced Andy to sweat testing and the huge variances in sweat and sodium losses among athletes.  Precision Hydration produces hydration products, and offers unique sweat and sodium testing, as well as education on creating the right hydration plan to fit your individual needs. They have created personalized hydration plans for top level athletes and teams such as the English Premier League, International Rugby Union, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Formula 1 Motor racing, MotoGP, and IndyCar, as well as elite individuals from the worlds of cycling, running, triathlon, and firefighters and service personnel who are exposed to high levels of heat stress and sweating, helping them maintain performance in even the harshest  of environments. As Precision Hydration progressed, they got exclusive access to patented sweat testing technology that requires no physical effort from the athlete. The technology has a long, credible history as a diagnostic test for Cystic Fibrosis and the test is simple, painless, and extremely accurate. They also developed their own range of effervescent electrolytes early on because existing products were simply not strong enough to meet most serious athletes' needs. The company working with We were now, built up such a wealth of data on how athletes sweat that they were able to build an algorithm-based questionnaire to deliver personalized hydration advice for athletes who couldn't make it to one of their test centers. Precision Hydration’s mission is to give every athlete access to a personalized hydration strategy so that they have the best chance of achieving their goals. Disclosure: Precision Hydration is not a sponsor of our show and this interview is not an infomercial for their products.  This is all about having an expert in the field help us understand our unique hydration needs.     Questions Andy is asked:          4:31 You are a former elite triathlete that learned about hydration the hard way.  I would love to hear some of your horror stories about how failing to hydrate properly affected your performances.   5:38 What were you doing wrong specifically with your hydration?   6:33 Can you give us a quick history lesson on the advice that athletes have been given about hydration?   8:33 Do you think it’s true that being a little dehydrated is a lot better than being over hydrated?   9:39 How do you know that you are well hydrated and how do you get hydrated before you hit the starting line?   12:29 I was looking at the back of a thing of salt that I have and salt has about 600mg per quarter teaspoon of sodium in it, so can I just take my bottle of water and throw a little sodium in it and call it good?   13:55 Can you just tell us what we should drink?   17:17 How do we measure our own sweat rate and  how do we measure our sodium losses?   22:01 Let’s talk about cramps because I have a pretty high level Masters Athlete that I coach and he is very, very fast. He’s a 2:27 marathoner, he’s almost 50 years old, and he often suffers in cramps, and for the most part, it’s at the end of the marathon, and he just powers through it. And we have not been able to figure it out. We think that it’s a muscle issue, but he is a strong hard worker, and so it’s really hard to figure out. Can you help explain the cramping issue?   27:36 Drink to thirst or drink to plan?   30:07 There’s a pretty common myth that if you’re 2% dehydrated, that’s too much. Can you talk about that?   31:58 How does somebody come up with a hydration plan? Do we just go out and run and see when we fall off the cliff? What do you suggest? Obviously trial and error, but let’s say I’m brand new to this whole thing. What advice would you give me?   34:35 Just like glycogen, we’re not trying to replace everything we lost during the actual event. Is that correct?   36:20 After the race, what do we drink? Questions I ask everyone:   37:33 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?   38:06 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?   38:15 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Andy:   “I’ve had some very, very depressing long walks along highways by the side of the road at the end of an Ironman triathlon feeling like absolute garbage because of the problems I had with hydration.”   “Anyone who’s operating in a warm-to-hot environment who’s going for more than 90 minutes to two hours or doing lots of hard sessions on back-to-back days in that warm environment, they’re the people who benefit from really understanding their individual hydration needs a lot closer, and that requires a bit of investigation.”   “I quite often think that cramps that happen late on in endurance activities have a component that’s related to electrolyte imbalance.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:    Precision Hydration hello@precisionhydration.com How To Measure Your Sweat Rate Cramps How To Start an Event Well Hydrated How Much Dehydration Can You Tolerate? How To Tell if You May be a Salty Sweater Discount code for precisionhydration.com for 15% off your first order: RUNTOTHETOP Free: Book a 1:1 video chat with a Precision Hydration team member to answer your hydration-related questions! Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Andy on:   Facebook Instagram Twitter We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

 Team RC Update 8/28/2020: Team Update - RC Mobile App! | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 07:11

In this week's episode, Coach Michael talks about the changes on our podcast shows, Coach Dylan's strength training sessions, the new live coach chats on YouTube and our upcoming RC mobile app. Tune in now!

 Up-Tempo Talks - Running Headlines (5k World Record, Trial Runners Attempt FKTs) 2020/08/27 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 13:32

In this week's Up-Tempo Talks episode, Coach Ruairi talks about the new 5k world record at Monaco Diamond League, FKT (Fastest Known Time) phenomenon among trail runners, and a showdown on the 1500m Irish National Championships. Listen now!

 Dr. Tom Lawton Ran 22 Miles in a Mask To Prove A Point - 08/26/2020 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 37:34

Dr. Tom Lawton Ran 22 Miles in a Mask To Prove A Point Does wearing a mask really impair your oxygen levels as some people claim? Recent internet sensation Dr. Tom Lawton went to extremes to find out. After a prolonged period of not running, he ran 22 miles in a homemade triple-layer mask, testing his oxygen levels along the way. His goal was twofold: to prove it’s safe to wear a mask while walking about and to raise money for charity.    In this episode, Coach Claire delves into the details of Tom’s mask experiment, finds out if he thinks runners should wear masks, what his experience as a critical care doctor has been like in the UK with the coronavirus, and also what he thought about recent controversial RTTT guest Matthew Hammersmith who has been putting on in-person races during the pandemic. Spoiler alert: Tom is not fully for or against what Matt is doing. Check out his opinion and see if you agree.   Tom Lawton is an intensive care doctor with the Bradford Royal Infirmary in Yorkshire, England, a healthcare researcher, and triathlete.  After being fat and wheezy through childhood, he took up rowing at his university, and hated running with a passion. Unable to run more than about a quarter of a mile without knee pain and a loud “slap” accompanying each foot strike, he foolishly ran (well, mostly walked while sobbing in pain) the London Marathon to raise money for charity. He then vowed never to run again. A decade later and unfit once more, a drunken wedding bet saw Tom enter the first Ironman Wales. He started running under protest and arrived at the race having managed training runs of no longer than 10 miles. Undeterred, he excitedly scarfed down everything he’d picked up from the expo during the bike section. Alas, at least one of those things did not agree with him and he spent most of the run being sick. Nevertheless, he still somehow managed to beat his London Marathon time, which prompted him to pick up triathlon training for real. Since then, Tom has continued to improve and has finished each of his last six iron-distance races in under 10 hours. However, the pandemic has put a stop to all that and he has been unable to train much since January due to a combination of work and the stress of caring for sick patients.  Tom desperately wants to get back to training, so he wants everyone to do whatever they can to keep this virus under control, and he has become a keen mask advocate. In order to prove they were safe to wear around the shops, he pushed a bit more oxygen through one by running to the ICU and back, and has spent the last few weeks exposed to the Internet’s underbelly in the aftermath with his aforementioned 22-mile run.  Questions Tom is asked:          5:03 You are a critical care doctor in the UK who has recently gotten quite a bit of attention for running 22 miles wearing a triple layer mask to prove that wearing a mask does not cause a drop in oxygen levels.  Before we get into that story, can you tell me a bit about what life is like with the pandemic where you are?   6:56 Can you talk a little bit about what the hospital you were working at was like in April with all the cases coming in?   8:20 Was your hospital overwhelmed with COVID patients?   8:50 In the United States, a big part of the decision to wear a mask or not seems to be a very political one.  We Americans prize our freedom and individualism and some people just don't like being told what to do, so they don’t want to wear a mask.  Are you seeing that in the UK as well, that kind of attitude?   10:54 Let's have you tell the story of the run that got shared around the world.  How did you set it up and what’s the story?     14:47 Tell me about the mask you were wearing on your run?   15:49 How did you measure your oxygen levels on the run?   17:02 What kind of feedback are you getting from people? Are people saying that, “Well, you’re an athlete. Of course your oxygen levels are going to be great,” or “I have asthma. This isn’t going to work for me.” Did people say that you’re some kind of exception? Have you gotten any feedback like that?   18:49 You ran to work in a mask, and then presumably you wore a mask all day at work, and then you turned around and wore a mask and ran home. Is that right?   19:43 What you said before is you ran in a mask just to show that you could do it, but I’m gathering that you wouldn’t recommend it and it probably wasn’t great for performance. Is that correct?   22:05 I certainly know a lot of athletes who do live in big cities and run on crowded paths and they wear the neck gaiter or the buff because it’s easy to pull up and down. And you mentioned that Duke University study that came out, and it said that the buffs are actually worse than no mask at all because they break up the droplets and make them easier to spread. I’d love to get your thoughts on that.   25:01 A lot of people say, “Well, hey, if I’m healthy enough to go running or I’m healthy enough to go run a race, then I probably don’t have corona.” What do you say to people who say that?   26:06 We recently had a race director on this show and he was putting on smaller races, 200-to-300 people at the events, and with very minimal pre-race, post-race contact, but still, in a race, and there’s pictures of these races that you’re not six feet apart, you’re passing people, there’s crowds at the starts, so what do you say about holding races during the pandemic?   28:17 Part of the race director’s argument was there’s a mental health risk of not going out and seeing other people, and that’s hard to deny as well. People are kind of going a little stir crazy, but also some serious mental issues are happening because we are all stuck inside. Are you seeing that as well?   30:03 And on a personal note, how is your training going?   Questions I ask everyone:   31:37 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?   32:10 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?   32;59 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Tom:   “There have been a lot of people, especially with this mask-run context, they need to complain and say they don’t want to wear masks, and various forms of abuse. And a lot of them are American, but I’ve had Canadian abuse, I’ve had French abuse, I’ve had UK abuse, so it’s not just an American thing.”   “The purpose of doing this wasn’t to show that you should run in masks. It was to show that you could walk around the shops quietly in one, and the running was just to make it kind of more extreme and make it really obvious that if anything was going to make my oxygen levels drop, then running for 22 miles should have made it happen, and it didn’t.”   “This disease is about people thinking of others. Most of us involved in running are relatively young, we’re fit, we’re healthy. We are not going to die from coronavirus even if we catch it, but we could spread it to friends, to family, to people we don’t know who are more at risk, and those are the people we’ve got to really think about.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  USA Today Article abc News Article Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Tom on:   Twitter We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

 How To Make The Most Of Your Cool Down - 2020/08/25 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 10:22

Why you need to do cool down exercises after a workout? How to properly cool down after running or racing? Coach Hayley explains in today's episode.

 How to Avoid Injury and Increase Your Speed as a Masters Runner 2020/08/24 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 08:32

How to stay speedy and healthy when running in your 50s, 60s, and 70s? Can older runners do speed work without ending up injured? Coach Claire shares tips to help master runners increase speed and avoid injury in today's podcast.

 Team RC Update 8/21/2020: Team Update - Run To The Top Shakeup | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 04:15

In this week's episode, Coach Michael talks about the feedback we received on our daily podcasts and asks your suggestions about our plan of making a slight change with the podcast format.

 Up-Tempo Talks - Why Do Runners Do That? (Train in race flats, 10 day training, Squat & Deadlifts) 2020/08/20 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 14:44

Why do a lot of runners wear racing flats during workouts? Why some runners follow a 7 day training cycle vs a 10 day training cycle? Why do runners incorporate squats and deadlifts in their training - What are its benefits? Find out in today's podcast from Coaches Ruairi and Dylan.

 Are You Tough Enough to Race the World's Harshest Deserts? Samantha Fanshawe - 08/19/2020 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 36:16

Are You Tough Enough to Race the World’s Harshest Deserts? Samantha Fanshawe   Imagine running 250km (about 155) miles in 6 stages across the most inhospitable deserts in the world while carrying everything you need for the entire race on your back.  Whether you think that sounds incredible or miserable, you’ll probably agree the idea is fascinating. Samantha Fanshawe, president of the 4 Deserts Race Series at RacingThePlanet, manages ultra stage races all over the world in some of the harshest conditions from the Atacama Desert in Chile to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to the Namib Desert in Africa to the coldest desert in the world, Antarctica. Sam tells Coach Claire what it’s like to race these events, what you need to do to train and prepare, and who should (and should not) sign up for an event like this. It’s a fascinating dive into the world of some of the toughest races on the planet, and you can enjoy it from the comfort of home!   Sam has always been a citizen of the planet. She is a Brit, born in Peru and schooled in Pakistan for a few of her early years. She graduated from the University of Leeds with a joint honors degree in Maths and Biology, then went off to explore parts of the world such as Sydney, Australia, before returning to the United Kingdom to work in business development of corporate clients in the recruitment industry. After a couple of years, her company transferred her to Singapore, followed by stints in Penang, Malaysia and Hong Kong.  Sam has mastered the art of dragon boat racing, competing in the Dragon Boat World Championships. She also plays squash, hikes, rides horses, and mountain bikes. She fell in love with running while living in Asia, starting with half marathons before running the Singapore Marathon, sprint triathlons, adventure races, and ultimately ultramarathons including the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker, the Gobi March, Vibram HK 100, and Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset.  In 2005, Sam volunteered at the hottest race on record, the Gobi March, a seven-day, 250km footrace. She fell in love with the spirit of RacingThePlanet and became a staff member, and has since worked over 20 RacingThePlanet/4 Desert events.   Questions Samantha is asked:          5:18 You have a very interesting background, living all over the world. How did you first get involved with RacingThePlanet?   6:23 Can you describe what these events are like? I’d love to hear what they are and what kind of people sign up for them?   9:12 How many people actually really run every single day and how many people do more of a walk/hiking?   9:46 The participants pretty much have to bring everything as far as food. They don’t have to bring a tent I understand, but pretty much everything else?   11:02 How has the pandemic affected RacingThePlanet?   12:47 Let’s talk about training for the race. Let’s fast forward to 2021 when everything is perfectly healthy. How would you recommend training for something like this? Is it similar to marathon training?   14:05 Training for the race with a backpack is super important, right?   15:01 I imagine you have a lot of repeat athletes who do this over and over again, but I would love to hear about the first timers. What challenges do the first-time racers tend to face?   16:44 What kind of food do people eat on something like this? I imagine it would be different if you’re running or walking because you can chew a lot better when you are walking, but what kind of foods are most people bringing in their backpack every day?   19:23 You’ve got all of your food for all six stages in your backpack the whole time. Is that what you’re saying? No one takes it for you to the next stage.   19:43 I imagine not everybody makes it to the finish line. What are the reasons that you see that most people have to stop the race?   21:52 What kind of people should NOT sign up for a race like this?   23:03 I bet you have a whole collection of amazing stories from races as epic as this. Can you share a few of the more memorable stories of things that have happened in some of these races?   25:19 I noticed that registration for Antarctica is by invite only.  Can you explain?   26:57 I imagine you’re not dealing with heat in Antarctica, but there’s probably some other challenges like dealing with the cold and maybe frostbite. What are the other challenges in Antarctica?   27:56 How many times have you gone to Antarctica now?   28:29 What is the future for RacingThePlanet? Is there anything new in the works? Questions I ask everyone:   30:09 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?   31:11 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?   32:35 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Samantha:   “The whole ethos of the race was not only to take people to amazing places and to achieve things that maybe they didn’t think was possible like covering 250km on foot across a desert, but also to make people realize that you can survive for seven days in a desert without the internet, without your phone, without a comfortable bed, without a shower, and just with everything you can carry on your back.”   “Our goal is to encourage people to finish, but within the cutoff times and safely and when they’re in the right position to do so.”   “When you think you’re done, you think what you’re going through is nothing compared to what some other people are going through, not just in the race, but in life as well.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  RacingThePlanet info@racingtheplanet.com Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Samantha on:   Facebook - RacingThePlanet Instagram - RacingThePlanet LinkedIn - RacingThePlanet Twitter - RacingThePlanet YouTube - RacingThePlanet We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!  

 Do I Need to Take an Electrolyte Replacement - 2020/08/18 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 06:20

In today's episode, Coach Hayley talks about electrolyte drinks and guidelines for electrolyte replacement. Listen now to find out when do you need electrolytes and when plain water is fine.

 How Running 80% Easy Could Make You 23% Faster 2020/08/17 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 07:49

Should you accumulate a lot of mileage at an easy pace in training? Or should you try to reach race-specific speeds frequently? Is it necessary to do all of your runs faster if you want to get faster? In today's episode, Coach Claire look at one study that addresses this topic of training intensity problem.

 Team RC Update 8/14/2020: Team Update - Our CEO Eats Crow | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 12:01

In today's episode, Coach Michael talks about his experience as a high school runner and college athlete, and why is it worth to consider college sports from an athlete's perspective. 

 Up-Tempo Talks - Running Headlines - A London Showdown & the U.S. HIgh School Trail Championship 2020/08/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:14

Coach Dylan and Coach Ruairi welcome you back to another episode on running headlines where we cover the latest events and actions that happened in the running world during the past week or so. Listen now!

 Battling Depression with Running Shoes and a Dog: Nita Sweeney - 08/12/2020 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 42:14

Battling Depression with Running Shoes and a Dog: Nita Sweeney A major depressive episode turned Nita Sweeney from the law to writing. She is now an award-winning author who shares what she’s learned in her autobiographical Amazon best seller Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink.    Running, and more specifically, running with her dog helped change Nina’s life and her mental health, and she talks with Coach Claire about how running can be an effective tool for managing mental health issues, the challenges and limitations of running, the importance of community, even a virtual one, for keeping your spirits and your training up, and for all you new pandemic puppy owners, she shares tips on how to run with your new friend.  Nita has been plying her writing trade for over 25 years, and her work has been featured in health.com, healthline.com, livestrong.com, Fupping.com, PsychCentral.com, bpHope.com, Bustle.com, NextAvenue.com, UpJourney.com, Medium.com, Pawstruck.com, Thrive Global, WGRN, Sweatpants & Coffee, Authority Magazine, Intergenerational Inspiration, 2014 and Beyond, and Pretty Progressive, and in bp Magazine and Epoch Times, on the Word Carver, Running Dad, My Brain on Endorphins, and Diz Runs podcasts, and was nominated for the Ohio Arts Council Governor's Award. Her articles, essays, and poems have appeared in Buddhist America, Dog World, Dog Fancy, Writer's Journal, Country Living, Pitkin Review, Spring Street, The Taos News, WNBA-SF blog, Pencil Storm, The Writing Cooperative, It's Not Your Journey, Wide Open Writing, and other newspapers and newsletters. She writes the blog, Bum Glue and publishes the monthly email, Write Now Columbus.   Her poem "Memorial" won the Dublin Arts Council's Poet's Choice Award and an early draft of her memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink, (previously titled Twenty-Six Point Freaking Two) was short-listed for the William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award. The book was awarded a Maxwell Medal in the Human Animal Bond category of the Dog Writers Association of America writing competition. It is a #1 Amazon Bestseller in the "mood disorders," "bipolar disorder," and "running & jogging" categories. The book was selected by Ohioana Library to be included in the 2020 Ohioana Festival. Nita also coauthored the popular writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving, with Brenda Knight (Women of the Beat Generation.) Nita earned a journalism degree from The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, a law degree from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves on the board of the Women's National Book Association of San Francisco. For ten years, she studied with and assisted best-selling author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) at week-long writing workshops teaching the "rules of writing practice" and leading participants in sitting and walking meditation. Goldberg authorized Nita to teach "writing practice" and Nita has taught for nearly twenty years. When she's not writing and teaching, Nita runs. She has completed three full marathons, 27 half marathons (in eighteen states), and more than 80 shorter races. Nita lives in central Ohio with her husband and biggest fan, Ed, and her yellow Labrador running partner, Scarlet (aka #ninetyninepercentgooddog).     Questions Nita is asked:          2:41 Let's start with your running journey.  How did you begin to run regularly?   5:03 Your running journey is also connected to your mental health journey. Can you talk a little bit about that?   7:46 What was it like finding a running community?   10:14 How specifically has running helped your mental health?   11:49 I think it’s pretty well known that everybody who gets a running habit going, you feel good, at least when you stop running. Sometimes when you actually are running it doesn’t always feel good, but most of the time we feel good after we run, but there is a limit to that. You can only run so many miles in a day. You can’t always rely on exercise for all of your mental health issues. Where do you kind of draw the line and say, “Yes, running is a tool but I need some extra help?”   14:16 Sometimes you need actual therapy beyond running; don’t you agree?   15:41 I would also like to talk about you running with your dog, Scarlet. A lot of runners have dogs, and dogs help us get moving and get active, but you decided to write a book about that. Can you talk a little bit about that?    19:03 What other tips do you have for someone who just got their pandemic puppy and want to start running with the dog?   20:59 I know a lot of people who run with dogs who will maybe do their warmup with the dog and then circle back home and drop the dog off and then do a longer run. Is that something that you’ve had to do? In marathon training, you can’t take your dog for 20 miles or something like that.   23:21 I would imagine if you’re doing any kind of speed work or some kind of session where you need to do that, that must be a challenge with a dog?   24:21 Many runners have, like you, found running later in life.  How has your running changed as you age?   16:13 With your running and the pandemic, all the races have been canceled for the most part, a lot of us are left without goals. Are you still running and training without that goal and deadline?   28:44 I’ve started to see these socially distant races come up, and it just makes me wonder, is everybody going to wear masks when they run, which is obviously hard, and how do you stay six feet apart, what if you want to pass somebody? Have you looked into any of that, like how they’re going to do that?   31:49 I would love to hear more about when you are depressed or going through a mental health episode, you know that running makes you feel better, you know that calling a friend makes you feel better, you know that intellectually, but because you’re depressed and not feeling good, you don’t feel like doing those things. So how do you start moving when you don’t want to move? How do you reach out when you don’t want to reach out? Any tips?   35:37 Let’s say I’m a brand new runner and I want to find community. Where would  you suggest me going? Questions I ask everyone:   38:09 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?   38:55 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?   39:42 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Nita:   “I had to find something that suited me in a way, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, and running did that.”   “I really think that it’s kind of ironic that I ended up writing a book about running. I couldn’t have done that without the focus and endurance that I had from marathon training.”   “Having gone through an injury, coming out the other side, realizing that it’s going to be okay, that’s been one of the great things of having done anything, but especially running for a long time, seeing those patterns.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  NitaSweeney.com Depression Hates a Moving Target John Bingham "The Penguin" books Marathoner in Training Dash for Donation Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Nita on:   nita@nitasweeney.com Twitter Facebook We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

 Tweaks to Optimise Training and Health as an Older Runner - 2020/08/11 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 07:58

In today's podcast, Coach Hayley talks about some training tweaks that master runners can make to optimize their running performance and their health going forward. Tune in now!

Comments

Login or signup comment.