Run4PRs

Special Podcast: "What to do when races get cancelled due to COVID-19" Typically March is an exciting time of year, it usually marks the start of spring marathon season and the racing season for most. This year everything is different due to the CoronaVirus pandemic. Races everywhere have been postponed or cancelled. Even the Boston Marathon, America’s oldest marathon has announced they are moving it’s race to September 14th. We’ve never seen anything like this in terms of so many races being cancelled. We hope this is a once in a lifetime dilemma. Today we’d like to discuss how to handle the disappointment of your race being cancelled as well as provide some tips for what to do next in terms of your own training and future races.

Easy running is difficult for many runners to grasp the concept. Running 2-3 min per mile slower than your 5k race pace can feel very ‘slow’ for runners. It is hard to trust that slowing down is the best way to get faster. There is always an equation of stress + rest = growth. Easy running targets the aerobic system which is the system we want to improve on because it is what is used during 99.9% of the marathon race. We want to make sure we stress the right systems to improve. What if your HR is not high? What if HR is lower on easy days? Tapering or in recovery can I go faster? How many miles per week do elite runners typically run What pace are the bulk of their miles ran at in comparison to their marathon pace? Why is it important to not run too fast on your easy days? What if your marathon pace feels easy? How come it feels like anything from Threshold to recovery pace is ‘easy’? Do you think people often think anything that isn’t using the anaerobic zone is easy? How can you calculate your easy zone? Is there such a thing as going too slow on your easy days? How can you ensure you are going slow enough? How often do you see this as something that holds athletes back from reaching their potential?

Running is an aerobic sport. Any athlete who has a previous background in aerobic sports like distance swimming, biking, or soccer will have an aerobic base already established more than someone who was inactive. Speed and endurance are two pieces to the distance running puzzle. Some athletes can crush out a super fast mile time but then struggle with longer distance events like the half marathon or full marathon. Today we will be chatting about training specifically to gain endurance and carry your speed across a longer distance Are people who have been running or playing sports for longer at an advantage when it comes to training for longer distance running? How long does it typically take to build up to the half marathon distance? How long does it typically take to build up to the full marathon distance? Do you think it may take longer if someone tries to go ‘race pace’ on their long runs? What if it feels weird to slow down? What are your tips for slowing down on your easy/long runs and not losing your mind? What are the best workouts for someone who is trying to build endurance? What would the ideal athlete week of training look like for someone who is building into a half marathon training cycle How do you know you are training at the right paces? How do you learn how to trust the process? How long does it take to full develop your aerobic abilities? Is mileage building important?

45. Stress variables in training & how to balance them When developing a plan it is important to keep in mind the variables of stress at play. There is an art to building a training plan for each athlete. It is like a puzzle you must solve. You cannot have too much stress, but you want to stress the right variables at the right time to lead to a specific outcome. The variables at play are long runs, mileage, workouts, racing, and so many more. In addition to the training stress variables each athlete also has different life stressors that will impact their training cycle like work, school, kids, health issues. Today we are doing a deep dive into the stress variables and advice for getting the most out of your training How do you assess an athlete’s stress variables when they first start training? How much stress can you add on a new athlete at once? Should you increase more than one variable at a time? Does your background in the sport play a difference? New vs experienced runner? How often do you increase the stress variables? What is the most important one? Are there sometimes you break rules like the 10% mileage increase? Why? If someone misses a workout, does it impact the rest of the training stress for the week? How do you manage missing days? How do you balance the stress variables in training with the life stress athletes may have? Long runs, mileage, workouts: what are the more important ones when you first develop an athletes plan for a marathon?

We are often asked what workouts are best or what is the best weekly mileage to run. The answer is simple: use the progressive overload principle! What is that? The idea that you are starting where you are at with mileage and workouts then slowly building micro stress over a period of time to lead your body to have specific adaptations. Each training plan should be different because each athlete has a unique starting point. You need to assess your background and goals before you jump into training training plan Have you ever jumped into a training plan because you liked the way it looked because it looked super hard? What happened? Have you ever been given a training plan that looked pretty basic/boring but been amazing at how much improvement you had? Why does the progressive overload principle work on our bodies? Why is it a bad idea to jump all in on a super challenging training plan? Will you see results from massive overload? What will happen overtime from progressive approach vs a massive overload? When people refer to training smarter not harder is this apart of this approach? Www.run4prs.co

We often focus on the workouts & the stress of training. Athletes often want to do more and work harder, but did you know it’s a two sided equation? Stress + Rest = Growth! We need to have the rest portion in order to become better over the long run. When we have a training plan that focuses too much on the stress and not enough on the rest, we often see injury, burnout, and stagnation. This may not come right away, so it is often confusing for runners. Today we will be chatting about how to add more rest to your training How often do you take rest days now vs when at your peak fitness? Do you think running every day is good? How do you know when it becomes too much How long do you think an athlete can go before seeing their running have very negative impacts from not resting enough? What is a ‘cut back week’ & why is it important? Do you think most people do cut back weeks? Why not? What if you feel good? Do you still have to do a cut back week? Is it important to rest before you feel like you have to? How does human physiology work when it comes to recovery? What is the benefit of a rest day over running easy? Should you cross training or strength train on your rest days? When should you take your weekly rest days? What if you are scared to take a rest day or are on a run streak? How long will it take to lose your fitness?

How is training for the 5k and a marathon any different besides running more miles? Did you know that elite 5k runners still train 70+ miles per week? That is still a whole lot of running! A lot of the training for the 5k and the marathon are very similar, but there are some differences we should address to make sure you are training correctly for your goals. We will also chat about why it is possible to also PR in the 5k while training for the marathon Targeting your training to each energy system will allow you to attend to specific aspects of metabolism that can improve your running performance. What percent of the aerobic system is used during a marathon? 100% What percent of the aerobic system is used during a 5k/10k 95-100% What are the key focuses for a marathon training plan? If you are training for a marathon, long, continuous runs are more important for their effects on glycogen storage and capillary and mitochondrial volumes. Intervals take on greater importance if you are training for a 5K and shorter distances, which are run at a pace closer to your VO2 max. www.run4prs.co

Motivation can be pretty low this time of year if you live in the North. Motivation is a myth! Most athletes do not feel motivated to run regularly. We discuss how to train your brain to run and find ways to be consistent with the sport of running that don’t include waiting to “feel” like running. Want to try a 7 day trial for free? Www.run4prs.co

We talk a lot about training & workouts to get faster but what are the other things you can do to get the fastest times out of your body? We take a deep dive into the 4% shoes and downhill courses. Www.run4prs.co

The Boston marathon is 3 months away! Runners work so hard to get to this point in their running careers. We are sharing tips for crushing the hills and running your very best time at Boston. In addition to the Newton Hills (Heartbreak Hill) you will face challenges like a later start race time AND unknown weather conditions that can cause additional challenges. We share tips you can implement in your training now to be ready to enjoy the Boston Course in April

INJURY PREVENTION TIPS

We have all had bad races or bad workouts. How can we rebound from them with confidence? We must change our perspective when you are feeling negative or stuck. Self belief is very powerful. Training your mind is key to becoming the best athlete you can be. We chat about building confidence & avoiding negativity.

Today we go into detail on tempo runs. Learn why these are the cornerstone workout for all distance runners. We take a deep dive into the differences between: marathon pace, steady state, threshold, & anaerobic work. We discuss how to calculate paces and implement these types of workouts into your training. Become the beat distance runner you can be by focusing on the RIGHT workouts. Train smarter not harder!

Coach Skelly and Victoria chat about the law of diminishing returns. Does it become harder to get faster as you get faster? Can anyone qualify for the Boston Marathon? How can you discover your physical limits? Is there a problem with the instant gratification culture?

It’s that time of year again! Lots of colds and flus going around! The worst part about getting sick as a runner is having to take time off ;) we do a deep dive into tips to avoid getting sick & how to navigate training if you do get sick. Www.run4prs.co