Running Rogue

Are you frustrated with a recent race result? Have you been struggling to break through a plateau? Are you hitting your times but feel like there is more in you? If so, then these two episodes are for you. I give you 14 reasons WHY you might not be hitting your running goals. It's real talk, so be ready before you hit play...

In this episode, I answer 4 questions about prep races: Should I do a prep race in advance of my primary goal race? What might be the reasons to do a prep race? When should I race a prep race if I choose to do one? How should I race it? Prep races can help you on the path to your goal race, but they can also take away from it. This episode will help you manage those choices along the way!

You've heard all about the need to increase your carbs per hour, but what are you doing about it? In this episode, I give you 5 practical tips for experimenting with your in-run nutrition so that you can race faster and feel better doing so. And if you haven't re-evaluated your nutrition in a minute, then now is the time!

Fall races officially kick off with the Berlin Marathon this weekend, which makes this an exciting time of year. You might have a 5K, 10K, half or full marathon coming up, and I've got you covered in this episode with race strategy blueprints for each of those distances. These are baseline blueprints to get you started in your pace planning, and I've got variations for each race depending on your experience level. Use these as a starting point and then adapt them to the course in front of you. Then, go race and learn!

Fall races are imminent, and therefore, so are the pre-race demons that many of us often face in advance. In this episode, I give 7 common, pre-race doubts and talk through strategies to face them. The 7: "I did not do enough in training." "What if something bad happens on race day?" "I don't know if I can do this." "I'm just not good enough for this goal." "What if I let someone down?" "I can't handle the nerves and pressure." "What if I can't take it when it gets hard." Which one do you struggle with the most? Thanks to LMNT for sponsoring this one. Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at https://www.DrinkLMNT.com/rogue.

We are getting close to some big fall races from Berlin to NYC and Indy, and it is time to lock in (as the kids say). In this episode, I give you 6 tips for your final prep, so you are ready to put your best foot forward on race day!

If you are racing in the fall between September and December, then it is never too early to start thinking about your race plan. You prepare in training, and you also want to prepare your plan for the big day. In this episode, I give you 8 steps to build your plan: Select your goal pace. Gather information about the race course. Break the course down into 3-6 chunks that make sense. Develop a strategy for each section of the course. Translate that strategy into a pace by mile. Layer in the finer course details and also nutrition and hydration. Visualize your plan. Execute the plan and then learn from it. What will your plan be to smash your goal? Thank you to my new hydration sponsor for the podcast - LMNT. I've used their products for my electrolyte supplementation for the last 4 years and can't recommend the brand enough. Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at https://www.DrinkLMNT.com/rogue .

Fear is necessary. Fear is a good thing. Fear becomes more manageable with time and experience. Let's face your running fears!

Ok, ok... I know the title sounds a bit woo-woo, but this episode is full of practical tactics to be the best version of you on race day. You are powerful in a very unique way, and I give you 6 tips for bringing out the most in you when it matters in training and race. They are: Take inventory of your strengths and weaknesses without judgement. Frame your circumstances appropriately. Embrace the challenges ahead. Take on one weakness at a time by putting your strengths to work. Employ radical personal responsibility. Stay present. One moment. One mile. One day at a time. These tips are easier said than done, but this episode will help you put these things into practice, so that you can find out who you are when things get hard!

I like to say: "There is no such thing as a perfect training cycle." And there shouldn't be. You will always have to make adjustments for things that pop up during training whether managing life's curveballs, dealing with injury, or simply feeling a little more tired/sore than normal. For that last category, there is a hierarchy of "pressure release values" to pull when feeling tired or sore, and your goal is to learn how to listen to your body and pull those pressure release valves when necessary. In this episode, I talk about 5 valves to pull in order to keep training but to back off appropriately when the body calls for it. Make these adjustments when you need them, in order to prioritize getting to the start line healthy and ready to roll. Then, celebrate when you do give your body a little more space for recovery!

I start with my thoughts on Boston's controversial new registration lottery! Then, I turn to a topic that will be important to many of you with big races coming up in August, September, and October. Now, it's time to plan for both the elements you can control and those you cannot. We talk about the important categories for planning (from logistics to race execution), and then we discuss how to think through potential problems that pop up along the way both in this cycle and the next one. While the specific problems you face might be different than you think, the act of problem solving in your mind will make you better at it so that you are ready for any curve ball on race day.

What does it look like to manifest your future? Is it just thinking and dreaming + magic and hope or it is more? In this episode, we discuss the tactics behind manifesting your goals. While some of these tactics might sound cheesy, they are backed by science and years of subjective experience. We cover self-talk, affirmations, re-framing negative thoughts, visualization, and problem solving. Plus, we discuss how to turn "failure" into opportunity and the lessons that will lead to eventual success. It is time to re-program your brain to believe!

We've discussed knowing your purpose. Now, it is time to paint a picture of what you want in this sport. Your vision is the dream and the big picture which isn't bounded by time. Your goals are the timebound milestones along the way. In this episode, we talk about the process of creating a vision board and then discuss the do's and don'ts of goal setting. Should you create process or outcome goals? Should you have an "A" goal and "B" goal? How do you find the balance of making the goal a stretch without making it unrealistic? We talk about all of this and more!

There are two big questions underpinning this episode... Is mental strength innate or do you build it? What's the distance between your true limits and the perceived limits posed by your mind? We discuss these questions to open the episode. We truly do believe that mental fortitude is built. AND, there is plenty of room to better match your perceived limits with your actual limits. To do that, you have to work at it, and we break down how to do so. Know your plan. Bring your mental tools to race day. Build the mentality needed to give your all. Execute, apply, learn. And finally, do it with a team to best hone your mental skills.

We are turning the page (pun intended) to a new section of the book where we discuss the mental side of training and racing. And, as cheesy as it might sound, it all starts with knowing your purpose for the run. Why do you run, and specifically why do run for performance? For you, running might be about stress relief, health or longevity, but we would submit that there are likely deeper reasons as well, especially if you are listening to us talk. In this episode, we encourage you to dig into your purpose by creating a statement of purpose for your running. We give you 6 tips and several thought starters for doing so. This might be a scary exercise for you, but we promise it will pay off when the going gets tough in training or racing!

If the long run "puts the tiger in the cat," then the long run workout puts the saber tooth in the tiger! Yes, we need all of those easy long runs to build the aerobic foundation. Then, as you gain experience and appropriately timed in the cycle, it is important to add quality into your long runs to give you that extra edge for race day. We call these workouts race simulations or race preps because they give you the opportunity to practice that race-day feeling while still saving something for race day. In this episode, we break down how to do that in an optimal way with all of the do's and don'ts, including example workouts. Are you ready to upgrade some of your long runs with speed? Then, this episode is for you!

There are 3 main pillars of recovery - sleep, nutrition/hydration, and easy movement. In this episode, we talk about the third pillar. In our training programs, easy movement primarily manifests as recovery running. These are the glacially slow runs that enable blood flow which promote healing for the next long or hard thing. If you are skipping your recovery runs, then you are likely on the bullet train to injury. So, get in those recovery runs and do them at paces that are slower than you think. Your body will thank you and so will your next PR.

Last week, we talked about the long run, and now this week, we talk about the medium long run. I call it the "unsung hero" of fitness building, and it's a run that is often overlooked relative to the speed workout or primary long run. In this episode, we discuss why it's really the third leg or pillar in your training that should be given equal weight to those other two. Listen in to learn about the why and the how of building a robust medium long run to help you smash your goals. It is more important than you think!

Mile for mile... the long run might just be the most important run of the week. It builds aerobic capacity, improves neuromuscular resilience, and facilitates metabolic flexibility - 3 of the most important tools you need as a distance runner. In this episode, we discuss the benefits in detail and then break down the tactics by answering these 6 questions about the long run: How long? How many or how often? How fast? Can you go too fast? How do you fuel? Hydrate? How do you incorporate long run workouts? Make sure you aren't wasting miles. Listen to this one before your next long run!

The word "tempo" might be one of the most commonly misunderstood words in coaching vernacular, even as it might be the most commonly prescribed type of workout. It's also one of the most important and critical training efforts for distance runners, so it is critical to understand it well if you want to improve. This episode is all about that tempo. We give you the what, the why, and the how of executing a solid tempo workout. Plus, you get a host of examples of how it might be done in different ways across all training phases. Don't fidget. Tempo!