Run4PRs

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211. Practicing Water Stops Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

HOW TO PRACTICE WATER STOPS

Most athletes who follow us or listen to the podcast at some point or another hope to do a distance run or distance race. When we are training for events longer than 45-60 min, it’s important that we begin thinking about not only our fueling strategy but also how we plan to stay hydrated. During the summer months this is especially important to chat about. Many people during this time of year are gearing up for their fall marathons. When we run long runs of 2-3 hours, it’s imperative that we stay hydrated. When we add in the factor of heat/humidity into training, hydration becomes even more critical. Some athletes carry hydration back packs, other people run with a hand held bottle and some people simply stop to drink water. These are all great approaches to ensure that we stay hydrated, but one thing we often forget about is that we might want to practice our hydration strategy how we plan to do this on race day.

When does it become important to really monitor how much time the water stops are taking?

It’s not a huge deal if you are newer to the sport and just trying to finish the race
We would want to nail down your hydration strategy before we try to make it as efficient as possible

How do you stay hydrated during a race?

Research the course offerings
How many water stops & at what miles are they offered. Smaller races there may not be a ton of water stops
Are people handing out the cups or will you have to stop and grab?

You can get away with not fueling on easy long runs every 30-45 min or without fluids but on race day it’s a lot faster and it’s an all out race so you will feel the impacts

How do you practice running through a water stop?

Get small dixie cups and practice bending the cup to create a slight v shape and drink
Hold cup for a few steps until you have finished the liquids
Opt to take water at most stops to stay hydrated

How do you know how much water to take?

We want to practice during training and measure how much water we go through

Should you wear a hydration pack or a hand held during the race?

How did you practice?

Does the race allow for these back packs?

Will you toss the hand held?

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210. "Easy Running Makes My Form Weird: Should I Go Faster?" & Other Ask The Coaches Questions Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com

Ask The Coaches: Should I make up a missed workout?

1.Do I need to make up for missed workouts?

If you just had a bad workout: axe it

2. What should I do if my calf is tight and hurts when I run and put hot or cold

3. Stretching: is there an ideal window of time after we should stretch?

4. What should my stride look like on an easy day- I feel like I am shuffling along with terrible form but I think about lifting my knees

209. Fueling Endurance Sports: Mistakes We See & How to Reach Your Potential Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com Running is an endurance sport. All endurance sports will require fueling in order to reach your performance potential. Don’t leave your fastest times sitting on the table because you neglect fueling! Can you run long distances without fuel, yes, but physically will you perform better when you are fueled properly? YES! When you put in hundreds of hours into training, shouldn’t we also make an investment into our nutrition/fueling to ensure that we are able to allow our fitness to shine though on race day? One of the biggest limiting factors in races over 90 mins is fueling! It tends to be one of the number one reasons why people DNF 100 mile races. However, we live in an area of ‘diet culture’ and ‘biohacking’ where we might see counterproductive advice on the internet like ‘fasted workouts’. We want to remember that these so-called ‘experts’ are not advising endurance athletes to do these things fast. Endurance athletes are generally focused on performance, so we want to make sure we use that as our primary goal when discussing this. Why is it important to use fuel vs use nothing? The science of how carbs help boost performance in endurance events Carbs help delay fatigue by raising blood sugar levels and protecting your muscle glycogen stores allowing exercise to continue for longer at higher intensities. 30-80g per hour of carbs in events > 1 hour Especially important when going more than 2 hours By ingesting carbs during endurance events it helps reduce the stress placed on your immune system. When blood sugar drops, your brain increases Cortisol and epinephrine - two key hormones Can you run without fuel? Antecdolte advice: “I ran without fuel and I was fine” Why do some people claim ‘fasted’ workouts are good Why is it not beneficial for performance outcomes The ingestion of carbohydrates can have a significant effect on exercise performance During prolonged or intense exercise, the body breaks down and depletes muscle glycogen stores. Eventually this reaches a point of reduced carbohydrate availability. And may negatively affect fat metabolism, increase rates of fatigue, and increase muscle protein breakdown. By ingestion carbohydrates, we can maintain blood sugar levels, preserve muscle and liver glycogen stores, reduce muscle breakdown, lower cortisol levels, maintain immune function and enhance exercise performance History of running without fuel/history of gels What if your stomach hurts when you use gels? How often should you be using gels? Every 30-45 min a gel water/electrolytes every 15-30 min (4-8 oz) How much sodium do you need? 300-700mg Practice how you want to do this on race day! Also practice carb loading How do you carry your gels? How to experiment if something doesn't sit right?

208. Heat, Humidity & Your Running: Secrets to improving in unfavorable conditions Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com for a free 7 day trial. HUMIDITY, DEW POINT, HEAT INDEX: HOW THEY AFFECT YOUR TRAINING • Temperature alone is ❌NOT❌ the most important number to look at when determining how comfortable your run will be. Check out how humidity, dew point, and heat index affect our bodies & training:👇 • ✅HUMIDITY: Concentration/presence of water vapor in the air. It’s usually measured as relative humidity, which is a percentage of the highest possible absolute humidity. Humans are VERY sensitive to humidity because our skin needs air to get rid of moisture. Sweating allows us to cool down but when it’s very humid, our sweat can’t evaporate into the air so we feel a lot hotter when it is very humid 🥴 • ✅DEW POINT: A better judge of how comfortable it will be outside than relative humidity. The temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor. The higher the dew point, the greater the amount of moisture in the air. Relative humidity can be deceiving. EXAMPLE: A temp of 30/dew point of 30 will give you a relative humidity of 100%, but a temperature of 80/dew point of 60 would be a relative humidity of 50%. It would feel much more “humid” on the 80 degree day with 50% relative humidity than on the 30 degree day with a 100% relative humidity • 🔥Less than or equal to 55: dry and comfortable 🔥Between 55 and 65: feels “sticky” 🔥Greater than or equal to 65: lots of moisture in the air, VERY uncomfortable • ✅HEAT INDEX: What the temperature “feels like” when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature. EXAMPLE: If the air temperature is 100°F and the relative humidity is 55%, the heat index will be 124°F. This is assuming that you are in a shady area. If you are in direct sunlight, the heat index can be increased by up to 15°F! • 🔥80-90 Fahrenheit: CAUTION. Fatigue possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity 🔥90-103 F: EXTREME CAUTION. Heat stroke, heat cramps, or heat exhaustion possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity 🔥103-124 F: DANGER. Heat cramps or heat exhaustion likely, and heat stroke possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity 🔥125 F and higher: EXTREME DANGER. Heat stroke highly likely

207. What fitness level do you need before training for your first marathon? Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com Training for your first marathon! Many people have a bucket list item of running a full marathon. A marathon is 26.2 miles. It is a long ways to go. Before your first marathon, it may seem unfathomable to run 26.2 miles, but with training, you can get there. We are going to dedicate this entire episode to training for your first marathon. We will go over how much you should be running before you start officially training, how long you should train for, and the rules you should follow for long runs and increasing mileage. What level do you need to be at before you start training for a marathon How long does it take to go from ‘never ran in my life’ to running 3-5 miles without stopping Easy runs, 10% rule run/walks You want to be able to get to a place where you can run for 90 min and not need to take significant time off 30 min long run, 20 min long run, 35 min long run, 20 min long run, 40 min long run, 25 min long run, 45 min long run, 20 min long run, 55 min long run, 30 min long run, 60 min long run, 30 min long run, 65 min long run, 40 min long run, 70 min long run, 35 min long runs, 75 min long run, 45 min long run, 85 min long run, 45 min long run, 90 min long run, 45 min long run, 95 min long run If you increased every other week starting at a 30 min long run, it would take you 23 weeks or 5.5 months to build up to over 90 min Many people CAN get away with doing more but you want to be safe about it No more than a 10% increase per week We recommend no more than 33% of your weekly mileage be your long run, so to have a 10 mile long run, we would want to be at around 25-30 miles per week It can take months to build to that point Benchmarks Runs 90 min for a long run Runs 20-25 miles per week Has been running for 6+ months Has desire to run 26.2 miles Doesn’t have any recent injuries How long should someone train for their first marathon If you don’t have the above benchmarks you may do more like a 6 month cycle If you have a more solid base like coming out of college xc, you could get away with closer to a 12 week cycle 16 weeks is pretty standard Going slow enough on easy days: the biggest mistake we see

206. How does Orange Theory Fit or Other Fitness Classes In With Your Marathon or Half Marathon Training? May 31, 2023

Show notes

1. What to wear/prepare for rain (I've had two athletes just ask me about this) and
- Depends on the temp
-40, 50, 60+ in rain are wildly different beasts
2. How to prepare for hot temps on race day....
- train in the heat
-don’t sign up for races when it’s going to be hot
-treadmill/sauna
-shorts
3. "how to fit Orange Theory classes into your running plan" or maybe "pros & cons about doing Orange Theory classes while training for a race". I'd like to hear your guys's take on Orange Theory and how to fit it in your training plans, since there is usually running/sprinting involved with it.
- OT is a high intensity workout
-Highly competitive environment
-expensive
-why are you going there
- We want to limit
4. How do you run so many miles?
- Building up over time
-Going slow enough on easy days
-Enjoyable

205. When will easy runs get faster? May 18, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com Is it possible to make a full recovery from burnout My HR stays in zone 4 even if I slow down more than 3 min per mile How long does base building take to see results like easy running getting from 11-13 min per mile to 8-9 min per mile I’m confused how you should be able to talk on easy runs. How should this actually sound

204. Exhausted for hours after a long run? Try doing this May 11, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com Should you train based off HR or pace or effort Drawback of HR- wrist HR monitor doesn’t work, Most people don’t know their appropriate zones, other things impact your HR like stress, time of the month, medication, weather, sleep, caffeine Pace has drawbacks as well. Hills will make you slower. Heat will make you Going off of effort→ it is a learning curve. You have to be okay with bombing a workout and not knowing you stats. Don’t look at your watch. You have done these workouts before. You know the idea. Heat training adjustments How should you assess progress outside of time results? How do feel on workouts Recovery rates I am not laid up all day after a long run Effort based Mental toughness Not needed validation Not needing to race constantly Being happier with my training Not getting sick as often Not getting injured Having more energy

203. Run Streaks: the good, the bad & the ugly May 04, 2023

Show notes

Run streaks! Maybe you have seen people on social media talking about their 1000 day run streaks or maybe you have no idea what a run streak is. Today we are going to talk about the topic of ‘run streaking’. Before we dive into this topic, we wanted to define a run streak. A run streak is simply running every single day (no days off from running) usually defined with a minimum of 1 mile per day and the streak continues on ‘forever’. Maybe people participate in the shorter runner’s worlds run streaks every year over the holiday season. These types of run streaks are a little different because they have a defining end point… But what about the streaks that don’t end? We are going to break down this topic into a few parts Sharing some stats about run streaks Runeveryday.com What is the longest streak for a man? John Sutherland - Ron Hill retired his at 52 years For a female? Lois Bastien of Florida Are these people slower than they could potentially be? Why would someone start a run streak? What are some of the potential benefits of a run streak? Helps with consistency which can make you faster Building endurance/used to running on fatigued legs Gets you outside/moving What are some of the potential downsides to a run streak? No rest days is problematic Define rest days & why no taking them can be a problem Benefits the metabolic systems such as fitness, threshold and vo2 max. Benefits structural systems such as muscles and tendons and neuromuscular coordination Not resting can lead to OCD tendencies or feeling the need to run through injury or illness which can result in poor performance or being forced to take extended time off. Mental & physical burn out Sometimes you might lose the joy without that mental break! Your performance might suffer if you’re always worried about mileage and not as focused around a polarized training approach. Longer you go, the harder it is to break Viewing ‘rest’ as ‘failure’ has potential long term issues Biggest issue is the view of rest as ‘bad’/’breaking’ your healthy habit Too much of a good thing People who should avoid run streaks Anxiety or OCD tendencies If you feel like you don’t have ‘other coping strategies’ What are some healthy coping strategies for stress besides running? Someone who has impending medical needs or wanting to have children If you avoid having kids or having a surgery because of a run streak

202. What would you do differently for your 1st marathon? And other ask the coaches questions Apr 28, 2023

Show notes

www.run4prs.com What is one thing you would do differently for your first marathon if you could go back? Do it sooner & not overthink it so much Have no ego Run based off effort Have fun with it Train better How many miles can a pair of shoes get before you need to retire them? When to wear certain types of shoes Easy run Clifton Carbon X Endorphin Nike Workouts Alpha Fueling during runs and training Before During after

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