Run4PRs

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151. Coach Meghan: Boston Marathon Cardiac Arrest, 2020 Olympic Trials, Pregnancy & Postpartum Apr 22, 2022

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Coach Meghan Roth! Meghan has been a coach with Run4Prs for 4 years. Before coaching with us, she was a personal trainer and coach for several years at a big box gym. She ran her first marathon 14 years ago and has since shaved a significant amount of time off and qualified for the Olympic Trails in the marathon. In this episode we will discuss her 2020 Olympic Trails Marathon experience, training during pregnancy during the 2020 pandemic and her recovery after a C-section delivery in December 2020. Meghan was in peak fitness going into the Boston 2021 marathon after crushing a 1:20 half marathon just 4 weeks before Boston. She suffered cardiac arrest during the 2021 Boston Marathon and stayed at a hospital in Boston for a week involving surgery implanting a medical device. Meghan shares her experience at Boston and what her recovery has been like. 6 months since the incident, Meghan is back to running cleared by her doctors and training again. Hear what she hopes for her future and CPR awareness in this episode

150. Boston Marathon: Tips & Sharing Experiences Apr 12, 2022

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It’s not just the Newton Hills, the whole course has rolling hills! Try not to obsess over pacing too much and focusing more on effort. It is a crowded race so make sure you plan accordingly. We want to make sure to stay properly hydrated and fueling during the race. It can be shoulder to shoulder runners for several miles but don’t let that be an excuse to miss those first few aid stations. The Newton hills are about as hard as people make them out to be. However, there is also a lot of downhill and recovery in Newton between hills. Play to your strengths on the hills. You want to save something for those final 4 miles. The crowds will carry you home to the finish line regardless of how your day is going. Www.Run4prs.com

149. Mental Training For Runners: Assessing your Strengths & Weaknesses Apr 08, 2022

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For a free 7 day trial you can fill out the form at www.run4prs.com Assessing your strengths and weaknesses is key for building self awareness and also knowing what you should work on! When we know where we could use a little work, we can channel our energy to that area of life. This is important for your personal life as well as for your running. You will be able to better reach your potential when you know what direction to go. We have 3 areas of runner traits we are going to address in this episode as well as ways to turn your weaknesses into your strengths. For more information on this we have a commit60 mental training toolkit on our website that goes into this in depth. Weaknesses 1- impatient- you want results right away, you speed up at the end of runs Make yourself wait Meditation/mindfulness Deep breathing Yoga Read Do a puzzle Accept what you cannot change & practice empathy 2- Too negatives/self critical- you beat yourself up, perfectionist tendencies, unable to see positives, can lead to black or white thinking Mindfulness Recognize your triggers Come up with neutral statements instead Try a gratitude journal 3- inconsistent- lacking organization or discipline Routine Run streak Accountability buddy Building a habit/habit stacking 4-insecure- doesn’t believe in themselves, races workouts, pushing it on easy days Practice self care: nutrition, sleep, boundaries Maybe you always wanted a coach or to buy a certain pair of shoes: do it! Step away from toxic people, spend time with people who make you feel good Write down a list of things you are good at 5- Lack of experience- pacing, grows with time, technical Get experience Sign up for races Hire a coach Try new workouts 6-over analyzing- focusing too much on the details What do you over analyze? Weekly mileage (run 49.5 miles one week) Paces (don’t hit your paces) Run streaks (break it) Certain workouts (eliminate something you think is super important- IE yassos 800) How many 20 milers (run 18-19 milers) Focus on trusting the big picture

148. Coach Kat Interview: Meet The Run4Prs Coaches Series Apr 02, 2022

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We are doing a little different format today interviewing a Run4prs coach! Many of our coaches were interviewed back in the beginning episodes of this podcast and we wanted to bring it back! Kat talks about her journey into running from 10+ min pace half marathon to 3:16 debut marathon. We also chatted about navigating a major life change in careers while continuing to train at a high level. Www.Run4prs.com for a free 7 day trial

147. All about running shoes: shoe rotation & carbon plated shoes Mar 26, 2022

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www.run4prs.com free 7 day trial! Podcast #147: ALL ABOUT RUNNING SHOES 👟 ✅ How to Find the Perfect Shoe ✅ How to Begin a Shoe Rotation ✅ Carbon-Plated Shoes: Should You Wear Them? . There are three categories of running shoes:👇 ✅ Neutral: Good for little to no ankle rotation inward (pronation) ✅ Stability: Good for mild to moderate pronation ✅ Motion Control: Bulkier stability shoe for pronators . There are also different stack heights and heel to toe drops in shoes that can make a difference depending on if you’re injury-prone in the hips and glutes or calves and ankles (more posts on that later this week!) 🤩 . THE BOTTOM LINE IS:👇 You want your shoe to maximize your body’s mechanics and help you stay healthy . HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT SHOE: ✅ Going to a local running store is a great option to figure out the right shoe for you. They will have you do a series of tests and learn more about your running history to figure out what shoe is best for you. A step up from this would be a true gait analysis done with a physical therapist . Now that you have your perfect shoe, should you have MULTIPLE shoes for different runs? Many runners will have: ✅ Faster, lighter weight racing shoe for workouts and races ✅ More cushioned, forgiving shoe on easy recovery runs . WHAT SHOE FOR WORKOUTS AND RACES? ✅ Lighter weight shoes/carbon-plated shoes ✅ 6-9 oz for carbon-plated shoes no matter the brand. They are all very lightweight ✅ High stack height to help propel you forward ✅ More cushioning on many of the carbon-plated shoes that help decrease fatigue especially for longer races . THE FACT IS:👇 You still have to do the training. Faster racing shoes don’t work unless you do . More posts to come this week all about shoes! Stay tuned 👂 . ⭐️ Listen to our podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts ⭐️ Want to try out coaching? Head to the link in our bio! FREE 7 DAY TRIAL www.run4prs.com ⭐️ Follow us for more training tips & motivation @run4prs .

146. Your Aerobic Base: Are you running the right workouts for your goal race? Mar 19, 2022

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AEROBIC VS. ANAEROBIC: BY RACE DISTANCE 🏃🏽 Podcast Episode #146🎙 . If you're training for the 1 mile all the way up to the marathon and beyond (which is most of us amateur runners!), you should (in most cases) be training your AEROBIC system more than your ANAEROBIC system 👊 . ✅ AEROBIC SYSTEM: This is the predominant system used for races longer than 3 minutes. This system produces energy via OXYGEN. The aerobic system doesn’t create nearly as much power as other systems, but its capacity is virtually endless 👉 WORKOUTS FOR THIS SYSTEM = progression runs, tempo runs, long runs, cross training . ✅ ANAEROBIC SYSTEM: This is the predominant system used for races less than 3 minutes. This system does NOT need oxygen to produce energy. It uses energy stored in the cells. There are limited amounts of stored energy in the cells, which is why you can only use this system for very short periods of time 👉 WORKOUTS FOR THIS SYSTEM = interval/rep workouts, short fartleks, hill workouts . ➖ 1 Mile: 80% aerobic, 20% anaerobic ➖ 5k: 84% aerobic , 16% anaerobic ➖ 10k: 90% aerobic, 10% anaerobic ➖ Half Marathon: 97.5% aerobic, 2.5% anaerobic ➖ Marathon: 97.5% aerobic, 2.5% anaerobic . You can see why it is more helpful to train your AEROBIC system for the 1 mile to the marathon and up 💪 while also doing SOME anaerobic workouts to improve power and speed! . (**This research was done by Paul Gastin in 2001 → “Energy System Interaction and Relative Contribution During Maximal Exercise”**) .

145. Hills: The Benefits & How to Incorporate Them Mar 11, 2022

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BENEFITS OF HILL WORKOUTS 🏔 Podcast episode #145 🎙 . Hill workouts will help build you into the runner you want to be! Everyone wants great form, strength, and confidence, so add some hill workouts to your training routine for big improvements: . ✅ Improves form: It’s difficult to run uphill with bad form! Running hills naturally gets you up on your forefeet, forces you to lean forward, and requires you to use your arms efficiently and effectively. They also force you to shorten your stride and increase your cadence, which is a big part of ideal running form. Running hills, and therefore using proper form, will improve your neuromuscular connections so your body remembers what good form is and feels like! . ✅ Increases your power: When you run hills, you’re fighting gravity and the grade of the hill which builds up strength . ✅ Easier on your body with similar benefits of speedwork: Hill repeats are easier on your body than speedwork on flat terrain because you aren’t able to reach top speeds going uphill, and faster running is hard on your body. But you are able to practice the same fundamentals of speedwork during hill workouts (i.e. hill workouts and speedwork require similar efforts). This is easier on your joints, connective tissue, and muscles because you’re going slower! . ✅ Allows you to tackle any racecourse with confidence: You often hear people describe certain runners as “strength” runners, which basically just means they are able to run well on any terrain and hills don’t beat them up as much as the more “metronome” type runners who do really well on flat courses. Become a STRENGTH runner by adding hills into your runs! You’ll also become better at pacing any course with hill training under your belt . HOW TO ADD HILLS TO YOUR TRAINING: ✅ Add them into your easy, long, and tempo runs -Rolling terrain, bridges, etc. -Focus on keeping an even effort rather than even pace ✅ Do hill-specific workouts in addition to adding them into your other runs -30 seconds-5 min hill repeats -Can use steep hills -Can use stairs -Can use treadmill 6% grade or higher . Want to reach your potential as a runner? Click the link in our bio. www.run4prs.com ⭐️ .

144. Do runners need to stretch? Mar 04, 2022

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MOBILITY, STABILITY & BREATHWORK FOR RUNNERS Podcast Episode #144 🎙 . DID YOU KNOW: Mobility and balance decline naturally as we age. It’s important to incorporate mobility & stability exercises into our routine to counterbalance the natural decline we will inevitably face. We know, we know– it’s not the most FUN topic and it’s hard to add another thing to our training plate. But these exercises don’t need to take a ton of time! You can get the benefits with just a few minutes a few times per week 👍 . MOBILITY DRILLS:👇 Dynamic warm-up before a run. Takes 3 minutes to do! 15 seconds per exercise Examples: Marching leg lifts, scoops, walking lunges, quick feet/quick foot strikes, A skips, B skips, high knee carioca (for visuals of this, please see our YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lrOCSUoR9o) . YOGA FOR STABILITY:👇 Many yoga poses require you to be on unequal footing. Yoga also requires you to hold different positions that you aren’t typically in. By working through yoga poses, you may be able to improve your stability overall . YOGA FOR BREATHWORK:👇 The breathwork needed for yoga acts as a nervous system reset. Races and hard workouts can induce some level of the “fight or flight” response and it can take a few days to come down from that, thus limiting your recovery. Through breathwork & yoga, you can calm your body down after hard workouts and races and get back into “rest and digest” mode . REMINDER: While these types of exercises can help prevent and eliminate pain while running/injuries, if you are currently injured: Please see a physical therapist or sports medicine doctor 👩🏾‍⚕️ . Follow us for more training tips @run4prs . #teamrun4prs #run4prs #igrunner #instarunner #runnersofig #womensrunningcommunity #yogaforrunners #mobilityforrunners #mobilitydrills

143. Racing: 6 ways to develop the race day edge Feb 25, 2022

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6 WAYS TO BECOME A BETTER RACER 🤩 Podcast episode #143 🎙 . Racing is a skill that takes time to develop. Pacing, fueling, mental toughness, etc. There are so many parts to racing that you can continually improve upon . 👉 PACING: Running negative splits & finishing races strong takes a ton of practice. Feeling out the effort and knowing when to hold back and speed up is not an easy skill to acquire! HOW TO GET BETTER:👇 ✅ Race more: Not every race you run is going to be a PR. But you can run races with non-time based goals like running negative splits or running completely off of effort without looking at your watch. Doing this often will improve your ability to read your body and pace appropriately in your PR attempt races . ✅ Set realistic goals: Look at your workouts and training as a whole. Set realistic goals based on that training. It helps to get an unbiased look at your training from a coach. The more realistic you are, the better you’ve set yourself up for success . ✅ Run your own race: If you want to negative split and finish as strong as possible, be aware that pace groups don’t run negative splits and that they run even splits. You may run better with your own plan! Keying off of pace groups can be great and it’s helpful to keep their whereabouts on your radar . ✅ Practice how you want to race: Doing progression run workouts and running all of your easy runs as progressions will help you start easier and finish strong during races. Your body will learn to run every run and race this way! . 👉 MENTAL TOUGHNESS: Racing is very mental. When you’ve done the training, it comes down to your mindset on race day to reach your goals HOW TO GET BETTER:👇 ✅ Gratitude list/”I am” statements: It seems so simple, but keeping a gratitude list and writing down “I am” statements (I am fast. I am strong. I am a good parent) daily can do so much for your mental state. Did you know you can actually rewire your brain to see the positives in things? You do this by spending a little time each day focusing on the positives. Do this daily and you’ll find you can overpower negative thoughts while racing and stay positive when it gets tough . ✅ Practice visualization: During your workouts in training, picture yourself in a racing environment. Visualize your race course and practice how you want to feel at certain points on the course. Visualize yourself finishing strong and running your last mile your fastest. The body follows the mind! . Do you need help improving your racing? You can become a great racer! You have it in you. Start a free trial training program today and see what coaching can do for you! Link in bio. www.run4prs.com ⭐️ .

142. Strength training for runners Feb 20, 2022

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STRENGTH TRAINING: THE BENEFITS Podcast episode #142 🎙 . ✅ INJURY PREVENTION: Strength training allows your body to handle your training volume and continue training without injury. Strength training strengthens connective tissue and muscles. It also corrects muscle imbalances in the body that can contribute to injury. If you have muscle imbalances, your body begins to compensate and favor the stronger side, which can lead to injury. Avoiding injury = staying consistent as a runner! Getting specific exercises for YOU from a physical therapist is key to improving your body imbalances/avoiding injury . ✅ FASTER FINISHING KICK: The marathon is 99% aerobic and 1% anaerobic (the final stretch of the race). Strength training is an anaerobic activity. If you strength train, you’re able to target your anaerobic system and improve your ability to finish a marathon strong in the final stretch . ✅ IMPROVES RUNNING ECONOMY: When your muscles are strong, they don’t need to expend as much energy to hit faster paces. This leads to your form staying intact throughout the entirety of a race, allowing you to hold onto that faster pace instead of breaking & slowing down! SMALL improvements in your running economy lead to BIG differences, especially over the course of longer races like half marathon/marathon . ✅ IMPROVES NEUROMUSCULAR CONNECTIONS: Strength training improves your power by strengthening the mind-to-body connection. This allows your body to recruit more muscle fibers more quickly, and do so much easier which makes you more efficient . ✅ IMPROVES BALANCE: When running, you’re either airbound or on one leg. There is potential for landing wrong and hurting ourselves. Our legs have many small stabilizing muscles that can help us navigate uneven terrain when they are strong . TOP TIPS:👇 ✅ Use the progressive overload principle. Start SMALL! Bodyweight only at first and work your way up to weights and then heavier weights ✅ Ideally, strength train on your hard workout days. Keep the hard days hard and the easy days easy ✅ You don’t need to do a lot! Just 20-30 minutes 2x/week will do the trick . Want to see what strength exercises you should be doing for runner-specific strength? Start a free strength training trial with us! www.run4prs.com/strength-training . Follow us for more training tips @run4prs

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