The Running Explained Podcast

Latest Episodes:

s3/e43 Gut Health for Runners with Kylee Van Horn, RND (@flynutrition3) Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

Is there anything worse than needing an emergency bathroom stop on a run... except for needing TWO? What about when our poor gut health interferes with our ability to absorb important micronutrients or tolerate the fuel we need to power our long runs and races? Sports dietitian Kylee Van Horn, RD (@flynutrition3) is here to talk all about gut health for runners! Including...

What IS "good gut health" in general and how can we support it?

Our gut microbiome

Can changes in our gut health signal when our training balance is appropriate vs inappropriate?

How does "nutritional training" work to help us handle more fuel & fluids?

Signs your gut health isn't great (& what to do)

And more!

Kylee Van Horn, RDN is an endurance sports dietitian, who takes a balanced, sustainable approach to fuel the every day up to the elite athlete. Her mission is to separate facts from fads in the nutrition space and work to provide easy nutrition solutions to help improve health and performance. Today, Kylee is the founder and owner of her sports nutrition business Flynutrition, which helps runners, triathletes, and skiers to learn not only the ‘why’ but the ‘how’ behind fueling for performance. She also is a freelance writer for Trail Runner Magazine, Women's Running Magazine, and Outside Online. Beyond her work in sports nutrition, Kylee can be found running peaks near Aspen, CO with her three Australian shepherds and ultra-endurance husband, Sean.

s3/e42 Post Race Recovery with Coach Elisabeth Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

Post-race recovery starts AS SOON AS YOU CROSS THE FINISH LINE! What do you need to do to set yourself up for post-race recovery success?

This episode is sponsored by Previnex! Try the probiotic that Coach Elisabeth takes daily for her own gut health, and save 15% using code RUNEXP on your first order from ⁠Previnex.com⁠!

-The very first things to focus on after crossing the finish line

-Refueling and hydrating in the hours after your race

-Muscle glycogen depletion and resynthesis

-WHY racing is so stressful on your body

-How much time do you really need to take off after a race?

-Why does it feel like I've lost SO much fitness??

-And more!

Coach Elisabeth is the founder and head coach at Running Explained. She is a multi-certified run coach, has been featured in the New York Times, and works with runners around the globe to help them understand the science behind endurance running in order to become the best runners they can be!

s3/e41 Off-Seasons: How Taking Time Off Will Make You Better with Coach Toni Kengor Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

How can taking time OFF make you a better, faster, more resilient runner? Coach Toni Kengor, co-founder of Relentless Runners, joins the show to talk ALL THINGS OFF-SEASON!

-Why you need them

-WHEN to take them

-What an off-season is (& is not)

-How to handle feelings of anxiety around "running less"

-The basics of training adaptation and supercompensation

-How to be a runner AND a _______

-"But what if I take a week off and then just never run again?"

-And more!

Toni Kengor is a coach and co-founder of Relentless Runners. She believes that we’re all capable of more than we realize in running and in life. Follow her on Instagram @tonikengor and @relentlessrunners

s3/e40 Female Athlete Performance & Physiology with Dr. Stacy T. Sims, MSc, PhD Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

Forward-thinking international exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist Dr. Stacy Sims, MSc, PhD joins the show today for a wide-ranging conversation about fueling, hydration, and optimizing performance for female endurance athletes! In this episode, we cover...

Getting past focusing on weight loss and body recomposition as "the magic solution"
The issues with intermittent fasting for female athletes
What about utilizing low carbohydrate diets to force an increase in using fatty acids for fuel (i.e. fat burning or "fat adaptation")
The problem with "cycle syncing" training programs
How funding for research works and potential issues with bias; do we need to be concerned about WHO is funding research?
Should you be worried about "becoming reliant" on carbohydrates for fuel when you run?
Different forms of carbohydrate: let's talk about fructose, sucrose, glucose, performance fuel products, and more
How does dehydration affect performance for women vs men?
Figuring out your hydration needs
Current research Dr. Sims is most excited about
And more!

STACY T. SIMS, MSC, PHD, is a forward-thinking international exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who aims to revolutionize exercise nutrition and performance for women.

She has directed research programs at Stanford, AUT University, and the University of Waikato, focusing on female athlete health and performance and pushing the dogma to improve research on all women.

With the unique opportunities, Silicon Valley has to offer, during her tenure at Stanford, she had the opportunity to translate earlier research into consumer products and a science-based layperson's book (ROAR) written to explain sex differences in training and nutrition across the lifespan. Both the consumer products and the book challenged the existing dogma for women in exercise, nutrition, and health. This paradigm shift is the focus of her famous "Women Are Not Small Men” TEDx talk.

Her contributions to the international research environment and the sports nutrition industry has established a new niche in sports nutrition; and established her reputation as the expert in sex differences in training, nutrition, and health. As a direct result, she has been named:

One of the top 50 visionaries of the running industry (2015) by DMSE Sports.
One of the top 40 women changing the paradigm of her field (2017) by Outside Magazine.
One of the top four visionaries in the outdoor sports industry (2017) by Outside Magazine - Genius Issue (no electronic version but here is the proof).
One of the top four individuals changing the landscape in triathlon nutrition (2017) by Triathlete Magazine

Dr. Sims has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, several books and is a regularly featured speaker at professional and academic conferences, including those by USOC and USA Cycling.

Stacy currently holds a Senior Research Associate position with SPRINZ- AUT University, supervises PhD students, writes academic papers, and is on the advisory board of some cutting edge companies including Tonal Strength Institute, WILD.AI, and EXOS. She also has her own business (www.drstacysims.com) where she creates and delivers online learning material focused on women training with their physiology across the lifespan.

s3/e39 No, Running STILL Isn't Bad For Your Knees! with Dr. Lauren LaPierre, DPT (@thepersonalizedrunningdoc) Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

YOUR KNEES AND RUNNING, PART TWO with Dr. Lauren LaPierre, DPT (@thepersonalizedrunningdoc). Thought we'd covered it all last season? Nope!

-No, running still isn't bad for your knees

-How is it that we sometimes experience whole-joint soreness in the knees?

-Risk factors for knee injuries

-Isometric exercises to address knee pain

-Stabilization of the knee joint: understanding the role of the adductors

-How to harness the power of eccentric exercises to improve your running

-Is it OK to let my knees go past my toes when I'm strength training?

-Are we doing ourselves a dissevice in how we talk about having "good knees" or "bad knees"?

-Different rates of development for muscles vs. tendons vs. ligaments, etc

-If strength takes so long to develop... how come I can rapidly increase how much I can handle when I first start lifting weights?

-Why PRs aren't the only measure of improvement

-How to use injury as an growth opportunity

-"Offensive" vs "defensive" strength training as a runner

-And more!

Dr. Lauren LaPierre is a doctor of physical therapy by trade, runner rehab specialist and running coach! Dr. Lauren personally has over a decade of competitive running experience, competing throughout high school and later for the University of Rhode Island as a Division I athlete. Her personal journey with running is the reason she went to PT school and later started her business, The Personalized Running Doc.

Her mission is to help other runners overcome training-related injuries when all else has failed, empowering them to continue running for themselves and crushing their goals as they do. Since 2020, her comprehensive approach and hybrid training model have helped runners all over the world return to running pain-free and reach their maximum running potential!

s3/e38 Bone Health & Bone Stress Injuries with Dr. Stephanie Mundt, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

BONES! Literally what holds us upright. So what do we runners need to know about our bones, bone health, and bone stress injuries? Dr. Steph Mundt, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS (@stephmundt.dpt) joins the show today to teach us about...

What are our bones made of and how do they get stronger?

Who is at higher risk of bone stress injuries?

What is "good bone health" and how can we work towards it?

Understanding bone mineralization and bone density

How to read a DEXA scan for runners

Considerations for runners with osteopenia or osteoporosis

Bone stress injuries: what you need to know

Different types of bone stress injuries

Diagnosing bone stress injuries

Why the timeline for return to run from bone stress injuries is what it is

Why running alone isn't enough to improve bone health

AND MORE!

This episode is sponsored by Previnex! Save 15% off your first order of clinically effective supplements with code RUNEXP on ⁠⁠⁠previnex.com⁠ Dr. Steph Mundt is a physical therapist and running coach in Tempe, AZ. Her business Volante PT & Performance specializes in the rehabilitation & coaching of runners with a particular emphasis on bone stress injuries, hip labral tears, and eating disorders. Steph struggled with an eating disorder in high school and college resulting in recurrent bone stress injuries throughout her running career. These experiences led to a strong desire to learn more about bone stress injuries and eating disorders and elevate care for individuals recovering from them. She is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and is currently working towards becoming a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. Steph is passionate about helping runners regain trust in their bodies and establish a fulfilling and sustainable relationship with movement.

s3/e37 Bulletproof Your Hips with Dr. Sarah Louie PT, DPT, COMT, FAAOMPT Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

Owwwww my hips hurt! Hip pain in runners is not uncommon, and physical therapist Dr. Sarah Louie joins the show to talk about hips, running, and what you need to know to "bulletproof" your hips as a runner!

-What are some misunderstandings runners have about hip injuries?

-The form and function of how our hips work

-Why you need more than clamshells to bulletproof your hips

-Ruling out bone stress injuries

-Injuries from morphology differences

-Strength training that WORKS for stronger hips

-Considerations for pregnant and post-partum runners

-Asymptomatic labral tears: what next?

-And more!

Sarah Louie is a Fellowship Trained Doctor of Physical Therapy and return-to-run coach who specifically helps women runners with hip pain return to run comfortably and confidently through the EmpowHER Hip Program.

https://www.instagram.com/dr.sarah_thehipdoc/

s3/e36 How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Runners with Nick Klastava Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

Comparison is the thief of joy... so why do we spend SO much time & energy comparing ourselves to others? To other runners, to other versions of ourselves. Coach Nick Klastava is here this week to help us understand WHY breaking free from the comparison trap is actually one of the best things you can do as a runner, why copying another runner's training isn't very helpful, why paces aren't the be-all-end-all, and what we can all learn from the best of the best.

Nick Klastava has been a runner on and off for almost 25 years, running in High School and College back in the early 2000's and then taking some time off and finding the sport again in a different more joyful, less pressure-filled way in 2009. Nick's journey has gone from a runner filled with mental blocks that plague all runners to becoming a runner filled with joy and belief in himself and not some numbers. He now helps runners as a USATF/RRCA certified coach at Lift Run Perform to help runners learn to truly believe in themselves, adapt their training to their hectic lives, and become the best runner possible while enjoying the process that is life along the way.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nklastava

WEBSITE: https://liftrunperform.com/pages/about#nick

*s3/e35 Mastering A Faster 5k with Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

Many distance runners look at the 5k as no big deal; "it's only 3.1 miles!", you say! Well, Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running is here to explain why running a fast 5k is one of the hardest skills you can master as a runner... AND how to do it! Why is the 5k a race that requires such skill on behalf of the runner?

Learning how to pace yourself like a pro

The biggest mistakes in racing a 5k

What training should look like & why you still need that long run

Strategy for a truly great 5k

How to put together a "season" of 5k races

Why mastering a faster 5k will make you a BETTER RUNNER overall

Jason Fitzgerald is the creator and founder of ⁠Strength Running⁠. As a USA Track & Field certified coach, he’s helped thousands of runners race faster, get stronger, and prevent injuries since 2010. Jason has been running competitively since 1998 and during that time he’s run a 2:39 marathon, beat almost 17,000 other runners to win a Warrior Dash obstacle race, and won many other 5ks, half marathons, and marathons.

Jason is the host of the Strength Running podcast and is a member of the Greatist Expert Network, and his book Running for Health & Happiness debuted as an Amazon bestseller. Jason was the 2017 Men’s Running Influencer of the Year and his coaching advice has been featured in most major media publications like Runner’s World, Competitor, Forbes, Lifehacker, Health Magazine, Business Insider, Fitness and many more.

s3/e34 Improving as a Marathoner Over Time with Coach Jessie Gruca Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

Running Explained Coach and 25x marathoner Jessie Gruca joins the show to talk about MARATHON TRAINING! Hear from Coach Jessie on the evolution on her marathon knowledge, what's been the most impactful changes for her (especially as a post-partum runner), and how she approaches coaching her own marathoners!

-The biggest marathon training mistakes most runners make

-Should we try to PR every single time we run a marathon?

-The importance of fueling and hydration

-Novice marathoners vs gain experience in the marathon

-Marathon effort vs marathon pace

-Why it's a problem if you're hammering your marathon pace workouts in the hopes of impressing your coach or forcing your goal pace

-Key marathon workouts for more experienced runners

-How to pace your marathon properly

-Building mental toughness in training

-and more!