TIMING AND QUANTITY ARE KEY All runners have strengths. All runners have weaknesses. For a competitive runner moving to the front of the pack (or your age group), it becomes increasingly important to correctly identify your strengths and weaknesses and to use this knowledge to maximize your performance. Runners can be divided into three general…
DON’T LOSE IT… USE IT! You worked hard over the last few months to prepare for your marathon or half-marathon. You put in the miles. You completed the long runs and on race day, you performed like a champ. Congratulations! So now what? You know you need to mentally and physically recover from the half/full…
8 TIPS TO SHAVE SECONDS OFF YOUR PR OR SURGE PAST YOUR RIVAL Smart racing equals fast racing. As a competitive runner, you want to run fast and you want to beat your rivals. Below, I’ve listed eight simple, yet effective strategies for doing both. #1: RUN THE TANGENTS I’m always surprised when I race at…
Learning to control effort so you don’t go out too fast in races (a common problem) is one of the keys to running success. Many athletes find this hard to do, but it’s a trick that you can practice in every workout so that it becomes natural to you. I first did the following workout…
This is the workout I use to help runners get ready for their best short race like a 5K. It can be performed anytime in the training plan and as close to 5 days before the race. It is a fitness-refining workout that helps an athlete get race ready. It’s fun to feel “light and…
Coach Joe Vigil is arguably the best running coach the US has ever had. He’s a blend of tough, no nonsense “get the work done” kind of coaching paired with a knowledge that while he’s pushing you to your limits, he cares deeply about your success. He demands your best and you want to give…
Being a runner with celiac disease makes fueling properly a little more time consuming than those who do eat wheat and gluten. My biggest concern is making sure I am getting all of the proper nutrients to sustain my training and help my body recover. When I first took gluten out of my diet I struggled to…
Do you have a 5K or 10K coming up? Here are my top 3 favorite types of workouts that will get you ready. They challenge you in slightly different ways, but all three are great at preparing you for the physical and mental rigors of 5K/10K racing. Keep in mind that it is always a good…
This is a classic Frank Horwill (a famed British coach who formulated the Five Pace Training Theory used by many great athletes such as Sebastian Coe and Said Aouita) workout which I’ve found very useful in simulating the deep gut, lactic pain of a 5K. It’s not so much the pace that makes you have…
This is one of my favorite workouts because it has a wide range of paces throughout and it’s great for working towards distances from 3K to half marathon. The tempo run is the easy part of the workout. I added this to the workout to get the legs a little tired first before hitting the…