A GOOD WORKOUT FOR A BAD WEEK AT WORK I’ve coached Bonnie for more years than I can remember. She’s an amazing person who balances her career as a university professor and researcher with her passion for running. During our time together, she’s set PRs at all distances, and even run a 3:30 debut marathon at…
CERTAIN TRUTHS FOR RUNNERS OF ALL ABILITIES I’m a lucky coach. Through my online coaching, I get to work with beginning runners just coming off the couch as well as competitive runners aiming for age-group victories or trying to qualify for Boston. And through the work I’ve done with pro runners in Flagstaff, I’ve been able to…
LEARNING TO RUN BY FEEL When I started running way back in the 20th century, I wanted longer legs. Long, lean legs for a flowing stride that would simply eat up the ground. As a runner in the 21st century, I find that I need longer arms. I’m up to my elbows in watches, GPS units,…
LEARN TO MAKE APPROPRIATE CHANGES TO WORKOUTS AS NEEDED Every runner goes into every workout hoping for the best. We all want to feel great and hit or even surpass our planned paces. The reality, however, is that you’re likely to have a few workouts where you just don’t feel good. Or you may show up…
THE SIMPLEST, MOST EFFECTIVE RUNNING FORM CUE I was lucky to run at a high school where the coach and the upperclassmen focused on proper running form. It was something we worked on frequently. As a result, nearly every runner leaving the program had very good form. Notice that I didn’t say “the same form.” We…
About 15 years ago, I started drinking a Slim-Fast™ shake after my Sunday long runs. In my graduate classes in exercise physiology, we were studying the inner workings of the muscular and endocrine (hormonal) systems. I started drinking the Slim-Fast because researchers discovered that the enzyme, glycogen synthase, that turns carbohydrates from your food into…
Over the last few years, my athletes have benefited greatly from workouts called progression runs. In a progression run, you begin running at a slow, easy pace but finish at a fast pace. Not only will you find progression runs to be fun, but they are a great way to boost your fitness without any…
Suzanne is a runner (though she says not a “real runner”). She started running three years ago to get back in shape after the birth of her second child. Over a few months, she progressed from a walk/run around the block to running 2-4 days per week, covering 3-5 miles each run and up to…
5 TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR SPEED+DISTANCE MONITOR Speed and distance monitors have revolutionized our ability to track training. No more guesstimating. We can now know, in real time, how fast we’re running, how far we run, and myriad other training insights. As with any breakthroughs in running technology, we need a few…
WHY YOU SHOULD SOMETIMES GO ALL-OUT IN TRAINING My favorite running book is John L. Parker’s Once a Runner. In one scene, Cassidy’s coach prescribes a seemingly impossible workout of 60 × 400m, performed in three sets of 20 repeats. Parker does a marvelous job of taking the reader along for the mental and physical…