Podcast 015 – Matt Fitzgerald

Posted on May 9, 2013 by CoachJay

Matt Fitzgerald is a prolific writer in the world of endurance sports (check out the lists of the books he’s written here).

He has also written many wonderful online articles. Every coaching clinic I’m asked to speak at I link to these two articles – “The Lactic Acid Myths” and “Six Lies You Were Taught About Lactic Acid” – to help high school coaches better understand how lactate should inform their training design.

I learned so much from this podcast and if you have the time to listen I have no doubt you’ll enjoy listening to Matt as well. People often use the term “extremely knowledgeable” and in the case of Matt, it’s absolutely true.

As always, you can listen to this podcasts via iTunes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:03 — 35.7MB) | Embed

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Podcast 014 – Mike Blackmore

Posted on May 6, 2013 by CoachJay

Mike Blackmore has a diverse profile in our sport. He ran at the University of Oregon and went on to run 13:37 for 5,000m. His is the cross country coach at Lane Community College in Eugene, he’s a massage therapist and he’s also a key member of the staff that constructs the Nike Cross Nationals course.

All of that being said, the focus of our discussion is on his Masters running accomplishments. Last year he ran 15:16 as a 50 year-old, setting an American record.

In this podcast he discusses his training and the things he’s learned along the way.

If you’re over thirty then you need to listen to this podcast for some great advice about how to listen to your body and how to stay healthy as you age.

As always, you can listen to this podcast via iTunes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:30 — 29.3MB) | Embed

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Sunday Morning Reads 05.05.13

Posted on May 5, 2013 by CoachJay

Good morning. Hope you’re well.

The first read is from Steve Magness. If you don’t understand the importance of stress and your training then you don’t fully understand training theory. It’s a great read.

Here is an article I wrote on mileage. Reader’s Digest version: The more the better, yet most working adults have a ceiling for the work they can do.

I’m about done with Matt Fitzegerlad‘s book “Run: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel” and I’ve loved every minute of it. Great read. Here is a great article by Matt on Pose Running and Chi Running and other topics. He’s fantastic…I think we need to do a podcast with him.

Final read this week is the blog of Macklin Chaffee, a 1,500m runner I coach. I like him, he’s talented and he’s working hard to become a better runner. He broke the 3:40 barrier (barley) this past weekend at Stanford. I feel confident that he can run faster as we’ve done very little race specificity work. He will enjoy some down time at sea-level, race a road race, then come back to Boulder for some serious training.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your Sunday.

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How Should I Run Strides – An overview

Posted on May 3, 2013 by CoachJay

The first thing we need to establish when we talk about “running strides,” is that it’s different than using the term stride to describe a runner’s unique biomechanics. So “She has a beautiful stride” or “He has the perfect stride for the marathon” is not the way we’re using the term. In this discussion strides are short distances run at race pace or faster. Strides can be done the day before a workout, done in the final minutes before a workout or done in the final minutes before a race.

It’s worth noting that one of my coaching influences, sprint coach Vince Anderson, never uses the term strides with his sprinters because he thinks that sprinters hear “strides” and they interpret it as “loaf.” So the term may best be used stride for distance runners, for whom the term stride means running a short distance at race pace or faster.

Strides are typically 100m to 150m in length, but they can also be assigned as a duration of time. When using time you could say 4 x 30 seconds at 5k pace with 60 seconds of easy running between the strides. So that’s 30 seconds run at 5k pace, 60 seconds of jogging, 30 seconds at 5k pace, 60 seconds of jogging, 30 seconds at 5k pace, 60 seconds of jogging, and finally 30 seconds at 5k pace. This is the assignment I give most of my adult runners the day before a workout. Why? Continue reading →

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Sunday Morning Ready 04.28.14

Posted on April 28, 2013 by CoachJay

Sundays for me as a runner were binary. You either showed up at 8:00 am at the buffalo, or you didn’t. You drove to one of three places to run 20 miles. 1-2 miles into the run you either committed or you didn’t. Again, binary.

The binary choices for you the reader are much easier. If you have time to read today, great. If not, no worries. Your Vo2max will likely not be impacted.

You should read/listen to this one. Cameron Lyle, bone marrow donner and thrower. As Scott Simon (a favorite of mine) said, “In some ways, many of the truly important decisions in life are clear, if not exactly easy. You don’t have to figure the odds or throw out the list of pros and cons so much as open your heart and listen.”

Lighter reading. Lopez Lomong runs faster when Phil Wharton works on him before a race. That’s why Lopez calls him “Dr. Phil.”

I’m reading “RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel” by Matt Fitgerald and loving it.. A favorite article of mine that he penned is on lactate.

…hope to be back next week, God willing…

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Feeling good, being uncomfortable and suffering

Posted on April 25, 2013 by CoachJay

To me, the three choices a runner has when running a race or a hard workout is to feel good, be uncomfortable or suffer.

You can’t suffer in every workout or you’ll either get hurt or start the process of overtraining.  But don’t deceive yourself when it comes to races – you’re going to suffer if the goal is to run to your fitness level.  You might feel good through 3k of a 5k, but the next 1k is going to be tough and that last 1k you’ll suffer…if you run to your fitness level.

Learning to run fast when you’re uncomfortable is a skill that takes time, but it’s an essential skill if you want to reach your potential as a runner. Continue reading →

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Sunday Morning Reads 04.21.13

Posted on April 21, 2013 by CoachJay

Last Sunday runners sleep fitfully in Boston hotels, knowing they were going to suffer the next day so they could see how fast they could run the oldest marathon.  Rather than try to put the tragedy that came during the race into my own word, I hope you’ll take the time to read (or listen) to this interview with Boston Globe’s Kevin Cullen.  Cullen says of Bostonians:

We are a belligerent people. We love to argue. We love to fight. There is – you know, we only care about three things in this town: sports, politics and revenge.  And the revenge will be the laughter of our children. We are not going anywhere.

I’m stuck on Boston, even though this is London Marathon day.  Here is a great profile of Bill Squires, coach of Bill Rodgers and Greg Meyer (the last American to win Boston), written by Scott Douglas.

Another long piece, but one that is definitely worth reading.  Kenny Moore writes about Mamo Wolde.  I love Moore, the best writer who ran fast; forth in the Olympics Marathon in 1972.  If you have time, you’ve gotta read this one.  People are running a marathon in London, so the least you can do is read a long well written article…right?

That’s it for this week.  I hope you have time to read, but if not, I plan to be back next week with more Sunday Morning Reads.

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Shalane Flanagan at Gatorade Sports Science Institute

Posted on April 15, 2013 by CoachJay

Pretty cool video of Shalane Flanagan at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), one of the women who has a shot of winning today’s Boston Marathon.  Thanks to Gatorade for sending it.

Shalane underwent a series of tests at GSSI, and in the video she explains how she used the results from each test to tailor he nutritional plan to meet her specific needs when training for and racing in the Boston Marathon.

Click here to watch the video.

The carbohydrate tolerance test is my favorite section of the video and it’s an important lesson for those of you wanting to improve your marathon time.  As Dr. Trent Stellingwerff shared with me at a conference in Canada, you basically want to ingest as much carbohydrate as you can while running marathon pace…until you puke (sorry to be graphic).  When you reach that point then you know where where your unique tolerance for carbohydrate is.

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