Final Surge Podcast

This week we bring you a "Best Of" episode with Dr. Stephen Seiler and our discussion on polarized training.

Welcome to episode 89 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we welcome 2x defending NCAA XC Champ Coach Mike Smith to the show. Mike has a unique background working for years alongside Jack Daniels before going into college coaching. We talk to Mike about his coaching philosophies. Please remember to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss future episodes and share it on Twitter or Facebook.

How did you start running?

• Played a lot of sports when youth

How did you move from running at Georgetown to Coaching?

• After college tried running some longer distances
• Taught school for a few years then moved to Flagstaff to try training for a marathon
• Moved to Flagstaff and lived there for 6-years

Was there any coaching between when you left college and the head coaching job at Georgetown?

• Worked with Dr. Jack Daniels and learned sports science
• Coached some athletes with Daniels and some club coaching
• When Georgetown opened up it seemed like a natural fit

What was it like working with Dr. Daniles

• At first, it was overwhelming, such a wealth of information
• Learned something through his teaching and stories every day
• The inquiry of why
• Asked how and why all the time
• Unofficial Ph.D. course

You had 4 years at Georgetown with great results. When you heard Eric Heins was stepping down at NAU what was your thought process when you were considering changing jobs?

• I am from the east coast but had my time in Flagstaff with Daniels
• New that if NAU job ever opened it would be a hard decision
• Never really thought it would be so soon
• Leaving Alma-Marta was not an easy decision
• Loved Flagstaff and looked forward to moving back

Took NAU first-year assistant then took over for xc champ any pressure?

• The first year worked with Eric that was the first national championship
• A chance to be an observer and work with Eric for a few months was amazing
• Won the championship in '16
• Pressure doing it again when on own the next year was something I had seen before as I took over Georgetown as a defending national champion
• I learned from the first experience

We focus on the championship race, but 99% of what you do is not at that race it is in practice day-to-day. Can you tell us what you are looking for in practice and what your interactions are like?

• Skilled coaching is done way before the meet itself
• Insecure coaching shows at the meet
• Uncertainty comes out during meets if did our job correctly we are sure we are ready
• Athletes should be able to make own decisions at the moment
• Good coaching preparing them to make decisions
• In practice, we work on those things

What do you think of race plans for your athletes?

• Early on I would draw up race plans that were complicated
• Easy for us to come up with the plan, we don't run the race
• As soon as something happens to plan, an athlete's mind goes to the wrong place
• The athlete needs to just be able to react based on what is going on around
• Coaching happens before the race

Not everyone is going for the win as an individual, can you talk about winning the race within the race, what does that mean to you?

• They will be in situations where they won't have control, they need to understand their place within the race
• We talk about what it looks like to be in 60th and doing your job
• What it looks like to be in 81st when you are trying to get to 71st
• Prepare for the war and not the dream that won't ever come
• Stay calm during your war

Your culture seems to be of a fun team where the top racers are all competitive, are they as competitive with each other in practice as they are in a big race and is that culture dictated by the athletes you have and will change with the athletes or something you instill in the team?

• In our program, we teach what healthy competition is
• We show up to practice to make each other better
• We push the best out of each other
• We have gratitude for our best competition

Tyler Day is one of your top runners and a very interesting story for me. Tyler went to high school less than a mile from my house and I watched him compete in high school. He had that great personality then too. And while Tyler was a good high school runner, I don't think anyone ever looked at him and said he would be a national all-American in college. What do you contribute to the huge jump Tyler made at NAU?

• There are no measurements for belief and will in a lab, cannot measure his will and belief
• Moves well within interaction with the ground
• Some people there is no way to see when something is coming

You said on another podcast that you thought one of the issues you see in training is over-prescription of VO2 work. Can you talk about your training philosophy.

• We have too many coaches who stay inside the box
• Outside the box thinking means you are being creative and looking for improvement
• VO2 is an example of insecure coaching, we don't always need to make things harder
• Use races as part of a workout day if racing frequently

How does your training differ from Georgetown to NAU because of the altitude?

• From an aerobic standpoint there is some benefit
• There are some disadvantages to recovery

Let's say you were a high school coach living at sea level in a very flat area, and every year the high altitude teams came down to the state meet and over performed, how you would target your planning to offset the advantage the altitude teams have?

• Some of the best runners in the world don't train at altitude
• Altitude team may have some advantages, but not a magic pill
• You need to know they are beatable
• Altitude is a great teacher in suffering, you need to practice discomfort

How does you periodization work. Are you like a lydiard with pretty strict training periods or are you more of the new school where you touch on everything all year with small variations?

• Look at NCAA, people who are running great in September, but after taper feel terrible
• Is there evidence that tapering really works or do we just think it does
• We need athletes ready to go, but we need to look at it differently and not cut so much
• The nervous system has to be firing, look at sprints and not pulling back too much
• We keep volume and intensity high

What are you looking for in runners who may want to run at NAU?

• Men's team is obviously strong and asked about men all the time, but women's team coming on strong
• Women's program has me motivated and within 2-3 years we will be a force in the NCAA's
• We have a great culture and recruiting like crazy
• Men want to come and compete for team titles, for women we want people who want to build something
• We want people who are fired up about being a team and every day show up and work
• We want people who want to be part of a team, not just individuals
• People who understand mechanics are a big part of what we do
• We don't sell, we want people who want to be at NAU

You talk about moving with the ground, I know you run a summer camp for high school runners, is this something that athletes?

• We run a yearly camp once a year
• We show healthy ways to go about running
• Movement piece is crucial
• Drills need correction of drills, do them right or don't do them
• Teach build the engine and masters of movement

Final Surge round, 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Once a runner Current trainers you are wearing? - Ultra Boost Favorite race? – Western States 100 Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? – Mike and Rhonda's Lumberjack Special Your favorite workout –

NAU Running Camp NAU on Twitter

Welcome to episode 88 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we welcome Olympian runner Ruben Sanca. Ruben ran for Cabo Verde in the 2011 World Championships in the marathon and the 2012 Olympics in the 5k. Ruben won 2017 New England Grand Prix Road Racing title and was elected U.S.A. Track & Field New England Male Runner of the Year. We talk to Ruben about how he came to American at age 12, his running career and about his newer company, The Lowell Running Company.

Ruben can you start out telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got started running?

• Born in Cabo Verde
• Came to the US at 12 and in middle school teacher asked who wanted to sign up for cross country
• Ran in HS and recruited to run at U Mass Lowell

So you came to the US at the age of 12. I don't know a lot about Cabo Verde besides it's off the coast of West Africa. Did you speak English? Tell us what it was like for a 12-year-old to come here?

• Dual citizenship
• From tiny island
• We came here for health reasons and education
• Was hard to get here, took all our money
• Came here on Green Card Visa

Was running big there or something you didn't discover until you got here?

• Soccer is big there not running
• I played soccer when I was here too
• I was a very good soccer player and had to make a decision in 11th grade as soccer and XC were in the same season
• If quit soccer to run, I had to make sure I took it very seriously

You ran at U Mass Lowell then you went on to compete at the World Championship in 2011 in the marathon and the London Olympic Games in the 5k in 2012. What was it like competing in the Olympics?

• I was able to represent Cabo Verde
• My college coach trained me for it and came with me

What is your running goals now?

• Training for 2020 Olympics in the Marathon
• Run many local road races but big focus is on the marathon

You are working full time, you train 100 miles a week and you manage the Lowell Running Company. How do you fit it all in?

• I get up early
• I use technology to save time

So one of the ways I first started noticing what you were doing was from the activity online with the Lowell Running Company. Can you tell us what the LRC is and how that started?

• Started 2016 as I was coaching a few local people
• Partner with Bay State Marathon to help people run BQ times
• The goal of LRC was to be a full-service coaching firm
• Training plans or custom training plans to fit around their schedule

Do you do group runs or is it all virtual?

• We run clinics every 4-5 weeks to answer questions
• We have group runs for long runs once a week

Is your coaching all in person or do you virtual coaching too?

• We do both
• We do training for other races too
• We track the goals of each runner and their results

Do you work with mostly marathoners or do you work with others?

• Work with 5k-marathon
• Specialize in half and full marathon
• Runners are a mix of I want to finish and those who are more experienced

How are you using Final Surge in your coaching?

• Love it to see what the athlete does
• I get notifications on my phone for specific athletes and go through all the athletes weekly
• Use the messaging often in the app through my email
• Great for busy people to make it easy as they get their text message of the workout or look at their calendar on the phone

Final Surge round, 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? Lore of Running by Tim Noakes and for enjoyment: Running with the Buffaloes by Chris Lear Current trainers you are wearing? - New Balance 880's Favorite race? – Boston Marathon Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? – Sirloin steak with sweet potatoes and Endurex R4 Endurance Formula Your favorite workout – 4xmile at 5k pace for track and for marathon 3x3mi at marathon pace w/ a mile recovery at 95% marathon pace. This is one of the standard marathons workouts I do at the beginning of every marathon block.

Resources Lowell Running Website Sanca Foundation Facebook Page Twitter Account

Welcome to episode 87 of the Final Surge podcast where today we welcome Dr. Justin Ross to the show. Justin specializes in sports performance and has a practice called Mind-Body Health in Denver Colorado. Dr. Ross combined his love for endurance sports with his love for psychology to put together a practice that helps his patients perform their best on race day. We talk about getting ready for the big race and why the mind game is so important to perform your best. Dr. Ross see's patients both in person and online. Feel free to connect to him about what you may be struggling with.

I know you got started later in life in endurance sports and not in high school like many of our guests, can you tell us how you got your start?

• First marathon when 29
• Got me hooked on running and triathlons

What are you doing now?

• Raced a few 70.3 triathlons
• Just raced 8th marathon which has been the focus of the last three years

You are a psychologist now a specializing in sports performance. Was there a moment, something specific that happened that made you decide I want to go in this direction?

• In college thought it would be physical therapy or athletic training
• Took psychology classes and got interested
• Interested in the overlap of how mind and body relate

So walk me through how this works with you. Someone contacts you and says I need help, can you walk us through the whole process of how you get started with them?

• Often it is not an issue but staying ahead of a problem
• Regardless of ability level, they know it is going to hurt and how to deal with it better when it comes

What are the most common issues that you hear from endurance athletes about mental?

• How to deal with the perceived effort
• Learn how to deal with discomfort

Navy Seals talk about dealing with this a lot in their training. They say when you think you are done your body has 60% left to give still so how can you work on changing the perception of effort?

• Endurance athletes train so much that you need to learn how to deal with them in your training cycle
• How you deal with it while training is how you will deal with it while racing

What is the big difference between working on them on race day and in training?

• Key in on things in training so you are ready to go there on race day
• A difference could be the pressure that you put on yourself on race day

How often do you have someone come to you and say my 5k workouts are getting better and I am improving month over month but on race day I'm not improving?

• It's almost always something going on mentally
• Need to work to figure out what that psychological barrier is

How do you pinpoint what that might be?

• Asking the right questions
• Looking at training and races and discuss what is happening when

Are your patients in person or virtual?

• Both, do webinars too
• Denver and Boulder is a hotbed, but Internet opens it up to more

A college coach contacts you and says my team is doing great but year over year we cannot put it together on race day for our Championship race. What sort of general advice would you have for them?

• If contacting me with just a couple weeks, it is too late. You need to work on this for months like training
• Learn to bring this into the process of training every day

When you say put yourself into these situations are you talking about getting to the point of fatigue like you would be in a race and then putting yourself in certain situations, or what are you working on?

• We cannot change what we are not aware of
• The first week pay close attention to your thoughts while training
• What do you tell yourself when things get challenging
• Training logs are a great place to put these notes in

Inner Game of Tennis teaches that self-talk doesn't work, you need to just do the reps so many times that you just go there, do you teach self-talk?

• Everyone does self-talk, tennis, golf and such are start and stop sports not always action like endurance sports so they are different
• Endurance sports self-talk is critical when you are spending 3-4 hours on a course

This year's Boston was interesting because Desi said she wasn't even going to be finishing the race and told Flannagan that she was willing to help her in any way. Then an hour and a half later she is competing to win, what lessons can we take from that?

• We perform better when we are surrounded by people
• When we are there to help others it can change how we feel

What about goals, are goals part of what you do and if so how important are they?

• Two things we are working on is the perception of effort and tolerating discomfort
• Stronger your goal and more meaningful, the more likely you can call upon that to change your perception of effort

How do you work to set goals with clients?

• Individually driven
• What do you want to do, is it a certain time or about getting back to enjoyment?
• Numbers are great, but we can live and die by them

We hear a lot about the placebo effect, and it seems to be a real thing, can you tell us how we think things are working and maybe they are not? Like KT tape or compression sleeves, we hear people who swear by them and others who show research that they are doing nothing. Can you talk about it?

• Placebo is a sugar pill that cannot do anything, but you think it does
• Cognitive Bias effect is when it could be helpful but the research is not there so if they believe it helps them
• Research shows that these things can change performance by like 1%

On race day someone is going for heir BQ and maybe this is their last shot to get it, how can they use their mind to push through?

• Anyone thinking about BQ'ing you need to work on your mind several months ahead of time
• Be aware, keep a log of thinking
• Cognitive appraisal - How are you paying attention to how you feel and what you are thinking
• Thoughts are modifiable, if aware you can shift thinking
• Be calm in your mind

We talk about doing this a lot during training, but what about meditation?

• Meditation is fantastic at calming down the nervous system
• A lot of benefits to help learn how to shift focus

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Endure Current trainers you are wearing? - Newton Distance Elite Favorite race? - Light At End of Tunnel in Washington Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Coconut Water Your favorite workout - Tempo Runs

Resources

Website

Twitter

Welcome to episode 86 of the Final Surge podcast with our guest Olympian turned coach Tim Broe. If you were a running fan in the early 2000's you probably remember Tim as one of the few bright spots in US Distance running scene. Tim is now a professional coach with the Saucony Freedom Track Club. We talk to Tim about his early days in running, his Olympic experience and the devastating injury that ended his career to early. We then talk about his latest experience with the Freedom Track Club. If you enjoy this episode please rate us on iTunes and follow us on Twitter @FinalSurge.

How did you get your start in athletics?

• Started running in middle school, got dragged into it
• As a 7th grader ran 5:45 and kept improving
• Won a state title as a junior in high school

Ran under legendary Michigan coach Ron Warhurst as a professional right?

• Ran at Alabama, they offered me a scholarship
• 12-time All American, but didn't take it serious enough until last year
• After senior year worked at a local shoe store and trained by himself
• After coming in 4th in the steeple in the Trials became more motivated
• Kevin Sullivan a Michigan runner and coach put him in touch with Ron
• Moved to Michigan to train with him

What was that like, what makes him such a great coach?

• He lives it 24-7
• First time met Ron had me put on spikes and do 20x400 with every 5th one at 59
• Nailed it and next day did a 2-hour run
• Ron took me after hearing that
• He very much determines workouts by how you feel that day

2004 you made US Olympic team in the 5k, what was it like running for your country in the biggest show in running?

• Won trials, but didn't have a qualifying time
• Had to run 13:21, went to London and ran 13:18
• Felt stressed out and didn't have a chance to enjoy it as much as should
• Did opening ceremonies and the whole two weeks

You mentioned had to go get a qualifying time after your Olympic Trials win. Running in the early 2000's wasn't exactly the high point in American distance running. You were one of the few bright spots during this time. Was it something that you paid attention to while it was happening?

• Most high school programs in the 90's did not do much volume, everything was short intervals
• Did not figure it out until senior year in college
• The difference now is coaches have their athletes do a lot more tempo, LT, CV pacing for more volume

Talk about how your career came to an end after the high

• Foot injury, bones were fused together
• Had to have bone removed and it lead to a lot more issues
• At Olympics had a broken foot and torn plantar
• Just added up quickly

How did you make your transition into coaching?

• That is all I knew
• Was at home and visiting old high school coach
• Started helping with boys team in 2007 and ended up taking over
• Worked with a non-profit group of professionals

You coach the Freedom Track Club how did that start

• Started coaching Ben True who was a Saucony Athlete
• Saucony approached him about creating a team

When you start with Wesley high school athletes, what type of program are you trying to bring to them to develop younger runners?

• Started with performance increase enjoyment, but found kids don't care as much as they do just belonging to a team
• One kid had early success which helped develop the team size
• Be a good teammate and work hard
• Do everything right and the times will come

How different was it coaching a team with 11 kids vs 78?

• The message was the same, approach was a little different
• The program had no expectations
• They are driven, usually have to pull them back

I've heard your runners you coach and you talk about taking control of the race, what does that mean for you?

• At some point, if you are a competitor you need to make your mark and take a lead
• Focus on racing and not times and times will come

What advice do you have for someone who maybe isn't at the level to compete near the front and maybe focusing on just setting a PR. What advice do you have for your kids who are not going for a win, but are a number 6 runner on your team?

• Win your battles
• As race unfolds will be with a few kids, that is your battle for win, for a title
• In a big workout may have them do a workout then run a flat out 400 at the end to build confidence at end of a race

Last fall you had a big signing with Molly Seidel to the Freedom Track Club. I saw she got sick before Payton Jordon, how is her training going?

• Cleaned up form stuff
• Been working hard in weight room
• Training at 85% level, still building a base on her before hit it hard
• Will run 10k next week to get a qualifier for USA's

Ben True raced the Pre 2-mile race this past week, how did his race go?

• Ben moved on from team last year
• He moved to Hanover and the coaching was just to far so parted ways

How will the team develop over the next 2-3 years?

• We don't have the budget of a Nike, but we are developing a good program
• Will add a few more after NCAA Nationals this summer

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Men of Oregon Current trainers you are wearing? - Kinvara Favorite race? - Billy Mills 10k and favorite to run was 3k Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Donuts and chocolate mill Your favorite workout - The Michigan

Resources

Email Tim

Welcome to Episode 85 of the final surge podcast where today we have the pleasure of bringing you one of the best young track runners in the country Jess Tonn. Jess is fresh off her sub 32 10k win at the Payton Jordan. We talk to Jess about her running career to date including her stellar high school career where she qualified for 4 Foot Locker's, her running career a Sanford and how it has been making the transition to running with the Brooks Beast team. We talk to her about the amazing coaches she has been blessed to have so far and how that has helped her in her own coaching career with RunDoyen. Jess' energy is contagious and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it.

Tell us how you got started running when you were younger

• Started when was 12
• Mother worked in the athletic department at ASU so did many sports
• Tried many sports like soccer, running came naturally
• PE teacher recommended after-school running program
• Joined youth team for USATF
• Ran at Xavier in Phoenix for high school

You had quite a high school career, 4 year Foot Locker qualifier, 14 state titles in cross country and track and you went to an academically challenging high school with Xavier, how hard was it to put in the time you needed to be successful in school and as such an accomplished high school runner?

• So much pressure on student athletes to perform now
• Phoenix is hot had to meet at 5 am 6 days a week
• Academics suffered a little because of hours
• Had a great support system

Was there ever a time in high school you thought I want to be a professional runner some day?

• When made her first Foot Locker coach sat them down and said this was a big deal
• Wasnt until college that decided it was a possibility

You also had a successful college career as a runner at Stanford, another tough academic school. There are dozens of young women runners in high school who go onto college and you never hear from them again except on Let's Run message boards saying whatever happened to….. Why do you think you were able to make the jump to the next level?

• Amazing coaches
• Jeff Messer, high school coach developed well and left room for potential
• College transitions that were hard were the lifestyle not running

What did you study at Stanford?

• Communications

In November 2015 you signed a contract with Brooks to run as a professional. How hard or easy was it to make the decision to put off your career and chase your dream of being a professional runner?

• Easy decision
• When made top 3 in NCAA's knew I wanted to keep going
• Family and coaches supported making a decision to run professionally

What was it about Danny Mackey and the Brooks Beast team that attracted you to them?

• Prioritized what ideal position would look like as far as living and training
• Coach, team atmosphere were all important
• Visited a few teams and companies
• Brooks HQ atmosphere was unbeatable
• Coach Mackey was invested in each individual

Earlier this month you ran the 10k at Payton Jordan, I want to talk about the race in some details and ask you a few questions about different stages. But first, what were your expectations going into it?

• Had nagging issues earlier this year but decided at USA's wanted to focus on 10k
• Had strung together 75-80 mile weeks
• Training at altitude coming into it
• A few workouts were tough but indicated was in shape
• Was great to go back to Stanford
• Goal was 31:45-32:15 range
• 2 weeks out did a really hard workout and nailed it so knew was ready

What was that really hard workout?

• 7x 1k, 600 with short rest

Do you see yourself as a 10k runner going forward?

• 2020 plan to try and make 10k team

You mentioned you had some injuries, can you talk about getting through those?

• Had to pull out of Olympic trials which was devastating
• Had to learn to implement crosstraining
• Last year was on a long run and snapped a foot bone, came out of nowhere
• Was in the middle of training block and was in a boot for 8 weeks, 12-week block with no running just swimming, biking and elliptical
• Had to work on the mental game

Rabbit took the group through almost 3k at just sub 32:00 pace and when the rabbit left the track things started to stretch out. At 3200k you were down by about 9 second and by 5k it was almost up to 15 seconds and you were leading a chase group in 3rd. When the lead grew to almost 15 seconds did you ever think I should have gone with Ichiyama?

• No, had a solid race plan
• Stayed relaxed over the first 5k
• The goal was to be around 16:00 at 5k and was within 2 seconds of that
• Was confident in my race plan
• 6-8k was a little tough but started closing the gap so gained momentum
• When got tough kept saying one more lap
• Knew if was within contact with a mile to go could win

In the last mile your group started closing the gap, were you girls talking and communicating as it looked like you took turns leading the chase?

• No communications, it just happened and took turns leading chase
• Knew that workouts had set me up to win at end
• Biggest goal was to compete to win

With 800 to go the lead group was back to 5 and Cliff made a push then with 500 to go Pagano made a push, and you were content on the back of the 5 person pack, what were you thinking, what was your plan as you saw what was going on ahead of you?

• Learned to stay out of chaos but aware if any moves happen
• Knew when I made a move had to be definitive
• I could have run faster if made my move a little earlier

That last 400 you close in 70, and when you went at 300 there was no doubt who was going to win, you looked so strong. Did you feel as strong as you looked?

• Felt strong and had been working on mechanics and turnover
• Through all the drills we had been doing I could feel it pay off over last 200

What have been your keys to consistency across her high school, college, and professional training that have supported your long-term evolution to a sub-32:00 performer?

• Having fun has been huge for me
• Staying healthy is tricky because my body feels different now
• Have had to get to know my body
• Always riding that line but every injury I can see where I made a mistake, they were learning moments
• Super in-tune with how I am feeling and communicating with the coach
• All the pre-hab, rehab is important to staying health

What are your plans for he rest of the race season?

• 5k in June
• Good 1500 at Portland Track Festival

You are now coaching with RunDoyen and we will leave a link in the show notes if anyone wants to get a hold of you about coaching. You have been blessed with amazing coaches since high school. You had one of the top high school coaches in the country with Jeff Messer, then, of course, Stanford and now with the Beast club. All of your coaches are successful, but I am sure they are all different in their own ways and coaching methods. What have you learned from your coaches that you will use in your coaching?

• Communications
• Adaptability and being flexible and not married to plan, life happens
• Clients range from college runners hoping to make the team to mom's
• Use Final Surge makes it easy to communicate

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Peak Performance Current trainers you are wearing? - Brooks Ghost 10 Favorite race? - 10k Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Gatorade, water and protein Your favorite workout - 4 sets of 4x400 or 5-6 mile tempo on the track

connect with you online?

@JessTonn on Instagram @JessTonn on Twitter Jess Tonn on RunDoyen

Welcome to episode 84 of the Final Surge podcast with our guest Steve Fleck. Steve is an athlete turned announcer and you will hear him at many events including Ironman Triathlons, Rock 'N Roll Marathons and streaming online covering track meets. We talk to Steve about how he got involved in announcing after his athletic days were over and what it is like behind the scenes at these big events. Make sure you follow Steve on Twitter @SteveFleck and follow us @FinalSurge.

How did you get your start in athletics?

• Distance running in 70's in high school
• Triathlon's in early to mid 80's
• Cycling now

How did you make the transition to announcing at events?

• Volunteered at Ironman Canada with Steve King calling out names and with promos
• 4-5 years ago started to do it full-time
• 30-35 events a year across North America

Do you do mostly triathlons or is it a mixture of events?

• Do all three running, cycling, and triathlons
• Runner's Space streaming

As a high school coach, I go to several cross country and track meets a year. There is a huge difference between the experience at a meet that just announces the next event and a meet with an announcer giving you details about what is going on and who the players are. What do you see as your job responsibility when you announce a race?

• Information provider
• Engage with sponsors and spectators
• Make the local officials get love

Are most of your events large events or do you work smaller events too?

• Fits better at larger events
• But have local races that want the big event feel

What does your preparation look like for an event and how does it differ from like a local 5k race to a big Rock n Roll?

• Bigger events more scripted
• Read promos as part of sports presentation
• Research who is running

If you are doing an Ironman triathlon what does that look like for you? You are out there so long how do you fill that space?

• A balance between talking too much and too little
• Don't talk non-stop
• Need to fill time with engaging stories
• It is all about the finishers at the end
• Awards for age groups

Any disaster or horror stories?

• Weather is the biggest factor
• Irrate participants will bring troubles
• Upset about things like flavors of Gatorade on course

Do you have a favorite race to do?

• Like a really competitive race on the track 800-1500m where you can build a story

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - David Epstein The Sports Gene Current trainers you are wearing? - Favorite all-time is Nike Waffle Favorite race? - Any big events like Ironman would love to do NYC Marathon Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Beer and Risotto Your favorite workout - Threshold/Sweet Spot

Resources

Steve Fleck on Twitter

Steve Fleck on Instagram

Welcome to episode 83 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome new professional runner Sam Parsons. Sam is a runner with Adidas and the new Tinman Elite running team in Boulder Colorado. In this episode, you will hear the enthusiasm Sam has for running and the running profession. We talk about Sam's high school days, his transition to running at NC State and what it is like running for Tinman, Tom Schwartz who he calls the mad genius of running. The Tinman Elite crew uses Final Surge as a training platform and it is great to hear the enthusiasm Sam and his teammates have for the sport. We dive into how the mental part of running is so important to Sam and how his training has changed under Tinman.

How did you get your start in running?

• Multi-sport athlete Soccer, Swim, Lacrosse
• Watched sister run
• Soccer coach encouraged him to run cross country for conditioning
• Ran Nike Cross Nationals as a Senior

After high school, you ran at NC State. What was a harder transition, transitioning from high school to college or college to the professional ranks?

• Transition to college was harder
• Burn out is high because of greater impact on the body
• Wasnt ready for demands on the body

You mentioned one of the harder parts of jumping from high school to college was the milage demands, what were you running in high school?

• High School we had good workouts but the next day was an easy 30-minute recovery run, in college it was a 12-mile recovery run
• NC State is a development school with a 2-4 year plan

What about the mental aspect, how has the mental part of running and competing changed as you have grown?

• Need to train the mind to be ready to close a race out
• Mind needs to tell yourself you will win and are unstoppable
• Need to stay positive

How do you think you changed to become a more serious runner?

• Too many late nights
• As a professional need to take care of your self with sleep and eating right

Many of us follow professional runners on Instagram and see runs in absolutely stunning locations, then naps, and free shoes… What has the transition to a professional runner been like?

• Never want to look back and think should've, could've, would've
• Boulder is a great place to be at

You are running for Adidas now, how did that relationship develop?

• Started as an intern for Adidas tennis
• Would finish work and head down to the running department
• Fell in love with the company when worked for them
• Ran into Drew Hunter when he was racing there
• Reached out to Tom Schwartz

You did the BAA mile where you got 5th and then recently ran the mile at Drake's. You ran a lot of 5-10ks on the track in college so is this miler thing just part of the training season you are in or what are your plans?

• Tom recognized I should run sub-4
• If I want to be a great 5-10k runner I need to close in 55 seconds
• Need more speed work for long-term
• Working on developing speed

Let's talk a little bit about training. You are now training with Tinman, Tom Schwartz. We have had him on the podcast in the past and this past January I had the privilege of getting to spend a little time with him while at a clinic. What has been the biggest change in your training?

• Tom is a mad genius
• He loves hills
• We run a lot slower now, easy days are now 7:30 pace
• Always wants us ready for workouts
• We don't taper, always ready to race
• Don't work on one system, work on speed and strength in workouts

Tinman is known for his CV efforts. How do you define CV effort, what pace is that for you?

• Critical Velocity
• Pace you can hit and feel comfortable, K's a CV are about 2:55 or maybe 5:00 pace on longer runs
• Training is not hard, but easy workouts
• We did 8x600 last week with rest of 1:14, that exact
• Very rarely do we go hard to the well in a workout

One of our loyal Twitter follers MacBane, a Twitter follower wants to know How do you have fun on race day?

• Smile
• Eat that cookie, enjoy it
• Opportunity to put on a show

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Unbroken and Beyond Jogging Current trainers you are wearing? - Adidas Solar Boost Favorite race? - 5k Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Tripple Berry Smoothie Your favorite workout - Mile Repeats and Long Run

Resources Podcast with Tinman Sam on Twitter Sam on Instagram Tinman Elite on Instagram

Welcome to episode 82 of the Final Surge podcast with our guest this week Zach Cole. Zach has built a new website called HopDash.com which is helping connect runners to running locations and groups. It is a great way to find a group to run with when you travel, or maybe just to discover new running areas in your city.

You launched a new site called hop dash.com and I want to dig into it, but before we do that we like to introduce our listeners to our guests find out a little about who you are, if you could tell our listeners how you got started with running?

• College basketball player
• Started running with a morning group after college
• Continued to train
• Joined track team

You talk about how you started running with a few groups, HopDash your new site is about running with groups, so can you give us a background on the site?

• Discover running groups in your city or places you visit
• Traveled a lot and always looking for running clubs could join for a workout
• Running is more exciting when you can connect with people while doing it

Do you find that groups are comprised of similar runners or are most groups varied in who is running with them?

• Most groups have good variety
• Most have some new runners and some more advanced

When I look at your HopDash and I click on one of the cities, let's say Boston, on the right I see interesting places to run and then on the bottom I see a calendar and each day has a different set of runs and each of those runs dots in the upper corner, one green, two yellow, three orange dots what do those mean?

• Can be confusing, reworking that
• Intent to show how easy or difficult a given workout may be
• Assigning the difficulty is difficult because most groups have a wide variety on the same day

How does it work, who updates the workouts?

• There is an input field where clubs can create their team and workouts
• Using a Google Sheets API
• Will be making it more scaleable in the future

The interesting places to run, are they user-generated too?

• First few cities built from experience
• Now users submitting tips and ideas to be included
• As it builds out will make it searchable with filters

How do I know if the group I am looking at is more casual vs more serious?

• When you read the descriptions of the clubs and workouts it gives you a lot of information on what to expect on that run
• External link to running clubs website to learn more about them

You are relying on user feedback and people entering their information, so how do you see this growing?

• Contribute link at top of website
• Can add city and club and workouts
• Several cities being worked on right now

Who are some of the interesting people you have met while traveling?

• Ran in Vancouver with a group there
• In Boston last year ran with The November Project
• TrackSmith Group in Boston
• In NY this winter ran in the 'Bomb Cyclone' had classic NY character

What is the hardest or most memorable place you ran?

• Last fall ran in Mammoth with Mammoth Track Club on a track at 7k feet
• Half marathon run up to 9k feet and swam in a freezing lake
• Tim Tollefson showed another trail run that was incredible
• Auburn CA during Western States and a trail run it was over 100 degrees, no shade, 2k feet of gain was the hardest run

We see training professional groups forming around the country, but also we see many local training groups and running communities. Why do you think these are growing?

• Something powerful in training with a group
• A routine helps grow individual and group success
• Fun to have other people to cheer for and be cheered on
• Investing in other people's success helps all involved
• Success keeps people going

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute Favorite endurance/running book? - Once a Runner Current trainers you are wearing? - Challenger 3's Favorite race? - Santa Cruz to Capitola Wharf Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Burger and Beer Your favorite workout - 1600 repeats

How to connect with you? - Hopdash: - Zach on Twitter

Welcome to episode 81 of the Final Surge podcast where today we welcome back Neely Spence Gracey to the podcast to talk about Boston. Boston is less than a week away and we talk to Neely about what a first-time runner should consider when heading to Boston and we take a look at some of the top names on the men's and women's race. We even get Neely to predict the winners of both races. Neely uses the Final Surge platform in her coaching, if you are interested in getting coached by Neely head over to NeelyRuns.com.

You were the top American Women at Boston in 2016, you want to explain why you are not running this year?

• Pregnant
• Due August 4th
• Boy

How will the weather affect the race?

• It can change the morning of the race, so be prepared for it to change last minute

If it is a little rainy like they are predicting, are those good conditions for a good fast race?

• Personally, I would like it
• The wind will be a bigger factor

What should first-time runners know about the course?

• Look up Boston Marathon Preview video
• Need to track pace and be ok with being off at times, take the average not the moment pace
• Easy to get caught up and go to fast in the first few miles
• Use first 3 miles as a warmup run

Men's Elite Marathon

Is there someone you think can knock off the defending champ Geoffrey Kirui?

• Anything can happen on marathon day
• Can never predict, but a good chance he won't win

Last year Galen Rupp was runner-up and came back and won Chicago, what do you think the chance is of him winning and running a fast time?

• Galen is a racer, he will let others do the work early and take over late
• Kirui may push the pace early or he may be the one who waits for Rupp to make a move
• Don't count out Lelisa Desisa or 2016 winner Lemi Berhanu

Who will win the men's race? Lesisa Desisa

On the women's side, this is a really deep field. How will this play out?

• This race is going to be exciting
• I think Molly Huddle will perform big
• Desi and Shalane have more experience

One of the wild cards is Jordan Hasay, how do you see her playing a factor?

• She is back and knows what to expect
• She is used to the big spotlight
• She has had 2 really good marathons
• She is young and has been doing impressive things
• She is a wildcard

We have some veterans with experience in Deena Kastor and Kellyn Taylor, can one of these vets step up and surprise people?

• Deena is back and you can never count her out
• Kellyn has been chipping away at her goals and making performance gains each year. She has stayed healthy the last year and coming off a good fall season

Flanagan is coming off of NYC, can she repeat that at Boston?

• You always need to get a little lucky on race day
• She will be ready to race

Edna Kiplagat is the defending champ, is she going to be hard to knock off?

• She knows what she needs to do to win and will make them work

Who is someone we need to keep an eye on in the women's race?

• Serena Burla
• She races a lot overseas
• Running fast in the last year
• Her first big race since cancer surgery

Who will win the women's race? Kiplagat

What other advice do you have for runners to enjoy the weekend?

• Spend time to enjoy the experience
• They treat everyone like royalty
• Maximize the weekend

[email protected] NeelyRuns.com Neely on Twitter Neely on Instagram