Final Surge Podcast

Episode 136: Reed Fischer of the Tinman Elite Group has had quite a year. He has set a PR in everything from the 5k to the half marathon and just came in 5th in the 20k National Championship. This is quite an accomplishment for someone who didn't break 23 minutes in a 5k his freshman season or 5 minutes in a mile until he was a sophomore in high school. We talk to Reed about his growth and about the success of his team.

1:15 How did you get started in running?

4:20 When you were a freshman/sophomore what type of times were you running?

6:50 Where was it that you made your biggest change that set you on this path?

9:53 You had a steady progression after that, when was it you realized that college running may be a possibility?

12:14 Did you think you had a shot at making the team at Drake?

14:21 Who started working with Tom first you or Brogan?

15:45 How did you end up teaming up with Tinmen?

18:31 Most of you are not the NCAA Champions but you have tremendous success as a team and competing for national championships so what is it that is making you guys so successful?

23:40 Tom has been fairly open about his training, what has been the biggest change in your training since you joined him?

27:33 Breaking down the 7/7/7 a little more and many PR's this year, what is the plan with the marathon?

29:00 Does your success this year make you want to give the 800 a go and see what you could do?

30:37 The first marathon is always an experience, so going into your first one what are your expectations and goals?

35:00 Next year is an Olympic year, what will your focus be?

36:55 You are a very young team how has the reception been from other teams?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute

Favorite endurance/running book? - Running with the Buffalos Current trainers you are wearing? - Asics GT-2000 Favorite race? - Drake Relays Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Cheeseburger Your favorite workout - Tempo and a long run

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Instagram: @reedfisch Twitter: @reedfisch

Episode 135: We welcome Dr Jason Karp who has been a competitive runner since sixth grade. Dr. Karp is also a coach and the bestselling author of 8 books and over 400 articles. We talk about several issues including cardio, mental health benefits fo running and the importance of coaches and athletes knowing about the Female Athlete Triad.

1:10 Background on how he got started getting interested in running

2:29 Did you become interested because you had success?

3:40 In high school did you continue sprinting or did you move up in distance?

5:08 In high school did you know you wanted to take this career path?

6:50 Where did you decide to go to school?

11:33 Was your intention to keep coaching after this process?

11:58 What level of coaching are you doing right now?

12:44 You are a big supporter of running while not all exercise trainers are a believer in cardio, you even wrote a book called Run Your Fat Off what do you find so beneficial about the sport?

14:05 So how do you Run Your Fat Off?

16:11 How often do you hear "I can't run" and how do you overcome that?

17:58 You have a book called Developmental Concept for Cross Country, what is that about?

19:38 One of the things that many young women need to be aware of, and I would argue that coaches really need to be aware of is the Female Athlete Triad, what do coaches and athletes need to understand?

23:50 I went to a clinic with Jay Johnson a few years back, and I don't remember the exact number, but they looked at incoming female athletes in college and it was some off the wall number like 70% were not eating enough calories for their athletic needs, can you talk about how important calorie intake is?

26:53 As a male high school coach you mentioned these conversations can be uncomfortable for high school girls, this is where we need to loop the parents in

28:00 For more information is the Running for Women the best place you have for information on this?

28:25 What is the REVO₂LUTION RUNNING™ certification program for coaches and trainers?

31:07 You mentioned some of the benefits of running mentally, can you talk about some of the mental benefits of running?

33:17 You have 8 books, is there another one in the works?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute

Favorite endurance/running book? - Joe Sheehan Current trainers you are wearing? - Hoka Favorite race? - Mile Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Chocolate Milk Your favorite workout - 400m reps

Resources:

Jason's Website Dr Jason Karp on FacebookInstagram @drjasonkarp Twitter REVO₂LUTION RUNNING™

Episode 134: Matt Baxter grew up running in New Zeland. He comes over to the states to run for Coach Smith and the NAU Lumberjacks and helped lead the team to 3 straight Cross Country titles. We talked about the mental game of not always having your best race and his transition to running as a professional for NAZ Elite.

1:15 How did you get started running in New Zeland?

1:51 what is high school running like in New Zeland high schools?

3:02 When did you make the transition to coming to the United States to run for NAU?

3:22 What was it like coming to Flagstaff and running at elevation?

4:40 Why did you decide to come to the States?

5:53 3 years and 3 national titles, was there one that was more special?

7:15 In 2017 you were second overall at Cross, but then at Indoors you didn't even qualify for nationals in the 5k, what happened?

10:05 When you are a high school runner you can have a bad race and still win a race, but when you are running at a high level it is different, what is it like mentally to get used to that?

12:06 In 2018 you were the favorites, but there was a lot of talk about BYU. Coach Smith said that on that day even though you didn't have a great race it was great because of how tough you were, can you talk about how that race went?

15:15 What is it like running under coach Smith?

17:04 With you and Tyler gone from NAU cross country now, what do you think this year holds for them?

18:33 Why did you choose to run with NAZ Elite and Ben Rosario?

20:27 You ended up heading back for New Zeland after you signed, was the plan always to be gone for 6 months?

23:17 What is your favorite place to run in Flagstaff?

24:23 What is the biggest difference between training under Ben and Coach Smith?

26:13 You have a new young crew at NAZ, what has it been like?

27:37 What is it like having a former competitor like Rory as a teammate now?

29:34 What events will you focus on the next few years?

31:12 You could have 4 countries all represented in Tokyo, have you talked about that as a team?

32:55 The NAZ group does a lot online reaching out to runners and making the sport look fun, you are drawing in young runners as fans, what can we do to make the sport even more attractive?

36:20 Thousands are racing on weekends, what do we do to reach the hobby joggers and get them in the stands?

40:08 What is the next race for you?

40:52 You running with Tyler in Flagstaff again?

43:00 Talking about Tyler running as a professional blows my mind with how far he has come since high school.

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute

Favorite endurance/running book? - Once a Runner Current trainers you are wearing? - Clifton Favorite race? - NCAA Cross Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Oatmeal Your favorite workout - Mile repeats or long tempo

Resources Twitter Blog NAZ Elite

In episode 133 we have a great show for you. Did you watch the USATF's? Did you see the men's 5k? I thought it was absolutely one of the most entertaining 5k races I have ever seen. Over the course of that race I went from thinking what is Woody Kincaid doing up there, to thinking Woody Kincaid is done to saying wow, what a gutsy race by Kincaid. I became a fan. We talked to Woody about the race, what he was thinking and how he feels about being top 3 but not getting a spot on the World's team. This was a great episode and I hope you enjoy it and share it.

1:30 How did you get started in running?

2:08 What was it about running that drew you in?

2:44 Did you have early success?

3:10 At what point did you realize you wanted to do it in college?

4:02 Did a lot of colleges have interest?

5:00 Did the option come from Colorado to run there?

5:35 When did you decide you wanted to run professionally?

6:35 What did you learn from going to Kenya?

8:00 Did Rob Conner introduce you to Jerry or how did that relationship start?

9:24 Talk about your 2-3 years of running as a professional and what it has been like?

12:00 You went into indoors, how did that season go?

12:48 Do you think that race at indoors helped get you focused?

13:41 How was your training leading up to outdoors?

14:47 Were you confident before USATF's?

15:32 The 5k at USATF's was one of my favorite races, what was the gameplan you had before the race?

17:45 In the first 600m you already gapped the field, did you know it was going out that fast?

18:58 At the mile marker when he starts talking to you what is going through your mind?

20:07 Did he put a crazy hard surge when you decided you were not going to take the lead?

21:18 When you clipped him was that when he pulled off to the side and almost stopped?

21:45 When you got to the lead what was your gameplan?

23:40 Pack catches you, I turned to my son and son and Woody is done, did you have concerns when they caught you?

25:13 With 500 meters to go you fall back to 5th did you think you were ok because you can kick well?

26:00 with 250 to go you fought your way back into it and I became a Woody fan

26:45 When you are racing you are thinking about winning, you probably are not thinking about the standard the whole time right?

27:30 You just miss the standard, what do you think about the current system of not allowing time to chase a standard?

29:03 So what is next for you?

29:42 Let's talk about the status of the sport, what do we need to do to fill the stands?

30:33 Have betting at the track?

30:50 What if the race had fone different, what if you finished not in the front?

32:00 I imagine this is going to help the contract negotiations?

33:03 You mentioned the Price of the Mile podcast, what happened with it?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute

Favorite endurance/running book? - Running for my Life Current trainers you are wearing? - Pegasus 35 Favorite race? - 5k Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Beet Juice Your favorite workout - Tempo with speed work

Resources Woody on Instagram 5k race on NBC Sports

In Episode 132 of the Final Surge Podcast, we welcome Olympics Trials qualifier and 50 mile US Trail Champ Dani to the podcast. Dani currently also coaches for Luke Humphry and the Hanson running team. She recently had a fundraising run for domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy which we talk about.

1:15 How Dani got started in running and as a multi-sport athlete

2:05 Were you playing club softball?

2:20 What was it about track that drew you in?

4:00 Do you remember what type of times you ran for the mile in middle school and high school?

4:55 You had success as a middle school miler, did you play both softball and run in high school?

5:50 Once in high school did you always want to run in college?

7:32 What was your running career like as a professional runner?

8:55 2017 US 50-mile Trail Champ, what was that like doubling the marathon distance?

11:20 How did you get started coaching?

13:20 What is the similarity in coaching at all levels from MS-Adults?

14:40 Let's talk about middle school coaching, you want them to fall in love with running so you need to make it fun, but they are not going to have fun if they are not racing well, so how do you balance that?

18:05 You recently did 340 miles to raise money for sexual assault and domestic violence awareness, tell us about that experience

21:00 Did you have a lot of people joining you on the different legs of the run?

22:12 What was it that made you decide you wanted to do a run for this?

23:40 How do you train to run a marathon every day for 8 days in a row?

26:00 What was the hardest part of it?

30:10 Do you have something set up so if people still want to donate they can?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute

Favorite endurance/running book? - Basic Marathon Plan Current trainers you are wearing? - Hoka OneOne Clifton Favorite race? - Great Lakes Relay Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Craft Beer and Sweet Potatoe Fries and Veggie Burger Your favorite workout - 3x6miles

Resources Dani Coaching Dani on Instagram Dani on Twitter Final Surge on Instagram Final Surge on Twitter

Dr. Jeff Messer is one of the most successful high school coaches of the 21st Century. He has won more state cross country titles than not including winning the 2016 National Coach of the Year. In 12 years he was involved in coaching 11 State Championship teams. Jeff is also the head of the exercise science department at Mesa Community College. We have a great discussion on building a team, what your goals should really be and how important things like sleep and nutrition are to a successful high-level athlete.

:45 Background as a runner

1:52 You stay on top of all the latest science, what came first the love for that or the love for coaching?

2:52 Coaches may be looking at a research paper how do we know if the research paper is actually a good paper and good research?

4:15 What is your success in cross country as a coach?

5:15 For a high school coach who doesn't your science background, how can they become better educated?

6:18 Some coaches know the science and can explain everything. Some don't know the science but can tell you what works for example. How important is it to know the science or not?

7:30 If you were giving advice to a newer coach. What type of general advice do you have in what is important in building a program?

8:37 You talk a lot about how the goals are not the time, but the process is the goal. What does that mean?

9:57 What areas are part of the process?

11:41 Often times the athletes we are working with are high achievers, including in the class. How do you stress the importance of sleep to these student-athletes?

14:10 How much sleep does a 16-year old who runs 50 miles a week need?

15:15 How often do you run into students who are not getting enough sleep?

17:10 If you have an athlete that will run in college and another runner who has no desire to run in college, do you coach them differently?

19:07 The question I get most often from parents is about nutrition. Can you discuss what the latest research says?

21:16 For a coach who wants to give something out to their parents on nutrition, what resources do you recommend?

23:12 What is the biggest mistake athletes are making with nutrition?

24:33 Often times you will have an athlete not making the gains they should be in racing and workouts, what do you do to break down what is going on?

26:53 Can you discuss role of iron?

28:45 What should the Ferritin levels be?

30:34 How is the coaching with Jessica Tonn going?

32:17 You have had several successful high school runners who went on to success in college and as a professional. When you have an athlete who you know has that potential, do you handle them differently?

34:22 Sarah Hall had Tweet about running too much in high school, how do you feel about that?

36:38 You have an athlete coming in as a freshman who has a lot of potential, what is your progression over four years of high school.

Resources A recent article on sleep for runners Nancy Clark Nutrition Website Email him at Jeff.Messer At MesaCC.edu

Welcome to episode 130 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome Jeff Taylor. Jeff has been coaching youth runners for close to 30 years and in the last year has launched a non-profit organization called Kids Love to Run. We talk about the organization and the challenges of getting youth engaged with distance running.

:55 How he got running in middle school with the 800m

2:12 Was there an influence in your youth that got you to love to run as a youngster?

3:45 Where did the passion for coaching start?

5:39 It is one thing for a coach to say 'never again' but how did you get the kids to buy-in?

10:03 Sara Hall tweeted that kids can run a lot of miles in high school, what do you think about high miles?

12:27 How did your organization Kids Love To Run get started?

14:16 how big are your events?

15:08 How do you change things up for a 7-8-year-old runner to make it fun for them?

16:35 Are they all from your school or is it open to other schools?

17:04 Do you encourage the kids to do AAU/USATF meets?

17:54 How difficult is it to keep the attention of the younger kids?

18:54 Where do you see this going from here?

Kids Love To Run Website Kids Love To Run Twitter Kids Love To Run on Facebook

Episode 129: Today Stryd Power Meter employee Evan Schwartz joins us to talk about the new and updated Stryd Power Meter. The power meter is just one tool that many people are turning to for help in their training and racing. Today Evan joins us to talk about the new wind reading on the Stryd and other changes such as the automatic critical power reading.

1:30 How did you end up in Boulder Colorado working for Stryd

4:15 What is your role at Stryd

5:45 Stryd Power Podcast

7:12 What is a power meter?

10:03 How does a little device on my shoe measure my effort?

11:57 How do external things such as wind effect power?

15:18 How is a pod on the foot sensing the wind?

19:12 If it is measuring my effort was wind something that needed to be measured?

23:18 DC Rainmaker has been a skeptic of power, but he put your device through the tunnel and it was amazing how accurate those wind numbers were.

27:20 When will it be out?

28:24 Is the wind update the only update?

32:18 Are you finding any teams are adapting power?

39:01 You just released an update to critical power model, what is the new automatic critical power?

44:37 Who would need to do the power test vs. using the auto power results?

46:40 So it uses 3 months of data but you don't need 3 months?

Resources

Stryd on Facebook Stryd on Instagram Stryd on Twitter

Evan on Instagram Evan on Twitter

Episode 128: Lawrence Avery did not start running until he was 30 years old. Almost a decade later he is running sub 2:30, has a successful coaching business and splits his time between his home UK and Kenya. We discuss what inspired him to get running, how an injury lead to his passion for coaching and what he has learned spending that time in Kenya.

:40 Got into running much later, not until he was 30

3:10 When you decided you wanted to run a marathon, how did that training go?

4:35 Were the 5ks the only racing you did in your marathon build up?

5:03 How many people show up for free 5ks in the park?

6:18 So is the running scene really healthy in the UK?

7:50 How big of an impact has Mo had on the running scene?

8:25 Was there anything that drew you towards the sport to start competing?

9:10 When did you go to Kenya to train?

9:46 What have you learned from your time there?

12:03 You picture everyone in Kenya running, is it that way, or it is it the ones who do run just have a lot of success?

12:44 How has your coaching changes because of the Kenya experience?

13:26 So with the easy runs being so easy to do you just say effort of giving them a pace?

13:59 What distances do you coach?

15:42 In the UK is there an emphasis on BQ or do you focus more on European marathons?

16:25 What is your buildup plan like for the marathon?

18:12 Give us an example of a key workout you do during the 10-week marathon training

19:45 Where can they learn more about your coaching?

20:15 Tell us about the contest you are running right now

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute

Favorite endurance/running book? - British Marathon Legands of 1980's Current trainers you are wearing? - Vapor Fly Favorite race? - Night of the 10,000 PB's Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Smoothie with milk, oatmeal and peanut butter Your favorite workout - Long marathon pace repeats

Resources:

Contest: https://www.runyourbest.net/coaching-packages/

Coaching Website and blog

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This is a best of episode. Dr Jay Dicharry joined us to talk about running rewired. Are we born to run or is it a learned skill. Dr Dicharry talks about that and deliberate practice.