For Real, Though

Jason Fitzgerald is a best selling author, coach, 2:39 marathoner, and winner of the 2017 Influencer Award for Men’s Health in the UK.  

This episode will cover  many of the common running questions and mistakes that we have all made over time.  I expect it will serve as a great resource going forward for a variety of questions we all face as we progress as a runner.  Jason and I start off with how to learn the signals your body is sending you and how running on a track for hard workouts can really help you dial into what your correct race pace should be.  

We cover how your recovery and easy pace runs are often slower as training miles increase as your body needs more time to recover from the harder workouts and your body really needs time to recover from those harder efforts.  You want to be faster on race day, not necessarily faster on your easy days.

Are you a beginner or seem to be getting injured a bit too often?  We cover the host of things that can cause the injuries and how you can modify your training to avoid them in the future.  Are you strengthening your body in the right way?  Are you ramping up your milage too fast, are you running too quickly?

You will learn how periodized strength training can assist you in being a stronger runner with strong muscles and connective tissue needed to drive you across the ground.  The fastest runners are also often the strongest runners.   

Jason and I cover the causes of cramping on longer efforts (especially the marathon).  Are you prepared for the distance and how to get that way.  Are you also prepared for the pace you are trying to run and how to adjust your pacing accordingly.  Should you be making up skipped workouts?

Today’s Guest

Jason Fitzgerald is a USATF running coach and offers online running, strength training, injury prevention and nutrition training with his company Strength Running.  He started the company in 2010 hoping to assist runners avoid the mistakes that sidelined him in his own running career.  He is also a best selling author of two books and numerous articles for Competitor Magazine, Daily Burn and Active.  He lives in Denver Colorado with his wife and family (of 3 kids under age 5).

What you will learn about:

* He started Strength Running after almost quitting running from an IT band injury in 2008/2009.  He realized while recovering that if he wanted to keep doing what he loved, he needed to change the way he was training, and believed that he could help others do the very same thing.  The site trains those from beginners to those training for 100 mile races and more.

* How running on the track for your harder/race pace training can help you learn how to understand what race pace feels like while running, as well as mentally afterwards by reviewing the splits in the data.  After doing lots of runs on the track you will begin to learn exactly what your race pace feels like from an effort perspective.  It takes lots of trial and error but you learn each time you try.

* Your recovery runs should be Comfortable, Controlled, and Conversational.  Your easy pace runs would normally be slightly faster than those but still really comfortable and you should be able to sustain the effort.  Your easy pace can and should also change based on how you feel that day and what your earlier workouts were earlier in the week and how well you had recovered.

* How runner specific strength training and cross training can can aid you in injury prevention and recovery.  How important those things are to have a long running career vs a quick running career.  Strength training can be used for both injury prevention but also for making you stronger, more coordinated and able to push off the ground with more force.  To run fast you need to be strong and forceful.

* Cramping is more a sign of running longer or faster than you have prepared your body for rather than an electrolyte balance.

Many of the common running questions and mistakes that we have all made over time are covered today.  I expect it will serve as a great resource going forward for a variety of questions we all face as we progress as a runner.  Jason and I start off with how to learn the signals your body is sending you and how running on a track for hard workouts can really help you dial into what your correct race pace should be.

We cover how your recovery and easy pace runs are often slower as training miles increase as your body needs more time to recover from the harder workouts and your body really needs time to recover from those harder efforts.  You want to be faster on race day, not necessarily faster on your easy days.

Are you a beginner or seem to be getting injured a bit too often?  We cover the host of things that can cause the injuries and how you can modify your training to avoid them in the future.  Are you strengthening your body in the right way?  Are you ramping up your milage too fast, are you running too quickly?

You will learn how periodized strength training can assist you in being a stronger runner with strong muscles and connective tissue needed to drive you across the ground.  The fastest runners are also often the strongest runners.   

Jason and I cover the causes of cramping on longer efforts (especially the marathon).  Are you prepared for the distance and how to get that way.  Are you also prepared for the pace you are trying to run and how to adjust your pacing accordingly.  Should you be making up skipped workouts?

Today’s Guest

Jason Fitzgerald is a USATF running coach and offers online running, strength training, injury prevention and nutrition training with his company Strength Running.  He started the company in 2010 hoping to assist runners avoid the mistakes that sidelined him in his own running career.  He is also a best selling author of two books and numerous articles for Competitor Magazine, Daily Burn and Active.  He lives in Denver Colorado with his wife and family (of 3 kids under age 5).

What you will learn about:

• He started Strength Running after almost quitting running from an IT band injury in 2008/2009.  He realized while recovering that if he wanted to keep doing what he loved, he needed to change the way he was training, and believed that he could help others do the very same thing.  The site trains those from beginners to those training for 100 mile races and more.
• How running on the track for your harder/race pace training can help you learn how to understand what race pace feels like while running, as well as mentally afterwards by reviewing the splits in the data.  After doing lots of runs on the track you will begin to learn exactly what your race pace feels like from an effort perspective.  It takes lots of trial and error but you learn each time you try.
• Your recovery runs should be Comfortable, Controlled, and Conversational.  Your easy pace runs would normally be slightly faster than those but still really comfortable and you should be able to sustain the effort.  Your easy pace can and should also change based on how you feel that day and what your earlier workouts were earlier in the week and how well you had recovered.
• How runner specific strength training and cross training can can aid you in injury prevention and recovery.  How important those things are to have a long running career vs a quick running career.  Strength training can be used for both injury prevention but also for making you stronger, more coordinated and able to push off the ground with more force.  To run fast you need to be strong and forceful.
• Cramping is more a sign of running longer or faster than you have prepared your body for rather than an electrolyte balance.  It is also impacted by whether you have paced yourself properly in the early stages of a race.
• How long term thinking can help you learn to rest, recover and get healthy rather than running through pain or issues.  How as a coach he has to spend more time keeping runners from running when they should be resting rather than having to push them to do more.  What you should consider doing if you miss workouts due to life issues.

 

Inspirational Quotes:

It is important from a wholistic perspective to consider ourselves athletes that specialize in running rather than just runners.

“The most important run is tomorrow’s run.  Don’t do anything today that will negatively impact your ability to run tomorrow.” - Tom Foreman

Intensity Density:  if you make it so the density of your training impairs the intensity of your training, overall your training will suffer and/or you will risk injury.   

I love runners, we are all sort of geeky and nerdy and special.

Resources:

Last week's episode with Luke Tyburski 

Tina4Real Podcast 

Running for Real Superstars Community

Jason's website

Jason on Twitter

Jason on Instagram

Jason on Facebook

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Thank you to HOKA ONE ONE for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real. I was nervous (and excited) to try new shoes out at the start of the year, but there was one brand in particular I knew I wanted to try, HOKA ONE ONE. I tried the Clifton 4 and LOVED them, now the HOKA ONE ONE Clifton 5 are out, and even better than the 4. Get yourself a pair at HOKAONEONE.com/running4real for free expedited shipping

Thanks to Aaptiv for supporting the podcast. New members get 30% off annual membership at http://www.aaptiv.com/TINA Get yourself a 5k/10k/half/full marathon plan when you sign up, and enjoy all the hand selected music, along with your choice of personal trainer. Come check it out!

Today’s interview is with Luke Tyburski, and adventure seeker, motivational speaker, and coach who has raced triathlons worldwide.   Luke has pushed himself to extreme limits, in fact well past where his body could thrive.  This interview shows us the limits we can push ourselves to but also shows us the importance of self-care and dealing with the issues that face us that stand in the way of our full potential.  

Luke is real and honest with us about the demons he faced, and what he had to do in order to heal his body.  We discuss how looking at the big picture and that our lives are more than our sport and that balance is important in everything we do is what should drive us.  But also that we should not limit ourselves and instead look to what is possible and how we can try to achieve dreams.

Today’s Guest

Luke Tyburski is an Ultra Runner, Coach, and Motivational Speaker who undertook a 2000 km , 12 day cross-continental Ultimate Triathlon that he designed himself in 2015.  Luke is always up for an adventure, and has done things like race down Mt Everest, learned to surf, ran (literally for his life) on an island in the South China Sea after a typhoon, and the Marathon de Sables. Luke grew up in a small Australian town where he dreamed of playing professional football (aka soccer for those of us in the US) and then achieved that dream.  Luke hosts the Kinetic Revolution Train Smarter Podcast.

What you will learn about:

* How Luke declared at age 4 that he wanted to be a football player.  But how it took him hard work and asking for assistance as he was not naturally a “young phenom” and often never made the team in the early teens.  His journey to being a Professional player included moving to the US from Australia and getting his education here, and then on to Belgium and the UK playing professionally.

* How overtraining and being in a bad relationship added stress to his life and all ended up with him landing in a deep depression and eventual retirement from soccer at age 28.

* How as athletes we look at and review our training and nutrition but we also need to learn to review our relationships and how it is impacting our lives and what we need to change in ourselves or our relationships that help us reduce the stress in our lives and allow us to be our best.

* How he registered for the Marathon de Sables (6 marathons in 7 days) right as he retired, while he  was still icing a calf injury, 6 months out from the race.  So essentially instead of dealing with the big thing that had been taken out of his life, he “ran away, literally” to do a race.

* How he designed his own triathlon, the Ultimate Triathlon.  He blacked out during a segment and woke up in a hotel with no idea how he got there.  And then wanted to keep going.  Eventually he realized he was addicted to endurance sports and that was his drug of choice.  Rather than dealing with his depression and mourning the loss of his life as he had known it.

* How the Ultimate Triathlon almost broke him because all the overtraining and failure to deal with the depression all wreaked havoc with his body.  Even after the event ended he threw himself into promoting the documentary.  But he still had to stop everything for months in order to heal himself.  And how he learned from the experience.

Listen to the Running for Real Podcast here:

Inspirational Quotes:

I thought people who did half marathons were crazy and those who did full marathons were just on a death wish, people who do it are just nuts. And then my friend told me about this race in the Sahara Desert…..Marathon de Sables.

I believe there is no one else that is mentally tougher than I am. I believe I am the toughest person in the world.

Reflect on what went wrong and what you can do to fix it so you don’t make the same mistake twice.

Motivational speaker, adventure seeker, and coach who has raced triathlons worldwide.  Luke Tyburski has pushed himself to extreme limits, in fact well past where his body could thrive. This interview shows us the limits we can push ourselves to but also shows us the importance of self-care and dealing with the issues that face us that stand in the way of our full potential.

Luke is real and honest with us about the demons he faced, and what he had to do in order to heal his body.  We discuss how looking at the big picture and that our lives are more than our sport and that balance is important in everything we do is what should drive us.  But also that we should not limit ourselves and instead look to what is possible and how we can try to achieve dreams.

Today’s Guest

Luke Tyburski is an Ultra Runner, Coach, and Motivational Speaker who undertook a 2000KM, 12 day cross-continental Ultimate Triathlon that he designed himself in 2015.  Luke is always up for an adventure, and has done things like race down Mt Everest, learned to surf, ran (literally for his life) on an island in the South China Sea after a typhoon, and the Marathon de Sables. Luke grew up in a small Australian town where he dreamed of playing professional football (aka soccer for those of us in the US) and then achieved that dream.  Luke hosts the Kinetic Revolution Train Smarter Podcast.

What you will learn about:

• How Luke declared at age 4 that he wanted to be a football player.  But how it took him hard work and asking for assistance as he was not naturally a “young phenom” and often never made the team in the early teens.  His journey to being a Professional player included moving to the US from Australia and getting his education here, and then on to Belgium and the UK playing professionally.

• How overtraining and being in a bad relationship added stress to his life and all ended up with him landing in a deep depression and eventual retirement from soccer at age 28.

• How as athletes we look at and review our training and nutrition but we also need to learn to review our relationships and how it is impacting our lives and what we need to change in ourselves or our relationships that help us reduce the stress in our lives and allow us to be our best.

• How he registered for the Marathon de Sables (6 marathons in 7 days) right as he retired, while he  was still icing a calf injury, 6 months out from the race.  So essentially instead of dealing with the big thing that had been taken out of his life, he “ran away, literally” to do a race.

• How he designed his own triathlon, the Ultimate Triathlon.  He blacked out during a segment and woke up in a hotel with no idea how he got there.  And then wanted to keep going.  Eventually he realized he was addicted to endurance sports and that was his drug of choice.  Rather than dealing with his depression and mourning the loss of his life as he had known it.

• How the Ultimate Triathlon almost broke him because all the overtraining and failure to deal with the depression all wreaked havoc with his body.  Even after the event ended he threw himself into promoting the documentary.  But he still had to stop everything for months in order to heal himself.  And how he learned from the experience.

 

Inspirational Quotes:

I thought people who did half marathons were crazy and those who did full marathons were just on a death wish, people who do it are just nuts. And then my friend told me about this race in the Sahara Desert…..Marathon de Sables.

I believe there is no one else that is mentally tougher than I am. I believe I am the toughest person in the world.

Reflect on what went wrong and what you can do to fix it so you don’t make the same mistake twice.

I realized the potential I had as a runner. if I opened my mind to what I was truly capable of, what else could I achieve.

Resources:

Last week's episode with Max Paquette

Tina4Real Podcast 

Running for Real Superstars Community

Luke's website

Luke's website

Marathon De Sables video

The double brutal extreme video

The Ultimate Triathlon website

Luke on Twitter

Luke on Instagram

 

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Thank you to BodyHealth and HOKA ONE ONE for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.

I was nervous (and excited) to try new shoes out at the start of the year, but there was one brand in particular I knew I wanted to try, HOKA ONE ONE. I tried the Clifton 4 and LOVED them, now the HOKA ONE ONE Clifton 5 are out, and even better than the 4. Get yourself a pair at HOKAONEONE.com/running4real for free expedited shipping and become part of the family. It’s Time To Fly™.

Now I am back to training, guess what was the first thing I did to start making sure I recover quicker (as coming back to fitness really beats your body up!), yep, you guessed it, BodyHealth Perfect Amino! Get 10% off at Bodyhealth.com using coupon code TINA10

Today’s interview is with Amelia Gapin, a transgender runner who was a cover model in 2016 on Women’s Health.  She is relentlessly herself and helps us learn more about what her life day to day is like.  She is a true role model for others and helping us to see an issue that often does not get attention.  Amelia and I tackle some of the controversy around transgender runners and their issues.

Today’s Guest

Amelia Gapin is a marathon runner, software engineer and was a 2016 Women’s Running cover model.She is a self professed Bagel Snob and a “Cat Lady” who loves Disneyworld.Amelia is a transgender athlete, and was a co-founder of MyTransHealth, which serves as a guided search tool for transgender people struggling to find the right healthcare options for their needs.

What you will learn about:

• How she co-founded MyTransHealth to help those who needed assistance navigating the healthcare options they needed.

• The meaning of Cisgender (you identify with the gender you were at birth) and Transgender (where you identify with the opposite gender of that assigned at birth)

• How it was quite surreal to see herself on the cover of Women’s Health, and how she overcame her reluctance to say yes and brave the risk of negative comments or violence that might occur from being so open.And whether the transgender community really needed another cover model or the publicity. In the end she learned how helpful it was in assisting others in seeing that it was possible for them to also be runners and didn’t need to be alone.

• How being a transgender person is not all unicorns and rainbows and all the issues that they face from where they would be housed in a prison, bathroom bills, service in the military, etc. How even the sound of your voice can cause issues day to day.

• How, like most of us, she hated running in the beginning but soon came to love being able to get out and have time to think and be alone with her thoughts and be able to work things out in her head.

• How taking hormones impacted her running.Transgender runners in general have lower testosterone levels than cisgender women as the hormone blockers reduce their overall levels to a point lower than normally occurring in females. The blockers also an cause dehydration, making it difficult to run longer distances.Once a transgender runner has transition surgery, they no longer take blockers and move closer to what is normal for women in general.

• How she had to get used to being cat-called while running. When the world sees you as a man, you don’t realize exactly what it is like to run as a woman.

• The media attention surrounding the Boston Marathon and transgender runners.How the rules for racing are moving in the right direction but still have a way to go. Many of the rules surround how and whether you can update your personal identification, which varies by state.

• How she loves Disneyworld and her favorite ride is the Jungle Cruise because she loves bad puns and jokes.
• How Google is your friend and can help you find resources to help you understand transgender individuals and the issues they face.If you have questions, certainly ask but gently and with respect.

Inspirational Quotes:

My first 5k I wanted to die, how do people do this?

I’ve found the running community to be one of the most supportive around.

Resources:

Last week's episode with Max Paquette

Tina4Real Podcast 

Running for Real Superstars Community

Article on Amelia's story from the Daily Beast

Article from Amelia from Them.us 

Amelia's website

Ameliaon Twitter

Amelia on Instagram

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Thank you to BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.

Now I am back to training, guess what was the first thing I did to start making sure I recover quicker (as coming back to fitness really beats your body up!), yep, you guessed it, BodyHealth Perfect Amino! Get 10% off at Bodyhealth.com using coupon code TINA10

Today’s interview is with Max Paquette, who specializes in biomechanics and is considered an expert in running shoes. We move back to a more scientific look at running with this episode, because I know many many runners have an interest in how their biomechanics influences their racing and running.

His interest started off in high school doing a project where he video taped runners. He quickly admits he knew nothing, and thinks that even with the more he studies the less he thinks we know about what makes us have good running form. We discuss the reality of the amount of information that is out there and how best to separate what is good and bad information. Max provides the names of several resources he thinks are the best to consult based on their research.

Our discussion today covers popular and controversial topics such as over-pronation, cadence, forefoot vs mid-foot vs heel striking and the impact on running injuries. We then go on to discuss whether running is bad for your knees and causes arthritis. We go over the research on whether the shoe type really matters in injury prevention.

We then spend some time on the last myth of biomechanics - whether strength training really make a difference?

Lastly we discuss the importance of tools for runners. Ultimately the best tool for runners is to learn to run by feel not by Garmin. Having a better perception of what your body is feeling is far more important.

Today’s Guest

Dr. Max Paquette has a PhD in biomechanics and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis.  His focus is on the effects of exercise interventions and gait modifications on joint mechanics, function and quality of life in aging and knee osteoarthritis populations. He is also interested in the effects of different footwear, fatigue, foot strike patterns and training interventions in runners on injury and performance.  He resides in Memphis with his wife Lauren and two dogs.

What you will learn about:

• How he thinks Alex Hutchinson is one of the experts we should pay attention to, because he does great research into his topics and is a great writer who disseminates . Others he believes do a great job of disseminating complicated information are Tom Goom (Twitter @tomgoom), Rich Willy (twitter @rwilly2003), JF Esculier at University of British Columbia (Twitter @JFEsculier), and Irene Davis (@IreneSDavis)
• We discuss how over-pronation used to be thought of as the cause of lower leg injuries, but how his research has found that it doesn’t drive injuries. How quickly the vertical ground reaction force is transferred (impact of the ground into your foot) is also not linked to injury. What is more predictive is how quickly you add load vs more gradual increases.
• We talk about how we rarely study those rare specimens that don’t get hurt, we study the hurt runners. We need to shift the focus to why some don’t get hurt.
• The lower limbs are the most likely to first be injured, then higher up the chain. The external loads are applied to the foot first, then up the chain. But if those parts of the body are conditioned to adapt to that force, the risk of injury goes down. Up the chain, especially in females, there are other nutritional and hormonal issues that impact bone health, and folks like Trent Stellingwerff and Adam Tenford (Harvard) have done more work on female athletes and bone issues.
• Chris Napier (@runnerphysio) is doing some interesting work on over-striding/step length, cadence and step length/reach (how far ahead of your pelvis) impact injury risk. It is physically impossible to precisely land under your hips, you are always hitting a bit ahead which is important to store elastic energy. But it isn’t clear how much is too much. There are different permutation on how you run that impact the loads and it is not simple to determine which one is most critical.
• Rich Willy and John Wilson’s gait retraining studies have shown that increasing cadence (steps per minute) seems to work well at lessening injury if you find you are over-reaching and if you are suffering from lower leg issues. But if you are not getting injured perhaps you are not really overstriding.
•  Osteoarthritic issues: Lack of exercise is far worse than using the joints. The evidence is becoming really strong that running is not bad for your knees, and may actually be helpful with preventing the onset of the disease. Recent research is showing that even with those that have OA, some running may well be better than being sedentary. (did he send you info for the show notes?)
• Footwear for runners: The main conclusion of his study in 2009-2013, which was males only and highly trained runners, was the only time that the shoe mattered was in heal strikers that ran barefoot or in minimalist shoes. Forefoot strikers it just didn’t matter. But we didn’t study long term effects. Irene Davis then studied untrained runners of both sexes and concluded that it mattered more in the types of shoes people were used to running in. So if they were used to running barefoot or in minimalist shoes there was not an issue. If you are going to change shoes, you should have a good reason to change and have tried other methods first to reduce injury, not just because there is some cool new shoe. Proper training and progression come first. Ultimately it all seems to come out even in the end, no shoe ultimately matters. Benno Nigg, Univ of Calgary, has found in his research that shoes and inserts don’t matter. Rotating shoes (any shoes), surfaces and routes may be much more critical to injury prevention.
• Coaching his wife Lauren really showed the value of strength training in injury prevention.
• Learn to listen to how you feel not vs what your watch or heart rate monitor is telling you. If you body is saying it is too hard, then for that day it is too hard. Tomorrow it may not be as hard, each day is different.

Inspirational Quotes:

The more we learn the less we find we really know about running injuries.

In the end it all comes down to the strength of your body. If you are strong you can undertake more training.

Resources:

Last week's episode with Courtney Dauwater 

Tina4Real Podcast 

Running for Real Superstars Community

Podcast interviews with:

• Alex Hutchinson
• Tom Goom
• Trent Stellingwerff

Max on Instagram

Max on Twitter

Max' Coaching website

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Experts Max recommended:

Tom Goom

Rich Willy

JF Esculier at University of British Columbia

Irene Davis

Chris Napier

Thank you to BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.

Now I am back to training, guess what was the first thing I did to start making sure I recover quicker (as coming back to fitness really beats your body up!), yep, you guessed it, BodyHealth Perfect Amino! Get 10% off at Bodyhealth.com using coupon code TINA10

Today’s interview is with Courtney Dauwalter, an Ultrarunner, who was the first finisher in the 2017 Moab 240….yes the first, not the first woman, the first finisher.  She finished in a mind blowing 58 hours, 10 hours faster than the second place finisher.  She was a DNF on her first 100 mile race and has been learning about mental toughness ever since.

We discuss how important it is to just stay in the moment, to relish the times when you are flying high and feeling good and not letting yourself wallow in the tougher things that happen along the way.  During your training you have to learn to find those little things that ground you, whether they are quotes people have said to you, or listen to music, or whatever grounds you.  Because doing math tricks you can do on a shorter race gets really hard on races like this.

We discuss running #nowatchme.  Courtney ran cross country and did skiing in high school and her coaches worked with her to know the feeling of how a pace feels and just running by feel.  She doesn’t use a watch or try to watch her paces or hit particular paces, she listens to her body and what it is telling her is right that day.  She has a plan for a run for a day but lets her feet decide whether to veer off on a trail or a road, and let her body lets her know each day and at each turn which route to take.  How it is also important being ok with those down days when you are just not feeling it and cut it short.

We cover her 100 mile race where she suffered vision issues and ran essentially blind the last 12 miles from what turned out to be a combination of nutrition shortages, contact lens use, and and corneal swelling from dehydration and debris.  

We discuss why Courtney chooses to run in baggy men’s running clothing vs technical fabrics.  How she napped for 20 minutes during the earlier parts of the Moab 240 and then 1 minute around mile 200 (her pacer woke her up) and how she felt completely refreshed and rejuvenated.  It was cold, and it would not have been wise to stay still for long.

Have you ever hallucinated running?  Courtney has and we talk about what it is like to have that happen in a race.  And now her friends always ask her what she saw out there this time.

Today’s Guest

Courtney Dauwalter is a Colorado based Ultrarunner.  She grew up with two brothers, where you compete for everything, because, well they are boys.  She holds the American Woman’s 24 hour endurance run record at 155.39 miles, besting her own previous record.  She is a full time science teacher

What you will learn about:

* How Courtney just battled her battle during the 238 mile Moab 240 race and didn’t know how far she was ahead of any other runners. The thoughts of a cooler of beer got her through the last DAY of the race.

* Courtney discusses how she tries to reel in the person in front of her, whether it is a male or female, because most of the competition is within herself against herself. Ultramarathons are humbling because you can pass someone but eventually get passed back.

* How to listen to your body and run what is right on each day, running #nowatchme and finding your cruise control speed during your training. Trail running helps teach you that because you often have to power hike the uphill sections but can fly down the downhill parts.

* How Courtney ran the last 12 miles blind during the Run Rabbit Run 100 mile race and kept going, despite frequently falling and bashing her head because she could not see other than a small spot right at her feet. She had been pushing the pace, nutrition intake was not going well, and it was nighttime so she at first put it off as headlamp issues.

* We discuss hallucinating on a trail race during the night later in a race.

* We talk about working through physical pain and how you can keep going until you get past it until your next surge. Repeating mantras, getting to a landmark,

Today’s interview is with Courtney Dauwalter, an Ultrarunner, who was the first finisher in the 2017 Moab 240….yes the first, not the first woman, the first finisher.  She finished in a mind blowing 58 hours, 10 hours faster than the second place finisher.  She was a DNF on her first 100 mile race and has been learning about mental toughness ever since.

We discuss how important it is to just stay in the moment, to relish the times when you are flying high and feeling good and not letting yourself wallow in the tougher things that happen along the way.  During your training you have to learn to find those little things that ground you, whether they are quotes people have said to you, or listen to music, or whatever grounds you.  Because doing math tricks you can do on a shorter race gets really hard on races like this.

We discuss running #nowatchme.  Courtney ran cross country and did skiing in high school and her coaches worked with her to know the feeling of how a pace feels and just running by feel.  She doesn’t use a watch or try to watch her paces or hit particular paces, she listens to her body and what it is telling her is right that day.  She has a plan for a run for a day but lets her feet decide whether to veer off on a trail or a road, and let her body lets her know each day and at each turn which route to take.  How it is also important being ok with those down days when you are just not feeling it and cut it short.

We cover her 100 mile race where she suffered vision issues and ran essentially blind the last 12 miles from what turned out to be a combination of nutrition shortages, contact lens use, and and corneal swelling from dehydration and debris.

We discuss why Courtney chooses to run in baggy men’s running clothing vs technical fabrics.  How she napped for 20 minutes during the earlier parts of the Moab 240 and then 1 minute around mile 200 (her pacer woke her up) and how she felt completely refreshed and rejuvenated.  It was cold, and it would not have been wise to stay still for long.

Have you ever hallucinated running?  Courtney has and we talk about what it is like to have that happen in a race.  And now her friends always ask her what she saw out there this time.

Today’s Guest

Courtney Dauwalter is a Colorado based Ultrarunner.  She grew up with two brothers, where you compete for everything, because, well they are boys.  She holds the American Woman’s 24 hour endurance run record at 155.39 miles, besting her own previous record.  She is a full time science teacher

What you will learn about:

• How Courtney just battled her battle during the 238 mile Moab 240 race and didn’t know how far she was ahead of any other runners. The thoughts of a cooler of beer got her through the last DAY of the race.
• Courtney discusses how she tries to reel in the person in front of her, whether it is a male or female, because most of the competition is within herself against herself. Ultramarathons are humbling because you can pass someone but eventually get passed back.
• How to listen to your body and run what is right on each day, running #nowatchme and finding your cruise control speed during your training. Trail running helps teach you that because you often have to power hike the uphill sections but can fly down the downhill parts.
• How Courtney ran the last 12 miles blind during the Run Rabbit Run 100 mile race and kept going, despite frequently falling and bashing her head because she could not see other than a small spot right at her feet. She had been pushing the pace, nutrition intake was not going well, and it was nighttime so she at first put it off as headlamp issues.
• We discuss hallucinating on a trail race during the night later in a race.
• We talk about working through physical pain and how you can keep going until you get past it until your next surge. Repeating mantras, getting to a landmark, listen to music, eat something…anything to take you out of the pain mentally for a short time until you feel better. Learn and watch from all the other amazing runners in the sport.

 

Inspirational Quotes:

I’m either completely committed to what I am doing, or have a few screws loose, who knows.

If you push through the dark moments when everything hurts, you will find another reserve of strength you didn’t know you had. Know that a high is going to come again.

Resources:

Last week's episode with Chau Smith 

Tina4Real Podcast 

Running for Real Superstars Community

Courtney on Instagram

Courtney on Twitter

Courtney on Facebook

Courtney on Youtube 

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Thank you to BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.

Now I am back to training, guess what was the first thing I did to start making sure I recover quicker (as coming back to fitness really beats your body up!), yep, you guessed it, BodyHealth Perfect Amino! Get 10% off at Bodyhealth.com using coupon code TINA10

 

Today’s interview is with Chau Smith, a 71 year old wife, mother and grandmother who has run more than 70 marathons and countless shorter races since she took up running in 1995.  In 2017, for her 70th birthday she ran the Triple7Quest, 7 marathons, on 7 continents in 7 days.  And if that wasn’t enough, a few weeks after she did so, an 8th continent, Zealandia, was declared.  So, what does Chau do, she runs the 2018 the Triple8Quest, 8 marathons, on 8 continents in 8 days.  

Chau discusses how she got bored just walking started to run and then kept at it as the more she ran she more she enjoyed it and the better she felt.  She began running by biking with her husband while he ran, and then progressed to running.  She did a 5k and was, as she says, “clueless” so ended up in the medical tent dehydrated and suffering from lack of oxygen.   It only took her an hour though to decide to do her dream race which was a 10k.  And then since then she has run marathons on all the continents, several times over.

During the interview we will learn what it was like for Chau as a child during the Vietnam war (which was known in Vietnam as the American War).  Chau says she has always been determined to do her own thing, and views herself as stubborn and not allowing things to stop her.  She runs with pieces of shrapnel in her arm and leg but despite the pain of it moving in her body, she just has embraced the pain and telling herself you have lived though it for so many years, it is just nothing. 

We talk about Chau finishing the Triple7Quest for her 70th birthday.  7 marathons, 7 continents, in 7 days.  But that wasn’t her first time running all the continents, she and her husband had already run them all over many years.  She heard about the challenge and decided to do them, with her husband’s support.  

Today’s Guest

Chau Smith was born in Vietnam in 1947, during the First Indochina War, a few months after her father, a teacher and resistance fighter, was captured and killed.  Her mother waited 3 years to get a birth certificate because of the war so she is officially younger than her real age.   At age 13 she was hit by shrapnel and still carries pieces in her arm and leg.  She came to the US as the wife of a US Soldier.  They divorced, leaving her the single mother of two girls and working several jobs to support herself and her girls.  

For many years she ran her own alternations business and started running to offset the stress and back issues from running a business and household.  It helped that her husband Michael is also a runner.  She ran her first race, a 5k, in 1995, at age 48. She qualified for and ran in the 2013 Boston Marathon but was stopped 1/4 mile short of the finish due to the bombings, but returned to run the full race in 2014.  Chau is  a wife, mother and grandmother and lives and runs in Kansas City.

What you will learn about:

* How Chau deals with running with shrapnel in her body and the mental toughness it takes.

* Chau’s running of the Triple7Quest.  The race director tried to register her for the half marathons but she said No, I paid for the full and I will do the full marathons.

* How Chau fell before the Triple8 Amsterdam race getting on the van and didn’t tell anyone despite a severe cut in her mouth and a laceration on her leg.  And how she ran with severe sunburns because security confiscated her sunscreen.

* Why Chau ran in a pink pussyhat during the Triple7 races to support all women.

* How Chau loves being in nature and at the starting line of races where you meet people from all over.  Get out and enjoy that, keep moving.

* How Chau is now going to set her sights on the 6 Majors.  And a marathon in all 50 states.  But she isn’t in a hurry!

Listen to the Running for Real Podcast here:

Inspirational Quotes:

Tomorrow is today, jump in and do it.  Don’t wait for tomorrow.

Today’s interview is with Chau Smith, a 71 year old wife, mother and grandmother who has run more than 70 marathons and countless shorter races since she took up running in 1995.  In 2017, for her 70th birthday she ran the Triple7Quest, 7 marathons, on 7 continents in 7 days.  And if that wasn’t enough, a few weeks after she did so, an 8th continent, Zealandia, was declared.  So, what does Chau do, she runs the 2018 the Triple8Quest, 8 marathons, on 8 continents in 8 days.

Chau discusses how she got bored just walking started to run and then kept at it as the more she ran she more she enjoyed it and the better she felt.  She began running by biking with her husband while he ran, and then progressed to running.  She did a 5k and was, as she says, “clueless” so ended up in the medical tent dehydrated and suffering from lack of oxygen.   It only took her an hour though to decide to do her dream race which was a 10k.  And then since then she has run marathons on all the continents, several times over.

During the interview we will learn what it was like for Chau as a child during the Vietnam war (which was known in Vietnam as the American War).  Chau says she has always been determined to do her own thing, and views herself as stubborn and not allowing things to stop her.  She runs with pieces of shrapnel in her arm and leg but despite the pain of it moving in her body, she just has embraced the pain and telling herself you have lived though it for so many years, it is just nothing.

We talk about Chau finishing the Triple7Quest for her 70th birthday.  7 marathons, 7 continents, in 7 days.  But that wasn’t her first time running all the continents, she and her husband had already run them all over many years.  She heard about the challenge and decided to do them, with her husband’s support.

Today’s Guest

Chau Smith was born in Vietnam in 1947, during the First Indochina War, a few months after her father, a teacher and resistance fighter, was captured and killed.  Her mother waited 3 years to get a birth certificate because of the war so she is officially younger than her real age.   At age 13 she was hit by shrapnel and still carries pieces in her arm and leg.  She came to the US as the wife of a US Soldier.  They divorced, leaving her the single mother of two girls and working several jobs to support herself and her girls.

For many years she ran her own alternations business and started running to offset the stress and back issues from running a business and household.  It helped that her husband Michael is also a runner.  She ran her first race, a 5k, in 1995, at age 48. She qualified for and ran in the 2013 Boston Marathon but was stopped 1/4 mile short of the finish due to the bombings, but returned to run the full race in 2014.  Chau is  a wife, mother and grandmother and lives and runs in Kansas City.

What you will learn about:

• How Chau deals with running with shrapnel in her body and the mental toughness it takes.
• Chau’s running of the Triple7Quest.  The race director tried to register her for the half marathons but she said No, I paid for the full and I will do the full marathons.
• How Chau fell before the Triple8 Amsterdam race getting on the van and didn’t tell anyone despite a severe cut in her mouth and a laceration on her leg.  And how she ran with severe sunburns because security confiscated her sunscreen.
• Why Chau ran in a pink pussyhat during the Triple7 races to support all women.
• How Chau loves being in nature and at the starting line of races where you meet people from all over.  Get out and enjoy that, keep moving.
• How Chau is now going to set her sights on the 6 Majors.  And a marathon in all 50 states.  But she isn’t in a hurry!

 

Inspirational Quotes:

Tomorrow is today, jump in and do it.  Don’t wait for tomorrow.

I never let anyone else dictate my dream or desires.

When I hit the wall or I feel I have given everything, I still have more to give.   If we look within our family, friends, community, our country and the whole world, we see how lucky we are.  Our pain is temporary, not permanent.

Age is just a number.  Do it today, put on your shoes, do just one block.  Pat yourself on your back, you did it, congratulate yourself.  You owe it to yourself to keep moving.

It doesn’t matter how slow you are, you are a runner!

Resources:

Last week's episode with Manal Rostom

Tina4Real Podcast 

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Article on Chau and what she accomplished

Chau on Instagram

Thank you to BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.

Now I am back to training, guess what was the first thing I did to start making sure I recover quicker (as coming back to fitness really beats your body up!), yep, you guessed it, BodyHealth Perfect Amino! Get 10% off at Bodyhealth.com using coupon code TINA10

 

Thanks for Listening! I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

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