Breathing feels like it should be easy, like something that should come naturally - after all you do it all the time, right? 

This is one of the topics that comes up really regularly in Learn to Run as often breathing is one of the biggest struggles for a new runner, or someone returning to running. In this episode I talk about:

Mouth breathing vs nose breathing

How to improve your breathing technique by practicing when you aren't running

Breathing exercises to improve your lung capacity (you can check out a great starting point here)

Running workouts that will force adaptation in your lungs.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube

Learn to Run starts April 22nd, you can check out the program here. And you can join the #opmovesisterhood at any time in Run Club. 

Follow Operation Move on facebook and instagram.

So pleased to welcome Kirsten back to part two of this podcast!

This is a long one, so get ready to dive in! 

In this episode we talk about:

A bit about her fuelling (and mine)

All about her second day and why it was a whole lot different than what she expected

Split second decisions they had to make along the way

How to handle adversity when you get thrown a few curve balls

What she's got coming up next

And we also talked a bit about everything else, because we love a chat.

If you'd like to check out Kirsten on instagram you can do that @shelovestorun, or you can join her with the #opmovesisterhood in Run Club.

Learn to Run starts 22nd April and you can sign up for that here. You can view the video version of this podcast on the Operation Move YouTube Channel.

This week, I talk to Kirsten about taking on her first 100km event at Oscars Hut 2 Hut.

We talk about what kind of training she had to do, how she adapted her training based on limited access to similar terrain and what the first day was like.

We also talk a bit about the things that might stop someone from training or entering ultra trail events and what can be done to make it more accessible to people.

You can check her on instagram at @shelovestorun and connect with us through the Operation Move Sisterhood in Run Club 

If you would like to join us for Learn to Run we'd love to have you - it starts on Monday! 

And if you prefer, you can watch this on YouTube here.

In this podcast, I'm diving into the specifics of fuelling including:

What do you need: before, during and after

What place does fasted running have

What are the benefits of things like branch chain amino acids

How much should you have

What things to take particular attention to based on your goals

Practicing your fuelling before you get to race day

Race day strategies for fuelling. 

Learn to Run registrations are now open - you can gain early access to our introductory program here.

This week, in the podcast I'm talking about a question that often pops up in Run Club, and that is how much recovery do I need and what does that even look like?

So this week, I'm talking about:

How many days off do you need?

How long until full recovery happens?

What if you've got a race three weeks later?

And, importantly how should you recover at the end of the year?

Back on my podcast, and back to the beginning! 

Whenever Learn to Run starts, I have the opportunity to reflect on where I started and how my own experiences have helped me to shape and change and evolve Learn to Run. This week I'm talking about what learning to run was like for me, and how it slowly grew into something bigger than myself. There are things I learnt as a runner, and things I learnt as a coach from where I started and the points where I succeeded and where I failed. 

Resources I talk about:

How to rehab shin splints, because resting isn't enough!

Learn to Run starts on 11th February, you can dive in here. And all the payment options are viewable here.

If I see one more post about how far you have to run to burn off Christmas lunch . . .

Or how I should eat BEFORE I go to parties so I don't eat while I'm there or how maybe I should just eat less food the next day if I'm overindulged the night before, my head might explode. Running is not a punishment for the Christmas lunch you have, or for the date night you enjoyed or for the drinks you had out with your friends. But this leads me to a bigger discussion about how easy it is to fall into the trap of seeing your body as an obstacle, as an entity you fight against or worse something that has betrayed you a million times and failed you more than you can count. That kind of thinking can get under your skin and sink into your bones if you let it. And eventually it will almost impersonate belonging there. But it does not.

Beginnings have been popping up a lot this week. Maybe it's the new Learn to Run starting on January 7th, or maybe it's being so close to a new year, or have just started with a new coach and taking the next steps at rehab, but suddenly it seems like beginnings are everywhere. 

This week on the podcast, I'm talking a bit about the hash and wonderful parts of beginning and persisting. 

It seems like it should be easy to just start. But great things are rarely easy. And to want to change, you not have to have a whole history that has led you to want to change, that has led you to the idea that staying the same is more painful than doing something really uncomfortable, but you have to restructure your life to make room for that change. And then you have to resist all of the internal forces in play that insist you stay the same. 

Suddenly it's not so easy.

Have you ever wondered why you work really hard in your running, but you just don't quite improve?

Maybe you think that you are missing something, or maybe you start thinking that you are just slow. Chances are there are a whole bunch of things that aren't quite happening, and that's the reason why you start to feel stuck. Before we get into this, it's great to keep in mind that improving is really fun and a great way to keep motivated but it's not really why most people run. When you start to feel stuck the first question it's great to ask yourself is: if I was never going to improve, would I still be doing this? And the answer is YES. You would. Because you love it. But seeing as it seems an absolute shame to put all of your hard work and passion and love into something and not improve, this week I'm talking about 5 ways which you might be short-changing yourself in your 5km training. 

Learn to Run registrations are open, so you can check that out here. And our Walking and Introductory Strength program is available for free: tick the walking challenge box when you sign up for the newsletter.

This week we are talking post-race debrief after a race or event that definitely did not go to plan. Normally, this is something that you would do with a coach, but if you don't have a coach or are self-coached, then there are loads of things that you can do to do your own debrief post-event to make sure that you learn as much as possible and have everything you need to move forward with your next training cycle. 

Learn to Run registrations are open, so you can check that out here. And our Walking and Introductory Strength program is available for free: tick the walking challenge box when you sign up for the newsletter.