Run4PRs

By Run4PRsSports

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Run4PRs episodes

February 15, 2024233. Does Slowing Down On Easy Days Actually Work?
www.run4prs.com
Running is an aerobic sport! We need to train in the aerobic zones to improve at long distance running. The biggest mistakes runners make is going too fast on your easy days. Going too fast on your easy days puts you at risk of burn out and injury. It also prevents you from reaching your potential in the sport. Many people refuse to slow down and never are able to increase their mileage or long run duration because the speed they are running at is too fast to make additional stress adaptations like improving endurance and ability to run on fatigued legs.
Many people slow down on easy days compared to race day but they do not slow down ENOUGH to fully recover. Athletes often have a skewed perception on what ‘easy’ running means. Yes, running 1 min per mile slower than 5k pace is easier than racing a 5k, but is it slow enough to improve?
Social media. A lot of the big influencers are BQ athletes. They are showing their easy paces that are in the 8-9 min pace range. For them it could be easy but we want to make sure we don’t compare ourselves to others.
I have friends who refuse to run slower than XYZ pace might be a challenge if you have a partner who is constantly pushing the pace. We might need to make changes to who we run with if it’s holding us back from reaching our goals.
Easy running allows you to improve your aerobic base
Working the correct zones
Pacing: who is really in control
When you are mid-race you want to listen to your body and not what the watch says
The more practice you have listening to your body the more confident you can become
Easy running allows you to increase mileage
More miles = more aerobic development

Running easy allows you to recover between workout days
Workouts are important for lowering speed and threshold
36 min
February 06, 2024232. What Workouts To Get Faster: Examples & How To Calculate Them
www.run4prs.com
Workouts are a very important part of reaching your potential as a runner. We talk a lot about the benefits of easy running but sometimes we neglect to talk about the importance of not only running hard workouts but the importance of WHAT workouts you do. If you are training for a marathon, you don’t want to be spending a ton of time doing sprinting anaerobic workouts. Training the right systems for your goals is important. It is equally as important to make sure you are training at the appropriate paces for your current fitness levels so that you are stressing the correct systems to improve!
How much mileage per week should be running workouts
10-20% (for 40 miles a week that is 4-8 miles per week)

Workout days should always have warm up and cool down miles

4-8 miles of hard work can be split up into 2 runs with 2-2 mile warm up at cool downs

Your workout days may be 8 miles in total but only contain 3-4 miles of hard running in them

How do you know what paces you should be running
Test fitness with a 5k

VDOT calculator

Make adjustments based on training conditions/wind/heat/hills/etc!

Effort based can work but we don’t want to go 100% based off that in the beginning when we are learning

What type of workouts are best for the marathon/half marathon
Longer tempos

Steady states

MP tempos as race approaches

Threshold work

Medium long run

Cut down/progression runs

What type of workouts are best for the 5k/10k
Threshold workouts

Speed workouts
42 min
January 25, 2024231. How To Build Mileage
www.run4prs.com
How many miles do you run per week? How does one build up to be able to run 50 or even 100 mile weeks? Should everyone try to achieve high mileage? These are all great questions we will be addressing in this episode. Usually, runners will see great gains in fitness in the beginning of their running journey from simply going from running 0 miles to 10 miles per week. In the beginning it almost seems like the more we run, the better we get. However, there becomes a point when it becomes counter productive.
How do you know if it’s time to start increasing mileage
Are you improving
We want to assess if you are training at the appropriate paces for easy days

You are not always injury prone and needing to run low mileage: sometimes there is a different variable at play

What is your history: masters runner, new runner, injury prone

How do you feel?

Do you have time?

Does more mileage equal better results
You can only run as much as you can recover from

Running more only is helpful to a point

Counter productive: injury/burnout

How do you increase?
10% per week max

Cut back weeks every 1-3 weeks of 75% volume

How often should you assess mileage
Every week/every season/every year

Your body and goals change

You should not always be running peak mileage
37 min
January 17, 2024230. Could walking improve your running?
www.run4prs.com Today we are going to talk about walking & how it fits in with run training. Some people are run/walkers and other people have to start with walking on their easy days. We are going to talk about how walking can fit in with EVERYONE'S training even if you are elite.
Beginners: every running pace is a hard effort
Walking is their aerobic/easy pace & that will eventually turn into running as fitness improves

⭐️ WALKING IMPROVES ENDURANCE: Walking will add to your aerobic base! Any time you’re increasing your heart rate for an extended period of time, you’re adding to your aerobic endurance which will improve your running overall

⭐️ WALKING CAN HELP KEEP YOUR RUN IN THE AEROBIC ZONE: You may need to walk to keep your easy days easy! Many athletes prefer the run/walk method (run for 5 minutes, walk for 1 minute or some variation of that). It may help some athletes keep their heart rate down in the appropriate aerobic zone

Athletes can use run/walk method
Building in walking recovery like 4:1 so athletes are able to run for longer without fatigue

Maybe walking up hills or through water stops

Ultra/Trail runners
Walking up the hills to keep effort aerobic

⭐️ WALKING WORKS MUSCLES IN A DIFFERENT WAY: Walking utilizes muscles a bit differently than running which can make you into a better all-around athlete & runner

Walking between recovery intervals in a workout

Walking for recovery! WALKING AIDS IN RECOVERY: Walking helps increase blood flow to sore muscles from running. Going on walks before and after runs or on cross training/rest days is beneficial to promote blood flow and jumpstart your recovery from running
35 min
January 08, 2024229. How to Run Stronger in 2024
www.run4prs.com
Many runners take time off after fall marathons and then the holidays. It can be hard to dive back into training when you are out of the swing of things. It can also be risky to ‘dive’ back into training because we have the tendency to do too much too soon. I always think one of the most injury prone runners are the ‘comeback’ runners because they use their old mileage/fitness levels are a reference point for where they want to be currently and sometimes instead of building progressively, they skip steps and try to do too much too soon which might feel fine aerobically but the musculoskeletal system has not had time to adapt yet.
How to build back into training if you have taken 2-3 months off
Time based

Run/walks

Build miles before you add in workouts

How to build back into workouts
Best workouts to start with

20% of weekly mileage

How to build back if you have just been at a reduced mileage
10% increase per week

Cut back weeks every 1-2 weeks

Looking at the big picture.
What are your goals for the next 3-6 months

Start at the end goal 6 months from now and build up to where you are now
33 min
January 01, 2024228. Does the Treadmill Count?
www.run4prs.com
We are entering the winter season right now and many athletes are forced to run inside for safety purposes. Sometimes people run inside as a preference during the winter. We are going to do a deep dive into the topic of treadmill running today. The treadmill is a great tool that often gets a bad rap in the running community for a variety of reasons. Winter running is here! The negative temperatures and icy roads can leave runners without a safe place to run. We talk about dressing for various temperatures for easy runs and races. Learn the importance of footwear & when to take your run inside. Running outside in the winter doesn’t make you more hardcore BUT we take a deep dive on the differences between running on the treadmill vs outside. Have you ever had your garmin and treadmill not match pacing? We cover that too!
When was the first time you started to use the treadmill?

We have a bit of a neutral stance on the treadmill
If treadmill is your only option due to weather or young kids: it is great

If you don’t have access to a treadmill, the alternative might be that you don’t run

It is a great tool BUT it is not everything

You shouldn’t use the treadmill as a clutch

You shouldn’t use the treadmill as a way to handicap you from running outside
- Why do you think the treadmill gets a bad rap?
- A lot of people can run faster on the treadmill than they can outside?
- You can hold onto the railings
-It’s flat, there is no weather/wind
- Your Gamin isn’t accurate on it
- No races are taking place on a treadmill
- It might not be calibrated correctly
-Why do some people hate the treadmill?
- I can’t run fast or focus on it
- I would 100% rather run outside
- Run to be in nature
- Some people are better at it than they are and it’s frustrating
-Why do some people LOVE the treadmill?Is
Allows them to run with young kids at home

Allows them to run in dark, in hurricane

Allows them to run when they are tired/need to watch something on TV

It’s just a great tool
-At what point should you to treadmill vs outside?
- Is treadmill running real running?
- Will your garmin be accurate on the treadmill?
-Does your fitness translate?
37 min
December 15, 2023227. Have you peaked with running potential?
www.run4prs.com Many people get to a place with their running where they feel like they can no longer improve with their running. Often this is due to the law of diminishing returns. It just becomes harder to get the extra edge. You have to increase the load somehow to give your body something new to adapt to. Sometimes when we don’t have enough rest, this is also a problem because we have the stress load but not the recovery part.
What are some signs someone is at their genetic limit
Test your 1 mile time and put it into the vdot calculator

What are some signs you have more potential
Insane stride paces

Inconsistent

Doing the same workouts/training year after year

Not polarizing training

All the little things become that much more important as you want to reach the next level
40 min
December 08, 2023226. How Long Until I Get Faster?
www.run4prs.com Everyone has goals to see improvement. It is what gets us hooked on running. We love seeing growth and the efforts of our hard work paying off. But it actually takes a bit of time to see improvements on a physiological level with endurance sports.
Law of diminishing returns
You will see bigger gains at the beginning of a new training cycle/process.

The longer you have been working out/running the more you will hard to do to see improvements

Improvement in form/mental training/pacing
There are multiple ways someone can improve. Simply improving your pacing to give you faster times immediately without any additional fitness being gained

How long do you see improved VO2MAX actual physical gains?
6 weeks

You can start losing them at 2 weeks

It’s easier to gain back fitness than it is to get fit in the first place
38 min
November 27, 2023225. Is your offseason over?
www.run4prs.com
Many people get antsy this time of year and want to get back into the swing of training. We are at 2-6 weeks after a lot of the big fall races and this might be a question you ask yourself in the upcoming weeks. We want to chat about how to get back into doing some workouts and make sure you set yourself up for a successful 2024 year.
When was the last time you took more than 2-4 months without racing or doing workouts?
We need to take macro rest from training cycles if we want to have longevity in the sport

What is the best type of workout to ease back into
Fartleks

Progression runs

Try to limit the types of workouts you did during the training cycle. Do something different

You still want to keep easy days easy

Focus on building in good habits
Nutrition, sleep, strength
33 min
November 10, 2023224. Stregnth Training: Why Runners Need It!
www.run4prs.com
Why do you need to strength Train?
Strength training is key for athletes playing all sports. It can also help make runners faster, more efficient and prevent injuries. Let’s face it, running takes up a lot of time! As runners we know that more running usually means you become faster. When we already are running short on time, it’s hard to think that we would need to make time for strength training too! Isn’t running already enough? The short answer is: probably not! Running is great for cardiovascular health and improving endurance, but that is not the only thing you need to become a great athlete and a healthy person.
How does strength training help with injury prevention?
CONSISTENCY is key for success
The more consistent you are, the faster you will become
Strength training allows your body to handle mileage because it strengthens the connective tissues and muscles
What are imbalances or weaknesses that occur within the body?
Trickle down effect & the whole body is connected
Running is monotonous and sometimes it amplifies imbalances.
Strength training can help you correct these imbalances
Runners need: Postural alignment, stabilization, strength and power
Train for strength 8-12 reps
FRONTAL SAGITTAL TRANSVERSE
Focus on exercises involving the major joints of the body (hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, etc.).

Emphasize movements that include multiple joints, and check for kinetic chain alignment.
How does strength training help with finishing kick and raw speed?
The strength of your body propels you forward
It is anaerobic
We always say a 5k is only 10% anaerobic but in a 20 min race that is 1 min.
That is the difference between you and your goals.
As we age, we lose muscle. We need to strength train just to maintain!
How does it improve your running economy?
What is running economy? Isn’t that the same as running form?
Your glutes and core are firing and it allows you to be able to run stronger and have better form. Athletes who strength train are more likely to be able to engage their core and glutes.
Improves Neuromuscular connections?
What does this mean?
When we run slow and easy, our body takes the easier route possible to get it done. Sometimes the faster twitch muscles start to become dormant. It is one of those ‘use it or it falls asleep’ things. By strength training, you are waking up the entire muscle with explosive strength and that entire muscle will engage again in the future when you are running.
Balance
Start small and you build strength and confidence; multi-joint movements tend to be a bit more complex.

Mix it up. Include new movements and new equipment/modalities in each workout.
Tips for Multi-Planar Training
37 min

About Run4PRs

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We build stronger runners at Run4PRs Coaching. This podcast is filled with training tips & personal stories from the @run4prs coaches like 13x Boston Qualifier Victoria Phillippi. Our goal is to…