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Ask the Coaches Podcast! We are answering your questions about training today. Before we kick things off with the discussions to following questions, we will chat about national and worldwide running stats. What percentage of the USA runs road races? What is the most popular race distance? & what are the average race times for 5k-marathon? Remembering to keep into perspective that you can do hard things!

What weekly mileage do I need to run X time in a marathon?

When should I eat and drink during a run? What runs?

Why do I get a headache hours after a long run day?

What is the difference between tempo, threshold, & steady states?

Www.Run4prs.com for a free 7 day trial. FUELING ON THE RUN 🍌

Podcast Episode #112 🔊

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Gels, electrolytes, water… How do you manage all of it on the run? It can be super overwhelming❗️

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👉For races 90 minutes or longer, you NEED to be taking in fuel if you want to reach your potential. Yes, you CAN run without these things and finish but you will not run to your potential without filling your glycogen stores which will begin to deplete after that 90 minute mark

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RULES OF THUMB:👍

✅ Trial and error: It’s frustrating, but you really do need to do a trial and error process to figure out your ideal fueling strategy for yourself. Your body is unique which means what your friend uses for fuel might not work for you. Pick up a few different types of gels or blocks from your local running shop and see what sits well. Try some “real” food like applesauce if those aren’t working for you

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✅ Hydrate/fuel early and often: Start fueling and drinking 20-30 minutes into a long run/race. 4-8 ounces of fluids/sips every 10-25 minutes. Take in 30-80 grams of carbs an hour, so fuel with gels/blocks/applesauce/etc. every 30 minute or so starting at 45 min into the race. You don’t want to wait until mile 20 when your body is shutting down to digest gels (not as much blood flow to your digestive system as you continue running because your blood is going to muscles)

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✅ Nothing new on race day: You can usually find out online what your race course will be offering for electrolyte fluids and fuel so practice with that so you aren’t taking in a new liquid you haven’t tried on race day. If you don’t plan to use what is on the course, you need to figure out how you’re going to carry all of the fuel/fluids you plan to use

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✅ Practice water/fuel stops like it’s race day: Alternate between fluid with electrolytes (like Gatorade) every other time you drink like you would on race day. Limit your stoppage time during training runs because you likely won’t want to come to a dead stop for five minutes to eat and drink during your race. You need to get your digestive system used to consuming fuel and liquids while continuing to walk or run!

HOW SUMMER TRAINING AFFECTS THE BODY

@run4prs Podcast Episode #111

Summer training can feel defeating. You aren’t able to hit your normal paces and you can feel like your fitness is suffering. Trust us: It is not! Training in the heat is just like training at altitude: You have to slow down but that does not mean YOU are slower

REMEMBER: The heat affects everyone differently. Keep a training log to figure out how much the summer weather affects YOUR body and paces. By the end of the summer and for training next summer, you’ll have a great idea of what you can expect out of yourself in certain different conditions

If you choose not to adjust paces in the heat, you will end up burned out because you’ll be doing all of your runs at too hard of an effort. Running 12:00 min per mile pace in 80 degrees is equally as beneficial as 11:00 min per mile pace in 55 degrees

Your body WILL adapt throughout the summer and those adaptations will make you faster come fall. These adaptations can take 6+ weeks so be patient

INCREASED BLOOD PLASMA VOLUME: Similar to how altitude stimulates your body to produce more red blood cells, heat stress stimulates your body to produce more plasma. With increased volume, your body sends blood to cool your skin without shunting the supply away from your muscles

INCREASED RATE OF PERSPIRATION: As you get acclimated to the heat, your body will begin sweating earlier than it did previously which improves the cooling process

DECREASED BLOOD LACTATE: Blood lactate accumulation during submaximal exercise decreases following heat acclimatization

MENTAL TOUGHNESS: Aside from the physiological benefits from training in the heat, there is also a huge mental component to it. No matter how acclimated you get to the heat, it’s still very difficult to run in and it will make you appreciate and take advantage of your 50 degree weather on race day!

Want more on this topic? Check out or Instagram account! ——> free 7 day coaching trial www.Run4prs.com

Www.Run4prs.com for a free 7 day coaching trial. This podcast was pre recorded before a recent marathon where I had bathroom issues 😂 but this is a great topic for runners: BATHROOM ISSUES 💩🚽

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We’ve all been there! As runners, we are all too familiar with digestive problems while running. It’s super frustrating to train for months for a race, only to be brought down by having to use the bathroom constantly during the race 🥴

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Let’s talk about what you can do to avoid having bathroom issues on your runs!👇

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☕️AVOID GOING OVERBOARD ON FIBER & CAFFEINE: Too much caffeine and fiber can wreak havoc on your digestive system! Be mindful of how much you are taking in and what amounts are okay for you to have pre-run & throughout the day

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📓KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL IF YOU HAVE ISSUES: It can be really helpful for people who are struggling with food sensitivities to pinpoint exactly what it is through food journaling. The more detailed you can be, the better

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💧HYDRATE WELL: Hydrating will help kickstart your digestive system and get things moving! Not drinking enough fluids can lead to constipation

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🍺BE AWARE OF HOW ALCOHOL & SUGARY DRINKS AFFECT YOU: Many people struggle to feel good on the run after drinking alcohol or sugary drinks. If this is you, be mindful of when you are drinking these things in relation to your runs!

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✅PLAN AHEAD-- GO BEFORE YOU LEAVE: Allow yourself enough time to go to the bathroom before your runs. It can be hard to have enough time in the morning with kids, getting ready for work, etc. but do your best with this so you don’t have issues on the run

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🚽KNOW WHERE THE BATHROOMS ARE: Self-explanatory! This can save you a lot of problems if you know where the bathrooms are on your running routes

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🗓GET INTO A BATHROOM ROUTINE: It’s not always possible for everyday runs to have enough time to drink enough water, eat far enough in advance, and go to the bathroom but try to do your bathroom routine for your weekend runs so you know what works for you come race day

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👉Practice makes perfect! Figure out what works for you to allow yourself the best chance of avoiding bathroom issues

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🔈check out our free 7 day coaching trial at www.Run4prs.com

Www.Run4prs.com for a free 7 day coaching trial

This is an ASK THE COACHES podcast

1- If you feel like crap the day after your long run is it better to do it the next day or skip it entirely?

Marathon training or training for any long distance events can be a stress on the body. The right amount of stress is good because it triggers adaptations.

We need to have recovery from the stress for the body to repair and create the adaptations from the stress. It is common to be sore after a hard effort like a long run. However, you shouldn’t be so sore that you can barely move/walk without pain the next day. You want to have some fatigue in the legs. If it is so bad where you feel you cannot even walk normally after, I would suggest cutting back the long run distance/duration a bit and perhaps trying some back to back longer runs.

You may not feel like you want to run the day after a long run but an active recovery day even like a brisk walk or a 20-30 min very slow recovery run is great for many athletes. It can help you learn to run on tired legs.

2-How to not feel dizzy after a hot half marathon

Whenever it is hot outside, your body has to work harder to stay cool. This is often why running in the heat can feel so much harder than it does in cooler temps. It can also be way some people feel nauseous or dizzy or super out of it after a run in the heat. The blood is being diverted away from certain areas of your body like the brain or digestive tract and going to your muscles. Sweating also causes you to become dehydrated quickly.

It is important to heat acclimate if you are planning to run a race in warmer weather, you need to train in warmer weather. Do your long run when it is scheduled instead of moving it to the cooler day. Do workouts in the heat, etc.

If you don’t train in the heat, you can’t expect to perform well in it or even be able to safely run in those conditions. I would recommend a sauna if you don’t have access to hot weather. Or consider not doing races in the heat if you are not going to train in the heat.

3- Since a lot of the coaches have already accomplished so much, what are your next future goals?

Many of our coaches have been running for over 10 years at a competitive level.

For Ben & Jason, they are in their mid-30s and ran competitively in high school and college. They set some extremely fast times in the shorter distance events. Speed in the 1 mile and below tends to peak in the 20s. As we age, it can be hard to maintain the same motivation knowing that we will never be as fast as we once were.

4- For run/walks if your easy pace is X does that mean you run is X or that your total pace is X

Your easy pace is the overall pace you run even with your walk stops. Let’s use this example.

Sally runs a 10:00 pace for a 5k. Her 5k pace is 10:00. This is NOT an easy effort. This is as fast as she can run for 3.1 miles.

If she wants to go on an easy run or easy run we want her to average between 12:00-13:00 pace for that easy run. If she is going to make these run/walks or take some walk breaks in her runs up a hill or something, we still want to keep the running portion of it around 12:00 pace. It’s okay if the walking pulls your average pace down to 15+ min pace.

5- How to transition from 5k/10k training to the marathon and keep that speed during base building of marathon training?

5k/10k training may look a lot different than marathon training because of the weekly speed workouts. A lot of athletes may be worried about transitioning from one distance event to another after a big breakthrough.

1- Hard days hard: what do you eat in between your workout & lifting session?

Depends on when you do it. Ideally it would be a gap of a few hours. In this case, eat protein right away and then a meal. Maybe a snack before lifting

If you lift right away after, I would drink a shake while you are lifting or eat a bar

Important to know that exercise sometimes suppresses your appetite. It won't hit you until later. Make sure you fuel.

2- Can I run a half marathon 2 weeks after 26.2?

Typically the recommendation is 1-2 weeks off after a marathon, but with races coming back, sometimes people want to do all of the races. You may be in a situation where you want to run a half marathon 2 weeks after a marathon and wonder- what will this be like?

3-How to prepare for a higher altitude race

How to prepare for a high altitude race when you live at sea level. Get there a week ahead of time. Go to altitude to train. I don’t usually recommend people at sea level go to altitude to race and expect to run super fast. Make sure you stay hydrated and adjust expectations

4- What is the best fuel for your first marathon

Fueling can be weird the first time you go into those longer distance races may be the first time you are also fueling. A lot of the advice out there is to ‘experiement’and ‘find what works for you’ but this was not helpful advice for me. I struggled finding my own fueling plan for my first 10 marathons! The best approach is to start fueling on training runs very early in training.

Start with an easy run. Try something like a gel or apple sauce or dates. You should really try any type of fuel. Some people like the more natural options. I find the huma gels more convenient and enjoy the flavor/texture of it.

Fueling every 45 min. Start with small sips of the gel and get water after. Fueling should be done on runs over 90 min for optimal performance. You CAN do long runs and race marathons without fuel, but fueling can help you perform better.

5- If you don’t go MP on long runs- how do you figure out your MP

We typically do not advise people to go marathon pace for their entire long run because MP is the upper end of your aerobic zone. It’s the fastest pace possible to still be in the aerobic zone. This trains your aerobic system just as well as an easy run.. But it puts even more stress on your ligaments, muscles and joints. When an athlete is building endurance, it’s better to do most of your long runs at just an easy pace because it’s already a huge stress on the body.

Then the question comes in: how will my body know what pace to run on marathon race day? Within the marathon training cycle, you will be working at a lot of different paces usually around threshold pace *which is faster than marathon pace*. This will get you in the best shape possible. As you get closer to the race, learning what marathon pace is and running at it will be important. I like to add in pace specific work starting 4-5 weeks out. These steady state efforts don’t have to be anything crazy long or fancy. One could argue that it’s actually better to break it up into intervals to train your body how to hop in and out of marathon pace. You want to train your body at what the pace is. A lot of athletes struggle with this because it is such a comfortable pace. You will likely want to run faster than MP when prescribed as a workout. Sometimes we will call these steady state runs and make them 5-7 miles in duration on a random Wednesday.

10:40 pace for her 20 miler in training

11:30 pace for the marathon race day- raining then got up to 90 degrees

20 MILE LONG RUNS: Are they necessary❓www.Run4prs.com

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There is a MYTH in the running world that every marathoner needs to complete multiple 20 mile long runs or even one 20 mile long run to finish a marathon. This is just NOT the case! Long run lengths are different for every single athlete based on...

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✅TOTAL WEEKLY MILEAGE: Your long run should not be more than 33% of your total weekly mileage! If your long run is 50% of your total weekly mileage, it's going to take you that much longer to recover from it. You likely will not be able to do quality workouts during the week if you are running 50% of your weekly mileage in one run! Long runs are HARD on our bodies and we need to respect the recovery that comes along with them

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✅3 HOUR RULE: We like to cap long runs at 3 hours max! Research has shown that your body gets the most physiological aerobic benefits from runs between 60-90 min in duration AND that runs over 3 hours start to have diminishing returns. The risk for injury becomes much higher! This means that many athletes should incorporate back to back long runs instead of one 20 mile long run

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✅PACES/TOTAL TIME PER WEEK: If Athlete A's easy pace is 12:00 min/mile, and they run 40 miles/week, that is going to be around 8 hours of training/week. If Athlete B's easy pace is 9:00 min/mile and they run 55 miles/week, that will be around 8 hours of training/week. The long run for each athlete will be DIFFERENT so we don't break the 3-hour rule or the 33% of total weekly mileage rule. The mileage is DIFFERENT but the total TIME is the same! Don't get too caught up in the miles. The body doesn't know what a “mile” is!

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OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES:

👉Marathon training is NOT just about the long run. The entirety of the training plan and your consistency with it is what’s most important to reach your potential

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👉It is far better to go into a marathon undertrained than overtrained. It’s just like “The Price is Right” or the game Blackjack. It’s better to be a little under than it is to be over! We always think we could do more, but “more” might be what puts you over the edge

We are doing a different format of podcast today. You may be used to the standard 1 topic podcast where Jason and I chat in depth about 1 topic but today we are asking YOU to bring your questions & we answer them. We talk about a variety of topics. We ask the audience on IG what questions they have and we answer in a podcast forum allowing for a greater discussion of the question than on an IG story. We love to help runners achieve their goals and grow a better understanding for the sport.

1- Mental Strategies for marathon day: How to break up the race?

Struggle with the bigness of marathon race day and by mile 19-20 I hit the wall

When we do most of our training runs it’s usually first thing in the morning with a clear mind. We are done around 19-21 miles. It can be hard on race day to go that extra 5-6 miles when you have never gone that far mentally. Many runners find that they ‘check out’. Things that can help you stay mentally tough and get that extra edge

1- Doing a puzzle or hard game before a run

2- Running in the afternoon for some runs

3- Doing difficult tasks or running in adverse conditions

4- doing something very hard before a run where you are mentally checked out

2- I think I have a stress fracture: How do you know and how long should you take off?

This person suspected they had a stress fracture. What should you do if you think you have one?

Warning signs?

Looking into what caused it to avoid it in the future: nutrition, etc.

Taking the recommended time off 6-8 weeks usually- sometimes more

Starting back with run/walks or alter G treadmill

Always do every other day running

Be careful

3-I struggle to get under 10 min pace miles. How much faster can I conceivably get?

It depends on what you are hoping to accomplish. If you want to run a 5k under 10 min pace, I would start by adding in speed and tempo work. Start small and grow to 20% of weekly mileage at that pace. Looking at weekly mileage. Looking at nutrition and strength. The little tweaks go a long way. Go slow with changes.

Training specifically to the event you hope to run. Even some sub 4 hour marathoners don’t run under 10 min pace outside of races or hard workouts

4- How can we keep efforts easy with the hot temps and humidity?

For easy runs in the heat, it can be a challenge because everything feels HARD. Your HR may also be elevated. It actually takes 6+ weeks to heat acclimate. Some of the best things you can do is to train at the coldest times of day. Go shaded. Stay hydrated. Go early before it’s hot. Stay consistent. Understand that adaptations take time.

Go off effort. Maybe slow down 30-60 seconds per mile. Even on some easy runs you may feel it’s just a lot harder. Staying hydrated is key!

5- Is it okay to include workouts into my long run keeping 20% hard and 80% easy?

It is fun when you get to a place where you can start to add in workouts into your long run. The 80/20 rule we usually talk about is in regard to weekly mileage. We don’t want more than 20% of total weekly mileage to exceed an easy pace. This means if you are training for a marathon running 40 miles a week, only 10 of that should be a ‘hard workout’. When you break this down into 2 days it could be a weekday workout like 4x1 mile then during your longer runs you have 6 more miles of pace work you could do. The 6 miles of pace work might look like 2 x 3 mile @ marathon pace within a 13-14 mile long run.

We typically don’t want to add in pace work into long runs unless the athlete has gone this distance several times before.

Www.Run4prs.com for a free 7 day coaching trial. DID YOU KNOW❓Most people never come CLOSE to their peak potential in running

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Why do runners so often feel like they have peaked and stagnated when in reality, they have not at all❓

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Many people GIVE UP before they reach their potential because👇

🔹Progression in running is not linear and this can be frustrating to many

🔹Reaching running potential may not be worth the sacrifices. You have to really want it to keep reaching new levels in running

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THE REALITY IS:

🔹The faster you become, the harder it is to become faster

🔹Improvement over time is dependent on how consistent you are with sound training that progresses over time. No one training cycle is going to work magic

🔹Running is a series of peaks and valleys and that it is NORMAL and HEALTHY to not be in “peak” shape all year round

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Instead of focusing on reaching your overall peak potential, focus on reaching your potential of each training cycle, knowing each small PR is a stepping stone to your big goal 💪

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Check out podcast #105 for an awesome conversation on this topic!🎙

DEVELOPING AND SELECTING A TRAINING PLAN

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Not all training plans are created equal! ❌

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Generic plans are not going to be as helpful as an individualized plan created for YOU. The thing about Googling for training plans is that generic plans can get complicated quickly because there are so many questions that come up along the way in training

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You want your training to be as individualized as possible❗️

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WHAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED:

✅Your history as an athlete

✅Your goals

✅Your life/schedule

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WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN A MARATHON TRAINING PLAN?

✅Tailored To YOU: Your plan needs to be individualized to your history, goals, and schedule for it to be the most effective

✅Progressive Overload Principle: You should be training at paces reflective of your current fitness level, NOT the paces of your goal time. You need to work up to those paces safely with the progressive overload principle. The plan should also not start at more than 10% of your previous week’s mileage

✅Cutback Weeks: You need to run less mileage every 2-4 weeks. You can’t do 2-3 hour long runs every single week and you can’t just keep building weekly mileage to infinity. Give your body the chance to repair and rebuild every few weeks

✅Oversight: Have some oversight from a coach or friend. An unbiased look at your training will help you out tremendously

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Check out our website for a free 7 day coaching trial www.Run4prs.com