Run4PRs

Ever finish a hard interval during a workout or a race and have to catch your breath? When you run up a hill do you notice your breathing is labored? We often get asked how to breathe while running and how to improve your fitness to the point where breathing becomes easier while you run.

Have you ever felt like you cannot breathe while you are running?

What physiologically is making it feel like you cannot breathe while you run?

Humidity, altitude, extreme cold/shivering, being sick, being dehydrated, running too fast

Is there a sort of rhythmic breathing you should be doing like in swimming?

Should you just breathe whatever is natural and as much as possible?

Do you ever get panicked when you breathe heavy during a run and it causes you to breathe even heavier?

Can meditation or breathing exercises help runners learn how to relax?

I notice when I am more relaxed, my breathing comes more natural when I am running but when I focus on it too much, it feels harder

Do you think the bottom line is that people who can’t breathe while running are just going too fast?

How can you figure out how fast to be running?

How do you talk while running?

How to start training hard again after offseason

This is the time of year when most people are getting stared thinking about training again for spring races. It’s been a long winter and after the holidays, maybe you took more time off than you thought you would! Maybe you are not sure where to start in getting back. We want to do a deep dive into getting back into training again after your offseason and tips for having a long successful season. Often people do too much too soon and burn out within a few months or worse, a few weeks.

How long of an offseason is typical?

What do you typically do during the offseason?

How should you start back adding volume?

Should you continue cross training?

How much mileage can you add per week?

What if you have not been running AT ALL but you were running a TON back in November?

When should your first race be of the season?

When can you expect to be back into the same shape you were this fall?

How will it feel the first few weeks back?

How to set goals/mileage targets/paces for workouts?

What variable should you add first?

What should be the first type of workouts?

How long of long runs should you start with?

Polarized training may sound like a fancy word, but it is the way we should all be training to reach our potential in the sport of distance running. Have you ever heard of the 80/20 principle? We want to keep 80% of your weekly mileage EASY then the remaining 20% should be reserved for harder efforts. This principle of keeping the hard days HARD and the easy days easy stems from the growth formula of stress + rest = growth. If you are not able to fully recover from the hard running workouts with nice rest/easy running days, you will not be able to grow or improve as a runner. We want to train smart & get the most out of our daily effort. This is why it is important to make sure our training is really polarized. Polarized means making sure we keep the hard days HARD and keeping the easy days truly easy. It is like the ying and yang. You need to have to rest to offset the stress.

When was the first time you were introduced to easy running vs harder running efforts?

How do distance runners get caught up in the gray zone?

What exactly is the gray zone for paces? What is YOUR gray zone?

Is there a such thing as going too slow?

Should you be able to tell by someones pace weather it was a workout day vs an easy day?

Workout day pace vs easy day pace

Workout day HR vs easy day HR

Easy running for everyone? Should some people cross train? What if your HR is always too high on easy days?

What if I am not doing workouts? Can I go faster on my easy days?

How do you get people to buy into this methodology?

Will this look different for everyone? IE- your easy pace looks like most people’s hard paceS?

Do you think as you get faster, you cannot get away with doing non-polarized training?

90. How to find the perfect pair of running shoes! One of the most common questions we get is ‘what is the best type of running shoe’. It is so crazy how many brands and models of shoes there are on the market today. We want to remove some of the confusion and help make recommendations on how you find your perfect pair of running shoes. You may not like the same type of shoes we like, and in fact, you probably won't but we will be giving tips for how to find the perfect shoe for YOU and practical tips on how to find those perfect shoes.What are all the different shoes you have loved and used over your 20 year running career?Why have you used so many different type of shoes? Do you think your preferences change?Do you think it is 100% needed to rotate through different shoes like tempo shoes vs long run shoes?How do you find your shoes personally NOW?What are the key things you look for when you go into the store?Have you ever gotten a gait analysis? Do you think it’s worth it?What if you want to try a new type of shoe but want to be able to return it if you don’t like it?What is the benefit to trying shoes on in person vs buying online?Should you ask questions on the shoe rep? What questions do you ask?Neutral, pronate, etc.What is the shoe drop?Do  you typically drift towards shoes that are similar to each other?Is it more about the brand or the model?Do most brands have different models that resemble different models in other brands?Are there really that many choices?Do you think the 250$ shoes are worth it?

89. Should you run based on effort, pace or HR There are many ways you can gauge effort on a run. With all the gadgets around now, it seems like the data is endless. Should we look at HR, Cadence, pace, stride length or should we just go based off effort? What is the most important variable? How come sometimes when I run easy, my HR is sky high? We are going to do a deep dive into the different variable at play when you are running and which to look at for the data you need to assess. Don’t get lose in the noise of too much data.-What was the one thing you started training with for the first 10 years of your running?-When was the first time you wore a GPS watch?-Looking back did the GPS help or hurt you? In what ways was it helpful?-What are some of the downsides to running based off pace?-When did you start to track your HR on runs?-Do you find that HR data to follow a pattern and be accurate?-Are you ever confused by a high or low HR reading?-How much do you look to HR as a guide?- How can you improve your HR when running at a fast pace?-How do you know what paces to run?-Do some days feel harder than others at the same pace?

88. How to find a routine for success: morning or afternoon runners

When I first started running, I worked an early shift, so I had to be an afternoon runner. I always wished I could run in the morning, but when I had to leave for work by 6:30am, I just couldn’t do it! Instead I opted to workout after work. I later worked for a company with a later morning culture. Most people got in around 8:30-9am, so I didn’t need to leave for work until almost 8:00! This gave me almost 90 min in the morning to get my run in. Let me tell you how difficult of a transition it was for me! Despite not having to wake up much earlier, I felt like it was almost impossible to be a morning runner for the first few months. I soon made the full transition and could never go back. We are going to chat about how to set yourself up for success no matter what type of routine you pick for yourself.

-What is the best time of day to run?

- Why are so many people morning runners?

- Is it harder to run in the morning or afternoon?

- How do you fuel for a morning run?

- How do you fuel for an afternoon run?

- Getting ready the night before morning run?

- Packing stuff for after work runs?

- Does a run group help?

- What if you miss a day?

- successful tips for sticking with your routine?

How to become a running coach

We get asked this question all the time! Being a run coach is such a unique endeavour. On the surface level it may not seem that running would be a sport complicated enough to need a coach, but if you have listened to our podcast, you know that there is SO much to learn and discover within the sport of running. A good running coach can help open your eyes to all the details that can help propel your training to the next level. We will be chatting about our journey to becoming a run coach & what we recommend people do if they want to get started coaching.

How did you get started run coaching?

When was the first time you got paid to coach & how much was it?

How many years of running experience did you have before you started coaching?

What is your background/what certifications or qualifications do you have that you think others should have?

Do you think you need to have a certification to get started?

What type of people make good run coaches?

Passion for running and improvement

Personable - interest in others and their running

Leadership qualities

What are the top 3 things that run coaches have to do & be good at?

Understanding of physiology

Open minded & Flexible

Empathetic and understanding (know what the runner needs from you)

Do you think people have misconceptions at what run coaching is?

Create a training plan

Not fully aware of the support that it may take and barriers that can come up during training

Are there different types of coaches like college level vs moms on the run group? How do you find your niche?

Do you have to be a certain level of athlete to become a run coach?

If you coached yourself to fast times, does that mean you will be a good coach?

What are some of the sacrifices to your own training you may have to make?

Should you get a mentor?

Should you read a book?

Should you become certified?

Should you practice by writing plans for free?

Should you work for free with local high school?

Reflecting on 2020 accomplishments & Setting goals for 2021

2021 is right around the corner. We are in the last month of the year. Congratulations on all that you have accomplished. I love to spend the month of December reflecting on all the amazing things that happened over the year. Maybe you completed your first marathon, got your spouse into running or qualified for Boston for the first time. Whatever your story is, it is important to reflect and celebrate what you have accomplished for the year.

What was your greatest running accomplishment this year?

What was something you worked on and stayed committed to for the whole year that you set for yourself at the beginning of the year?

What was your favorite race or running moment?

Did you help anyone get into running?

How did you give back to the running community?

Did you push yourself when you didn’t feel like running?

Did you allow your body time to recover when you needed recovery?

Did you reach any time goals you set for yourself?

How many miles per week or year did you run?

When we reflect over our proudest moments, it is easy for us to see what we want to do more of for the upcoming year. In this podcast we will be chatting about goals for 2021 and how you can set SMART goals to get there.

What is something you achieved this year that you want to continue to build on?

What is something you wanted to achieve this year but didn’t?

What are areas you could improve on with your mental training?

How can you work on stepping outside of your comfort zone?

What big scary goals do you have in your head that you have not told anyone else?

How should you select goal races and plan for this?

What comes first the plan or the races?

Staying motivated over the holidays

The holidays are officially here. If you are anything like us, this can be a tough time of year to stay motivated. So many holiday parties, holiday christmas shopping and not enough time to ourselves! So many people fall off the bandwagon over these winter months, and we wanted to chat about things you can do to help with motivation and staying on track and consistent over the holidays

Have you ever taken a month off?

Is it hard to get back into training if you don’t train during the holidays?

How do you stay on track when you have holiday work parties and happy hours and parties to go to?

SET WEEKLY OR MONTHLY GOALS - MAYBE 1 KEY WORKOUT EACH WEEK

Is it better to do a short run than no run?

How do you stay in the routine of working out even if you don’t have time?

How can you make it a part of your family routine to prioritize fitness even when it’s the holiday season?

Are there ways to involve the whole family and make it fun? YES! ASSIGN CHORES OR CHALLENGES AND GO RUN AND COME BACK IN X # OF MINUTES

Should you sign up for a race in the spring?

Does working with a coach and having a plan help you stay on track?

Should you add in workouts to the mix to help the time go by faster? YES - FARTLEK

Is it okay to use the treadmill?

Tips for dressing in the cold

In the last episode we talked about staying motivated to run outside in the cold. In case we inspired you a little bit we will be chatting about ways to stay warm and dressing for these colder temps. Jason and I live in Wisconsin, and we have both ran and raced several times in blizzards and sub zero temps. We have a lot of practice dressing for various temps, and we want to share some tips with you

How often should you be checking the weather?

How/when do you decide if you are running in or outside?

Things that will make you feel WARMER than the temp outside

If it is sunny and you wear all dark colors

If there is no wind it will feel warmer

50 degrees:

What do you wear upper layer?

Lower layer?

Gloves or hat?

40 degrees

What do you wear upper layer?

Lower layer?

Gloves or hat?

30 degrees

What do you wear upper layer?

Lower layer?

Gloves or hat?

20 degrees

What do you wear upper layer?

Lower layer?

Gloves or hat?

10 degrees

What do you wear upper layer?

Lower layer?

Gloves or hat?

0 or under

What do you wear upper layer?

Lower layer?

Gloves or hat?

Where can you purchase these items?

Is there any secret that will keep you warm or does it always kind of suck?

Do body parts ever go numb?