Run4PRs

86. Getting a training plan & working with a coach: how it works

How does Run4PRs work? I know some of you already work with us as athletes, but maybe others are curious what exactly we do. How does our training work? What is so different about working with a coach vs a free plan online? Today we are chatting about our process and how it would look if you hit YES to try a free 7 day trial with us no strings attached.

Variety is super important

What is the difference between following an online training plan free vs getting a coach?

How is it custom to each person?

Where should people go if they want to try us out or get started?

What will happen when you fill out the form?

What if people have filled out the form but they are not getting the e-mail?

Who is the e-mail coming from?

Who will read the athlete consultation form?

What information on the form do you look at?

How do you pair athletes with their coach?

How long does it take to have the plan?

How does the coach communicate with you?

What does the plan look like?

Where is the plan?

How many days per week is it?

How often can I chat with my coach?

How personalized is it?

Is there any subscription?

How can they assess my form?

How do you assess my fitness?

How is it better than something I find online?

Do I need to have a garmin?

Visit www.Run4prs.co/faster to get more information on the program. It’s that time of year again! The dreaded winter training and off season. There are usually not a lot of races that take place in the winter, but there are a lot of spring & fall races next year. This leaves athletes with some time in between training cycles. Runners may feel like they are in limbo wondering all sorts of things like “what should I be focusing on right now?” “How many miles per week should I be running?” “What sort of workouts should I be doing?”. This year we wanted to come up with a program to remove all of the confusion and lack of motivation during the winter months to keep athletes excited for training & setting them up for the best opportunity for success for whatever they hope to achieve in 2021.

An overview of the program:

This is a 10 week program. You can start at any time during the program, but we highly recommend doing the full 10 weeks. We kick things off with a 1 mile time trial on Saturday 12/5. This time trial will likely be after some time off or unstructured training. We know this time of year is traditionally hard to stay motivated & most athletes are NOT in peak shape. We dive into the time trial to get a baseline for where you are at! With strength training, you begin to see benefits after 2-4 weeks of training. Aerobic work takes closer to 6 weeks to see benefits. The 1 mile is a combination of using the aerobic and anaerobic systems. We expect that athletes will see a smooth progression in times over the course of the program. Not all races always go as planned, so we offered an extra race or two to practice our racing skills and provide a chance for redemption if one of the races does not go as we hoped.

What will the focus be on?

Strength Training is key for success in the 1 mile because you must develop power & the anaerobic system. We will work on developing explosive speed needed for a strong final kick. The strength training will also help with efficiency and strength to run at faster paces. 2-3x per week 20-40 min

Training specifically for the mile will require more focus on speed work than traditional distance training. This plan will work on developing a strong VO2Max system and work on lowering

your threshold.

2x per week 20% of volume

Benefits to 1 mile training?

Building confidence in other distances

Capitalizing on speed before you age

Learning how to push yourself & race hard

What will the speed workouts look like & why?

If you are in the USA you know that it is that time of year again! People are gearing up for Thanksgiving day turkey trots. This tradition has been growing, and we are so excited that more people are participating in these events. A lot of our listeners may be coming back into running more again after a big fall marathon or half marathon, so this is often a strange time of year for racing. We wanted to chat about some tips to help with your turkey day 5k-10k.

How much of this race is aerobic vs anaerobic?

Is it still important to keep your easy days easy?

Are you still running high mileage?

How do elites train for 5ks?

What sort of workouts should you do the week of the race? Strides and short fartleks

Should you do strides? Yes! Before the race, I definitely want 4+ quality strides. I’m a fan of a few longer 200m pickups about 10-15 minutes or so before the race and a few shorter ones 50 meters right before your race

What sort of pacing plan should you have? Negative split or even split

How do you know what kind of shape you are in? Recent time trials or workouts. Compare consistency in your recent training block to previous seasons when you ran a 5k.

Will the weather play a role? Weather always plays a role to some degree. Hopefully being that Turkey trots are in November that is typically a nice time of year in most areas where we don’t experience one extreme or the other.

Should you consider using this as more of a fun run? Absolutely, It can be tough to run well if it’s colder like here in the midwest. Also It’s a great family event to do and a great way to start the Holiday.

How long of a warm up or cool down? 1-3 Miles

How many days should you taper before? 2-3 or perhaps a few more.

Pacing for a 5k: what is the speed limit the first mile? Your Goal 5k pace (should be 5-10 seconds slower than) If you are super fit it may be okay to run 5-10 seconds faster than 5k goal pace

Pacing for a 10k: what is the speed limit for the first 1-2 miles? I would say even a bit slower, so 10-20 seconds slower than your goal 10k pace. You have more time to work your way down to race pace :)

How should you feel during the halfway point? Strong - Like you can negative split

How should we dress? Be prepared for the weather including overdressing at the start if it’s cold!

If you live anywhere near us, it is starting to get really cold really fast. I am not talking 40-50 degrees. I am talking single digits and negative wind chills here in Minnesota. We get it pretty bad for 4 months out of the year most days don’t get above 20 degrees in the morning if we are lucky. Most days can be single digits or below zero when we get up to run in the early morning. It can be tough to find the motivation to stay running in the cold. We are going to chat about what we do to stay motivated to run outside during these cold months!

What is the coldest temp you have ever ran in?

What is your cut off temp for running outside?

At what temp does it just make sense to do your workout inside?

How are you able to breathe in the cold?

At what temp does it become hard to breathe and execute workouts?

How do you dress in 30 degrees?

How much does the wind play a role?

How can you run in the snow?

Do you have to buy expensive gear?

What does your college team do when it is cold outside?

What are other options if you stay inside?

Do you have to run outside in the cold to be a real runner?

Last week we chatted about the importance of the off season. We want to make sure we take time off to recover between major training blocks. However, a lot of athletes can get trapped in the all or nothing approach of training. I can’t train? Okay I will run zero miles per week. Or I don’t want to take time off, I am going to continue to train hard! We want to make sure we find a happy medium and set some goals for this winter

Winter can be a tough time for training: why?

What are some things that can you help stay on track?

What do you not like about it?

Do you ever feel like there isn’t enough time or motivation during the offseason?

What are some goals you can set to help you stay on track?

When should you start thinking about 2021 races and finding a path?

What do the top athletes do during the winter months that set them up for success?

Should Strength training be something you start to add in?

Should we set goals based on weekly mileage or consistency?

How do we reward ourselves for staying on track if there is no goal race?

How do you stay motivated if you are stuck inside?

The off-season is coming. We spent all year building up for big races this fall. After your goal races it can be a time of recovery for most athletes. We talked a few weeks ago of the post-marathon blues and why it is important to take some time off after a race even if you ‘feel good’, but we are going to continue this conversation chatting more about what an off season is and how to do it

What is an off season?

How long should it last?

Do you still need to work with a coach?

Is having a plan a better way to stay accountable rather than assume you will run when you feel like it?

What is the biggest off season training mistake you see?

How many miles per week should you run?

Should you lift?

Should you cross train?

How long should your long runs be?

How many rest days should you have?

Does everyone need an off season?

Does the offseason have to be right after your goal race?

77. Doing a back-up marathon if the first one doesn’t go as planned

We have all been there. Train hard, in great shape then something uncontrollable happens on race day. Maybe it’s terrible weather. Maybe our body just felt off. Maybe we got a sinus infection the week of the race. We are chatting today about what to do if your goal race doesn’t go as planned.

Have you ever had a race that didn’t go well?

What did you do after to utilize your fitness?

How do other people react when you fail to reach your goal?

Does anyone really remember or care?

What is the risk of doing back to back marathons?

Can it work?

What are signs you should maybe not try to do the back up race?

Should you only do back up races after the race and not plan for a just in case back up race before?

76. Marathon recovery & blues

We have been chatting a lot about race day planning and taper, but we have not yet chatted about the aftermath that may come after you finish the marathon. Many of you have spent the last 3-6 months really building up into great marathon shape. You have spent hours every week doing long runs and workouts. You have made sacrifices, had fun and seen so much improvement. The build up for these races can be exhausting but also an incredible feeling. There is a huge build up for a race that usually lasts 3-5 hours in duration. It is over before we know it. It can often be anti-climatic. That was it. Now it is over. We much address some of the feelings we might experience after a marathon and remember recovery is important!

Have you ever finished a marathon and NOT wanted to take time off?

Do you think some people fall into two categories 1- pumped to take time off and 2- struggles to really take time off

Either super excited to continue to improve because I feel like I didn’t really reach my potential

OR I am scared to lose fitness and don’t think I really pushed myself to the limits

Always needed to grow and build towards something

Pushing other things aside for 6 months→ cleaning the garage, organizing your computer files, yard work, baking, meal prep, friend meet up for coffee, meet up for drinks, oil change, hair done

What do you think is the hardest part for people after a marathon mentally?

Even if you have had a race where you reach your goal and crush it, are you still 100% satisfied?

How do you feel after a race that goes so-so?

What about a race that goes terribly wrong?

Have you ever dived back into training too fast?

Why do you think it is hard for people to take time off?

How much time do you think is enough time to take off?

Traveling to your goal races

Fall is quickly approaching! That might mean some runners will be traveling across the country to their goal races. With Covid-19 a lot of races have been cancelled, but there are some states with races still going on! We are going to be speaking more in general terms with regards to travel. These are tips you can use in 2020 or even if you are listening in 4 years from now headed to the Chicago Marathon.

Whether you are traveling 50 miles or 5,000 miles we have some tips for you to use to make sure you have your best race ever even on the road! Jason and I have traveled to several marathons across the country including Chicago, LA, Las Vegas, and Boston and ran BQ times on the road.

What is the best race you have ever traveled to?

What is the hardest part about traveling to races?

Do you prefer races at home or away?

Do you think people should travel this year?

Nutrition

Should you bring snacks?

How should you eat on the road? How important is this?

How to stay hydrated but also not pee every 5 min on a plane or car ride?

How do you not try anything new when you have to eat out the night before?

Should you get reservations to dinner the night before?

Should you pack food in your carry on for the race day breakfast and fuel?

Clothing and gear

How do you pack for the race?

Watch charger, cell phone charger, phone carrier, headphones! All your running gear!

Should you put your running stuff on the carryon?

How many race day outfits should you pack?

Throw away clothes?

Logistics

How should you get to the race expo?

When should you go to the race expo?

When should you do any sight seeing?

How early should you get to the race start?

Should you take their transportation or get dropped off?

Should you have a plan after you finish?

74. Calming the taper nerves

As fall races approach, we see more and more athletes tapering for their goal races. You know how taper is. You spend months building up mileage, busy & exhausted from training then suddenly there are cuts in mileage and more time and energy to worry about all the things. We start to second guess ourselves! Did I do enough? Is this training cycle good enough to get me to my goal time? We start to worry and get anxious. Our normal outlet for our worries may be running, so it is ironic that we are unable to get the fix we need. In this podcast we will be chatting about typical concerns athletes have going into a race and our mindset approach to fix them. Sometimes when we bring our fears to light, they aren’t so scary anymore.

What if I go out too fast?

What if I don’t hit my goal time?

What will people think if I DNF or walk or don’t BQ?

What if something flares up and I am unable to finish?

What if the weather is so bad that it rains the whole time and I become hypothermic?

What if I get sick the day before?

What if I get my period?

What if I just have an off day?

What if I don’t feel accomplished after?

What if my support system isn’t proud of me?

How can I ask others to support me during this taper time?

What would help calm my nerves?