Running Life: A Fitness Protection Production

Hi, this is Coach Sarah. As you’ve probably seen if you follow me and Coach MK on Facebook, we are paying close attention to the way people are reacting to the movie Brittany Runs A Marathon. I myself saw the trailer and immediately knew that I personally did not want to see the movie, because I got a strong whiff of marathon training equals weight loss equals yay, and I wanted nothing to do with it. But the positive attention it’s gotten - among other things, a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes - made me think maybe I was wrong to feel targeted by that message, that maybe I was missing something.

Well, once we asked for input on social media, Coach MK and I started getting all KINDS of responses from people who, like me, felt turned off by what they saw in the trailer but didn’t want to say so publicly for fear of being a party pooper.

Lucky for us, Amy, who has been training with Coach MK for years, knows the party don't start till she walks in. She was kind enough to record a detailed breakdown of the Brittany Runs A Marathon trailer, frame by frame, identifying the things that immediately jumped out at her as problematic and fat-shaming. Amy gave us permission to share the audio from her screencasts as a bonus episode of the Fitness Protection Podcast. This is a preview of what you’ll be hearing from Coach MK and me over the next two weeks. Both of us had a lot to say about the movie, and as it turned out, so did our community.

If you saw this movie and enjoyed it, please know that we are not criticizing you or saying that you’re wrong. We want to validate the viewpoints of those who felt very differently about what they saw - the very discomfort that many of those people felt about voicing their concerns and their hurt openly and publicly told us a lot about how hard it is to be the person who feels erased by something that they know they’re *supposed* to enjoy.

Enjoy Amy’s biting commentary - we sure did - and listen in this week and next for a two-part episode in our Brainfire of the Vanities series on how different types of privilege impact the way we consume pop culture, and how we internalize harmful messages...even the ones presented as jokes. The Fitness Protection Program aims to make the intersection of body image and fitness a place where EVERYONE feels welcome, never shamed or judged.

Introductory Note

Hi, Coach Sarah here. A few notes about today’s podcast. If you have always wanted to see what Coach MK tends to look at in Training Peaks for clients she has coached one-on-one, we highly recommend you watch this episode as a webinar, and it is available in that format on our YouTube channel (you can find a link to it on our blog at www.coachedandloved.com/blog, and in the show notes to this episode). You’ll likely find the visuals helpful, especially if you specifically want to learn to speak TrainingPeaks. If you would just like to listen to a thoughtful conversation about finding training-related wins in unexpected places, on your commute or on your run, our AMAZING editor has cleaned up the audio and put it in podcast form for your listening pleasure, and it’s coming right up.

Before you listen, I just want to say one thing. Coach MK and I rarely mention pace numbers in this conversation, and that’s intentional, but Training Peaks does generate a lot of other numbers that tell us things about where I am, fitness-wise, and we do talk about those. Now, I don’t really care who thinks I’m slow AF, but I definitely don’t want to invite comparison between my numbers and those of the athletes we coach. If you have a hard time hearing about my numbers without feeling like they are somehow setting a bar for you, I feel you, and I understand. My hope, however, is that you might come away from this session with tools for how to identify wins of your own that you didn’t know were there.

SHOW NOTES

Coach Sarah got Ros a bike for her birthday and...it was not good. BUT EVERYONE LEARNED A VALUABLE LESSON.

Speaking of biking, Coach Sarah started biking her daughter to school this summer to spend a little less time sitting in traffic, and she had absolutely no notion of how much extra work she was doing on top of marathon training...nor did she really appreciate how beautifully her body adapted to that work (her coach, however, misses nothing).

Similarly, Coach Sarah recently ran one last EAT (Enhanced Anaerobic Threshold, a workout we discussed in a previous episode - downloadable PDFs available!) to close out her marathon cycle, and she and Coach MK take a detailed look at what the results say about the fitness she has built over the past eight weeks in preparation for her fall marathon.

Speaking of marathons, Coach MK is less than two months away from running the New York City marathon, and her second coaching call with Coach Tia is available for viewing, as well. Tia assures MK that things are on track and looking good, and affirms that the main goals for this cycle are to stay healthy and build volume. There may be a little bit of fast running here and there for  variety’s sake, but the most important work will be the buildup of time on feet at easy effort. That’s really all MK needs (and she is READY). 

Both coaches are preparing for their fall marathons with EXCITEMENT and curiosity. They each need a little help in identifying their own wins, but of course they’d be the first to say that that’s exactly what a coach is for. #coachedandloved

This week the coaches tackle questions about Crohn's, Fatigue and associated Neuropathy, Critical Power and hilly race prep and end on the connection between nutrition and heavy legs. 

Coach MK and Coach Sarah livestream question and answer sessions each week on the Fitness Protection Program Facebook Page, The Fitness Protection Program YouTube Channel, and Twitch, simultaneously. Join us! They are a lot of fun and super informative; anyone may ask follow-up questions during the live broadcast.

ReBuild

1. Hi coach MK and Coach Sarah. After a stressful summer September has gifted me with a Crohn’s flare (grrr). I have feel terrible and can’t even make through the easiest workout in week one of lane one. This is fairly demoralizing so I have very little motivation to do anything honestly. I know that 30 minutes is the minimum necessary to make progress, but it there something with a shorter duration that will at least provide some benefit? I’m hoping that knowing what I would be doing is in some way beneficial to my body can help motivate me out the door on days that it would be much easier to give up. Thanks!!

• 20 minutes!
• critical/crucial adaptations
• anything is better than nothing

2. My health is not good right now, and in after a hard honest conversation with myself I am happy rebuild is here for me. I'm dealing with massive fatigue and neuropathy in both my arms and legs. The fatigue is making it hard to get up in the morning and move my body. And the near constant pain is such a mental suck. My question is while I am trying to figure out what is going on with my body, is it ok to do both the rebuild and maintain strength? Thanks so much for having a safe place for me to keep my running practice while I can't do what I want to.

• totally good with it as long as doc and PT are OK with it, in this case we are not de facto worried about CNS fatigue
• ask what can I do what can I do

3. What's the best way to adjust when I am legitimately not pushing it according to plan (running 5 days a week but doing bare minimum avocado toast/140 3 of those days b/c of busy work schedule), but then I had to cut my long run short because my foot was hurting. I feel like I overdid it today (rest day). Should I take an extra rest day? Walk for a couple of my runs?

• order of operations - we want to keep moving forward (we don’t care about the intensity)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmtONuBkAsI (foam rolling with wonder woman!)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAVbzw5_nYo

Maintain 

1. Hi coaches, thanks for all of the love and encouragement. Can you talk a bit more about the cooldown? How slow should it be? Does it have to be under 140? I am curious about how the magic happens here. Maybe that could be a topic for a longer podcast. I am really asking because I don’t want to tack 16 minutes of super-slow onto Monday’s workout.

• unsexy work
• so important, it’s where we start when planning workout. Matters because when you are working 140 or below, you’re not working so hard that your body is in panic mode; 
• magic happens because you are recovering while you are moving - blood can be delivered to muscles 
• time is less important the fitter you are

2. Hi. I was wondering if you can talk more about the concept of “power” with running, which you have mentioned in the past. I’ve been running by heart rate for about two and half years, but only since beginning FPP have been better about consistently doing my strength training (thank you for this format that keeps it interesting but still approachable!). I am not worried about pace anymore, but I do worry about my heart rate being so high on my runs, and wonder if I will make some progress with this now that I’m more dedicated to strength training. I’m in the strength beta now. Just wanted to hear about the science behind this concept and understand it better. Thanks!

• critical power - different cases for different people
• https://www.strava.com/activities/2691042621 look at MK’s Strava!

3. I will be part of a road relay race in October. I have volunteered for the hilly 6 mile section. What strength exercises would help me get ready for this? I know it would be helpful to practice running on hills, but what kind of workouts should I do on the hills? Replace the Monday/Wed harder stuff with hilly workouts? Thank you so much!

• try to replicate hills that will be on the course in your long runs

4. For the last few weeks my body has felt great but my legs feel HEAVY. HR stays low but I find myself wanting to walk, especially easy runs. What gives? Any explanation? Will this just pass? Love the workouts and ready to start the marathon ramp. All suggestions welcome!

• hormones and nutrition

Everything is easy when you are fit. You get to ask yourself which workouts you WANT to do, you can run with anyone you want to, join any run club whose schedules works with yours, you can work with any coach you want; you don't know how good you have it until your training is derailed by life or injury for a long period and you are then faced with rebuilding your fitness...alone. The times you need support and a coach the most are the times you are least able to find either, a gap we hope to close in the Fitness Protection Program.

In this podcast, we discuss the origin of ReBuild, our Return to Running Program for Experienced Runners, and explain how it is working for a far broader audience than we ever expected. You will hear from multiple participants in the program, followed by sobs from Coach MK and Coach Sarah. HUGE thank you to everyone who sent in testimonials!

Please download the PDF in our Bonus Materials! or Click here: http://bit.ly/ReBuildPuzzle

SHOW NOTES

Coach MK and Coach Sarah just so happened to have seen the same movie with their husbands over the weekend, and they had wildly different takes! (If you plan on seeing Ready Or Not in theaters, you should probably wait and listen to this part after you watch, because we spoiled the hell out of it! Skip to the 16:00 mark to miss the spoilers!) But on one thing they do agree: deals with the devil are sometimes things we would TOTALLY make if it would just get us where we want to go. When we are ReBuilding, everything can be frustrating. We ALL want to do the work - that was never the problem - but when the work isn't working, what's left?

The Genesis of ReBuild

Coach Sarah tried Couch to 5K after she gave birth to her daughter, and it was both totally unstimulating (non-beginner runners don’t belong in beginner programs) and WAY TOO HARD at the same time - she needed way more conditioning, way more revival than simple run-walk intervals could offer her.

Coach MK has had to ReBuild herself, twice: the first time in 2013 (Irish Twins + a move to altitude) and again in 2018 following 18 months of basically convalescence. That first ReBuilding season led her to become the coach she was looking for, the second season inspired her to create the communities she wanted to join. Spoiler alert: it's not really about the running. 

In ReBuild, we are serving a population that does not have great options. The community we build is solid, yes - you will not be the advanced person among the beginners, you will be with people who, like you, are trying to rebuild a body that once did things in a way that now seem remote. The true value of this program is in its specificity and intentionality: rebuilding is often a puzzle, and we provide ALL of the pieces to ReBuild you, stronger, for the long run.  

Note: Clients frequently conflate 'rehab' and 'remedial' work. Nothing in ReBuild is, or should be considered, punitive. In fact, it looks a lot like the work we do when we are strong. Click the link below to see Coach MK’s 2x2 on Strava! 

WHO IS REBUILD FOR?

1. Anyone who thinks Maintain might be too much right now
2. Anyone who is coming back from a 6+ month period of no running (not just healing but reconditioning)
3. Anyone who wants to maximize consistency during a tumultuous period of life

Along the way we hear from several of our ReBuild runners:

Erin - a runner with severe asthma and Crohns, told by doctors that she couldn’t run because it would be too hard on her body (but she’s now run several half-marathons and a half-Ironman

Becky - a runner with a hectic life who is currently hovering between Maintain and ReBuild while she manages things and adults like a boss

Katie - a runner who has relentlessly pursued help in treating her significant postpartum injuries and is FINALLY returning to a consistent and ENJOYABLE level of running

Megan - a runner who loves ReBuild because the work is doable for her, and her consistent success (turning those TrainingPeaks boxes green!) motivates her to keep choosing to run every day

Ann - a runner who knows that moving forward is ALWAYS winning, whether running or walking, and who loves the feeling of WANTING to do more and having so many options ahead of her.

With Coach Sarah FIRMLY enjoying the final hours of her vacation, Coach MK flies solo in a short-but-worth it episode that ends with a sweet question from a passerby on Twitch. Topics this week include: the purpose of the long run, Concerta and heart rate, smart watches and confusing directions, and how to ask a girl out (I KNOW, RIGHT?). It's never about the running, and the magic is always in the meandering. 

(Re)Build

1. I have been in re-build since the program started. I consistently do 3-4 runs per week (and, I am totally happy with that). With the current flow of life it's not often possible for me to do the long runs on the weekends. So, the question, should I do a long run during the week, or just keep doing the weekly runs and not worry about the long run? I am super happy in ReBuild, I have no aspirations to do any more races or train for anything, I am just interested in continuing to build my endurance wearing a heart rate strap. Thank you!!

2. I know you have addressed this before in some fashion but bear with me. I have always had an unexpectedly high heart rate (paired with very very low blood pressure). I am now on methylphenidate (Concerta). I wondered if taking a medication that tends to increase HR changes the way the training works? To be clear, I am 100% not interested in changing the speed limits. I’m more curious academically and from an expectation management perspective. Thank you!!

Maintain

1. My question is about warm up. It seems like my heart rate wants to go from 80 to 140 in about 2 minutes when I start with a light jog (about 15 min/mile pace), even after Silly Toes. Is it more beneficial for me to warm up my heart rate more slowly with a walk, then a speedier Walk, then a shuffle, etc? It seems like my heart rate comes DOWN really easily as well during the cooldown, or any walking break I take, so I’m taking that as a good sign.

2. Thanks, coaches, for giving me the gift of running and the lens of seeing myself and my running SO FUNDAMENTALLY differently than before! It’s taken me three years to truly get to this pretty awesome place with my relationship to running, to food, to my body—so thanks for being my guide! I try to help my running buddies to start thinking about their running and bodies and eating and “self talk” in a different way (because I completely see my old harmful, dysfunctional perspectives alive and well in them) but it is SO frustrating, because #1 I’m not great with expressing myself with words, and #2 because they are so stubborn, haha! I don’t fault them for it, but it makes me sad. So that’s a long way of saying—THANK YOU for sticking with it and being patient with me on this journey of really having new eyes to see myself and my life. How in the world did you it?!I now realize how frustrating that truly is! I keep inviting them to FPP, if only they would! Anyway, sorry for that long preamble: finally the question: I’m on week 6 of the Tenacious plan, and tomorrow (Labor Day) I signed myself and my 9-year-old daughter for a really small local 5k (fundraiser for the HS XC team). She’s been begging to do a race with me, and we’ve done this one before, but she’s only done the 1-mile. I want to let her kind of be in charge of running/walking as she needs, but foresee it being a sprint/walk fest, lol. Any advice on how to view this within the context of where I am in my training, as well as how to help her last for 3 miles,heh? Thank you , love, Meg

3, Can you talk a little bit about the recovery window that comes up on the watch after a workout? Do you know if the calculations for this window are the similiar between Polar and Garmin? Should we be keeping this window in mind if we have to juggle workouts during the week?

4. Is there a way to arrange the week with a long run on Saturday, a run on Sunday, and no run on Monday?

Get ready for a DEEP discussion of the EAT (the Enhanced Anaerobic Threshold workout). We’re not really talking about the running this time, and we are DEFINITELY not talking about the math, either. We hope this podcast will clarify what the Enhanced Anaerobic Threshold workout REALLY Says About You and Your Race.

We have included a downloadable PDF as bonus content here in the shownotes, explaining the EAT. Click here to download it: http://bit.ly/2ZrbNPE

Click here to sign up for our mailing list if you would like to download #moarmath.

LINK: https://lp.constantcontact.com/su/NYsgUFW/fppeatpodcast

Then click HERE to watch Coach MK talk through the worksheets. https://youtu.be/fOmT3nmrX6U

SHOW NOTES

Coach Sarah and Coach MK grew up with complicated relationships to athletics and sports, and they talk about the way privilege plays into that - the way it blurs our ability to gauge effort levels, in particular. The blithe assumption that running by effort is this intuitive thing is one that both coaches have found to be totally wrong, both for themselves and for the athletes they coach.

Sarah tells the story of her evolution as a rower in high school and college, and the way one coach seeing her and taking her seriously and actually TEACHING her to pace herself without expecting that she should already know how to do it was a game-changer for her. The EAT comes with that same assumption - that perhaps you have never learned how to pace yourself or felt comfortable asking for help.

MK discusses where the EAT came from and why she began having her runners do it. As her audience grew, she was shocked to discover that some runners were able to view it as helpful information while others felt like it was a test and a moral judgment of how hardworking, tenacious, and good they were (and ugh, the way “good” and “fast” are treated as synonyms in the running world - we are NOT okay with that).

Coach Sarah goes on to talk about the ways in which the EAT got HARDER mentally after that first one - both because she knew how hard it was and dreaded it, but also because of the number-crunchy way she got into it and tried to use it to predict race outcomes, which almost always led to pressure and heartbreak. It’s still really easy to create all these expectations for race day around what pace you “should” be able to run and what your heart rate “should” be and find yourself disappointed when it doesn’t line up that way. Even Coach Sarah, with the guidance of Coach MK, was totally looking at it wrong, but years of conditioning don’t fall away overnight.

What really changed was time and experience. Doing enough EATs and enough shorter races has taught Sarah a lot about how to gauge pace and effort - in a way that she would never have learned without the safe space to just DO it, a lot, and let the information be just that - information - rather than a judgment about how hard she was working and what a “good” or bad runner she was. We hope today's podcast will help you do the same. 

"Doesn't he go row a boat in Gladiator?" - Coach Sarah, in the best quote of the entire podcast, In Our Humble Opinion.

With Coach Sarah still on vacation, Coach MK flies solo in a powerful episode that will start your week off RIGHT (despite Uranus in retrograde)! This week's questions include the physiological benefits of strides or accelerators, needing to push heart rate higher, sickled feet and what to do, moving the long run around, the deeper meaning of the EAT, and Coach MK hits her inbox to respond to a question about potential. This short-but-sweet episode is one you will NOT want to miss!

ReBuild

1. What is the physiological benefit of the triple decker? If I'd rather do an EE <140 run instead on some days, is that ok?

2. Do I have to push myself to get my HR up to 150 in avocado toast or can I go easier?

3. If I notice I sickle my feet during normal life do I just fix it as I notice it or do I need to do something more to correct it? I notice it when standing at work or when I’m in my kitchen. Do I need to always correct my feet so they’re toes forward too?

Maintain

1. Hello Coach MK and Coach Sarah. I have a long run questions... I have a work obligation in 2 weeks that will mean standing on my feet all day for three days, late nights and lots of walking. While I think I can get a couple of hours in for a run, it will be very hard for me to get in my scheduled long run in one go ( That would be a 16 mile/3:15 hour run on week four of the marathon ramp). So should I break it up over two days... I am thinking no... or postpone until Monday when I am back home and then shift that weeks schedule a bit? If shifting the run to Monday after the event is the better option, which runs should I move or eliminate that week to get back on the LR Saturday the following weekend? Thanks! Kristy

2. No question really just looking forward to hearing coaches perspective on EAT. It's always a good feeling when it's done no matter the outcome. Since my HR is on the low end (170) that remained quite consistent the last two segments. But what made me happy, my pace the last 2k remained very steady. And even though I wanted to die, I hung on and kept telling myself it will be over soon Don't stop now. I embraced the "suck" as you say. Anyhow, my segments went like this. 8:25 HR avg 155 max 170 2nd 2K 8:15 HR avg 167 max 170 Last 2K 8:19 avg 170 and max 171 It wasn't easy but I sure feel good about this workout. But then again....no matter how it goes, it's one of those workouts you just feel good about getting it done. THANKS for any feedback you have in advance coaches.

Finally, Coach MK takes to her inbox to respond to a runner's question about her own potential. You won't want to miss this one!

The biggest loser is coming back. AND COACH MK IS FLAMING MAD. She has said on multiple occasions that The Biggest Loser had a huge, measurable impact on our society before it was finally cancelled in 2016. It was not a thing to train for a marathon in order to lose weight before that flaming pile of garbage blew smoke into 8 million homes each week for a totally unhealthy dose of fatphobia, fat-shaming and abuse thinly disguised as 'tough love'.

Onscreen, the show was terrible. We knew it was edited to bits but no one cared. We pretended it was real, just like Survivor and The Hills. Offscreen, we are learning that the situation was WAY worse. Producers were accused of giving THE MAGIC SKINNY PILL to contestants to accelerate weight loss on top of having them work out 5-8 hours per day on 1200 calories (or LESS) to lose weight and gain...willpower?

We like to conflate ‘needing structure’ with ‘lacking willpower’ and it’s INANE. Coach MK hates this. Not one of these clients lacked willpower. They were not given tools for lasting success. They were doomed to fail as soon as they left the house, and Coach MK will tell you why in no uncertain terms!

Complete shownotes and links to all reference material over on the blog: https://www.coachedandloved.com/post/fitness-protection-the-podcast-running-life-and-the-biggest-loser-controversy

Pre-Podcast Livestream

Coach MK and Alex chat around their kitchen table about the one time he successfully lost a large amount of weight: how he did it, how long it took, how long he kept it off. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCQVuqnk9uw

REBUILD

1. How much of Avocado toast be a warm up/ cool down? What do you envision a warm-up and cooldown looking like?

2. I would love to get to where I can do a “real” push-up, up on toes, flat on the ground. Right now I’m best at a more vertical position, hands at counter or chair/sofa height. Is the best way to work on it just to do it a lot, like a minute a day at wherever I’m at a few days a week? Or resurrect SSSC1 for a few weeks? I would also love to do an unassisted pull-up at some point, but that seems much further away.

MAINTAIN

1. You guys know who I am and where I’m at...will you think less of me for yolo-ing a half at the end of September? I’m still on the fence. Definitely undertrained, not REALLY feeling any kind of time goal right now but always grappling with fear of being last. I’m going to be fighting with myself about this until then. Would running it be against coach’s orders? A chance to stand up for my right to take up space? A fool’s mission? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! 

2. Sooo...I’m no stranger to 2 hour workouts, but they are swim-bike-run or just bike. I ran 5 days a week since May but only 30-40 minutes at a time. Keeping my heart rate under 140 is easy for first 45 minutes (i have to make myself run faster to get it up to 140 - it’s not “fast” I’m just really good at slow!!). After 45 minutes it is *hard* to keep it under 140. Most of the time I end up on a slight incline at the end but even on flats I have this. Is this just lack of “running” fitness?? Do i just go super slow during that time? I’m still working up to the log run times in Maintain as I don’t want injury- longest run has been 85 minutes. ((Just started in August). Thank you!!

3. Hi MK and Sarah, I noticed major differences this week in the strength circuits- I usually do them with shoes off, but this week I did them with shoes on (at the gym). My feet cramped up so badly, like I was squeezing my feet to balance. What’s this about? Should I keep doing them barefoot or continue with shoes? Is that instability a good thing? Thanks!

4. I’m having a rough August. It started with a chipped tooth needing a root canal. While waiting, it abscessed and was misdiagnosed. I got antibiotics and emergency root canal. Ouch. All during this time, I couldn’t eat properly or hydrate well because of pain. Now I have a raging UTI probably because of the antibiotics. I have just been miserable. I tried to stay on track for my marathon (Wineglass) but mostly avocado toast 3 times a week and a long run. I did manage a 3 hour run this past week. I’m just feeling like this may not be my year for a marathon. I can drop to the half. Wineglass is interesting because the full has a 6:30 cap and the half has a 7 hour cap. I did the marathon last year in 6. I know it’s a conversation I need to have with myself but I’m not sure what to do. Or maybe I’m asking for justification to drop to the half. I know I can yolo a half fairly easily. The half would be no pressure, enjoy my weekend and family and visit the glass museum. However, I could attempt the full and see what I’ve got. The cutoff scares me some. My paces are not there yet. Any advice? 

5. First, another shout out- congrats Coach Sarah! Next no question really just need some pep talks. Last 2.5 weeks were really filled with Adulting. Cars broken into, passports stolen, rescheduled last week of vacation and then come back to an Epcot *shit* storm at work. I have fallen off the strength for the last 2 weeks, been less than 75 percent on my runs. I know this will pass. I know I can and still have lots of time (this was to be week one on the on ramp). Just need a bit of encouragement today and to feel a bit of the famous Coached And Loved from my two favorite coaches this week. Any suggestions on how to brush myself off and get back to it? Other than just doing it of course. Thanks

Sarah tells us about implementing a sticker chart for her toddler, and wonders if this system is creating the correct incentives or teaching a different lesson entirely. Coach MK describes the systems she has created to work with her ADHD and how those systems often run counter to popular systems of organization. “You must make THIS work,” would be a bad rule for her and make her feel like a failure; “you must recognize failure, identify the failure point, and create a system that WORKS...swiftly,” is the rule that has survived the test of time.

We then put on our liberal arts/language major hats to take a critical look at other systems and the rules that defined them to ask: if rules make the game, must all rules be applied at all times?

Enjoy this ride from rural Tennessee to Soviet Russia and back to your local pharmacy as we ask ourselves what are we REALLY talking about when we’re talking about cheating at running at the non-elite level?

Show notes and links over on the blog: http://bit.ly/2N4O0gJ