I am both excited and very proud as a brother and coach to welcome my sister - Lori Smiley - to the show. She started as a 5 hour marathoner and is now a proud owner of a Boston qualifier from Houston in January. In this episode, she gives us 10 keys to her success in getting this goal, 5 physical and 5 mental. Her journey was far from linear with many ups and downs along the way. Regardless of your goal, there is something for you in this episode.

In addition, to redeem the Athletic Greens offer from this episode: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

In this episode, I connect with listener Brooke Lubojasky to talk about her big goal of breaking 3 hours in the marathon. She ran her first marathon in over 5 hours but has progressed to a Boston Qualifier since then. Now, she sets her sights on something even bigger. We cover her reasons why, we talk about the mental challenges, and we detail the training adaptations needed to get there. I don't care what your goal is or what "degree of fast" you are, there is something in this episode for everyone!

To redeem the offers from this episode's sponsors:

- For Care/Of: takecareof.com/runningrogue (Use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order)

- For Better Help: betterhelp.com/runningrogue (10% off your first month)

Prompted by a listener email (thanks Kerianne!), I open up a little more about my running journey from 2022. I chose to do so through the lense of some of the insecurities that I have faced and still face as a runner because I believe we all face them in one form or another. In this episode, I talk about the insecurities of injury, uncertainty, ability, and identity. I tell you about what it looks like for me to face each of those insecurities with examples from 2022 and tell you how I choose to work through them. My hope is that you can all relate and feel less alone in your journey by listening to more details about mine.

In addition, to redeem the offers from this episode:

- For Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

- For Care/Of: takecareof.com/runningrogue (Use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order)

It's a milestone episode for me - number 300 - which represents 6 years of podcasting consistency. For this one, I ring in the milestone and the end of 2022 with 9 reflections on the year from my personal running journey, from my coaching, and from another year of lapping the sun as a human. 

Fellow Rogue coach James Dodds joins me to process it all. I think there is advice in here for everyone on topics ranging from strength training to big goal dreaming to navigating the seasons of life and more. Happy New Year everyone!

To learn more about our podcast training group: roguerunning.com/podcasttraining. It opens on January 3rd!

To redeem the offer from this episode for Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue.

What do you ultimately want from this sport and how do you get there? Those are big questions that can be hard to answer because it is often hard to prioritize and focus on what matters the most. That's because goal setting can be hard, and planning your year of racing with your goals in mind can be even harder. In this episode, I give you 6 practical steps to work through in order to do just that in 2023. From this conversation, you should be able to walk away with a plan for your training peaks, "A" races, and the focal points of training for the next 12 months. Work through these 6 steps, and then get to work!

To redeem the offer from this episode for Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue.

Thank you to Victoria from Florida for this episode topic suggestion. Solo vs. group training... which is better for you?

Either can be great options depending on what is right for you. In this episode, I give you 5 considerations for each modality to make sure you get the most from it. With solo training, how do you push yourself with no one watching? With group training, how do you make sure you don't get sucked into going too fast for you? I answer those quesitons, plus talk about both the pros and cons of each. Listen in and decide what's best for you!

To redeem the offers from this episode's sponsors:

- For Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

- For Better Help: betterhelp.com/runningrogue

Winter is coming, and it's just over a week away! For many of you, winter invites challenges to motivation and to the basic logistics of training safely. In this episode, I give you six tips to maintain your consistency until the warmer temperatures remain. Topics include:

- Choosing a winter training emphasis

- Getting the right gear

- Training on a treadmill

- Hydration

- Planning around the holidays and travel

- Getting a jumpstart on goal setting for 2023.

To redeem the offers from this episode's sponsors:

- For Care/Of: takecareof.com/runningrogue (Use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order)

- For Better Help: betterhelp.com/runningrogue (10% off your first month)

We like to complicate recovery by focusing on the latest whizz-bang tools and modalities that might be all the rage. Recovery, however, is actually very simple, and in most cases, absolutely free. In this episode, I talk about your 3 most important recovery tools - movement, sleep, and fueling - and then give you 8 simple tasks you can do to get your mind right for recovery by engaging the para-sympathetic nervous system. You can only get as fit as you are willing to invest in recovery. Listen to this episode and get back to the basics.

Referenced article on carbs and recovery: https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/carbs-recovery-research-2022/

To redeem the offer from this episode's sponsor:

- For Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

2:23 vs 2:39? Which is a better result for a marathoner?

It would be easy to say the faster time, but Des Linden might disagree. She ran 2:39 in 2018 to win Boston. She also ran 2:23 in 2011 to place 2nd by just 2 seconds. Which is better now? Context matters. It's not necessarily about the time on the clock if you give your all. In this episode, I share 5 tactics for giving your all - for taking an amphorous concept and putting it into reality so that you can be proud of your races no matter what the clock says.

To redeem the offers from this episode's sponsors:

- For Care/Of: takecareof.com/runningrogue (50% off on your first order)

- For Better Help: betterhelp.com/runningrogue (10% off your first month)

As a coach, I know at least two things for certain:

1. Everyone faces pre-race nerves and doubts regardless of your background and experience.

2. The pre-race nerves never go away, but you will become better at dealing with them.

In this episode, I discuss 7 types of pre-race doubts with tactical steps to deal with each of them. You can't make them go away, but you can channel that energy productively. Listen in to find out how.

To redeem the offers from this episode's sponsors:

- For Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

- For Better Help: betterhelp.com/runningrogue