The Extramilest Podcast

This is a post I have been wanting to create for a long time. It will become my go-to guide that I will share with friends, family and anyone else who wants to become a stronger, healthier and happier runner. 

It is awesome to see how many people around me are getting into running, both on roads and trails. There is a lot of excitement around running, however I also hear many beginner and advanced runners with negative running experiences “I can run for 5 minutes and then it feels like my heart is beating out of my chest” or “I used to run but my knees, shin splits, plantar fasciitis etc don’t allow me to run anymore“.

Many of the same challenges kept coming up for runners, so I decided to write these 10 points below that are applicable for runners of all levels. Hope you will find this helpful. 

Susan Piver is a meditation expert, teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She is the founder of the Open Heart Project, the world’s largest virtual mindfulness community, offering meditation, courses and support.

Susan has taught thousands of students in workshops, events, and retreats around the globe. She has written 9 books and her latest book is Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation.

She is a frequent guest on network television, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today and CNN. She also also been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and others.

Earlier this year, Susan and I participated together in Seth Godin's altMBA Program and we have stayed in touch after the course ended. I have a lot of respect for the amazing mindfulness community she has created with her Open Heart Project. Recently I've had a great pleasure to record this Extramilest Podcast with Susan. We talked about a variety of topics around meditation and mindfulness to improve your performance in training, racing and life.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Susan Piver!

A few years ago when I first started with Heart Rate Monitor training, I found out that 6 time Hawaii Ironman World Champion Mark Allen was able to run a 5:20 min mile pace aerobic, at a heart rate of only 155 beats per minute.

This blew my mind and inspired me to change my approach to training and racing in the years to come. Mark Allen has worked very close with Dr. Phil Maffetone, one of my other favorite authors and coaches. I really look up to Mark’s accomplishments with 66 career victories in 96 starts, he is arguably the most successful triathlete in the history of the sport. He was voted “The Greatest Endurance Athlete of All Time” in a worldwide poll by ESPN.

I’m always very curious how top performers approach training and racing, especially if it’s in line with my own approach of training smarter, not harder, training with a heart rate monitor, improving your aerobic base and your fat burning abilities, working on the connection between your body and your mind, and much more.

Recently I sat down with Mark to dive into a variety of these subjects: • Mark’s first introduction to heart rate monitor training [2:12] • Seeing progression to a faster aerobic pace [3:00] • What is a fit soul is and how can athletes work on this? [5:49] • There is no perfect race, but you can race perfectly [10:40] • How to stay motivated to keep trying to win Ironman Hawaii after 6 defeats [11:40] • The battle to win first Ironman Hawaii in 1989 [13:24] • The ability to quiet your mind [18:25] • Switch in training from always hard to heart rate monitor [21:10] • Developing your fat burning aerobic engine [22:45] • Speedwork for different types of athletes [25:56] + [30:20] • Recommendations for strength training [28:06] • How to best spread workouts during your week?  [32:45] • Mark Allen Coaching Programs [35:32] • Fit Soul Fit Body book and workshops [37:30] • Art of Competition book [38:00] • Advice for athletes looking to improve their performance [39:47]

Links • Video of Mark Allen’s first win at Ironman Triathlon World Champion • Mark Allen Coaching • Fit Soul Fit Body, the book and seminars • Art of Competition, the book  • Calculating your Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate

Related Posts: • Interview with Phil Maffetone about HRM training, nutrition and recovery • Training for my first 100 mile run from Long Beach to San Diego • Running a Sub 3 Hour marathon with a Go Pro

See Full Video Transcript Here

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Bobby Barker is a 41 year old marathon runner from Frisco, Texas. He has transformed in the past 5 years from couch potato to Boston Marathon Qualifier. A few weeks ago he ran a marathon PR of 26 minutes and qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 3 hours and 13 minutes!

In this episode of The Extramilest Podcast, we discuss:

• How he improve his marathon time from 3:55 at his first marathon to 3:13 a few marathons later. We look exactly at his training schedule for every day of the week, between regular training, cross training and nutrition.
• How Bobby motivates himself to wake up at 5am to train before work
• Tips and tricks for athletes to improve their running and become a healthier, happier and faster runner!

Bobby and I have experienced a lot of the same challenges and learnings as we strive to be the best versions of ourselves. I had a blast on this show and hope you enjoy our conversation!

Show Notes

• Bobby’s journey to get off the couch and start working out (5:00)
• Rookie mistakes with nutrition during his first marathons (8:30)
• How 2 biking accidents changed Bobby’s direction from triathlon to marathon (10:00)
• His first few marathons were hard and very uncomfortable, completely out of energy (12:00)
• How he discovered Dr. Phil Maffetone and changed his training approach (14:00)
• His first experiences with low heart rate training, training much slower at 12 min / mile (7 min 27 second per km) (16:10)
• Bobby trained at a low heart rate for 1 month and noticed he started to improve (18:00)
• How he measures his monthly progress with a MAF test at a running track (18:15)
• How Bobby changed his nutrition and dropped 13 pounds in 1 month (21:00)
• Dropping a few pounds of extra body weight makes you a much faster runner (27:00)
• Bobby found a coach to guide him towards his Boston Marathon goal (29:00)
• There are people just like you and me who struggle to get to the next level. Patience is key to see small improvements every month (32:00)
• A breakdown of each training day of the week, low heart rate runs, hills, bike rides, long runs and rest (35:00)
• His longest training runs include 15 minutes warm up, 2 1/2 hours low hear run, 15 minute cool down (41:00)
• Be aware not to follow formulas too strict, importance of listening to your body (44:00)
• His pace dropped from 12 minutes per mile to 7 min 27 sec / mile (47:00)
• High temperatures can have a huge negative impact on your running pace at the same heart rate (48:00)
• The race strategy that qualified Bobby for the Boston Marathon with a 3:13 time (49:00)
• It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Month after the month consistency in training is key for long term progress (54:50)
• Bobby ran 35 to 40 miles per week (56 to 64km) in training + 2 bike rides a week (56:00)
• Motivation to get up every day at 5am to train, by praying, meditation, looking for inspiration, and helping inspire others (57:00)
• Recommendations for runners to improve your running and qualify for Boston: consistency in training is key, put training structure in place, train mostly in aerobic zone, nutrition in training and on race day (1:01:00)
• Hiring a coach vs creating your own training schedule (1:03:00)
• Bobby’s involvement in the Texas Big Star Half Marathon and 5K on April 14, 2018 (1:06:00)
• Low HR training and improved nutrition make Bobby and Floris feel like healthier and happier athletes (1:08:00)
• Don’t get discouraged, reach out to the Extramilest Group and Maffetone

Links

• Dr. Phil Maffetone
• MAF Heart Rate White Paper
• The Maffetone Method Facebook Group
• The Extramilest Facebook Group
• Maffetone 2 Week Test
• Nick Carling
• Chicagoland Marathon
• Strava
• Texas Big Star 1/2 marathon and 5k

Full Transcript here on The Extramilest blog 

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Dr. Phil Maffetone is a researcher and author in the field of nutrition, exercise, sports medicine, and biofeedback. He has written over 20 books including my favorite one The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing.

In this video Dr. Phil Maffetone and I discuss the fundamentals of his approach to training, nutrition and recovery.

We also dive into very specific subjects, like learning how to listen to different signals from your body, why many doctors and the media recommend food that’s not good for you and how incredibly important rest and sleep is for a healthy athlete. I learned a lot of new things in this podcast and I hope you will as well, enjoy!

Podcast notes • Improvements after training with a Heart Rate Monitor [3:30] • Why the 180 formula is preferred over the Lactate Threshold test [7:25] • Adjusting your MAF training HR based on current fitness and health [10:52] • Benefits of walking to build your aerobic system [13:48] • Floris Gierman’s progress after training with HRM [15:55] • The importance of listening to your body [18:08] • Why many people feel the need to do intervals and speedwork [19:00] • Training aerobically only and run a PR [21:08] • Everyone’s training schedule is very individual [22:48] • Why Dr. Phil Maffetone prefers time over miles [25:00] • Avoiding processed cards and refined sugars [28:06] • Bad recommendations from doctors and the media [31:55] • Eating real food [34:50] • Making your body and brain work together [37:25] • The Five Minute Break [43:45] • The importance of sleep for recovery [46:00] • Dr. Phil Maffetone’s own daily routine [49:00] • The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing [52:35] • Articles on Dr. Phil Maffetone’s website [55:45]

Full Transcript available on the Extramilest site

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Last week Nicki and I ran the last 4 miles together at The Tunnel Vision Marathon. She is a mother of a 2 year old, trains mostly with a baby stroller and she finished 6 seconds ahead of me in 8th place with her new PR of 2:55. She has already ran 5 Sub 3 hour marathons, very impressive.

In this 4th episode of The Extramilest Show, we discuss:

• balancing busy everyday life and training
• best practices for training with a running stroller
• how Nicki finally ran a Sub 3 hour marathon and much more.

I think many parents will relate to the topics discussed, however there is a lot of great advice in here that is applicable for any runner, from beginner to advance. Enjoy!

Charlie Engle is an endurance athlete, a father and a husband. He has completed several extreme endurance adventures, including a run across the Sahara Desert in Africa, 2 marathons a day for 111 days straight in extreme temperatures.

In this episode of the Extramilest Podcast we discuss:

• ways to overcome mental challenges in training, racing and life
• breaking the Sub 3 Hour Marathon barrier
• his next adventure run and much more

Charlie and I have a lot of passions in common from Running to Storm Chasing and many areas in between. His excitement for life is contagious and I hope you enjoy our conversation!

SHOWNOTES

• Charlie does a lot of cross training to limit risk of injury. He focuses on overall fitness and health (3:12).
• How Charlie was able to run across the Sahara, 4500 miles in extreme temperatures (4:15)
• Words said to us by a stranger can be the thing that changes our life, if you really pay attention (5:38)
• The worst pitch that convinced Matt Damon to make the documentary Running The Sahara (6:30)
• The first few days of the Sahara run were a slow descent into hell, dealing with unbelievable amount of problems (9:10)
• The mantra “one day at the time” works for sobriety and massive projects (11:00)
• Overcoming tough spots in a race by breaking down the distance in smaller parts (11:45)
• How Charlie trains for long ultra runs, both mentally and physically (16:00)
• Importance of training enough miles in race condition, with your race gear in the same terrain (20:35)
• Perceived risk vs. actual risk. Your mind limiting you and how you can overwrite this. (23:05)
• The type of person Charlie wants on his crew during his races (24:20)
• Charlie’s failed attempt to break the record to run across the United States. (24:50)
• Important role of the mind and the right mentality. Lessons learned from the Barkley Marathon (27:12)
• Charlie’s Mantra and tattoo for when things get tough: “No Big Deal” (29:47)
• How Charlie has overcome his lows, such as addiction and going to jail (33:22)
• It doesn’t matters what happens to you in life, all that matters is what you do about it. (37:10)
• Attraction vs promotion in jail. How Charlie’s daily runs and yoga sessions inspired others in jail to start working out. (39:55)
• Your happiness and fulfillment is completely up to you and not up to anybody else no matter what the situation is (43:45)
• What Charlie is up to these days (46:50)
• His upcoming adventure run of 5000 miles from the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea, to the highest point on earth Mt Everest (48:50)
• Matt Damon and Charlie founded H2oAfrica and raised $6 million, then it became Water.org (53:35)
• How Charlie broke the Sub 3 Hour Marathon barrier after many failed attempts (58:00)
• Importance of slowing down, rest days and having fun to progress in running. (1:01:00)
• Dr Phil Maffetone’s approach to listen to your body, focus on the right nutrition, and reducing stress (1:03:15)
• Charlie’s book The Running Man and a giveaway for a chance to win a copy of the book (1:04:30)

LINKS

• Documentary Running the Sahara
• Documentary Running Across America
• Charlie in the Media
• Barkley Marathon
• Floris 100 mile run
• Running Man Book
• Charlie’s website
• Dr Phil Maffetone interview
• H2oAfrica / Water.org
• Extramilest website

PEOPLE MENTIONED

• Joe de Sena, Founder Spartan Races
• James Moll, Oscar Winning Director
• Matt Damon, Actor and Film Producer
• Andy Walsh, Director of High Performance, Red Bull
• Ray Zahab, team mate Sahara Run
• Kevin Lin, team mate Sahara Run
• Jeff Peterson, Medical Specialist
• Ryan Immegart, Volcom
• Gary White, Water.org
• Phil Maffetone, Endurance Coach