the morning shakeout podcast

“The thing that I’ve realized I like about competitiveness is that, yes, it’s fun to beat other people in a soccer game and that’s one measure, but the real thing that’s rewarding is continuously getting better at something, or continuously working at something and putting in this work and seeing what the outputs are and continuing to try to do better. And even now I think I’m hopefully not at a permanent stage where I’m going backwards—but recovering from an injury—and I’m not running any of the same speeds that I have run in the past, but I’m working at it and I find it really rewarding to be better than I was last week.” This week’s conversation is a little different from the ones I usually have for the show. It’s with Leidy Klotz, a professor at the University of Virginia who studies how we transform things from how they are to how we want them to be. He’s the author of the book Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, which is the spark that set off this conversation, and he’s also a runner himself.In this episode, we talked about Leidy’s relationship to running and the place it holds in his life before getting into a discussion about subtraction and why it often gets neglected in favor of addition in so many aspects of our lives, including running. We talked about subtraction as it relates to coaching, writing training programs, and even running shoes, how to overcome our instinct to add to things all the time, looking at life through an editor’s lens, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— Tracksmith. Tracksmith crafts performance running apparel, inspiring publications, and distinct experiences that allow runners to indulge in the sport’s rich culture. Tracksmith is offering new customers $15 off your first purchase of $75+. Just use code MARIO15 when you check out at tracksmith.com/mario.— Goodr: If you want to support the podcast and treat yourself to a pair of goodr sunglasses, head over to goodr.com/MARIO or enter the code MARIO at checkout for 15% off your order. Look good, run goodr!Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-180-with-leidy-klotz/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: https://themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If there’s stressful stuff, and who doesn’t have that, the run eases it. It absolutely does. We hear this, of course, from lots of people, and more and more people are figuring out what’s going on in terms of brain chemistry—it eases anxiety and stress, I’m talking about serious stress with people, clinical anxiety—but I feel that. And so years and years ago I kind of assumed a mantra, if you will, and that is you come home from work and haven’t run, and it is, ‘When in doubt, do it.’ And it’s served me well, and it still doesn’t mean I haven’t missed some days, but if I’m kind of on the fence, I’m a little tired, I don’t feel up to it, a lot on my mind—get out the door, get in some miles, and I always find that I’m better off for it.” The 50th running of the New York City Marathon is just a couple weekends away and who better to talk to about it than George Hirsch, chairman of the New York Road Runners, and someone who has been involved with the event to one degree or another since its beginnings. This conversation was a real treat for me. We spent half of it talking about the New York City Marathon, its history, its stories, its allure, and more. We also discussed how all of those things went into a new book called The New York City Marathon: 50 Years Running, which is a coffee table keepsake that I’m really enjoying right now. I also got George to tell me more about himself, his legendary career in publishing, which included a stint at Runner’s World during its heyday, how he got his start in running back in the 1960s, what keeps him running six days a week at the age of 87, how his relationship to it has evolved over the decades, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— Runderwear. Runderwear's mission is to eliminate the discomfort caused by ill-fitting underwear and to create seamless performance running underwear, base wear, bras and socks that are supremely comfortable, moisture wicking and chafe-free. Take a look at Runderwear.com and use the code TMS20 at checkout for 20% off your purchase. — Precision Hydration. I’ve been a devotee to PH products for the past 4 years and my last few marathons wouldn’t have gone as well without them. Go to precisionhydration.com and take their free online Sweat Test or use the Carb Calculator to get a personalized hydration and nutrition strategy to test in training. As a listener of the show you can get 15% off your first order by using the code TMS15 when checking out.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-179-with-george-hirsch/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: https://themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“My goals and expectations when I joined the team was committing to the Olympic Trials…but we were all changed through the pandemic. Who I am as a 24-year-old joining a professional team versus me as a 27-year-old kind of living through this high-end running thing, one of my number one goals is I don’t want to just be stuck on the domestic mile circuit. If I’m going to do this, I want to do it right. And I was pretty bummed that my body tipped the other end of the scale and couldn’t quite figure it out…I think if I committed to keep going and training in the environment that I was in, it kind of would have been the same cycle, so I was like, ‘You know what, this might not be the most prudent move, but I’m going to end this and start a new chapter,’ so that’s kind of what I’ve been doing this summer, is figuring out what that chapter looks like.” My conversation this week is with Dana Giordano. She’s a top middle distance runner on the track who competed in the 5000m at this summer’s Olympic Trials. She also hosts the popular podcast More than Running with Dana, where she sits down and talks with some of the most inspirational and insightful women in running from athletes and coaches to insiders and advocates. In this episode, we talked about where she’s at right now and rediscovering the love for running after feeling distraught following the Olympic Trials. She told me about living in Singapore as a kid and developing a love for travel. We spoke about the professional side of the sport and the challenges of making it as a top-level athlete today. We also discussed her podcast, connecting with people, sharing untold stories, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— New Balance. The Fresh Foam 1080 v11 is an absolute workhorse and it’s been my go-to trainer for most of my non-workout runs in 2021. It’s got great cushioning underfoot that’s protective but not too soft, providing a responsive ride that I really enjoy and appreciate. Check it out at newbalance.com and consider adding a pair to your rotation today.— Precision Hydration. I’ve been a devotee to PH products for the past 4 years and my last few marathons wouldn’t have gone as well without them. Go to precisionhydration.com and take their free online Sweat Test or use the Carb Calculator to get a personalized hydration and nutrition strategy to test in training. As a listener of the show you can get 15% off your first order by using the code TMS15 when checking out.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-178-with-dana-giordano/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: https://themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Talent is an interesting question. What is it really? It means, can you avoid injuries? It means, can you back off? When you get crushed, will you come back? I didn’t like that part. I think it’s a lot of different things. It’s not maybe a physical thing, but it’s a mental thing. When you see a lot of these athletes—a lot of you are here because you have that wherewithal. And maybe you got beat up, because we all get beat up in this sport—it’s part of it, it’s like a rite of passage. It’s just part of it. But it’s OK, it’s good.”This week on the podcast I’m excited to share a wide-ranging conversation I had this past Saturday with the legendary Bill Rodgers at Tracksmith’s Trackhouse in Boston. Bill is a hero of mine and I’ve long wanted to have him on the show and Boston Marathon weekend turned out to be the perfect opportunity for it. In this conversation, we talk all things Boston, of course, but also get Bill’s thoughts on his career, talent, training, how his own relationship with running has evolved over the course of his lifetime, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— Tracksmith. Tracksmith crafts performance running apparel, inspiring publications, and distinct experiences that allow runners to indulge in the sport’s rich culture. Tracksmith is offering new customers $15 off your first purchase of $75+. Just use code MARIO15 when you check out at tracksmith.com/mario.— Goodr: If you want to support the podcast and treat yourself to a pair of goodr sunglasses, head over to goodr.com/MARIO or enter the code MARIO at checkout for 15% off your order. Look good, run goodr!Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-177-with-bill-rodgers/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: https://themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I mean, the work’s done at this point. I can’t gain any appreciable fitness between now and race day. I could screw up a lot if I’m not careful and that’s the biggest thing I’m trying to keep an eye on at this point, is when I have those moments where doubt sets in—because it happens to all of us, even if we’re really well prepared—where you’re like, ‘Should I do another mile or two?’ or ‘Should I do another rep?’ and that’s where you have to have the confidence to say, ‘No, it’s not going to make a difference.’ The difference is in the last 10-12 weeks, it’s not in 10 or 12 more miles, or 10 or 12 more minutes, or 1 or 2 more reps. You just gotta trust it at this point. And, I think having that attitude helps me carry the right amount of confidence into race day.” This week on the podcast I’m answering listener questions in the third Ask Mario Anything episode of 2021. (You can check out the first two here and here.) On the other side of the mic for this one—once again—is sponsorship director, Chris Douglas. We talked about my training for this year's Boston Marathon, how to know whether or not you’ve got too much left in the tank at the end of a race, training while on vacation, warming up for workouts, diversity and inclusivity in my work, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— New Balance. The new FuelCell RC Elite v2 is the best long-distance road racing shoe I've ever worn and I'll be using it for my upcoming marathon. They’ve got more FuelCell cushioning in the midsole than the previous model, which softens the blow underfoot, but they’re still plenty responsive enough so that you can get into a good rhythm and rip some fast miles. The upper is incredibly lightweight, comfortable, and supportive. Check it out at newbalance.com and consider adding a pair to your rotation today.— Goodr: If you want to support the podcast and treat yourself to a pair of goodr sunglasses, head over to goodr.com/MARIO or enter the code MARIO at checkout for 15% off your order. Look good, run goodr!Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-176-ask-mario-anything/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: https://themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If all that mattered to me was [to run] the best time possible in two weeks then yes, I’d probably go into the other field and just run with some people who I know are right around my fitness level, but luckily I’ve had fun at Boston a couple times and I realize that’s not all there is. It’s not only about squeaking out every second, it’s about having an awesome experience and I’m pretty pumped to compete. I think in the best way possible, when I think about that last stretch by BU and how horrible it is and how painful it can be to try to muster…you’ve got like two miles to go and you’re like, ‘I just wanna be done.’ My dream would be that there’s someone ahead of me and they’re another Masters runner that has a number on their back and I’m like, ‘I gotta catch that guy,’ because that’s what also makes it super fun.” Peter Bromka, who first appeared on Episode 92 of the podcast back in 2019, comes back on the show to geek out on all things Boston Marathon with me. Both of us will be competing in this year’s race on Monday, October 11, and Peter will be in the elite field as one of the top-ranked Masters runners, which is super cool. A 2:19 marathoner who just missed qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Trials, Peter is also well known for his writing about running, and one of his more recent pieces, called “The Bubble of a Dream,” will be included in The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2021, which is due out next month. Peter’s also got a great newsletter called The Positive Split, which you can subscribe to at PeterBromka.com. We spent the entirety of this episode talking about Boston, how we’re feeling in the final couple weeks of training leading up to the race, what we’re most looking forward to—and anxious about—at this year’s event, the return of major marathons in general, Boston being held in the fall for the first time, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— Runderwear. Runderwear's mission is to eliminate the discomfort caused by ill-fitting underwear and to create seamless performance running underwear, base wear, bras and socks that are supremely comfortable, moisture wicking and chafe-free. Take a look at Runderwear.com and use the code TMS20 at checkout for 20% off your purchase. — Precision Hydration. I’ve been a devotee to PH products for the past 4 years and my last few marathons wouldn’t have gone as well without them. Go to precisionhydration.com and take their free online Sweat Test or use the Carb Calculator to get a personalized hydration and nutrition strategy to test in training. As a listener of the show you can get 15% off your first order by using the code TMS15 when checking out.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-175-with-peter-bromka/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: https://themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s really inspiring to see someone push themselves and challenge themselves…Bringing out the achievements of people who are fighting the odds, and really putting into context today’s race, even for a pro, because even a pro is overcoming something tremendous each race they do—it’s never rosy. And understanding that hardship, I think, will give people context into the meaning of a particular race for a particular runner, whether they’re an amateur or the world’s best.” Sanjay Rawal is a New York City-based runner and filmmaker. At the time of this conversation in 2018 he had just released a film called 3100: Run and Become, which takes an intimate look at one of the most unique foot races on the planet, The Sri Chinmoy 3100-Mile Self-Transcendence Race. That race—which is the longest certified road race in the world—is actually going on right now in Queens, New York. Participants are attempting to complete 3100 miles in 52 days (or less) around the same half-mile block of concrete in the city. In this re-run episode, we talked about the 3100 film, of course, but also about the idea of running as a spiritual practice throughout history, the connection between competition and spirituality, running as a cultural connector, and a lot more. Whether you’re a competitive athlete or recreational runner, a miler or an ultramarathoner, this conversation will change the way you look at running and the role it plays in your life.This episode is brought to you by:— New Balance. The Fresh Foam 1080 v11 is an absolute workhorse and it’s been my go-to trainer for most of my non-workout runs in 2021. It’s got great cushioning underfoot that’s protective but not too soft, providing a responsive ride that I really enjoy and appreciate. Check it out at newbalance.com and consider adding a pair to your rotation today.— Precision Hydration. I’ve been a devotee to PH products for the past 4 years and my last few marathons wouldn’t have gone as well without them. Go to precisionhydration.com and take their free online Sweat Test or use the Carb Calculator to get a personalized hydration and nutrition strategy to test in training. As a listener of the show you can get 15% off your first order by using the code TMS15 when checking out.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-re-run-with-sanjay-rawal/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“My goal with coaching people is to teach them and have them understand why we’re doing what we’re doing so if I ever stop coaching them, or for whatever reason we part ways, that they are basically able to coach themselves the same way I was coaching them previously. My job is to eliminate my own job, I guess.” Jon Green is the 26-year-old coach of Olympic marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel. He is also the head coach of Atalanta NYC, a New York City-based nonprofit that employs and supports professional female runners that are training to achieve their goals while also serving as core mentors for its youth mentoring program. As an athlete, Jon was an All-American at Georgetown University and ran professionally for a brief period of time before turning his attention to coaching. In this conversation, we go deep into Jon’s background as an athlete, we talk about our shared Central Massachusetts roots, and then turn our attention to coaching, where we discuss working with Molly Seidel, of course, but also who has influenced his philosophy, how he views his role as a coach, where he has the most room to grow, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— New Balance. The Fresh Foam 1080 v11 is an absolute workhorse and it’s been my go-to trainer for most of my non-workout runs in 2021. It’s got great cushioning underfoot that’s protective but not too soft, providing a responsive ride that I really enjoy and appreciate. Check it out at newbalance.com and consider adding a pair to your rotation today.— Goodr: If you want to support the podcast and treat yourself to a pair of goodr sunglasses, head over to goodr.com/MARIO or enter the code MARIO at checkout for 15% off your order. Look good, run goodr!Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-174-with-jon-green/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“So in the classical tradition they often ask the question of what role athletics can play in the good life. And typically the way it is described is that it has a role in character development in sort of helping us to be more well-ordered such that we can flourish longterm. But they also express a concern that if you are having an outsized focus on athletics that it can be bad, both physically for your constitution, but also for your character. There are ways of participating in sport that don’t form you in the right way and so I’ve wondered about my relationship with running in terms of the sort of life that I want to have, in terms of the sort of life that’s suited to what it means to be a human and flourish, and I just don’t think sports has been an unqualified good in my own formation. I mean, there are certain qualities that are reinforced that are not…I mean, envy is the big example that I give, or a kind of intemperance, having an outsized affection for sport that crowds out other features of my life or doesn’t make me a good member of my community. So, in asking the question of what flourishing is, what a good life would be constituted of, I’ve started to inspect the role that running has on my life and I don’t know how well—at least in the dosage that I do it in in ultrarunning—I don’t know if it really supports that kind of life.” I’ve been wanting to have this conversation with Sabrina Little for a while now and I’ll just say this: It was awesome. Sabrina is an amazing human being. She’s a wife a new mom, she’s a full-time professor of Philosophy and the Humanities at Morehead State University in Kentucky, she writes my favorite column for iRunFar called The Examined Run, and she’s also a heck of runner in her own right: Sabrina has won 5 U.S. titles, she’s represented the U.S. five times at international championships, she was the silver medalist at the 2013 world 24-hour championships, helping the U.S. win a team gold at that event, she previously held American records for 24 hours and 200K, and she finished 12th at the 2018 Trail World Championships in Spain to help the U.S. team take a bronze medal. In this conversation, we talked about how running came into her life, running her first 100 miler as a freshman in college as a grand gesture to her mom, who was in remission from ovarian cancer at the time, and how she eventually got into competitive ultrarunning and representing the U.S. at an international level. We also talked a bit of philosophy, why that field of study piqued her interest in college, how and where philosophy and running intersect for Sabrina, including how she “re-ordered her loves” after becoming a mom a little over a year ago, how she thinks about competition, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by:— New Balance. The new FuelCell Rebel v2 is my new favorite running shoe. It’s super super light, it’s incredibly responsive, and offers good protection underfoot. I think it’s the perfect workout shoe and I’ll be using it all the time. Check it out today at newbalance.com and consider adding a pair to your rotation today.— Goodr: If you want to support the podcast and treat yourself to a pair of goodr sunglasses, head over to goodr.com/MARIO or enter the code MARIO at checkout for 15% off your order. Look good, run goodr!Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-173-with-sabrina-little/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“So much of groundedness is about building a life that you want to live in right now and those things are often in opposition to striving, because when you’re striving, when you’re really going toward something, it’s very easy to forget about watering the roots, tending to the base, whatever it is. But when you accomplish or you fail to do that thing, if you haven’t been taking care of all this other stuff, then there’s still nothing there and you still fill empty. So you could also argue it’s just about really focusing on what is there right now, what’s in front of you, and it’s not to say you become a zen monk that’s totally content. I would argue that it’s still great to strive but the texture of the striving changes, so instead of striving from a pace of compulsion—‘I need to win this and if I don’t I’m a failure’ or ‘I need to hit the best-seller list and if I don’t something’s wrong’—it’s much more that this is a great goal but it’s a great goal because all the steps I’m gonna have to take to reach it are going to really fulfill me and give my life happiness, joy, and growth.” Brad Stulberg is a an author, speaker, and executive coach who researches, writes, and coaches on human performance, sustainable success, and well-being. His work has appeared in Outside magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Wired, and other publications. He’s the best-selling author of Peak Performance and the Passion Paradox, both of which he co-wrote with Steve Magness, and he’s got a new book coming out on September 7 called The Practice of Groundedness, which explores the foundation of peak performance, true wellbeing, and sustainable success. This conversation centers around Brad’s new book and we dive into topics that I think are relevant to many of us: the pursuit of high achievement that seems pervasive in our society today, the fallacy of “arriving” in life and how that gets the best of so many of us, what Brad calls heroic individualism or an ongoing game of one-upmanship against ourselves and others, the differences between real vulnerability and performative vulnerability, and a lot more.Pre-order Brad's new book here before September 7, 2021 to get exclusive bonuses: https://www.bradstulberg.com/tpogpreorderThis episode is brought to you by:— Runderwear. Runderwear’s mission is to eliminate the discomfort caused by ill-fitting underwear and to create seamless performance running underwear, base wear, bras and socks that are supremely comfortable, moisture wicking and chafe-free. Take a look at Runderwear.com and use the code TMS20 at checkout for 20% off now through September 15. — Precision Hydration. I’ve been a devotee to PH products for the past 4 years and my last few marathons wouldn’t have gone as well without them. Go to precisionhydration.com and take their free online Sweat Test to get a personalized hydration strategy to test in training. As a listener of the show you can get 15% off your first order of electrolytes that match how you sweat by using the code TMS15 when checking out.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-172-with-brad-stulberg/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.