Trail Runner Nation

Biomarkers help us understand what is going on inside our bodies.  There are many that are very important to endurance athletes.  In this episode Ashley Reaver helps us identify five of these biomarkers, why they are important, what is the normal range and what can we do to correct them if they are outside the normal range. Ashley Reaver is a registered sports dietician with a masters in Nutrition Science and Policy.  She offers nutrition counseling in her private practice and a full-time teacher of nutrition and dietetics courses at the University of California, Berkeley.  She is also the lead nutritional scientist at Inside Tracker.

Don recently came across an article by Mariska van Sprundel, "Running and the Science of Mental Toughness". We love talking about the mental side of our sport and thought Dr. Rob Bell would be an excellent guest for the topic. Dr. Rob Bell is a certified Mental Performance Coach with years of academic research and real-life coaching experience.   2 of the 7 books Rob has written:: - Puke & Rally: It's Not About the Setback, It's About the Comeback - listen to our episode on the book HERE - No One Gets There Alone Check out  - Dr. Rob's web site - Puke & Rally web site - His podcast, "15 minutes of Mental Toughness" Find him at Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Rob is running the Dances With Dirt 50K this weekend! He will be the one smiling!

We've all heard that we should build a good "base".  In this episode we devine what base building is and how to make it a fundimental part of our training.   Our experts for this episode are Ian Sharman, Krissy Moehl, Dr. Phil Maffetone, and Ellie Greenwood. Links: Dr. Phil's Big Books: Big Book of Health and Fitness Big Book of Training and Racing Dr. Phil's web site Sharman Ultra Coaching Krissy Moehl's web site Phil Maffetone's music site

What does consistency mean to you? Returning guest, Adam Kimble joins The Nation to discuss the long-term benefits of consistency.  Could consistency be the holy grail of training success? Learn more about Adam by checking out his web site and his coaching site, Run On Dirt Coaching. Adam's social channels: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Alex Hutchinson is back to discuss some of his most recent articles he published at Outsideonline: Why Cyclists Can Handle Heat Better than Runners New Data on How Your Arm Swing Affects Running Do Endurance Athletes Get More Cavities? Alex Hutchinson is an avid runner and author.  We did a series of podcasts on his book, Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Previous Podcasts where we discuss the specific chapters of Endure: Podcast #1:   The Unforgiving Minute, The Conscience Quitter, Heat, Belief Podcast #2: The Central Governor Theory, Pain and Training the Brain Podcast #3 : Oxygen, Fuel, and Zapping the Brain Check out Alex’s other books: Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise Big Ideas: 100 Modern Inventions That Have Transformed Our World What Defines our Limits - with Alex Hutchinson Follow Alex on Twitter Check out Sweat Science

Our good friend and running doctor, Mark Cucuzzella, joins us again to discuss common medical issues that you might experience on the trail, causes and treatments. Dr. Mark's Run for Your Life Podcast Dr. Mark's book, "Run for Your Life" Make sure you watch his 8:25 Video that show the principles of natural running. Be sure to spend some time learning at The Natural Running Center web site. Visit Two Rivers Treads running store either in person or call them and ask them some questions!

Head Coach and Executive Director of the Hoka Northern Arizona Elite Team, aka Hoka NAZ Elite, Ben Rosario helps us understand how the pros train.  You might be surprised that there are many things they do that you can too!  Regardless of your ability level, age, or experience, we can learn some key principles that will help us run faster and/or further.   Sleep Nutrition Strength Training (you don’t have to have a gym membership) Stretching Taking it easy on easy days BONUS – Pacing You can learn more in the book he co-authored with Matt Fitzgerald, In their new book, Run Like a Pro (Even If You’re Slow): Elite Tools and Tips for Runners at Every Level,  they help us understand that we can reach our potential if we include some of these training techniques and strategies.

A few weeks ago we spoke with Addie Bracy about mental training.  We loved it so much we bought her book, Mental Training for Ultrarunning: Your Psychological Skills for Ultra Success, and asked AJW if he would join us to talk about the principles she writes about. Visit her mental performance page at Strive Mental Performance

We often see photos of people, especially outside the USA, running with poles.  Running with poles can be more efficient - using both legs and arms to help you uphills.  Have you ever considered running with poles or not sure how to use them proplerly?  In this month's Training Principles episode, we get some sound advice from four professional runners, Max King, Courtney Dauwalter, Sabrina Stanley, and Tim Tollefson on how to be successful with poles. Check out Max King's runnning camp Sabrina's coaching Check our Leki, if you want the best poles on the trail.

Runner, coach, certified nutritionist and author Matt Fitzgerald teams up with the coach of the Hoka Northern Arizona Elite team, Ben Rosario, to help us understand how the pros run.  In their new book, they help us understand that we can reach our potential if we include some of these training techniques and strategies. Matt has been on TRN ten previous times including the episode we referenced, How Bad Do you Want It? Find out more about Matt and coaching at 8020endurance.com