The Running Public

We had an overflowing inbox this week so it was time for a Q&A session! With virtual races coming up we have a lot a marathon strategy and pacing questions. From there we run the gauntlet from strength training and dynamic warm ups to HR zones, burn out vs fatigue, and of course a little bit of compromised running. Don't miss Kirk's bear attack story!

Hunter McIntyre swings by to announce the launch of his new Virtual Race Series: OCR All Stars. With 4 competitions and a minimum of $31,000 in prize money, this will be the biggest paying race of 2020 and it doesn't forget about the Age Groupers! We also chat about his athletic goals for 2021, his plans to run a 4:30 mile in the next few months (while weighing over 200 lbs), partying with the Backstreet Boys, and his life advice for everyone this year. 

Kirk and Brakken have a combined 45 years of Endurance Training between the two of them. That is a LOT of chances to screw up! Today they talk through the 6 biggest mistakes they've made in their running careers, from not testing things out until race day to trying to match their rivals in training. Some stories are funny, others are cautionary, but they all will help you avoid the biggest pitfalls runners tend to make!

Ian Hosek is the mind behind Hosek Performance Engineering (and endurance coaching company) and the 5th place finisher at the 2019 Spartan World Championships. Ian joins us to talk about his development as both athlete and coach, starting with his mindset as an engineer and continuing through his work at the Nike Campus (where he helped test the Vaporfly and Alphafly prototypes) and as a professional endurance athlete. We finish up with a "debate" on the efficacy and merits of Compromised Running. 

We wrap up our "Things Pros Do" series by taking a look at how Pros keep their minds and bodies healthy. Professional Athletes leave nothing to chance when it comes to ensuring that they will be at the start line in great health and fitness, so why should we be any different? Pros focus on 3 things above all else: Prehab, Rehab / Recovery, and Mental Health. We break these 3 areas down and discuss how you can invest in your body like a Pro.

The duo behind GRIT Coaching stop by today to talk about the Professional Athlete's mindset. Jess O'Connell represented Canada at the 2016 London Olympic Games and co-founded GRIT coaching with Faye Stenning. We asked Jess to talk to us about mindset during this season where most races have been cancelled, as she had her 4 year dream of qualifying for another Olympics stripped from her due to COVID-19. We got way more than we asked for, as she led us on a two hour journey through the the mindset and focus needed to be an Olympic-level athlete. 

Continuing our "Things Pros Do" series, we move from workout planning to workout execution. Pro athletes do not do ANYTHING randomly. They approach their training like a game of chess. Every workout is done for a very specific reason and is often completed in order to set up a future workout. We break down motivation, training vs exercising, using goals to create a training plan, and balancing training and life, among many other topics!

Ryan Kent has been a at the top of the OCR scene for the past 6 years, but 2020 has been unlike any other year for him. With the pandemic making it impossible to earn a living through race results, Ryan has reinvented himself. Working full time, with his first baby on the way, he is in the best shape of his life and ready to unleash that fitness upon the first race that re-opens. Today we touch upon balancing training and work, eating disorders and racing weight, his training philosophy, goals for the 2021 season, and what life will look like for him now that he is going to be a dad.

Today we kick off a mini-series: Things Pros Do. This series will shed some light on the "little things" that we all can be doing in order to maximize our running potential.   The first thing all Pro athletes do, that not everyone else does, is prepare for EVERY single workout, and not just by getting some coffee in them and stretching out! From advanced planning, to mindset and data driven workouts, the pros just do it correctly - and now so can you!

Generally, we do our Q&A episodes on Training Tuesday, but this one had so much good info that we bumped it into a full episode! The theme that emerged from the questions sent in was Recovery and Deload Weeks, but we also touch upon Pacing, Shoes, Lifting, Master's Runners, and Treadmill Training.