Running Rogue

Training paces and race paces are correlated, but they do represent separate and distinct decisions on the path to your goal. In this episode, I talk about 6 factors to consider when choosing your race pace - purpose, experience, race history, training results, risk tolerance, and of course, the conditions on the day.  Consider these factors, and then once you lock in a target, develop a race plan around it, put the blinders on, and go for it! Here is the link to the AIU decision on Shelby Houlihan: https://www.athleticsintegrity.org/downloads/pdfs/disciplinary-process/en/7977-Award-Reasoned-FINAL.pdf

In episode #240, I talked about the importance of slowing down in order to achieve your full potential. Unfortunately, that is so much easier said than done for many athletes. In fact, I think this is the single hardest concept for any runner to embrace fully in their training. As a result, countless runners are hitting plateaus or are chronically injured. In this episode, I give you 6 things to do in order to internalize and execute on this core training principle. I promise it is simple, but that doesn't make it easy!

This topic might be the single biggest topic for questions that I get as a coach. What paces should I train at? How do these paces change with weather? What if I can't hit them? How should my training paces inform my race pace? What does this race result mean for my training paces? And I could go on... These are all good and valid questions, but many of them are underpinned by common misunderstandings about how training paces work. In this episode, I try to bust some of those myths while laying out 9 truths about training paces and how you should use them.

Who else is going through Olympics withdrawal like me?!? I'm happy to have more sleep but definitely miss the inspiration of the Games. In this episode, I talk about 5 inspiring stories and athletes from the Olympic Games and how we can apply those lessons in our own training. Yes, we can learn from the best athletes on the planet. And yes, they are more like the rest of us than we think!

To finish my impromptu series on the phases of training, here is an episode on the taper phase of training (aka peaking mode). These are the final weeks of work where you reduce volume in order to get the body fresh and the mind sharp for race day. In the episode, I talk about what that means including how to reduce your mileage, what types of workouts to do, and of course, how to make sure you mental toolkit is locked and loaded for the big day.  Listen once now and then again in Sept, October, or November in your final weeks of training for that fall race!

Last week, we talked about the aerobic strength phase of training with a focus on building endurance through primarily effort-based work. In this episode, we take the next step into the race-specific phase of training and talk about the goals, guiding principles, and workouts you might execute in the final phase of work before the taper. This is the phase where it is time to get specific with your paces, goals, and workouts so that you are properly peaked for race day. You want to step right up to the edge but without going over it. That is easier said than done, but this episode will help you find that fine line.  To redeem the offer in this episode, go to manscaped.com and use code 20ROGUE for 20% off and free shipping.

As discussed in my recent episode on periodization, training should begin with a base or priming phase and then proceed to the aerobic strength phase of work. In this episode, I focus on the aerobic strength phase of work in training, including what it means and how to get the most from it. To start, we define aerobic strength and then talk about the guiding principles of this phase. Finally, we talk about the goals of the work during this phase and specifically how to accomplish them with workout examples.  This phase is perhaps the most important in your training cycle so do make sure you are optimizing it! To redeem the offer in the episode, go to manscaped.com and use the code 20ROGUE for 20% off and free shipping.

I often get the question: where does cross training fit into my run training?  The answer to that question is more nuanced than you might think. In this episode, I define cross-training for you and then talk about for whom and how it might fit into your overall running routine. Spoiler alert: it may not be for everyone and that's ok. To use the offer code mentioned in the episode, go to takecareof.com and use the code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order.

In one of the most counter-intuitive concepts in sports, you can only optimize your potential as a runner by slowing down. Yes, I said it. You have to go slow in training in order to go fast on race day. In this episode, I present 5 different ways that you need to slow down in training in order to get and smash your long term goals. If you can set your ego aside and embrace these concepts, then you will find breakthroughs in your running for many years to come. 

Running is running. The elites do it more and faster, but their experiences aren't as different from ours as you might think. In this episode, I bring you 7 lessons from the first weekend of the Olympic Trials. These are lessons that you can apply in your own running and life. Thank you to an amazing group of athletes - Allyson Felix, Cory McGee, Woody Kincaid, Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, Heather MacLean, Elle Purrier, Emma Coburn and Abbey Cooper for the inspiration! To redeem the offer code from the episode go to: greenchef.com/rogue100 and use code rogue100 for $100 off and free shipping.