Running Rogue

In this episode, I begin with a brief reaction to the cancellation of the NYC and Berlin Marathons and include a few additional tips on how to pivot from them to another goal (to build on the discussion from episode 188).  Then, I turn to a fascinating conversation with Lisa Tamati, an ultra endurance athlete from New Zealand who has raced over 140 ultra marathons in her career covering over 40,000 racing miles! She's run across deserts and across the Himalayas and is the first woman from New Zealand to finish the Badwater Ultra Marathon. Badwater is a 135 mile race through Death Valley to the top of Mt Whitney, and Lisa finished it not once but twice! Most recently, she has been on perhaps her most difficult journey yet helping her mother recover from a severe brain aneurysm that left her completely without memory and unable to function. Over 4 years, Lisa used all of the lessons she learned from enduring in her ultra career to relentlessly pursue a return to health for her mom. That journey is chronicled in her new book - Relentless, How a mother and daughter defied the odds - and I am happy to report there is a happy ending as her mom has returned to nearly full health. Lisa teaches us a little bit about endurance and ultra training in this episode and a lot about being relentless in your training and in life. Listen in and then go grab one of her books at the links below or learn more at lisatamati.com.  Amazon links: Relentless: https://www.amazon.com/Relentless-mother-daughter-defied-odds-ebook/dp/B0866SRDXW/ Running Hot: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Hot-Lisa-Tamati/dp/1877505099 Running to Extremes: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Extremes-Lisa-Tamati/dp/1743317646/  

With episode 188, we appropriately bring you 8 tips for marathon training during the pandemic. How do you deal with the uncertainty of the fall racing season? And, how do you ensure you gain fitness that will have you ready just in case, but also benefit you for years to come? In this episode, former guest and Rogue coach Jen Harney joins the show to help me break it all down.

More or less every time I line up for a race or hard workout, there is fear that comes in those moments. I think about questions like... how much will it hurt? how will I deal with the path? will I respond or crack under the pressure? what if I do crack?  Inevitably though, when faced with my physical, I do respond. It's not always great or perfect, but I learn something about myself every single time. I've also learned many other truths from taking part in the journey itself, both from my own revelations as well as the insights of my running friends and community. In this episode with many-time guest James Dodds, we discuss this big question. What has running taught us? What truths has it revealed to us and how do we relish in those moments to learn?

In this episode, we take a pause from running content to talk again about the very important discussions taking place in our country on racism. With the help of long-time Rogue community member Dionn Schaffner, we dig into the ways that we can all help the cause by first educating ourselves and then taking action. As Dionn herself says, this is a time to educate, empathize, engage, and then expect others to do the same. She tells us how to do that in this episode. Here are some other resources to support you in doing that as well: Ways to support Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ Daily curriculum option for learning in 10/25/40 minute increments: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/mobilebasic Brene Brown podcast with Ibram Kendi on anti-racism: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bren%C3%A9-with-ibram-x-kendi-on-how-to-be-an-antiracist/id1494350511?i=1000476611079 75 things you can do for racial justice: https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234  

In this episode, I start with a discussion of the sadness, helplessness, and hopelessness I've felt during the last week after George Floyd's murder. I don't have answers, but I do know that action speaks louder than words. I am committed to action, and here are a list of resources where you can also do something to support the cause to end policy brutality and racism in our country: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ I know my words are no consolation for anything that is felt by the BIPOC community, but I also know that silence isn't an option either. Then, I turn to a brief discussion on the news surrounding the Boston Marathon and how you might think about that if you were registered for it. And finally on our main topic, I discuss how to identify, assess, and manage 3 types of fatigue in training - noncumulative fatigue, cumulative fatigue, and overtraining. Two of those 3 represent good fatigue and one represents bad fatigue. You need good fatigue to be your best running self. You have to balance stress and rest in an effective way to peak at the right time. This means that you will be tired in training, but you have to manage that tiredness appropriately so that you don't go over the edge. If you can do that, big things await for you when you do unleash that fitness on race day!

Last Friday, May 22, we hosted a Zoom call with the women of Hoka NAZ Elite - Stephanie Bruce, Kellyn Taylor, and Aliphine Tuliamuk. It's their first interview together since the Olympic Marathon Trials, and it's loaded with inspiration! We get to know them better, get a play-by-play on the Olympic Trials, and talk about how they are staying motivated during this challenging time. In addition, Ruth England asks them a few questions from our women-only training group on the unique training needs of the female body. And, yes, we talk about periods! These 3 strong women are doing so much for our sport. We can't thank them enough for taking the time to join us! For those who want to watch the video version of this conversation, here is the link: https://youtu.be/zltuU69lDj0.  

This short episode captures a conversation I had with Kara Goucher during the Rogue fall training kickoff a few weeks ago. In it, Kara provides an update on her situation during this uncertain time, and she discusses how she is staying motivated to train. Plus, she covers how she has dealt with uncertainty throughout her career including the lessons we can apply now. Finally, she ends with final thoughts for those who are looking to train for fall races but who aren't sure when or if those races will happen. Kara is always an inspiration, and I believe this conversation proves no different. I hope you enjoy it! Here is a link to the Rogue news site for those looking to sign up for podcast training or who are curious about our Front Door 5K series.  https://www.roguerunning.com/rogue-news For a full video of our fall training kickoff, you can click this link:  https://youtu.be/36luXzzkvoA

In this episode, I tackle an uncomfortable conversation on running and racism with one of the Rogue Dallas run leaders Alex Williams. Alex is an amazing runner in her own right, but she also happens to be a black female. She explains the complexities, challenges, and safety concerns of being a black woman on the run. We discuss how the biases and assumptions of others affect her planning for every single run, just because of the color of her skin. This conversation was sparked by the tragic death of a black man at the hands of two white men for doing what we all love to do - just going for a jog. Here is more on Ahmaud's story and how the running community has rallied to call for justice for his death. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/us/run-with-maud-ahmaud-arbery.html We must do more to not only speak out for Ahmaud but also to promote more inclusivity and openness for those of color in the running community. Alex and I conclude the episode with a conversation on some of the things that can be done to dismantle racism (implicit and explicit) in our sport, but this conversation is just the beginning. Thank you to Alex for joining me and for giving me the grace to talk about this topic openly with her even though I know I have a long way to go in my own thinking.  You can learn more about Alex and watch her video on her blog site: https://www.alexandriawill.com/.  

New or veteran runner, we've all had those stretches of training that just felt harder than they should. For you, this might be one of those times as we deal with the uncertainty of this current situation, but it could also be unrelated. In this conversation, I give you a decision tree with questions to ask yourself in order to get to the bottom of and then address your running funk. I talk about both the mental and physical reasons for a funk and give you practical tips to sort through either. I hope you don't need this podcast, but if you do, I hope it helps you get out of that funk! Here is the article referenced from Alex Hutchison: https://www.outsideonline.com/2411873/mental-fatigue-athletes-study-2020?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=onsiteshare And the link to sign up for the podcast training interest list: https://roguerunning.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0ead6e3aae35e2d5947b6f07e&id=d1c769a089 Training starts on May 11th!

Last week, Jason Brooks and I recorded our final podcast training episode for the season with our base training group. In that episode, we recapped lessons from the 16-week program across the strength, running, and lifestyle components of the program. After recording the episode, I realized that the lessons would be valuable for all of you. Plus for those interested in the program, it gives you a perspective on the elements that we discuss. Our next base training program will start on May 11th. You can sign up for our email interest list here: https://roguerunning.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0ead6e3aae35e2d5947b6f07e&id=d1c769a089