Anna Mae is actually a recent entry into the world of ultramarathons. She debuted at the 2015 Way Too Cool 50k - only to have her finish time qualify as a top-10 all-time performance. Today, her sponsors include: HOKA ONE ONE Suunto Honey Stinger She's the current course record holder (and 2019 winner) of the Speedgoat 50 Miler. You can usually find her exploring trails and mountains near her home in Marble, Colorado. Anna Mae joins me on the Strength Running Podcast to discuss her training. Specifically, we talk about: The (big) role cross-training plays in her ultramarathon preparation How she mitigates and takes advantage of altitude What a typical, heavy training day looks like for her Her average weekly mileage and vertical gain How she recovers after a 100 miler vs. a 50k ultra Injury prevention strategies for ultra runners (and the rest of us!) Please support our sponsor Inside Tracker (code strengthrunning saves 10% on any test) who help athletes determine if they have any overtraining problems, hormonal imbalances, or vitamin deficiencies. These problems could lead to reduced performance or injury so learn what's wrong so you can take action to improve. 

Today you’re going to hear from three Ultramarathoners on how they fuel for races, what their post long run fueling looks like, and how things might be different if they were training for shorter races. It’s helpful to study ultramarathoners when it comes to fueling, even if you have no interest in running ultra distances, because it’s here that fueling becomes virtually as important as the training itself. It doesn’t matter how fit you are if you don’t fuel well as an ultra runner... We’re doing this today because we’re celebrating the relaunch of our fueling program Finish Strong. I’ve added new material, updated our fueling schedules, included more expert interviews, and there’s now an extra discount for Tailwind Nutrition. You can see all the details of Finish Strong here. Abby Hall placed 8th at CCC earlier this year (which is known as UTMB’s sister race). Anna Mae Flynn won the Speedgoat 50k this year and Abby Levene placed 9th at this year’s Way Too Cool 50k. I’m going to ask all three of these athletes the same 3 questions:  How do you fuel during an ultramarathon? Give us an overview of what that looks like. When you finish a long run, what does your post-run fueling look like? How would you fuel different for workouts and long runs if you were training for a shorter event like, say a 10k?

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND, CISSN, CSCS is a former strength coach and the current Performance Nutrition Lead for Canada Basketball. He's written the new book Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports that discusses: The microbiome and how to resolve gut problems Sleep hygiene and circadian rhythms Endurance nutrition and refueling Emotions and mindset He regularly presents at health and medical conferences around the world and has consulted with the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL professional sports leagues in the United States. On the Strength Running Podcast, we're discussing a host of issues related to mastering your mindset: How to use mindfulness to improve your running Mindfulness tips & tricks (not so easy in today's social media culture) Strategies for addressing negative self-talk How mental and emotional health drives performance Easy ways to get started with sports psychology concepts Subscribe to the Strength Running Podcast in iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or Google Play.

Base training gives runners a foundation of fitness in three major areas: aerobic capacity, strength, and neuromuscular coordination (or leg speed). Aerobic capacity is built through easy mileage, long runs, and workouts like tempos, progressions, and fartleks. Strength is also built with high mileage and long runs, but also includes strength routines and core workouts. Neuromuscular coordination is built through strides, hill sprints, and small amounts of race-pace running. Just like the foundation of a house can’t be built without concrete, plumbing, and reinforcements, you can’t build a running foundation without all of these ingredients. If you do, it’s not as strong as it could be. But is the Maffetone Method effective for this phase of training? MAF as it's known has you run under your aerobic maximum heart rate at all times - which means all of your running will be quite slow. In this discussion, Jason goes over the many priorities of base training and (hint, hint) why the Maffetone Method isn't ideal.

Jason is back with another coaching call episode, this time featuring a runner named JT who is committing to train more diligently for his upcoming 5mi race on Thanksgiving. He's currently training through the Texas summer heat and curious about setting an appropriate time goal, how to work through tune-up races, whether time trials work the same way, and how to pace his goal race. JT is a member of Team Strength Running, a group coaching program for runners passionate about improvement. You can sign up here to learn more. This episode would not have been possible without Inside Tracker, who is offering a 10% discount on any of their tests with code strengthrunning. They test over 40 biomarkers, like various stress hormones, to determine if you’re training too hard, too little, or have any physiological weaknesses that can be remedied by either diet, exercise, or lifestyle changes. In other words, you learn about problems that have actionable solutions. After getting your results, they communicate what you can do to lift or lower your results into the optimal range. For any runner who wants every advantage, to see what they’re truly capable of achieving, I highly recommend Inside Tracker. I’ve personally used their ‘Ultimate Package’ tier and loved the process and results. Don’t forget to use code strengthrunning to save 10% on any test (including their affordable DIY and Essentials)!

Our conversation today features the creative lead and owner of XPollination Productions, Mr. Jeremy Green. Jeremy is a road cyclist and was damn close to being a pro during his younger years. He’s taken that same drive and intensity to his filmmaking. His company makes educational video courses for coaches and athletes and has focused on several track and field disciplines as well as golf and tennis. Now, it’s time for endurance running with the release of Running Smarter, Running Stronger. We’re going to talk about the origins of the program, how it was made (I was being filmed on a $50,000 camera), the lessons Jeremy learned about running that surprised him, and who this course is designed for. You can also watch the trailer and learn more about the program here. I also want to let you know that I’m inviting anybody who purchases the course to a live Ask Me Anything webinar in the coming weeks. If you’d like to hang out with me, talk running, and ask me anything you’d like, just email me your receipt and I’ll take it from there.

To help us think more clearly about our mental skillset, I'd like to introduce you to Matt Pendola. Matt Pendola is a polymath and exactly the type of person I love bringing on the podcast. His diverse background includes success in not just coaching, but his education and his athletic career. Athletically, he's posted quite a few major accomplishments: He Won the Elite Spartan World Championships Masters Division (2015) Age group runner up Duathlon Nationals (2015) Qualified for Duathlon World Championships 3x 4th Overall at the Northface Trail Championships and 3rd in his division (2014) He’s also a Road Runner Club of America certified running coach, massage therapist, creator of Pendola Training, and has a host of continuing education certifications in strength training, performance, and even Jack Daniels' coaching program. In this interview, Matt and I are discussing the mental factors that contribute to our success in running. Because after you get your training right, the next big avenue for improvement is mastering your mindset and improving your confidence, drive to train, willingness to suffer, and finding the intrinsic motivation to always run consistently. BTW, I haven't explored this topic on Strength Running at length. We have programs for injury prevention, strength training, dialing in your nutrition and fueling, coaching, and for beginner runners. But not for fine-tuning our mental fitness. So if you have any questions, or suggestions, or ideas that you’d love for me to cover, find me on Instagram and send me a message (my direct messages are always open and I want to hear from you).

Today's episode is all Q&A about strength training for endurance runners featuring a guest cohost, Ms. Tina Muir! Tina is the host of the incredibly popular Running for Real podcast, a past guest here on the Strength Running Podcast, and a former professional runner. We're discussing many aspects of strength work: Do runners need upper body exercises? How often should we get in the weight room? Is it best to do core training before or after running? Is progressive overload in the gym too aggressive? Should runners lift to failure? Can circuit workouts be used for strength training? And a lot more! The answers to these questions - in much more detail - are also found in Strength Running’s email series about weightlifting for runners. It’s an email a day about the benefits of strength work, common myths that many of us believe, case studies, mistakes to avoid, example exercises, and a lot more. Sign up today at strengthrunning.com/strength/ and let’s plan your strength training a bit more strategically.    

What you’re about to listen to is a coaching call where we talk about Riley’s running background, the types of training he has experience with, and how he can structure the next 4 months of his running to not only finish his first half, but also race it well. Riley is a member of Team Strength Running, the most affordable virtual coaching group you can join. These behind the scenes coaching call opportunities are only available to team members so if you’d like to learn more about the team, just sign up and I’ll send you more details. I think you’re really going to like it. Riley and I are also going to talk about the enviable position he’s in right now (you’ll notice how excited I am for Riley because of where he’s at in his life), the types of long runs and workouts that work great for the half marathon, and the obstacles he must avoid this fall if he’s going to stay healthy and run his first marathon.

Us distance runners are used to metering out our effort, cautiously sipping fuel to conserve energy, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. We're creatures of patience, willing to grind for miles and execute a well-planned pacing strategy over the course of a race. But none of that happens in the 800m. In the half mile - possibly the "perfect" middle distance event - caution and patience are liabilities. Sipping fuel would be competitive suicide; blasting the after-burners is the only way to race it. And such a fast, aggressive race demands training that's very different from what distance runners are used to. In fact, 800m training looks like a blend of sprint and distance work: long runs and speed training, traditional track workouts with more strides, drills, and top-end speed reps. During my track days, I certainly didn't do any 800m training. But I raced a lot of 800's in a few situations: As a second race during a track meet (the 1500m / 800m double is particularly taxing) At the end of a season if you haven't qualified for the championship meets During a 4x800m relay (putting four distance runners in a relay and watching them struggle with a mid-distance race is especially hilarious) And while I'm firmly a distance runner (and distance coach), I love the 800m race. It's a beautiful expression of speed. So I brought a middle-distance coach on the podcast to discuss this distance, 800m training, and how adult runners can get started with shorter, faster races. Please welcome Tom Brumlik to the Strength Running Podcast (this is an excerpt from Team Strength Running). Tom is an 800m specialist coach for the District Track Club in Washington, DC. He used to hold the General Manager role as well but is now working exclusively in a coaching capacity. The DTC was started (and is still directed) by Matt Centrowitz, Sr. (father to Olympic Gold Medalist Matt Centrowitz) and features a range of elite middle distance runners. Tom is on the podcast today to discuss how an elite running club like the DTC works (its funding, how it recruits members, and its origin) and the intricacies of 800m training. He'll be answering questions like: What kind of mileage levels do 800m runners run? How long do these mid-distance runners go for their long runs? What speed development workouts are required for 800m training? Do runners from sprint or endurance backgrounds fair better in the 800? We also discuss how to find all-comers track meets (there needs to be more of these!) so you can test yourself at the 800m distance.