Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

How training using your heart rate monitor can hold you back from reaching your potential? In this episode, Coach Claire shares 3 reasons to ditch HR training and then gives you the best ways to improve your running without using heart rate.

In this week's update, Coach Michael gives details about what kind of strength training videos are added each day on our YouTube channel and also provides some clarifications on our upcoming virtual race. Listen now!

In this week's up-tempo talks, Coaches Ruairi and Dylan talk about the specs of the new Nike Alpha Fly shoe and how it differs from the previous models. Listen now!

Holly Zimmermann - Running Everest In 2018, Holly Zimmermann was the first international female to finish the Mount Everest Marathon. That’s right; a marathon. On Mount Everest. Additionally, she has completed the 257-km (160 mile) Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert as well as a marathon at the Polar Circle.    Born in Providence, RI, the middle child of three girls, she was active in team sports including soccer, softball, gymnastics, basketball, field hockey and even cross-country running (although she despised running then!) She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Aerospace Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1991, then at The University of Rhode Island she acquired a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering concentrating in the thermal sciences, and finally finished her education with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at The College of William & Mary. She then worked for several years in research and development for military applications including antenna and radar jamming systems for tactical fighter aircraft (F14s, F15s) and later acoustic damping for submarines.  In 2000, she moved to Germany with her Berlin-born husband with whom she has four children ranging in age from 12 to 18. With the birth of her first child, she gave up her technical pursuits and turned to sports and writing, while raising their children and working part-time at home as an editor for technical professional journals.  Today she is an athlete in the world of extreme sports, from mountain and desert ultras, orienteering, endurance bike and expedition adventure races to running a marathon on the Arctic ice sheet. Aside from running, one of her passions is motivating others to be active, and she encourages them by speaking in companies, at sporting events, in women’s groups and at charities or by volunteering in schools where she trains kids to take part in local races. Her first book, Ultramarathon Mom: From the Sahara to the Arctic, was released in April 2018 and her second book Running Everest: Adventures at the Top of the World in April 2020. Holly doesn't claim to have any better-than-average athletic ability but believes her passion for running and strong mental focus are what give her the drive and ability to compete and be competitive in long-distance races in extreme environments. Becoming a role model for other women has taken her by surprise, but she attributes it to being a regular woman that many can relate to, someone who does the cooking, cleaning and child rearing, but just happens to have an adventurous spirit that puts her physical and mental limits to the test. Questions Holly is asked: 2:27 How is life in Germany for you now during the CV19 pandemic? 3:42 Are you still able to train? 4:08 Why did you want to do the Everest Marathon? 5:41 What was the terrain like compared to a traditional marathon? 8:03 What was training like for that? 8:59 Did everyone finish despite their altitude sickness? 9:55 What were some of the surprises that you didn’t expect on your trip? 11:33 Can you talk a little bit about how training for big adventures fits in with family life? 13:12 Does your husband run, too? 14:01 You've said that your strong mental focus is what gets you through races in extreme environments.  Can you talk about how to develop this? 15:43 How did your passion for running grow? 16:38 What advice would you give other parents who have young children at home that are searching for a passion of their own? 17:39 What advice would you give someone interested in running Everest? 18:17 Can anyone just sign up and run it? 18:50 What did you learn about the culture when you were there? 20:11 Are you a plant-based runner? 21:39 Did you notice a difference when you started adding in a little dairy? 22:28 What do you eat when you are in an ultra race? 23:51 Do you make your own oat milk? 24:07 What gear is essential for starting with ultra running? 25:20 What is next on the horizon for you? 26:24 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running? 27:21 What is the best gift running has given you? 29:44 How can people connect with you? Quotes by Holly: “There’s a lot of rocks, there’s some climbing, but that’s not the most difficult part because I run a lot of trail races here in the alps and they’re very similar in terms of the terrain, but what IS difficult is the oxygen. At the start of basecamp, we’re at 17,000 feet and you have about 50% of the oxygen as you do at sea level.”   “When you’re up there in the Khumbu Valley you see the rescue helicopters coming in and out all day long. And I think that’s not really heard so often in the western world, how dangerous it actually is and we witnessed quite a few visitors to the region who were evacuated. And it looked horrible.”   “I’m lucky enough to work from home, and that gives me the flexibility to spend some time training when my kids are at school. So usually I do that first thing in the morning and train nearly every day from between 1 and 4 hours.”   “A lot of it has to do with passion. If you don’t love what you’re doing, it’s hard to force yourself to do it.”   “If somebody else has done it and you have a desire and this drive there’s no reason that you can't’ do it yourself.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run! Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel   Mentioned in this podcast:  Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Mount Everest Marathon Marathon des Sables Book: Running Everest: Adventures at the Top of the World by Holly Zimmermann Book: Ultramarathon Mom: From the Sahara to the Arctic by Holly Zimmermann   Follow Holly on: Holly's Website Facebook Instagram   We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.  The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.  If more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, it means I can reach out to and get through to the top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

How accurate are the VO2 Max calculations on your GPS watch? What is the problem with the Garmin's race predictions? Coach Laura explains in today's Extrakick episode.

How to prepare for the mental and emotional rigors of race day during workouts and in your mind? Does visualization really work? If so, how can you implement it before and during the race? Coach Claire discusses seven mental strategies to build mental toughness during races in today's episode.

In this week's Team RC update, Coach Michael talks about our new weekday live at-home strength training sessions on Youtube and also give details on how you can participate in the virtual race, which is happening on April 19th. Tune in now!

Are you coming back from injury and want to get back to running? Where to start from there? How to return to action stronger? Coaches Dylan and Ruairi share various practical strategies that you can apply today for faster return. Listen now!

Carolee Belkin Walker is currently Chief of Staff in the office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She’s a career professional at the Department with previous assignments as a congressional advisor in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, the Deputy Director of the state.gov website, and a consular affairs officer and chief serving on crisis task forces such as the earthquake in Haiti and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Since 2014, Carolee has enjoyed a successful side hustle as a freelance wellness and fitness writer for such publications as the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Women’s Running, and others. She’s the author of her memoir Getting My Bounce Back and she’s currently writing her second book, Keeping My Bounce in Spite of What I’m Facing. She started running in her late 50s in order to lose weight, but soon she began to embrace the overall health benefits of running, and most importantly the mental benefits. As a marathon and triathlon finisher, Carolee is a proud member of the back of the pack. She maintains that participating in these events can play a major role in keeping fit and healthy as you age as they help you set good habits and teach you mindfulness skills that can have a positive impact on every aspect of your life. It has in hers.   Questions Carolee is asked:   2:42 How are things at the moment in Washington D.C. with all that’s going on? 4:23 How important is running right now? 6:20 We were first introduced when you interviewed me for an article in the Washington Post about slowing down your runs so you can eventually run faster.  Can you tell me what you learned overall from researching that article? 9:29 You started running later in life.  Can you tell me about why you started to run and how it's evolved? 11:50 Are people taking this situation as an opportunity to start or restart running? 15:12 You've written a book called "Getting My Bounce Back" and are currently working on "Keeping My Bounce."  Can you talk about the core messages in those books and how they relate to age and running? 20:47 What is the relationship between running and yoga? 26:24 What are the most important lessons you've learned about health, running, and aging? 30:29 How important is surrounding yourself with supportive people? 33:57 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running? 34:24 What is the best gift running has given you? 31:43 How can people connect with you? Quotes by Carolee:   “When you’re running slow, you’re really developing the energy system that you need for the long haul. And the more you can develop that system, the better you can do overall.”   “Especially now with Covid-19, this is the perfect time to become part of an online running community or online training.”   “Doing some planks, maybe one plank on all sides, if possible; two sides and then in the center before you go for a runcan sort of activate your core which can hold you up a little higher so you’re not putting pressure on your back.”   “The fact is, even in a perfect situation… you might tweak something, but you don’t want to throw in the towel, so if I have a labral tear on my hip… then I will go swimming in the pool or I’ll do something else. There is no scenario where you should not be moving around.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run! Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel   Mentioned in this podcast:  Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Book: Getting My Bounce Back by Carolee Belkin Walker Follow Carolee on:   www.caroleewalker.com Instagram Twitter Facebook LinkedIn We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

In this challenging times, what areas you can focus now to make the most out of training? Coach Hayley explains in this podcast and also talks about the positives of having a period of time without racing.