There was a time where every running book and influencer preached that heelstriking is "bad." Hitting your heel first can cause more impact force to travel up the leg, theorhetically causing more injury risk than striking the ground with your forefoot first. Yet most of the best runners in the world hit the ground with their heels first. And there's no indication that they get hurt more often than their forefoot striking competitiors. Clearly it works for them. The reality is where you hit...
9 days ago • 3 min read
"I feel like a failure," Denise said to me."I should be much farther along than this."A runner in her 40s who I'll call Denise started working with me one-on-one a couple months ago. She's a talented athlete and has completed several half marathons on very little training, and got results most well-trained runners dream of. She was often placing in her age group.She came to me wanting to train for her first marathon.After talking with her, I felt she was likely ready for an intermediate-level...
16 days ago • 3 min read
I hate to admit this, but I'm sick. And I never get sick. For the past few days, I've had mild flu-like symptoms that keep lingering. (I suppose it's good that I had stocked up on supplies for the ice storm we were supposed to have!) Once I start feeling better, I will be easing back into my workouts. (I'd better be better by the weekend, because someone has a big birthday coming up!) And that reminded me how often runners ask me how to do that. Do you just jump back in with your schedule? Or...
23 days ago • 3 min read
If you've gearing up for a spring race, you might also have your eye on a tune up or two. A tune up race is, by definition, a race in service or training for another race. It doesn't mean that you are not trying to PR, but it isn't your main goal race. It serves to give you insights on your fitness and whether or not your time goals are realistic. But done too often or at the wrong time, races before races can actually hurt your chances of doing well at the main event. Here's how to tell if...
30 days ago • 3 min read
It's January. For marathoners, it means it's time to start getting in gear for your spring race. Of course, one of the most iconic (and most hyped-up) races of them all is the Boston Marathon. If you're going to Beantown this April, or if you would like to someday, you should know that there are a lot of misconceptions about how exactly to train for this point-to-point net-downhill race. Here's a hint: don't overdo the hills in training... read more (5 minutes) Click here to save 20% with...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
There's a big mistake happening right now. It's January which marks the beginning of marathon training for millions of spring racers. If you're one of them, this is for you. The mistake too many runers make is over-emphasizing the long run by running too long and/or too fast. The reason this happens makes complete sense. We want to get better at something, so we practice until it's perfect. But in marathon training, getting too specific too early (hello, marathon pace in January?), too often,...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
In 1978, a single publication dramatically changed the way people treat injuries. And to this day, it's still one of the most common pieces of advice, which also happens to be absolutely wrong. In the “Sports Medicine Book,” Dr. Gabe Mirkin explained the acronym he invented called RICE which stands for Rest, Ice, Elevation, Compression. And for the next four decades, coaches and practitioners around the world have prescribed the RICE method as the definitive way to heal any kind of injury....
2 months ago • 4 min read
There's this romantic notion out there that we should be always be perfectly in tune with our bodies. We're told by the influencers to "listen to our body" to know exactly how to train, eat, and recover. As if there is some clear, gentle voice saying, "of course I'd rather have brussels sprouts than french fries!" or "mile 23 of the marathon feels incredible!" (if that's your inner voice, I'm impressed. Skip ahead.) If it were really that simple, that you could just listen to your body, the...
2 months ago • 3 min read
What if I told you that there was a way to get faster, to improve your running form, quicken your feet, better prepare for a race, and have some fun, all in less than 90 seconds of work? I’d say sign me up. The good news that such a thing actually exists. It’s called the stride. Or striders, or accelerations, or stride-outs. Lots of names for the same awesome skill. But what it’s not is a sprint or a surge. On Instagram this week, I shared this reel talking about the difference. (And also...
3 months ago • 3 min read