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)

ask me anything

Q:

I have a non-running question for you, when you were running a lot did you wash your hair after every workout? When mine was shorter it worked out to wash and blow dry it after every run but I’m growing it out now and it looks better when I don’t wash it as often. I thought as a fellow wavy-haired runner you might have some tips?

A:

I've gone through a big hair journey.

(and if you go back through my content over the years, you'll see it!)

When I ran a lot, I was in my straight hair era. Blow drying and straightening my hair after every wash somehow checked the box for predictable and well-behaved hair.

Even though the tiniest drop of humidity would send my hair directly to fuzzy and unbehaved. And let's not mention the constant split ends from the heat damage.

If my run wasn't particularly sweaty, then I didn't wash it, mostly because I couldn't be bothered.

Then I evolved into my curly hair phase. This was appealing because the curly girlies told me I'd only need to wash it once a week (unless my hair was super sweaty, then I would wash).

But in order to make passable curls happen in my wavy hair, I had to go through over an hour of conditioning, scrunching, gelling, diffusing, and countless other steps.

My hair felt much healthier, but the effort was way too much.

Curls and straight are both too much work for me since I'm truly neither, so now I embrace my waves.

In the last 4-6 months or so, I've been following a creator called Abby Yung and have been doing an abbreviated version of her routine. She's all about scalp health and washing more often so now I'm back to washing 3-4 times a week. My hair has never felt or looked better!

Every runner's hair and hair routine will be a little different. How often you wash it is probably not nearly as important as protecting it from damage from heat, too-tight ponytails, over brushing, and sun/bleach damage.

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podcast

Have you suffered from painful leg cramps near the end of a marathon?

What causes leg cramping and more importantly, how can you prevent this from ever happening again?

And if you think the answer has something to do with electrolytes, think again.

Let’s find out on this week's Planted Runner Podcast.​

You’ll learn:

• Why dehydration isn’t the real culprit
• How training mistakes can make you more cramp-prone
• I’ll equip you with an action plan that you can start today to cramp-proof your legs, so you can crush your next race, cramp-free.

The solution is pretty simple, but I will warn you, it's not going to be easy!

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inspo

"Obsessions are the only things that matter."

— Patricia Highsmith

Have a great run today, Coach Claire

P.S. Racing this spring? Get the accountability and support you need to crush your goals with the PR Team. You'll get a custom training plan, coaching from me, and all of my digital programs and products (like Find Your Flow State) for free. And oh yeah, it's also a lot of fun!

Thank you for being a part of the Planted Runner community!

My mission is to help runners just like you reach goals they never dreamed possible through science-backed training and plant-based nutrition.

Since 2016, I've helped thousands of every day runners become fitter, faster, and stronger with truly customized training and coaching.

I also love to share what I have learned from my own journey starting as a non-runner to a 2:58 marathoner at age 42, as well what I have learned coaching runners, completely FREE. I do that every week in this newsletter and on the Planted Runner Podcast.

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