Do you count your steps?

And I don't mean in the "10,000 steps a day" kind of way. I mean when you are running, do you count how many steps per inhale and exhale?

A lot of people do.

And a lot of people have never thought about doing that, because to tell you the truth, that sounds a little runneurotic, doesn't it?

Now, I'm not telling you that you should or shouldn't count how many steps per breath.

It's way more fun to count the number of cute doggos you pass. 🐶

But it's a simple and effective way to help you become more in tune with how running should feel at each effort, instead of being a slave to your watch.

Every runner will fall into their unique breathing patterns, but there are some fairly common guidelines if you are ready to be less reliant on your tech.

breathe, two, three, four

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from the team

"Trust the training? No. Trust yourself."

That's the line Patrick posted in the PR Team this week.

He's just a few weeks out before his marathon in Sydney, and that's not what I was expecting to hear (considering I wrote his training!).

Patrick joined the team to get faster. And he's gotten a lot faster. He's still chasing PRs, still building fitness, still counting down to race day like someone who takes this seriously.

But somewhere along the way, his finish time wasn't the A goal after all.

Patrick was one of the very first people to sign up for Begin With Ten, my in-depth cognitive conditioning program this spring.

It's not only changed his running, but how he deals with hard things in the rest of his life.

He stopped believing training owed him a specific finish time. He stopped ranking his happiness by which goal he hit. He started asking better questions, like what he can learn about himself in the middle of a hard effort instead of just how fast he can move through it.

For Sydney, his goal isn't even a number. It's checking in with his body and mind at every 10K, feeling the whole thing, the legs, the breathing, the crowd.

I have no doubt Patrick will still run his goal pace. But the beautiful thing is that's not the point anymore.

He's learned that the race will be a success no matter what happens that day.

If you're ready for marathon success no matter what, join us.

marathon success

*team names changed for privacy

planted practice

Each week, I'd like to challenge you to one small action that I'm calling your Planted Practice.

You don't change the way you think by reading something cool in a newsletter. You change with small, daily work, just like training your body.

Each Planted Practice is deceptively simple, but might just be more powerful than you think.

This week's challenge: courage before confidence

Next time you're standing at the start of a hard run, a workout, or a race, and doubt is loud, don't wait to feel ready. Say it to yourself: courage before confidence.

Then go.

Confidence isn't something you can think your way into before the hard thing happens. It only shows up after you've done the hard thing enough times to know you can. Courage is what gets you moving before you have the proof. So this week, every time doubt shows up before an effort, let those four words be your cue to start, not your reason to wait.

*share how it went on social and tag me!

#plantedpractice

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podcast

Today, we're talking about the part of marathon training nobody talks about: the middle.

Whether you're nine weeks out from an early October race or twelve weeks out from something in November, you're almost there.

You'll learn:

• Why this phase often feels harder than it should
• What your training should actually look like this month
• And how to get through the grind without second-guessing months of good work

listen here

One thing that can definitely help immediately is taking a few moments before your run to breathe and reset. That is why I made the Readiness Reset for every runner to use for free. It's a 7-minute audio that combines guided visualization with cognitive conditioning, designed to train the exact response you need when running gets hard. Get access to it for free right now at theplantedrunner.com/reset​

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inspo

"Low self-confidence isn't a life sentence. Self-confidence can be learned, practiced, and mastered."

—Barrie Davenport

Have a great run today, Coach Claire

P.S. If you missed it, grab the Readiness Reset, a FREE seven minute audio training. Use it before hard workouts, long runs, and race day to stay calm and focused.

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.

I'm so glad you're here and my inbox is always open. Feel free to reply with questions or feedback!

If that's not for you, ​unsubscribe here​, completely guilt-free!

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