Podcasts about marathon training academy

We're continuing the Behind the Mic series where I'm chatting with fellow podcasters in the running space. I hope you're enjoying these conversations as much as I am. Today, I'm talking with Angie and Trevor Spencer, the husband-and-wife duo behind Marathon Training Academy—truly one of the original running podcasts out there. They launched the show ... more »

Angie and Trevor Spencer, founders of the Marathon Training Academy podcast and brand, are one of the first podcasts I have ever listened to before delving into the running space full-time. Fast forward several years, and they're now guests on the RUNWITHALLI LIVE podcast! Pinch me, please! Trevor and Angie are a personal inspiration to me, and having them on here to chat about their brand, build their business, and impact individuals throughout the running community was a conversation I'll never forget. I'm thrilled to share this exciting podcast episode with you, and I know this won't be the last. Fun Fact: Angie is a coach and seasoned runner, and Trevor is all about running while enjoying some beers. Talk about keeping the fun in the run!  I couldn't be more excited to share this episode with you, not only because of the inspiration shared throughout the conversation but also because of the stories of the individuals Angie and Trevor have to share that impact the running community. In this episode, we'll dive into topics covering marathon training and success stories, which I'm sure you'll find fascinating. So, here it goes! I hope you enjoy the listen and topics covered in this episode as much as I did!Angie and Trevor are running the famous Eiger Ultra Trail in Switzerland this summer. They partner with Run the Alps to host a nine-day running retreat in the Bernese Oberland! Tap on the link below to learn more, and perhaps join the retreat to run fun trails and share memorable miles with friends. Holy wow! Connect with The Marathon Training Academy:WebsiteSwitzerland Running Retreat  Head to Apple Podcasts here to support the show, and tap the "+Follow" button! Your support allows me to understand better what you enjoy and dislike and find the time and resources needed to make every new episode great while pushing it live! Support the show

One in four American women suffer from some kind of pelvic floor disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health. That's 25% of us! And yes, that number goes up as we get older. And running can trigger accidents and make it worse. And this is not just a female phenomenon. Men have a pelvic floor too and can also have issues. Most guys certainly aren't talking about it! Some people are so ashamed, embarrassed, and downright fearful of leaking that they choose to quit running all together.  I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way. I've brought on pelvic floor specialist and international coach, Baz Moffat. You'll learn: Why pelvic floor issues happen and increase as we age and especially when we run, What the signs are of a more serious problem and, most importantly, The surprising ways to strengthen the muscles to prevent leaks and incontinence in the first place (and it's not kegels!) Baz is a former member of the rowing team for Great Britain and she is a prominent voice in the women's health movement. She is a co-founder of the Well HQ whose mission is to challenge the status quo for women in health, fitness and sport. This is a powerful conversation for anyone who has a pelvis and unless you are like Baz and study this for a living, I promise you will learn something brand new that you can apply today. The other thing I want to say is that this topic doesn't have to be all doom and gloom! Baz has several great tips on making pelvic health more normalized and dare I say it, even fun. Be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end of the episode for the Mental Strength Minute to fortify your mind in 60 seconds or less. LINKS: Connect with Baz on The Well HQ ▶️The Planted Runner is now on YouTube! Click here to subscribe and be automatically entered to win a FREE custom training plan. Winners chosen each month. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The Planted Runner Podcast is your perfect running buddy! Subscribe, follow, rate, and review now wherever you get your podcasts. This is the #1 way to support this work for FREE. ➡️FOLLOW The Planted Runner on Instagram @theplantedrunner for more running, plant-based nutrition and mental strength tips. 

Ever wonder...can a woman with a busy family life and a challenging career with travel be successful using MetPro? Could she ever accomplish a major event like completing a marathon? In this episode we chat with Audrey, a dedicated runner who discovered that nutrition was the key to unlocking her running potential. Inspired by the Marathon Training Academy, Audrey signed up for MetPro, and hasn't looked back since.Join us as Audrey shares her story of steady weight loss, improved performance, and the incredible support she received from her coach. From navigating restaurant menus with ease to finding the right balance between carbs and workouts, Audrey's experience is a testament to the power of personalized coaching and sustainable changes.Tune in to hear about:How Audrey found MetPro and decided to take the plunge.The benefits of a slow, steady approach to weight loss.The invaluable support and guidance from her MetPro coach.The surprising ease of integrating MetPro into a busy lifestyle.Tips for balancing nutrition and running goals.Whether you're a runner looking to improve your performance or someone seeking a healthier lifestyle, Audrey's insights and experiences with MetPro will inspire you to find your own pace. Don't miss this episode!All episodes of The MetPro Method can be found anywhere you get podcasts or go to metpro.co/metpro-method. Be sure to follow, rate, and review. You can learn more about MetPro at metpro.co!

In this episode we speak with Jasmin Paris -a British ultra runner who became the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons in its 38 year history! (Only 20 people have finish Barkley before the cutoff). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marathon Training Academy (@marathonacademy) Jasmin Paris became the first woman […]

Welcome to the Marathon Running Podcast! In this episode, we're privileged to have Nicole, the Head Coach at Marathon Training Academy, joining us to discuss the crucial topic of tapering for marathon runners. With her wealth of experience and expertise, Nicole is here to provide invaluable insights into optimizing the taper phase of marathon training.   **Key Discussion Points:** 1. **Duration of Taper:** Nicole shares her expertise on determining the optimal duration of the taper period for marathoners and the various factors that influence its length.    2. **Reducing Mileage and Intensity:** We delve into the importance of reducing mileage and intensity during the taper phase to ensure runners are adequately rested and prepared for race day.   3. **Training Volume and Intensity Adjustments:** Nicole provides practical advice on how runners should adjust their training volume and intensity during the taper period to strike the right balance between maintaining fitness and allowing for recovery.   4. **Decreasing Weekly Mileage:** We explore Nicole's recommendations on how much runners should decrease their weekly mileage and long run distances to optimize their taper.   5. **Workouts and Long Runs:** Nicole discusses which types of workouts and long runs should be included or modified during the taper phase to enhance performance and minimize the risk of injury.   6. **Addressing Phantom Pains:** Strategies for addressing phantom pains or minor discomforts that may arise during the taper period are explored, with Nicole sharing her insights on injury prevention.   7. **Strength Training and Cross-Training:** Nicole offers guidance on whether runners should continue with strength training or cross-training activities during the taper period and how to integrate them effectively.   8. **Nutrition During Taper:** We discuss the role of nutrition during the taper phase, including any dietary adjustments runners should consider to support their training and recovery.   9. **Maintaining Mental Focus:** Nicole provides valuable tips on how runners can maintain mental focus and confidence during the taper period, especially when facing taper-related anxiety or restlessness.   10. **Additional Tips for Success:** Finally, we wrap up with additional tips and advice from Nicole to ensure a successful taper leading up to the marathon race.   **Conclusion:** With Nicole's expertise as Head Coach at Marathon Training Academy, we've gained valuable insights into mastering the marathon taper. Thank you for joining us on the Marathon Running Podcast!   Support our podcast and check out our RunSwag Tshirts ·       Our website: ⁠www.marathonrunningpodcast.com⁠ ·       Our Instagram: ⁠@runningpodcast⁠ ·       Our Amazon Storefront: ⁠Amazon Storefront⁠ ·       Join our Facebook group: ⁠SpeedStriders Facebook Group⁠ ·       Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@RunningPodcast

In this episode we reveal seven questions you can use to evaluate your training. These questions reveal the key adjustments, changes, and tweaks you can use to fine tune your training and hit your goals in the marathon. Let's help you get "dialed in"! [box] Links Mentioned in this Episode Talk to Our Head Coach about your goals. Free call. MetPro Metabolic Coaching -speak with a Metabolic Expert about your goals and get actionable steps toward fueling for performance, losing weight, adding muscle, or changing your body composition. Get $500 off with our link! AG1 by Athletic Greens -the ultimate daily all-in-one health drink with 75 proven vitamins, minerals and whole food-sourced ingredients. Get a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Sidekick Muscle Scraping Tools. Try the My Personal PT Bundle! Get 15% off with our link. Oladance Open Earbuds -They have 360° Superior Sound but never enter the ear, so there is no ear fatigue. Use the promo code MTA20 to save 20%. [/box] Seven Questions to Ask Yourself [box] Prepared and Confident Massive congrats to our client Haley from Ireland on finishing 3:13:51 at the Dublin Marathon!! She writes, "After finishing the Paris marathon (my second marathon) earlier this year in 3:20:04 I felt I'd gone as far as I could on my own so decided to get in touch with the Marathon Training Academy. Coach Nicole said she had the perfect coach in mind for me and paired me with Coach Kris. As Coach Kris and I started working together from a recovery period post race, I found that incredibly helpful. I was unsure what a down time period should look like. I didn't want to lose all my fitness but equally didn't want to overtrain so I could be in the best place to start the training block for my next goal race,

On the eve of the Allianz Partners Richmond Marathon we had a live discussion at the Walmart Health & Fitness Expo with a stacked crew of running podcasters and personalities! We all can benefit from community, and running is no different! Whether your support system is a virtual crew, your neighbor, a local run club, or a coach, we're exploring all the ways we hold each other accountable. Hear how finding community has impacted well-known personalities in the running industry no matter their skill level and goals. Lindsey Hein of I'll Have Another moderates a discussion between Trevor Spencer of Marathon Training Academy, Martinus Evans of 300 Pounds and Running, Cynthia Vissers of Another Mother Runner, and Lisa Mitro of Rehab for Runners. 

Today I'm talking about my journey into heart rate training and the two main reasons for pursuing it: improved performance and better health. Switching to zone 2 running is appealing thanks to tag lines like “go slow to become faster'. For many runners having to run slow, often much slower can be a cause of anxiety for runners. Listen in as I share how to manage these thoughts so you don't have to hate zone 2 running or give up on it.    Research used for the show: Zone 2 Heart Rate Training For Longevity and Performance: https://www.howardluksmd.com/zone-2-hr-training-live-longer-less-injury/   Finding your zone - The MAF 180 method (https://philmaffetone.com/180-formula/)   The Pine Tree Runner https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqv9IzjP_c1/   Marathon Training Academy: https://www.marathontrainingacademy.com/hard-keep-heart-rate-zone-2   How to connect with Stine: Connect inside Running Aligned Body and Mind on Facebook.  Connect on Instagram Email Stine Running Aligned Body and Mind women retreat 2023. Book a 1:1 call with me to learn about the Running Aligned Body and Mind retreats. Request Learn to Love Your Runs a 3 step guide that will help you connect with your runs outside of the standard running metrics.  

Today I'm talking about my journey into heart rate training and the two main reasons for pursuing it: improved performance and better health. Switching to zone 2 running is appealing thanks to tag lines like “go slow to become faster'. For many runners having to run slow, often much slower can be a cause of anxiety for runners. Listen in as I share how to manage these thoughts so you don't have to hate zone 2 running or give up on it.    Research used for the show: Zone 2 Heart Rate Training For Longevity and Performance: https://www.howardluksmd.com/zone-2-hr-training-live-longer-less-injury/   Finding your zone - The MAF 180 method (https://philmaffetone.com/180-formula/)   The Pine Tree Runner https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqv9IzjP_c1/   Marathon Training Academy: https://www.marathontrainingacademy.com/hard-keep-heart-rate-zone-2   How to connect with Stine: Connect inside Running Aligned Body and Mind on Facebook.  Connect on Instagram Email Stine Running Aligned Body and Mind women retreat 2023. Book a 1:1 call with me to learn about the Running Aligned Body and Mind retreats. Request Learn to Love Your Runs a 3 step guide that will help you connect with your runs outside of the standard running metrics.  

Trevor and Angie co-host the Marathon Training Academy and join me for a host hangout to talk about: When is it okay to run with pain? What to look for in a training plan The link between life stress and injury How to sharpen your mental game The pain, rest, weakness downward spiral What to do when injuries aren't getting any worse or any better Tips for preventing and better handling “hitting the wall” Overlooked but important aspects of a good training plan Run Smarter YouTube ChannelBecome a patron!Receive Run Smarter EmailsBook a FREE Injury chat with BrodieRun Smarter App IOS or Android Podcast Facebook group

Season two of the Runner's Round Table will feature conversations with different female run coaches. In this episode, Stephanie talks with coach Kristyn R. Smith, a New York City based run coach who works with runners virtually, in person, and as part of one of the largest run clubs in NYC, the Dashing Whippets. In this conversation we talk about Kristyn's later-in-life entry into the sport, the importance of her mentorship with Paul Carmona, her style of coaching that focuses on life beyond the run, and the power of community. Enjoy our conversation and thanks for listening. *For the YouTube video, go here: About Stephanie: Stephanie is a yoga teacher with advanced certifications in yoga for athletes, Yoga For All, and Empowered Wisdom Yoga Nidra. Additionally, Stephanie is an RRCA (Road Runner's Club of America) certified running coach and mat Pilates instructor with Classical Pilates Education. Stephanie believes that to be a runner is to believe in your possibility as a human through movement. Her favorite running distance is the half marathon (13.1 miles/21 kilometers). https://www.instagram.com/thecookierunner/ www.thecookierunner.net About Kristyn: Kristyn R Smith is a vDOT and RRCA certified running coach as well as an ACE personal trainer. Kristyn runs with and coaches for The Dashing Whippets Run club in NYC, in addition to coaching for Marathon Training Academy, and for her own personal clients too. You can find all the details on her and her offerings on her website, www.coachkrisrs.com or follow her on social @krisrs. www.instagram.com/krisrs www.coachkrisrs.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/runnersroundtable/support

One in four American women suffer from some kind of pelvic floor disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health.  That's 25% of us!  And yes, that number goes up as we get older. And running can trigger accidents and make it worse. And this is not just a female phenomenon.  Men have a pelvic floor too and can also have issues.  Most guys certainly aren't talking about it! Some people are so ashamed, embarrassed, and downright fearful of leaking that they choose to quit running all together.  I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way.  I've brought on pelvic floor specialist and international coach, Baz Moffat.  You'll learn: Why pelvic floor issues happen and increase as we age and especially when we run, What the signs are of a more serious problem and, most importantly, The surprising ways to strengthen the muscles to prevent leaks and incontinence in the first place (and it's not kegels!) Baz is a former member of the rowing team for Great Britain and she is a prominent voice in the women's health movement.  She is a co-founder of the Well HQ whose mission is to challenge the status quo for women in health, fitness and sport. This is a powerful conversation for anyone who has a pelvis and unless you are like Baz and study this for a living, I promise you will learn something brand new that you can apply today. The other thing I want to say is that this topic doesn't have to be all doom and gloom!  Baz has several great tips on making pelvic health more normalized and dare I say it, even fun. Be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end of the episode for the Mental Strength Minute to fortify your mind in 60 seconds or less. LINKS: Connect with Baz on The Well HQ ▶️The Planted Runner is now on YouTube! Click here to subscribe and be automatically entered to win a FREE custom training plan.  Winners chosen each month. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The Planted Runner Podcast is your perfect running buddy! Subscribe, follow, rate, and review now wherever you get your podcasts.  This is the #1 way to support this work for FREE. ➡️FOLLOW The Planted Runner on Instagram @theplantedrunner for more running, plant-based nutrition and mental strength tips. 

Planning a destination race in a far away place has lots of challenges. International travel is even more stressful since there are so many details that you will have to figure out before you even set foot on the plane. To navigate the dos and don'ts of destination races, I'm speaking with Angie and Trevor Spencer, the duo in charge at Marathon Training Academy. Angie and Trevor love nothing more than a marathon or two in a far away land and they've come on the Run to the Top today to help you plan or even just dream about your next running adventure. You'll learn: what to take into account before you even register for the race, common pitfalls of international races, and what to plan for and what to pack in your suitcase So if you are taking a plane, train or automobile to your next big race, you don't want to miss this one. Connect, Comment, Community Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram Join the Elite Treatment where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month! Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community  RunnersConnect Facebook page GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT! This week's show brought to you by: MassZymes from BiOptimizers  If you're looking to try enzymes to help with your digestive issues, we recommend Masszymes by BiOptimizers. It's a best-in-class supplement loaded with full spectrum enzymes for digesting proteins, starches, sugars, fibers, and fats.  MassZymes is a 17-enzyme full-spectrum formula with 5 different kinds of protease. Plus, it contains all of the key enzymes needed for optimal digestion.  It also contains AstraZyme which is an all-natural, plant-derived compound that boosts amino acid absorption by 30-60 percent.  Plus, as a Run to the Top fan, you save an additional 10%.  Just head to masszymes.com/runtothetop and use the code run10 and you'll save an additional 10% on any purchase.  Offer is valid while supplies last.   TIMELINE Improving your mitochondria is one of the easiest ways to upgrade your performance and make your body work better.  Time-line Nutrition's Mitopure is backed by over a decade of research and is clinically proven to revitalize mitochondria.  Mitopure restores mitochondrial function, so every cell in your body has the energy to do its job and keep you healthy and functioning right. In fact, clinical studies have shown that 500mg of Urolithin, one of the main ingredients in Mitopure, can significantly increase muscle strength & endurance with no other change in lifestyle. Improving your mitochondria is one of the best things you can do for your health and with Mitopure from time-line nutrition, it has never been easier.  Go to timelinenutrition.com and use promo code RUNNERSCONNECT for 10% off the plan of your choice.

In this episode, I am joined by fellow running podcasters - Angie and Trevor from the Marathon Training Academy. We give quick intros on us and then get to questions from each of our audiences. We got great questions from you on running and aging, maintenance plans, back to back marathons, speedwork, fueling, the taper and so much more. Listen in to hear answers from at least 3 perspectives on the sport. To redeem the offers in this episode: - For Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue. - For Zencaster service: zen.ai/rogue30 (use code rogue30). - To sponsor a Zencastr creator: zen.ai/runningrogue.

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Gil Winch decided that he wanted to run a half marathon and make the biggest social impact that he could. That was over 20 years ago. Today he equates running with “beating cancer and staying alive” and is the founder of  CY, a for-profit business that employs people with disabilities and other marginalized populations. He wrote his forthcoming book, “Winning with Underdogs,” to share what he's learned about building a more inclusive workplace. For complete show notes and links, visit our website at runningforreal.com/episode314.   Thank you to Allbirds, Marathon Training Academy, and the Running for Real training plans for sponsoring this episode.  Allbirds' products are made from natural and recycled materials, and best of all, they know who they are. They are confident in what they do, and are changing the entire running industry before our eyes. You can see their entire collection on their website.   Runners' World says this about Marathon Training Academy: “If you're training for 26.2, running coach Angie Spencer and her husband, Trevor, have everything you need to reach the finish line. The duo provides plenty of training tips, interviews, and reviews of marathons from around the world. (Angie has run one in every state!) While they don't always bring on guests, runners like Sara Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and even actor Sean Astin have all stopped by." To find the podcast just type "marathon training" into Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and you will find them.   If you've decided it's time to accomplish a new running goal, check out our 100% effort-based training plans. You'll run entirely by feel and if you've never done that before, don't worry, this plan is going to teach you how to trust your body to tell you what it's ready for. It will leave you confident, prepared, and in the best shape of your life. There's a 5k/10k plan, a half marathon plan, a marathon plan, and a one mile/speed segment plan.  You can find them all here on our website.   Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we are honored you have chosen Running For Real.  If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them.  Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram  Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe?  You can find out here. "Thank you" to Gil.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.

This week's episode features runner, RD, and all-around great guy Mike Martinez, with Runners4Recovery.  He previews his upcoming races down in Florida.  Ultra Runner, Alex Nelson shares his story of getting into Western States 2022 with 1 ticket and finishing one of the most epic 100 milers in North America.  Coach Nicole Hart from Marathon Training Academy shares a training tip.  @sobersombrerorunning92@marathonacademywww.runners4recoveryjax.orgwww.marathontrainingacademy.com

Angie Spencer is a marathon runner and trainer who has worked with MetPro to optimize her nutrition and fueling. As a result, she was able to run her fastest marathon ever in 3 hours and 19 minutes. In this episode, Angie shares her journey in working with MetPro and why she recommends the program to others. She discusses how important nutrition is for endurance athletes and how MetPro can help people reach their goals. Angie also offers advice for those training for a marathon, whether it's their first or their hundredth.We discuss:Angie's fitness journeyFirst marathon to finishing a marathon in all 50 states!Moving into ultra marathonsHow MetPro changed the performance levelMaking sure her body was truly nourished and the difference it meantBalancing nutrition and trainingAll episodes of The MetPro Method can be found anywhere you get podcasts or go to MetPro.co/podcast. Be sure to follow, rate, and review. You can learn more about MetPro at MetPro.co!

Are you facing an obstacle that you fear you can't overcome, or a milestone you can't seem to reach? Don't let this emotion trap you; everyone experiences difficulties when starting something new. Face the challenge head-on! Conquering will make you stronger. And what better way to challenge yourself than by running a marathon?   This week, Angie and Trevor Spencer from the Marathon Training Academy join us for a conversation on all things marathon running. They share their experiences about their running journey and the marathoning community they created. Angie discusses how she got into marathoning and how it led to their podcast. They also recount their most memorable marathons and the lessons that they learned along the way. Finally, we learn the value of facing challenges, staying in the present, and paying attention to our overall health.  If you want to overcome life's obstacles and know how to train for a marathon, this episode is for you.    Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Learn more about Marathon Training Academy and how Angie and Trevor can help you train for a marathon.  Discover how you can keep challenging yourself.  Understand that we're all built differently.    Resources Gain exclusive access and bonuses to Pushing the Limits Podcast by becoming a patron!  Harness the power of NAD and NMN for anti-aging and longevity with NMN Bio.  A new programme, BOOSTCAMP, is coming this September to Peak Wellness!  Listen to my other Pushing the Limits episodes:  #8: Dean Karnazes - The Road to Sparta #183: Sirtuins and NAD Supplements for Longevity with Dr Elena Seranova #189: Understanding Autophagy and Increasing Your Longevity with Dr Elena Seranova Newest Episode with Dean Karnazes  A Runner's High: My Life in Motion by Dean Karnazes Marathon Maniacs 50 States Marathon Club Spartan Race Spartan Up Podcasts Can You Endure? Lisa Tamati and Joe de Sena The Spartan Way by Joe de Sena Marathon Training Academy: Website | Podcast | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook      Get Customised Guidance for Your Genetic Make-Up For our epigenetics health programme, all about optimising your fitness, lifestyle, nutrition and mind performance to your particular genes, go to  https://www.lisatamati.com/page/epigenetics-and-health-coaching/.   Customised Online Coaching for Runners CUSTOMISED RUN COACHING PLANS — How to Run Faster, Be Stronger, Run Longer  Without Burnout & Injuries Have you struggled to fit in training in your busy life? Maybe you don't know where to start, or perhaps you have done a few races but keep having motivation or injury troubles? Do you want to beat last year's time or finish at the front of the pack? Want to run your first 5-km or run a 100-miler? ​​Do you want a holistic programme that is personalised & customised to your ability, goals, and lifestyle?  Go to www.runninghotcoaching.com for our online run training coaching.   Health Optimisation and Life Coaching If you are struggling with a health issue and need people who look outside the square and are connected to some of the greatest science and health minds in the world, then reach out to us at support@lisatamati.com, we can jump on a call to see if we are a good fit for you. If you have a big challenge ahead, are dealing with adversity or want to take your performance to the next level and want to learn how to increase your mental toughness, emotional resilience, foundational health, and more, contact us at support@lisatamati.com.   Order My Books My latest book Relentless chronicles the inspiring journey about how my mother and I defied the odds after an aneurysm left my mum Isobel with massive brain damage at age 74. The medical professionals told me there was absolutely no hope of any quality of life again. Still, I used every mindset tool, years of research and incredible tenacity to prove them wrong and bring my mother back to full health within three years. Get your copy here: https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books/products/relentless. For my other two best-selling books Running Hot and Running to Extremes, chronicling my ultrarunning adventures and expeditions all around the world, go to https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books.   Lisa's Anti-Ageing and Longevity Supplements  NMN: Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, an NAD+ precursor Feel Healthier and Younger* Researchers have found that Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide or NAD+, a master regulator of metabolism and a molecule essential for the functionality of all human cells, is being dramatically decreased over time. What is NMN? NMN Bio offers a cutting edge Vitamin B3 derivative named NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) that can boost the levels of NAD+ in muscle tissue and liver. Take charge of your energy levels, focus, metabolism and overall health so you can live a happy, fulfilling life. Founded by scientists, NMN Bio offers supplements of the highest purity and rigorously tested by an independent, third-party lab. Start your cellular rejuvenation journey today. Support Your Healthy Ageing We offer powerful third-party tested, NAD+ boosting supplements so you can start your healthy ageing journey today. Shop now: https://nmnbio.nz/collections/all NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 250mg | 30 capsules NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 500mg | 30 capsules 6 Bottles | NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 250mg | 30 Capsules 6 Bottles | NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 500mg | 30 Capsules Quality You Can Trust — NMN Our premium range of anti-ageing nutraceuticals (supplements that combine Mother Nature with cutting edge science) combats the effects of aging while designed to boost NAD+ levels. Manufactured in an ISO9001 certified facility Boost Your NAD+ Levels — Healthy Ageing: Redefined Cellular Health Energy & Focus Bone Density Skin Elasticity DNA Repair Cardiovascular Health Brain Health  Metabolic Health My  ‘Fierce' Sports Jewellery Collection For my gorgeous and inspiring sports jewellery collection, 'Fierce', go to https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/lisa-tamati-bespoke-jewellery-collection.   Episode Highlights [05:43] About Marathon Training Academy Inspired by Angie's experiences with marathons, Angie and Trevor started Marathon Training Academy back in 2010. Marathon Training Academy helps people learn how to train for a marathon. They also provide tips, strategies, and principles on how to run marathons well.  To date, the show has over 10.8 million downloads.  [08:15] Angie's Marathoning Career Angie shares that we need to be careful about comparing our accomplishments to others.  At first, she started running to lose weight. After giving birth to her second child, Angie signed up for her first 5k race.  Then, she decided she needed a bigger challenge, so she signed up for her first marathon.  Although the experience itself was miserable, Angie knew that she wanted to experience the feeling of finishing a marathon again.  Her personal experiences paved the way for Marathon Training Academy. She wanted to teach others how to train for a marathon so that they won't get injured.  [14:19] Learning How to Train for a Marathon to Avoid Mistakes Many runners think they don't need coaches, but it's essential to have guidance.   Seek good advice on how to train for a marathon so you can reduce injuries.  Being part of a community can also help you avoid costly mistakes.   [16:14] Marathon Training Academy's Growth They started in 2010, around the second wave of podcasting. Back then, many people were still not aware of what podcasts are.  We're now in the fourth wave of podcasting, where even news agencies and TV shows have podcasts.  Trevor shared that connecting with their audience helped build the community from the start.  So, they would do shout-outs during their episodes. They are also active on social media.   Angie and Trevor also recognise the value of their audience's time. So, they try to keep their episodes short while giving out as much valuable information as possible. [20:31] Angie's Journey Towards 50 Marathons in 50 States Angie first heard about running challenges when she encountered the Marathon Maniacs. You can get into this club if you do two races in two weeks or three in 90 days.  At first, she thought that she wasn't up to the challenge, but she proved herself wrong. We often make excuses about not being able to do something. If you surround yourself with people taking on these big challenges, you push yourself as well.  She then challenged herself to run 50 races in 50 states. This endeavour took 12 years. Trevor shares that Angie ran her 50th marathon the fastest. This achievement only proves that age can't stop you from challenging yourself.   [24:47] We're All Different We're all built differently, so don't feel pressured to do back-to-back marathons. Find what works best for you and your health.  Don't be caught up in the misconception that running marathons can slim you down.  Also, don't compare yourself to others — focus on yourself and your progress.  [29:10] Angie and Trevor's Most Memorable Races Trevor's favourite race was the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland because of the views. He talks more about the experience in the full episode. Meanwhile, Angie loves the Loch Ness Marathon in Scotland. She also enjoys several other races in the US.  Trevor shares that his toughest race was a 50k race in Montana. He admits that he wasn't able to train for it.  On the other hand, Angie's toughest race is the Leadville Trail Marathon. Located in Colorado, this race starts at 10,000 feet and continues to go up.  [34:23] Lessons Learned from Running Marathons Marathons can teach you a lot about life. As people, we're continuously changing and evolving.  Running accomplishments are good. However, you need to take care of your overall health as you train for a marathon.  We also have to learn how to appreciate the present and the challenges that come with it. Doing hard things prepares you for the struggles ahead. Marathoning teaches you to have a singular focus to reach your goals. [38:50] How Running Marathons Builds Resilience When you do hard things, it becomes easier to push through the obstacles in life. This idea is called obstacle immunity. It's important to acknowledge difficult situations, but don't let that stop you. Instead, use these emotions to fuel you.  Once you overcome a challenge, your horizon expands. You see the other battles you can overcome.  [43:59] How Angie and Trevor Balances Life Angie shares that being self-employed helps them find the time to run and train for a marathon.  They also try to include their children in the marathoning journey.    7 Powerful Quotes from This Episode ‘Running is putting one step in front of the other and then being open to learning.' ‘I think doing things in community makes it so much richer.' ‘A lot of times we make excuses why we can't do something and sometimes, it seems very valid at the moment. But it's all a matter of priorities.' ‘For most of us, it is about you versus you. I think that's the beautiful thing about this sport. That we can all do this together but it's actually each of our journeys.' ‘It is important to have goals and everything, but I think it's also important to just look at your overall health.' ‘If I can't be happy now, I'm not going to be happy in the future. If I accomplish these goals, there's always going to be something else to chase.' ‘Having done hard things in the past prepares you for those challenges that you never wanted to take on in the first place.'   About Angie and Trevor Angie and Trevor Spencer started the Marathon Training Academy Podcast in 2010 to empower and inspire people to achieve better health with marathons. The show shares simple and actionable tips on how to train for a marathon.  Angie delved into the world of marathons after having her second child. However, she was plagued by training injuries. So, she was determined to find a better way to train for a marathon. Thus, the Marathon Training Academy was born.  She has since run 66 marathons with a PR of 3:19:55. She is also a Registered Nurse and a USATF Level 1 and RRCA Level 2 certified running coach. Meanwhile, Trevor is the manager and producer of the Marathon Training Academy. He has completed 17 marathons, one 50k, 21 half-marathons, and a Spartan Trifecta. Want to learn more about Marathon Training Academy? Check out their website and listen to their episodes on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.  You can also reach out to them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.            Enjoyed This Podcast? If you did, be sure to subscribe and share it with your friends! Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this with your family and friends to inspire them to seek challenges and teach them why it's crucial to train for a marathon well. Have any questions? You can contact me through email (support@lisatamati.com) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. For more episode updates, visit my website. You can also tune in on Apple Podcasts. To pushing the limits, Lisa   Transcript Of The Podcast  Welcome to Pushing the Limits, the show that helps you reach your full potential with your host Lisa Tamati, brought to you by lisatamati.com.  Lisa Tamati: Hi, everyone. Lisa Tamati here at Pushing the Limits. Welcome back to the show. Today, I have Trevor and Angie from the Marathon Training Academy in the United States, really well-known podcasters and run coaches. So our equivalent, over in the States. But these guys have been going for a long time and doing fantastic things. I heard their podcast when I was looking for information on my friend Dean Karnazes's latest book and listened to the podcast. I thought these guys are really rock stars, so I reached out to them. I have them on the show today so really exciting. They're in Montana in the United States, and they've got some great ideas and great information for you. This is one for the runners out there, and we get into all sorts of topics as well. Really, really exciting.  Before we head on over to the show, just want to let about our epigenetics program. We'd love you to come and do our flagship program about epigenetics to help you understand your genetics and how to optimise. This is really the future of personalised health is understanding what your genes are doing. All your health professionals should be personalising everything to your own genetics, and this information is pretty damn valuable. If you want to have a user manual for your own body, understand what food you should have, what types of exercise you'll benefit mostly from, your mood and behaviour, your hormones, what predispositions you have, all this fantastic information that you'll get about yourself when you go through this program.  Then, we can help you actually put it into place so how do you actually... Because it's great to get information and reports. A lot of the DNA reports that you get, you basically get 'Oh, that's nice' and it's a report and you stick it in your top drawer because you don't know what to do with it. But that's what we help you with. It's really powerful information that can really change your life. It certainly changed mine and changed my approach to different areas in what I do, what I eat, what times I do things, the way I set up my entire day, all of these things are affected. Head on over to lisatamati.com, hit the 'Work with Us' button and you'll see our Peak Epigenetics Program there.  We've also got BOOSTCAMP coming up on the first of September. You'll be listening to this after that so this round will have already started but we will be running this eight-week live webinar program again. We'd love you to come and check it out if you want to upgrade your life in all areas, understand how your biology works, understand everything that can help you achieve high performance, help you with health journeys, a really intimate small group of people who are wanting to upgrade their lives. Make sure you check that out. You can go to peakwellness.co.nz. I'll say that again, peakwellness.co.nz/boostcamp.  Lastly, before we head to the show, don't forget our NMN supplements. nmnbio.nz is where you'll find out all the information about this longevity and anti-aging supplement by Dr Elena Seranova, a molecular biologist, really powerful supplement that has been doing some amazing things for me, and my life, and my family's health, and turning back the clock, basically. It's up-regulating your sirtuin genes, which are your longevity genes, helping with the NAD levels in your cells which are... Every single cell needs NAD and these deplete as we get older, so check out the science behind it, check out the information. There's two podcast episodes that I've done with Dr Elena also on Pushing the Limits, go and check those out if you want to do a deep dive into it. Head on over to nmnbio.nz.  Right. Now, just before we head over to the show, I want you also to maybe follow us on Twitter, on Instagram, on YouTube. Especially our YouTube channel. If you can go and subscribe to our YouTube channel, that really supports the show. All of the shows are actually put up on YouTube. Just, if you search for Lisa Tamati when you go to YouTube, you'll come up with my channel and make sure you subscribe. There's a ton of videos on there. We've got about 600, I think, including all my documentaries as well. Make sure you check that out and we'll head on over to the show with Trevor and Angie.  Hi, everyone and welcome back to Pushing the Limits. This week, I have Trevor and Angie from the Marathon Training Academy. It's super exciting to have you guys. Welcome to the show.  Angie: Thanks so much, Lisa. It's great to be here.  Trevor: Yeah, we're excited about this.  Lisa: Yeah, well, I found you actually through a mutual friend, Dean Karnazes, who I know you've had on the show a couple of times. Dean's been a huge influence in my life as you can possibly imagine. I owe him so much both as a role model and as a friend. He's done lots of things for us. He's a wonderful guy, so shout out to Dean, who I think has just got out of lockdown in Australia. He was intending to run around Australia and that's been curtailed because of the bloody COVID thing. Yeah, shout out to Dean. Thanks for introducing us. I just loved your show so I thought, 'Well, I got to have you guys on.'  You guys are running coaches, and you have three kids. Let's start there. Tell us a little bit about your training academy, and what you do, and your podcast, and all that sort of good stuff. Trevor: Yeah, awesome. Well, thanks for the opportunity to be on the podcast here. I'll introduce myself. This is Trevor. I am America's most okay-est runner.  Angie: I thought you were gonna say laziest.  Trevor: Laziest? No.  Lisa: That's me.  Trevor: Angie is my better half. She's actually the running coach. I'm more like the business guy behind the scenes. We started in 2010. We launched the Marathon Training Academy podcast because we figured, 'Hey, maybe Angie had some knowledge and experience running a couple marathons, maybe people would benefit from learning how to do it.' We launched it and have been pretty much releasing content consistently for the last 11 years. It is not easy, as you know.  Lisa: No it is not. It is so, so impressive to keep going for that long. We've been going five and a half years, and I thought I was ancient and the podcast basically. So amazing. You've got a huge following and a huge... You're telling me some of your download stats and I'm like, 'I'm embarrassed.' You guys are rock stars.  Trevor: I guess we've been fortunate in the beginning when we've launched. I don't think there was a lot of competition for what we were talking about there. At least in the US, on iTunes, there was podcasts where people would carry a recorder out when they ran and they would just dictate breathing really heavy into the mic and stuff. There wasn't a whole lot of prescriptive training advice, which is what we tried to do. When we tell stories and we do race recaps and take people with us as we go racing around the country. But we try to be prescriptive: sharing lots of tips and strategies and principles.  Angie's also a registered nurse as well as being a running coach, so that appealed to people. It just took off in the beginning. We got lucky. I guess it was dumb luck. I don't know, but we started connecting with people right away. Folks would email us from all over the world. We just had a great audience ever since. I just checked the numbers today. Our show's been downloaded 10.8 million times since we started.  Lisa: That is insane. I got a long way to go to catch up to you guys. You guys are rock stars. Angie, you are a legend in the running space. You've already done 50 marathons in 50 states, for one thing. Tell us a bit about your career.  Angie: Well, I definitely don't feel like a legend. I guess that's when you are the person who is doing it all you always kind of feel like, 'Wow.' I kind of feel there's still so much that could be accomplished. There's always that comparison trap we can fit ourselves into. There's always someone who can run faster unless you're Eliud Kipchoge. There's always somebody who's done more crazy challenges. I think that's a dangerous field to start comparing yourself to other people, but I will say that I started running off and on when I was a teenager. I didn't have a great motivation. It was more about trying to lose weight. When I didn't see instant results, then I would kind of give it up and be like, 'Oh, this isn't working.'  But I do feel I really finally became a runner in my late 20s. We'd moved across the country. It was a move that I really didn't want to make. It was for work, and I had two little kids at home. I just felt I was stuck, and I needed a new challenge. Kind of on a whim, I signed up for a 5k race and they say the 5k is the gateway drug to long-distance running. In my case, it was. It was a completely miserable race. It was hot and humid and I'm not a good hot weather runner, but I felt there was a spark inside me. This is something that really fired me up. It wasn't about beating other people. In fact, I had a very, very average time but I just kind of felt like, 'Wow, I bet you I can get better at this.'  I'd never considered myself an athlete before. I never played any sports, so running was something, it was just kind of me against me. I decided I need a bigger challenge, so I signed up for my first marathon. At the time, I didn't have any friends who are runners. They probably would have advised me against it, actually. I don't know anyone who had ever done a marathon before. In fact, at the time, we were so poor that I could either afford the race registration or a new pair of shoes. My mom actually paid for my race registration, so I consider her my first official sponsor.  I'm training for this marathon on my own. Long story short, I do everything wrong. I just run. I don't do any kind of recovery or cross-training or strength training. I'm getting injured, dealing with back pain, and IT band pain, and all the things, but I was stubborn enough that I kept going and was able to finish the marathon. Although it felt completely gruelling at times, just when I crossed the finish line, it really... I was like, 'Wow, I know I'm going to do this again.' That kind of just started my journey. I actually, after that first marathon, had to take three months off of running because my IT band was so bad. Had knee pain. The whole nine yards.  That's when I started doing yoga and kind of discovered like, 'Wow, I can really start to learn more about my body, not ignore these signals that it's sending me.' There are some areas that need to be strengthened and I think that kind of sowed the seeds for what became Marathon Training Academy. Because I wanted to help people have a better experience than I did the first time: have the knowledge, have the information to not get injured and not have to do things the hard way.  I went on to run my second marathon training much smarter and was able to break four hours for the first time, which was a huge goal of mine. I think that's kind of when Trevor mentioned wanting to start a podcast about marathon training. I was like, 'I don't feel like I know enough. Who's going to listen to us? We're just sitting in our living room recording this thing.' I had very low aspirations for where it was going to go, but he had the vision. We stuck with it and just have had a very wonderful, gracious audience. We've just been able to meet so many amazing people throughout the years. I think that's been the most rewarding part of it.  Lisa: That's amazing. Trevor, your wife's bit of a superstar, from what it sounds, but she's very humble.  Trevor: She's amazing. She puts me to shame. She does everything that you're supposed to do, that your coach tells you, that you see on your training plan, doesn't miss a day, doesn't miss a workout. I do 25% of my training plan. Lisa: That's brilliant though. But I love the fact that you... Like me, when I started running, I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I just put one foot in front of the other. I was hopeless, and I was slow. I'm still slow 25 years later. Genetically speaking, not the most gifted person in the world but very, very stubborn. That's all you need with running. I love that you are all about the everyday runner. We have a running coaching arm of our company as well,  and we are very much into that holistic approach to running too, with the strengths, and the immobility, and the mindset, and the nutrition, and all of that sort of stuff.  I had no idea about that back in the day and I just bumbled along, running long because that's what you did, isn't it? If you're going to run long, you run long. What the hell is strength training? What do I need that for? I think we know we've both bumbled into the space and this is the key thing, I think, from your story. That when you just keep going, and keep going, and keep going, you suddenly find yourself looking back on, 'Holy heck, I've done a lot. I've done some pretty amazing things.'  It's just like running is putting one step in front of the other and then being open to learning, getting good coaching so that you... because I like what you said, Angie, about making mistakes and then not wanting other people to make them. That is just the motivation for what we do too because I reinvented the entire wheel, and you don't need to. Do you find a lot of runners come and they don't think they need a coach for starters? Most people only come to you when they're injured. Is that happens to you guys as well?  Angie: Yeah, I think often, there is part of human nature, and I think certain personality types who are more driven to like, 'I'm going to do this myself and I'm stubborn. I'm going to see this through.' Yeah, maybe they've tried a few times to hit a specific time goal that they have, and they realise, 'Wow, it's not going in the direction that I thought it should be going or the injury issues.'  I think people's knowledge and information, it's better now. There's so much more out there that a lot of people who are probably smarter than I was are like, 'Hey, I can probably cut out the injury part, and I can get good advice and good help in the beginning and make this so much a better journey.' I think also for me, I went alone for the first few years. Just being part of the community makes it so much more special, and I think the running community is just amazing. You meet the best people and have conversations with people like you. I think doing things in community makes it so much richer.  Lisa: Oh, man. I could learn so much from you guys. I think you've got a really good approach to it. Trevor, looking back into podcast space, because you say you're the businessman behind the amazing lady, got any tips for a podcaster? Because obviously you guys are doing something right. You started off in this space like... You've grown this massively. I know what goes into it. When you come to it a bit later, it's been a bit harder, for sure. What have you learned on that journey from a community-building point of view? Because I feel we've still got work to do in that space, and I'm always keen to learn from people who are so successful.  Trevor: Well, one thing, when Angie was talking and she was telling the story of when I pitched the podcast idea to her, one thing she didn't tell you was her first response was, because this was 2010, actually '09 when I pitched the idea. Her first response was, 'What's a podcast?'  Angie: Totally ignorant.  Lisa: Yeah, we still get people not knowing what the hell a podcast is.  Trevor: Yeah, so I think getting in early, obviously, was a big help to us. Kind of to be on the front end of a trend. We actually started in what was called the second wave of podcasting. Podcasting got going in earnest around '06, so they say that was the first wave. And then around 2010 was the second wave. There's a lot more shows starting and now, we might be in the fourth wave of podcasting now where almost every major company has a podcast, every news agency and every late-night TV show host.  It's definitely a more crowded space. But on the other hand, there are still people, like you said, who'd never heard of a podcast. More and more people are coming to the medium, downloading shows. Podcasts is becoming more mainstream. I know here, at least in the US, it's not unusual to hear people on TV talking about podcasts, just in anywhere you look, you can see subscribe to my podcast. It's cool to see the cultural awareness rise since we've started.  But I think in terms of tips on growing the show and community, one thing that helped us in the beginning, and still helps us, is hearing from listeners, featuring their stories. At the top of our show, every episode, we do shout outs where kind of like a virtual high five. People are, like all of us, people like to hear their name in a podcast. It just makes them feel... Yeah, lights them up. It puts a smile on their face, and we try to do that a lot where we engage the audience that way. Then, the off-podcast stuff too is also important like our social media stuff and all that. Yeah, building community. Angie: We also kind of try to keep in top of mind like, 'What's in it for the listener?' Because at the end of the day, people only have so much brain space and time. They're going to keep listening to shows that they feel you're giving them good value and that they connect to you in some way. I think just keeping that listener focus and stuff. No one wants to hear about a dissertation of what we've been doing for the last week in-depth. They want to get to know us a little bit, but they also want to know that we care about their needs and everything and what's top of mind. I think that's been helpful as well.  Trevor: Yeah, I edit our show judiciously. Oh, yeah. I spend way too much time. I'm just a perfectionist with it. I haven't been able to outsource that yet, so I edit our show and I'm like, I don't know what the word is, I'm just a stickler when it comes to audio quality. Also like Angie said, I know people's time is important, so if we go down a certain path in the conversation that I think is not pertinent enough, I'll just cut it. I'll take that one-hour episode then maybe sometimes cut it down to 40 minutes.  Angie: He has to edit out all my ‘likes' and ‘you knows', all my verbal clutter. It takes about half of the content away. Lisa: It's so much work. It's just so much work but I love that you do that, and you're a perfectionist. I'm technically completely disabled. I have a team of people behind me doing a lot of stuff, but we can still improve and get better. I love the meandering type of conversations that we have. Let's go and talk a little bit about... For start, Angie, I do have to ask you about your 50 marathons in 50 states, like our friend Dean. How did that come about and when did this become a challenge?  Angie: Well, sometimes things just kind of sneak up on you. I think it was my fourth marathon and it was before the race. I was sitting around talking to a couple ladies and they had these shirts on that said: 'Marathon Maniacs.' I was like, 'What do those shirts mean? What's a marathon maniac?' They're like, 'Oh, it's a club where you have to run a certain number of marathons to be able to get in.' I was like, 'Oh, how many?' They said, 'Well, you have to do two in two weeks or three in ninety days.' I was like, 'What?' That's crazy. That's a maniac.' I was like, 'I could never do that.' I said that I could never do that, and they're like, 'Oh, you could if you really wanted to.'  That just kind of stuck with me. I was like, a lot of times we make excuses why we can't do something, and sometimes, it seems very valid at the moment. But it's all a matter of priorities. That stuck with me. I'm like, 'Could I do that?' Later that fall, I did end up doing three marathons in that 90-day space, and I became a marathon maniac. When you surround yourself with people who are doing all these big challenges... I would joke that I was like a baby maniac because there was people who had done three, four, five hundred marathons in the club that you would see at these races.  Then, of course, I heard about the 50 state club. People who run a marathon in each of the 50 states. I thought, 'Wow, that would be cool. I already have a few states under my belt. Why not?' It doesn't have to be anything like Dean Karnazes doing it in 50 days. No one cares how long it takes and everything. Both Trevor and I love to travel. It seemed like a really great way to be able to explore our very diverse country and see all these amazing places, get to run. It just kind of started that way, and it took me 12 years to finish all 50 states. But it's about the journey and not the destination.  Lisa: Absolutely and that is a really... It rolls off the tongue really beautifully. Yeah. I've done a marathon in every state, 50 states.  Trevor: Here's what's cool, Lisa. I don't know if Angie is going to tell you this but she actually ran her last marathon fastest. That was her fastest marathon. That's what's so cool about our sport: that even though you get older, you can still improve in so many ways. Her very 50th state was in Hawaii. She ran 319, qualified for Boston by 20 minutes and that was at age 41. She was 10 years older but ran an hour faster than when she started.  Lisa: I love it. Go, the oldie. I'm way older than you, so I can say that. I totally agree. Endurance is one of those things. I read a statistic once said a 19-year-old and a 64-year-old are on the same level of endurance or something. You peak around 48 as far as endurance goes and I'm like, 'Yeah, amen to that.' I have similar stories. I did my best performances in my 42, 43, around that age were my peak performances. I'm way after that now, so things have slid off a little bit. Of course, it's what's going on in your life. I've had a few other dramas in my life. There's reasons for things slipping off, but I love that. 319 is an incredible time. That's just amazing. Angie: I still can't believe I did that. Was that me? I don't know. It was just one of those days where everything comes together, and you can never predict that.  Trevor: In Hawaii to boot.  Lisa: Yeah, isn't it really hot in Hawaii? Isn't that really difficult to do?  Angie: It was January so it was cooler, but it was hot compared to what I was used to. Lisa: Amazing. Trevor, how many did you do of those states? You did a few of them?  Trevor: I have. I think I'm up to 17 marathons. I'm actually doing my 18th in about 10 days from now.  Angie: But he's done a lot of half marathons. A lot of the time where I'd be doing a marathon, he would do the half marathon so he's probably run in most of those states as well.  Lisa: I study genetics, right? We have a epigenetics and functional genomics arm to our business. Everybody is genetically different. When people listen to you and go, 'My god. She's amazing. She's run 50 marathons in 50 states.' I want people to not take away from that that they should be doing back-to-back marathons because even though yeah, that's really cool to have these challenges, we're not all genetically set up for that. We need to respect that sometimes. It's been fascinating, this journey of learning about genetics.  When I did my genetics, it came back... Actually, I'm really not suited to the super long-distance running. I was like, 'What? Is that why I've got all these health problems?' Actually, my body is more set up... That doesn't mean I can't ever do an ultramarathon again, but it does mean if that if I want to have longevity and health for a long time which I do now, because I'm 50 so I want to make sure that I stay on top of things, then I shouldn't be doing back to back ultras.  That my body is much more suited to doing shorter and high-intensity sort of workouts and lots of yoga and Pilates and things as well.  I just want people to take away from there, everybody is different. For some people like my husband, he can run super super long, and it's genetically good for him to do that. For me, not so much. One of the other things that I've found within our running coaching, and we get a lot of ladies, we're probably about 70% ladies in our run coaching community. A lot of them are in their 30s, 40s, 50s. It's not the best weight loss thing, is it?  Angie: I could gain weight while running marathons and even watching what I'm eating so yeah, it is definitely. It's tricky.  Lisa: Yeah, it's not. For people to understand, if you're wanting to do a weight loss program, that would be a completely different program that I'd set you than if you're wanting to do marathons for the challenge of doing a marathon. Because there is this misconception that yeah, 'I run a marathon and I get really thin and slim.' No. I got fatter doing marathons. When I ran through New Zealand, I put on weight, and I was running 70-odd kilometres a day. Then, I put on my... I'm like, 'The hell is this about?' Everybody is different. Respect your genes. Respect your body. And as Angie said at the beginning of this podcast, compare yourself only to yourself. Unless you're in the Olympics, then, you probably compare yourself to the others. But for most of us, it is about you versus you. I think that's the beautiful thing about this sport. That we can all do this together but it's actually each of our journeys.  Just interrupting the program briefly to let you know that we have a new patron program for the podcast. Now, if you enjoy Pushing the Limits, if you get great value out of it, we would love you to come and join our patron membership program. We've been doing this now for five and a half years and we need your help to keep it on air. It's been a public service free for everybody, and we want to keep it that way. But to do that we need like-minded souls who are on this mission with us to help us out. So if you're interested in becoming a patron for Pushing the Limits podcast, then check out everything on patron.lisatamati.com. That's patron.lisatamati.com. We have two patron levels to choose from. You can do it for as little as 7 dollars a month, New Zealand, or 15 dollars a month if you really want to support us. We are grateful if you do. There are so many membership benefits you're going to get if you join us: everything from workbooks for all the podcasts, the strength guide for runners, the power to vote on future episodes, webinars that we're going to be holding, all of my documentaries, and much, much more. So check out all the details: patron.lisatamati.com. And thanks very much for joining us.  Lisa: Trevor, what was your favourite race that you've done?  Trevor: Oh, thanks for asking. There's this marathon I love to talk about. You've probably heard of it. It's the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland. That's such a beautiful place. It's almost unreal. Otherworldly how beautiful it is.  Angie: Probably like New Zealand actually. Really beautiful.  Trevor: I've heard it's nice there too. Well, I haven't been in New Zealand yet, unfortunately. As of right now, Switzerland is my favourite place that I've run. They say that when, for those Lord of the Rings nerds who might be listening, when Tolkien, after World War I, was marching through the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. He sees this amazing place and that was the inspiration for Rivendale in the book, in the movies.  Lisa: They did it there first. Trevor: Yep, exactly. Lisa: Then, we came to New Zealand to film it ‘cause it was even better.  Trevor: What's cool about that marathon is it's just pretty much all up this mountain until you get to this 7,000 feet elevation. It's pretty much a lot of power hiking. Yeah, exactly. It's pretty much a thousand... It's pretty much a lot of power hiking after the second half, which is fine because I felt like I was still making progress. But people were throwing up on the side of the trail, and I was fine because I was just I'm just power hiking. I was kind of used to it. That's been my favourite marathon thus far. Plus I had the Alps horns, Swiss Alps horns and stuff. Very transcendent.  Lisa: It was so special. I lived in Austria for 13 years and would go over to Switzerland regularly. Austria and Switzerland are very similar. And just absolutely beautiful. I really miss the beauty of the place, and the culture, and the traditions, and the cool boating. All of those sorts of things. Yeah, it's pretty special. What about you Angie? What's your favourite race?  Angie: I don't know. It's hard to hard to pick one. I would say my favourite international race was the Loch Ness marathon in Scotland. Just going around Loch Ness the lake and just incredibly beautiful. Just the chance to be able to be there and be in the country and see so many amazing things. But I don't know. There's a lot of races that I love here in the US as well. Boston is a very iconic special race. The Marine Corps marathon is really moving. Yeah, Washington, DC. Then, my home state is Montana. I've gotten to do a couple marathons there. Of course, I'm a little biased, but I love the mountains there. Lisa: Absolutely. For both of you, what was your toughest race? Have you ever not made the finish line?  Trevor: Thankfully, no.  Angie: Actually that one race that they closed the finish line. Trevor: Oh, yeah. I remember the marathon in... That was an Austria fact in 2019. They had to shut the course down because of the weather. I think that for me, the toughest race was 50k in Montana. I was probably undertrained because I'm so lazy, and I ended up taking lots of breaks. Angie: Like laying on the ground. Trevor: But I finished before the cut off and I wasn't dead last. Lisa: You take whatever you can get when you go to the bottom of the barrel. That's not much... If you get across the finish line... Trevor: Exactly. It was on the Continental Divide Trail so there's a lot of elevation. How about you, Angie? Angie: There have been a lot of marathons where I finished feeling, or even ultras, that was dragging a body part behind me but I was too stubborn to quit kind of thing. But I think, probably the most difficult one was the Leadville Trail Marathon in Leadville, Colorado because it starts at 10,000 feet and it just goes up from there. There was a section, a one-mile section to get up to Hope Pass, which was the highest point, and it took me 30 minutes to go a mile. I would just walk a few feet, just breathe, gasp for air, pretend like you're taking a picture because you're embarrassed at your pace. That was very challenging because I was not... We were living in sea level basically. To go and do that not being acclimated, it was challenging. Then, to look to the side of the trail and like, 'If I make a misstep, I'm going to fall off this mountain and die.' One of those where I finished and I was just like, 'So thankful to be alive.'  Lisa: Sounds pretty damn scary. What do you think are the biggest learnings from all of these races in this journey that you've been on for however long you've been running for? What what are some of the biggest takeaways? Do you think this crosses over into daily life, and to your businesses, and to the work you do, and stuff like that, and challenges in your home life, and stuff?  Angie: Yeah, I would say the marathon and any long-distance running is a great metaphor for life because you have to look at the long picture. Like you were saying earlier, we're always changing and evolving as people, and we have to keep that in mind. I've kind of through the years, through some trial and error, my goal is to be a strong healthy runner for life. Being healthy through that lifespan is way more important than any one race for me. I think that it's very important like we see people who are taking on these challenges.  It is important to have goals and everything but I think it's also important to just look at your overall health. Is your sleep, is your nutrition, is your overall strength, are your relationships good? How is your mental, and your emotional, your spiritual life? All those things go hand in hand. I think that at some point, running accomplishments are only going to be so satisfying if those other things aren't in place. That's been a big thing for me. I tend to be really goal-oriented person. Always looking to the future like, 'When this happens, I'm going to be happy and be satisfied.'  I finally came to the realisation that if I can't be happy right now, in the imperfect, the way life is if I can't be happy now, that I'm not going to be happy in the future. If I accomplish these goals, there's always going to be something else to chase. That's been something that I've been thinking about lately of just how to really appreciate the present. I think that really goes into running or whatever people's goals are because there's going to be a lot of the present that is challenging and that we don't want to go through. I think it's important to do hard things, take on hard challenges. But there's going to be a lot of hard things that find us that we don't want to have to deal with, that we're going to be forced to wrestle with. I think that having that long-term goal and having done hard things in the past prepares you for those challenges that you never wanted to take on in the first place.  Lisa: Yeah, when you've been struggling, going back to the genetics, you probably got a dopamine thing where you have to be chasing dopamine all the time. I know I've got that gene called the DRD2 gene where I don't have a heck of a lot of receptors for dopamine, so I'm always chasing a mission. Just coming to understand that about yourself, it's like, 'Aha. That's why I tend to...' Like my brother said to me once, 'Why are you always on a mission? Why can't you just sit on a beach and enjoy the day?' ‘It's like asking a table not to be flat. That's who I am. I get up and I'm missioning all day, every day.' And I'm like you, Angie. I'm trying to change the talk in my head to being present.  Sometimes, when you are going through challenges and life keeps chucking them at us at the moment, you don't want to be in the now. One of the big things that I really miss because I'm not doing ultras anymore, is having that single focus, one goal. Life was purely about being a selfish athlete who's just got on a mission. I don't have the luxury of that now with things in life. I miss it. I miss it terribly. That simplicity of life where you've got just one big huge goal and you're doing your work and stuff. But this is the one thing, and then when you're actually in the race, that's what I found beautiful about racing, you're not thinking about the mortgage and the what's going on in the family or anything else because you're just like, [imitates heavy breathing], ‘Got to get up this hill.'  Angie: To the next aid station.  Lisa: Right in the moment. For so much of my life, I know that I'm in the future or the past and that's really learning to be in the now without having that single singular focus. Really wise words, Angie, I think. Trevor, what would you say that running has bought to your mental resilience and toughness and ability to cope with things?  Trevor: Well, I know running marathons makes a lot of other stuff seem easier. Yeah. I remember how tough my first half marathon was, and I thought I was going to die because I was pretty much a non-runner previous to meeting Angie. After I did my first full marathon, then a half seemed a walk in the park. It seemed so easy even though they're still challenging, especially if you're trying to race a half marathon. We've had Joe de Sena on our podcast a couple of times. He's the founder of the Spartan Race. Lisa: Yeah, I've been on his show. Awesome.  Trevor: Oh, Cool. Yeah. He's a scary guy. I always remember something he talks about in his book, Spartan Up and that's obstacle immunity. When you make yourself do hard things, you become immune to obstacles in life. You can just push through them, hurdle over them. But it's when you're playing it safe, when you're afraid to get out of your comfort zone, sign up for that challenge, that marathon, or whatever your challenges is, it's this when you get more timid and hard things seem harder than they really are. It's all in our heads.  Lisa: Ah, that's gold. Obstacle immunity. That's going on my Instagram today. Thanks, Joe. Because it is. When somebody or when someone tells you can't do something, that's just for me like, 'Oh, we'll see. I don't agree with you. We'll find out.' That's really served me well. The more that you realise when people tell you can't do something, and then you go and do it, that's just other people's limiting beliefs. This is an all areas, certainly in the medical space and with story with my mum that my listeners know about. If I'd listened to everybody telling me I can't do something, we would never be where we are now. I think you have this mentality. You have, 'Oh, obstacle? How do I get around that? What else can I do?' Rather than, 'Oh, obstacle. I have to stop and sit down and cry and that's it.' I think that mentality is brilliant. Obstacle immunity. Hear, hear. I love it. Angie: It doesn't mean that you don't feel those hard feelings as you get over the obstacle. I think it's important to acknowledge that it's hard and take time to feel that frustration or that sadness or that disappointment. But I think also acknowledging those emotions helps you get over the obstacle too because you're not fighting your emotions then. You're using those and using that to fuel your fire or to just do what needs to be done. Lisa: What I think is beautiful too is when you look back and you've overcome challenges that makes you stronger for the next challenge. You lift your horizon up every time. You get to the end of your first half marathon. For five minutes, you go, 'I never ever want to do that again because that hurts so much.' Then the next day, you're on the internet, 'What is the next one? Where's the next challenge?' You can see runners do this over and over again. I just laugh now when they say 'I'm never doing that again.' Because it's usually until the pain wears off and they're off on the next mission.  It is like lifting your horizon every time. It's not something that stays out there permanently either, by the way. You build yourself up to marathon, ultramarathon, whatever your goal is. Then if you don't do it for a while, I can tell you as someone who's not doing ultras now, your world starts to shrink back in as to what you are capable of doing. For me, I'm thinking, 'Can I do a half marathon?' That's what I would like at the moment with a load that I've got on, which is a lot, 'Can I get back to that stage?' My focus has been on CrossFit and other things.  My body's changed considerably, for the better I'd say, but when it comes to going back long, whoa. I've got to push that horizon back out again. It doesn't stay permanent. In other words, it's a constant work battle really to keep it. When you're getting older, you've also got that aspect coming into it too, trying to keep things at bay. I had Dean on the podcast last week and we were talking about that because we're both somewhat north of 40. It's like, 'Yeah, things aren't quite working like they used to do. I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm working on that. I've got all these things for you, Dean.' 'Some great longevity stuff. Come try this and do that.'  That's sort of an interesting path to go down to because you start to think, 'Well, I can keep my fitness to the best that I can by keeping up with the current research, and the knowledge, and stuff, and doing the best things, and prioritising things like sleep.' You can have a massive impact on your body, and it's not just about the training I think is what I'm... Yeah. Guys, you've also got three kids. Three kids, busy life, running marathons. Most people can't, I can't do that. How do you find the time?  Angie: Well, we are very fortunate that now we are self-employed. We kind of can design our own schedules, and I think that's a big advantage to the training because some days, it happens at a certain time. Some days, it has to be pushed around a bit because of appointments, kids, things that we've got going on and everything. We've also tried to include our kids in the journey. Especially when they were young, they would travel with us a lot and they got to go to so many of the states that we travelled to. We tried to expand their horizons as well.  Now that they're older and everything, sometimes, he travels, he's going to Italy next week. I'll stay home with the kids, and then I'll go somewhere in September. It's just about making it work and making sure the family is supportive. It's not like your family has to be your biggest fans because there's only a certain level that your family is going to get it. Like our kids could pretty much care less that we do marathons. They're like, 'So what?'  Lisa: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know. I hear you.  Angie: 'What are you making for dinner, Mom? I don't care that you just ran a race.' You know that kind of thing? Lisa: They're very good at bringing you back down to earth, family. I've got brothers and yeah. 'You ran across the Sahara? Oh, yeah. Whatever.' 'Oh, you wrote a book? Oh, that's cool. I'll never read it.'  Angie: 'What's it about?' 'Okay.'  Trevor: That's cruel.  Lisa: But that's family, that keeps you keeps you grounded. 'Oh, would've been nice to get a pat on the back.' They're not like that at all. Very supportive actually, but when we were younger, that was definitely the case. Probably vice versa because my brother does surfing and I'm always like, 'Oh, yeah, are you just riding 20-foot waves? That's cool.' Now, I'm sort of like, 'Oh, Wow. That's pretty awesome. Go guys.'  You guys have been epic today. Thank you so much for being on the show. I really appreciate it. I thank your podcast. And tell everybody where they can find you: Where's the best home to find you on the internet and Instagram and all those sort of good places and how to connect? Trevor: No problem. Yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity to be on the podcast, and if anybody wants to find this, you can just go to marathontrainingacademy.com. If you are looking for our podcast, if you just type in marathon training, we usually just come up as the first result, but it's called The Marathon Training Academy podcast. We're on Instagram, @MarathonAcademy.  Lisa: Wonderful. I will put all those in the show notes. Thank you very much guys for your time today. It's been absolutely wonderful chatting with you.  Angie: Thank you so much. Trevor: Likewise. Thank you.  That's it this week for Pushing the Limits. Be sure to rate, review, and share with your friends, and head over and visit Lisa and her team at lisatamati.com   

: Episode 1692 - On this Saturday show, Scott Wieczorek joins Vinnie to talk his weight loss journey, running faster with NSNG®,  endurance and stamina, training for a marathon, healthy eating with family and more. Https://www.vinnietortorich.com/2020/10/running-faster-with-nsng-helping-family-more-episode-1692 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS RUNNING FASTER WITH NSNG® Scott has a very Polish last name! Growing up, people always messed up his last name, and still do. He had run several marathons before NSNG®. He couldn't break four hours. While getting acquainted with his iPhone and the podcast app, he ran across the Marathon Training Academy podcast. He wanted to break that four hour barrier.  Scott heard an episode with Dr. Noakes, and heard how he did it by eating NSNG®. He has lost 40 lbs and broke that four hour mark for his marathon! His dad also passed away from a heart attack, and his mother had diabetes, so this has further encouraged him down this path. He feels he was robbed of some quality time with his parents. His mom, however, did reverse her diabetes in her nursing home by eating how Scott does. Eating more meat and way fewer carbs can really improve athletic performance. Vinnie used to use this sugary running snacks before he ate this way religiously. Now, he doesn't need them because he's fat adapted, and he feels much better for it. Not only does it improve performance, it also helps your stomach. Scott also ran fewer miles in his training when he ate this way. He didn't need to train as hard! The lessening inflammation with this way of eating also improved his performance, he thinks. FAT DOC IS OUT Go watch it now! We need people to buy and review for it to stay at the top of iTunes pages. Please also share it with family and friends! Available for both rental and purchase. You can also buy hardcopy or watch online at Amazon. YOU CAN NOW STREAM FOR FREE ON AMAZON PRIME IF YOU HAVE IT! Fat Doc 2 is in the works! Keep an eye out. RESOURCES Https://www.vinnietortorich.com Https://www.purevitaminclub.com Https://www.purevitaminclub.co.uk Https://www.purecoffeeclub.com Https://www.nsngfoods.com Https://www.bit.ly/fatdocumentary

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On this week’s episode we interview Trevor Spencer from the Marathon Training Academy and Liezl gives us her RLR Toolbox recommend of the week plus we give you some tips on running uphill. Trevor is the manager and producer of the MTA Podcast. He has run 17 marathons, a 50K, 21 half marathons and a Spartan Trifecta. In addition to running he loves German beer, travel, books, self-employment, sleeping late, and making Angie, his wife and co-host, roll her eyes. Questions we asked Trevor:1. Can you tell us the story of how and why you started MTA?2. The MTA podcast is downloaded over 100,000 times per month by listeners around the world and is a hand-selected iTunes Essentials running podcast. What is the secret to the success of the podcast?3. You have interviewed hundreds of people, most of them very well known in the running world. Which one stands out as a memorable interview and why?4. You have a self-confessed rebel personality type and do not like the rigidness of training plans. Despite this you have run 17 marathons and an ultra. What keeps you returning to marathons, even though you sometimes don’t enjoy the training? 5. Angie has recently completed a 50 states goal where she ran a marathon in all 50 states of the USA. Has her dedication and achievement inspired you to plan a big running goal?6. Like us at Run.Life.Repeat, you guys have a heart for helping runners realise their potential and achieve big running goals. Your motto is: “You have what it takes to run a marathon and change your life”. What advise do you have for some our listeners who may be newbie runners and think that they would never be able to run a 5k, let alone a marathon?Check out Marathon Training Academy at https://www.marathontraininacademy.com

Welcome back! This week I'd like to share an interview I did on the Marathon Training Academy podcast. This podcast was started in 2010 to empower everyday people to live healthier lives and achieve fitness goals by unleashing their marathon potential. The show features actionable training wisdom delivered in a funny and relatable style. Co-hosts Angie and Trevor want you to believe that you have what it takes to run a marathon and change your life! In this conversation, we dig into exercise, insights from my new book, Rest, Refocus, and Recharge, and how you can use the science of recovery to help you optimize your life. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dr-greg-wells/support

I’m joined by cohost Dawn McFall and we chat with Trevor Spencer of the Marathon Training Academy Podcast. Check it out! Email me at Justarunner65@gmail.com

Angie Spencer is the cohost of the Marathon Training Academy Podcast and someone who just finished the 50 state challenge. But she added two important twists: first, not every race was a marathon. Some of them were ultramarathons! And she didn't run all of the marathons just to finish them. In fact, her 50th marathon this past January in Hawaii was a substantial Personal Best. How in the world did Angie run a PR in the marathon - a BQ no less - more than a decade after starting the challenge? She's on the pod to talk about just that. We're also discussing: How she maintained her motivation over more than 10 years to finish the 50 state challenge The mistakes she'd avoid if she were to start over again How her training evolved to make her into a more resilient, stronger, faster marathoner What's next for Angie after completing such a long-term goal If you're thinking about committing to a monumental goal like a multi-year running streak, 50 marathons in all 50 states, or even a time-based goal like a sub-3 marathon, this episode with Angie Spencer is for you. Resources & Links: Listen to the MTA Podcast with hosts Angie and Trevor Spencer See the MTA blog Follow MTA on Instagram and Twitter How to recover from a marathon How to qualify for the Boston Marathon How to run your first marathon Thank you Angie for sharing your story with us on the podcast! Be sure to say hi on Instagram! Enter to Win with PATH Projects This episode of the Strength Running Podcast is sponsored by PATH Projects. They’re an online-only retailer of high-quality running gear and apparel that I’m falling in love with (and they’re giving away three $75 gift cards!). Currently, I’m wearing the Sykes 5″ Shorts (see them in action in this video), the Pyrinees hooded sweatshirt, and the Torch base liner. Their gear is unique, stylish, and a premium quality that feels great to wear. And because there’s no retail markup, PATH is quite affordable. They’re using new technical fabrics and innovations to create award-winning apparel for endurance athletes. In fact, their Brim shorts and Tahoe base liner won Runner’s World’s 2018 Gear of the Year award. And the Pyrinees hoodie was named one of the best six sweatshirts for running in the cold by Gear Patrol. Check out their full lineup of shorts, tops, hats, and base liners on their site – and don’t forget to enter to win one of three $75 gift cards at PathProjects.com (the giveaway ends on May 3rd!).

In this episode we speak with Florian Neuschwander an inspiring German runner who just set the World Record for fastest 50k on a treadmill! Plus coach Angie shares tips on how to stay fit when you are isolated at home. And we hear from a MTA coach living with his family in China under home isolation since January. Interview with Florian Neuschwander On February 27th Florian set the new treadmill 50k World Record by running a 2:57:25 in Red Bull Athletes Performance Center in Thalgau, Austria. The previous record was held by Mario Mendoza and before him by Michael Wardian. He is a 2:20 marathoner, winner of the TransRockies 120 mile stage race, the Sean O’ Brian 100k, Wings For Life Run, Essen Marathon, and Rennsteiglauf 73k. In this conversation we ask him about why he became a distance runner, how running in the Rockies compare to the Alps, his Prefontaine tattoo, and his awesome treadmill World Record. Also Mentioned in This Episode Florian’s online links. Instagram | Facebook | Run with the Flow The “Social Distancing” Run of 2020, in honor our un-run races. Registration is open. MTA Coaching Services, we train athletes all over the world. On-Running Shoes -experience what running on clouds feels like. Magic Spoon Cereal -Breakfast cereal with with 0 sugar, 12 grams of protein, and only 3 net grams of carbs in each serving! The post Interview with Florian Neuschwander, Treadmill Champion appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

Because of the Corona Virus so many spring races have been cancelled or postponed. It’s really felt like dominos falling! Just this past past week we’ve learned that the Boston Marathon will be moving to mid-September and London will be early October. And given the seriousness of the Covid-19 virus it’s important to take these safety precautions. Cancelling large events and social gatherings can save lives by flattening the curve of infection. But what do you do now that your race is cancelled?How to Stay Motivated When Your Race is Cancelled or Postponed Here are some practical ways to cope: Take time to be disappointed. Remember your “why”. (See our 10th anniversary episode). Limit your time on social media if it’s increasing your anxiety. Remember that running is a boost to your physical and mental health and is good for the immune system. If your race has been cancelled or postponed keep in the rhythm of your normal training cycle Readjust your training focused on a future race/goal. I keep telling myself that the training is what helps me stay strong, not the race itself. The race is a celebration of all the hard work, but that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate in other ways. Also, I keep looking for smaller races that aren’t likely to be cancelled. –posted by Yali W. in the AcademyHow to adjust your training: Here is a question from Kim that captures what many runners are thinking, Hi, Are you guys going to talk about what we should do in terms of training  when a marathon is postponed 1 or 2 months later? Should we simply go back 1 or 2 months earlier in our training plan? Should we take a few days off? Should we maintain current milage every week until we’re back on training schedule? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot -Kim from Quebec Thanks for the question Kim! I recommend . . . 1. Keep running the normal number of days per week. Staying in a consistent rhythm is very important during times of uncertainty. The same goes for strength training. Even if you can’t go to the gym look for workouts online that you can do at home. There’s a lot of great core and body work exercises you can be doing even if you don’t have weights or machines. 2. If your marathon has been postponed 2+ months into the future or cancelled there’s no need to keep doing super long runs (over 16 miles) unless you want to. Many races are offering a virtual option so if you want to take part in that you’ll need to keep your training plan going as planned. Otherwise doing 3-6 miles on your weekday runs and alternating between 8-14 miles for long runs will keep you in good shape with the ability to jump into the last few weeks of a marathon plan when the social isolating has passed. 3. Remember that your fitness level is not a waste. The physical and mental strength that you’ve built is a great resource during a time of stress. If you stay focused the extra weeks or months of training is only going to be of benefit to you with your running goals. It can actually be a good thing to have extra weeks in your training cycle. This can be an opportunity to go into your race even more prepared. If your race has been moved weeks or months into the future you can restart a training plan the appropriate number of weeks out. Announcing the “Social Distancing” Virtual Run So many people have asked us to do a virtual race in leu of the many many cancelled or postponed races this spring. So we’ve been hustling over the last few days to put an event together, complete with it’s own one-of-a-kind finisher’s medal. SEE DETAILS AND REGISTER HERE Registration is open to all distances 5k and up! Also Mentioned in this Episode Athletic Greens -Go to www.athleticgreens.com/mta and claim your special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. A Trio of Conditions -great article by Dr. Justin Ross about why we get anxious when our marathon is cancelled. Social Distancing Run -virtual event we are hosting. The post How to Stay Motivated When Your Race is Cancelled appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

Meet some of the Harrisburg area’s most fascinating people, and hear their own authentic stories, straight from every month’s issue—with a different twist—on TheBurg Podcast. Because there’s always “more to the story.” Hosted by Karen Hendricks. TheBurg is a monthly community magazine based in Harrisburg, Pa.; Lawrance Binda, co-publisher/editor. Susan Ryder has written a series of stories about the homeless for TheBurg. In the March 2020 magazine (“Lend A Hand—A beginner’s guide to helping the homeless”), she compiles resources to guide the good intentions of donors. On the podcast, she talks about her personal connection to this issue, the evolution of her stories on the homeless, and some of the commonly held misconceptions people often have about the homeless. Think about your favorite hometown pizza, and chances are, it’ll cook up a nostalgic memory. Jennie O’Neill of Knead Pizza hopes her pies have all the right ingredients to create those memories for current Harrisburg residents. She talks about her “recipe for success,” how the Broad Street Market is an incubator for businesses, and she reveals the craziest things she’s ever put on a pizza. More info: Knead More Pizza Angie and Trevor Spencer might not be household names to you, but to thousands of listeners across the globe, they’re known as the personalities behind the Marathon Training Academy podcast. And who knew? They live and create their podcast right here in Central PA, in Carlisle. They share their thoughts on podcasting (10 years into their business!), how a “running community” is formed, and—now that they’ve moved here—their impressions of Harrisburg and Central PA. More info: Run Hear TMHT: Plus Editor Larry Binda joins us to share “the most Harrisburg thing”—a recurring feature closing out each episode. Today’s TMHT focuses on community and collaboration. Interested in sponsoring TheBurg Podcast? Contact Lauren Mills  Website: https://theburgnews.com Karen Hendricks is a lifelong journalist; visit her website here. 

Angelo Poli is an expert on helping athletes understand their body’s metabolism. In this interview he answers questions about why the metabolic rate is a moving target, why diets stop working, periodization, cheat days, meal prep tips for busy people and more! His new ebook called The Science to Transform you can get free when you visit www.metpro.co/bookmta . The post Interview with Metabolism Expert Angelo Poli appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

According to some statistics 75% off runners will experience a running injury at some point. When it happens it can feel like a huge part of your life is in disarray. In this episode we speak with Carrie Jackson Cheadle and Cindy Kuzma the authors of the book Rebound about tools and perspectives that will help you bounce back mentally during periods of injury. Interview with the Authors of Rebound This was one of my favorite reads from 2019 and I’ve been recommending it to anyone who is injured. Carrie Jackson Cheadle M.A. is a mental skills expert who specializes in the psychology of sport performance. Cindy Kuzma is a Chicago-based journalist and contributor to Runner’s World. Check out there podcast The Injured Athletes ClubAlso Mentioned in This Episode Athletic Greens -Go to www.athleticgreens.com/mta and claim your special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. The Pittsburgh Marathon -Angie and Autum will be running it on May 3rd. Let us know if you will be there and want to attend the MTA Meet Up. Send us a link through the contact page. The post Rebounding from Running Injury appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

For some people dreaming big seems to come as naturally as breathing. They’re always thinking about a next adventure or challenge to take on. But for some of us who may struggle with anxiety and self-doubt setting goals can be much harder. I have to admit that my first thought after hearing about a big goal or challenge is often, “I could never do that.” That’s how I responded to two ladies who were telling me about the requirements to join the Marathon Maniacs club. Deconstructing a Huge Running Goal It was the morning before my 4th marathon and I was thinking back about how challenging it had been to train for the marathon with a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and an 8 month old who I was still breastfeeding. Just getting through daily life often seemed like a challenge which is why my reaction to doing two marathons in two weeks or three in ninety days seemed impossible. After my 4th marathon in 2011 Of course looking back nine years later I see that it was possible and how it all came together. After I finished three marathons that fall within ninety days it definitely reset my definition of what was possible. It wasn’t long after that the idea of running a marathon in all 50 states started to take shape. Some years it felt like I was hardly making any progress toward my goal. When I went through my hormonal imbalance I wondered if I’d ever feel good and enjoy running again. Have you ever thought or said, “I could never do that”? Maybe a half marathon, a marathon, an ultra, or getting faster still seems so out of reach. You’re not alone if you feel intimidated by big goals. Or maybe you don’t have a problem setting big goals but you do struggle with the follow through. Maybe you’ve abandoned many a training plan midway through when life got in the way. Maybe you’ve settled for not getting faster because it’s a lot of hard work. I believe that having short term and long term goals is positive and healthy. If you want to challenge yourself and do bold things it’s first important to look at a few factors.Think big but start small. When I first started the thought of doing one marathon was overwhelming. Running a marathon in all 50 states wasn’t even on my radar. With every challenge you overcome you become a new and stronger version of yourself….capable of taking on more. Remember that the training run you do today is working to make you into the badass runner that you want to be. Doing that strength work and getting more sleep are the things that are going to help transform you from accomplishing small things to eventually accomplishing much more. After my 63rd marathonRemember that you are capable of more than you think. And it’s totally fine if a certain goal that “everyone else” is doing doesn’t appeal to you. I’ve had people as me when I’m going to do a 100 miler. At this point that distance doesn’t really appeal to me. Whatever goal that you set remember that the mind is still a battle ground, whether it’s your first 5k or your 63rd marathon. You’re going to have all sorts of interesting things running through your head, many of which aren’t helpful. Start to feed yourself positive affirmations on a regular basis. It’s like eating your veggies first. They’re good for you and you won’t have as much room for other less healthy options.Be far sighted and near sighted! Look ahead but also look right in front of you. Any trail runner knows that it’s important to pay attention to the path right in front of you. Get too caught up in looking around and you’re liable to trip on a root, rock, or hole and fall. But if you don’t take time to look around and appreciate the view you’re also not getting all that you could out of the experience. It’s the same with goal setting. It’s important to look ahead and plan. To keep an eye out for obstacles in front of you. But it’s equally important to look around and appreciate how far you’ve come. One way you can enjoy the journey is to appreciate the little victories (or vistas if we stick with the trail running analogy). We often expect the finish line or the end of a big goal to be some sort of nirvana. But most of the truly meaningful moments come along the way . . . as you struggle, as you celebrate the little wins, as you grow in strength and resilience. medals from my 50 states goal I think one of the interesting things about racing is that you never know if your best race is behind you or ahead of you. When I think about running sub-3:20 there’s always that thought that I’m capable of more. But life can be unpredictable and there are many things that we can’t control. We can only show up day after day and do our best. I’ve heard from a lot of 40+ women that this was very inspiring to them. It’s good to know that we can go through ups and downs in our running and still be capable of running PR times after age 40. The map is now totally filled in! Hover over each state to see which races I did.Also Mentioned in This Episode Karen Hendricks -Harrisburg runner and writer for The Burg who is doing 50 races for charity to celebrate turning 50. MetPro.co, a concierge nutrition coaching company. Angie has lost 32 pounds working with a MetPro nutrition coach. To see if MetPro is the solution you’ve been looking for, take their Metabolic Assessment and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of their experts go to MetPro.co/mta Drury Hotels -Where the extras are not extra. Save 15% on your room through our link. The post Deconstructing a Huge Running Goal appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this long awaited episode we recap the Revel Kulia Marathon on the Big Island of Hawaii, the final race in my quest to run a marathon in every state. This happened to be my fastest marathon to date with a finish of 3:19:55 (20 minutes under my Boston Qualifying time)! Plus in this episode you will also hear practical tips on how you can run a PR (personal record) this year. Revel Kulia Marathon Race Recap The 2nd annual Revel Kulia Marathon was held on January 18, 2020 at Waikoloa, Hawaii.Pre Race: The race sent out frequent updates and information. The expo was located on the Hilton Waikoloa Village property on Friday from 11am-7pm and was easy to navigate and mostly well organized. There was a moment of panic when the volunteer couldn’t find my race bib. But upon closer inspection it was located and I was number 1234. They also put your name on the bib and offered athlete tracking. Along with the short sleeve tech shirt they gave out an insulated beer/wine tumbler and some misc products in the swag bag. They had a couple of props set up for taking pictures. We met up with Natalie (my MetPro Coach), Tamana and her friend Suma from Cleveland, along with Wayne and Sherrie from Alberta.Race Morning: The race bused participants from the Hilton Waikoloa Resort and the Queen’s Marketplace to the start times. The marathon buses left between 4-5am since it was nearly an hour drive to the start and the half marathon buses left between 4:30-5:30 since it was about 30 minutes to the start. The marathon start area was set up off to the side of the road and consisted of a couple tables of water and sports drink, a bank of port-a-pots, music and speaker system, some site lights, the gear check truck, and the starting line set up a ways up the road. The wind made it feel rather chilly although the temps were around mid-50’s. Fortunately the race gave out gloves and heat sheet blankets and that helped a lot. I had a throw away jacket as well. We stood around talking, using the bathrooms, listened to the announcements, and then around 6:15am they directed us to walk up the road to get behind the start line. There was the usual nervous chatter and people shuffling around to try and stay warm. At 6:30am they did a countdown and then we were off running downhill.Course: The marathon course started near the Kilohana Girl Scout Camp on the western slopes of Mauna Kea at around 5,400 feet of elevation. I immediately noticed the huge amount of elevation loss. Right off the starting line the course went downhill and that combined with the dark made me a bit nervous that I would end up falling. The first 7 miles continued at a -7% grade and loses 2,591 feet of elevation which is 48% of the total elevation loss for the whole course. It made running this section extremely challenging because you want to relax into the downhill but not let yourself get out of control. You also don’t want to do a lot of braking which is hard on the body and slows you down. My mantra for the downhills was “flow” sort of like the relentless flow of lava. I tried to relax and keep the effort comfortable hard while enjoying the beautiful mountainous scenery around me. My pace for the first 6.55 miles was 6:46 for a time of 44:22. By the time we got to mile 8 my legs were already feeling the toll of all that steep downhill but I tried to keep my mind positive and just run one mile at a time. The marathon described miles 8-13 as “slow down and hang on.” At mile 11 and 12 the course really flattened out and then there are a few hills for a net elevation gain. It was a challenge to keep pushing at a decent pace and not get discouraged on the hills. Although I was really starting to feel warm by the halfway point I was still holding a pace of 7:23 for a half time of 1:36:45. It really felt like the first half of the race went by quickly. Near mile 13 we made another turn and from miles 14-20 the course lost another 1,600 feet of elevation which is a -4.5% grade. Compared to the first section this amount of downhill felt much more manageable. By mile 16 I was feeling very hot as the sun was shining in a cloudless sky and we were running toward the ocean. It started to feel like the aid stations were too far apart as I was very thirsty by the time I arrived at one. I was very thankful that I decided to go with the more minimal clothing option. There’s nothing like a little suffering to make you feel thankful for the little things- like the occasional breeze that I could feel. For the final 10k the course has around a -2.4% grade and there were a couple small hills. I also started passing a few half marathoners and saw Ed, a listener from Honolulu, out on the course. I really had to work hard at staying positive and focused during the final 10k because I was just so hot. I kept thinking, “I’m running my 50th state marathon, how amazing is that!” but part of me just wanted to be done. I noticed that I wasn’t even sweating that much which is unusual for me and I started dumping water on myself at each aid station. At mile 25 we turned onto Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. This last mile plus was on exposed blacktop surrounded by lava fields and felt flat, exposed, and HOT. Plus there was a lot of traffic whizzing by. I was trying to keep up a strong effort during the final two miles but being so hot I was somewhat worried. A couple of times I thought, “I hope I don’t pass out . . . I’ve never passed out during a marathon before, that would be awful to come all the way to Hawaii and not finish the race.” When I got to the last mile I realized that I needed to run a sub-8:00 mile to finish sub-3:20 so I decided to do a final push. During the last section we turned back into the Hilton Waikoloa property to finish at the Queen’s Marketplace area. When I saw the 26 mile marker I felt a lot of relief and pushed across the finish line to finish strong. When I looked at the finish clock it said 3:19:59 and I felt so happy to meet my goal of running sub-3:20.Finish Line/Finisher’s Stats: I learned that my official time was 3:19:55 for an average pace of 7:37 per mile which was a 9:23 PR for me. The Revel race also prints off this awesome finisher’s card which lists your time and stats and I learned that I finished as the 4th place female (out of 121), 19th overall (out of 253), and 1st in my AG (out of 17- although the first 3 ladies were also 40+). This was also a Boston Qualifying time of over 20 minutes. They gave out very nice medals along with a fresh lei to all the race finishers. They also had cold water and cold wet towels which felt amazing. I had a chocolate milk but didn’t even get over to see what other food was offered because I met a listener Sherry at the finish line and talked to her for a bit as she waited for her husband Wayne to finish. Then I saw Trevor, Natalie, and Tamanna and went over to celebrate with them. With Tamana and Natalie (my MetPro coach) The total number of Half Marathoners was 332. The male winner was Samuel Fradette with a time of 1:17:58 and the female winner was Krysten Smith with a time of 1:23:40. The total number of marathoners was 225. The male winner was Paul Terranova with a time of 2:49:10 and the female winner was Kamie Miller with a time of 3:08:37. I got my checked bag and changed into my recovery sandals and then we walked to the car to get back to the hotel. By that point I was feeling very happy and relieved to have run strong. My legs were also feeling rather jelly-like, especially in my quads. That started several days of hobbling around walking like a drunken toddler (as Rachel who did the marathon so aptly put it). This was the most sore that I’ve been post-marathon for a long time. By day 4 I was feeling like I normally do the day after a marathon and able to go down stairs and sit down without much discomfort.MTA Meet Up: Later in the afternoon we had the MTA meet up at the Kona Brewing Company and had a great turnout of listeners. List names….. Kona Brewing Company was generous enough to give us complimentary drinks and the manager personally welcomed us. We then enjoyed several days of going to the beach, enjoying a luau, hiking in Volcano National Park, and eating lots of great food. MTA Meet Up at Kona BrewingPost Marathon on the Big Island View this post on Instagram Going down stairs the day after the @runrevel marathon A post shared by Marathon Training Academy (@marathonacademy) on Jan 19, 2020 at 10:57pm PST Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Also Mentioned in This Episode Generation Ucan -use the code MTAHAWAII to save 15% on your order. New customers can save 25%. Athletic Greens -Go to athleticgreens.com/mta and claim your special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. MetPro.co, a concierge nutrition coaching company. Angie has lost 32 pounds working with a MetPro nutrition coach. To see if MetPro is the solution you’ve been looking for, take their Metabolic Assessment and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of their experts go to MetPro.co/mta Kona Brewing Co. -Trevor’s personal favorite is the Long Board Lager. The Revel Race Series -fast downhill marathons. The post Hawaii Race Recap- My 50th State Marathon appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

Carrie chats with Angie Spencer, co-founder of Marathon Training Academy, who recently completed her quest of running a marathon in all 50 states! They chat about her journey, her favorite marathons, weight loss, extreme fatigue, and what is next for Angie.

In this episode we take a look back at Angie’s 50 state marathon quest as she prepares to run her final race. This has been a 12 year project in the making! Angie’s 50 State Marathon List (in chronological order) 1) Tennessee- Country Music Marathon (Nashville)- April 2008; finish time- 4:10:15 2) Arkansas- Little Rock Marathon- March 6th 2011; finish time- 5:08:14 3) Washington- North Olympic Discovery Marathon- June 5, 2011; time-4:11:21 4) New York- Wineglass Marathon- Oct. 2, 2011; time- 3:44:03 Angie at Wineglass Marathon, new PR 5) Missouri- St. Louis Rock and Roll- Oct. 23, 2011; time- 4:31:34 6) Indiana- Indianapolis Monumental- Nov. 5, 2011; time- 3:47:46 7) Louisiana- New Orleans Rock & Roll- March 3, 2012; time- 3:36:46 8) Kentucky- Kentucky Derby Marathon- April 28, 2012; time- 3:35:41 9) Illinois- Screaming Pumpkin Marathon (Peoria)- Oct. 26, 2012; 5:07:50 10) Oklahoma- Route 66- Tulsa- Nov 18th 2012; 4:15:08 11) Kansas- Garmin Marathon (Olathe)- April 20, 2013; time- 3:51:14 12) West Virginia- Hatfield-McCoy Marathon- June 8, 2013; time- 4:16:29 13) Montana- Missoula Marathon- July 14, 2013: time- 4:22:16 14) Utah- Deseret News Classic Marathon- July 24, 2013; time-4:21:16 15) Mississippi- Tupelo Marathon- Sept 1, 2013; time- 4:40:23 16) Ohio- Air Force Marathon (Dayton)- Sept. 21, 2013; time-4:14:26 17) Alabama- Rocket City- Dec 14, 2013; time- 4:07:23 18) South Carolina- Myrtle Beach- Feb 15th, 2014; time-3:54:43 19) Pennsylvania- River Towns Marathon (Danville)- May 3, 2014; time- 3:55:04 20) Oregon- Foot Traffic Flat- (Sauvie Island)- July 4, 2014; time-3:36:12 Foot Traffic Flat Marathon in Portland. Angie’s first BQ 21) Virginia- Marine Corps Marathon- Arlington, VA- Oct 26, 2014; time-4:33:17 22) Georgia- Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon- Ft. Oglethorpe- Nov 8, 2014; time-3:54:41 23) Texas- San Antonio Rock & Roll Marathon- Dec 7, 2014; time- 3:57:55 24) Maryland- Hawk Indoor Marathon- Dec 31, 2014; time- 4:14:04 25) Massachusetts- Boston Marathon- April 20, 2015; time- 3:43:52 26) Nebraska- Lincoln Marathon- May 3, 2015; time- 4:07:02 27) Colorado- Leadville Trail Marathon- June 20, 2015; time- 7:11:07 After the Leadville Trail Marathon in Colorado. Angie’s toughest race 28) Idaho- To Bone & Back 40 miler- June 27, 2015; time- 7:34:02 29) New Mexico- New Mexico Park Series Sugarite; July 25, 2015; time-4:48:49 30) Wisconsin- North Face Endurance 50 miler; Oct 3, 2015; time-10:05:07 31) Iowa- Oct 18, 2015- Des Moines Marathon; October 18, 2015; time-3:59:41 32) Florida- Jacksonville Bank Marathon- Jan 3, 2016; time- 4:17:40 33) Arizona- Lost Dutchman Marathon- Feb. 14, 2016; time- 4:32:01 34) North Carolina- New South Trail Marathon- March 26, 2016; time-6:27:32 34) New Jersey- New Jersey Marathon- May 1, 2016; time- 4:33:10 36) North Dakota- Fargo Marathon- May 21, 2016; time- 4:30:09 37) California- Shadow of the Giants 50k- June 11, 2016; time- 6:24:28 Shadow of the Giants 50k in California 38) Wyoming- Jackson Hole Marathon; Sept. 2, 2017; time- 5:19:42 39) Maine- Mount Desert Island Marathon; October 15, 2017; time- 4:56:42 40) Delaware- Rehoboth Beach Marathon; December 2, 2017; time-4:43:12 41) Rhode Island- Rhode Race Newport Marathon; April 14, 2018; time- 4:23:21 42) Minnesota- Grandma’s Marathon; June 16, 2018; time- 4:21:46 43) Alaska- Juneau Marathon; July 28, 2018; time-5:19:10 44) Nevada- Red Rock Marathon; Feb. 23, 2019; time- 5:31:21 *speed walking 45) Michigan- Charlevoix Marathon; June 22, 2019; time- 3:39:25 46) South Dakota- Black Hills 50k; June 29, 2019; time-7:41:44 47) Connecticut- Hartford Marathon; Oct. 12, 2019; time- 3:29:32 48) Vermont- Nor’witch Marathon; Oct. 27, 2019; time- 4:05:51 49) New Hampshire- Manchester City Marathon; Nov. 10, 2019; time- 3:43:01 50) Hawaii- Revel Kulia; January 18, 2020; time- 3:19:55 RACE RECAP COMING SOON! Revel Kulia Marathon in Hawaii, massive PR!! Created by Academy member Jo Moore Baily Also Mentioned in This Episode The Drury Hotels -our longtime hotel sponsor. We stayed at the Drury while traveling to many of Angie’s races. They now have over 150 locations around the US. Use our link to save 15% on your stay. www.druryhotels.com/mta The post Angie’s 50 State Marathon Quest appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this episode Coach Angie discusses the importance of working on your weak areas in marathon training so that you can become a stronger version of yourself. Plus we speak with an Australian runner who is mobilizing the running community to support those affected by the divesting bushfires. Working on Your Weak Areas The episode was inspired by something I read recently by Coach Jason Koop titled “Work on Your Ultrarunning Weaknesses This Winter.” The gist of it was that it’s important to work on your weak areas in the off season. The “off season” may not necessarily happen for you during the winter months but it’s important to step back from hard training for a period of time each year (especially if you’re a hard-driving Type A runner). The Off Season This year my “off season” was during the months of July and August. I didn’t stop running but I gave myself permission to just run for fun and include some other exercise activities into my schedule (more strength training, rowing). Then I had the drive and energy to come back in September and hit it hard in preparation for my fall running goals. We often don’t think about our weak areas until we’re in the thick of training and something is rearing its ugly head. Being proactive about getting stronger is basically about prevention. It’s far better to stay healthy than have to fight back from injury. There are numerous examples of what could be a weak area and this will vary from runner to runner. What Are Weak Areas? Rest-you skip rest days, race several times per year, and schedule each day full of workouts. Strength Training-you rarely if ever strength train and find that you don’t have the strength or stamina that you want. Maybe you’re very hard on yourself if you don’t perform how you want and look to running for the majority of your identity. Injury- you’ve had niggles or injuries popping up (or seem to get injured a lot). Pacing-you struggle with pacing your runs (you start out strong and dwindle down by the second half). Mental Strength- You psych yourself out before starting challenging runs or workouts, find that you “have” to walk at a certain point in long runs no matter your pace or effort level, or have a mental block at races. Nutrition- Maybe you’re having trouble dialing in your nutrition. You train hard but seem to undo some of your efforts by uncontrolled eating or not eating enough. These are just a few examples and there are even more areas I could mention. Deep down each of us probably know what our weak areas currently are. And it’s likely that if you don’t currently know the process of training for your goal race will reveal them. The good news is that you’re not alone. Here are some common weak areas . . .1. Rest If you’re a Type A person, have a busy life, and put a lot of pressure on yourself it’s likely that you’re not very good at resting. In modern life rest has been made to look like a weaknesses while overwork and stress have become badges of honor. People often complain about how busy they are and how little they sleep at night. Long term overwork and stress will do you physical, mental, and emotional harm in the long term. It’s important to reframe how you view rest to make it work for you. Start to look at rest as preventative medicine. This means you rest before you feel like you need to. If you wait until you’re exhausted it’s often hard to make up for lost ground. Reframe the concept of rest as enjoying the fruit of your labor. A good first step if you know that rest is something you need to work on is to schedule one rest day from training every week. Try to make that day as low key as you can to rest your body and mind. I consistently take one day off every week. Each runner’s rest day may be designed a bit differently but if you’re doing it right you should feel rejuvenated and ready to go the next day.One Rest Day Per Week If you recognize that you need to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep you may want to invest in a sleep tracker. This will give you some good data on how much you’re sleeping and any basic patterns that you have. There are various watches and devices (Coros Apex, Whoop, Oura Ring, etc) that will track the amount of sleep and types of sleep stages that you’re going through. Looking at this along with your resting heart rate (increases can indicate lack of recovery) and heart rate variability (HRV) will determine if your body is resetting and adapting to your training.Improving Sleep Quality There are many things that you can do to improve your sleep. These include keeping your sleeping environment dark (consider blackout curtains and a sleep mask), cool, quiet (or use a white noise/sound machine), stop using screens at least an hour before bedtime to block the amount of blue light, dim your environment or wear blue blocking glasses 2-3 hours before bed, avoid working out at least 1-2 hours before you want to go to sleep, avoid caffeine 8 hours before bedtime if you’re sensitive to caffeine, and try to get into a regular sleep schedule.2. Strength The fact is that none of us have perfectly balanced bodies. Even professional athletes have to regularly work on their strength. Most of us tend to be too sedentary in daily life and even if you’re a runner a large amount of sitting isn’t good for you. Posture and muscle strength tends to suffer the more we sit. Signs that you need to work on your strength including dealing with niggles or injuries, fading toward the end of a workout or race, and dealing with chronic discomfort like back pain. The solution to improving your strength may include working with a PT for those with current injuries, working with a strength coach if you’re not sure what to do, or being more consistent about implementing a regular strength training program. A couple years ago I paid for several sessions with a strength coach so that we could develop a routine to address my weaknesses and so that they could watch my form. If you’re just starting out with weight training it’s important to begin with good form habits before you begin loading on the weight. When it comes to strength you don’t need to set aside a huge chunk of time every day to improve. You may need to schedule in a 30-40 minute strength session once a week along with smaller chunks of strength work 1-2 times per week. Build it into Your Routine You can incorporate strength work in smaller burst that fit into your day. This will depend on your activity level and type of job. It may include things like getting up every hour from your desk for some movement (walking, push ups, plank, squats, hand stands, a few yoga movements) or pairing core work with watching TV or listening to an audiobook. You can even do exercises while you brush your teeth (I do one leg exercises like hip abduction movements every night).3. Nutrition This is an area where a lot of us struggle. I’ve mentioned before that I’m very disciplined in the area of exercise but tend to easily fall apart when it comes to nutrition. One of the consistent messages you’ll hear about improving your running performance has to do with nutrition. Many runners are under-fueling their bodies and not taking in the needed amount of macros to maintain and build muscle and keep the bones healthy. This can be from disordered eating, a desire to lose weight, or simply from being so busy that they forget to prioritize eating. Natalie, my nutrition coach, says that most women she works with are afraid to eat more. They sometimes view food as the enemy rather than a way to give them strength and energy to achieve their goals. Some runners use their training as an excuse to party it up in the food department and eat whatever they want. Then they’re frustrated that they’re not making improvements in their speed or body composition goals. It can be a tough balance because food should be enjoyable. A lot of activities are based around food and drink and it can be easy to get caught up in tons of “special” food moments. When you add up celebrating people’s birthdays, post-race indulgences, eating out, and holidays it’s no wonder why people struggle with making progress in this area. Nutrition can be an area where seeking help and accountability is important. If you recognize signs of disordered eating in your life you owe it to yourself to reach out for help. It can be a scary process of realizing you need to change but the dividends are rewarding. A perfect time to dial in your nutrition and fueling is in the off season so that when you start your training plan you have a proven system in place. You’re only going to get the best out of yourself if you’re truly honoring your body and giving it the nutrition that it needs.4. Mindset We all have areas where we lack confidence and we’re often the hardest on ourselves. We may struggle with fixed mindsets (or untrue thought loops) that we accept as true. Some of these mindsets have been part of our lives for years and they can be tough to change. It takes true intentionality to challenge negative thoughts and substitute more helpful ones in their place. Focusing on gratitude is a key way to change your mindset. It’s a lot tougher for negative thoughts to intrude when you’re listing things you’re thankful for. Gratitude Written and verbal affirmations are also powerful. These should be personal to your situation and goals. Examples could be “I am strong, I am confident, I am a marathoner.” It’s not easy to work through a lack of confidence but you’ll notice that success builds upon success. When you keep promises to yourself you build a stronger positive identity. Another aspect of building mental strength for running is deciding to enjoy the process of training. We often focus so much on the destination (finish line) but we often learn the most on the journey. If you’re looking to running to find self acceptance then at some point you’ll be let down. You can’t PR every race and there will always be someone who is faster or running farther. Basing a large percentage of your identity on running can let you down. If you struggled mentally during your last training cycle or race the off season can be a great time to read good books and listen to podcasts on mindset. Identity If you deal with negative thoughts and feelings that resist your efforts to change consider working with a trained therapist, sports psychologist, or counselor. Sometimes we need a coach for our mind. Good books to consider that will help you build mental strength include “Peak Performance” by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, “Mind Gym” by Gary Mack, and “Let Your Mind Run” by Deena Kastor, 5. Consistency The best results come to those who are consistent over time. This is true in whatever field you’re trying to succeed in. If you’re not a Type A runner then consistency with your training is probably something that you struggle with. Consistency doesn’t mean that you’ll race year round or push yourself to the max every single day. However, it does mean that you develop strategies and habits to stay healthy and in shape year round. This will involve maintaining a solid running base year round and not going from zero to sixty between the off season and your training cycle. A large percentage of running injuries happen when people jump into training without a solid running base. If you go from haphazardly running a few times a month into a marathon training plan chances are it won’t go well. If you struggle with staying in a routine and staying motivated (where you’re prone to yo-yo training) it’s important to find a community to support you and give you accountability to stick with your goals. Consistency can also be developed by changing your mindset. If you start to see yourself as a runner then you’ll identify with the actions of being a runner. If you identify as a fit and healthy person then you’ll want to take the actions that will keep you fit and healthy. Sometimes we struggle with lack of consistency through no fault of our own. Maybe you went through a period of injury and have to start back from scratch. Maybe you’ve had a serious illness or surgery that required off time. Maybe you’re pregnant or just had a baby and are facing the process of rebuilding your running base. In these instances consistency will require that you start back slowly and gradually. In your mind you may be someone who runs a certain pace, can comfortably go a certain distance, or has particular race finish times. But if your body is not in the same place where it used to be then you have to honestly address what your weaknesses are and make a plan that starts where you are. It can be frustrating to feel like you’ve lost ground but being kind to yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally is the best path to getting back to where you want to be.Take Action Even the most amazing runner has things they need to work on to be at the top of their game. Here are three steps to help you take action. Acknowledge your weak areas (and we all have them). Denial doesn’t do us any favors and won’t be productive to creating the change we want to see. People aren’t going to judge you for having weak areas because everyone has them. If you find that someone is judgmental their judgment is saying more about them than it is about you. Judgment is a mirror, not a window. Usually we’re the hardest on ourselves. Acknowledging your weak areas starts by listing any areas you’ve struggled in during the last year. Recognize when you can’t go it alone. My first tendency is to try and fix things myself. But it’s okay and positive to ask for help. We can’t know everything or be able to fix all our weaknesses alone. Maybe you’ve tried to change and address your weak area before but haven’t made the progress you wanted. Maybe you started out strong and then gave up when you hit a wall with the issue. Whether you’re struggling with injury, your mental strength, knowing how to appropriately push yourself, or your eating habits there are people who have been down the same road before. It’s important to reach out and let others help you find solutions. It’s not a weakness to need accountability and advice. Develop a Plan. Once you’ve identified your weak area(s), figured out what you need to do to find solutions, and sought help if you need it you’ll need an intentional plan. It’s good to have a big goal or long-term perspective but we need to break it down into practical application. This practical application will consist of things that you do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. For Example . . . Maybe you’ve dealt with chronic injuries or gait problems. You’ve identified that the problem is a lack of strength and that you need a rehab plan to rebuild your body stronger than ever. For a couple of years I dealt with high hamstring issues, especially during the later miles of a marathon. It got so bad at one point that it was painful to sit for any length of time. I finally recognized that my glutes were weak and that was why my hamstrings were taking over and dealing with increased strain. I started doing regular glute strengthening exercises, avoided over-stretching my hamstrings, and eventually the issue subsided. Now I’m religious about doing lower body strength work and my hamstrings are much happier. I recommend that you not skip leg (or glute) day because runners are notorious for having weak glutes and this can cause problems down your kinetic chain. If you recognize that you don’t know what to do to rehab your problem area it’s probably time to reach out for help. If you know what injury/issue you constantly deal with then you could use something like The Resilient Runner program developed by PT Ben Shatto. If you’re not sure what the underlying issue is then you’ll want to find a qualified sports medicine professional to help you diagnose the problem. If you’re not sure who to see get recommendations from other runner friends or your local running store. You don’t necessarily want to see someone who doesn’t have experience with runners because their solution may be “just stop running.” Be an advocate for yourself if you’re dealing with an injury and don’t be afraid to see a second opinion. We’d encourage you to take inventory at the beginning of this year and identify any areas you want to work on. It could be including more intentional rest, building better strength, dialing in your nutrition, developing a stronger mindset, or being more consistent. It’s not easy to change but if you acknowledge your weak areas, build a support system, and are intentional you’ll become a stronger person (in both running and life). Also Mentioned in This Episode The Relief Run -Run or walk a half marathon or 5k anytime/anywhere over the 17th – 19th of January. 100% of your $50 registration fee will go to the Australian Red Cross: Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. MetPro.co, a concierge nutrition coaching company. Angie has lost 32 pounds working with a MetPro nutrition coach. To see if MetPro is the solution you’ve been looking for, take their Metabolic Assessment and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of their experts go to MetPro.co/mta The post Working on Your Weak Areas appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

This time of the year there’s a lot of attention put on goals, resolutions, getting motivated, and having the best year ever. I think there’s every more hype about it this year because we’re starting a new decade. The title of this episode is based on a book I read recently called How to Have a Good Day-Harness the Power of Behavioral Science To Transform Your Working Life by Caroline Webb. I have to admit that when I’m reading a book I often apply the principles to long distance running. Because we all know that training for a marathon holds a lot of parallels to life. Caroline Webb says, “One of the traps that people fall into is not just trying to do everything in one day, but also feeling that being an ambitious person means pushing yourself super, super hard. What we know about human motivation is that you do want to set purposeful, inspiring goals, but we make more progress by setting tiny interim goals that allow us to feel like we’re making progress, step by step, day by day.”How to Have a Good Decade In order to have a great decade behavioral science gives us some clues as to what will help us accomplish this.1. Be intentional Don’t let the day simply happen to you (or year for that matter). Set intentions and priorities for the day because it is these priorities and assumptions that set the tone for the day. Your mind is always busy sorting through endless amounts of information (it’s even processing when we sleep). Caroline Webb says,“The things that get through the filters are strongly influenced by the priorities and assumptions that we take into the day.” The three ways to be intentional are aim, attitude, and attention Aim Plan out the most important things in your day. Make a list of your priorities. This will be things that really matter most to make this day successful. Even though I’ve been in the regular habit of exercise for years I still schedule time each day for my workouts. That way it’s top of mind and I’m intentionally making time to do it. Schedule a block of time to achieve your 1-2 most important priorities. In order to get more done and stay focused it’s important to reduce multi-tasking and interruptions. Science tells us that we really can’t multi-task effectively. This will mean that you turn off notifications on your phone during productive periods, be more intentional about when you check email, and help others respect your priorities. According to behavioral science your intentions for the day should be: Positive– Think about what you’ll do instead of what not to do. For example, I will eat 100 grams of protein vs. I won’t snack between meals. Or I will strength train on Tuesday and Thursday this week vs. I won’t skip strength training. Personally meaningful– If you’re going to work hard toward a goal it’s important that it be meaningful to you. You must find your personal why. It’s great if your best friend is fired up about doing a 50k but unless that goal fires you up then you’ll probably hate the process of training. Feasible– Keep in mind that you have limited time and energy each day so don’t over-schedule yourself. For example, don’t schedule your long run on a day when you’ll be attending kid’s sporting events from dawn to dusk. It’s just not feasible if you plan on watching their games. Another example is not to schedule your long run immediately after coming off a string of night shifts when your energy levels will typically be low. Situation specific– Approach goals are better than avoidance goals (not doing something) which depresses performance. A positive approach goal for training for a marathon would be to feel strong and healthy. An avoidance goal would be to not feel fat and lazy. An approach goal could also be to prioritize cross training to stay healthy and injury free. An avoidance goal would be to stop dealing with plantar fasciitis. Attitude Practice gratitude. Much of how we experience life comes down to our attitude. To work on having a successful attitude use mental contrasting to increase the odds of having a successful day. Mental contrasting is all about looking at realities and obstacles and then making a plan to achieve your goals. It’s not that we never admit that there are unpleasant things in our life or obstacles that we face. But it is about coming up with a plan to overcome these obstacles and be successful anyway. Former POW James Stockdale said this, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end…with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.” Don’t be afraid to be realistic about where you’re currently at but at the same time be sure to project hope for the future. Caroline Webb says, “People are far more likely to achieve their goals if they think hard about both the outcome they want and the obstacles they’re facing, and plan for both.” For example, if you find that you’re rarely able to get up and run in the morning (you use the snooze button without even realizing it), set your alarm away from your bed so that you have to get up to turn it off. If you’re truly not a morning person you may want to consider working out over your lunch break or in the evening. There’s no one-size-fits-all routine that works for everyone. But if you’re really intentional you’ll find a solution that works for you. Attention We need to prime our brain with the images or words that we want to focus on. I mentioned earlier that the brain is always sorting through so much information. It’s vital that we be intentional about where we want our attention to go. For example, if you’re thinking about buying a certain type of shoes it’s on your mind and you’ll start seeing them everywhere. If you’re a runner then you’ll start noticing all the people who are out running or be looking for new running routes. Prime your brain with images of your goals and intentions for the day and you’ll find opportunities to advance the goals and come up with creative solutions. Ways to prime your brain to achieve your goals are to put sticky notes with your written goals where you’ll see them (bathroom mirror, refrigerator, computer, etc). You may choose to display your running medals, wear your race shirts, or have exercise equipment around the house to cue your brain.2. Find a personal why It’s clear that intrinsic motivation leads to higher performance as opposed to extrinsic motivation. If you’re doing it for yourself then you’re more likely to succeed. Some motivations to run your first marathon are more meaningful than others. If you’re training for a race because someone else is excited about it or pressuring you or you’re trying to impress other people it will be tough to keep going when things get hard. Other more helpful whys include focusing on who you want to become and how you’re going to start living into that identity. If you start seeing yourself as a runner and as a marathoner then your daily actions will reflect that identity and it will change the choices that you make. A marathoner runs regularly. They take care of their bodies in ways that will keep them strong and healthy. They’re smart about their training in order to avoid injury.3. Think big but start small I 100% love it when people have big goals. But sometimes people never get past the big goals to see the smaller actions that they need to be taking. Daily goals should be focused and achievable. The book Atomic Habits by James Clear addresses this topic so well. An atomic habit is a small routine or practice that’s easy to do and something that creates compound growth. We often get stuck in bad habits not because we don’t want to change but because we often don’t have the right system in place to achieve change. Maybe your goal is to stop snacking after dinner. But if you eat sporadically through the day, don’t prioritize eating protein with dinner, and keep snacks in sight you’ll probably find yourself on a feeding frenzy late in the evening. Or maybe your goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon (or BQ in runner lingo). It can be a big goal that takes time to achieve. Progress toward this goal is achieved through the training you do day in and day out. You build strength and speed over time. We often underestimate how much little changes can result in big growth over time. James Clear talks about the 4 Laws of Behavior Change in his book. They are: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. He says, “Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations….Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions, which build up the potential required to unleash a major change.” We can often look at someone’s breakthrough moment and feel a little envious. We think, “why isn’t that happening for me?” But what we don’t often see is all the tiny steps and all the hard work and effort that led to that breakthrough. Breakthroughs don’t usually happen by accident and sometimes we can’t predict when they’ll happen for us. For example, I ran 25 marathons before I qualified for Boston for the first time.4. Identify Keystone Habits Keystone habits are changes or habits that unintentionally carry over into other areas of life. Charles Duhigg talked about keystone habits in his book The Power of Habit. Keystone habits are things that positively or negatively affect other areas of your life. They include positive habits like sleep, exercise, mindfulness, and healthy eating, etc. When you look at keystone habits it’s important to identify the things that bring you energy and also try to identify the energy vampires in your life. Here are some examples of each: Energy givers– sleep, alone time, meditation, exercise, reading, eating balanced meals, time in nature, massages, etc… Energy vampires– Here are some of my energy vampires: getting less than 7 hours of sleep, too much screen time (watching TV, spending excess time on social media), not setting priorities for the day, too much sugar, going long periods between meals, not exercising, not drinking enough water, caffeine, and alcohol. This will vary from person to person depending on whether you’re an introvert or extrovert and a morning or night person. Many people find that certain music can bring an energy boost so it can be helpful to keep a playlist of songs that you can turn to when you need a power up. You may also notice that certain people in your life are energy givers while some are energy vampires.5. Harness the power of environment. We want to recognize that it can be tough to make changes and stick to goals on your own. That’s why tapping into the power of environment can fast track you to achieving goals. James Clear says, “We tend to imitate the habits of three social groups: the close (family and friends), the many (the tribe), and the powerful (those with status and prestige.)” This is why I’m careful about who I follow on social media. You may find that certain people give you a kick in the pants and are motivating while others just make you unhappy with your life. You have limited time so make sure that your environment is working for you. James Clear goes on to say, “One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and (2) you already have something in common with the group.” That’s one of the reasons why we created MTA and more specifically the Academy. We know how important it is to be surrounded by supportive and encouraging people who are achieving the things you are (or want to achieve). If you find that the majority of people in your life respond to your running goals with “that’s crazy (and not the good kind of crazy)” then it may be time to add in some people who think you’re a badass. One of the things I love about long distance running is that all you have control over is the work you put in and your attitude. You can go out each day with the mindset to “always do your best” (that doesn’t mean go hard every day and run yourself into the ground). Anyone who’s run for any length of time knows that you can show up to a workout or race and have the best day of your life or the worst day of your life or maybe something in between. You really can’t control all the variables. All you can control is your preparation and attitude. Let’s make this new decade one where we approach it with the right preparation and attitude.Books I Enjoyed in 2019 My 2019 reading round-up: 268 Total Books 133 Fiction 135 Non-fiction 31 (Number During Top Month of January) Here are the 16 Running Related Books I Read: Hanson’s Marathon Method by Luke Humphrey Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio Run the Mile You’re In by Ryan Hall (podcast interview) 26 Marathons by Meb Keflezighi (podcast interview) To be a Runner by Martin Dugard (podcast interview) The Long Run by Matt Long You (Only Faster) by Greg McMillan The Running Man by Orville Rogers Run or Die by Kilian Jornet Running- A Love Story by Jen A. Miller 14 Minutes by Alberto Salazar Running Outside Your Comfort Zone by Susan Lacke (podcast interview) Running to the Edge by Matthew Futterman (podcast interview) Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger From Sports Injuries by Cindy Kuzma and Carrie Jackson Cheadle Kicksology by Brian Metzler (podcast interview) Here are my 28 Favorite Non-Fiction Books of 2019 How to Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb How to be Here by Rob Bell Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer Atomic Habits by James Clear Tribe by Sebastian Junger Judgment Detox by Gabrielle Bernstein Inheritance by Dani Shapiro Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee Maid by Stephanie Land Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Half the Sky by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin Cozy Minimalistic Home by Myquillyn Smith Make Your Bed and Sea Stories by Admiral William H Mcraven Running the Books by Avi Steinberg The Vietnam War by Geoffrey C Ward Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel Strays by Britt Collins Endurance by Scott Kelly The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo Here are my 13 Favorite Fiction Picks Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell The Circle by Dave Eggers The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo Dark Matter & Recursion by Blake Crouch Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck Revenger & Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds The Revenant by Michael Punke Great Expectations by Charles Dickens The post How to Have a Good Decade appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this episode we take a look back at what happened in the running world in 2019 -the records, breakthroughs, and bizarre, unbelievable, and inspirational stories that made headlines. 2019 Year in ReviewNew Records: Sub 2 Hour Marathon In his second attempt at breaking the two-hour barrier in the marathon, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya accomplished the feat with a time of 1:59:40 in Vienna in October. The performance was not an official world record with the use of 41 pacemakers and because Kipchoge was handed his drinks from a bike. But it stands as the fastest 26.2 in history. Kipchoge also holds the official marathon world record of 2:01:39, which he ran in Berlin in 2018. He is quoted in Runner’s World as saying “I wanted to send a message to the world. No human is limited.” New Women’s Marathon Record On October 13th 25 year old Brigid Kosgei of Kenya made history when she won the Chicago Marathon in 2:14:04. She broke Paula Radcliffe’s 16 year old record. photo credit: Track and Field News New Men’s Half Marathon Record Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya shattered the world record at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in September by running 58:01 (a 4:25 min/mile or 2:45/km pace). The performance was 17 seconds faster than the previous record. The 26 year old distance star went on to prove his legs were capable of more later in the year when he won the 2019 New York City Marathon. Age Group Win for Joan Benoit In 1979 Joan Benoit Samuelson was a 21 year old college student and set a national and course record when she won the Boston Marathon. Now age 61 (40 years after her victory) her goal was to run within 40 minutes of her winning time at the 2019 Boston Marathon. In April at the Boston Marathon the 1984 Olympic marathon champion wore a similar singlet to honor her 1979 win and crossed the finish line in 3:04, exceeding her goal. “To be here, 40 years later and being able to run, let alone being able to run a marathon, I feel blessed,” she said in a Runner’s World article. In October Camille Herron won the International Association of Ultrarunners 24-Hour World Championship. She covered 167.8 miles in 24 hours and led the U.S. to an overall team victory. Earlier this year in January she survived a near fatal rollover car accident and came back less than two weeks later to win the Tarawera 100 Miler in Rotorua, New Zealand in a new course record of 17:20:52.World Best 24-hour Run for Female Runner photo credit: @jetlineactionphoto First Woman to Win Big’s Backyard Ultra Maggie Guterl became the last runner standing in Big’s Backyard Ultra race by running the same 4.2 mile trail loop for 60 hours. The Colorado native ran 250 miles during that time to becoming the first woman to win the race that rewards the person who can run for the longest amount of time. A Runner’s World article quoted her as saying, “When I finished, a woman came up to me and said, ‘I didn’t want to tell you this, but you were running for all of the women and an entire gender,’” Guterl said. “That was in my head the whole race and it was so surreal when I was the last one standing.” Fastest 10 Marathons in 10 Days Mike Wardian set a Guinesses World Record for the fastest 10 marathons in 10 days with an average time of less than 3 hours for each marathon. He also holds the record for the World Marathon Challenge with the fastest 7 marathons in 7 continents in 7 days. New Course Record at Western States Ultrarunning star Jim Walmsley maintained his Western States winning streak when he broke his own course record in June. Running 100 miles from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California, Walmsley finished in 14:09, breaking his own course record by more than 20 minutes. His roommate Jared Hazen also came in under the course record in 14:26. Walmsley also had some other amazing achievements this year by qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials in January, breaking the 50-mile record in May, and winning the 42K at the World Mountain Running Championships in November. Nick Butter became the first person in the world to run a marathon in every country. This was an unparalleled feat of logistical and physical endurance. You can hear our interview with him on episode #304. Notable and Interesting News One of the biggest gear trends this year was the evolution of the Nike Vaporfly shoe with the curved carbon fiber plate. There has been a lot of buzz about the Zoom Vaporfly 4% and this year they released the Next% with 15% more foam in the midsole. After the shoe was released this year it quickly became the fastest shoe on Strava, clocking up an average pace of 5:02 /km (8:06/mile). 32.7C (90.1 degrees F) was the temperature during the women’s marathon at the World Championships in Doha. Twenty-eight athletes pulled out in total because of the extreme heat. 1 billion pounds is The London Marathon’s overall fundraising total since its inception in 1981. Their motto this year was “Thanks a billion!” We appreciate everyone who donated as we raised money for a MTA forever forest for the John Muir Trust in Scotland. Cynthia Arnold, age 35, of Montana ran a time of 3:11 (7:20 min/mile or 4:32/km pace) at the Missoula Marathon while pushing a triple stroller with her three kids (a total weight of 185 pounds). The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned Alberto Salazar, the famous track coach of the Nike Oregon Project and former marathon champion, for four years. The USADA says Salazar was involved with trafficking testosterone, infused a prohibited amount of L-carnitine, and tried to tamper with doping controls. Mary Cain comes out with allegations about the questionable coaching techniques of Alberto Salazar related to weight shaming. This resulted in her dealing with some serious issues with depression and quitting the Nike Oregon Project team. A bright side to what she went through means that it is bringing to light problems with abusive coaches and sponsorship deals. More athletes are talking about mental health and eating disorders including Amelia Boone who openly shared about her long-time eating disorder and the treatment that she’s gone through. Another Nike related controversy that was brought to light was their pregnancy clause in contracts with women athletes. Alysia Montano shared an issue few knew about. Female athletes were being punished for getting pregnant. Montaño said that when she told Nike that she wanted to have a baby, the brand told her it would pause her sponsorship deal and stop paying her. She left Nike to sign with Asics, who she said also threatened to stop paying her during her recovery after childbirth. Other athletes including Allyson Felix and Kara Goucher have also spoken out about what they experienced. Nike has said that it would waive performance-pay reductions for 12 months for athletes “who decide to have a baby” and will add terms that reinforce the policy for female athletes into contracts. Shalane Flannigan announces her decision to retire from elite running. Gabriele Grunewald, pro middle distance runner, who trained and raced through treatment for a rare cancer, died in June at the age of 32 in her home state of MN. She inspired fans with her message of hope and resilience and that it was okay to struggle. She is quoted in Outside Online as saying, “In my previous cancer experiences, it wasn’t easy but I tried my best and I was able to do so many things that I would not have done had I just given up on my life when it was hard. So I guess my message is that it’s okay to struggle, but it’s not okay to give up on yourself or your dreams. My story is about cancer, but anybody has tough stuff in their life.” Her message and the mantra “Brave like Gabe” continues to inspire runners to be their best and her husband Justin plans to continue her foundation Brave Like Gabe. photo credit: bravelikegabe.org Kara Goucher debuted in trail races with the Leadville Marathon in Colorado. Bouts of vomiting from altitude sickness made the Olympian consider dropping out but she pushed through for a fifth place finish and first in her AG with a time of 3:54. She calls it the “hardest thing I ever accomplished.” The movie “Brittany Runs a Marathon” was released this year. It’s a drama/comedy about a woman who gets a wake up call when she realizes how unhealthy her body and lifestyle have become. With a motivation to lose weight she starts running with the eventual goal of completing the NYC Marathon. The Bizarre and Unbelievable 31-year-old Travis Kauffman from Colorado was trail running when he was attacked by a mountain lion. He managed to fight back and killed the lion in self-defense. The attack required 20 plus stitches to puncture wounds on his face, legs, and arms. He gave an interview 10 days after the attack and said that he’s recovering well, has been running three times since the incident, and has been back to the scene of the attack. In June a trail runner was attacked and gored by bison in a Utah State Park where he has run hundreds of times. One animal impaled Kyler Bourgeous with its horns and left hoof prints on his back and head. “I thought I was gonna die right there” he said. “I thought my situation was just a freak accident,” Bourgeous told The Washington Post on Monday night. “But apparently, they’re a lot more aggressive than I ever thought.” After recovering from a collapsed lung and cracked rib he worked up the nerve to return a few months later bringing his girlfriend Kayleigh Davis along for a hike. Unfortunately she became the park’s second bison attack of the year. An enormous animal turned on her and charged, throwing her about 15 feet in the air. Although in tremendous pain, she tried not to move or make any noise once she hit the ground. “He was hanging over me, sniffing me for a minute, and he was digging like he was about to charge again,” Davis said. When Bourgeous found her, Davis was bleeding from her left thigh, where the bison had gored her. She had also broken her right ankle, ruining her plans to run in a spring half-marathon. She was airlifted to a local hospital. Kyler said he’s not sure he’ll ever return to the park. Caitlin Keen, age 26, was running along Fort Worth’s Trinity Trails when a pit bull mix attacked her. The dog repeatedly jumped on her and bit her on the back and arms before a passerby was able to rush to her aid and subdue the dog. The attack caused injuries requiring 21 stitches in six spots. After healing up Keen stayed focused on her goal races which includes looking forward to the upcoming US Olympic Trial marathon. A running club in Philadelphia helped chase down an alleged thief near the University of Pennsylvania during their midday run. Runner’s World reports that the Annenberg Lunchtime Running Group saw a “very fast man” sprint by them, “probably running a 7:15 pace,” said group member Kyle Cassidy. But they quickly realized the man had allegedly stolen a phone and laptop. “We all looked at each other and sprinted off after the person,” Cassidy said. Other members in the running club gave chase and the running group tracked the man down on the streets of Philadelphia. The chase ended when the suspect ran into the path of responding University of Pennsylvania officers. “We heard the first officer yell to the other officers, ‘It’s a running club,’” Cassidy said. “‘This guy tried to run from the running club.’ People were shocked when Harvard University junior Kieran Tuntivate managed to win two races in this year’s Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, despite an injury that left him with a large open wound on the bottom of his foot. Tuntivate, age 22, was in the first lap of a 3,000 meter race at an indoor meet when another runner stepped on his foot causing him to lose a shoe. Runner’s World reports that Tuntivate, who’s been running competitively since age 12, said he only had two options in the moment: stop to recover his shoe and likely lose the race or keep running and risk an injury. He decided to keep going and he ended up winning the race without his left shoe. But the victory came at a bloody and painful price. “It felt kind of natural at first, but I kind of expected it to start hurting eventually with the really abrasive surface of the track,” Tuntivate told ABC News in an interview. “Around 2,000 meters — about two-thirds into the race — is when it really started to hurt.” Tuntivate said he lost a lot of skin by running on what “felt like sandpaper.” He said his doctor compared the skin loss to what one experiences after a third-degree burn, but he didn’t let it stop him and managed to win in the 5,000 meters event the following day. Anna McNuff of the UK took on a huge adventure by running nearly the whole of Britain barefoot! She posted this on Facebook, “A total of 2,352 MILES RUN (equivalent to 90 marathons) from The Shetland Islands to London, in my bare feet.” photo credit: Anna McNuff The Inspirational Ernie Lacroix celebrated his 100th birthday at the Cowtown 5K in Fort Worth, Texas. This was the 20th year in a row that Lacroix completed the 5K race. Lacroix ran with his family and friends under the team name Smoky’s Posse, named after the plane he flew during World War II. Lacroix flew 76 missions in a B-25 Bomber over Italy and France during the war, earning him the Flying Cross medal. “I have no idea of what prompted me to give the Cowtown a go,” Lacroix told Runner’s World. “I knew beforehand that I didn’t have a chance to win anything, but all the people obviously enjoying the competition looked like fun, so I gave it a go. I can’t think of any other reason.” Running (or walking, as he refers to his not-so-brisk pace) was not something Lacroix has always done, though he did exercise a lot while in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Now, at 100, he says he is “in the worst shape of (his) life at the present time”—but he is looking to see what he can do to change that. photo credit: Rick Irving It’s tough enough to push one child in a running stroller but imagine pushing five children. 37 year old Chad Kempel did just that at the Surf City Marathon in February. The father of seven pushed his quintuplets to the finish line in 5:45 and then continued for a total of 27.3 miles to honor the amount of weeks that his wife carried the quintuplets before they were born prematurely. When the babies were born in 2018, they each only weighed three pounds, and had to be immediately treated with oxygen and feeding tubes to survive. The quintuplets’ fragile health conditions required them to stay in the intensive care unit for 73 days, Kempel said in a Runner’s World article. “It was a long, scary pregnancy, and even after they were born, we couldn’t rest. Finally, we were able to take them home, but then our schedules just got busier. It’s been a long, crazy year, between parenting and working and finding time to run.” To train for the Surf City Marathon, Kempel woke up each morning at 4:00, put on his running clothes plus a headlamp and reflective gear, and then left the house at 4:30 to run. During the race he had to deal with making sure the babies weren’t hungry. He said, “My biggest concern was how many diapers I’d need to change.” Luckily, the dad had the genius idea to dress each baby in two diapers, so when one was soiled, it could be quickly ripped off and the other could slide in place. “It was smooth sailing.” photo credit: Chad Kempel 49 year old Dave Mackey was an accomplished ultra runner until a fall while running left him with a tibia broken in eight places. Due to complications and continual pain he chose to have a below the knee amputation. Since then he’s been building back his running and completed the Leadman series last year. This year he ran the Leadville Trail 100 in 25 hours, 54 minutes, roughly six hours slower than his pre-injury 2014 time. Mackey says in Outside Online, “I just want to get out there and make the most of it. I’m more appreciative now of every individual run or ride. Or skiing with my kids. It feels so good. With the accident I had, I could’ve died.” There’s a new film out about his story called Leadman. British ultra runner Jasmin Paris wins a 268 mile race at the Montane Spine Race (which traverses from England into Scotland on rugged terrain). She was the overall winner by over 15 hours with a time of in 83 hours 12 minutes. There were 126 other athletes who also battled rain and 50 MPH winds. But she only stopped for 7 hours total to eat, sleep, and pump breast milk as she is still nursing her baby girl. All athletes were required to carry their own supplies and navigate which adds to the challenge. Sources Sources: https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/g30141093/best-race-moments-of-2019/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=121419&utm_campaign=nl18859880&src=nl https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26268341/susannah-gill-world-record-world-marathon-challenge/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=021119&src=nl&utm_campaign=15949881&utm_term=AAA%20–%20High%20Minus%20Dormant%20and%2090%20Day%20Non%20Openers https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/motivation/g30207568/2019-the-running-year-in-numbers/?slide=1&fbclid=IwAR1UqXZjic53GK9W9gUS7jK3p8VS4Y8hMuEuV6AzVc0XCH4F15nx4Xvr4Fw https://www.si.com/olympics/2019/05/24/nike-maternity-protection-sponsorships-contract-allyson-felix-alysia-montano Kara Goucher finishes fifth, wins age group at Leadville Trail Marathon https://www.outsideonline.com/2398145/gabe-grunewald-obit https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-iowa-man-dies-near-race-finish-line-20190616-gx7pufktxrehxay4enrvxofz5a-story.html https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26141910/colorado-trail-runner-mountain-lion-attack/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=020719&src=nl&utm_campaign=15933563&utm_term=AAA%20–%20High%20Minus%20Dormant%20and%2090%20Day%20Non%20Openers https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/01/bison-gores-utah-woman-date/ 5-Dog attacks Olympic Trials qualifier: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26736114/dog-attacks-olympic-trials-qualifier-caitlin-keen/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=030819&src=nl&utm_campaign=16093092&utm_term=AAA%20–%20High%20Minus%20Dormant%20and%2090%20Day%20Non%20Openers https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-runner-slips-on-ice-falls-180-feet-to-his-death-from-mountain-peak-officials-say https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26174001/philadelphia-running-group-chases-down-thief/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=022219&src=nl&utm_campaign=16080922&utm_term=AAA%20–%20High%20Minus%20Dormant%20and%2090%20Day%20Non%20Openers https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26988314/missing-ultrarunner-malaysia/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=040319&src=nl&utm_campaign=16461291&tpcc=email_offer https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26558486/harvard-runner-loses-shoe-wins-race/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=030219&src=nl&utm_campaign=16150340 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=567402820676995 https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26569647/100th-birthday-5k-cowtown/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=030319&src=nl&utm_campaign=16156251 https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a26534902/chad-kempel-runs-marathon-pushing-quintuplets-in-stroller/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rnw&utm_medium=email&date=030319&src=nl&utm_campaign=16156251 https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a26255581/run-all-american-times-at-age-90/ https://www.outsideonline.com/2404014/dave-mackey-ultrarunning https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/17/jasmin-paris-first-woman-win-gruelling-286-mile-montane-spice-race-ultrarunning Also Mentioned in This Episode MetPro.co, a concierge nutrition coaching company. The first 10 MTA listeners who go to www.metpro.co/mta will get a complimentary consultation and a FREE month of coaching a $500 value when they sign up for service. They’ve never done a special before and only have just a handful of spots so take advantage before it’s too late. Go to MetPro.co/mta Four Sigmatic, a wellness company that mixes ‘shrooms and adaptogens with coffee, cacao, latte, protein powder, and edible skincare. Receive 15% off your Four Sigmatic order when you use our link or enter code MTA at checkout. The post Top Running Stories and Headlines from 2019 appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this episode we speak with British runner Nick Butter who is the first person in history to run a marathon in every country on Earth. Plus in the quick tip segment Angie shares tips on safely running in cold weather. Interview with Nick Butter Nick Butter is a 31 year old ultra runner from Dorset, UK. He is the first person in history to complete a marathon in every country of the world. He finished his last marathon on November 10th, 2019 and averaged three marathons a week for 96 weeks. A documentary about Nick’s accomplishment is due out in 2020 as well as the first of three books he’s been contracted to write. Nick used his journey to raise money for Prostrate Cancer UK. Quick Stats Taken from Nick’s Instagram 196 Marathons 196 Countries visited (all of ‘em) 10,000,000 Steps running 8,271 Kilometres run 19 Marathons run with the shits 101 Marathons run without food 1,014 Litres of water during marathons 255,000 miles flown 9 Presidents ran with me 41 Ambassadors ran with me 100% carbon OFFSET 5000+ Running buddies 6303 Daylight Kilometres 1967 Darkness Kilometres -25C Temperature lowest +59C Temperature highest 60+ Paid bribes 5 Broken down cars 5900+ Kilometres driven 400,000+ Photos taken 2,411 New friends — Transport 18 Trains 344 Big Planes 111 Tiny Planes 50 Buses 290+ Taxis 11 Cars 29 Metro 4 Hitch hiked — Food 0 Alcohol 400+ Mission Teas 80 McDonald’s 100+ brownies 190 Room service 298+ Pasta dishes Juice Plus Tablets 500 Pulsin Bars 99 150 Crap food days 35 No meal days 289+ Chocolate bars — Health 1 Dog bite 11 Near misses 2 Muggings 1 Hit by car 1 Broken elbow 22 marathons on food poisoning 4 marathons with kidney infection 1 Tooth infection 320 Painkiller free days 229 Malaria tablets — Accommodation 280 different beds 156 hotels 11 hostels 59 host families 29 Guest Houses 599+ Airports 4 Yurts — Other 29 Camp fires 690,000 Calories running 92 Number of animals seen 40 Number of languages 5 Tribes 24 Volcanos 5 Mountain ranges 88 Schools Visited 140 News channels 260 Interviews 592 Marathons run all time 89 Ultras run all time 45,000 km run all timeAlso Mentioned in This Episode Nick Butter on the web:Instagram | Website MTA ‘Trucker Style’ Technical Running Hat -we have some of these highly coveted MTA running hats left over from this year’s Virtual Half. Grab one while supplies last! Athletic Greens -Go to athleticgreens.com/mta and claim your special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. Bombas Socks -Bombas socks are SOFT and built with extra cushioning, so whether you’re walking the dog, chilling at home, or doing a long run, you’ll be comfortable. Use our link to get 20% off your first purchase. The post The Man Who Ran a Marathon in Every Country! Interview with Nick Butter appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In todays Episode I bring my recording to the Appalachian Trail in south central pa where I complete my Virtual Half Marathon put on by the Marathon Training Academy podcast. I also share some thoughts on why you should NOT go keto. Follow The Joe Health Show on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thejoehealthshow Follow The Joe Health Show on IG at https://www.instagram.com/thejoehealthshow/ If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Primal Health Coach, it would be great if you'd follow the link here! For your free copy of how to navigate social situations while following a specific diet, go here! Sign up for the 21 day Revitalize Your Life/Completely 21 email program here!  

In this episode we bring you an interview with Gene Dykes the fastest marathoner over age 70 who ran a blistering 2:54:23. Plus we take you on the ground at the Philadelphia Half Marathon in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.Interview with Gene Dykes In December of 2018 Gene Dykes ran a 2:54:23 marathon at the Jacksonville Marathon in Florida. This was 25 seconds faster than the previous age-group world record held by Ed Whitlock of Canada. I had the opportunity to stay with Mr. Dykes and interview him before the Philadelphia Marathon. He ran the Liberty Bell Challenge -doing the half, 8k, and full marathon. He won his age group at each race. The Philly Marathon was marathon number 123. He didn’t start running marathons until age 58! Race Expo Before the Philly Half The Rocky Steps MTA Meet Up The post Interview with Gene Dykes, 2:54:23 Marathon at Age 70 appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

The Manchester City Marathon in Manchester New Hampshire bills itself as the largest running event in New Hampshire. The 13th edition of the race was held on Sunday, November 10th, 2019. My youngest sister, Autum Haley, traveled with me to this race. It her first half marathon after having her 4th child last year. This was my 62nd marathon in my 49th state. Only one state to go! Race Recap: The Manchester City Marathon The expo/bib pick up was located at the Millennium Running Store in Bedford, NH the day before the race. They also offered race day pick up the morning of the race at race headquarters in Veterans Park. This was a nice option for those who lived somewhat locally. I got a message the night before from a MTA listener named Kathleen on Instagram that her son had eaten one of the UCAN bars she needed to fuel her first marathon. She was wondering if I had an extra she could get. I’d brought a couple extra for my sister and was happy to give her one so we arranged to meet the next morning. It was fun to be able to meet Kathleen and her sister that morning and get a quick picture. We did a MTA Meet up at Backyard Brewery on Saturday evening and it was fun to meet Allie who lived about an hour away as well as Jane and her running team. Jane is the mother of Noelle, one of my first coaching clients. Noelle has gone on to become a trail running rock star completing three 50 milers, two 12 hour races, and recently ran her first 24 hour race (she ran over 94 miles and was the first place female)!Race Morning: The marathon, half, and relays started at 8:50 am and were broadcast live on TV. The 5k started at 9am and had a different course. The starting area was in front of the SNHU (Southern New Hampshire University) Arena in downtown Manchester and was very close to the hotel we were staying at. It was wonderful to be able to wait in the warm hotel lobby until just a few minutes before the race and not have to stand outside in the cold for an extended period of time. The weather was clear and in the low 30’s at the start and there was a slight breeze which made it feel even more chilly. I decided to wear shorts, compression socks, a short sleeve race shirt, arm sleeves, light knit gloves, my lucky hat, and my On Cloudswift shoes. I was also wearing a long sleeve throw-away shirt (which I got rid of at mile 2).The Course: The marathon and half marathon course were identical for the first 13 miles. At mile 13 the race returned to downtown Manchester where the half marathoners finished and the marathoners ran right by the finish line to start the second half of the course. I found the first half of the race to be quite hilly and challenging. My watch showed a total of 1,273 feet of elevation gain for the whole marathon but I’d estimate that at least 800-900 feet of that was in the first half. Most of the course was around the city of Manchester, through the historic mill yard district, and into the suburbs. There are several sections where the course runs along and over the Merrimack River. The course did start to flatten out around mile 16 and at 16.5 we started an out and back section that went to mile 20.5 on the Piscataquog Trail. It was a dirt/gravel surface and there were some roots, rocks, and mud/ice puddles that had to be navigated around. Then the course proceeded to the Goffstown Rail Trail. This is a very scenic portion of the route as it follows the Piscataquog River back to Manchester. At mile 22 the run crosses the new “Trestle” bridge and continues back to the city, crossing the footbridge over the Merrimack River, and running the final miles in downtown Manchester. The final mile goes by the finish area again, turns off Elm street to cross the bridge, and then returns back to Elm Street to the finish. I found that final mile to be challenging because we were teased with the finish and then had a final overpass hill to run up which felt enormous at that point.Aid Stations/Fueling: Official race aid stations were located approximately every two miles and were well supported. Each one had water and sports drink and a few offered other fueling options. There were also a surprising number of unofficial aid stations like a lemonade stand, someone handing out small water bottles, a mimosa stop, a beer stop, and people handing out candy. I stuck with my fueling strategy of using Generation UCAN bars washed down with water from the aid stations. Use the code MTAMANCHESTER to save 15% on your order. For first time customers use the code MTA25.Finish Line: There were a good number of spectators along the final stretch and they had an announcer calling each runner’s name who crossed the finish line. The total number of marathon finishers was 360. There were 562 who finished the half marathon and also quite a few relay teams. There were 270 finishers for the 5k. The medal was huge and featured stained glass elements behind buildings in Manchester. They also did race tracking and offered free race pictures and a finish line video. The shirt was a very nice long sleeve technical shirt. My Experience: I ran with a guy named Carlos for a few miles which helped pass the time. He’s also pursuing his 50 states and working up to a BQ. I ran by feel during the race and only looked at my watch at each mile split. I felt a bit tired just going into the marathon but wanted to run as strong as possible while listening to my body. The uphills and downhills in the first half were challenging and by mile 18 my lower body felt done. It was one of those feelings that I’ve had during marathons in the past when you feel like walking, but walking doesn’t actually feel any better. Since I knew this I tried to keep my stride and gait consistent and run relaxed in spite of my fatigue. My glutes and hamstrings were particularly sore but thankfully my feet felt good. I finished my 62nd marathon (and state #49) in 3:43:01 and was 2nd in my age group. I got a mug and reusable drawstring bag for the AG placing. Autum was at the finish line to meet me and get some pictures. It was great to see her and find out that she had a good half marathon, finishing in 2:19. They had a nice food area with yogurt, soup, flatbread pizza, chocolate milk, and coffee. The heat sheet felt good because the temps were still cool. We headed out later to find a post-race meal and just happened to see Kathleen, the lady who needed the UCAN bar, finish strong. Here’s what she wrote in later: Hi Angie, Thank you so much for meeting me this morning with the UCAN bar. Here is the photo of us. What a highlight for me to get to meet you. Congratulations on a great run today! You inspire your listeners so much. I finished today, my first marathon, in 5:33:17. The miles seemed to fly by and I had a fun experience. Thanks for your great training plan that got me there. Sincerely, -Kathleen I also heard back from Jane from the MTA meet up Hi Angie, What a pleasure to meet you – and your sister Autumn.  Kudos to Autumn for traveling, running and being a mom and wife!  Pretty amazing!  We enjoyed our dinner with you, and the race the next day. We did well on Sunday: Kelsey & Laxmi competed the 5K – Laxmi’s 2nd race ever! Jen, Suzanne, Emily and I did the half marathon.  I’m pretty sure it was Emily’s 2nd fastest half. Sara did her 1st marathon at the 2017 Hartford Marathon in 5:10:01.  Last week in Manchester, using the MTA training plan, she finished in 4:35:50 !!!!  So great!! I am on a quest to be a 50 stater for half marathons.  I have 17 completed.  Manchester was a repeat state for me – but my 32nd half! I hope that you and Trevor have continued success with MTA.  I have certainly enjoyed listening, using your training plans, doing the virtual half and especially wearing my Release the Kraken hat!!  Thanks again. -Jane Also Mentioned in This Episode MTA Meet Up at the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Trevor will be running the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on December 8th. Please let us know if you will be there. A pre-race diner meet-up (Mexican food of course) is in the works. MTA Coach Athena Farias will be there too! Here is the FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/534288650726942/ MetPro -Angie has lost 32 pounds working with a MetPro nutrition coach. To see if MetPro is the solution you’ve been looking for, take their Metabolic Assessment and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of their experts by going to www.metpro.co/mta Athletic Greens -Go to athleticgreens.com/mta and claim your special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. Generation Ucan -our go to fuel source for long runs and races. Use the code MTAMANCHESTER to save 15% on your order. For first time customers use the code MTA25 to save 25%. Bombas Socks -Bombas socks are SOFT and built with extra cushioning, so whether you’re walking the dog, chilling at home, or doing a long run, you’ll be comfortable. Use our link to get 20% off any purchase during their big holiday sale, November 18th through December 5th. BioLite -our go-to headlamp for running in the dark. Shorter days don’t have to mean shorter runs! Get the BioLite HeadLamp 330: an ultra-thin, no-bounce headlamp that’s so comfortable, you’ll forget you’re wearing it. Try it for 30 days and if you don’t love it — they’ll take it back. Go to BioLiteEnergy.com/mta for special offers all holiday season. The post Race Recap: The Manchester City Marathon appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this episode we speak with running shoe expert Brian Metzler author of the new book Kicksology -the Hype, Science, Culture, and Cool of Running Shoes. Plus Angie shares tips on how to get the most out of your shoes . . . And you will hear from a runner who’s been listening to the MTA Podcast since the very beginning. Interview with Brian Metzler Brian Metzler has tested more than 1,500 pairs of running shoes and written for Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Outside and GearJunkie. He’s also the founding editor of Trail Runner Magazine. His new book is called Kicksology -the Hype, Science, Culture, and Cool of Running Shoes, published by VeloPress. He lives and trains in Colorado. In this conversation we discuss the evolution of running shoes from the over-built (heavy) sneakers of the late 80’s and 90’s to the Minimalism Movement that swept through 10 years ago giving rise to shoes like Vibrams and Newtons to the carbon plate technology of Nike Vaporfly and Next% hitting the shelves today. Plus brands like Hoka, Altra, and On-Running that stand out from the competition with their unique design concepts. You will also hear some tips on how to choose the right shoe for you and why it is wise to have a “quiver” of shoes to rotate during training. Big thanks to all the Academy members who sent in questions! And Thanks to Our Episode Sponsors . . . Angie has run her last five marathons in OnsOn-Running Speaking of running shoes, our go-to shoes right now are made by the Swiss company On-Running. On was born in the Swiss Alps with one goal: to revolutionize the sensation of running. The entire company is based around the idea of zero-gravity running and On has quickly become the fastest growing running brand in the world. What makes On different is its emphasis on a clean and minimalistic design as well as its sole technology which gives you the sensation of running on clouds. And they have a full range of shoes and apparel to power your full day, on and off the trail. Their shoes also come with a 30 day money back guarantee should you need to return them. Finally a green drink that tastes good!Athletic Greens The Athletic Greens ultimate daily all-in-one health drink with 75 proven vitamins, minerals and whole food-sourced ingredients makes it easier for you to get comprehensive nutrition without the need for multiple pills, powders or complex routines. Whether you’re taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle or you’re an athlete pushing for better performance, Athletic Greens takes the guesswork out of everyday good health. Jump over to athleticgreens.com/mta and claim their special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. Also Mentioned in This Episode The Chirp Wheel+ back pain relief wheel. It’s designed with a 5-inch width and spinal canal that cradles your spine and gives your muscles a 4-way stretch. They can also be used to roll out other areas of your body. Get your Chirp Wheel+ 3-Pack for 15% off with code MTA. MTA Meet Up at the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Trevor will be running the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on December 8th. Please let us know if you will be there too. A pre-race diner meet-up (Mexican food of course) is in the works. MTA Coach Athena Farias will be there too! Here is the FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/534288650726942/ Congrats to Academy member and long time listener Debbie Gelber (who is also featured on this episode) on finishing marathon #33 at the Authentic Athens Marathon! The post The Running Shoe Episode! appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this bonus podcast episode you will hear the replay from our live event at the New York City Marathon. Angie spoke on a panel with fellow podcasters Tina Muir, Carrie Tollefson, and Emily Abbate about their marathon stories -the ups and downs of training. Big thanks to all the listeners who attended and special thanks to Generation Ucan for organizing it. Enjoy! Live Podcast Event Carrie Tollefson, Tina Muir, Angie Spencer, Emily Abbate Carrie Tollefson is a middle distance runner who represented the United States in the 2004 Olympics, a T.V. commentator, and host of the CTolle Run Podcast. Tina Muir is a 2:36 marathoner who ran for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the World Half Marathon Championships and host of the Running For Real Podcast. Angie Spencer is a register nurse, running coach, and veteran of 61 marathons and ultras. She is co-host of the Marathon Training Academy Podcast (but you already knew that). Emily Abbate is a NYC based freelance writer, fitness editor at SELF Magazine, certified personal trainer, and host of the Hurdle Podcast. Generation Ucan is a nutrition and fueling company founded in 2010. Their SuperStarch® gives runners long lasting energy without spikes and crashes. Use the code MTANYC to save 15% on your order. New customers can use the code MTA25 for 25% off.MTA Shakeout Run in Central Park We also had the chance to meet up with listeners on Saturday (the day before the marathon) for a shakeout run in Central Park. We always love meeting new friends and connecting with listeners to the podcast! Three coaches from our team ran the marathon and were able to join us for the meet up. MTA Coaches: Kristen, Dominique, Steven, Angie The post Live Podcast Event from the New York City Marathon appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

In this episode, I will take you along with me on my journey through marathon #3. Listen to me as I run through the streets of Melbourne for that 26.2 mile (42.2 km)journey and hear exactly how I was feeling from start to finish. Plus, in this episode, I will also play for you a behind the scenes chat I had with Trevor and Angie Spencer of the Marathon Training Academy. 1. No matter what's going on, you have to enjoy what is about to unfold. Enjoy the anticipation and the journey. 2. Nerves are NORMAL! Use the nervous energy to focus and channel the adrenaline to keep you going. Don't let it take over you completely... But visualize a great race. 3. Pay attention to the people trying to help you along the way. It will take your mind off your pain and it will help you get through what you are undertaking. Make sure you think as many of them as you can. Gratitude is incredibly important. 4. Sometimes all you can do is keep moving. It's not always possible to get the time you wanted but as long as you keep going, you can still appreciate the good things around you. 5. The support will be there when you need it. It will flood in when you least expect it and it will help you continue on your way. 6. Roll with the punches and reevaluate when needed. It's ok to change things around if something isn't going the way it should... You have to be able to alter things. Be flexible and go with what you can! 7. Find the silver lining and laugh off what you can. In ever negative situation, you can find something positive... Even if it's a lesson learned-- it's something. Figure out what that is and focus on it! 8. It's darkest just before the dawn. Sometimes, right before things go your way, it'll seem like everything is going downhill... But, remember, you can come out on the other side and, many times, it gets worse right before it gets better! CHECK OUT THE SHOW NOTES ON www.breakingthebarrierpodcast.com TO SEE THE MARATHON TRAINING ACADEMY LINKS Breaking the Barrier Social Media Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingthebarrierpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingthebarrierpodcast Facebook Community:https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakingthebarrierrunning/ Sponsors: Generation UCAN: Generation UCAN is the smarter #energy#energy #nutrition#nutrition that is powered by SuperStarch, a slow-release complex carbohydrate that uniquely delivers steady, long-lasting energy to keep you fueled and feeling good! Whether you are an #athlete#athlete, or just looking for a #healthy#healthy snack, give Generation UCAN, the best choice for steady energy, a try!www.generationucan.com.au use code BREAKINGTHEBARRIER for 15% off your first order. Audible: For you, the listeners of Breaking the Barrier podcast, #Audible#Audible is offering a #free#free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service. There are over 180,000 titles to choose from and you can find #books#books on any subject. Today I would like to recommend "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey. Visit www.audibletrial.com/breakingthebarrier to claim your free audiobook and 30-day trial!

In this episode Angie recaps the Hartford Marathon in Connecticut -her 60th marathon and fastest to date. Plus, Trevor talks about his experience at the Kaisermarathon in Austria. And in the quick tip segment you will hear how to set yourself up for a marathon PR.Hartford Marathon Race Recap The 26th edition of the Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon was held on Saturday, October 12, 2019. This is a non-profit race and $7.5 million was raised for charity. This was my 47th state in my 50 State quest and my 60th marathon overall. My A goal going into this race was to break 3:30, my B goal was to PR (faster than the 3:35:41 set back at my 9th marathon in 2012), my C goal was to BQ (less than 3:40), and my D goal was to run my very best. I’ve been visualizing breaking 3:30 for the past several months and at the expo there was this board where you could write your goal. Although I felt a bit sheepish about it I wrote “break 3:30”. Based on how well my training had gone I knew I had it in me if all the necessary factors would come together on race day. Pre-Race: The expo was held at the XL Center in downtown Hartford and it was a nice mid-sized expo. I got my bib, my corral seeding sticker, race shirt and bag, and then walked around. Of course I had to stop by and say hi to Katie at the UCAN booth. Race Morning The starting line area is right by Bushnell Park, close to the State Capitol, the Bushnell Building and the State Library & Supreme Court. I found my way to B corral which was for runners who’d posted a sub-4:00 marathon and went to the very front where the 3:30 pace group was located. I kind of felt like a fraud being up there. But I knew if I wanted to attempt breaking 3:30 I needed to give myself every advantage. Even though I had a lot of nerves I kept telling myself that I was just excited and was prepared to give it my best. The weather was absolutely perfect for a marathon. It started out in the low 50’s and got up to low 60’s by the time I finished. It was mostly overcast with some wind.The Course The marathon and half marathon courses split pretty quickly which reduced congestion. They also had a marathon relay with several relay exchange points along the course and there was a 5k that had a different course. I’d heard that the half marathon course was more scenic but the marathon was quite nice too. We ran along the Connecticut River and near Riverside Park and Great River Park for a stretch. The half marathon had a time limit of 3 hours and the marathon time limit was 6 hours. There was an out and back section from mile 13 and the turn around just after mile 17. The course advertizes as having some rolling hills and the hills at mile 17 and mile 25 felt the most challenging. They seemed to have reliable pace groups out on the course. I started just in front of the 3:30 pace group and my goal was to stay in front of them for as long as possible and then hang on when they passed me. They caught up to me at mile 25 and after that I stayed right on the 3:30 pacer’s shoulder before passing them in the final stretch.Aid Stations There were frequent aid stations along the course stocked with water, Nuun energy drink, and some with gels. The race estimates that they serve 11,232 gel packs. 9,400 gallons of water was served at aid stations. The marathon works hard to make the event as environmentally friendly as possible. The 142,000 paper cups they use are fully compostable and 13,785 pounds of trash is diverted from landfills. 29,350 volunteer hours are donated to make the races possible. The volunteers that I interacted with were all helpful and encouraging. For my fueling I had a Generation UCAN bar with my breakfast about an hour before the race. Then I carried 2 UCAN bars and took them at intervals washed down with water from the aid stations. I also had some caffeinated chews that I used to boost my energy in the last few miles. Use the code MTAHARTFORD for 15% off your UCAN order. New customers use the code MTA25 for 25% off. The Finish The finish line is absolutely beautiful. The finish goes under the Veteran’s Memorial Arch and the street is lined with 500 autumn mum plants to decorate the final stretch. There are lots of cheering spectators in the last 0.2 miles making it extra exciting. This year there were 1,493 marathon finishers and 3,710 HM finishers. Viewing the finish line the day before the race. The post-race area is in Bushnell Park which has lovely walkways and an antique carousel. There was a ton going on post-race and a party atmosphere with a live band, beer garden, and great food area (choices included fruit cups, chips, granola, donuts, bananas, chocolate milk, bagels, and veggie rice bowls). They also gave out a reusable water bottle, heat sheet (they estimate seven thousand are given out), and an awesome medal which has the Capitol Building and Veteran’s Arch with a stained glass look behind it. The race shirt was long-sleeve in soft cotton and another perk was free race photos and finish line video. My Experience: I knew my training indicated that I could have a good marathon in Hartford if everything came together. Of course 10 days before the race I started feeling really fatigued and having symptoms that indicated I was coming down with a cold (taper troubles). I did everything I could think of to feel better and finally decided that it was fall allergies bothering me. I also knew that my period was scheduled to start on marathon day which is a wild card that many of us ladies have to deal with. There are some things you can control and others you just have to roll with.Gratitude and Courage Two core values that I’ve been thinking about lately are “gratitude and courage.” Each person will apply gratitude in different ways and each person will have individual ways that they can be courageous. I wanted to bring these two elements into the marathon with me. I felt good on race morning and was cautiously optimistic about a PR. The weather was looking perfect and I knew all I could do was to go out there and give it my best. Waking up on race morning I saw that Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in Vienna to go sub-2:00 in the marathon and that was so inspiring. To see his smile and wise words about pursuing your dreams gave me more motivation to go out and do my best.Keep Pushing On my Race Ready ID (which I wear on my watch) I put the mantra “keep pushing” and that’s exactly what I did. I decided not to settle back and get comfortable on any mile but instead stay relaxed, stay grateful, and be courageous. I focused hard on keeping my self talk positive. If I was going up a hill I’d say something like “good thing you trained on hills” or “this hill is smaller than the one’s back home.” I specifically looked for beauty around me (which wasn’t hard considering the fall foliage in New England). If I felt my focus drifting I brought my attention back to the present and told myself to have courage. It looks slightly different to keep pushing depending on what mile you’re in because you don’t want to push your effort too hard in the early miles. And it gets significantly harder to keep pushing as the miles increase. I knew I’d have to keep my pace at 8:00 minute miles to break 3:30 so in the earlier miles I allowed myself to run a bit faster to make up for any later miles that might end up being slightly slower. But I didn’t obsess about my pace or splits and only looked at my watch to see my mile split when it buzzed. Breaking 3:30 At mile 23 I knew that if I held the pace and nothing went wrong I’d be able to break 3:30. The 3:30 pacer caught up with me just before mile 25 and I knew that I’d hang on with everything I had. The last mile felt tough with the final hill but I passed the pacer and was able to accelerate in the final stretch. I knew that I could finish strong and couldn’t wait to see the 3:29 on the clock. I also felt so grateful to be running my 60th marathon and be strong and healthy. When I crossed the finish line I felt emotional with gratitude. It was awesome to meet my goal of breaking 3:30 and set a PR. My last PR of 3:35:41 was set at my 9th marathon back in 2012. So this new PR of 6 minutes and 9 seconds was over 7 years in the making. As far as results go I was 256/1,111 overall, 59/384 females, and 6/74 in my age group. My official time was 3:29:32. I got to see Academy members Shira and her husband Chris along with Jo just after crossing the finish line. It was rather amusing that I was able to run strong the final stretch but when I started walking through the finisher’s area my body started seizing up. I got a foot cramp and it was hard to walk. Still, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.MTA Meet Up: Later that afternoon we had a small MTA meet up at the Hog River Brewery. This was where the Manchester Running Club was meeting as well. It was wonderful to meet Kaitlyn who was there with her family (she did the marathon relay), Jo from WI who did the HM, and Shira (and husband Chris) who did the HM. I also got to meet David who heads up the running club. How to set yourself up for a marathon PR1. Build a solid foundation Don’t rush the process. If you’re looking to PR make sure that you build a solid running base first and are injury free before ramping up your training. It’s important to focus on building a strong foundation first before demanding more out of your body. My recent marathon PR was built on the top of two solid marathon training cycles (London Marathon in April and the Charlevoix Marathon in June).2. Love the process. This really is another way to say “don’t forget the “boring” stuff”. Success in long distance running often comes down to what you do behind the scenes. This has been one huge key to how I’ve been able to run 60 marathons and make progress toward my time goals. This will include things like . . . Strength training. I started strength training regularly during a period of injury and strengthening my glutes (among other areas) has been key to keeping my hamstrings strong and healthy. Recovery. Elements like quality sleep, massage/foam rolling, meditation, not racing too frequently, and doing easy runs truly easy can all play a big role in helping you run healthy and strong. Nutrition. Fueling your body well is key to getting a lot out of yourself. Think of yourself as an athlete and feed yourself for performance. Yes, food is also meant to be enjoyed but there’s definitely a balance. This will also help you build muscle and lose fat if those are your goals. We all have our particular areas within the realm of fueling that need to be worked on. 3. Work on mindset. Your attitude and thought process can either make or break your PR goals. If we spend time thinking about why we can’t do something then it probably won’t happen. But if we think of all the ways we can make our goals happen they’re more likely to be achieved. Just like we spend time on physical training I’d encourage you to spend time on mental training. In some way spend time every day focusing on strengthening your mindset, finding good mantras, and meditating on and visualizing the results you want. If you don’t practice mindset it won’t magically come through for you when you need it most. For example, I meditate for 20 minutes every morning and at the end of my session I have a series of positive affirmations that I go through. Each person’s affirmations will be unique but three of mine are, “I am healthy, I am strong, I am a sub-3:30 marathoner.” It feels a bit weird at first to speak of your goals as if they’ve already happened but we must remember that goals start with belief, then become thoughts, and then are put into action.4. Enlist help and support. If you find yourself running into the proverbial wall over and over again with your goals it’s important to seek help. We often learn and grow best in a community and we all need support at times. The kind of support you need is going to vary from runner to runner. It may involve following through with a training plan (if you haven’t in the past), joining a local running group, finding a running partner who will challenge you, joining an online community, and getting a running coach. There’s no shame in needing help. Almost a year ago I started getting help from a nutrition coach at Metpro to deal with a stubborn weight gain. This was a turning point in my health and fitness and is one of the keys to where I am today with my running.Conclusion To be successful in reaching challenging goals like a BQ or PR in the marathon you have to fall in love with the process. If you’re only running to get faster there will be lots of discouraging runs and races where you’ll question everything. And of course there will come a point in every person’s running that you won’t get any faster. That’s just a result of aging. But if you fall in love with the process and start to enjoy the challenge of doing hard things then you’ll find joy in the journey and not just focus on the destination. You probably know where your weak areas are and what needs to be addressed for you to get better. And if you’re struggling with knowing what to do or how to do it consider hiring a coach. They can help you pinpoint problem areas and map a successful way forward. The only states remaining in my 50 State Marathon Goal are Vermont, New Hampshire, and Hawaii. Also Mentioned in This Episode Live Podcast with Generation Ucan Angie will be speaking at a live podcast event with Generation Ucan on Friday, November 1st from 6:30-8:00 at the New York Marriott Marquis. She will be on a panel with fellow podcasters Tina Muir, Carrie Tollefson, and Emily Abbate. This event is free but space is limited! Here is the link to register now. Morning Shake Out Run with MTA We are also hosting a short 2-mile shakeout jog/walk/chat on Saturday, Nov. 2nd at 8:00 am. See this Google doc for more info: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iy3_jlaHyFbzR4cJx5tGHQA84omJZ_n9wDMULaZH89w/edit?usp=sharing MetPro.co. I have lost 32 pounds working with Natalie my nutrition coach. To see if MetPro is the solution you’ve been looking for, take their Metabolic Assessment and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of their experts by going to www.metpro.co/mta The NuNee – If knee pain has slowed you down this season, NuNee can help get you back on track. NuNee is a patented innovation designed specifically to relieve that dreaded Runner’s Knee pain. Use code MTA20 for a 20% discount. The Chirp Wheel+ back pain relief wheel. It’s designed with a 5-inch width and spinal canal that cradles your spine and gives your muscles a 4-way stretch. Get your Chirp Wheel+ 3-Pack for 15% off with code MTA. Trevor’s Recap and Photos of the Kaisermarathon in Austria. The post The Hartford Marathon Race Recap + How to Set Yourself up for a Personal Record appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

Whose opinions really matter to you? If you were to start a project or set out after a goal that you’ve always wanted to do but have been scared for one reason or another, who would encourage you? Who would have your back? Who would tell you that you don’t know what you’re doing? These are important questions to answer. Deciding who influences what we do can change our entire lives. And, unknown to some, we CAN choose who influences our decisions. First and foremost, we ought to listen to ourselves. If we don’t master our own ships, then we’ll never get to choose where we go. As for the rest of the opinions that we consider? Make sure they come from people that love you. The Mirnavator! If there’s one person who knows how to surround herself with people that support her, it’s the Mirnavator. Mirna Valerio is a woman, a New Yorker, black, and as she likes to say, a fat runner. She is not the stereotypical runner, and she knows that people think that. But the best part is, she doesn’t care. She doesn’t even believe that there is such a thing as a stereotypical runner. Mirna has surrounded herself with people that love her and her mission. She has a strong community on Facebook and in real life that have become comfortable calling themselves runners. It’s not easy to believe that you are a runner when online chatrooms shout otherwise, even when you have done marathons and 50k trail races. The power that words have is strong. Thankfully, our simple daily efforts are stronger. Mirna has shown that time and time again. How to Get to Know Your Body From her early days in middle school, Mirna has loved to move her body. She played many sports growing up, but never considered herself a runner. She started running because she simply wanted to perform better in field hockey and lacrosse. As time passed, she began to love running for the way it made her feel. Mirna enjoyed setting goals and accomplishing them, and she liked feeling the muscles in her body work. With every finished run, there came a feeling of accomplishment and gratitude. So how do you get to know and love your body? Use it! For Mirna, she doesn’t need to fit into a certain mold to love her body, and neither do you. The more we use our bodies, the more we love and understand them. They are quite literally the reason that we are alive. Use your body and be grateful for it. Change Your Feed As you begin to use your body, or go after other lifelong goals, you are bound to get some pushback. It comes in many forms. From unknown internet offenders, to family members, to random aghast faces on the street. While we can’t avoid every rude comment or criticism, we can moderate it. We can mute or unfollow those that don’t support us. We can stop reading comments entirely. We can smile at the people that give us funny looks. And most of all, we can seek out likeminded people. Sometimes the easiest way to brush off or get rid of the negative, is to find an abundance of positive. Let the good push out the bad instead of simply deleting the bad and being left empty. There are people out there waiting to be your friend and believe in you. Go find them. Try and Try and Try If it feels overwhelming to run a marathon, or a 5K, or a mile, start smaller. If you are lacking confidence or willpower, stop worrying and just give it a try. Try every day. As Mirna says, some days you will take five steps back when you feel like you haven’t even taken two steps forward. That’s okay. Keep trying. You may think that your body can’t run a marathon. And you may be right, for now. But with each day you try, you get closer. If you are scared or anxious about something you want to do, just try. Really. There’s no pressure. If you fail, that’s fine, you will always be happy you tried. Let's keep moving our bodies. Let’s surround ourselves with amazing people. And let’s keep trying. The Mirnavator would be proud. Resources: A Beautiful Work in Progress Mirna on Instagram Mirna on Twitter Mirna on Facebook FATGIRLRUNNING Facebook Group Patagonia on Instagram   Thank you to Bodyhealth, Janji, and and Marathon Training Academy for being the wonderful sponsors of this episode of The Running For Real Podcast.   Friends, I mentioned Marathon Training Academy in the show, and how much you will enjoy their podcast if you are not already a fan, you can find their podcast on iTunes hereor at their website page here.   If you are struggling to recover quick enough from your training, my little secret is to use BodyHealth Perfect Amino to get you there. It contains all the essential amino acids, and is very easy for your body to use and begin the repair process. Click the link and use code TINAMUIR10 for 10% off.   JANJI is an official sponsor of the Running 4 Real podcast, I am so excited about this! They visit designers in countries all around the world to help with their upcoming clothing lines and any profit they make off of that design 5% goes right back to that country to supply for their clean water supply. The materials they use are recycled which I LOVE. Go here and use code TINAMUIR for 10% off and if you want to know my favorites click here.   Mile 20 Mental Training Course: Win Your Own Race goes on sale in just over a month. The doors will open for a VERY limited time, and then close until May 2020, so don't miss out. Even if you do not intend to start the 12 week course until early 2020, you can begin at any time, but you cannot purchase at any time. To get on the Mile 20 Mental Training Course: Win Your Own Race waitlist, where you will be guaranteed a spot on the course, sign up here. Or learn more about the course here.   Thanks for Listening! I hope you enjoyed today's episode. To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Join the Running for Real Facebook Group and share your thoughts on the episode (or future guests you would like to hear from) Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews will really help me climb up the iTunes rankings and I promise, I read every single one. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you to Mirna, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.        

In this episode, I was extremely fortunate to secure a conversation with Trevor and Angie Spencer, of the Marathon Training Academy. Trevor and Angie started MTA almost 10 years ago (in 2010) and, ever since, they have been a beacon to, not only Marathon runners, but the entire running community. Their podcast is something that has inspired me over and over. They have endless information to bring knowledge to runners everywhere. From their community, the Academy, coaching services, and wealth of knowledge and guests, they have so many useful and invaluable resources to truly show you that "you have what it takes to run a marathon and change your life", as their motto so passionately states. Throughout this episode, we spoke about many things including what drives them, some of their fondest memories, some of their most challenging memories, and just what they have seen throughout the years. Seasoned runners, themselves, they know just what it takes to put in those miles and come out on the other side. TAKE AWAY HIGHLIGHTS 1. MTA formulates a comprehensive system to help people get through their half marathons and marathons, utilizing everything from nutrition, to training, to mindset, and everything else in between. 2. You need to know your "why". Knowing your why will help you stay focused and ensure that you are much less likely to quit along the way. Figure out a "sticky" why, that inner drive and motivation, that will motivate you to go for it. 3. You can absolutely learn to love something that scares you or you don't like... Or have discomfort doing. If you stick with things, you can totally change your life and discover amazing things about yourself. Climb your Everest. 4. Central Governor Theory (Tim Noakes)- Fatigue has much more to do with your brain than you might realise. Once you can recognise that, you can change your habits with "mental Jiu Jitsu. 5. Just know, you CAN get through it. "You can do hard things..." And no matter how long you have been doing something, you can become better and achieve greatness, always. 6. You're not alone. Everyone is going through their own "races". Know that you can get through it and there's a network of people ready to help you. 6. Remember, "you have what it takes to run a marathon and change your life..." MARATHON TRAINING ACADEMY LINKS PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/marathon-training-academy/id359208879 WEBSITE: www.marathontrainingacademy.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/marathontrainingacademy/ INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/marathonacademy/?hl=en (More links and info, such as ANGIE AND TREVOR'S READING LIST on BTB website in the show notes section) Breaking the Barrier Social Media Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingthebarrierpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingthebarrierpodcast Facebook Community:https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakingthebarrierrunning/ Sponsors: Generation UCAN: Generation UCAN is the smarter energy #nutrition#nutrition that is powered by SuperStarch, a slow-release complex carbohydrate that uniquely delivers steady, long-lasting energy to keep you fueled and feeling good! Whether you are an #athlete#athlete, or just looking for a #healthy#healthy snack, give Generation UCAN, the best choice for steady energy, a try!www.generationucan.com.au use code BREAKINGTHEBARRIER for 15% off your first order. Audible: For you, the listeners of Breaking the Barrier podcast, #Audible#Audible is offering a #free#free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service. There are over 180,000 titles to choose from and you can find #books#books on any subject. Visit www.audibletrial.com/breakingthebarrier to claim your free audiobook and 30-day trial!

In this episode we bring you an interview with Bob Larsen -pioneering running coach, retired Head of Track and Field at UCLA, Meb Keflezighi’s coach, and co-founder of the Mammoth Track Club. Plus Angie will tell you about a GPS watch with a super long battery life. Interview with Coach Bob Larsen In our last episode author Matthew Futterman told us about the “guru who unlocked the secrets of speed”. Well, we are thrilled to have an opportunity to speak with that the guru himself! Coach Larsen was born in 1939, he’s 80 years old at the time of this recording and still runs everyday! He coached at Grossmont College and Monte Vista College where his teams won conference titles and national championships. He then became the Head Track and Field Coach at UCLA where he led athletes to a total of 20 NCAA titles. After he retired from UCLA he and coach Joe Vigil founded the Mammoth Track Club in order to made US marathoners competitive again on at the international level. On the team was Meb Keflezighi -the only man who has won the New York City Marathon, The Boston Marathon, and an Olympic medal, and Deana Kastor -holds the fastest marathon time (2:19:36) for a female athlete in the U.S. and winner of the Chicago Marathon, the London Marathon, and a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic games. In 2019 he was given the Legend Coach Award by USATF -the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. See the movie City Slickers Can’t Stay With Me: The Coach Bob Larsen Story. You can currently get it on Amazon Prime and iTunes. Also check out the book Running the Edge -A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed by Matthew Futterman. You can hear our interview with the author here. Also Mentioned in This Episode The Chirp Wheel+ is a back-pain relief device that targets muscles around your spine. Use code MTA for 15% off. The Runner’s Toolbox -8 inexpensive items to keep at home to prevent and self-treat running injuries. The post Interview with Coach Bob Larsen appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.

If you’ve been with us at Running for Real for a while, you’ve had a chance to hear from Dean Karnazes already. He is a superstar of a runner, the “ULTRAmarathon Man,” and an incredibly upbeat person. Even if you happen to catch him in the middle of a 100-mile run, Dean will smile and take a selfie with you. He’s that kind of guy. In coordination with a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book about running stories, and some exciting races that Dean plans to compete in soon, we got to speak with him again. Feel free to listen in or read along to find out more about Dean’s advice to help the environment, how we can encourage others to run, and more! Runners Can Save the Planet One thing you may not know about Dean is that he doesn’t own a car. Seriously. If you go to his home and see a car, it’s a visitor's or a family member’s. This decision happened about a decade ago when Dean was training to run the Four Deserts Race, a 6-day race where you have to carry all your supplies with you. To train for the race, Dean started doing his grocery trips on his feet. This meant carrying home gallons of milk, and one time, a pack with over 45lbs of sundries. A few trips became a habit, and before long, Dean had given up his sponsorship with Volkswagen in favor of being carless. Dean is known for his extremes. Running 50 marathons in 50 days, giving up his car, running in hot deserts and cold tundra; these things are commonplace for Dean. But when he was asked what runners can do to better the environment, he simply replied, “Recruit more runners!” One of the fastest ways to become more sensitive to our surroundings, is to be in them. Nothing compels you to change your emission-producing habits more than breathing in a lungful of polluted air. And while the negatives of littering or pollution are convincing, the positives of being outdoors are equally moving. Running through fields, over mountains, or along beaches will have you caring for the earth instantly. Runners Can Save Lives Encouraging people to run can save more than the planet, it can save people. Dean shared with us one of his favorite stories from the new Chicken Soup for the Soul book that he helped author and compile about a former marine with PTSD. After trying a variety of treatments including therapy sessions and medication, a friend suggested that this former marine pick up running. He decided to give it a go and soon found himself running marathons and ultramarathons. Running saved his life. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Running for Good, includes 101 stories about running and the good it has done around the world. From communities of mothers in the U.S. to camps of Syrian refuges in Greece, we can all benefit from running. Runners Are People Too Maybe an even more surprising thing about Dean is that he still gets nervous on the start line. He still has tough days, tiring days, days he decides to sleep in instead of getting up to run. And while he has been able to make a career out of running, a dream job in his eyes, he still has to push himself to get out the door sometimes. But that’s what’s great about this sport. We have the chance to be runners and to be human. Whether we run a marathon a day or go for a walk around the mall once a week, we are still part of this community and we still have struggles. We are in it together. You Can Make a Difference Right Now Decide to be an ambassador for running. It’s a simple and effective way to help the environment. You can invite friends for a run, share your experiences of training for a race, or buy someone a pair of running shoes for their birthday. Every bit helps, and your efforts to share your love of running can spread throughout the world. Resources: (book) Chicken Soup for the Soul: Running for Good Dean’s Website Friends, I mentioned Marathon Training Academy in the show, and how much you will enjoy their podcast if you are not already a fan, you can find their podcast on iTunes here or at their website page here.   Thank you to Bodyhealth and Janji for being the wonderful sponsors of this episode of The Running For Real Podcast.   If you are struggling to recover quick enough from your training, my little secret is to use BodyHealth Perfect Amino to get you there. It contains all the essential amino acids, and is very easy for your body to use and begin the repair process. Click the link and use code TINAMUIR10 for 10% off. JANJI is an official sponsor of the Running For Real podcast, I am so excited about this! They visit designers in countries all around the world to help with their upcoming clothing lines and any profit they make off of that design 5% goes right back to that country to supply for their clean water supply. The materials they use are recycled which I LOVE. Go here and use code TINAMUIR for 10% off and if you want to know my favorites click here. Mile 20 Mental Training Course: Win Your Own Race goes on sale in just over a month. The doors will open for a VERY limited time, and then close until May 2020, so don't miss out. Even if you do not intend to start the 12 week course until early 2020, you can begin at any time, but you cannot purchase at any time. To get on the Mile 20 Mental Training Course: Win Your Own Race waitlist, where you will be guaranteed a spot on the course, sign up here. Or learn more about the course here. Thanks for Listening! I hope you enjoyed today's episode. To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Join the Running for Real Facebook Group and share your thoughts on the episode (or future guests you would like to hear from) Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews will really help me climb up the iTunes rankings and I promise, I read every single one. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you to Dean, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.

Marathon Training Academy podcast creators, Trevor and Angie Spencer, offer training advice and motivation to thousands of listeners in an effort to make them the best runner possible. Trevor and Angie also shared their humble start in the world of podcasting and in the world of running. (17:35) We check back in with Executive Editor Tish Hamilton as she continues her quest to build strength this summer by running less. Her latest goal is to find the joy in walking by becoming a stronger hiker. (1:40) In the Kick, there's a new half marathon record that proves moms can get it done, an ultrarunner is going for Scott Jurek's Appalachian Trail thru-hike speed record, and a memorable moment at our recent Runner's World Classic race for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings. (33:20) Check out our show page here. Follow us on Twitter (@rwaudio) and Facebook (Runner's World Audio).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices