The Endurance Episode: Zach Bitter on How to Push the Boundaries of Endurance

I'm a proud omnivore. I firmly believe that eating a balanced, "whole-foods" diet is the key to both long-term health and improved running performance. But the issue isn't which diet is best, but the results that a certain diet can give to you. Over the past decade, I've been borderline obsessed with discovering the optimal diet for running performance. I've read many of the best diet books, interviewed Registered Dietitians, pro athletes, and best-selling diet authors: Q&A Podcast with Anne Mauney MPH, RD How elite OCR athlete Kimber Mattox fuels her running Matt Fitzgerald on "The Endurance Diet" How pro marathoner Ariana Hilborn eats I've also heard first hand from elite runners, USA Track & Field instructors, and world-class coaches about the best approaches to eating for endurance runners. And they all include meat. But… not one person (anywhere) thinks we should eat a meat-based diet. Whether you're vegan or an omnivore like myself, we should all eat a plant-based diet. Here are 3 strategies that work well for me.

21 Kesä 201814min

Angie and Trevor Spencer are the hosts of the Marathon Training Academy podcast and have helped thousands of runners over the years successfully run their first marathons. Angie ran her first marathon in 2008, promptly got injured, but turned things around in a big way: since then, she's run 51 marathons and 4 ultras with not a single injury (!). A Registered Nurse, she also has USATF-Level 1 and RRCA-Level 2 coaching certifications. Trevor followed in his wife's footsteps and went from couch potato to marathoner in just a few short years. After his first marathon in 2011, he's since completed 14 marathons, 15 half marathons, and a Spartan Trifecta. They've both joined me on the podcast to talk about the subject of "Couch to Marathon" or how to: Transition from sedentary to marathon with as little injury risk as possible Differentiate between training to finish vs. training for performance Marathon training mistakes that are common among beginners Every year, about a half a million runners finish a marathon in the United States (and most of them - nearly all of them - aren't elite athletes blessed with marathon-friendly genetics). The marathon can be conquered. Success over 26.2 miles just needs a more strategic plan than your neighborhood 5k. This is how you do it.

18 Kesä 201845min

Over the years of coaching hundreds of athletes to new personal bests from 1.5 mile military fitness tests up to the 50-mile ultramarathon distance, I've been given a "private look" inside how runners approach their training. And most of the time, I'm horrified! There's no progression. They avoid race-specific workouts. I see pacing mistake after pacing mistake. If you want to run faster you need to take the next logical step in how you prepare and plan your training schedule. Even though you might think the 5k is short, it demands very specific workouts. Good 5k training includes three distinct aspects of running fitness: speed, race-specific fitness, and endurance. Over-emphasize endurance and you won't have that "higher gear" to hammer the last mile. Skip the specific 5k workouts and you'll feel flat with no power. Balancing all three ensures that you'll feel powerful on race day and accomplish your race goals. So if you're wondering how to train for a 5k, here's how to execute each one (no matter what fitness level you're at right now). Learn more about SR's training programs if you'd like to race faster! See https://strengthrunning.com/coaching/ for more.

7 Kesä 201815min

Alex Hutchinson holds a PhD in Physics from Cambridge, a Master's in Journalism from Columbia, and is a former national-class runner in Canada. He's written for Runner's World, Outside Magazine, The Globe & Mail, Popular Mechanics, and many other major media. I've been pestering Alex to write another book after Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? became one of my favorite exercise science myth-busters (if you haven't picked it up yet, I highly recommend it). And he finally delivered! His new book, Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance has quickly become my favorite running book from the last few years. Our conversation centers on the psychological limits of endurance: intrinsic motivation peer pressure joy and running for "the right reasons" how to access hidden reserves of energy overriding the "central governor" Alex's book showed me the many factors that limit endurance – and practical methods for overcoming those limitations. Often, it's not your training that predicts your race performances, but what's between your ears.

21 Touko 201848min

Warrior Dash is a fun vacation from more traditional road racing. If you're bored and need a new challenge, an obstacle race might be just the cure. They're fun – but you need the right training to prepare yourself for the challenge of completing a difficult obstacle course. With obstacles every few hundred feet on courses that are almost always hilly with uneven terrain, it's downright difficult to maintain your pace and get in a groove. For most runners, it's a challenge just to run in between each obstacle! But there are specific ways that you can train to ensure you have a successful race. Make no mistake: whether you're running a Warrior Dash or Tough Mudder, these aren't your typical road races. It takes a particular mindset to conquer them. Here's how.

18 Touko 201814min

Sam started running in 2002 to lose the weight he put on in college. But his training really picked up years later when he started racing more in 2015. He told me: I set a goal to run another marathon in December, 2016 with a goal of a BQ. I dumped weight lifting and boot camps, to focus on running. I jacked up my miles going from running 10-15 miles and week quickly to running 30-40 miles a week. Leading up to the marathon I developed plantar fasciitis but was able to train through it. A week before the race I developed ITBS and ran the marathon anyways. It was a horrible race that left me sitting on the side of the road at one point. But I finished (actually setting a PR in 3:30) and could barely walk afterward. After 2 months, I started training again and decided I wanted to try triathlons. I jacked up my miles and completed a Half Ironman. But I didn't take time to recover and developed ITBS. And I've been battling with issues ever since. Listen in as we strategize how to get control over this injury cycle so Sam can focus on racing faster. Sam is a member of Team Strength Running and is able to talk over these issues with me on our live coaching calls. If you'd like that opportunity, sign up here to see when the team is accepting new members.

10 Touko 201855min

Heather Caplan is a Registered Dietitian, certified running coach, and host of the RD Real Talk Podcast. She's also the former Head of Nutrition and Coaching at tech startup Spright, Inc. She's also worked in corporate wellness coaching and public health nutrition counseling. Her work has been featured in national media such as Runner's World, The Washington Post, Women's Running, Outside Online, and others. Heather is on the podcast today to answer YOUR nutrition questions: Are superfoods legit? What's her hot take on fasting and the vegan diet? How much meat is too much? Can nutrition play a role in injury prevention? And more! This is a very wide-ranging discussion based on your answers to my Twitter question here. If you like this format of podcast, we have two more you can download here!

1 Touko 201845min

Running uphill (against gravity) stresses your body in a unique way that you can't mimic on flat land. That stress results in some fantastic adaptations and benefits: There's less impact running uphill so it's easier on your joints and connective tissues Hills "force" you to run with better form, reinforcing a more efficient stride Running up steep grades builds power more safely than running fast on flat terrain Hills provide the most specific strength work runners could ask for Hill workouts build strength, speed, endurance, VO2 Max, and every other metric runners care about! While hill sessions aren't too race-specific (unless you're training for an entirely uphill race), they have a valuable place in any training program. This episode discusses these benefits, when hills should be incorporated into your season, my 3 favorite types of hill workouts, and the type of runner who will benefit most from hills.

26 Huhti 201815min