How to Train for a Spartan Race
The Spartan Race is arguably the most brutal Obstacles Course Race (OCR) series. It is unique, arduous, and downright painful. They are designed to make us feel uncomfortable for a reason. It turns out that we love to do hard things. In today’s culture, things are not that bad. Yes, everyone has their struggle, but…
How to Train for a Tough Mudder
It’s just another day at the office when a co-worker comes up to you with excitement and shares some news. They exclaim, “We are doing the Tough Mudder! We put a team together and everything. Are you in?” You think to yourself, “Those races seem crazy! Don’t you have to crawl through cold water and…
How to Never Lose Your Fitness
My first car was a 1989 Chevy Lumina. It was a gem. My grandmother, aka Nana, was kind enough to gift me the car when I turned 16. I loved it. It was a beautiful maroon color with a full bench seat in the front. It was great. It actually had a little pep in…
Make Process Oriented Goals and PR.
The process of improvement takes time. Above all, you need to “Trust the process.” In the City of Brotherly Love, “Trust the Process” has a more significant meaning beyond your training goals. The Philadelphia 76ers had a “process” that was put in place by a general manager named Sam. Sam’s process was to make the…
How to Beat a Side Cramps
The longest run we did in high school was around 7 miles. We called it 8 miles. Mind you this was pre GPS. So back in my day we just lied about how far we ran. But, now Strava keeps us honest, so it turns out our long run was 7 miles. We called our…
How to Pace like an Olympian
Dave Wottle is an American Olympic athlete from the 1970s. He wore a weird “lucky” hat. I don’t think it’s relevant to the story, but I’m just painting a picture here. Wottle was a 1500 meter guy from a small school who made mass improvement during his collegiate career. He was mild-mannered and awkward. You…
Four Strength Exercises You’re Doing Wrong
Learn why your running strength routine does not work and how to fix it. Running injuries are a problem. It is the number one reason why people don’t run. These injuries are why you can’t get faster and how you stay in poor of shape. I spent a lot of my time working…
Use Your Heart Rate for Smart Running
How heart rate training is the best way to make logical decisions about your training and progress. Pacing is the number one reason runner fail to hit their race goals. Now, there is no evidence to my statement, but I’m going to stick with it. Too often training is great, the taper was money,…
How to Beat Runner’s Knee
Don’t let runner’s knee stop you from crushing your next personal record. I met John and we talk running injuries. He came to me with chronic pain on and under his kneecap aka “Runner’s Knee”. John said, “I’ve got bad knees. Everyone one in my family has knee issues. I guess I just have to…
How a Long Run Will Make You Fast
Why you need to do a long run to reach your full potential. As a running coach the most common question I field is, “how do I get to get faster.” My standard replay is, “You need to run more.” Now, “running more” doesn’t mean you need to run seven days a…
