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Episode 97- Online vs in person coaching

Episode 97- Online vs in person coaching

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

Online coaching has been a big hit in the past 10 years with the growth of the internet age. Prior to 2000, almost all coaching was done IN PERSON. There are still a lot of in person groups. We have coaches who started with in person coaching but over time moved into the online coaching space. There are some similarities but also a lot of difference. How do you know which is the right one for you? We are going to do a deep dive into our experiences coaching both and talking about the pros and cons to both sides

• Why did you start coaching in person?
• What are the best parts of in person coaching?
• What are some of the downfalls to in person coaching?
• How is it less personal? Do people often have to speed up or slow down to run with others?
• Do people ever feel left out?
• Is there wasted time with waiting around and driving to locations?
• Is it hard to tailor the training to each person when you are in a group setting?
• Did you like being able to see their form or how they finished reps?
• Does everyone look them same when they are fatigued?
• What was the best part of transitioning to online coaching?
• Are you able to assess the data from runs better?
• How is it more personal to have online coaching?
• How can you assess someones form?
• What are the downsides to in person coaching?

Episode 96- Runner’s etiquette

Episode 96- Runner’s etiquette

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

Have you ever been running along on an isolated trail and see another runner up head and wonder what the proper etiquette is? I have noticed over the years most runners are really great about waving but sometimes they mean mug as they run by. We wanted to chat about the runner code and what is good etiquette while running!

• When do you wave/smile/say hi vs when do you not?
• Have you ever been running along on an isolated path and paced by the same person more than once and they ignored your wave?
• Have you ever been in the middle of a workout and not waved or acknowledged someone?
• Should you say on your left if you come up behind walkers?
• What side of the road should you be on if there is no sidewalk?
• What side of the road should you run on if you see another runner up ahead on the sidewalk?
• Is weaving on the sidewalk a no no? If so why?
• Running on the bike path: acceptable or no?
• Running on a track and other people are there: how do you know what lane to run? & what direction?
• Spitting?
• Passing people just for the hell of it?
• RACES:
• Where should you start?
• Cutting bathroom lines?
• Water stops?
• Encourage runner when you pass them?
• Running through the finish line?

95. Nutrition, Yoga, Sleep, Foam Rolling: all the little things

EPISODE 95. Nutrition, Yoga, Sleep, Foam Rolling: all the little things

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

Running takes up a lot of time! I know just running 30-40 miles per week can often take 6-10 hours a week depending on how fast you run. That time alone is a hug commitment and can sometimes feel like a partime job! When we start to throw in recommendations for nutrition, yoga, foam rolling, strength training, cross training, etc it can all start to feel a little overwhelming! There is only so much time we each have to devote to this hobby and our health, so how do we know where to spend our time? Are all the little things worth it? We are going to do a deep dive into the various activities and what we recommend for optimal performance!

• What is the most important part of training when it comes to runners?
• How do you know how many miles you should be running?
• How many hours per week should you be sleeping?
• Why is sleep important?
• Running and sleeping are the two most important things, so what is the next important thing?
• How often should you strength train?
• Why does strength training make you a better runner?
• How often should you stretch or do yoga?
• What are the benefits to yoga or stretching?
• How often should you foam roll, message, ice, epsom salt bath?
• Should you just do as you feel or is it important to do regularly?
• Do these things drastically improve your recovery or is it more of a placebo?
• Do you think doing all the little things gives you an extra edge?
• How many hours per week do you think it takes to do all of these things regularly?
• Should you compromise running miles to do any of these activities?

94.Self belief will take you to the next level

EPISODE 94.Self belief will take you to the next level

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

Mental training is critical to becoming the best runner you can be. You can put in the work and follow the training to a T but if you don’t believe in yourself and see yourself achieving your goals, it it likely that you will fall short. Running requires belief and confidence in your abilities. The best thing we can do as runners is to work on our mental strength and confidence in our abilities. This is easier said than done! We wanted to give some practical ways to improve your mindset to take your training to the next level

• What kind of attitude do you think you need to have to be a successful distance runner?
• Why is it important to be positive?
• What are your thoughts like during a race?
• How do you personally keep from going negative during a race?
• If you have ever had a bad race, how do you keep that from effecting future performances and being afraid of failure?
• Do you think your life attitude is reflective of how you approach your races?
• How can you work to improve your mindset in your day to day life and translate that into races?
• There is a point of diminishing returns: How do you allow yourself to be open minded instead of saying ‘I have already peaked’?
• Is this something you always need to be working on or is it one and done?

93.How to breathe while running?

EPISODE 93.How to breathe while running?

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

Ever finish a hard interval during a workout or a race and have to catch your breath? When you run up a hill do you notice your breathing is labored? We often get asked how to breathe while running and how to improve your fitness to the point where breathing becomes easier while you run. 

• Have you ever felt like you cannot breathe while you are running?
• What physiologically is making it feel like you cannot breathe while you run?
• Humidity, altitude, extreme cold/shivering, being sick, being dehydrated, running too fast
• Is there a sort of rhythmic breathing you should be doing like in swimming?
• Should you just breathe whatever is natural and as much as possible?
• Do you ever get panicked when you breathe heavy during a run and it causes you to breathe even heavier?
• Can meditation or breathing exercises help runners learn how to relax?
• I notice when I am more relaxed, my breathing comes more natural when I am running but when I focus on it too much, it feels harder
• Do you think the bottom line is that people who can’t breathe while running are just going too fast?
• How can you figure out how fast to be running?
• How do you talk while running?

Episode 92- How to start training hard again after offseason

Episode 92- How to start training hard again after offseason

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

This is the time of year when most people are getting stared thinking about training again for spring races. It’s been a long winter and after the holidays, maybe you took more time off than you thought you would! Maybe you are not sure where to start in getting back. We want to do a deep dive into getting back into training again after your offseason and tips for having a long successful season. Often people do too much too soon and burn out within a few months or worse, a few weeks.

• How long of an offseason is typical?
• What do you typically do during the offseason?
• How should you start back adding volume?
• Should you continue cross training?
• How much mileage can you add per week?
• What if you have not been running AT ALL but you were running a TON back in November?
• When should your first race be of the season?
• When can you expect to be back into the same shape you were this fall?
• How will it feel the first few weeks back?
• How to set goals/mileage targets/paces for workouts?
• What variable should you add first?
• What should be the first type of workouts?
• How long of long runs should you start with?

91. How are our coaches selected

EPISODE 91. How are our coaches selected

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

Last podcast we chatted about how run4prs works and our process for athletes, but today we are doing a little different podcast about how our coaches are selected and also how to become a run coach in general. We get asked a lot about our hiring process, but we also get asked by people how you can get into the run coaching world. We will be doing a deep dive into our backgrounds and how we got started. We will also be sharing tips to get started with your own coaching journey

How many coaches do we have? 

How did run4prs start?

How did you get into coaching?

How did many of our coaches get into coaching?

How did we pick our current coaches?

How do you become a run coach?

How much does a college or high school coach get paid?

Is there job security?

How do you become certified?

How do you learn everything/what is the best way to learn?

What are some of the best books?

Is it good to be self coached?

Does being a good runner make you a good coach?

What types of people make good coaches?

Is it even hard?

90. How to find the perfect pair of running shoes

EPISODE 90 How to find the perfect pair of running shoes

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

One of the most common questions we get is ‘what is the best type of running shoe’. It is so crazy how many brands and models of shoes there are on the market today. We want to remove some of the confusion and help make recommendations on how you find your perfect pair of running shoes. You may not like the same type of shoes we like, and in fact, you probably won’t but we will be giving tips for how to find the perfect shoe for YOU and practical tips on how to find those perfect shoes.

• What are all the different shoes you have loved and used over your 20 year running career?
• Why have you used so many different type of shoes? Do you think your preferences change?
• Do you think it is 100% needed to rotate through different shoes like tempo shoes vs long run shoes?
• How do you find your shoes personally NOW?
• What are the key things you look for when you go into the store?
• Have you ever gotten a gait analysis? Do you think it’s worth it?
• What if you want to try a new type of shoe but want to be able to return it if you don’t like it?
• What is the benefit to trying shoes on in person vs buying online?
• Should you ask questions on the shoe rep? What questions do you ask?
• Neutral, pronate, etc.
• What is the shoe drop?
• Do  you typically drift towards shoes that are similar to each other?
• Is it more about the brand or the model?
• Do most brands have different models that resemble different models in other brands?
• Are there really that many choices?
• Do you think the 250$ shoes are worth it?

89. Should you run based on effort, pace or HR?

EPISODE 89- Should you run based on effort, pace or HR?

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

There are many ways you can gauge effort on a run. With all the gadgets around now, it seems like the data is endless. Should we look at HR, Cadence, pace, stride length or should we just go based off effort? What is the most important variable? How come sometimes when I run easy, my HR is sky high? We are going to do a deep dive into the different variable at play when you are running and which to look at for the data you need to assess. Don’t get lose in the noise of too much data.

-What was the one thing you started training with for the first 10 years of your running?

-When was the first time you wore a GPS watch?

-Looking back did the GPS help or hurt you? In what ways was it helpful?

-What are some of the downsides to running based off pace?

-When did you start to track your HR on runs?

-Do you find that HR data to follow a pattern and be accurate?

-Are you ever confused by a high or low HR reading?

-How much do you look to HR as a guide?

– How can you improve your HR when running at a fast pace?

-How do you know what paces to run?

-Do some days feel harder than others at the same pace?

88. How to find a routine for success: morning or afternoon runners

EPISODE 88. How to find a routine for success: morning or afternoon runners

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run4prs/id1446735036

When I first started running, I worked an early shift, so I had to be an afternoon runner. I always wished I could run in the morning, but when I had to leave for work by 6:30am, I just couldn’t do it! Instead I opted to workout after work. I later worked for a company with a later morning culture. Most people got in around 8:30-9am, so I didn’t need to leave for work until almost 8:00! This gave me almost 90 min in the morning to get my run in. Let me tell you how difficult of a transition it was for me! Despite not having to wake up much earlier, I felt like it was almost impossible to be a morning runner for the first few months. I soon made the full transition and could never go back. We are going to chat about how to set yourself up for success no matter what type of routine you pick for yourself.

-What is the best time of day to run?

– Why are so many people morning runners?

– Is it harder to run in the morning or afternoon?

– How do you fuel for a morning run?

– How do you fuel for an afternoon run?

– Getting ready the night before morning run?

– Packing stuff for after work runs?

– Does a run group help?

– What if you miss a day?

– successful tips for sticking with your routine?