One of the most frequent questions I receive from athletes is about pre-run snacks. Trends of fasted running, fears of GI distress, and early morning alarms all compel runners to sometimes skip a pre-run snack. Why Should You Eat a Pre-Run Snack? No matter what time of day you run, a pre-run snack enhances performance by literally putting fuel in your tank. As a 2018 meta-analysis in the Scandanavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports points out (and most runners can ...
Returning to Running after Having Covid-19
Unfortunately, one of the questions for many runners in 2020 is, “How do I safely return to running after having Covid-19?” While there will be a range of individual recovery rates, these guidelines outline how to safely return to running after a Covid-19 diagnosis. Covid-19 recovery is highly individual, especially in regards to returning to running. Some people recover quickly; others will experience lingering symptoms for months. Some will be back to normal training in a matter of ...
The Benefits of Varying Your Running Route
Runners are often creatures of habit - which is generally beneficial for a sport that depends so heavily on consistency. However, habit can be detrimental if it devolves into monotony. Running the same distance every day is less beneficial than running shorter some days and longer on others. While running the same route every day will not harm your training, you will benefit from regularly varying your running routes. Preventing Mental Burnout A well-structured training plan actually ...
Essential Books for Running Coaches
A weekend or online certification is only the beginning of being a running coach. Run coaching requires a commitment to continual education and refinement of your training philosophy. The best approach? Read everything you can. These books are what I (and from what I have read, many other coaches) consider the essential texts for running coaches who train distance runners on the road. Daniels’ Running Formula by Jack Daniels Daniels’ Running Formula is one of the seminal works of ...
Weekly Workouts: Gradually Feeling Normal
One month has now passed since I recovered from COVID. My runs are gradually feeling more and more normal, although nowhere where they were before getting sick (roughly a minute per mile slower). My heart rate is coming back under control; when I first tried running after Covid, it would spike sky-high within minutes of running at a slow pace. The past two weeks were busy with family celebrations for birthdays and weddings, hence my lack of training updates. I ran three times the week ...
How to Consistently Maintain Running Higher Mileage
For a majority of runners, running higher mileage is beneficial. Noticeable performance gains occur when you run enough to develop a robust aerobic base. However, it is not just higher mileage that improves performance. Performance gains come from consistently sustaining higher mileage. One month of high mileage followed by months of injury will not yield any benefits to your running. (This post is about how to consistently run higher mileage without getting injured or burning out. If ...