This
week Coach MK celebrates her runners' accomplishments and reminds
everyone that ultra training for Three Days at the Fair starts
MONDAY before tackling questions about periods, hormones and heart
rate training, hamstrings, heart rate guidelines for half marathon
success, and mouth-breathing vs nose breathing.
February sucked! Wasn’t just me, it was hard for a
number of my friends and clients, too. I don't know what was in the
air, but I'm happy to put it behind me. Mercury is in retrograde
until March 10, so don’t let your guard down just yet!
THIS
WEEK - 06:17
If you are doing a distance 50k or longer, to be
clear I mean “From 50k to multi-day”, then it’s time to get
cracking! Ultra plans kick off this week, our runners have their
first homework assignment, it’s due Friday.
I
want to emphasize, the coaching isn’t just for ultrarunners. Anyone
planning to go to Three Days at the Fair and expects to run for 5
hours or longer can and will get their money’s worth out of this
coaching program, it is not too late to join us. We spend March
getting to know your body, then all of April tailoring that
knowledge to the demands of the event as well as your strategy and
approach. Link HERE to
check out the plans.
What You Didn’t Miss -
08:32
The
segment where we highlight a runner who isn’t running and talk
about why (and what they did not miss). Listen why I tell you why
this segment matters: you ARE what you do, not what you don’t do.
Yet I have the worst time convincing my runners of
this.
People frequently ask how long they need to be not
running before moving into Runner, Interrupted. I don’t understand
that question, because I look at it this way: when you are staring
down a prolonged period of not having time or space to run (one
month or indefinitely longer, say after a major surgical procedure,
during cancer treatment, or for some special needs parents this is
IEP season), and you don’t want to have a calendar of runs
reminding you of what you are not doing because it stresses you out
too much, then Runner, Interrupted is for you. It’s a support
program, more of me in your ears eyes and inbox telling you that
you are what you do and YES I DO see the work you are doing right
now, not a specific run plan that can push you into that abusive
way of thinking that beats you up for what you aren’t doing. This
program meets you where you are at, and you get to decide that. I
just follow your lead and support.
As
for the rest of us, we need to remember to focus on what we do
without worrying about what we don’t. You will never be defined by
what you miss around here, we celebrate the work. You are what you
do, not what you don’t do. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to
break you down, ask them what they get out of that.
This
week, I’d like to introduce you to a #runnernotrunning, a runner who is a great big badass, a mom of 4, an
entrepreneur, and someone who is incredibly dedicated to the sport
as well as the fitness habit, but also to her family and the needs
of her clients.
It’s
MEEEEEE!!!!! If you follow me on Strava (click here:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/3392100)
you can see I only ran 53 miles in February! That’s better than 0
but a far cry from my usual. Let’s recap: at the beginning of the
month I was recovering from sinus surgery. I had one good week and
a half, then the baby had surgery and her recovery was difficult.
All she wanted was for Mommy to hold her, so I did that. All day,
and every 90 minutes all night long For 8 days straight in one spot
on my couch. Now, I have help so ARGUABLY I probably could have
run, but 1. I was TIRED and 2. It was WINDY AF. If ya’ll read the
blog over at coachedandloved.com you KNOW how much I hate
wind #fuckspring. I hate it more than rain or humidity. Wind picks up
pollen and crams it down your nose and throat, it makes cold
weather colder and humid weather unbearable. To be clear: I don’t
always stay inside when I see wind, I got big girl britches and can
put ‘em on when I need to, but when I do it’s because there’s
something I need to get NOT something I need to prove. There was
nothing I needed outside this week, so I stayed in, snuggled a
hurting baby, and did not miss a darned thing.
Do
you think less of me? Damn right you don’t. That would be stupid.
Be sure you’re using that same measuring stick to judge yourself,
celebrating what you do. That’s all that matters. Effort always
deserves an A in the Fitness Protection Program. we’ll never ask
you to work harder than you have to, but we’ll give you all kinds
of excuses to get out the door when you need ‘em.
I tell
you that to tell you THIS: I don't expect anything good to happen
until June. You shouldn't either. Till then, do the best you can.
Moving forward is still moving towards the finish line, even if
it's slower than you want to go.
-
Stacy
Clark is #WINNINGATLIFE this week! Stacy lives in Connecticut, works for a
sports media company and has two kids, aged 8 and 5. One time while
out on a marathon training run, Stacy found a LARGE painting that
someone had left out for the trash collector, and she decided she
liked it and didn’t want to risk the trash collectors arriving
before she could get back with the car to pick it up, so...you know
what she did next. “Good thing I can’t run with bulky furniture
because I probably would have come home with some cool chairs if I
could have managed.” That is why we love Stacy - she has been
running in the Maintain program since last summer, and she brings
that GO FOR IT energy to everything she does, and after a bruising
half-marathon and then full marathon in the fall she’s been Slow
Burning for the past two months. WE LOVE YOU STACY! You are strong
AF!
-
Kaitlin Henry Meisler is WINNING AT LIFE this week, too! Preparing to run the
Atlanta Half-Marathon this weekend, Kaitlin lives in Alabama with
her husband and 3-year-old daughter. This is her 11th year teaching
middle school English - currently 7th grade - and she has been
running for almost exactly 10 years. After two times running the
Boston marathon, she had to pull back and treat an overuse injury,
after which she became pregnant and started a whole new chapter of
her life. Kaitlin started running with FPP in ReBuild several
months ago and then moved over into Maintain, and she is
exceptionally good at making time and space for running AND
recovering even when her busy schedule works against her. She says,
“I’m so glad to have you guys help me find a place where I can just
enjoy running and not worry about trying to “get back” to my
previous speed or fitness level—because my life looks very
different now.” We are so glad to have you with us,
TOOOOO!!!!
Weekly Wins from Runner,
Interrupted - 18:07
-
Happy
Birthday Amy Szcerbowitz! "I'm ending the month on a high note
celebrating my birthday. As a leap year baby it's a day that only
comes once every 4 years. I'm solidly in my 50's now, but in leap
years it is #13."
-
"My
surgery was successful. The tumor peeled off my artery which was
the best possible outcome. I am home now and on the road to
recovery. Every second from here out is a win!"
-
"I
got the BEST hug from an old friend this week! His wife is a fellow
cancer survivor and she recommended the practice where I get
treatment (which is amazing)! I get hugs from my family all the
time, but I didn't know how much I needed a big old bear hug from a
friend until I got one, total win!"
-
"I am
home from the hospital and plan to watch the Murder She Baked
marathon on Hallmark Mystery Channel."
-
"I
had not exercised for 18 days...until today when I did a
treadmill-based walking/Bootcamp class online. I will be sore
tomorrow but my weekly win is moving my body again, even if it
wasn’t that beautiful outdoor run I was imagining on this sunny
mid-40s day."
-
CONGRATULATIONS to SarahScott Dietz who, after a rough month of not running as much as she
realized, ran a half marathon today and came within ten minutes of
her half marathon PR she set ten years ago before kids….AND she
felt really GOOD. “I’m believing that I can run FASTER, that I can
be STRONGER, that it isn’t that unreasonable to think I can
improve, and I can’t tell you how much of that is because I feel
supported and confident because I am coached and loved, and I don’t
know how to thank you, I don’t know how to convey how much this
means to me.”
-
I’ve
been assuming that the warmups and cooldowns are done walking. Is
that right? And so if you’re in lane 2, you extend the workouts
with more walking?
-
I am
struggling with exercise timing and eating- I am a morning
exerciser. I wake early, have espresso ( sometimes a few!!), and
foam roll, silly toes, stretch a bit and head out ( or onto the
‘mill). Some days I am awake for a few hours before I run. I am
usually not hungry before running, and sometimes not afterwards for
a couple of hours either. Am I doing myself harm by not eating
before or shortly after exercising? I am trying to listen to my
body and eat when I am hungry.....
-
Big
congratulations to our sponsored athlete, Nikkia Raedawn Young, who
ran a half-marathon today, concerned she was neither ready nor
prepared, because February has sucked for her, too. “I’ve never
felt so control in a race. I felt strong throughout, never walked,
and kept my HR under 170, which is HUGE!!!”
-
I am
looking at the new training plan for 3DATF for the 50 mile option.
Does it matter what days during the week we complete the stacked
runs? 3 days a week I work 12 hour shifts as a nurse and it will be
difficult to get the second run in after my shift at 1030 at night.
Or, would it be helpful to complete that run that late on tired
legs to get the experience? I could move the stacked days to the
days I am off and making the second run easier to fit in. I have a
treadmill at home so running at night isn't dangerous just
tiring.
-
I was
doing Slow Burn in January, but haven’t really run since February
1st because I was so tired. I found out it’s because my vitamin D
is super low. I’m on a high dose of vitamin D now, but still get
tired easy. For March, should I got back to Maintain, knowing that
I may need to dial back some of the harder effort stuff, or would I
be better off spending a month (or more if needed) in
rebuild?
-
I am
training for a 50k at 3DATF and I am YOLOing a half with my BRF
March 28th. What modifications should I make to do the half and
maintain my 50k training?
-
So,
let’s say that someone was kind of dumb and signed up for a 10k
race a week after a pretty hard half. What should the week in
between look like (I’m kinda hoping that you won’t say no running,
even though I know that might be the answer).
-
Can u
talk a little about menstrual cycles and training? I have an IUD
but still ovulate and cycle and “feel” hormonal shifts. How does
this affect training? Are there certain times in The cycle that are
harder/easier? Better times to push vs ease up? Are there times in
cycle when Baseline HR is more elevated? My guess is that any
changes would be reflected in HR effort and can go from that, but
just curious. (https://www.fitrwoman.com/)
-
Questions... I’m posting my splits. I was tired at the
end and working, but for the majority of the race my perceived
effort seemed to be less than those around me. In terms of general
race strategy, is it better to start a little faster and Not have
such a swing in pace times? Or is that drop about appropriate? How
much of a 1/2 should feel hard and pushing? What are the general HR
guidelines for a half?
-
I
haven’t run more than 20 minutes a couple times a week for the last
month. I don’t feel guilty at all cause sometimes life is all we
can do at the time. But I want to get back to it. Should I drop
back to rebuild for a month to ease back into longer runs- or just
dial back in Maintain and build back up the time? Thanks
coaches...Kristy
-
What
is your advice for right hamstrings - right more than left but both
are tight. My right glute isn’t too happy either but I think foam
rolling will help that. Not sure about the hamstrings.
Thanks!
-
Hi!
What are your thoughts about nose vs mouth breathing while running?
I'm pretty good about nose breathing when not running. I've always
been a mouth breather while running. I've had a chronic cough while
running for at least this past year, not fixed by inhaler,
decongestants, acid reduction, and I've had a normal pulmonary
function test. A fellow Slow Burner mentioned a book called Close
Your Mouth, and it sounds like nose breathing techniques can solve
a few different breathing issues. Of course, they note that in
extreme exertion, mouth breathing is necessary. But overall, on
easy runs, what do you think? I did an easy run today, tried to
nose breathe as much as I could, but needed to slow way down. What
do you do, Coach? 😍 Thank you!
Coach MK Fleming is the founder of Fitness Protection, LLC where she trains
her runners for $30 per month and gives marathon plans away for
free.