You spend lots of time in your head during an ultramarathon. Entering an aid station sometimes feels like a brief and welcome visit to civilization. Most ultras provide such comprehensive support that a runner doesn’t absolutely need a personal support crew, but it sure is nice to see a familiar face. Having crewed, paced, …
Ultrarunning is a sport built on adversity. Extreme distances, fickle weather and countless other hurdles will seemingly coordinate and conspire in the universe’s cruel attempt to throw you off of your game. Yet, we are a triumphant lot. Whether it is Killian Jornet winning the Hardrock 100 in an arm sling after dislocating his …
With Western States about six weeks away, athletes are finalizing their preparation and should be making their training more and more race-specific. If necessary, there is still time to make changes and corrections to training and nutrition strategies and see results in time for Western States. Some of the 9 steps to success in this …
We’ve all been there before. You are in the last two weeks leading up to a race and just thinking about the race makes your palms sweat. Suddenly, all the weeks and months of training – countless hours on the trail – are all but forgotten. All you can see are the remaining 14 days …
My alma matter’s Code of Conduct was “Aggies do not lie, steal or cheat, nor do they tolerate those that do”. As we A&M Aggies are a cheeky lot, we would routinely add an addendum to the Code that stated: “They just exaggerate, collaborate and borrow”. Little did I know in my late teens and …
Determining fatigue and state of readiness has long been a holy grail for endurance coaches. Accurately gauging these aspects would allow athletes to push harder when they are more ready and back off when they are more fatigued. Among the dizzying array of scores and assessments out there, Heart Rate Variability is one that seems …
This past week I completed my 44th trip around the sun. As usual, I ran my age in miles, which becomes more of an ordeal with each passing year. It also gives me a lot of time to think about what categorically has worked with athletes over 2-plus decades as a professional coach. Below are …
Old man winter is here, meaning it’s time for colds, flu, and generic ‘bugs’ to knock athletes down. Days off come from illness, injury, or one of life’s myriad of curveballs. Regardless, at some point you will miss a meticulously thought out training day. Most missed training sessions can be chalked up in the ‘no …
When I first met my wife she was training for her very first half marathon. Like many before her and countless since, she had picked up a book from preeminent marathoner and author Jeff Galloway and organized her training around programs in the book. Galloway’s methods center around two principles: weekly progressive overload and a …
I recently earned my third finish in the notorious Hardrock 100. The high-altitude race is notorious because it features an average elevation of over 11,000 feet and includes more than 32,000 feet of climbing and descending. Every race is a learning experience. This time around, Hardrock delivered a lesson on the value of downhill run …