What? High-intensity speed training for a marathon? Don’t shake your head yet. It’s true. What is High-Intensity Speed Training? First, a definition. By high-intensity speed training, I’m talking about shorter intervals, probably on a track, done at about 90-95% of your effort level, or at about your 5k pace. Frequently in marathon training, shorter intervals […]
10 Questions You Should Never Ask a Runner
I feel the need for a little lighthearted fun, how about you? I wrote this post a few years ago and it still makes me smile. Whether you’re a runner or not, you’ll be nodding your head and laughing at some of the answers. Here are 10 questions you should never ask a runner. If […]
5 Tips for Holding Onto Your Fitness and Running Resolutions
Yikes! It’s already March. How are those fitness and running resolutions doing? After a burst of enthusiasm and determination in January, when many people make their health, weight loss and running goals, we are now about a week into March, when, unfortunately, many of those awesome resolutions have started to slip. One of the mistakes […]
Stop the Negative Self-Talk! 5 Tips to Turn It Around and Improve Performance
A while back, I failed to complete my 20-mile training run. A combination of heat, tired legs, and my own negative self-talk combined to not only cut the run off at 17 miles but to make most of it pretty miserable. Heat and tired legs are easy to understand, but what about my own attitude? […]
8 Tips for Running Downhill and Why Downhill Training is Important
Whenever a runner has a hilly race to run, the focus is on the uphill, not on running downhill. After all, that’s the hard part, right? Running uphill makes your heart pound, your lungs burn, and your legs scream. So you prepare for such a challenging event by uphill training, getting stronger and more adept […]
8 Reasons the Half Marathon is the Perfect Race Distance
I want to talk about my favorite race distance, the half marathon, and why it is perfect for me, and possibly for you too. Plus I’m sharing a half-specific speed workout. Prior to 2020, based on surveys by Running USA, the half marathon was the fastest-growing distance in racing. While the most recent survey (2017) […]