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Conquer Race Week Jitters

Written by Cally Macumber February 20, 2023

You have done all the hard work, sacrificed precious time and energy along the way and now race week is here.  Your nerves run wild exacerbated by the taper and fewer miles.  Don’t worry, here’s how to push through and keep your eyes are on the prize!
conquer_race_week_jitters

As race week inches nearer, let's take a deep breath and keep these considerations top of mind:

1) Remind yourself that the hardest work is done and you've already won! You've been consistent, remained disciplined with the "small things" and completed the workouts and miles, despite hectic schedules and every day life challenges. Congratulations - you took the journey and won! Throughout the week prior to your goal race, go through your training log and remember the hard workouts, long runs, the grit and tenacity you've shown again and again! You have built the strength inside of you that will help you push you through race weekend to the finish!

2) Relax - you deserve it! It's okay to back off your total volume. You’ve begun your tapering for this event, and you can trust our recommendations to back off your total weekly mileage while keeping some intensity on any strides/tune up workouts you have on the schedule.

3) Study up! As you approach race weekend, it can be helpful to study up on the course. If you've already done this - awesome! If you haven't - no worries! For an endurance race, you're bound to run into some changes in the course (hills, twists and turns, surface changes with sidewalks, roads, dirt, etc.). Breaking down your race into chunks and mentally preparing yourself to know when you can dig a little more on a hill or relax on some downhills can not only help with your race strategy and energy conservation, but also break up the race into chunks so it's not so daunting.

For those almost there, we're so excited for you! You're going to prove to yourself just how limitless you are.

See you at the finish line!



runcoachLet’s break some bad habits and work to create new positive routines. We often start the New Year off with the best intentions, but sometimes our priorities shift and our resolutions fade away. If this sounds like you, our hope is to help make this year different. Here are 7 quick tricks to hold yourself accountable:

1. Find a workout buddy – Knowing there are people waiting for you will act as a reminder to show up, and it will make the run more enjoyable.

2. Hire a Runcoach – A coach will provide the structure necessary to accomplish your goals (Coaches like myself = Cally, Rosie, Alex & Tom are here to support you).

3. Put a race on the calendar – Selecting a race gives you something to look forward to and something to work towards!

4. Look at your fitness journey as a lifestyle change – Be flexible, there’s no reason this journey shouldn’t be fun!

5. Less can be more – For those days you’re struggling, don’t force your workouts and risk burnout. Instead stretch or foam roll. We all need some down time.

6. Journal your progress – Have a written record of all of the hard work you put in! The Runcoach ‘notes’ section attached to each workout is an excellent way to journal your journey.

7. Treat a run like a priority - like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast. Build your run into your calendar, just as you would a work meeting.


Here's another reason to keep exercising!

Effects of aerobic exercise training on cognitive function and cortical vascularity in monkeys

This study examined whether regular exercise training, at a level that would be recommended for middle-aged people interested in improving fitness could lead to improved cognitive performance and increased blood flow to the brain in another primate species.



Barefoot Running

Written by Coach Tom McGlynn February 15, 2019

Here’s some more supportive data on the benefits of running barefoot and an interesting analysis of force distribution with an without shoes.

Born to Run Barefoot - John Dodge

To clarify our recommendation is that athletes run 5-10% of their weekly mileage barefoot on a soft surface.  So for the athlete running 20 MPW that’s 1-2 mile per week barefoot.    We are most interested in the variance of foot strike, flexion and force distribution which helps strengthen the plantar facia, achilles tendon and calf muscles.

The article includes two videos from the Harvard University Skeletal Biology Lab that outline the force variance of barefoot running.

They can be viewed here:

Barefoot Normal Strike

Shoe Strike



This is a great read about endurance activity and increased heart metabolism.

One of the key points is that the research was done with heart rates at 65-75% of capacity.  Since maintenance pace keeps you in the 65-80% MHR range this study is highly applicable to running.  The fact that these stimuli seem to return the heart to a metabolic state of youth could be paramount in heart disease prevention and overall cardiac throughput.

In theory our threshold/10K/VO2 work could stimulate an even greater cardiac metabolism since we operate closer to 85-95% of MHR.

If you’re in anywhere between 30-90 years old, this is a great read.

Exercise Makes Hearts Grow Younger


Trying to think of some goals for your next big race?  Check out Tom's advice in Race Training Tips: Good Targets at Runner's World.


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