Intro: This is the TriDot podcast. TriDot uses your training data and genetic profile, combined with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to optimize your training, giving you better results in less time with fewer injuries. Our podcast is here to educate, inspire, and entertain. We’ll talk all things triathlon with expert coaches and special guests. Join the conversation and let’s improve together.

Andrew Harley: Hey folks! Welcome to the show! It's a run episode today. We've got 21 tangible run training tips to help you get the most out of all those training miles or kilometers. I've got two TriDot team members joining to run us through all of these tips. Our first guest joining us today is Matt Bach. Matt is an accomplished athlete with an Ironman Maryland victory, and a 77nd overall finish in Kona on his résumé. He worked on Wall Street as a trader and portfolio manager for nine years, earned his MBA from Temple University, worked at marketing at UCAN for two and a half years before coming on board to lead TriDot's marketing efforts. Now Matt, before you were a top-level triathlete, you were a pure runner. Are you excited to share some run training knowledge with us today?

Matt Bach: Definitely. Running is where I started.  It's where I grew to love endurance sports, so I'm thrilled to be out here to talk about run.

Andrew: Next up is pro triathlete and coach Elizabeth James. Elizabeth is a USAT Level II and Ironman U certified coach, who quickly rose through the triathlon ranks using TriDot, from a beginner, to top age grouper, to a professional triathlete. She’s a Kona and Boston Marathon qualifier who has coached triathletes with TriDot since 2014. Elizabeth, how's it going?

Elizabeth James: It's going really well, thank you! I had a fantastic run earlier today, so I'm really looking forward to talking about running on this episode!

Andrew: I'm Andrew the Average Triathlete, Voice of the People and Captain of the Middle of the Pack. As always we'll approach the show like any other workout. We'll roll through our warmup question, settle in for our main set conversation, and then wind things down with our cooldown. Lots of good stuff, let's get to it!

Warm up theme: Time to warm up! Let’s get moving.

Andrew: Every year, the major running shoe brands release their updated shoe lineup, and hope their offerings will please the feet of runners worldwide. Within these annual releases, there are usually new creations, existing models that received a total overhaul, and/or crowd favorites that underwent slight changes. Typically this process moves the running shoe market forward with new exciting updates, but the dark side of this phenomenon occurs when an athlete's favorite shoe is ruined by a change, or is cut from the brand's lineup entirely. Matt, Elizabeth, if you could bring back a shoe model that has long been retired, or has been replaced by a less-than-adequate updated version, which shoe would you revive? Elizabeth James, what are you picking here?

Elizabeth: It made me giggle when you said "the dark side of this phenomenon", because yeah, the dark side here would be the brands that have the shoes that no longer are in stock that you loved. And for me, that would be the Saucony Mirage 4. I loved that pair of shoes. In fact, I still own that pair of shoes, even though they probably should be in the trash. I used those for many, many track sessions, they were such a great pair. I mean, the shoe construction itself was fantastic. Just 4 millimeter offset, great for me having a lower drop for some of the speedwork sessions. They were black and pink, which I absolutely love, some of my favorite colors there. And as I said, I still have those pair of shoes. They're only good for about going to the grocery store, way too worn out to actually do any training in, but ones that I just can't seem to part with, and I wish that they were still available.

Andrew: So do they still have the Saucony Mirage? Are they on Model 12 or something and you just don't like it anymore, or is that lineup just gone entirely?

Elizabeth: It's gone.

Andrew: Okay. Well, sad day. R.I.P. to your Saucony Mirage 4. I'm terribly sorry that happened to you.

Matt Bach: Sau-CONE-y? Who are you?

Andrew: SAU-cony, my bad. SAUcony. It's just one of those words that I always mispronounce, right? I mean, athletes love pointing it out on the show. I get a lot of flack for the way I say "tri-ath-a-lon" instead of triathlon. It's just one of those things. We're doing some backyard renovations, and I say "per-GO-la" instead of PER-go-la, so I keep getting flack from my wife. But anyway, my apologies to all the Saucony fans out there for that one.  But every runner who has had this happen to them, they know exactly what we're talking about, because you just fall in love with a shoe.  And all of a sudden that new update comes out, you buy it, you put it on your foot, and you can just tell. This is not the same shoe I just had. This is not the same shoe I fell in love with. So Elizabeth, so sorry that happened to you with the Saucony Mirage 4. Matt Bach, what is a shoe that you have these same feelings towards?

Matt: Yeah, for me it's Zoot. I was sponsored by Zoot for a couple years, and grew to love their shoes, and the Zoot Ultra Race is the shoe that I would race in. I loved it. It was a neon green, really easy to spot. Me and my wife loved it, because anytime she was spectating, it was really easy to find me. It also had those BOA laces on it. It was one of the earlier shoes I think to have that on the shoe, and I loved it. I also have some sort of nostalgic attachment to it, too, because I won Ironman Maryland in a pair of those. And the other great feature that I loved was that it has great drainage, which is good when you're pouring water, ice over yourself constantly. In my case, I'm also peeing myself periodically, so I was bummed when Zoot stopped making that shoe. But they stopped making shoes entirely, I think, for a while, and then they came back and starting making shoes again.  But I don't think they brought back the Zoot Ultra Race, at least not in the form it was back then, so that was kind of a bummer for me. I wish I still had that shoe to run in. Then also back in high school, I noticed that every year they changed. I was running in Asics Live, and the whole team was running in Asics. We would run in the 2060's back then, and then they came out with the 2070's, and it was just that marginal change from one year to the next, and you couldn't find the 2060's anymore.  So that was also kind of a frustrating experience back then, because they just changed the shoe so frequently, and with just relatively small changes.  But like you say, you grow to love a shoe, and then they get rid of it, and you go, "Ah, such a bummer!"

Andrew: Yeah, and Matt, the one that happened to me with that is the Brooks PureFlow 2. So when I first moved to Texas from Florida, I was a tennis player in Florida, so I was just looking for a way to stay in shape. I was looking to get into running, and did what a new runner does. I went down to the local Luke's Locker running shoe store, and the guy put me on a treadmill and watched my stride, and said, "Oh, here's two shoes that would be great for you," and one of them was the Brooks PureFlow 1. I spent a hundred bucks on them, which at the time I thought was an enormous amount of money for a pair of running shoes. But I really liked the Brooks PureFlow 1. Back when I was just a novice runner, I put a lot of miles in those. Got the Brooks PureFlow 2, liked it even better. I was like, this shoe is great, this shoe is amazing. Put even more miles on those. It's really the shoe that helped me fall in love with running, just as a recreational runner, before I was a triathlete. Then the Brooks PureFlow 3 came out, and to me, what you just said, Matt, it was a very slight change. It was similar, but had just enough of a difference that the magic was gone for me. And I’m sure a lot of people liked that shoe. I just didn't, and now I'm not even sure if that shoe exists at all, and I don't run in Brooks personally anymore. But that's the one I would revive, the Brooks PureFlow 2. If they revived it today, I would go online, I would buy two of them. I might not run in them, I might not train in them, but I would definitely use those as my around-town shoe, because I really did like them.

Hey guys, like we said, we know a lot of you have probably gone through this at some point in your running career, so we want to hear from you. What is a running shoe that is no longer on the market, or maybe it's been updated, and you just feel like the magic has gone. What's a shoe model that, if you could revive it, you would totally do so? Go to the I AM TriDot Facebook group, find today's post asking this question, and let us know what that shoe model is for you.

Main set theme: On to the main set. Going in 3…2…1…

Andrew: We recently had sports scientist Andy Blow from Precision Hydration on the show, and learned that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to hydration, because everyone loses a different amount of salt in their sweat. As someone who sweats a lot, I wanted to get a better understanding of how much salt I lose in my sweat, so I took their online sweat test. And after taking the test, I received a personalized hydration plan, and was recommended their strongest electrolyte drink, PH 1500, which is three times stronger than most sports drinks out there. It's been a game changer for me, particularly in hot conditions. If you've ever struggled with hydration issues like dehydration or cramping during long and hot sessions, it's worth checking out precisionhydration.com. You can take their free online sweat test and find out which PH strength matches how you sweat, and then get 10% off your order with the code TRIDOT10. To learn more, you can even book a free 20-minute video consultation with them to ask any questions you have about hydration and fueling, or even to discuss your own strategy for an upcoming race. Again, that's precisionhydration.com, and use the coupon code TRIDOT10 to get 10% off your electrolytes and fuel.

Everyone has a different relationship with running.  Whether you're fast or slow, love it or hate it, you're a graceful gazelle or an awkward aardvark, if you're going to make it to the triathlon finish line, you're going to have to run your way there. We run a pretty good amount in out training, and today we'll hear 21 tips to help us get the most out of our miles. Now for this episode I consulted with many of the coaches in the TriDot family to gather as many helpful run training tips as I could, and today Matt, Elizabeth, and I will be talking through them one by one. So Coach Elizabeth James, what is our very first run training tip for today?

Elizabeth: First tip is proper running shoes, and I mean really proper equipment in general, but especially running shoes. As much as I love my Converse, that is not what you want to be training in. So know your foot fall. Do you pronate? Do you supinate? And then get the shoes that are best for you, and then only use them for running. Run in your running shoes. Don't use them for other activities, and then replace them as recommended.

Andrew: Yeah, I like that tip, and what I like about the note of "run in your running shoes" is, once I retire a pair of running shoes, I've put enough miles in them, the foam's kind of broken down, that's when I'll transition them into my gym/workout shoe. But definitely don't use your primetime running shoes at the gym while that cushion has its life still in it.

Elizabeth: Yeah, exactly.

Matt: Same strategy for me too. I just shift them over, and now they're my yardwork shoes, or my walk-around-town shoes.

Andrew: There you go! Yeah!

Matt: And touching on that, replace them as recommended. In high school, I had a few pairs of shoes that I got over 1,000 miles on a pair of shoes. I mean, the recommendations are typically 300 to 500 miles, something like that?

Andrew: Three to five, yeah.

Matt: Now, we would wear that badge with pride, that we had a pair of shoes that got over a thousand miles. But that only lasted so long, until we started finding that we were just getting injured by doing that. We were like, "Wow, that was dumb." So that stopped pretty quickly, especially once Coach found out. He was like, "That's not a good idea."

Elizabeth: Yeah, there's a lot of things with making sure that you have the proper equipment on your feet, and I really do encourage athletes to go to a running-specific store when they are looking for their specific pair of running shoes. In terms of proper running shoe fit, too, run shoes are going to run a little bit different in terms of sizing than other shoes. So for me, if I'm buying a pair of dress shoes, I'm going to be an 8 or 8½. I buy a 9½ in my running shoes, so don't be afraid to size up. The fit is a little bit different, your feet are going to swell when you run. I like to have about a thumb's width between the end of the longest toe and the end of the shoe, and as long as the heel isn't slipping, it's better to go with a little bit of that larger size.

Andrew: Yeah, all great points. I love running shoes. I actually have a couple running shoe review YouTube channels that I just enjoy watching their content, whether I need a new pair of running shoes or not. So keep your eyes on what's on the market. There are some great shoes out there, and make sure that if you put 1,000 miles in like Matt Bach used to, then you're doing it wrong. You need to be replacing those a little more consistently. Coach Matt Bach?

Matt: So Tip #2, pace it right. Pace your training right, not just your races. Don't just run easy, don't just run hard, don't run in the middle. Do the prescribed pacing. It all ties back to the TriDot philosophy, "doing the right training right." So whatever's in your plan for the day, make sure that you're doing it as prescribed, hitting those paces on the easy days, hitting those paces on the hard days. You're going to get a higher TrainX score that way, which is hopefully encouraging you to hit that training the right way. Because that polarization of that training is going to get you running that much faster. I've fallen into that pitfall before, of running the mid zones. It doesn't work, I just plateaued.

Elizabeth: Yeah. Yup. I think a lot of runners have. And one of the things that really helps me is setting up my running watch to show the metrics that I want to focus on for that session. So for example, if it's an aerobic run and I'm focused on heart rate, and especially in the summer here where my ego gets in the way where I look at my pace and go, "Oh my gosh, I know I need to keep my heart rate down, but it seems so slow!" I'll set my watch so that I'm only looking at heart rate. This is important for training and racing. Make sure that you have the ability to see the data screens set up in a way where you don't have to be scrolling through a bunch of pages, and you can really just focus on the metrics that matter for that particular training session.

Andrew: And to that point, I'll introduce our run training Tip #3. Don't dread the track or the treadmill. I know a lot of people see the track and the treadmill as being somewhat mind-numbing, somewhat boring, and honestly they can be. But man, the track and the treadmill is a great, controlled environment to just really help you keep the hard stuff hard and keep the easy stuff easy. There's no question about what your pace is on a track. I personally love going down to the track for my speed work, and I saw so much improvement in my 5k time, in my high-end speed and the power of my running when I started doing more sessions down at the track, because it really just helped me know, "Okay, my Zone 4 pace is X." And by golly, when you're just running circles on a track, you don't have red lights getting in your way, you don't have cracks on the sidewalk getting in your way, you don't have varying terrain getting in your way, you can really nail those speedwork sessions. So I really recommend athletes do the hard stuff on a treadmill, on the track, and maybe for those Zone 2 sessions, those sessions that are longer stamina sessions, you can vary it a little bit more. So don't be afraid to take your training down there. Don't be afraid to kind of lean into how mind-numbing and predictable those environments can be, because they can really help you nail that speedwork. And they say speedwork makes the dream work, isn't that right?

Elizabeth: Yeah, definitely so! I've come to just love the track and the treadmill for the precision of hitting those prescribed workouts.

Andrew: So, Matt Bach, let's hear from you on Tip #4.

Matt: Tip #4: more doesn't always equal more. Don't just go out and run more miles. It doesn't necessarily mean better running. I think a lot of us get tricked into this idea that if you run more, you're going to get faster.  Because when you first start in the sport, you go from five miles a week to running ten miles a week, to running 15 miles a week, and you're getting better as you're increasing that volume. But there's diminishing returns there, and at some point they even tip over. I've actually written articles on this. I think I titled it, "When More Equals Less", or "When More Is Less." It's something that just really resonates with me, because during the 2013 season, I very much was just trying to get as many miles in as possible, both on the bike and the run, and trying to just pack in as much of that training as possible to see if I would get better. It had worked in the past.  But at some point, it doesn't continue to work. So if you're one of those athletes who is pretty serious about the sport, you're up there into that 10, 15 hours a week range, know that there is a threshold for each person, and given your stress in your life and life situation, your recovery situation, that there's a tipping point where more does not equal more. More may actually equal less, or it equals nothing, so you're just wasting your time. TriDot is amazing in that way, in that there's a focus on high quality over quantity. It's not just jamming a bunch of hours into your schedule. It all ties back of course into the "doing the right training right" philosophy as well. Let TriDot tell you what to do, go out and do it, and know that more doesn't always equal more.

Andrew: Yeah, I know. Definitely. When I came onto TriDot, I saw immediate benefit.  Instead of focusing on how many miles I was running, focusing on how I was running those miles. Going out and running a certain amount of miles just at a Zone 3 pace, which is what I was doing before I found TriDot, did very little to improve me in my results and my capabilities. But suddenly for certain intervals I'm running in Zone 4 and Zone 5. Certain intervals I'm running in Zone 2. And just knowing how to run those miles helps you get better gains, better increased fitness out of less miles than when you just go out and run a ton of miles. We at TriDot, we're very famously not for accumulation metrics. More is not always better. Matt, that is a great point here, particularly when it comes to the run. Something I've heard Coach Jeff Raines say many times is, it's not always about beating yesterday. So yesterday, if you were capable of running 10 miles, it doesn't mean today you need to go out and run 12. It's not about beating yesterday, it's about doing the right session for today. Coach Elizabeth James, what is our run training Tip #5?

Elizabeth: So #5 is going to be, incorporate run drills and strength training. Those accessory-type workouts. Not just the run session itself, but the things that really support that. Working on your running form, your economy of movement, thinking "lift, lift, lift" as you run. Keeping your cadence high, making sure that you're staying upright, you're not over-leaning. Really just thinking about the things that support the run.

Andrew: Yep, and we've talked on the podcast a couple times, even somewhat recently, on just how much there's benefit in incorporating run drills. It's not just something to get your muscles primed for a run workout, it actually does help your run form, it can help your economy. There's been studies into that. We actually, on the I AM TriDot Facebook group, there was a conversation going on a few weeks back where an athlete had asked about stretching, and what are people out there doing to warm up your muscles before you stretch, or do you just stretch while you're cold. I think we all know it's better to stretch a warm muscle as opposed to a cold muscle. So something that I've been doing lately, actually, just talking about incorporating run drills into your weekly training, is I will go out in the driveway and do just 4, 5, 6 minutes of run drills to warm up my legs before doing an evening stretch session. It's a way of getting that into my routine a little bit more than just on run days, but it also primes my body for those stretching sessions. Lots of ways to do it, but a ton of benefit to your run form. Incorporating run drills and doing some strength training to really keep your legs in a healthy place. Elizabeth, that was such a great tip, and you did such a great job presenting it, let's actually go back to you for Tip #6.

Elizabeth: Well, I'm glad that I get to present #6 here. Tip #6 is it's okay to walk. This does not make you any less of a runner. I think that's something that maybe even new runners struggle with a little bit at first. They're like, "I'm not a runner. I'm just jogging a little bit, and then I need to take a walk break. Then I'll go again and I'll need to take a walk break." You are still a runner. It's okay. Embrace the walk. Incorporate it as part of it. There are many, many successful runners that actually use a run-walk protocol. I'll be the first to admit that when I qualified for Kona, I walked a portion of the hill in the marathon where I qualified for Kona. There's points where the walk is beneficial. For me, on that race day, I knew that I needed to get my heart rate back under control in order to put in a strong couple miles at the end. It's okay to walk in both training and racing, it doesn't make you less of a runner.

Andrew: Yeah, to your point, there's a lot of TriDot athletes and TriDot coaches that leverage a run-walk strategy on race day. They'll plan on doing a 9:00 to 1:00 ratio, or an 8:00 to 2:00 ratio of running to walking.  They've practiced that, and they've found in their practice training sessions that they're actually faster that way than they are just going out and straight running. There's a certain hill in Ironman Waco, my next A race coming up. There's a certain hill that we're going to go over three times. It's a pretty steep hill. I already can tell you, I'm going to be walking that hill every single time, just strategically. So Elizabeth, it's good to hear that if it works for pro triathlete Elizabeth James, it can work for me in Ironman Waco. Matt Bach, what is training tip #7?

Matt: Training tip #7 is fuel your runs. Fueling is a rabbit hole that we can go down for hours. We have whole episodes on that with Dr. Krista Austin that you can go back and listen to. But for this tip specifically, I'm going to try to keep it succinct, so I'll make one specific point, which is that you should fuel most of your training runs. So I'll typically have one serving of UCAN Energy before my runs. My runs are typically between 45 minutes, maybe up to an hour and a half. Maybe I'll have a longer run that's even longer than an hour and a half, but most of them are between 45 minutes and an hour and a half, so one serving does the job. That serving of UCAN Energy is like an insurance policy that prevents any low energy issues from getting in the way of me nailing my run. I rarely do fasted training. It might be something that I just do a few times a month. There are more and more studies coming out now on women athletes, and they're finding that you shouldn't do fasted training. It can have some impact on your health and your hormones. So particularly for women, make sure you're not doing your training fasted, and if for whatever reason you just have a fascination with doing fasted training and you think that there's some benefit there, make sure that it's supervised by somebody who knows what they're talking about, a registered sports dietician who can help you with that.

Andrew: Yeah, Matt, I'm glad you brought this up. I know it's an area that you're very passionate and knowledgeable about. I use a serving of UCAN Energy before any runs as well, or bike sessions even.  If it's first thing in the morning, it's usually a cup of coffee and a UCAN almond butter bar. Or if it's in the afternoon, it's usually a UCAN Edge gel. And then once a run goes over an hour, I'll usually take a Precision Hydration PH30 gel with me on that run, pop that about halfway through, just to make sure I can keep the energy up all the way through the duration of the workout. You really want to get all the fitness gains you can out of it by having energy.

I'll go into #8. I'm looking at Tip #8. I mentioned earlier I am passionate about running shoes. I just enjoy looking at new running shoes. I see pretty new running shoes at the market all the time, and I'm like, "Ooh, that's nice and shiny, I want to buy it!" And I have to make myself to just keep a certain number in my closet. My wife will harass me if I have too many running shoes at one time. But the tip here, Tip #8, is to consider having a rotation of running shoes. I think a lot of athletes just have that one go-to shoe in their closet, and they'll use it for all of their training and maybe even their racing as well. If for budget that's what you gotta do, that's what you gotta do. That's all good. But if you have the means, I strongly recommend having a rotation of running shoes. Did you know that running shoes need rest just like we do? The actual foam that is in the cushioning of your running shoes needs a break. It needs a chance to rebound. Most shoe manufacturers recommend 24 hours in between runs. Now with TriDot training you often have days in between runs anyway, but sometimes you don't, and that foam will lose some of its maximum effectiveness if it hasn't had a chance to rebound from your last run. So it's good to have a couple different shoes that you can bounce around in between, to let the foam have a chance to take a break. And one thing I like about having a shoe rotation, I personally have three different running shoes that I do my training in. It just lets your feet, your legs, get used to different types of shoes. Shoes have different drops that are made to do different things. Elizabeth, you referenced your favorite shoe that's been retired had a 4 millimeter drop. My track workout shoe, the Skechers Razor 3, has a 4 millimeter drop. It's great for track workouts. But for those longer, slower Zone 2 days, I have the New Balance Fuel Cell Propel, which has a lot more cushioning and a lot more drop, and that's just a little more friendlier to my legs for those slower Zone 2 runs. So there's just different shoes that can help you meet certain workout session's needs. It is a little bit more money up front, since you're buying multiple shoes typically to round out a good shoe rotation, but once you have two or three shoes in your rotation, those shoes are going to last you longer because you're not just putting all of your miles in the same shoe day in and day out. That's Tip #8. Elizabeth James, what is Tip #9?

Elizabeth: Tip #9 has to do with music on the run. If you like listening to music, I would encourage you to make some kind of purposeful playlist. I know one of the things that I use a running playlist for is to help with my cadence. This is something that I've worked on for a number of years, and instead of just listening to a metronome, I was able to make some playlist with a specific beat-per-minute, and have my footfall go with the music and the beat of the music. It was much better than just listening to a constant beeping, but it also helped me stay focused on some of the goals that I had for those sessions. Music can also be a great motivator. Sometimes there are days where I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I'm just dragging a little bit. I know I need to do this run." A good playlist can get me out the door, help me knock it out. A couple of different things you can do, if you like listening to music on your runs, consider making those playlists purposeful.

Andrew: That's very cool. I've certainly seen on Spotify, on Apple Music, whatever folks are using, folks have done this: in the search menu, if you punch in a certain beat per minute, and you know that's the cadence you want to hold, there will be playlists that come up that are going to match the beats per minute that you're looking for. Really good tip there, Elizabeth. Matt Bach, let's move on to #10.

Matt: Yeah, Tip #10. It's a tangential tip here, actually. Use headphones at the right times. For me, there's a couple main considerations here. One is safety. So for instance if you're on your bike and you're going through a suburban neighborhood or even an urban neighborhood where you have headphones in your ears you might not hear things that could save your life or save someone else's life, or just prevent injury in general. So for safety reasons, maybe use those headphones when you're on the trainer, or when you're in a place where the riding is very safe. I typically do not use headphones at all when I'm on the bike, because of the safety reason. If I’m using headphones it might be during a run, because it's a little bit safer there. You're not moving as fast, everything isn't as fast-moving, and I'm often running in places that are trails or on paths or roads that are not as heavily trafficked, so there's not as much of a safety concern there. The other thing is, on the social end of things, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people come out and join me for a run, maybe it's just me and one other person, and they have headphones in their ears. I'm like, "C'mon here, I'm here to chat with you, let's talk!" The whole social aspect of running like that, you develop some amazing friendships because of the time you spend out on a trail, talking about everything and talking about nothing all at the same time.

Andrew: Very true.

Matt: And if they've got headphones in their ears, I don't know what they're listening to. They're listening to the TriDot podcast, they're listening to music, are they listening to what? I don't know. Are they listening to nothing? A lot of the time I can't figure it out. I don't know whether they're actually listening to me and having a conversation with me or not. That bothers me. So definitely leave the headphones home if you're going to be going to a social thing. If you're running by yourself, then maybe bring out the headphones, and that's fine. But use them at the right times, please.

Andrew: It's almost like, Matt, you've become the third wheel on a running date between them and their headphones. And nobody likes being the third wheel.

Matt: What am I, chopped liver? You like the podcast better than me? You like listening to Andrew Harley in your ear better than talking to me? I can understand that maybe.

Andrew: I am fascinating, Matt. I am quite charming. So I'll move us into Tip #11. Tip #11 is vary your running route. I talked a little bit earlier about heading to the treadmill maybe for speed sessions, the treadmill or the track.  We talked a little bit about how you can run outside, you can run up and down hills. As much as I love the track, as much as I love the mind-numbing predictability of the track, I still make sure I'm varying where I do my workouts. I'll make myself try some new trails, I'll make myself go out on some undulating terrain, I'll make myself do things that aren't the same way. I'm also a creature of habit, and so I like running the treadmill the same way. The routes outside of my neighborhood that take me through neighborhoods nearby, I like running the same way. But something that Coach Jeff Raines pointed out to me one time, he was like, "Don't just run the same route the same way every time. Don't run the same direction on the track every single time." Because what happens is sidewalks have slants, roads have slants. If you're running a treadmill clockwise, that turn is always in the same direction, and you can really put a lot of stress on one side of your body over the other if you do all of your runs the same direction every single time. So it's good to vary. If you're on a track, particularly a longer track session, it's good to add some variety, just switch up which direction you're going to really work the muscles on both sides of the legs equally. If you have a favorite route around your neighborhood, if you do it one way today, do it the other way tomorrow, just to help even out the stress you're putting on both sides of your body. That's a Coach Jeff Raines next-level tip that he's given to me that I make myself implement, because I'm a creature of habit and I don't like to. But it's really, really good for injury prevention, and it keeps your runs fresh.

Matt: I have a couple notes to add on that one. On the track, make sure that if you're running in the opposite direction, that there's not a lot of people on the track.  Because if there's a lot of people, then you're being a little rude if you're doing that, and people will give you funny looks, plus you might end up running into people, so that's not good. So usually I'll do that, I also employ that tactic, and I run the opposite direction on my repetitions. If I'm doing six by 1k on the track, I'll run three of them in one direction and three of them in the other, and it kind of spices it up a little bit too. But I can only do that if there's not a lot of people on the track. The other thing too about the track, fun fact, in horse racing there's actually a very well-documented and serious problem where horses develop a syndrome where they have a curved spine because they're always running in the same direction on the track. Now those are horses, but you can sort of develop the same kind of thing in a human, because if you're running in the same direction all the time you're developing certain muscles and certain ligaments, and tendons and things are adapting and conditioning themselves to being able to run in that direction. So if you run in the other direction, you're probably going to find that it's a little bit harder to run in the opposite direction on the track.  And that's a good thing to notice, because you want to correct that. You want to be a balanced individual so that you don't develop issues like a curved spine, for instance.

Elizabeth: Matt, you mentioned doing six intervals with three one way, three the other way. It also helps me keep track of which interval I'm on. I'll do my odds one way, the evens the other way. Sometimes I'm like, "Gosh, which one was I on?" if I'm always running the same direction. So that helps me keep track of where I am in the workout, too.

Andrew: Yeah, all great points! Elizabeth James, let's move into run training Tip #12!

Elizabeth: Tip #12 is don't neglect the post-session recovery. Really, this goes with your warmup and cooldown for the set itself, but then also what you're doing immediately after that set. So make sure that you do have time to cool down, to really take care of the muscles, to refuel. All of those things are going to make sure that you get the gains that you just worked really hard for in the session. Don't neglect that post-session recovery.

Andrew:  Yeah, can't emphasize that enough. That's where you consolidate the gains that you just worked so hard for out there on your feet. Hey Elizabeth, this is going to be a little déjà vu, but you did so well presenting Tip #12, let's also have you present Tip #13.

Elizabeth: All right, we're going two in a row here for this episode! So let's take a look at #13, which is going to be to invest in some comfort items that are going to prevent chafing or blisters. I've talked on the podcast before about how much I like Sport Slick, and how I'll use that not just for a wetsuit, but even more so for my runs. Both around the armpits, on the thighs, prevent the chafing. Sometimes I'll use it under my socks. That's really helpful. Also using that Sport Slick on my feet to prevent blisters. Another thing is the socks. Don't wear cotton socks. The cotton is going to stretch a little bit as it gets wet and you're sweating more, and this is going to cause some friction and blisters. So invest in a quality pair of socks.

Andrew: Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. I just like investing in quality apparel in general. Quality apparel really does help with the comfort.  It's going to help with your temperature regulation, that nice moisture-wicking, breathable running singlet. It is going to help you regulate your temperature a lot better than that cheaper off-brand Tshirt, and it's going to help prevent chafing, just like you said. Just say no to cotton. It may be the fabric of our lives, but it is terrible for run apparel, and we can't emphasize that enough. I'm somebody, and this is kind of a personal thing, but I'm not a big fan of the brief liners in men's running shorts, so I've figured out which brands do the compression liners really well. I'm a big fan of a company called Run Brooklyn that produces what's called the Wally B running short that has a built-in compression liner. Nathan, the company that does hydration packs, also does apparel, and they put out some really good running shorts that have a compression liner. I say that to say, learn what you like, learn what your preferences are. Learn what helps you not chafe, and what helps you be comfortable over all the miles, and then invest in that quality apparel over apparel that isn't quite as quality. And just say no to cotton, right? Matt Bach, let's go to Tip #14!

Matt: Yeah, next tip, use some tools to help you pace. Perceived effort, people have used that since the beginning of running, but we now have a bunch of different tools that can help you pace better. You can use grade-adjusted pace, which in your watch, it'll tell you afterwards, but you can actually also set it as a field in your watch, so that it'll tell you in real time. Power, that's becoming a bigger and bigger thing in the running space, and if you have power for running, then you can use that to help monitor your pace. I've always used heart rate, so I generally wear a heart rate strap when I'm out on my runs, and it helps me manage my effort up and down on the hills. If it's a short punchy hill, then your heart rate is going to have a little bit of a lag on it, and it may not help you very much. But if it's a longer, gradual hill, or a longer, steep hill, whatever it may be, if it's longer, then heart rate will start climbing if you continue to try to run at the same pace up a hill. If you're trying not to do that, if you're supposed to be doing a Zone 2 run, then use your heart rate to manage your pace up the hills. If you're in a race scenario, then you might not want to be blitzing up that hill at Ironman Lake Placid or Ironman Wisconsin. It's a hilly course. If you're blitzing up each of the hills, it's kind of like you're burning a match on each one of those. So you want to pace it a little bit more evenly, unless you're basically finishing the race. Then at that point, go ahead and burn the matches, because you're just charging for the finish line. But if you've got a lot of miles to go, then try to pace it a little bit more evenly, that way you're not building up lactic acid. You're not kicking yourself out of your Zone 2 fat burning zones, and it'll help you have a better pacing strategy overall, and a better time in the end.

Andrew: Yeah, now that I have the Stryd power meter, obviously that really helps me pace correctly going up and down the hills. We talked about that a little bit earlier. But before I had that, grade-adjusted pace was amazing. To the Garmin watch, you can download a Garmin app that will show you grade-adjusted pace. It responds just a little bit slower than the Stryd power meter does, it would take it a few seconds to register that I was going uphill or downhill, but it was really helpful in helping me run the correct pace uphill and downhill. So for folks who maybe don't have the power meter yet, a free Garmin app download of their grade-adjusted pace to your watch can really help you manage that effort correctly. Another public service announcement I'll give here, is this is where TriDot's eNorm can really help you out as well. No one else in the triathlon training industry is doing this, where before you head outside for that session, you can see what your pace is supposed to be based on the environmental conditions outside. It's such a clutch feature in making sure you're doing the right training right. So I always remind athletes, before you head outdoors, your TriDot training is going to default to a certain time in the morning. So if you're running at that certain time, great. But if not, make sure you're updating what time you're doing your run, because if it's heated up at all, if it's cooled down at all, it's going to update your paces and let you know what pace you should be aiming for. Elizabeth, let's go to Tip #15.

Elizabeth: So Tip #15.  Kind of interesting that you chose me for this one, because everybody knows that the swim is not necessarily my forte, especially when comparing it to the run.

Andrew: But you're still faster than me, so good on you.

Elizabeth: But #15 here is going to be to swim. Or use other cross training, but I've found that particularly swimming has really helped my run. Swimming builds a great aerobic engine, it can provide fantastic recovery. There's a lot of benefits to the cross-training, and particularly the swimming, that have shown up in my run ability and my run progress. So I would say that cross-training, and particularly the swimming, great benefits there.

Matt: There's a lot of anecdotes, too, of swimming being just great cross-training, and also people a lot of time realize it when they're injured.  One of these anecdotes I'm thinking of is Tim O'Donnell in 2019 leading into Kona, when he had an amazing performance, was second overall, broke 8 hours. Incredible performance. Well, he had a broken foot basically, like a handful of weeks before Kona, but he used aqua jogging and lots of regular swimming in order to keep his fitness levels high.  He barely did any running, and then he still had the best race of his career. So that cross-training is clutch, and if you want to even try aqua jogging, a form of swimming/running, you could even try implementing that. Because the running really takes a toll on the body sometimes, but if you can use that weightless environment of water, then that'll really help you out.

Andrew: Yeah, I've seen several athletes that train with TriDot, they'll add a marathon to their RaceX, into their race calendar. And they're confused when TriDot actually adds a swim to their weekly routine. A typical weekly routine for most TriDot athletes has two swims. So a lot of athletes, they add a marathon, and it adds a third swim. And they'll post to the group, "Hey, is this right? Why is it going to have me swim three times a week when I'm training for a marathon?" And it's exactly that. It helps you build the endurance. It helps your body build the stamina in an activity that is not load-bearing. So running obviously carries a little bit more injury risk, so you can help build the stamina you need for that road marathon by getting in the pool an extra time during the week. Like you said, Matt, tons of anecdotal evidence for swimming being a great cross-training exercise to help your running. And us triathletes, we need to be in the pool anyway, so just embrace it.

I will introduce Tip #16, because I am passionate about this one. It's just be visible to vehicles. There's a lot of great sidewalks, there's a lot of great city paths that you can run, but really think about how visible you are. I say this because I have had more close encounters with vehicles on my outdoor runs than when I'm outdoors on a bike. I haven't had too many close passes, I haven't had too many encounters where I felt unsafe out riding on my bike. But I've had so many times, at intersections, at turn-ins, park trails, where cars just aren't looking for runners. They're looking for other vehicles, they're looking for cyclists. No one intentionally trying to hit me, but just people that just plain flat-out didn't see you. So think about what apparel you're wearing, particularly at night. Really go with things that have reflective accents. A lot of companies sell things that intentionally have reflective accents or have bright colors that will light up in vehicle headlights at night, so be thinking about those. There's a lot of things you can purchase like high-viz running vests, or light-up vests, or headlamps, or lights that clip onto your shoes or your belt. Just a variety of things out there that can really help you run safely. I always like to run against traffic. They tell you to ride and cycle with traffic and to run against traffic. It just helps traffic notice you that much better. I personally have a little hand torch light, a flashlight that I use when I run at night.  And if I can tell a car doesn't see me, and I'm approaching an intersection and they're approaching an intersection, I can flash that light towards them and make sure that they see me. So just take care of yourself and make sure that whatever you're doing out there you're visible to the vehicles that are going to be around you.

Matt: You just used the word "torch". Are you British?

Andrew: I am not British. I am not. But I think the model, it's a Nathan brand, and I think it's actually called the Hand Torch.

Matt: They actually call it a torch. Oh, wow.

Andrew: Yeah, so kudos to them. Maybe they have some British influence. Or maybe I just want to give a shout out to our British athletes and be as cool as they are with some of my lingo. Just trying to fit in with the cool kids over in Europe.

Matt: As you were just talking on this Tip #16, I just gotta throw in bonus tips.  So Tip #16a, or 16b, whatever you want to call it, with making eye contact if you're going to cross in front of a car. So if you're running along on the left-hand side of the road like you're supposed to be doing, and then you're about to cross over, let's say, somebody stopped at a stop sign. Make eye contact with that person. And if you don't, run behind the car instead. That's a common practice that I've put in place to make sure I don't run in front of a car that is not looking for me and not seeing me and just decides to put pedal to the metal and run me over.

Elizabeth: And even a brief wave. Like if you wave and they wave back, that's an easy way to know, okay they saw me, they're acknowledging me.

Andrew: Matt Bach, your #16b was so good, I want you to present Tip #17.

Matt: Oh, I would be happy to. Try new routes. This is one that I'm really passionate about, exploring. Using running as a way to explore. And I think I even said the same exact tip on the bike one, because I love to explore.

Andrew: You sure did.

Matt: So it's just varying things. I mean, training sometimes can be a bit monotonous. It can be a little bit tough. I love running with people for that reason, to try to mix things up and keep it spicy. But one other way to keep it spicy is to try new routes. So what I do a lot, I'll look at a map, I'll find some green. In Google maps you look for some green, which means that it's a park or some sort of reservation or something, and I'll run to it, and I'll run in it, and then I'll run home. Maybe it's a park I've never explored before, or maybe I'll even link a few of them together. I'll say, "Okay, I’m going to run to this green one, and I'll run to that green one, and then I'll run home." So that way I'm kind of just exploring new areas, and the green is a good way to try to identify some good new areas, because often the green stuff on the maps tends to be the best running areas that don't have as many people, cars, all that sorts of stuff. It has more greenery, and nice pathways, and all sorts of stuff.

Andrew: Yeah, I like to, when I'm in a new place, a new city, I'll actually pull up on Strava, either the Strava heat map or the Strava segments for that area, because it can show you where people that live there are doing their running or their cycling. When we were at Ironman Coeur D'Alene fairly recently, John Mayfield and I went for a run, and that's exactly what we did. We just pulled up on Strava, where are the running segments. Because if a running segment has been created, chances are a lot of runners are running that direction, so nice little tool there as well. Elizabeth James, what is Tip #18?

Elizabeth: So Tip #18, we've kind of touched on a little bit of this earlier, is be mindful of your form, and what you are trying to improve. We've talked about run drills. I talked a little bit about my cadence, and how I use playlists to do that. But really what we want to kind of focus in on here on Tip #18 is being intentional, having a goal for your runs. Having a goal even beyond doing the session as prescribed. So within doing the right training right, think about what is it in my run form that I'm trying to improve. Are you working on your stride, are you working on your cadence, are you working on your arm carriage, are you working on your breathing? So inside of doing the right training right, what are those opportunities for improvement for you? Being mindful of your form, and where you have the biggest opportunity for improvement on those sessions as well.

Matt: Just yesterday I was actually thinking about that idea while I was running, because during the Olympics, the commentators were making statements about Katie Zaferes and Flora Duffy.  Flora Duffy was very light on her feet, and the ground contact was very short. Then Katie Zaferes was looking a little more sluggish like the legs were heavy, and you could see that the feet were on the ground a little bit longer. So I was trying to think about that myself, in my own training like, "quick feet, quick feet", like have them hit the ground, bounce off the ground quickly, and not try to let them linger too long.

Andrew: Yeah, Flora Duffy looked fantastic on that run course, so it was a great day for her.

Elizabeth: Oh my gosh, yes. So cool to see.

Andrew: I'll do Tip #19.  We're in the home stretch here, people, we all have one more tip left to share. I'm going to do Tip #19, and it's injury prevention. I'm an athlete that is easily injured, particularly with the run, so I kind of have to be careful with it. So if you know you're an injury-prone athlete, just constantly be paying attention to how your body feels. Learn the difference for yourself on what's the line between general soreness and potentially an injury coming on. We've talked to BJ Leeper on the podcast a little bit about this, and we'll have more conversations with him about this. But know when it's okay to push yourself and get those fitness gains, and when you might need to lay off. You can leverage tools like an elliptical, or like we talked about a little bit earlier, aqua jogging like Tim O'Donnell did on his prep to Kona, to get some workouts in without the physical stress if need be. My personal rule of thumb, if I feel a little tweak or a niggle coming on, I'll monitor it for a run or two.  If it's getting worse or it's still there, that might be where I consider skipping a session or two, or easing off the intensity for a session or two to see if it goes away. And after four, five, six runs in a row of it still being there, still being a problem, I might increase how much time I'm taking off. But just learn for yourself, what are those problem spots. You can stay ahead of them with things like the running drills and stretching properly, but just be mindful of injuries. Running is a load-bearing sport, and it can really get your body in trouble very quickly if you're not paying attention to the spots you know are problematic for you. Matt Bach, your last tip for us today, what is Tip #20?

Matt: My final tip: take the tangents on race day. You'll save yourself some time there. If anybody knows Dick Beardsley, a famous marathoner from back in the early 1980's, give or take. I remember I heard him speak one time, very inspirational story, really good public speaker, so if you ever have a chance to listen to him speak, you should. But one of the stories that he told was about, I think it was a marathon in Japan. Maybe it was the Tokyo Marathon or something. And I think he was running on the line in the middle of the marathon course, thinking that that was the course he was supposed to run. But then he was horrified by the person who was just ahead of him, I think they were first and second. The person who was just ahead of him, who was taking the tangents. He was horrified by it, because he thought that he was cheating. But it turns out there are certain limitations to where you're supposed to run. You're not supposed to run up on the sidewalks, across people's yards or things like that, but take the tangents on the road, because the road is fair game. So that line in the middle, he discovered later on, was actually measured out to 26.2 miles, but technically he could run the tangents like this other guy was and he might actually end up riding only 26.1 or 26.0 miles, which actually could save you quite a bit of tine. So know that on race day, your triathlons, or maybe even your running races as well, that you can take your tangents, and that you should. You should practice it in training as well, where you can. It's a little bit tougher in training, because you usually have cars on the roads and things, but a lot of the time, I'll practice doing that. If it's early, early in the morning, I like to do some of my training at 5:30, 6:00 in the morning out on the roads when maybe there aren't that many cars, so I can actually practice taking the tangents in training. But it's key on race day of course, training not so much.

Andrew: Yeah, a lot of park paths where you can practice that.  And being mindful of it in your training, just kind of increases the odds of you being mindful of it on race day. When we say it a lot, it sounds like a nobrainer, it sounds like an easy thing to do. But you'll be surprised how may Ironman or Half Ironmans we are out there cheering for TriDot athletes, and you just see people all the time on turns, just taking the long way around, because they're just mentally in a place where they're not thinking about it.  The more you think about it in your training, the more likely you are to think about it on race day and save yourself the time. Coach Elizabeth James, let's shut down the main set with Run Training Tip #21. What do you have for us?

Elizabeth: Alright, our final tip, and my final tip for today, is to grin and bear it. I mean really just thinking about smiling through your workouts, having a positive mindset. It's amazing what a smile can do. For yourself, for other runners around here, really just going in with that attitude of gratitude, and the opportunity to be out there and to push our bodies to do fantastic things.

Cool down theme: Great set everyone! Let’s cool down.

Andrew: I love sharing stories from the TriDot family on our podcast, and we have a really meaningful one today from athlete Holly Wik. On our website, TriDot.com/podcast, you can click on "Leave us a Voicemail" and record your own voice for our show. You can ask a question, you can tell us about your tri club, you can tell us about a recent race or maybe a training breakthrough you've had lately. Anything remotely multisport is on the table, and we love hearing from y'all and getting athlete experiences in the sport on the show. Now Holly listened to Episode 56, it was called "Triathletes on the Run: Nailing Your Next Half or Full Marathon". And on that episode, we asked to hear your marathon stories. So Holly went to the website, she recorded her story, and I can't wait for y'all to hear this one. Holly, thanks so much for sharing. Here is Holly Wik.

Holly Wik: Hi Andrew, my name is Holly Wik. I recently listened to and very much enjoyed the Triathletes on the Run podcast where you invited us to submit marathon stories. I have a story I'd like to share, not just about a marathon, but a marathoner. A badass warrior marathoner named Colleen. I met Colleen in 2010 at a Mothers of Preschoolers event. I had complimented her on her head scarf, and she candidly told me she was undergoing chemo for breast cancer. She went on to tell me about her family, the teaching career she had given up to homeschool her five boys, and her cancer discovery and treatment, which included chemo, radiation, and a bilateral mastectomy. I was in awe of her strength, tenacity, humor, and heart. We became instant friends.

Around the time I started running to lose weight, Colleen started running to increase her lung capacity and to help her body recover from illness and surgery. We joined a local women's running group called the Running Hotties, which became our support group. We would train, laugh, race, encourage, and pray for each other. Unfortunately, I moved out of state and wasn't able to be with Colleen for her first marathon at Chicago in 2014, which, by the way, she accomplished after beating cancer a SECOND time. But she was with me at my first marathon in Virginia Beach the following year. She had just finished the half marathon herself, and should have been at the after-party, but instead she was waiting for me out on the marathon course, cheering me on, taking pictures, and handing me pretzels.

When Colleen was diagnosed with cancer a third time in 2016, her immediate reaction was to sign up for the Chicago Marathon again. This time, FOUR Running Hotties registered with her. In her Facebook post about her diagnosis, Colleen wrote, "My oncologist said fighting metastatic cancer is like a marathon, and MY way of winning a marathon is going to Chicago with my friends." The five of us began training from three different states. Although it started well, as the marathon approached it became clear that Colleen's ongoing cancer treatments, and her compromised immune system, would prevent her from traveling to and completing the event. The Running Hotties swung into action. Shirts were made. Supplies were ordered. Shenanigans were planned. I won't name the Chicago Marathon employee who bent the rules at packet pickup so we could procure Colleen's race packet, bib, and shirt. But when we took our places at the starting corral, wearing our custom race shirts with "Running Hotties do Chicago" on the front and "Team Colleen" on the back, Colleen was with us, in the form of a life-size blowup doll with her face glued on, all dressed and geared for running. We carried Colleen 26.2 miles, taking pictures of her with spectators, volunteers, first responders, mile markers, Chinese dragons, even Elvis! In our finish line photo, Colleen's face is radiant above her finisher's medal, surrounded by her friends. She was the only one of us who wasn't sore the next day. After returning from the race, we lovingly boxed up Colleen's race swag, shirts, the blowup doll, Chicago souvenirs, and a photo album documenting the entire adventure. Colleen's reaction when she received it: "I feel so loved! I feel like I was there, because I was! Once I am cleared to start running again, I will log 26.2 miles and won't wear the medal until then!"

Colleen passed away in July of 2019 at 42 years old. Her celebration of life was epic. Mementos of her life well lived were on display, including those of her final marathon with her friends. She never did run 26.2 miles again, at least not here on earth, but she finished her life's race with the same grace, strength, and perseverance we all knew her for, that exemplify all that we aspire to be as athletes. On behalf of the Running Hotties, thank you for letting me tell you about our friend Colleen.

P.S. The day that I am submitting this, May 14, 2021 , is Colleen's 50th birthday. I actually wrote this story three days ago, before realizing it would soon be her birthday. But seeing her birthday on the calendar right as I was so deeply immersed in her story was a sign, to me, that God was pleased with what I was doing. I know many of you on staff at TriDot are praying folks who appreciate a good God tie-in. So if you would, please pray with me for Colleen's family: her husband Jason, and her five boys, Griffin, Brayton, Dawson, Ronan, and Weston, who are now ages 20, 17, 16, 15, and 13, respectively. I'm sure they're all missing Colleen today as I am. I pray that their memory of Colleen would draw them all closer to God. Thanks again for all you do at TriDot and Tri4Him. May the Lord bless you and keep you all.

Andrew: That's it for today, folks! I want to thank Matt Bach and Elizabeth James for hitting us with some super-useful run training tips. Shout out to Precision Hydration for partnering with us on today's episode. Head to precisionhydration.com to learn how you sweat, and to check out their hydration and fueling options. Use code TRIDOT10 for 10% off your purchase. Enjoying the podcast? Have any triathlon questions or topics you want to hear us talk about? Head to TriDot.com/podcast and let us know what you're thinking. We'll do it again soon! Until then, happy training!

Outro: Thanks for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDot podcast with your triathlon crew. For more great tri content and community, connect with us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Ready to optimize your training? Head to tridot.com and start your free trial today! TriDot – the obvious and automatic choice for triathlon training.

‍