Most runners know that speed workouts are vital to improving your fitness and preparing to race your best. Most runners also know that the mental side of racing is at least as important as the physical side. But for some reason, most runners don’t take the next...
Read MoreI have been assuming that most runners include post-run strides as part of their training week. Turns out I was wrong about that! So, in the interest of getting more people to regularly include strides in their training, I want to talk about the why, the...
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A great marathon performance starts well before race day. A proper, effective training cycle is essential to hitting your race goals. But the amount of time that you need to train will vary depending on your background, your goals, and your recent training. In the flowchart below,...
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It’s pretty common knowledge that the long run is the most important run of the week if you’re a distance runner. It’s the one run that really gives you the boost to your endurance that you’ll need to be successful on race day. But I think...
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NOTE FROM COACH CARL: I work with a number of runners who dabble here and there with triathlon -- either as a way to make use of all that cross-training they do, or as something fun and different in between marathon training cycles. If you're looking at...
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Coach Carl's Introduction: Allison was one of my very first coaching clients -- she saw me quoted in a Runner's World article, saw I was from Atlanta, and the rest is history! In the years that we've worked together, I have consistently been impressed with her...
Read MoreLeg swings are a very common exercise to see runners doing. Often it seems like it's just a way to fidget and kill time -- but done correctly they can be really beneficial. Used as a pre-run activity, leg swings can be part of a dynamic...
Read MoreI've been a big fan of visualization every since my high school cross country coach (Coach Christy -- shout out!) began using it with us my freshman year. Of course there is plenty of research to back up that visualizing yourself performing a task or reaching...
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NOTE FROM COACH CARL: I get a lot of emails with nutrition questions and a lot of requests to provide nutrition advice. There's just one problem -- I have no training in nutrition! I can help when it comes to fueling for your long run, but...
Read MoreYou may not have skipped since grade school, but it's a great way to work on glute activation and hip extension to improve your running form. Add in some low-level plyometric work and it's a fantastic pre-run or pre-speed workout exercise to add to your dynamic...
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