Thank you for your patience with me through “magazine hell week” last week as I know I missed some posts. The magazine is a lot of fun to put together and I’m enjoying it but it does get time consuming when my monthly deadlines are close. Each month, I write a “family feature” story which includes a photo session and interview with a family who lives in the area the magazine mails to. I’m able to suggest families for the monthly story and since I know the owner of our local running store, Doug and Jane Alred, live in the magazine’s community, I asked and they agreed to be my cover story for next month! I’m excited to interview them and watch the photo shoot next week. Pretty cool that I can put running and writing together in so many different ways. 🙂

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Enough about me…let’s talk running!

Last week we talked a little about the shoes we wear outside of running. I posted this because I wanted to get you thinking about the things you do outside of running that can  be detrimental to your goals. There are certain aspects of living in today’s modern world that can cause of issues. Unfortunatley, even if we’re fit and healthy, modern life isn’t helping our running. Sitting is a big problem. With so many modern conveinences, we aren’t required to get up and move around anymore. Sitting causes muscle imbalances that, in conjunction with a lack of strength, can lead us directly to an injury.

The sad truth is that the majority of us spend most of the day sitting down. Long periods of sitting are inherently bad for all of us but for runners sitting wreaks havoc on our flexibility and general posture. A lot of sitting can cause a real problem when it comes to our every day running performance. In the Strength Running program, Injury Prevention for Runners, Jason Fitzgerald tells us:

Sitting results in many types of postural and muscular changes that deteriorate your running efficiency and can predispose us to running injuries. If you run after work, after sitting all day, then you are especially at risk.

Just think: prolonged sitting…

• • reduces the flexibility of the hip flexors and hamstrings
  • creates a forward tilt of the pelvis
  • reduces blood flow to the legs, hampering the recovery process
  • weakens the glutes and hip muscles, reducing the stability of the pelvis while running

These immediate results from a day of sitting makes us ill-equipped to handle an afternoon or evening run.

Jason promises to give us strength and mobility exercises that are “aimed at counteracting the imbalances, weaknesses, and inflexibilities that are caused by our sedentary lifestyles” but before we getting into those, he wants to encourage us to vary how we spend our day. We can’t stop sitting down altoegther, but we can alternate between sitting, standing, walking, and even kneeling.

There are things we can do throughout the day to help our body retain more flexibility and reduce the damaging effects of sitting down for long periods of time.

Consider fighting for one of the following options in your workplace:

• • A standing desk
  • A normal office chair
  • An exercise ball
  • An ergonomic kneeling chair

It’s also helpful to take frequent walk breaks and use your lunch hour actively instead of for more sitting. You can go for a longer walk, a short run, or a yoga class or get your strength work done if you have a gym membership nearby.

If you work an office job, it’s also helpful to do things the hard way. Use the printer on the other side of the office, get up and walk over to a colleague instead of calling, stand up while you’re on the phone, go for a walk with a colleague instead of sitting down for a meeting, and avoid using a chair whenever you don’t have to.

Jason says,

While you’re sitting, use the cue to bring your belly button to your spine (we’ll talk more about this cue later in the Running Form lesson) to activate your deep abdominal muscles and improve your posture. Do this several times per hour while sitting and even while standing to promote a neutral, efficient posture.

Later in the Injury Prevention for Runners program we’ll see some more strength and flexibility routines that Strength Running has developed to counteract the effects of sitting and muscular imbalances. But before we work on strength, we have some action steps to take this week.

Each section of the Injury Prevention for Runners program includes Action Steps that help us implement the material into our training. We want to make sure we are actively incorporating these lessons into our running rather than just consuming the information and putting it aside.

Part 1 Action Steps:

This section tackles a big picture topic – lifestyle factors that affect injuries – as it comes before running-specific changes to your training.

Step 1: For one day, be aware of how much time you spend sitting down. You don’t have to keep a running stopwatch of how much time you spend on your butt (although I did – and it was eye-opening) but it’s helpful as most of us under-estimate.

Step 2: The next day try to reduce this time by 1-3 hours. If you work a sedentary job and spend your evenings watching TV or on the computer, aim to sit for no more than 5-6 hours total (the national average is over 9 hours per day!).

Step 3: Evaluate your casual shoes for rigid, high-heeled, constrictive models that could be contributing to foot and lower leg weaknesses. I won’t ask you to buy a new closet of shoes, but:

1. Wear high-heeled or constrictive shoes for one less workday per week
2. Never wear shoes in your home
3. Opt for more flexible, lower-profile shoes when you’re at more casual events 4. The next time you need new shoes, buy a lower-profile, more flexible option

Many runners look for a “magic pill” that will help them run healthy in the long-term. I’m fond of saying that there are no magic workouts, secret training strategies, or hidden coaching tactics.

Instead, we’re improving your foundation so you can live a lifestyle conducive to running injury-free.

These are simple steps we can take that will make us feel better all around but especially when we run. Will you take these steps to or are you still waiting for that “magic pill?”

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In addition to our Part 1 Action Steps, this week are are adding a new strength routine from Strength Running! Let’s look at how our week will play out.

• Injury Prevention for Runners – Part 1 Action Steps
• IT Band Rehab/Strength Routine (20 minutes) – 3X
• Nike Runners World Arm Strength Routine (6 minutes) – 3X
• Tomahawk Workout (16 minutes) – 3X
• Daily Plank & Wall Sit – one minute each day
• Speed Work – See workout below.  Plan ahead to make sure you fit it in

You can do these workouts when your schedule allows. You can do all three strength workouts at once which would be three 42 minute workouts. Or you can split them up and do them at different times or different days. You can do your speed work when it makes the most sense for your running schedule. Remember to give yourself a couple days before and after your long run so you are fully recovered and ready to work hard. Make it work Crew!

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Speed Work: The Tempo Run

We’ve talked about tempo runs a lot but they can still be confusing. If you still don’t understand them, or maybe think you know what they consist of but aren’t sure, you really should listen to Strength Running Episode #71: A Step by Step Guide to Tempo Runs.

You can listen on iTunes here or if you are an Android user you can listen on Stitcher.

Once you listen (it’s only around 15 minutes) then you will be better prepared to run your tempo workout. If you have questions, please ask me, but if you listen to the podcast first and you will probably be ready to go.

The Workout: Tempo Run

• 5K Workout: 1-2 mile warm up + 15 min tempo + 1-2 mile cool down
• 10K Workout: 1-2 mile warm up + 20 min tempo + 1-2 mile cool down
• Half Marathon Workout: 2 mile warm up + 30 min tempo + 1-2 mile cool down
• Marathon Workout: 2 mile warm up + 40 min tempo + 2 mile cool down

As you can see, the workout gets longer depending on the distance you are training for. If this is your first tempo run, don’t go all out and try to run a 40 min workout. Start with 20 minutes and work your way up. Reach out to me with questions. You may see others training for a similar distance as you and doing longer or more intense workouts, but they may also be a more experienced runner. Please don’t compete yourself or try to do more than you are ready for. Make smart decisions about your training!

If you have a speed workout given to you by your coach (or by me if I coach you individually) that is different from our workout, that’s fine. Do what your coach tells you. 🙂 But this is a great workout for anyone so if you don’t already have a prescribed workout, then get to tempoing!

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Week #3 Workouts: Hope you like the new videos that our Florida Crew helped me with this week!

IT Band Rehab/Strength Routine:

Nike Runners World Arm Strength:

Tomahawk Routine:

Are you as indestructible as an everlasting gobstopper? If you “can’t” do a basic body weight exercise, avoid trails like the plague, or skip a run because it’s raining and you don’t want to slip and break something, you are not as indestructible as an everlasting gobstopper.

We are capable of being unbreakable but we have to work for it. Feeling strong enough to battle the elements is part of gaining fitness, improving our running prowess and getting that PR that’s been eluding us. Are you willing to work hard to become indestructible? I know you are or you wouldn’t be here… so let’s get to work!

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According to Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running,

There are a few things about running injuries that you have to know.

Fact #1: Prevention is about a lot more than strength exercises.

Some runners think if they just do strength exercises they’re being “smart” about injury prevention. But no amount of strength can overcome poor training. Your running program needs to be structured the right way – or else your strength gains will just be wasted.

Fact #2: RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) is just the beginning.

Ask any runner what they do to recover faster between workouts – or when the early signs of an injury appear – and they’ll inevitably defer to RICE.

It’s a great first step. But it’s just a first step. Are you following a post-run recovery routine? Are you doing all the maintenance work that you should be doing? Or maybe you’re relying too much on one aspect of recovery (like icing).

Fact #3: Smart runners build prevention into their training.

A runner once told me that he doesn’t want injury prevention to interfere with his training. After an audible gasp, I shook my head sadly. Unfortunately, this runner is doomed to continue on the hamster wheel of injuries.

The runners you know that never get injured are incredibly smart about prevention. It’s automatically built into their training plan with strategic mileage increases, workout progressions, and runner-specific exercises. Their health is not an accident.

Fact #4: Consistent health isn’t about luck or genetics – it’s about hard work.

You are not destined to be injured all the time. Nor are consistently healthy runners lucky – they didn’t hit the genetic lottery. Instead, healthy runners work hard to stay healthy.

It’s not enough to run a lot of miles and blast those tough speed workouts. We have to make sure our training program is right for us, for where we are in our fitness and for the goals we are trying to achieve.

But is all we do is run, the risk of injury is higher and our performance will suffer. Think about it…have your heard of an elite runner who “just runs”? Nope, they all strength train.

We know that running builds our endurance, but what are the other key factors that help us improve our athleticism?

• Strength: the ability to produce force
• Flexibility: the ability to attain large ranges of motion at the joints
• Speed: the ability to move the body and its parts rapidly
• Coordination: the ability to accurately and efficiently move the body and its parts in order to accomplish some task

These skills make us capable of doing more: mileage, speed work, and (of course) faster racing.

Since running is admittedly a two-dimensional activity (we run straight ahead), if that’s all we do then our other physical skills will atrophy. Our strength, flexibility, and agility will plummet.

So while our endurance might be great, if we can’t utilize that fitness because we’re injured, unbalanced or uncoordinated, then we’ll never run fast. If we, as runners, focus more on how to improve athleticism, many of these problems wouldn’t appear at all.

Jason has heard it all:

“I can’t run trails! I’ll turn an ankle!” If we’re chasing a big goal like a Personal Best, ultramarathon finish, or maybe a Boston qualifying marathon, then we must be more anti-fragile! Trails are not dangerous if you’re capable.

“I can’t hold this bodyweight exercise…” Some bodyweight exercises are difficult. But so is running fast! When easy or intermediate exercises can’t be done by runners who want to stay healthy or run a PR, there’s a clear discrepancy. Increasing our movement fluency improves our capability. There are no fast, weak runners.

“My squat form is terrible.” Running is a series of one-legged squats performed in a ballistic, plyometric manner. How can anybody run well without being able to squat adequately? Poor form on traditional, basic, and fundamental exercises is a red flag that there’s a lack of movement fluency – and therefore, athleticism.

“I don’t run two days in a row because I want to stay healthy”

Running more is generally the most effective way to improve your racing performances and get faster. If runners take off 3-4 days per week for injury concerns, this is a major red flag. Why? Well…

• Not much running can be done in merely 3-4 days per week
• If a runner is truly so susceptible to injuries that they can’t run two days in a row, the problem is strength, not the running!
• This is a self-limiting belief and I refuse to let you settle for average

Jason stresses that we must model our training after how the best runners train. This means developing new habits.

Below are some key factors promoted by Strength Running:

• A dynamic warm-up before every run
• A cool-down before or after each run consisting of runner-specific mobility or strength work
• Varied running surfaces like trails, grass, the track, and roads
• Consistent strength training
• Running drills to refine form and reinforce good habits
• Hard workouts (fartleks, tempo runs, etc.) that increase our range of speed capability

Once we start training like competitive runners, even at scaled down levels for us, we’ll see dramatic improvements.

The Goal: Anti-Fragility

Anti-fragility is a property that’s defined as:

A property of systems that increase in capability, resilience, or robustness as a result of stressors, shocks, volatility, noise, mistakes, faults, attacks, or failures.

Anti-fragility creates more robust runners. The idea is to thrive off of uncertainty. To be able to go our for a run anytime, anywhere, without being worried about getting twisting an ankle, pulling a muscle or throwing out our back.

Where to start:

1. Begin each run with a dynamic warm-up routine. (You should be doing this already!)
2. Next, add a bodyweight strength or core routine at least 3 times each week. (We’ve been doing body strength workouts for a while so you should be used to this one. Now we are doing longer strength workouts 3 times each week instead of 4-5 shorter workouts.)
3. Once you are stronger, start running on more varied, uneven surfaces. (Do you ever take your running off road?)
4. Add running drills 2 times per week. (We are adding running drills this week!)
5. When this is comfortable, it’s time to add additional strength training. (We’re already working on this week…this week we’re adding arms!)
6. Add harder, faster workouts when you’re ready. (Don’t jump into harder, faster workouts before you are ready. Remember…being capable and strong means you are not fragile but you are ready to move forward with more work. Baby steps…)

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Running Drills

It feels silly to do drills like skips, hops, and other form drills. Prancing around feels weird but once you realize how beneficial running drills can be you might change your mind.

Running drills can:

• Improve the communication between your brain and legs – helping you become more efficient
• Strengthen not only the muscles, but the specific joints (like the ankle) needed for powerful, fast running
• Improve coordination, agility, balance, and proprioception – helping you become a better athlete
• Serve as a great warm-up before challenging workouts or races

The best time to do drills is after a dynamic warm up and an easy running warm up. If it’s race day, drills should be done BEFORE your strides. If done before a regular run, same deal, drills should be done after a dynamic warm up and an easy warm up run. Stop and do your drills, then go into the meat of your workout.

We are going to do these drills AT LEAST twice this week (and each week going forward)

Below is a video of all the drills performed by Jason Fitzgerald. The video includes cues, instructions, and slow-motion footage to help you understand them in more detail.

The 7 drills we will perform this week are: (perform each of these drills once out and back for 30-50 meters or less than half the straight away on a track)

1. High Knees
2. A Skip – High Knee Skipping
3. B Skip – High Knee Skipping with Leg Extension
4. Butt Kicks variation 1 – Lift foot straight up under your butt (this is different from most of us think of as traditional butt kicks
5. Butt Kicks variation 2 – traditional butt kick
6. Straight Leg Bounds
7. Grapevines

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September 2018 Week #2: Adding Running Drills & Arm Strength

In addition to adding running drills back into our training arsenal this week, we will continue with our IT Band Routine and we are adding a quick arm workout that we will do right after the ITB routine. These 2 workouts will take about 25 minutes total and should be done 3 times this week. This is not a Strength Running routine from Jason Fitzgerald, but we need to add in some arms and this is a great one that is easily built into your day. We will add a new Strength Running routine next week.

First, follow along with Jennifer, Meghan and I below to complete the IT Band Routine then go right into this week’s arm strength workout. You should recognize this new one!

IT Band Strength & Rehab Routine

Nike Runner’s World Arm Strength

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Speed Work: Train Negative 

This week’s speed workout is the same for everyone, but depending on what you are training for, your distance will vary. First let’s talk a little more about what a negative split is and why it’s effective.

You don’t have to be an elite athlete to run faster in the second half of a race. In fact, anyone can and should run negative splits. Unfortunately, most runners don’t. Instead, they start in a near sprint, hang on through the middle and resort to a survivor’s shuffle at the end. But those who opt for negative splits patiently run a bit slower for the first third of a run, pick up the pace in the middle and finish with strength and speed.

The reason this works is because it can take your body several miles to get warmed up. After that, our muscles are charged, our joints lubricated, and mood-boosting endorphins flood our system. We’ll find ourselves running faster without feeling the additional effort. While 5-K racers DO benefit from this negative-split technique, marathoners will find it even more beneficial. Since a 5K race is relatively short, your warm up miles should be done before the race. But you still don’t want to go all out when the gun goes off. So how do we learn to slow down and the beginning of our run or race, then speed up to finish stronger and faster?

Trust the method. Many people are so used to charging out and then gradually slowing down that they don’t trust their bodies will ever speed up during a run. Trust me. It works. If you conserve your resources during the early part of a run, they’ll be available to you at the end.

Train negative. To build confidence, practice negative splits during training runs. Instead of starting your run, fartlek workout or interval sessions at the pace you want to average, run the first portion of the workout 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower. By the end of the session, you’ll be running faster than planned and will probably be feeling better than you’ve ever felt during a speed session.

Start slow. Depending on the length of your race, begin 20 to 40 seconds per mile slower than the race pace you’ve predicted. Don’t be tempted to speed up when you notice all those other runners flying by. Instead, hold back by imagining yourself comfortably passing them later in the race.

Gradually build speed. As you near the middle of the race, 4-5 miles into a half marathon, or 10-12 miles into a marathon, you want to hit your race pace. Then, toward the end, use those fresh legs to pass as many tired runners as you can.

A lot of us use this method already during our everyday runs, but this week I want you to  really focus on it and FEEL the pace early on, during the middle of your run and in the final miles. DON’T forget your warm up and cool down. The negative split portion should be smack in the middle! It should be obvious when you start the workout portion of your run. Keep your warm up nice and easy, then go into a pace that is a little faster than warm up but NOT at your race pace, slowly speed up to your race pace, finish the workout strong with a pace BELOW your race pace, then do a nice easy cool down.

Train Negative: Negative Split Speed Workout 

1. Warm up – 1-2 miles at conversation pace
2. Running Drills & Strides
3. Negative Split Workout (see distance options below)
4. Cool down – 1-2 miles

Training for a:

5K – 10K:

• Do a warm up long enough to make you feel ready to run faster. That means your body is warm and your breathing is stable. This will depend on you. Some people are able to warm up faster than others. For me, I don’t start feeling good till at least 2 miles in.
• Workout – 1-4 miles of negative split miles. If you are new to speed work and just dipping a toe into going faster, even doing a mile can get you ready for more. If you are only doing 1 mile of speed work break the mile into smaller segments like .25 miles and go faster for each quarter mile. Your last quarter mile being your fastest. If you have done speed work before, you should be doing at least 3 or 4 speedy miles. Again each mile should be faster then the previous mile.
• Cool down – .5 – 1 mile cool down

15K – Marathon: Same warm up and cool down. Your speed will suffer if you cheat yourself out of a good warm up! 4-8 miles of negative splits

If you are training for a:

• 15K = 4-5 miles
• Half Marathon = 5-7 miles
• marathon = 7-8 miles!

One caveat, if you are training for your first marathon and are just getting into your training, go for the lower miles. You don’t want to burn out or jeopardize your long run (the most important workout of the week) early in training.

I know it seems like a lot of miles, but when you run your goal race there’s no shortening the distance so you might as well be ready for it!

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September 2018 Week #2 recap: 

1. Daily Plank & Wall Sit (Minimum :60 each)
2. IT Band Routine – 3x
3. Nike/Runner’s World Arm Strength – 3x
4. Running Drills 2x
5. Speed Work

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Are you indestructible? I know you are capable…I know you are getting stronger…but if you’re not indestructible…it’s time to get to work!

Did you know that 70-80% of runners get injured every year? That’s higher than pro football!

Being trapped in this injury cycle is demoralizing. It makes us want to quit and wonder why we put in all this work…only to watch it go down the drain as we sit on the sidelines with an injury.

Just imagine how much more you’d love running (not to mention, how much faster you’d run) if you could simply prevent injuries?

September Week #1 – Why do we need Prehab and what does it include?

Injury is tough but there is an upside to getting hurt if we choose to see and do something about the underlying issues.

Facing an injury is a little like tough love. It can serve as an eye opener for us and is usually a great opportunity to test our willpower and improve the things which most runners neglect. Think about when you realized you needed to do more than just run…it’s when you were injured and could no longer run.

When a runner gets injured what is the first thing they turn too? Cross training…right? Runners don’t usually fall in love with cross training, we do it because we love to run and it is the quickest way to stay in running fitness. Unfortunately, if we overload ourself with aerobic cross training but neglect  to devote time to the strength and structure of our body, it can also make us more susceptible to future injury.

We can’t run…so our first thought is to spend lots of time on the bike, in the pool or doing some other type of cardio workout. While that will keep the weight off and help us maintain our cardiovascular fitness, we lose the range of motion specific to running and the power needed to run fast. We fail to get stronger so we’re able to avoid re-injuring ourselves once we are able to run again.  We get back to running quickly, but a couple weeks down the road get we have another injury or the old pain is coming back again.

What does Prehab include?

1. Strength Training
2. Dynamic and Static Stretching
3. Foam Rolling
4. Recovery Runs

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Strength Training: It’s easy to spend so much time cross training that we’re too physically and mentally tired to spend time building strength. To get in our strength work we MUST have a plan, just like our running plan. We don’t want to get up and start working out, deciding right then what we feel like doing that day.

This week our plan is to follow along with the video below three different times during the week. You can do this any day of the week but be smart about when you do it. Avoid strength the day before a tough speed workout or a long run. PLAN AHEAD and make smart decisions. Think back to past challenges…when did we do our leg work? Why did we do it on those days? There has always been a purpose behind what we do, why we do it and when we do it…consider that when you are planning your workouts this week.

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Dynamic and Static Stretching: In addition to strength training, it’s important that we continue our dynamic and static stretches each day, even when it’s an off day from running. This will help us improve our strength, flexibility and stability. Dynamic stretches include leg swings, hip hurdles, and even lunges and squats. We can fit these moves into our every day life by getting up and doing a few squats and lunges as we walk to the bathroom or kitchen, or by balancing on one leg while brushing our teeth. We can multitask my watching TV and stretching at the same time. These little additions will help us gain core strength and stability.

Dynamic Stretching: Leg Swings, Hip Hurdles, lunges and squats

Static Stretching:

1. 7 Key Stretches for Runners
2. Yoga for Runners – Unknot Yourself
3. Yoga for Runners – Tight Hips and Legs
4. Yoga Poses for Runners

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Foam rolling: A large proportion of running injuries stem from muscle tightness leading to our biomechanics being restricted and causing alterations in our running gait. The most effective home treatment is foam rolling. Devices like the stick are good, but a foam roller is more effective because we can utilize our body weight to apply pressure to the muscles. We can do this every single day.

Imbalances, even just a fraction of an inch in how each foot lands, can lead to injuries and often the area that hurts isn’t the real problem. Loosening up the muscles, tissues and fascia around the areas in pain allow us to move more freely which prevents some easily avoidable injuries.

Roll every angle of every muscle in your legs, glutes and hips. Basically all the areas that feel tight or sore from running, plus areas that may feel fine but are starting to feel tight.

Below is a foam rolling demonstration that takes less than 5 minutes. I would prefer you spend more than 5 minutes with your roller but you have to start somewhere! As you start to get used to using your roller more often, you will see that it hurts less and less. You might even start to like it!

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Recovery runs: Every run should have a purpose! Generally that’s either a long run, speed work, hill work, or a recovery run. Recovery runs should be done at a very slow pace, while still focusing on maintaining good form.

As the name suggests, recovery runs help our legs recover from harder efforts, flushing the lactate out of our muscles and increasing blood flow to the muscles that have been broken down on harder or longer runs. This helps to get the required nutrients to the muscles to rebuild and adapt optimally. Recovery runs are really important. But it’s also very easy to overdo our recovery runs. Recovery should be slower, shorter and easier than ALL our other workouts. Watching our heart rate or literally walking or run/walking 1-2 miles can be just the thing we need to feel good and be ready to run harder again the following day.

One thing is for sure, recovery is king and if we take care of our body, getting out the door for our next run isn’t as difficult.

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Prehab (strength, dynamic and static stretching, foam rolling and recovery runs) is the key to allowing us to continue to train and race.

A healthy regimen of foam rolling, self-massage, and mobility and flexibility stretches keeps everything feeling good as we head out the door for a run. Try adding some rolling and mobility exercises in the evening before going to bed. Instead of using the first couple miles of a run just to work the kinks out, we can do it at home by rolling before our run. This also makes our runs so much more enjoyable.

September – Week #1 Recap:

For the first week of September, we are learning our first strength routine which focuses on our hips, glutes and quads. This is a 20 minute workout from Jason Fitzgerald’s training arsenal that we will do three times every week. You can fit this in any day during the week, preferably before or after a run but get it done even if it’s on an off running day. Throw in a daily plank and wall sit, dynamic and static stretches and DAILY foam rolling and you are one step closer to a strong running form!

Week #1 Plan:

• Daily Plank & Wall Sit – don’t cheat yourself by cutting these basic strength exercises short!
• Daily Dynamic and Static Stretching
• Complete 3 times this week – ITB Strength & Rehab Routine (follow along with the video)
•  Daily Foam Rolling

That’s it Crew. Three 20 minute strength routines focused specifically on our hips, glutes and quads, daily planks and wall sits, daily dynamic and static stretching & daily foam rolling.

Believe it or not, speed and hill workouts are forms of strength routines. We’ll talk about this more later but plan ahead to fit in this week’s speed work and throw in some hills when you can.

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Speed Work: This week’s speed workout is a fun fartlek sprint ladder. Farletks or “speed play” is normal unstructured but this workout gives you a plan to follow while keeping it short enough to keep you from getting nervous and skipping the workout. Give it a shot and see how going a little faster during one of your weekly runs makes you feel awesome and boosts your confidence!

“If you think you have no time for prevention work, you’ll sooner or later have to find time for injuries.” – Jason Fitzgerald