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Final Surge Podcast

In the Final Surge Podcast, we interview coaches, athletes authors, and endurance industry experts to help you train with a purpose.
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Now displaying: Page 7
May 10, 2017

Many high school teams are winding down their track seasons and starting to think about their summer program. Today we welcome Coach Ben Rosario, who has a couple of high school plans available to purchase on Final Surge in to talk about summer running and building a team culture during the summer. This podcast came as a suggestion and if you have an idea you would like us to explore please send us a message on Twitter @FinalSurge or hit us up on our Facebook Page

We put out a question out on Twitter asking what topics that people wanted us to cover in upcoming podcasts, and we had a group of high school coaches asking for a show on the structure of summer running programs. So we decided who better than the author of probably the best high school cross country book out there which is called Tradition Class Pride, Coach Ben Rosario.

I think we all know the goal of the summer is to build the aerobic base for cross country. I have heard college coaches and successful high school coaches say they think many high school kids are malnutritioned in the aerobic area. So how do we start working on this?

The long run is a staple. I read when Mark Wettmore was a high school coach and winning state championship after state championship his upperclassmen had a 20-mile loop for their long run, and this was high school not at Colorado. And others say high school kids really shouldn’t be running either longer than their age or longer than 90 minutes. What is your thought?

How do you vary mileage between boys and girls in high school?

You have a new summer cross country training plan that will be available for purchase on Final Surge this week. How do you break it down for a team that may have new freshman runners and experienced runners going into their senior year?

For a beginning group of new runners, how many days a week would they run early in the summer compared to the end of the summer?

How do you keep running fun during the summer for them?

What percent or your training is the long run on Saturday?

One of the plans I looked at in week two you add in a couple days a week of drills and strides. What pace should the strides be in?

And you mentioned drills are included, are these form drills?

In the plan I looked at, you started out around 27-miles and built up to just above 50-miles at the end of 10 weeks. What type of mileage do you think this person was doing the season before?

By week two you are getting a workout in on Wednesday, but not really faster than a tempo, and then the long run. The rest of your runs are steady runs, what pace do you recommend. There are some kids who will go to hard and then there are other kids who will jog if you don’t give them some paces. What pace do you recommend based on their current 5k times?

Some questions from Twitter

How often should female HS runners lift weights in the summer? What are 3-5 key lifts to include?

How often should they be doing general strength/core exercises in addition to the lifting?

What's the best way to evaluate HS talent to determine what distance they should run?

You have two programs available for sale on Final Surge, the first is a training plan for the xc season and the second is a detailed schedule for summer running. If someone buys your 5k cross country plan, what can they expect to see inside the program?

Links
Tradition. Class. Pride.
Ben Rosario on Twitter
Final Surge Plans

May 3, 2017

Welcome to episode 43 of the Final Surge Podcast today we talk to professional runner Craig Lutz about how he got his start in running and talk to him about his high school running camps. Please remember to subscribe if you have not done so yet, rate and review us on iTunes and follow us on Twitter @FinalSurge.

You are a very successful professional runner, you had a great college career at the University of Texas, but when did it all start for you, when did you first start really running?

Your high school career was extremely successful. You had a top 4 finish at Footlocker and you won the individual title at Nike Cross Nationals, when did you start thinking of running in college?

What type of mileage did you run in high school?

What was the thought process when you graduated UT to go in the professional running route instead of using the business degree?

You seem to be using that business degree now with your newer Lutz running camp in Flagstaff, can you tell us about the camp?

Is Lutz Running still doing camps in Texas too or just Flagstaff?

How long is the camp in Flagstaff?

What can the kid expect when they come?

Where do the kids stay at your camp?

Some camps have a lot of running involved and some camps have less. How is the running aspect of your camp?

One of my favorite places to run is Buffalo Park. Do you have any plans to run there?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute
Favorite running book? - Steve Scott The Miler - Biography
Current trainers you are wearing? - Hoka Clifton 3
Favorite race? - Austin Capital 10k
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Homemade smoothie
Your favorite workout - Mile repeats and long run at altitude.

Website: LutzRunning.com
Twitter: @Craig_Lutz
Craig's Running Log

Apr 26, 2017

Welcome to Episode 42 of the Final Surge Podcast. This week we continue what we started last week with our popular 'best of show'. This week we focus on episodes 21-40 and bring you the best highlights from each podcast.

We hope you enjoy it. If you want to catch any of the full episodes head over to FinalSurge.com/podcast and listen to any episode.

Follow Final Surge on Twitter
Follow Final Surge on Facebook

 

Apr 19, 2017

Welcome to Episode 41 of the Final Surge Podcast. This week we have something different for you. With 40 episodes recorded, we have talked to some of the greatest living US coaches and endurance athletes around. Every week we add many new listeners to the podcast so we wanted to give you a best of show. We have gone through the first 20 episodes of the podcast and pulled out some of the best highlights from each podcast. This is part one that focuses on Episodes 1-20. We hope you enjoy it. If you want to catch any of the full episodes head over to FinalSurge.com/podcast and listen to any episode.

Follow Final Surge on Twitter
Follow Final Surge on Facebook

 

Apr 12, 2017

Welcome to episode 40 of the final surge podcast where we talk to Jonathan Marcus, the coach of High Performance West about the subject of coaching. Many of you may know Jonathan as the co-host of Magness and Marcus On Coaching Podcast. We talk about his podcast, and he dives deep into subjects like training and racing strategy as well the word coach means to him.

How did you get your start in running?

At what point in high school did you decide to stop the other sports and focus on running?

How did you get into coaching and then form your group High Performance West? 

Are you looking for only elite athletes or would you accept anyone, even a local 5k runner, if they were serious enough?

You and Steve Magness, who was our guest in Episode 18 of our podcast, you two have a podcast called “On Coaching,” why did you start a podcast on coaching

When you think coach, what is the first thing you think about and how has that changed since becoming a coach compared to when you were running?

You have coached at every level from high school to elite professionals, what would you say are some of the more common mistakes coaches are making in developing runners?

You talk a lot about the latest science and the little things that people are doing to get that extra marginal increase. We have a variety of listeners from high school coaches and age group weekend 5k runners. So knowing the wide variety of people listening do you think many people are making a mistake of focusing too much on the small things before getting the basics down?

You recently did a podcast on interval training. When we are looking at interval training, what should we be looking for as far as putting together a training plan?

Let’s talk about the art of racing, one of your podcast episodes. Playing devil’s advocate, if your goal is to win a race, and there is a one best way to run the race the fastest, isn’t that how you should execute it?

That’s if you are in the position to win. What about the person who may be mid-pack and may end up in no man's land all by themselves in the race. How do you advise that person who is looking to run a PR, not necessarily a win in a race?

Going back to that quote of "the goal of preparation and practice is to perform and compete." Can you give us a few examples of a few workouts that you have done recently with some of your athletes and what your goal was as far as transferring that to racing?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute
Favorite running book? - Unforgiving Minute
Current trainers you are wearing? - Sketchers GoRun 5
Favorite race? - Cross Country
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Self Made Smoothie
Your favorite workout - Acceleration Session

Website for High Performance West
Podcast On Coaching 
Jonathan Marcus on Twitter 

Apr 5, 2017

Welcome to episode 39 of the Final Surge Podcast where we talk to head coach and co-founder of TeamMPI, Mark Sortino. Mark is a Level III Triathlon coach and has been published in publications such as US Triathlon Magazine, Triathlete Magazine and was a featured coach in Endurance Films TriMinds series. TeamMPI has triathlon plans available on Final Surge from all events from sprint through Ironman. 

How did you get your start in endurance athletics?

How did you make the transition into triathlons?

That lead to you forming TeamMPI, can you tell us about your group?

How many coaches do you currently have on staff at TeamMPI?

You mentioned you are using Final Surge in your training, how are you using it?

We want to start out with some basic training and triathlon questions for those who are looking to do their first multisport event. For someone who is looking to get started with triathlons, maybe they are someone who has done a lot of running or swimming, what do you see as the most common mistakes made?

You have a wide variety of training plans available on Final Surge, everything from sprint up to Ironman training plans. Let's look at the basic first week for a beginner Olympic distance race plan. Before we talk about specifics, what type of base should a beginner have before they start training for their first triathlon?

Week one: the first day you have 30 minutes of swimming builds and 30 minutes of aerobic running with strides.
For the swim the 30 minutes is:
200 easy choice warmup mix
3x the following:
((100 easy, :30 RI
100 moderate, :30 RI
100 fast, 1min RI))
100 easy choice cooldown mix
***No paces to hit, just go with feel and intention.
For someone who is coming in without a swim background, how important is it to use perceived exertion on the swim?

After the swim, you have the 30 minutes of running. Should these be done back to back, does order matter or should they be separate so you are recovered?

Day two of week one is:
30 min swim active recovery and 30 minutes of bike base spinning
One thing I noticed on the swim is on the second day you have
150 warmup, build each 50
4x 50 - alternate easy/fast up, then 4x100 alternating and again 4x50 alternating hard and easy.
For someone who is coming from a run background, we don’t see a coach saying go hard two days in a row. How different is it training for the swim?

Then the bike is 30 minutes of staying in zones 1-2. Is all of your biking done in heart rate zones vs training paces?

Day three is a Fartlek run
- 10min EASY warm-up, building to Z2
- 15min of fartlek where you have 4 sprints at any type of distance (for 20 sec, 1min, stop sign to stop sign), but make sure you recover before each one.
Why and how often are you incorporating fartlek work into your workouts?

In week one you have some days that are just running or just bike, but every day of swimming has either bike or run. Is this a normal pattern for your triathlon training?

For the new triathlete, they get to the start line on race day and they are looking at several hundred people ahead of them waiting to get into the water. How do you prepare them for what will likely be a much rougher swim than what they practiced?

Looking at an Ironman plan. An Ironman is going to be a lot more time in the water and roads. Looking at one of the weeks for your ironman training you have a total of 3.5 hours running, 5.5 hours biking and just under 2.5 hours swimming. Do you try to keep each week proportional to the amount of time they will actually be spending doing the event on race day or do you focus on what they may need the most help with?

On days where you are doing either both swim run, swim bike or bike run, is it important that you do them in the order you will be doing them on race day, not important at all or should you switch it up?

Over the last few years, there have been a lot of technical advancements that make it easier to train, such as the availability of power meters and testing your heart rate variability. How important are these tools to your coaching?

Can you tell us how you are using HRV with your athletes to monitor the overall picture of what is going on with them?

We all live with our Google calendar, our day planners and our family calendar hanging on the fridge, and they all have the same thing. 7 day weeks, which is what we seem to focus on training around to are those 7 day weeks. You recently had a piece on your blog TeamMPI.com about changing the cycles up some. What do you recommend people consider when putting together a training cycle?

Team MPI has plans available on Final Surge from everything from the sprint up to the Ironman triathlons. I will leave the links in the show notes to those plans, but if someone wanted to reach out to you about coaching or other questions how could they best reach you.

mark@teammpi.com or coaches@teammpi.com

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute
Favorite running or endurance book? - Born to Run
Current trainers you are wearing? - Newton
Favorite race? - Kona
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Shakology and Energy Lab Armor
Your favorite workout - Running a hard trail run, Bike short interval work, Swim long repeats.

Team MPI Social Media Follow us and participate in the conversations on our social media pages: Facebook: www.facebook.com/teamMPI
Twitter: www.twitter.com/teamMPI
Instagram: www.instagram.com/teamMPI 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/TeamMPI
Team MPI Website

Mar 29, 2017

In episode 38 of the Final Surge Podcast we are joined by Denny Krahe who is a coach and best known for his running podcast called Diz Runs. Denny has almost 400 episodes of his podcast and releases three a week. We will talk to him about his first ultra run he did recently, his coaching and his new upcoming book Be Ready on Race Day.

How did you get your start with running?

You made the transition from not being a runner until after college to coaching. How did that transition happen?

At what point in this journey did the DizRuns podcast start?

What are some of the best stories that you remember from your podcast?

Recently you made the jump to ultras and did your first ultra trail run, what was that like?

You have done a lot of marathons, but here you get to 26.2, and you had another 10k to go. How did it feel at the 26.2 mark?

What were the big differences in your training leading up to the ultra?

What about fueling, how did your fueling change running the ultra vs. what you were used to in marathons?

What lessons did you learn from the ultra? What would you change next time?

You have a background in exercise science and talk a lot about injuries on your podcast Q&A episodes. What are the most common issues you see with the athletes you work with?

What are the strength and core routines you are using with your athletes to keep them healthy and for injury prevention?

You do a lot of coaching when someone comes to you for coaching where do you find them to most often be at? Are they a new running looking to get started, a more experienced running looking get that extra 1% improvement or somewhere in between?

You recently announced you have a new book coming out. Can you tell us the topic of this training book?

What is the market for this book, half marathon, and marathon?

When is the book coming out and where can they get it?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute
Favorite running book? - 80/20
Current trainers you are wearing? - Altra’s
Favorite race? - Running with the Bears in California
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Greasy Burger and fries
Your favorite workout - Mile repeats

Denny’s website
Denny’s upcoming book - Be Ready On Race Day 
DizRuns on Twitter
DizRuns on Instagram

Mar 22, 2017

Welcome to episode 37 of the Final Surge podcast where we talk with coach Nate Helming. Nate has been featured in such publications such as Competitor magazine and is the founder of The Run Experience. I recommend you check out his videos on Youtube at The Run Experience. Today we will discuss running injuries, hips, footstrike, nose breathing and more. 

How did you get your start in endurance sports?

Did you do track and cross country in high school or was it just something you did on the side?

What did you do after high school, did you do these sports in college?

You now run The Run Experience and specialize in movement and keeping runners injury free. Did you study Exercise Science in college?

Depending on the survey you want to believe, 65-80 percent of runners and triathletes get injured every year, why do you think the injury rate is so high?

You mentioned thorough dynamic warm up, what does that look like for you?

You mentioned range of motion; one argument is you only need as much flexibility or range of motion as the activity requires. So with running that is not a whole lot. Do you agree with this or do you think we need to work even more on increasing range of motion?

If we look at the newer runner, some of the common injuries we see are shin splints, Achilles injuries, runners knee, tight calves, most of what we see is lower leg injuries, but usually, that is the symptom of a different causing factor. What are some of the things you most often see leading to these lower leg injuries?

You mention hip extension, when I see lower leg injuries, the first thing I look at are the hips, and often, the hips are back when we look at them on video. It is easy to tell someone to get your hips underneath, but it is a different thing to make it happen. How do you work with athletes to get their hips under them?

In your videos on Youtube at The Run Experience, you talk a lot about proper foot strike. While there may not be a one best foot strike for everyone, where are some of the things you look for?

You mentioned during the first mile of the warm up run to breathe through the nose only, does this teach deeper belly breathing?

When working with your triathletes and runners, you have them working with these drills and movements. How much general strength and weight lifting do you do with your athletes?

You mentioned barbell movements, are you working with the Olympic movements or what other types of strength work do you have your athletes do?

You have the 2-week quickstart program on your site, can you tell us what is involved in that?

You have a new mobile app too, what is included in that Run Experience app?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute
Your favorite running book? - Bowerman and the Men of Oregon
Current trainers you are wearing? - Altra Loan Peak 3.0
Favorite race? - Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Sushi and ice cream
Your favorite workout - 90 min trail run working uphills

Youtube 
Website 
Instagram 
Facebook
TheRunExperience App

Mar 15, 2017

Welcome to episode 36 of the Final Surge Podcast where we talk to former Syracuse Orangeman, and current NAZ Elite Runner Marty Hehir about his first year as a professional runner. We talk about his career at Syracuse, how he found out he would be running in the Olympic trials just 2-days before the race and how his training has changed since going pro. Marty helped lead Syracuse to the National Title in cross country with his ninth place individual finish at the 2015 Championships. 

We like to start out by introducing the listeners with our guests by asking how you got your start in running?

What made you want to run at Syracuse, I’m guessing not for the weather?

While I don’t think he is under appreciated any longer, for a while I think Chris Fox was probably one of the best college distance coaches that few knew. What was it like running for him?

When you were thinking about going to school at Syracuse was it something you were thinking about going to school to become a professional runner, or were you a runner for something to do while at school? And at what point did you decide you were going to pursue a professional running career?

How has the transition gone, have you enjoyed it as much as you thought you would or has it been different?

You joined NAZ Elite in August, but you ran at the Trials in the 10k before that. Who were you training with before joining NAZ?

You mentioned you were not even in the trials until 2 days before. What is the back story there? How did you get in?

All runners for the most part have big personalities in their own way. Your group though seems to be on another level. How fun has it been to be part of that group in Flagstaff?

Marty answers the question, does Scott Fauble eat as many burritos as it seems during the week? 

You have a 3k pr of 7:49 and have run a half in 63. So you have a lot of versatility. What do you think you will be focusing on over the next few years?

What races do you have on the schedule?

One thing I love about your team is your openness. Your teams complete training logs are online at FinalSurge.com/nazElite. Do you guys get a lot questions about your training and why do you open it up so much when some others seem to be so secretive about what they do?

First what I have learned from interviewing so many professional coaches and runners is there is no one road to Rome, there are many ways to get there. There are many ways to get to the top, but all of them involve hard work and consistency. So what is some of the biggest changes you have seem since joining NAZ Elite vs what you were doing before?

You mentioned 15x1k. Saturday you did a Lactate Threshold 15 x 1k in 2:58 with 1 min rest. And this is one of the things I love about your online logs is not only do you have workouts, but you have notes that you put in post race. So it looked like you stayed 2:57-2:59 on each rep. And it states you did it with a few other of the guys on the team. Is this a staple workout?

Today you did a leg speed workout where you did a 3 mile warmup, 10x200 in 31 with 200 recovery jog and 3 mile recovery. How often are you doing these types of high leg speed workouts?

What advice would have you have to a runner looking at your logs and looking for ideas. Obviously not everyone is an elite runner, so what could an age group runner in a local 5 or 10k learn from reading your logs?

Final Surge 5 questions in under a minute
Favorite running book? - Born To Run
Current trainers you are wearing? - Hoka Clifton 3
Favorite race? - 2015 NCAA XC Championship Race.
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Your favorite workout - Cutdown workout

Coach Ben Rosario in Episode 4?
Marty on Twitter
Complete Training Logs
Marty’s Training Log

Mar 8, 2017

Welcome to episode 35 of the final surge podcast where we welcome Coach Greg McMillan to the show.  If you get any tidbits or learn anything useful from this podcast please head over to iTunes and share a review. Today we are going to discuss How Greg got involved in coaching, we will break down his world famous running calculator app and answer some common questions that coaches and athletes have about it and we will talk a lot about his training from 800 to marathon. Greg’s calculator is now built into Final Surge as one of the calculator options, and when you match that with his training plans there are now over 100 McMillan customized plans available at Final Surge.

How did you get started in running when you were younger?

Can you give us the history of how you got started in coaching?

You started with exercise science. There is the science of coaching and the art of coaching. What is something you learned early, maybe in a classroom, that didn’t translate to real world coaching?

Who were your big coaching influences?

I believe you made a transition in the last few years away from coaching elites runners in person to more of an online model, is that correct?

You developed what may be the most widely used running calculator around. We recently added in your running calculator into the Final Surge software and started adding your plans as an add-on. So let’s start talking about your calculator and your plans.

When looking at your plans you ask if a runner is level 1-4, can you describe the difference between the levels?

Another question you ask is if the athlete is an Endurance, Speedster or Combo. You go into great detail on this in your book You only faster. But can you explain to someone who hasn’t read the book what the differences are between those three?

One of the ways to figure out what type of runner you are is your running calculator. So If I understand it right, if someone runs a 5k of say 17 minutes and types it into your calculator it says they should be running a 4:54 mile. Now if their mile time is 4:45 that would tend to show they are a speedster if their aerobic training was in place correct?

If that same athlete has recently run a 17 minute 5k it says their Tempo runs should be 5:44-5:58.. but if you use their recent 4:45 mile it would give them a tempo pace of nearly ten seconds per mile faster. So which would you recommend they use, the faster time because they may be more of a speedster of the 5k time because it is a longer event? Of course, this assumes both those events were recent good races and true times. 

In your mobile app you have 4 groups of workout paces. The first two are Endurance and Stamina. How do these two differ and what percentage of time do you think you should spend in each of these sections during a typical week or 12-week training cycle? 

Now let’s jump to your plans and take a look at some examples. Based on the training plans, if someone is following a level 4 training plan they obviously have a good solid base. What do you see as a typical base buildup looking like before someone jumps into a 12-week training plan?

In your 800/1600 training for a combo runner you start out week one with an easy run on Monday, then Tuesday you go into a 800m cruise interval workout with 6-8x 800 with a 200m recovery. Then 3x200 with 200 recovery. Can you talk about this workout and the goal of cruise intervals and what the pacing is for the cruise interval and 200’s?

Then Wednesday you do a 40-50 min recovery.  Then on Thursday for a miler, you go 16x100 race goal pace with 2-400 recovery. You go right after goal pace work week one, so this obviously assumes they are coming in with the base. How often do you tough race pace work?

Then you go Friday/Sat easy days and Sunday a long run up to 80 minutes. How long do you think 800 runners and milers should be working up to on their long runs and do you do them every week?

Your peak week 10 you start out with the recovery run on Monday, Tuesday you comeback with 10-12x200 with a 2-300 recovery jog to work on building sprint speed. What paces are these 200’s at?

Wednesday is a recovery day. You give a wide range of 40-60 minutes. What advice would you tell your athletes on determining if they should go 40 or 60 minutes? 

Thursday is a 20-30 min warmup run.

Then they do 15-20 sets of 15-second strides with a one min recovery jog and 20-30 min cool down. 

Are these strides at 5k pace? 3000 pace or what are you using?

Many coaches I have talked to use strides at the end of their workout, you are doing them in the middle, what is the reasoning?

Then Fri/Sat are easy run days with a time trial on Sunday. how should an athlete run this time trial?

We have a lot of high school coaches who listen to this, and I would expect many of those purchasing the 800/miler plans are likely high school and college coaches. Many high school athletes who are not national level elite may be racing once a week. So if a high school runners has a race on a Saturday, do you substitute one of  your workouts during the week for the race or how are you changing a week?

You start out with an easy run for the first few days then on day 4 you do a goal pace workout where you do 10-12x400 at goal pace, then a couple more easy days and your long run of 70-80 minutes. What some will notice is how similar this is to the 800/mile plan we talked about earlier. Many coaches today treat the 800 through the half marathon with similar training just working on around the edges on some pacing work and a little volume changes, what do you see as the biggest differences between maybe a miler’s training and a 5 or 10k runner?

There are a lot of similarities there, but then things really change when we reach the marathon. One of the big factors in the marathon of course is the wall and how to properly train the fueling systems. What does a runner who is making the move to the marathon really need to know about this jump and teaching their body to burn fat more efficiently along with glycogen?

When it comes to hip mobility, core strength, strength auxiliary work, what do you recommend and how often?

If someone wanted to reach out to you and find out more about your services how could they best reach you?

Final Surge Round

Your favorite running book? - Once a Runner
Current trainers you are wearing? - New Balance 1080
Favorite race? - Mile or 5k
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Cheeseburger, Fries and Beer
Your favorite workout - 10-12 400m

Resources

McMillanRunning.com
Final Surge Plans
You Only Faster
Greg on Twitter

Feb 22, 2017

Welcome to episode 34 of the Final Surge Podcast with our guest Jason Hartmann. Jason was a very successful professional runner who in the last few years Jason hung up his racing flats and traded them in for a coaching whistle. Jason is quickly building a very successful program at Saginaw Valley State and we talk to him about that process. 

How did you get your start in running?

At what point would you advise a kid to start running full-time in high school based on your running history?

You ran at Oregon, what lead to the decision to go there?

When you were running at Oregon at what point did you think it may be something you wanted to pursue after college?

You had a very successful running area including a couple 4th place finishes at Boston and a top American at Chicago, what was the most memorable race for you?

You retired from running in 2014 and decided to get into coaching, what made you want to get involved in coaching?

You mentioned you coached Elise Cranny, was that your first time coaching?

With many high school kids, we see them peak or burn out after high school. What is it with Elise that has lead to her success in college too?

You are now coaching at Saginaw Valley State. How did that come about?

What was the program like when you took over vs. now?

What type of athletes are you looking for to be part of the program?

What is something your program does that you think all successful college programs do

What is something that you think you guys do that may be unique or different?

When coaching everyone has to find their own formula, their own voice, but we get influences from other coaches. Who has been a big influence in your coaching career and philosophy?

If you could change something about our high school programs, what would it be?

Is that your biggest challenge making it fun and getting the kids to be consistent?

You are making the transition from xc to track how do the workouts change from cross to a 1500 on the track?

So is the biggest change race paced workouts?

How are you using Final Surge in your coaching?

Are you laying out the week before hand for them? Or how are you putting the workouts in?

Are they required to log in and give you notes on how they feel or what do you expect from them?

Are you still doing some running on your own?

What does the future hold, where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Jack Daniels
Current trainers you are wearing? - Vomero’s
Favorite race? - Minnesota Twin Cities Marathon
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Pizza and Coke
Your favorite workout - Hill Runs

Connect with Jason on Twitter
Connect with Final Surge on Twitter

Feb 15, 2017

Welcome to Episode 33 of the Final Surge podcast where we talk to Scott Simmons who is the coach of the American Distance Project in Colorado Springs. Scott has been coaching for 27-years and recently had his men go 1-2-3-4 at the US XC Championships. We talk about his program’s success, training for a marathon and why he thinks the US is not where it should be yet in the marathon. We have been making some changes to the final surge software recently. If you have any ideas or have any questions please follow us at Facebook.com/FinalSurge or on Twitter @FinalSurge

How did you get started in running?

How did you make the transition to coaching?

You have been coaching for 27-years, who have been your biggest coaching influences?

The American Distance Project has been making a lot of noise recently. When did you start the group?

How are you growing the team, what types of athletes are a good fit and how do you identify them?

I have read you are not as much of a believer in traditional periodization as many coaches and likely to always be working on every aspect of running. Can you explain your coaching philosophy?

You have runners from 1500 to 10k to marathon. We know the marathon is it’s own beast, but how do you train an athlete differently if their focus is the 1500 vs the 10k?

Speed is much difference than endurance, an example if you take a 400-meter runner in high school they could work on dropping 1-2 a season off their 400 time while a 1500/1600 guy could drop 10-12 seconds. So obviously there is more bang for your buck on the aerobic side. Let’s give some practical advice to a runner who may be listening out there. If some age group weekend 20 minute 5k runner out there is looking to make a change and get some improvement what are some of the things you would tell them to look at?

Do you use HIIT as part of your training program?

Let’s switch to the marathon. One of the big differences between a marathon and a 10k besides the mileage, which is obvious, is fueling. Do you work on fat burning adaptation as part of your program and if so how?

What are you doing for workouts to target fat as a fuel?

If you have a new kid out of college who won’t likely race over a 10k in the next few years, will you use this training at all or is it just for your marathon runners?

Is the 1/2 marathon closer to the marathon or 10k for you as far as fat burning?

The USATF XC was this past week and the top four men to cross the finish line were all coached by you. You are obviously doing something right. What are some of the things you are doing that you think every great program does?

Knowing you have four athletes heading to Uganda for the World’s, and the weather will likely be a lot warmer, what are you doing to prepare your athletes for the climate change?

What do you do, that you think may be different than other programs?

You coached at the college and the professional level. So when you were a college coach and got in a group of incoming freshmen what did you see were the places that the high school students were lacking?

In America, we have had success in the last few years on the track, but we are not having the same results in the marathon. Where do you see us going for American marathon runners?

What do you think of the 2-hour marathon program? Do you think it is attainable anytime soon?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Once a Runner
Current trainers you are wearing? - Nike Vomero
Favorite race? - College Reunion Race
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Pepperoni Pizza and IPA
Your favorite workout - 25x400 with short rest

Resources:
Our interview with Joe Vigil
Simmons Twitter Account
Facebook Page of ADP
Dhama Core Cooling

Feb 8, 2017

Welcome to Episode 32 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we talk to 2016 USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Woman's open runner of the year Addie Bracy. Addie, a former Olympic Trials track athlete made the switch to mountain racing in 2016 and won the US Championship in her first race. We talk about the transition to mountain and trail running and we also talk about her getting involved as a high school coach. I hope you enjoy this show and make sure you check out what the Hudson team is doing with coaching to support their athletes.

Addie welcome, we like to start out getting to know our guest a little better so if you could tell me how you got your start in running?

What was your high school running career like?

You walked on at UNC, how was it walking on and what can you share with our listeners about that experience?

You had a very respectful 16:20 in the 5k in college, that may not have been good enough to win a national championship, but many of our listeners, male and female would take it. After running at North Carolina, what was your thought process about what next?

Many, including myself, consider Brad Hudson to be one of the top US Distance coaches of our time. He was a guest of ours in episode 2 of this podcast last summer. How did you get connected with Brad and Hudson Elite?

So in North Carolina were you running on your own and not with a team?

How hard was it running on your own vs running with a group like you do now?

You recently made the jump into running up mountains for fun, what were you thinking?

So that was your first mountain race?

As you mentioned the selection for the US Team was held at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire this past summer and you won the US Title on the Women’s side. I grew up in NH and have skied down Loon Mountain several times. But the only way I have even thought about going up is on the lift. When you lined up for that race what were your expectations?

Then you got to represent the US in the World Mountain Running Championships, how was that feeling of representing your country?

Are you going to continue to do mountain running competitively?

What were the biggest changes you made in your training?

What is a typical length and what is the elevation gain of a mountain race?

Can you break down the training a little bit for us on a week what it looks like for you now?

So it sounds like the biggest difference is your hard days instead of tempo work on the track is more of just trail work?

Is a hard day still speed week or is to more climbing now for the hard day?

Not only did you podium at the 2016 World Mountain Running Champs as a team, you also made the podium at the 2016 Eliptigo World Championships. How much time do you spend on an Eliptigo?

You have run at the Olympic trials and other prestigious races in your career. What has been the highlight of your running career so far?

You made the jump to high school coaching this past year. What made you want to get involved with coaching?

You mentioned you didn’t know how serious they would be, every high school teams has a variety of

Welcome to Episode 32 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we talk to 2016 USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Woman's open runner of the year Addie Bracy. Addie, a former Olympic Trials track athlete made the switch to mountain racing in 2016 and won the US Championship in her first race. We talk about the transition to mountain and trail running and we also talk about her getting involved as a high school coach. I hope you enjoy this show and make sure you check out what the Hudson team is doing with coaching to support their athletes. Now on to the show.

Addie welcome, we like to start out getting to know our guest a little better so if you could tell me how you got your start in running?

What was your high school running career like?

You walked on at UNC, how was it walking on and what can you share with our listeners about that experience?

You had a very respectful 16:20 in the 5k in college, that may not have been good enough to win a national championship, but many of our listeners, male and female would take it. After running at North Carolina, what was your thought process about what next?

Many, including myself, consider Brad Hudson to be one of the top US Distance coaches of our time. He was a guest of ours in episode 2 of this podcast last summer. How did you get connected with Brad and Hudson Elite?

So in North Carolina were you running on your own and not with a team?

How hard was it running on your own vs running with a group like you do now?

You recently made the jump into running up mountains for fun, what were you thinking?

So that was your first mountain race?

As you mentioned the selection for the US Team was held at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire this past summer and you won the US Title on the Women’s side. I grew up in NH and have skied down Loon Mountain several times. But the only way I have even thought about going up is on the lift. When you lined up for that race what were your expectations?

Then you got to represent the US in the World Mountain Running Championships, how was that feeling of representing your country?

Are you going to continue to do mountain running competitively?

What were the biggest changes you made in your training?

What is a typical length and what is the elevation gain of a mountain race?

Can you break down the training a little bit for us on a week what it looks like for you now?

So it sounds like the biggest difference is your hard days instead of tempo work on the track is more of just trail work?

Is a hard day still speed week or is to more climbing now for the hard day?

Not only did you podium at the 2016 World Mountain Running Champs as a team, you also made the podium at the 2016 Eliptigo World Championships. How much time do you spend on an Eliptigo?

You have run at the Olympic trials and other prestigious races in your career. What has been the highlight of your running career so far?

You made the jump to high school coaching this past year. What made you want to get involved with coaching?

You mentioned you didn’t know how serious they would be, every high school teams has a variety of runners. How do you deal with the differences in motivation levels?

A large section of our listeners are high school coaches. What advice do you have for coaches, something they may not be thinking of when working with high school kids?

What advice do you give to your kids who want to continue competitive running after high school?

When we talked to Brad last year he mentioned the athletes at Hudson Elite did some coaching, are you involved in that?

Do you take runners of any ability?

And a Twitter question we had come in, you can follow us on Twitter @FinalSurge

There are a lot of busy coaches out there. How do you juggle coaching, training, work and a personal life?

What is next for you, any races on the schedule?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute

Favorite running book? - Hudson’s Little Black Book
Current trainers you are wearing? - Salomon S-lab Sonic
Favorite race? - 10k
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Bacon
Your favorite workout - 400 repeats

Resources
Addie on Twitter
Addie on Instagram
Addie's blog
Hudson Training
Little Black Book of workouts

 

Feb 1, 2017

Drew Hunter -

In episode 31 of the Final Surge podcast we welcome professional runner Drew Hunter. Many consider Drew the best American high school runner since Alan Webb. Drew turned down the opportunity to run at Oregon and instead signed a deal with Adidas to turn pro. We talk to Drew about what went into that decision-making process, how the new lifestyle is treating him and we break down a week of workouts. The first couple of questions there was a few audio issues with his phone, but it cleared up. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed doing it.

So let’s start at the beginning, when did you get your start running?

Before that mile in 8th grade had you ever run before or was that really your first time?

How fast was your mile in 8th grade?

When was it that it struck you, hey I may be pretty good at this and have a future.

We talked to your coach Tom Schwartz in Episode 12 about you going pro. You had said you were going to head off to Oregon, but then you decided to take another direction, can you tell us what went into that decision making process?

So what are your plans for college?

You had ended your high school career with Lyme disease, you feel most of the way back or are you fully recovered from that now?

You signed with Adidas, but not really a team One of the tough parts about going pro right away is you lose that team aspect. How has that change been for you?

Your coach is across the country and you have no team, have you found any running buddies?

So how has your training changed since you turned pro?

Everyone who ran in high school knows the drill. You are in school all day, then you get in your running and strength work, you spend a couple hours on homework and by the time you realize it, it is time for bed and to get started all over again. Now, your job is a runner. So what does a day look like now that this is your job?

What's been the biggest challenge on or off the track for your transition to a pro?

Made your debut Sir Walter Mile last August, what was it like lining up on the line as a pro runner for the first time and not against high school kids your age did it feel different?

How is it working with Adidas knowing they are paying you, but at the same time knowing you are younger and not quite there yet. Do you feel any pressure?

This weekend you ran another sub 4-minute mile at The Armory to win the Men’s 1 Mile Elite race during the New Balance Games. Is this where you see your career focusing on in the next few years the 1500/mile?

Let's talk about that training. Listeners love to hear training talk. Can you walk us through some training, the types of workouts you do, paces you run them in and such?

How are you communicating with Tom on these workouts?

What is your next race you have on the calendar?

What is the plan for outdoor season?

Did you set any goals for this year?

Where do you see yourself in 5yrs?

I know your mom is a high school track coach. If she incited So what advice do you have for young high school runners who may be just getting started in the sport of track?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Born To Run
Current trainers you are wearing? - Adidas Supernova Glide
Favorite race? - Mile
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Chocolate Protein Drink
Your favorite workout - Hill Repeats

And because Francis Garcia was so passionate about asking questions on Twitter, we have a few bonus questions for you:
If you could remove one sport from the Olympics what gets cut.
Taco Bell or Del Taco

Drew on Twitter
Drew on Instagram

Jan 25, 2017

Welcome to episode 30 of the Final Surge Podcast where today we talk to Coach Sarah Kozul of the Galloway Lakeland Florida Group. This episode we talk about the Galloway run/walk method, how a new runner gets started and builds up to their first race and how they determine training paces. We also discuss how she coaches runners to use run/walk to finish a race strong. We also talk about how she is using Final Surge to give plans to 140 runners. If anyone is interested in the Galloway training programs you can find them in our library of plans. Now onto the show.

How did you get your start in running?

How did you get involved in Lakeway Galloway Group?

When you first started running was that with a Galloway Group?

When you ran your first half marathon how long did you train?

Many people know of the Galloway program as a run/walk program. Can you tell us how that works?

Walk us through how you take a new runner who has not ran before and set paces for them using the mile time trial?

So on day one they walk/run for 30 seconds, for how long?

How many times will a new runner run in a 14-day training cycle?

You have a long training run and go from 3-mile long run to 14-mile long run, how does that ramp up?

Once they get up to the long run of 10-11 miles what does a week look like for them at that point?

You say your typical client is 55 years old, what are they looking for when they start?

How many members do you have in your group and what is the variations of ability levels?

People who work with you that have been running for over a decade still use the run walk?

Your more experienced runners who may be a little more experienced, what does their week look like?

You are personally trying to run a Boston Qualifier using run/walk so can you tell me what that week looks like for you?

Are you doing run/walk on your on your 6-mile runs now?

And are you working tempo type runs into your week too?

So in Final Surge how are you loading your schedules into the calendar?

Are you encouraging them to use it as a log and add notes on how they feel?

It comes to race day, what advice do you give to them to make sure they finish the race?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - The Lola Papers
Current trainers you are wearing? - Brooks Launch
Favorite race? - A new race
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Hemp protein powder and OJ
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Gymboss

Links
Lakeland Galloway Group Website

Follow the Lakeland Group on Facebook

Follow Sarah on Twitter

Galloway Training Plans

Jan 18, 2017

Episode 29: Matt Fitzgerald. Matt may be the most prolific writer in endurance athletics with over 2-dozen books to his name. In this episode, we talk about the 80/20 training philosophy, the mental aspect of endurance athletics and we talk nutrition. Check Out Matt’s latest book The Endurance Diet.

How you got your start in running.

When I am looking for the latest in training and science I usually turn to Alex Hutchinson, Steve Magness and you. What got you so interested in this?

Matt talks about a book he wishes he didn’t write.

What is the 80/20 rule of training for endurance athletes?

You have written a lot about diet, what is race weight and how do you find it?

There are a lot of diets out there, is there one right way to eat?

Matt talks about low carb diet and quality of carbs and gives us examples of high-quality vs low-quality carbs.

We talk about the difference between diet for optimal performance vs. diet for weight loss.

Your book How Bad Do You Want It is about the mental aspect of endurance athletics. Can you talk about what you learned about the mental game?

One thing you mention is with perceived effort when someone thinks they are fatigued, there is research that shows with muscle stimulation that there had more to give. How can people get past this perceived effort level?

So the way you get past that is by being able to push through mentally. How can people work on their mental game? What tips or exercise would you recommend?

Matt talks about mental toughness and how it is really mental fitness.

A couple of questions from followers on Twitter, you can reach us @FinalSurge on Twitter

First one is the Group Effect, is hanging with a group of strangers in a marathon better than running the whole thing on your own.

We received a second question, I have a high school runner who does great in cross country until the last two weeks of the season and then he started faltering badly. I believe it was mental, nothing was wrong physically that we could tell. Now we are in indoor track season and the workouts go great, but as soon as I put him into a 1600 he struggles badly and runs times slower than workout times. Any idea where I could start to correct this mental aspect?

What is the next book?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - What we talk about when we talk about running
Current trainers you are wearing? - Hoka One One
Favorite race? - Lewa Kenyan Marathon
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Smoothie
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - BSXInsight Wearable

Matt's website
Matt on Twitter

Jan 11, 2017

Welcome to episode 28 of the Final Surge podcast where today we talk to Olympian Kim Conley who made her marathon debut this past fall. We talk about her epic Olympic Trial 5k race in 2012, her incident she had in the 10k trials this year and we discuss her making the jump to a marathon this fall. Two weeks ago we had a conversation with Olympian Nick Willis and we are giving away two free boot camps to his Miler Method. The two winning entries from iTunes are MilebyMile and DAllen. Email me Dean@Finalsurge.com or hit us up on Twitter @finalsurge and we will get you hooked up. 

Kim we always like to start out getting to know a little bit about our guests, can you tell our listeners how you got started in running?

So you started early in 6th grade, when was the point that you realized you were pretty good at this running thing and may have a future in it?

At what point did you start looking at colleges and what lead you to to UC Davis?

When you were running in school what were your plans, was running something to help get you through school or did you have aspirations of running post-collegiately.

Probably my favorite race of yours was the 2012 Olympic Trials. For those who don’t know the story let me set it for you. You did not have an A standard going into the trials. And you needed the A to get to the Olympics. Julia Lucas had pushed the pace and you kept it so the A standard was within Reach. Coming into the last lap it was still in question if you would be top 3 and if you would get the A standard. Can you walk us through the last lap of that race?

At this year’s Trials, you were one of the favorites to make the team in both the 10k and the 5k. You did make the team in the 5k, but in the 10k it was not the results you wanted when you lost a shoe in the race. Can you tell us what happened there and what went through your mind when you were deciding to continue or not?

If you had made it what would you have done, both or which?

You mentioned the US distance women are really deep, we can see that with the difference between 12 and this year with the A standards. What do you think are the big differences right now in women’s distance?

Do you think women are training differently or do you think it is more of the groups pushing each other?

You had a couple of 15:10’s this year before the Olympics, were you happy with the race at the Olympics or is there anything you would have changed?

Do you think the struggle was something you did leading up to the race or just bad races happen?

You made your marathon debut in New York this last fall, and you were coming off the Olympics where you had been training for the 5k. So how did the training have to change in the short time between Rio and NY?

Did you know you would be doing NY before Rio?

What type of difference were there in volume you did for your 5k work vs. your marathon training?

What were your goals going into the race, how did you think it was going to go?

So you have a marathon under your belt now. What do you think, you have a lot more marathons in your future?

So when will the next marathon be fall 2017 or likely 18?

What did you do well, that you would do again and what would you change in training?

How about the race itself, What if anything would you have done differently?

What did you do about fueling during the race?

What was your diet like leading up to the race?

For an adult age group runner who maybe has run a lot of 5 and 10k’s, what advice would you have for them on making their marathon debut?

2017 is here, we are one week into the new year. What are your goals for this year?

What does a typical week this time of year look like for you?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Wishing on My Fathers Star
Current trainers you are wearing? - New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo
Favorite race? - 5k on the road
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Hamburger
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Final Surge log

Kim on Twitter
Kim's Website

Jan 4, 2017

Welcome to Episode 27 of the Final Surge podcast where we kick off 2017 by talking to Coach Mario Fraioli. With the new year here we talk about goal setting, new year resolutions and setting yourself up to have the best year of running yet. We also dig into when a runner should get a coach and talk about his new coaching venture. Last week we talked to Olympian Nick Willis and I want to remind you about the contest we have going where you can enter through January 6th to win one of two boot camps with Nick at the Miler Method. Head over to Finalsurge.com/podcast and look for details under Nick’s podcast. Dozens of you reach out to use every week on Twitter @FinalSurge and we thank you for your interactions Follow us and ask us any questions about Final Surge or let us know what questions you would like us to ask future guest.

Mario shares with us how he got started in running while in high school and his early basketball career. He also discussed how with the lack of structure in his high school program he had to use the Internet searching other runners training to get his start.

Mario recently made a transition from Competitor Magazine to Ekiden, a new coaching service. He talks about why he made the transition.

This episode will launch right after the first of the year. So most people are thinking about their goals for the year. Let’s talk about those a little. We ask Mario when he has a coaching client come to him about goals, what advice do you give them in setting goals? Mario does not like the word goals and he explains why.

Someone on Twitter recently asked, how do I go about figuring out which event I am best suited for and should focus on? Mario talks about how he recommends experimenting.

We talked some about online calculators and how to use them to see what you need to work on.

We talked about goals, and if someone has a goal how much is it about just training vs all the other things like diet and sleep? We also discussed setting long term vs short term goals. Mario talks about making a daily check list that you can do daily to help you reach your goals you set.

Mario discusses what he learned from Alberto Salazar and breaking the training for the year down into two parts.

A couple of questions I got via Twitter and Direct message for you from listeners.

I am a 38-year-old runner who has been running for 4 years. My current PR in the 5k is 18:03 and has been since January of 2016. I cannot seem to break the 18-minute mark. What can I do to make the next jump. … Now I did ask him some follow-up questions to get a little more information. Right now he runs 5 days a week, averages about 35 miles a week. His long run is 8-10 miles. A typical week he runs a 4-mile tempo run at 10k pace and does one day of repeats on the track that vary from 400 up to 1600. Sounds to me like he has plateaued, what advice do you have for Jim?

Mario answers Jim with some good info including maybe how to get more power out of each stride.

We also talk about some pacing for Jim and what he should be doing on recovery days and how Mario uses 1/2 marathon pace to determine that pace.

2nd question that came in: I have been running for just over a year now and want to run a half marathon. My problem is with my family and work schedule I do not have as much time to train. My local Crossfit gym I go to is telling me there is a cross fit endurance program that they claim is a better way to train because it allows me to train more intense but in a lot less volume. Have you seen this program and what are your thoughts?

We talk about his new coaching company and why he started it. Coaching is not something for just elite athletes but really is for anyone at any point in your running career.

I ask Mario when a runner should think about getting a coach and why a new golfer will get a golf coach or tennis player will get a tennis coach, but runners seem to think they need to be elite before they hire a coach.

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Once a Runner
Current trainers you are wearing? - Brooks Caldera Trail Shoe, New Balance Vasee Pace
Favorite race? - Boston Marathon
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Burger and Beer
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Hat

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast
Ekiden Training
Greg McMillan Pace Calculator
Tom Tinman Schwartz Calculator
Greg McMillans’s book You, Only Faster
Runners World Piece on Goals for 2017
Book the 12-week Year
Mario on Twitter
Mario@Ekiden.com
MarioFraioli.com website

Dec 28, 2016

Welcome to the Final Surge podcast episode 26, and our final episode of 2016. Today we talk to Olympian Nick Willis. Nick has represented New Zealand in the 1500 in the last three Olympics and had podium finishes in 2008 and 2016. We talk to Nick about his Olympic race this year, how he schedules training blocks for his training and we talk to him about his new project he launched The Miler Method. Nick and his wife are running 6-week online boot camps to help you run faster. Nick is offering two free entries into upcoming boot camps to our listeners. Head over to iTunes, leave a review of the podcast and you will be entered. For more information on other ways to get entries, head to Finalsurge.com/podcast and look for details under Episode 26 and follow us on Twitter @FinalSurge.

We will have the drawing for both entries on January 6th. Entries are allowed until noon time EST on 1/6/17.

Nick Willis

2016 you qualified for your 3rd Olympics 1500 meters finals in a row. You got a Silver in 08, 9th in 2012 and then you made the finals this year. What was your thought process coming into the race, what was your race plan?

When you go into a mile race do you have a plan or is your plan going to depend on what others do?

Do you prefer a quick race with even splits or do you prefer a slower race that becomes a kickers race in the last 300?

You got a Silver in Beijing then 9th in London and then come back for a bronze in Rio. What were the biggest changes you made in training and approach between London and Rio to back on a podium at the Olympic finals?

So where did you train at altitude leading into the Olympics?

So let’s talk training. A miler is one of those events where you need endurance and speed. How do you balance your long run and strength work vs specific speed work?

Nick talks about the phases and training blocks he uses to train and keep adaptations.

When you move to the second block with more speed and race specific work what are you doing to keep up with the aerobic work and what do your long runs look like during this block?

You talk about these two blocks you use, are these blocks your only work or are you doing other work leading into these blocks during the off season?

You recently launched a new site Miler Method, what is your goal for this project?

When we are talking the 1500/mile, we usually think of high school, college, and the very elite professionals. While with the 5k or 10k there seem to be many more recreational and age group runners. So what type of clients are you getting for your program? Is your goal to get more people just working on their speed?

Are the boot camps done virtually or in person?

If you had a post-collegiate guy running a 15 minute 5k and a 30-year-old female running 22 min 5k in your program, how would their training be different from each other with Miler Method?

You mentioned running mechanics/efficiency and technique, how do you do this with them virtually when you are not there in person with them?

If you are getting 60 people at a time and individualizing every one’s workouts, how are you managing all those schedules?

So what are you learning from this? Working with all these people there must be something you are learning that you can implement in the future?

Do you have any great success stories from some of these athletes who maybe have never trained for a mile before?

What do you notice about these runners, is it they don’t train hard enough or often enough or what are you noticing they are deficient in when they come to you?

Here is a question that came in from Twitter:
If you are trying to find the event you are best at, how do you recommend people go about doing that?
The new year is coming up, what goals do you have for 2017?

How are you enjoying coaching, is this something you can see yourself continuing to do after you retire?

If someone wanted to get more information about Miler Method such as the cost, how would they reach you and get the information and why did you choose $72 for the cost?

If they are taking 6-weeks to become a faster miler, doesn’t that also help with their 10k or half marathon times too?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - No Bugles No Drums
Current trainers you are wearing? - Adidas Supernova Glide 8
Favorite race? - Road Mile
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? -  Weet-Bix
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - I'm simple, just give me my shoes and shorts

Resources
Miler Method
Nick Willis on Twitter
Nick on Facebook

Final Surge Podcast Page
Final Surge on Twitter
Final Surge on Facebook

Dec 14, 2016

Episode 25 of the Final Surge podcast we talk to Nick Symmonds. Nick is a 6-time US National 800 meters champion, 2-time Olympian and won a silver medal in the 2013 World Championships in the 800. Nick is spending more time these days working on his new company Run Gum, but he tells us he is not done yet on his Oval Office. If you are not following us on Twitter we can be found @FinalSurge. Let us know your thoughts on the podcast or the Final Surge software.

For those who maybe have heard of you, but not heard your story, can you tell us how you got started in running when you were young?

You took a little different route out of high school and went D3, why did you choose that route?

After college, you got a contract with Nike?

My favorite race of all time to watch is the 1972 men's Olympic final for the 800 in which Dave Wottle won. I am sure you are familiar with it right? So with that in mind let’s talk 800 race strategy. It seems that the most common way to run an 800, and i believe the way you try to run it too, is running about 2 seconds faster on the first lap than the second. While for most other races, coaches usually push for a more even or negative split. In that 72 race Wottle runs his race, he ran an even 26 for every 200 split. He was like 4 second back at 200, was like 2 second back at the 400 and was still in last at the 500. So that race seems to lend to a move even split, so I want to hear your theory on the race strategy there?

Most of our podcast are with coaches or athletes who are working with 10k, marathon type runners. So with an 800 runner, I want to talk a little training. We have many high school and college coaches who I know listen to this podcast. If you had a chance to develop an 800 runner say starting as a freshman in high school and you could have them until they graduated college, what would the training look like?

Would you be more strength based with1600 and 3200 or 200 for speed work?

How would you have strength or plyo work set up?

A few numbers for you… 1:42.95, 3:34.55, 3.59.68… These are your PR's for 800, 15 and mile. But I am curious, what is your 5k PR time?

Now, what about that 5.19 PR in the beer mile. Are we going to see an attempt to go sub 5 there?

Last we saw you on the track you were pulling out of the Olympic trials because of an injury. How is the rehab going?

So can we plan on seeing you make another run for a world championship or Olympic team?

What is your recovery process like? How much cross training are you doing or what other activities?

When will see back on the track?

So you are in the process it seems of transitioning from an elite athlete to an en entrepreneur, can you tell us about Run Gum and what growing pains you may have had?

When my athletes come to me about fueling I hate to talk about anything like energy drinks because I am a big believer in eating real food, not sugar and junk. Is Run Gum looking to be a replacement?

How does Run Gum work? Would a marathoner bring one piece with them?

We talk about him publishing his 800 training log.

Did you say you are going to run a marathon in 2018?

Have you thought about which one that is going to be?

There is a lot of talk about caffeine benefits for marathoners and ultra runners but what about for shorter races?

I think what we have seen from you is you don’t always take the easy route. You seem to like challenges. How has that helped you in helping to launch a business?

What is next for the company, is it going to stop with gum or you have something else planned?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Once a runner
Current trainers you are wearing? - Brooks Adrenaline
Favorite race? - Olympic Trials 2008
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - RunGum
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Half tights

Resources
Run Gum
Wottle 800 Race
Nick on Twitter
Run Gum on Twitter
His book Life Outside the Oval Office

Dec 7, 2016

We have a special treat for you today. Hall of Fame coach Joe Vigil joins us to talk training. If you enjoy the show we would appreciate you heading over to iTunes and taking a minute to rate and review our podcast. Those ratings are important when people are searching for podcast. Coach Vigil won 26 national titles in 33 years at Adams State and has coached several Olympians including Deena Kastor and Brenda Martinez. We discuss everything from VO2 Max and testing, what he learned from watching runners at Leadville to periodization.

Tell us how you got started in the running community and into coaching.

When you took over Adams State you won 26 national titles in 33 years. Adams state when you took over was not exactly a powerhouse so you had to build runners from the ground up. What do you think you were doing differently that other programs were not doing?

Thirst for learning what made you different?

In the book Born to Run you make an appearance. You are mentioned as a coach who thinks differently because you were showing up at 100-mile races to learn from ultra runners when other coaches were not. So what exactly did you learn from watching the athletes at the Leadville 100?

You mentioned running happy, is that something you can teach or is it something you have or not?

One thing you talk about is testing. Having a PhD. in exercise physiology, I know that testing is big for you. Many of our listeners are your are group runners you will see on the weekend in a local 5 or 10k. And we also have a lot of high school coaches. So for them, testing of VO2 or max lactate may not be something they can easily do. What recommendations would you have for them as far as testing and what they should get tested?

VO2 Max… You do the field test and find out what it is, where should they go from there to improve?

I have read that you said that our runners don’t run hard enough and long enough. Other coaches I have talked to said the problem with American runners is we run too hard. So what is your current position on this?

In 2001 yourself and Bob Larsen brought Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi to Mammoth Lakes to start the Mammoth Track Club, which was one of the most influential post-collegiate clubs in the country. How did that come about with Larsen?

These clubs are a lot more popular now with many new ones popping up and having success. What do you think the future of these clubs are and how have they changed over the last 15 years.

You have had Olympians such as Deena and Meb, and this year you had more mid-distance runners like Brenda and Borris in the Olympics. Obviously, the training for the marathon and 800/1500 are completely different. What is the greatest coaching challenge in working with athletes in such different disciplines?

What about strength work, what type of strength work did you do with your kids at Adam's State and how would it differs from what you do with a marathon runner?

Question from a listener: In your book, you have graphs in the marathon training section for weekly mileage. Your mileage chart looks very much like a roller coaster fluctuating from 60 to 80 to 70 to 100 to 80 to 120… Many training plans are much more steady in their mileage, do you still method or has it changed since you last published the book?

You have been around the running scene for several decades now. When it comes to training and performance, what is something that you think has changed your coaching style the most in the last decade?

Work harder, what does a week look like for a 5k runner

Book road to the top is hard to find, but I understand they can still be had through you, can you tell our listeners how to get a copy of one.

Running Summit Dec 17-18th in Dallas. Can you tell us about the event and What topics will you be discussing?

Tapering is one of the questions I get asked most about. When you were coaching at Adams state, did you find any differences in tapering with your male and female teams?

What advice would you have on tapering for our 5k listeners out there?

At the end of the last season, I asked the kids on my team what their favorite workout of the season is. And the majority of them said their favorite was the acceleration workout from 100 to 200. Can you walk the listeners through how it works, when it should be used and why?

When did you add in that workout to the season?

Resources
Method of Belke Field Test for VO2

Road to the Top by Joe Vigil mailing address
292 N Ceder Crest Dr
Green Valley AZ 85614

Running Summit

Tapering for endurance athletes by Joe Vigil

Nov 30, 2016

This week we have something different for you. This week is less about training and more about talking about one of the better running blogs out there, Salty Running. We will talk to Laura Pizmoht about her running career, why she started salty running and what is an important issue in women’s running that should be covered and talked about more. We hope that you enjoy this episode. Feel free to tweet us at Final Surge and let us know what you think and as always, don’t forget to rate us on iTunes.

I want to spend some time talking about your site Salty Runner and what you do there, but let’s start off getting to know you a little, can you tell is how you got your start in running?

So why did you start it, what was your inspiration?

Who is your avatar? For those who may know what that means, when you start a new blog you are supposed to think about your avatar, that person who you are writing for. What does your avatar look like?

What is one thing that you have learned about yourself or your running since you started the site?

How many writers do you currently have?

The writers all have unique names like cayenne, salty, ginger, where did those names come from?

Your writers have weekly running logs, how do those play?

You are constantly updating, many times there are a couple posts a day. How much time are you actually putting into the site?

You have a variety of posts on many topics, what has been the most popular post?
How to poop and pee when there is nowhere to go.
Why average runners should care about elites.

Are these races reaching out to you to come cover them?

Here is how great your site is. I have been reading it often for about a year now. It wasn’t until I started getting ready for this interview that I noticed it was all about women’s running issues. So while you are writing for women, it is a site that most men listening to this podcast should have in their reader list.

What is a women’s issue in running that you think more non-elite runners need to be aware of?

Runners World article about women harassed during runs.

For a long time, our sport was very male dominant. And at least in the US, you would turn on the TV and watch a race and it seemed they covered the men’s races more than the women. It seems to me over the last couple of years that the US women distance runners are starting to get a little more of that well-earned recognition they deserve. Are you seeing that?

What can we look forward to on your site, anything coming up in the near future?

Salty@SaltyRunning.com
SaltyOne

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - The Silance of Great Distance
Current trainers you are wearing? - Brooks Ravenna
Favorite race? - Johnnycake Jog
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Whatever I can get
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Running Stroller

 

Nov 23, 2016

Welcome to episode 22 of the final surge podcast where today we talk to Alex Hutchinson, the sweat science writer for Runners World and a go-to resource for the latest in exercise science. We will talk about everything from hydration, training methods. running cadence and beet farms. Please take a minute when you are done and rate us on iTunes.

 

Let's start out by talking about you, how did you get your start in running and how did it lead you to where you are today.

You did a couple of columns this year on running cadence. We have all heard you want to be at 180 steps per minute, but as you pointed out steps per changes with speed. So for a mid-pack runner who is not elite, is cadence something they should even look at?

Is there anything showing if you do intentionally change your running form it could lead to other injuries, or is there a way that is recommended to work on the change?

Along with cadence is foot placement. Many say land under your body, but I think that video has shown that under your body really is closer to about a foot out in front for professionals. What is the scientific evidence on where your foot should land and how it should land?

Is there anything that can or should be done to change this for age group runners who are not elite runners to help reduce injuries or does actually changing it cause more injuries that not.

What is the latest research show with training? How much research have you read about effective ways to trains? Such as the 80/20 rule or training the extremes more often?

Most coaches have seen a 800-1600 even 5k runners college runner hit a plateau for a while in their career. How much research have you seen about hitting plateaus and what type of activities endurance athletes need to do to break through.

One of your studies you highlighted a while back I read was interesting about strength training. I believe it showed that running economy was definitely enhanced by strength training if it was done consistently. Can you talk about what types of strength training exercises may have the best results for endurance athletes?

Your book cardio or weights, can you tell us why you wrote the book and what endurance athletes could get out of it?

With hydration, is the ere any real science on how much someone should drink during the day, not talking about during a marathon or something, but during the course of a normal day with training?

You mentioned beets in your last answer. You talk about beets and beet juice a lot. Are you an investor in a beet farm? What are the real benefits of beets?

Another topic you have addressed is the 2 hour marathon. We have not seen a lot of progress in the last two years here. On the women’s side the world record is 2:15:25 by Paula Radcliffe, but we have only seen 3 women go under 2:21 in 2016, and none break 2:19:40. So what is more likely to happen first a man breaking 2 or a women breaking 2:15?

If you could give one piece of advice to college or high school coaches of distance runners, one thing they may really want to change or look at differently than they may currently be doing, what would it be?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Once a Runner
Current trainers you are wearing? - New Balance 1400
Favorite race? - Bum Run 5k
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Pasta
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Watch, non-gps

Sweat Science blog
AlexHutchingson.net
On Twitter
Book Cardio or Weights

Nov 17, 2016

Episode 21 of Final Surge Podcast with our guest Coach and Dr Richard Hansen of the Roots Running Project. Richie is a chiropractor specializing in sports medicine and more specifically runners, and is a coach of an up and comping post collegiate team who’s runners include The Noah Droddy. I think you are going to really enjoy this. We start out talking about his coaching experiences, Noah and then turn to injuries, strength videos and pool walking. If you enjoy this episode please take a moment to rate us on iTunes and send a thank you tweet to Dr Hansen. Now onto the show.

I want to break this up into a couple of parts first talking about your coaching and post collegiate groups and then talking about your other life as a highly respected chiropractor specializing in running related injuries.

First let's' find out how you got here. Can you tell us about how you got your start in running early on?

Was it your goal when you moved to Boulder to get into coaching?

We have seen a resurgence of American distance runners over the last decade. How much do you see the explosion of post collegiate running groups playing a part in that.

When someone is thinking about joining post collegiate group, there are two groups first is the elite runners the first team all Americans in cross and then there are the larger group of very good college runners, but not elite, who want to see how much they can continue to improve. For that second group who should consider continuing on training on their own vs. looking for a group like yours?

Probably your best known runner is Noah Droddy. Of course he is known as that guy with the long hair and mustache in the 10k at the Olympic trials who became an internet sensation but really the thing even more impressive than his hair, I understand he went from a 14:30 5k runner to running 14:10 splits in the 10k. What did you guys do different to see that dramatic improvement?

You know you have made an impact when people are dressing up as you for halloween as we saw on Twitter. Is he as big of a character in real life as he comes across?

Hows his racing been going since the Trials?

Let’s switch gears a little…

Now you have coached everything from high school to olympic trials qualifiers, and your primary profession is as a chiropractor at high altitude spine and sports. So let's get into injuries. I want to break this down into segments. Let's start with high school runners. We have a lot of high school coaches who listen to this. In high school, as you know from your coaching days, a team usually has everything from a new runner who does other sports but not track to those who has never run before to those going for state. What are the most common injuries and causes you see high school boys and girls.

With shin splints you will often have a coach send the athlete into the school trainer and the trainer will say ice and roll it out a little. They are obviously treating the symptoms not the cause. What is the most common causes?

When you coached high school athletes, were there any extensive warm up and cool down routines and did you design them around injury prevention?

You showed me a tape job last summer for relieving shin splints for runners. Do you have a video online anywhere so others can see it?

Now this runner, they go off to college, and likely have a more extensive strength routine there than they did in high school. When you get a runner out of college joining your club what are you seeing as deficiencies that are leading to injuries?

There are a lot of videos online and on youtube. are there any hip/strength routines that are maybe online that you recommend? (See resources below)

When one of my runners gets an injury I always send them to two local guys here who I know, know runners. Sometimes they don't take my advice and will go see a Physical therapist who often times honestly don't really help them much. So the question is When someone in our audience, who doesn't live in Boulder has an injury they want checked out, tell us how they can go about finding a someone who should be able to help get them back running.

One thing you got me doing was pool walking after a run. Can you talk about why you are such a fan?

Now someone is out with a running group for a long run, gets back to the car has to drive home for 20 to 25 minutes, and will often stop for a coffee on the way home… is that still a good thing for them to get into the pool 30-40 minutes later after they are done their run?

If someone wanted to reach out to you, you have your roots running podcast they can listen to… how else can they reach you?

 

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Once a runner and Road to the Top
Current trainers you are wearing? - Brooks Launch and Nike Lunar 3
Favorite race? - Half marathon and Payton Jordan Track Festival
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Italian Soda and Fish Tacos
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Pool or compression sleeves

Resources in this episode
Richard Hansen on Core
Jay Johnson Videos
Gray Cook
Mike Young
Jim Radcliffe hip mobility

Hansen Links:
Roots Running Sessions Podcast
Roots Running site
Roots Running Twitter
Dr Hansen Twitter
Dr Hansen High Altitude Clinic

Nov 9, 2016

Welcome to episode 20 of the final surge podcast with world record holder Cal Neff. Cal is a Dad, a runner and a coach who this year set the world record for the half-marathon and marathon while pushing a stroller. We talk about what happens on those runs and how he adjusts his training. As we reach episode 20 the Final Surge team would like to thank you. We are over 10,000 downloads and growing. Please take a moment to rate us on iTunes, and send us a message on Twitter or Facebook and let us know what you like most about the show and what you would like to see changed. Now on to our interview with Cal.

So how did you get started running when you were young?

In early February of 2016 you won the Katy Half Marathon in 1:11:27, while pushing a stroller and setting the new Guinness Book of world records for a half marathon. How dod you get started pushing a stroller while running?

How old are your daughters that you push?

So when you set the record in the Katy half marathon what made you think about going for the record?

I was watching some of the  video you did from the Katy half, it looked like you were streaming over periscope?

Do you often run with the cameras/phone?

Everyone listening to this with kids has been in that situation where you are stuck in traffic and the baby is in back in the car seat screaming. I know it can wear on you after a while. I noticed at one point with about 5k to go Holly started getting a little fussy… so how do you balance going for a record and hearing your baby cry?

How is running with stroller different, do you need to adjust form or anything?

How about training, do you train any different and how often do you run with a stroller during the week?

Any advice on stroller shopping what to look for?

You just set the world record for marathon pushing a stroller too, can you tell us about that race?

So your daughter is 4-years old now, the age you start running. Is she doing some running now too?

So you have a professional career, you are a husband, a dad, a coach, how do you find the time to do the training needed to run?

So you are coaching now too correct?

What type of athletes are you coaching?

How are you using Final Surge in your coaching?

A couple of questions from Twitter:

With all the miles you log, what supplements do you use for quick recovery?

I would think there is probably some extra strain on the body, What are some of the strength exercises you do for you hips and core to keep them lose to prevent injury

How many miles does he run every month in your training?

Every runner has their self-talk? What about kid talk, what good kid talk stories do you have?

Rapid Fire... 5 questions in under 1 minute
Favorite running book? - Lore of Running
Current trainers you are wearing? - Altra Torin 2.5
Favorite race? - Toronto Marathon
Favorite recovery meal or recovery drink? - Chocolate Milk
Your favorite piece of running equipment that is not your shoes? - Stroller Thule Glide.

@calneff
Neff.run website

 

 

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