Running Rogue

Disclaimer: This episode contains the story of one man's journey to face challenges with addiction and mental health (anxiety and depression). The discussion may be triggering for some, so please proceed with caution. In addition, Michael and I are NOT trained professionals so if you are struggling with one of these challenges, then we encourage you to seek professional help. May is Mental Health Awareness month, and I am honored to share the story of Rogue athlete Michael Wilt in this episode. Michael has struggled with anxiety, depression, and addiction since his college years. His alcohol addiction pushed him close to death in June of 2014, which was the wake-up call he needed to finally turn his life around and get the help he needed. During his recovery journey, Michael discovered running as an outlet, and he completed his first marathon in Austin in 2016 in 4:47. From there, he has improved his marathon time by nearly 2 hours, running 2:48 in Houston earlier this year. In this conversation, we dig deep

Consistency is more important for your running improvement than anything else. What you do today or tomorrow - easy run, long run, or workout - matters very little in the big picture. But, what you do from day to day and week to week, year to year, and ultimately decade to decade will determine how close you get to your potential in this sport. It's the body of work that matters - the forest, not the trees.  And yet, consistency can be so hard with all of the constraints we have in our daily lives including work, kids, and important relationships. In this episode, I talk about the importance of consistency, how I like to think about framing the trade-offs around consistency (hint: it's about priorities and not excuses), and then 10 ways to help you improve your consistency. We can all get better and be more consistent, and I hope this episode will help you do so.

In this episode, I get back to my growing series on the feelings of running. In this one, I talk about passion and apathy. What does it look like when we experience each one in this sport? And how do you overcome and/or channel each? If you have ever had a moment when you couldn't get out the door for your run or when you were ready to quit a race, then this episode is for you.

Marathon Monday is back after a 3-year hiatus, and it's the 50th anniversary of women being officially allowed to enter the race. In this episode, I give you one of my favorite Boston stories to commemorate the year that Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to run Boston as a bandit in 1966.  I also break today the elite fields on both sides and give you my predictions for the podiums as well as the top Americans. Then, I give my recommended Boston race plan for those toeing the line on Monday, as well as some crazy stats about the difficulty of running a negative split on this iconic course. If you aren't running on Monday, then you should definitely be watching. I will be in Boston to cheer and coach myself, and I hope to see some of you there!

You know I don't believe in short-cuts in training, and this episode isn't about that. It is, however, about making your running life easier with some tricks of the trade that I've learned in my journey as a runner and a coach.  In this one, I give you 11 running hacks to improve your running journey that cover the gambit from eliminating shoe funk and avoiding chafing to better recovery and route finding and more. Hack #1 is worth the price of admission alone!

Super shoes have revolutioned racing times in the last several years... there is no denying it. They can help you run a marathon anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes faster without any change in your fitness. Now that they are more ubiquitously available, each of us must ask ourselves... should I get a pair, and more importantly, how should it impact my training and racing? In this episode, I try to answer the big super shoe questions such as: - Should I get a pair? - If so, how should I choose the right one for me? - How should I break them in? - When should I wear them in training? - How do they affect recovery? - How should they affect my race pace and frequency of racing? I try to answer all of these questions and more in this episode. To take advantage of 20% off at InsideTrack, go to: insidetracker.com/runningrogue.

In this episode, I talk about coach-athlete relationships and how to optimize yours. Whether you have an in-person coach, a virtual coach, or are following the schedule provided by a coach you don't know, I give you 3 pillars to optimize this relationship to best reach your potential from it. Those pillars are: trust, communication, and ownership. I drill into all three and give you tips to think about for each. If you don't have a coach, then I highly encourage you to get one. You can go back to episode 139 for tips on how to choose a coach. To redeem the offer from InsideTracker go to www.insidetracker.com/runningrogue for 20% off their entire store.

In this far-reaching conversation, I catch up with Sasha Gollish after her new indoor mile world record for a 40+ year old athlete. We talk about the last 2 years of her training since she was on the show in December 2019 (episode 161). We cover super shoes, the Oura ring, readiness scores, racing the mile, and of course, how to run fast in your 40s. You will love this fun conversation with Sasha!

A listener slid into my instagram DMs (@roguechris) and asked me about my 5K/10K training for this spring. So, I decided to invite on my coach - Coach Cathy Casey - to discuss our approach for this spring block of work. Cathy coaches one of our Team Rogue groups in Austin, TX. She came to Rogue after spending 18 years in collegiate track and field where she eventually became head coach of the women's track and field program at Southern Methodist University (SMU). She is also an Ironman triathlete herself. In this episode, we talk with Cathy about how she structured this training block, key workouts, prep races, and racing strategy for those two distances. If you want to get fast, this is the episode for you! To take advantage of the 20% off offer in this program go to www.insidetracker.com/runningrogue.

The tempo workout is perhaps the single most important workout you will do as an endurance athlete, especially for those racing half marathons and marathons. It's the cornerstone of building aerobic strength (aka endurance). And yet, there is some confusion about what the word means and how to apply it in your training. In this episode, I break it all down and give you the how-to guide for the tempo workout from the purpose of this work to the types of workouts you can do, including timing and how to execute them. To execute the offer from this episode, go to insidetracker.com/runningrogue for 20% off.  

To quote Brene Brown, "choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid at the exact same time." For us, running is that adventure, and this episode is my ode to just that.  In follow-up to episodes 258 and 259, I continue my conversation on the feelings and emotions of running, this time by talking about fear and courage. What are the fears we face when setting big goals and chasing finish lines? And, how do we show courage in this sport?  For each, I talk about examples of what it like in my experience as an athlete and coach. Then, I talk about how to face fear and how to channel your courage with others to do even more.  To take advantage of the offer in the episode, go to insidetracker.com/runningrogue for 20% off.

Running technology and wearables have come so far since the days of the simple, Timex Ironman watches that could store 10 laps. Now, we have GPS watches, HR monitors, and other wearables that can track our biometrics 24/7.  Are we better off for it? I think so, yes, but only if we are careful in how we use these tools. In this episode, I give you five "dos" and five "don'ts" for how to use these tools. They should support you in pursuit of your goals instead of becoming counter-productive or destructive instead. The tail should never wag the dog.

It's been a while since I've broken down the course for the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, and I haven't done so since the course changed in 2018. Well, the race is coming up on February 20th so I give you the audio from an Instagram Live session I did on the @roguerunning page doing just that. My themes for this year are courage and precision, and for those racing, I encourage you to bring those characteristics to bear on race day. Then, I break the half marathon course down into 4 sections and the marathon course down into 6 sections, talking about approach and pacing recommendations for each. If you are racing Austin, best of luck to you. And if you aren't racing Austin, then I believe there are still lessons in this episode for any rolling course. To take advantage of the InsideTracker offer in the episode, then go to insidetracker.com/runningrogue for 25% off their entire store.

Downhill courses like Boston or the Revel races require unique preparation in order to perform your best. In this episode, I give you 6 things to consider when prepping for a downhill or rolling course. Prepare your mind, and prepare your body to run fast and let gravity do its thing! To take advantage of my offer with InsideTracker for 25% off, go to www.insidetracker.com/runningrogue.  

In last week's episode, I talked about the medium long run (MLR) as fundamental to my process goals in 2022. In this week's episode, I talk about why the medium long run is so important and how to execute it most effectively in terms of timing, distance, and pace. Plus, I cover a listener question on what to do if you have to make adjustments or if something gets in the way of the MLR. Do you shorten, move it, or skip it altogether? In addition in the intro, I give a quick reaction on the American Record results in Houston and tell you about my new podcast partner. For 25% off from InsideTracker, go to: www.insidetracker.com/runningrogue

Happy New Year in 2022! In this episode, I take you behind-the-scenes on my running journey as I chase a big goal of my own. I talk about the process goals I've set for 2022 and how you might apply those concepts for your own running journey. If you focus on the process and the inputs, then the outcome will take care of itself. Here's to goal-smashing in 2022! For the offer in this episode, go to takecareof.com and use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order.

Continuing on the theme of last week's episode, this is my final episode of 2021. This week, I talk about the anxiety and peace of running and how to recognize and channel each into something productive. The anxiety of running is something that is normal with the primary question being: how can you channel it? As for peace, that feeling might be more rare so be sure to linger on it and learn from it when it comes. Either way, it's a privilege that running makes us all feel.  As your host, I feel thankful for all of you for listening and engaging with me in 2021. I will resume episodes during the week of January 10th. Happy holidays everyone!

I am excited to be back to you after a mini hiatus around the Thanksgiving holiday. This episode is inspired by Taylor Swift of all people and her documentary, "Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions" (which you can find on Disney+). You will have to listen perhaps to understand, but she inspired me to talk in more depth about the emotions and feelings that we feel in running and how to deal with and process them. In this episode, I dig in on two of them - pain and triumph. For each, I talk about the types of feelings you might have in each category, and then I give some tips on how to process those feelings/emotions. The magic of this discussion is that I believe all can relate, regardless of pace, so please let me know what you think.

In this episode, I answer a listener question: how would you define "junk miles?" Do they exist and if so under what conditions? I don't love the term "junk miles" so I give you an alternative term and two scenarios under which your miles would be considered "junk." In addition, I give my thoughts on the NYC Marathon and try to put Shalane's Project Eclipse in context. 

I often get questions about my coaching philosophy. Well, I first wrote it down and codified it in 2016, and now I am sharing it here in summary so that you can have it too. This episode represents the 12 key principles from training and racing that will help you achieve your long term potential. Are you ready to buy-in to the Running Rogue way? In summary, the core principles are... Training: 1. Do the work. Be consistent. No excuses. 2. Miles matter. 3. Go slow to go fast. 4. Respect the purpose of each day and each training phase. 5. Recovery is as important as the running itself. 6. Find strength and accountability in team (how ever you define it) Racing: 1. Trust in your training on race day. 2. Execute the plan no matter what. 3. Race without fear of failure. 4. Start slow, finish strong. 5. Leave it all on the course. 6. Do it for you and for your team.