I have been dreaming of running the VT100 since I started trail running in 2013. In my former life I was an endurance rider and had completed the Moonlight in VT 50M several times with my equine partner. I can remember passing runners and questioning their sanity. Fast forward 15+ years and here we are.

I got my feet wet by completing the VT100k three times in 2016, 2017 and 2018, finally earning my VT100 qualifier by finishing the 2018 race in 15:51 (here is my race report for the 2018 edition of the VT100k). I felt ready to tackle the big one.

I toed the line of the VT100 for the first time in 2019. We all know how that worked out for 51% of us. My day ended at Camp Ten Bear #2, mile 47. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life was walk over to the race officials and hand in my bib. Of all the races, THIS was the one I never wanted to DNF. The race and VT Adaptive mean so much to me that I felt like a huge failure. It took a long time to shake this one off.

I picked myself up and registered for the 2020 race – and then the world stopped. For two years we were in a holding pattern, and we waited while the COVID-19 virus ravaged the planet, canceling everything, taking way too many lives, shutting down way too many businesses, and forcing people into isolation. We held our collective breath until we got the long-awaited email that yes, the 2022 race would go on. Everything kicked into high gear.

Training went well under the guidance of my coach Amy Rusiecki (yes, she is also the RD for the VT100). I had to run another qualifier due to the long stretch between my last one and this year’s race, so I ran the Jack Bristol 50M in New Preston, CT in April (finish time 10:50). Being a part of the Team Run 2 Empower, we were able to do some training miles on the course. At home, I did LOTS of hill repeats at Sleeping Giant, did some heavy weightlifting, and worked on fueling and hydration strategies. We also worked on cooling techniques, so I didn’t get overheated again this year.

The weather stalking began early – probably a month out for me. Heat is a big problem for me, but I knew that if the weather played nice, I had a good shot at finishing this race. Finally, about 7 days out, it became clear that Mother Nature was going to bless us with an incredible day. I think we all breathed a collective sigh of relief to see low 80s and clouds in the forecast.

Also 7 days out, my husband and I moved from our home in Groton, CT to our new house in Springfield, VT. What? Doesn’t everyone move two states away a week before their 100 miler? No? Just me?

As we settled into our new home (only 30 mins from the race start – yay!!) I also began to organize and pack my gear for the race. Historically I have been an over-packer and I really wanted to whittle things down this year, not only to make it easier on my crew but also to make my crew stops quicker. Having all that ready helped calm the nerves a bit and I was ready to roll.

Race morning!! Holy shit it was finally here. We got to Silver Hill meadow about 345am (yep, a little late), checked in, and I headed right over to the start line. I managed a quick hug with my friend Maria, a couple of good lucks to my fellow runners, and the gun went off at 4am. I headed down the road with Maria and 300 of my closest friends, totally ready for the day ahead.

Vermont is notorious for its hills. You are almost always either going up or going down and there is very little true flat at this race. My plan was to power hike all the ups, run all the downs, and run/walk what flat there was. The race starts with a long downhill and finishes with a long uphill. Who thought that was a good idea?

VT100 Elevation profile (PC: vermont100.com)

We quickly merged into a group with Vin, Kimmy, Anya, Amy, and Kyle. The first 14 miles rolled along easily, and I was surprised at how good I felt. Amy cautioned me about going too fast as Maria and I passed her and Kyle, but I assured her than my HR and effort were low, and we kept on moving. Shortly after we came to the first manned aid station, Taftsville Bridge. I felt the need to slow things down a bit, so I let Maria go on and I grabbed some food and some Coke and started up the hill out of the aid station.

Taftsville Covered Bridge (PC: Melissa Arnold)

I continued to climb all the way to the first crewed aid station at Pretty House at mile 21. I was still feeling pretty good and quickly switched out my singlet and my vest, gave the hubs a kiss, grabbed some cookies and potatoes at the aid station, and left. Shortly after leaving the aid station, I saw Ben Kimball and threatened him with a big sweaty hug. He snapped some amazing photographs as I went by and wished me well.

Leaving Pretty House Aid Station (PC: Ben Kimball)

The hills rolled along, and I alternated between running alone and running with Vin, Kimmy and Anya. I leapfrogged with Kyle, now with his new guide Julia. Julia and I had communicated a lot on social media but this was the first time we’d met in real life. We chatted a bit and then I moved on ahead, and soon I began the climb up Sound of Music hill.

This hill is known for its 360 views of the gorgeous Green Mountains, but it’s also a long uphill and a steep downhill in the full sun. I moved forward as best I could without going too far into the hole and took the downhill very slowly. I knew I was losing a lot of time here, but I wasn’t willing to risk a fall this early in the race. When I finally got to the bottom and back onto some dirt roads, I pushed the pace a bit and cruised the long downhill into the next crewed aid station at Stage Rd at mile 30.5.

Sound of Music Hill (PC: Matt Klein)

I have a love/hate relationship with the Stage Rd aid station. It’s at the bottom of a nice long downhill so you arrive well-rested and ready to eat. However, shortly after leaving Stage Rd you start the god-awful climb up Suicide Six (now renamed Saskadena Six). Imagine climbing a ski slope at mile 32 of a 100-mile race. This thought weighed heavy on my mind as I chowed down at the aid station. Not wanting to waste any time brooding about it, I again changed my singlet and my vest and, feet dragging, headed off to certain death.

While I did have to stop and let the HR come down a couple of times on the climb, it wasn’t as scary as it should have been. Cresting the top, I thought “wow, that wasn’t bad at all!” and started down the backside towards the Rt 12 aid station. The weather was also cooperating well, and while I was sweating, it wasn’t nearly as oppressive as 2019. I said a silent thank you to the weather gods and kept pressing on.

Arriving at the Rt 12 aid station at mile 33.5, I was happy to see friends Adam and Crutch, both looking well. I also met fellow UltrAspire ambassador, John, who was volunteering at the aid station before his pacing duties of another ambassador later in the day. This aid station blessedly had a hose and popsicles, both welcome as we were approaching the warmest part of the day. I also chose to dump ice into the sports bra, trying to keep the cooling going as long as possible. Adam, Crutch and I left the aid station together and started the climb (why does every aid station at the VT100 have a hill directly after? Must speak with management about that.)

The short uphill was followed by a nice, long downhill to Lincoln Covered Bridge. After a short run on the busy Rt 106, we crossed through our second covered bridge of the day and rolled into the aid station. I became aware that the exercise and the weather had combined to create a pungent aroma that wafted from my body. I remember saying to my friend Ryan (who was volunteering at that aid station – thank you!!) that I smelled really bad. The things you say at mile 38 (wait, was I really at mile 38???). These guys had more popsicles (yay) and ice (another yay) so the three of us loaded up on both and headed for one of the worst climbs on the course. This is the one that did me in in 2019, so my husband and I had come here the previous weekend and “ran” the hill, in the hopes that it would make it less scary on race day. The plan worked (thank you for the advice, Amy!!) and I powerhiked all the way to the top. We got a little bit of flat road before starting another climb, and it was there that Adam and Crutch let me go. I cruised the next downhill into Lillian’s aid station at mile 44.

Lincoln Covered Bridge

I stopped to grab some fruit and Coke and headed off to Camp Ten Bear for the first time (we hit this aid station twice during the race). It’s only a few miles from Lillian’s to CTB, but in 2019 it felt like it took an eternity to travel that distance. This time, I picked off the Rt 106 road section, the new trails through the newly logged section, and popped out just above Jenne Farm. This view is spectacular and is featured in many photos, paintings and movies (including Forrest Gump). I paused for a moment to take it in, ran past the farm, and shot down the hill to CTB at mile 47.

Jenne Farm

My husband Joe had gone to get my pacer, Danielle, by this point, so they were both waiting for me at CTB. Like a pit crew, they handed me my vest, dry singlet, and clean socks, and went over to the aid station to grab whatever I wanted while I changed. I was starting to get some blisters, so I lanced those quickly before putting getting back into my shoes (I wore my Altra Torin 5 for the entire race). Knowing I had yet another adversary in the form of Agony Hill soon to come, I left the aid station and headed for Margaritaville.

The climb up Agony Hill is, well, agony. The first part is hard packed dirt road followed by a section of rugged class 4 jeep road that is often washed out and laden with large rocks. This time we also had to deal with the added challenge of dodging the loose dogs that were bent on having us for dinner. Kyle and his guide were directly behind me and between us we were able to alert the owners to come get their hounds. We wasted a bit of time having to wait for them, but it allowed us a bit of recovery and we finished the hill without incident.

I was less than impressed with the next section, which included a lot of new trails through a freshly logged area. I was too tired to run this terrain and was frustrated at how much time I was losing through here. It seemed an eternity before I finally came out on a dirt road and was able to start moving along again at a reasonable pace. Before long I came to the two mile climb up to Margaritaville at station at mile 59.

I was getting some chafing in the lady parts area, so I had to take some time at this aid station to rectify that situation. Other than that and a few blisters, I was virtually unscathed and amazed to be in such good condition at this stage of the race. While I took care of business, my pit crew again got everything ready for me to make the quick switch. When I returned from the portajohn I saw Adam come in and realized that Crutch wasn’t with him. I felt awful when I realized that he must have dropped, and when I finally saw him with Adam’s crew, I hugged him and cried a few tears. Realizing that we were now both alone and heading to a remote section, soon to be in the dark, Adam and I decided to leave the aid station and make our way back to Camp Ten Bear at mile 70 together.

Leaving Margaritaville Aid Station (Photo not taken during the race)

We made good time on the road sections along N Puckerbrush and Brown Schoolhouse before we had to switch on our headlamps. I just wanted to get through the next downhill Jeep road segment because I couldn’t see well, was getting super tired, and felt like I was holding Adam back – which didn’t help my mental and emotional state. I think this section took a toll on me and I arrived at CTB a little defeated and starting to doubt being able to finish this race. It was here I picked up my pacer, Danielle. She and Joe got my gear switched out and got a jacket on me because I was beginning to get chilled from the fatigue and the cooler nighttime temps. Adam chose to continue running with us and as we left CTB and headed towards Spirit of ’76 I shared my thoughts about not finishing with Danielle. She had none of it. She acknowledged that I felt like shit, listened to my doubts, and then said “yep, the trail is that way”.

The section from CTB2 to 76 is riddled with technical single track that is very steep, both up and down. I was unable to run any of this and it bothered me a lot. I knew I was getting close to the time cutoff and not being able to move quicker was frustrating. I don’t remember much of it, except for the non-stop complaining I made to Danielle about how angry I was at the terrain and my lack of ability to negotiate it quickly. Again, she acknowledged my complaints, agreed that it sucked, and said “yep, the trail is that way”. We eventually got to 76 and I was greeted by Ryan asking me if I smelled better. Um, no, I did not, but I was lifted by the laughter, and we got in and out of that aid station quickly and out onto more runnable (for me) terrain. I was looking forward to getting to Bill’s at mile 89 where my husband Joe would pace me the rest of the way home.

I’d like to say that this next section went well – but it really didn’t. I was beginning to really doubt myself and my ability to get home in time. My feet were hurting, the blisters kept coming back despite my lancing and draining them at every crew stop, and I just couldn’t seem to move forward fast enough to imagine making the time cutoffs at the end of the race. I was alternating between freezing and overheating (thank you Danielle for continually putting my jacket on and taking it off) so I knew I was getting depleted, but nothing seemed appetizing at this point. I kept chugging down the liquid calories (Skratch, Coke and tomato juice) and fruit and was managing to subsist on that for the moment. There was a lot of road on this section and Danielle and Adam kept me moving as fast as my body (or maybe my mind) would allow. It is during this segment that you come very close to the finish line and then turn away from it (I think it’s around mile 85 or so). I didn’t even glance in that direction and just made the turn and headed down the hill to Cowshed aid station.

I love this aid station. For no particular reason, and for every reason imaginable. The folks are great, they always have hot Ramen, and they have a fire going. And the best décor (although seeing the elevation profile can screw with your mind, especially when you note the climbs you still have left to do). While Adam and Danielle got some food, I sat near the fire and looked dead into the eyes of the folks sitting there and said, “I want this so bad…but I don’t know if I have the ability to suffer any longer”. One of these kindly old gentlemen quietly asked me “which will last forever, the finish line or the suffering?” I smiled at him (I actually probably grimaced, but in my mind, it was a smile), stood up, and we left the aid station.

I’m pretty sure I repeated that same line to Danielle and Adam about a thousand times in the next few miles. I felt bad because I knew Adam was suffering too, but he encouraged me along with Danielle – who said “yep, the trail is that way” – every time I whined. We continued trudging along, running when we could, and finally reached Bill’s. It was the first time I’d ever seen that aid station in the daylight (in the 100k I was always here at about 11pm). Mt Ascutney loomed over the field, and I had mixed feelings about the distance I still had to cover. It was 6am and I only had 11 miles to go. But it was 6am and I still had 11 miles to go. Bill’s closed at 630, which meant I was only 30 mins ahead of the cutoff. I told Adam to go ahead without me because he was able to move faster, and I wanted him to finish his race and not sacrifice it for me. Here the pacing duties switched from Danielle to Joe, and she filled him in on what had been working for me so far (“ignore her whining and keep her moving”). I sat for a few mins, trying to gather a little strength, before Joe and I headed off towards Polly’s aid station and the last crew spot on the course.

Mt Ascutney view from Bill’s Aid Station (photo not taken during the race)

The whole way between Bill’s and Polly’s was a battle between “ok, I can make this” and “shit, I’m not going to make this”. Joe and I talked a lot about all kinds of stuff, trying to keep my mind off the inevitable decision we would made at Polly’s. Polly’s was a mere 6-ish miles from the finish line, but it held all the cards for me. There was no way I would leave Polly’s if there was even a doubt as to whether I could finish in time, because I couldn’t have Amy have to stand at the finish line and tell me that I didn’t get an official finish. We agreed that if I was even remotely close to the time cutoff at Polly’s, I would drop there. I was sure the time cutoff at Polly’s was 8:15, and we were creeping ever closer to that point of no return. I just kept moving as fast as I could, trying to will myself there quicker. At the end of Pond Rd, about a mile before Polly’s, is Keating’s aid station. I vaguely remember blowing by it, hearing someone (who I was told later was Jesse Farnham) screaming my name, cheering me on, but I was deeply focused on just getting to Polly’s as fast as I could. As we closed in on the aid station Joe did some mental calculation and concluded that it was really close, and I might not make it. When the aid station came into view at about 8:13am, I heard Danielle start screaming “there’s my girl!!! COME ON, GIRL, YOU GOT THIS!!!” She came running over to me with French toast and a coffee and I told her I was too close to the cutoff and was dropping here. Her words came like a beacon: “the cutoff is 830!! Get out of here!!” and I burst into tears. Joe’s calculations had been a bit off because it was really 5.1 miles to the finish, not 6. I did the coffee like a tequila shot, dropped my hydration vest, grabbed my handheld, and bolted for home – leaving Joe to catch up.

The last few miles were a mix of an excited “holy shit, I’m going to finish this thing” and a desperate “holy shit, when is this thing over??”. I don’t think it truly sunk in that I would finish until I saw the “one mile to go” sign and knew that I had about 30 mins to get home.

One mile to go

We ran/walked this last mile as best we could (being chased by a large horsefly. I mean, like B52 size). I came around the corner with ¼ mile to go and saw Amy standing there on the trail. I just melted into a blubbering mess (and so did she). My heart swelled in gratitude for her, Joe, Danielle, Adam, Crutch, all my training partners back home (Laura L, Michele O, Liz G, Don W, and so many others) – everyone that had a hand in creating this day for me. Suddenly, I didn’t want it to end. It was such a crazy feeling. I had fought so hard to get there, and yet I didn’t want to get there because then it was over. But there it was, the finish line. I had expected it to be empty because typically that’s been my experience at the back of the pack. But as I came up the last hill at a sprint, I was greeted with a whole bunch of screaming runners, including Adam, Heather and Donna (whom I met on the course), Jacki, Pat (thank you for the photos) and many others. I crossed the finish line in 29:45:21, dropped to the ground, and sobbed.

I did it.

I had been attracted to this race for a few reasons – one being that it was an out and back I would only have to repeat twice to complete the distance. After running 6 hours on the Hamsterwheel course in November 2020, the idea of running the trail only twice was super appealing. On top of that, it wasn’t super far from home and in a part of the state I like. Also, the timing – one day before my birthday. What a fun way to spend a birthday!

I am super lucky because the lovely Laura offered to run the courses with me. And she did. She did not leave my side for a second, which means time flew as we talked about all the things. I highly recommend getting someone to run the whole way with you at a race. It’s a lot of fun! Laura also painted the rocks for top finishers in each age group. And she made a special one for me because it was my first 50k and my birthday.

While I was a little bit undertrained, it all worked out okay. This is probably because the course was really easy as trail runs go. The Chesterfield Gorge Ultra race uses a jeep road, so it’s not particularly technical. And it runs right next to a gorgeous river most of the way. I heard later that some people had spotted bears in the river fishing! I think I am happy I missed that, but also, how cool is that? It was also helpful that the temperatures were lower than they can be in July. Not ideal, but not too bad, either.

I started the day running late in the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra. I just got behind trying to leave the hotel. Then, I got to my car and my phone could no longer find the parking lot I was heading to. Argh! I just aimed my car at the Chesterfield Gorge and hoped for the best. I arrived so close to starting time. But I did have a moment to add bling to my bib and do a quick Port-a-Potty run.

Chesterfield Gorge 2021

At the starting line, everyone running the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra 50K sang Happy Birthday to me. That was fun and awkward for my shy self. But, what a fantastic memory! Then, we were off. And my goal was to try to keep my feet as dry as possible – which was pretty hard because of the water everywhere. We headed down the road next to the river for about 6 miles. Then, we emerged from the woods and Laura told me her tree was coming up soon. So, I waited, and it appeared. A beautiful full tree just kind of sitting there away from the other trees. I can see why Laura remembered it and thought fondly of it.

As a newbie, I brought along so much food! I knew I had overdone it but didn’t really care. I know that when I get hot, my stomach gets pretty picky. For those times, grapes, and Twizzlers work. I also know that I get tired of sweet stuff, so I brought along some Fritos that I kept at the starting line. To carry with me, I had my Skratch chews and Crispy Rice Cakes which I like because they are made from ingredients I can pronounce. I also had Spring Energy gel, which I like because it’s not the sticky gooey sugar rush that other gels are.

My general plan on any long trail run is to eat every 4 miles and I basically stuck to that. I also had Skratch Hydration in my bladder and Nuun in a smaller bottle I carried in my hydration vest. I like the Nuun because it isn’t as sweet as other drinks, but still has electrolytes. I like Skratch Hydration because it tastes good and provides some calories, but not a ton of them. This means I am constantly giving my stomach a little bit to work on, which may help it keep working so that when I actually eat it’s ready to go. I had prepared a second small bottle and bladder and kept them in a little cooler so I could swap them out after the first lap. This was delightful as it meant COLD water for a little bit on the second lap.

The aid station for the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra was super well stocked. My choice was Girl Scout Cookies. Yeah, I know, don’t do anything new on race day. But Thin Mints! As I stuck the first one in my mouth, I pondered the wisdom. It all worked out fine.

Heading back the first time is when we realized we had been running downhill all the way out. Both times, the trip back to the starting line definitely felt longer than the trip out.

At the end of the first lap, I grabbed some Fritos and swapped bladders while Laura changed her shoes, and we were off for lap 2. I was surprised that I didn’t feel more inclined to stay at the rest area. That meant all those long runs really had built my strength and endurance. Fifteen miles wasn’t enough. For this half marathoner, the whole thing was a bit surreal.

The second lap was largely uneventful. Somehow the road had many more hills on the second lap than in the first. Funny how that happens. I think because I had Laura with me time went by quickly and I didn’t start feeling the “will this ever end” despair until the last 5 miles. Those miles were long. So. Very. Long. But, we got them done by running and walking and trying to stay focused. I still had enough energy to run across the finish line.

Coach Faith and Amy, the race director, were both there to greet me with so much enthusiasm. I was just tired. So tired.

Then, the best part, I sat down and took off my shoes. On a warm, humid day taking off my sneakers is just such a delight. I think bringing sandals with me was one of the best ideas I had while I was packing. Another great idea I had was to use reusable silicone bags for ice. These also work really well as ice packs for your feet when you finally get to sit down.

Overall, I think it was a great day at the Chesterfield Gorge Ultra. My time was on the slow side, but I expected that given that I was undertrained. I met some interesting people and got a glimpse of the community everyone talks about in trail running. It was a great first race and I am glad I did it despite the challenges getting ready for the race.

As for gear – I brought too much, but I ended up needing enough of it that I don’t feel bad at all about what I brought. I had a small first aid kit that included blister stuff, some KT tape, and a couple band-aids. Luckily, that just stayed in the tub. I brought extra food as well as Skratch Recovery and plain water to drink at the finish line. I used reusable silicone bags as ice packs because I could fill them with ice from the hotel. I also brought an extra shirt, socks, and sandals. The shirt and shoes were very welcome at the end of the race as my racing shirt was soaked. Just changing my shirt and removing my trail shoes made it feel so much more comfortable.

I also had my hydration vest with more food in it than I knew I’d need, my bladder (1L) and water bottle (16oz). Because I get both chafed and sunburned easily, I had stuff for both of those issues as well as tick repellent and flying insect repellent. It was nice to refresh on all of these at the half-way point. I also brought a towel that I kept in my cooler. It’s really nice to wipe of a sweaty face with a fresh, cool towel. Mostly, I had a tub that was really too big, but that worked out perfectly because once I was done, I just kept throwing all the things in it to deal with later. Shoes? Check. Shirt? Check. Hydration vest? Check. Empty bottles? Check. All the things. Then, when it was time to leave, I just closed up the tub and was ready to go.

On to the next adventure!!!

Chandra Orrill is a UESCA Certified Running and Ultrarunning Coach. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, 3 cats, and a parrot. 

Are you tired of finishing a stock training plan and not getting a PR? Do you often feel like you’re doing a lot of work but not seeing much progress? Are you following the same plan as your running partner, yet you can’t understand why you struggle to make small improvements while he or she has amazing success and it’s driving you nuts? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are experiencing the cookie cutter conundrum.

Each athlete is an experiment of one. What works for your friends may not be the right training plan for you. This is the problem with canned training plans – they don’t take the individual into consideration! While you will most definitely be able to follow one of these plans and finish your goal event, stock plans won’t help you be the best athlete you can be – and will often lead to you wasting a lot of time.

No one wants to put in a lot of effort without getting results. So what can you do to avoid the time and effort sink? First you should create a plan to fit into your life, one that can absorb the changes that often happen on a daily basis. Second, simplify your workout library and use just a few key workouts within that plan. Finally, monitor your progress and change what isn’t working for you.

Create a plan to fit your life

It is really easy to download a pre-written training plan and plug it into your calendar; however, most of these plans don’t take into account that adults have busy lives. Many runners have families with kids that have their own activities, jobs that take up way more time than you would like, and other obligations that are in a constant battle for your attention. Oftentimes your training is the activity that needs to take the backseat to all the other commitments, and when life throws a monkey wrench into a pre-constructed plan and you have to miss a few workouts it can be difficult to know how to get back on track.

A better approach to your training is to take an honest inventory of how much time you reliably have to dedicate to training, and then create a schedule that can be organic when life goes sideways. Maybe doing shorter runs five days a week with one long weekend run fits well into your life because you have long work days or activities every afternoon. Or perhaps you might be better able to get your mileage in if you do longer runs 3 or 4 days a week in addition to your weekend long run because you have evening meetings or kids’ activities a couple of times a week and can’t run every day. The takeaway here is that your workout schedule needs to be flexible to ensure that you get the proper training in for your event.

Simplify your workout library

The key to a successful training plan is awareness. You have to be observant enough to notice when you are plateaued in your progress or when you are overreaching and accumulating too much fatigue. A platform such as Strava or TrainingPeaks can be useful to monitor your progress by using algorithms to calculate your training stress from your uploaded workouts.

We all want to be stronger, faster runners. We read books and articles on training and plans and see terms like VO2max intervals, tempo runs, ladders and progressions. What’s the difference between them? How do we know what workouts to do and when to do them? With so many workouts to choose from, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to put together a training plan that works.

There are a multitude of speed workouts to choose from, but I use just three: VO2max intervals, tempo effort, and steady state effort. When I construct a plan for an athlete, I take into account their strengths and weaknesses, and also what event they will be running. I stress event specificity last in the training plan and whatever is least important to the race first; therefore the plan for a road marathon will look vastly different than a plan for a 100 mile mountain race, but I still use just those three speed workouts.

Change what isn’t working

Here comes the fun part. You’re chugging along, doing your VO2max intervals and checking off the days on your training plan when you realize that your training stress numbers are flat.
You’ve been following the plan, so why aren’t you progressing? The problem is that you’re an individual, and we all react differently to different types of training. If you’re not seeing progress using one type of workout, it’s time to switch to another. The same is true if you are experiencing a high level of fatigue. If you aren’t recovering from one type of workout, you need to make adjustments and try something else.

Does this all sound confusing? This is where a good coach comes in handy. A coach can design a plan for you and then tweak it based on your progress and recovery. This allows you to simply do the workouts and not worry about the logistics of the training plan. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to communicate with your coach about how you’re feeling, but at least you can feel confident in knowing that you’re getting the most of your training by letting a professional plot it out for you.

I hope this information helps you to make more informed decisions about your training and that you’ll be better able to reach your athletic potential. I’m happy to design a training plan that will maximize your effort without wasting time on workouts that aren’t effective for you. Are you ready for success? Head on over to our contact page and let’s get started on your future!

Coach Faith is a UESCA certified running coach and has her level 1 sports nutrition coach certification through Precision Nutrition.  She has taken continuing education credits in women-specific training and nutrition and works with athletes of all abilities. She lives on the Connecticut shoreline with her husband and two fur babies.

These days COVID-19 is on everyone’s mind and in every conversation.  Races are cancelled, schools are closed, and grocery store shelves are empty.  People are scared.  There is uncertainty, anger and negativity all around us.  Will we stay socially isolated for weeks or even months?  How many of us will lose jobs or miss out on once in a lifetime events like graduations or weddings?  Our collective head whirls with the unknown.

It would be so easy to slip into the “why bother?” mindset and just sit on the sofa and devour bag after bag of Cadbury mini eggs.    If races are going to be cancelled anyway, what’s the point of training?  I can feel the questions bubbling up in my athletes.  I can hear the unhappiness in their voices and see the flagging of their motivation.  I will admit, I’ve had my “fuck it” moments over the past couple of weeks.

So today when I set out on my run, I decided to make a change.  A change in my attitude.  A change in my perception.  A change in how I viewed the world and the experiences that came my way.  I decided, at least for today, to stop being angry about things I couldn’t control.

The skies were blue, and the sun was shining, and for that I felt truly blessed.  How many other little traces of gratitude were waiting for me to discover them?

Instead of focusing on my footsteps, I paid attention to my breath.  How amazing it was to feel the air moving in and out of my lungs.  Lungs that until today, I had taken for granted.  I took in huge breaths of fresh air and was grateful that I have never known what it was like to struggle to breathe, and I prayed that I never would.

Here in New England, robins are a sign of Spring.  About a half mile into my run I spotted a flock of robins off to my right.  My first thought was “it’s Spring, big deal.  Going to be stuck in social isolation for who knows how long, so who cares?”  Yikes!!!  I quickly spun that around by smiling at the robins and watched them watching me, as I tried to quietly run past them so as not to disturb their search for food.

Usually when I run these roads, I’m so engrossed in my own mission that I don’t pay much attention to cars going by or people in their yard.  Today, I made it a point to wave at each person I saw.  Didn’t matter that I didn’t know them.  I pictured each of them smiling a little to themselves as this crazy runner waved to them from at least 6 feet away, and hoped their day was just a little bit brighter.

The most profound experience happened about a half mile from home.  The smell of smoke, presumably from someone’s chimney, caught the breeze and filled my nose.  Normally this smell hits my PTSD response, as I have been the victim of not one but two housefires.  This time, however, something magical happened.  When I whiffed the smoke, I was immediately transported back 45 years to when my dad had built campfires in the backyard for evening get-togethers with my best friend.  I lost my dad several years ago, so these memories are precious.  I took a moment to have a private chat with daddy, thanking him for those campfires and wishing he were still here.  I shed a few tears, took a deep breath, and finished my run.  I have no doubt that from now on, the smell of smoke will no longer evoke feelings of panic and fear, but of love and comfort.

We all feel defeated, stressed, and negative at times.  Training doesn’t always go as planned, and we might feel inadequate when we have a bad run.  Or a rogue virus may cancel our dream race and we get angry and want to scream at the circumstances.  All of this is normal and its ok!!  But dwelling on those emotions causes us to miss the beauty in life and in our sport.  I challenge you all to make your next run a run of gratitude.  Notice as much as you can about the world around you.  Smile at everyone you see.  Breathe deep.  Be thankful.  And remember that this too shall pass.

(The day after this run, I took a hard fall on a familiar trail and fractured my humerus.  Oh, the sweet irony of life.)

Starting a new year is always a good time for reflections on past achievements and goal setting for new ones.  Starting a new decade makes it, well, ten times better!!

I was out on my first run of 2020 and it occurred to me that a lot of athletes might be doing the same thing, at the same time, and having the same thoughts.  “Why am I so slow?  I only took a little time off and it feels like everything is SO HARD!!  Lots of my other running friends took time off and it doesn’t seem like it slowed them down at all.  Their workouts on Strava look so fast!!  What’s wrong with me?”

Nothing is wrong with you.

The problem stems from comparisons.  Comparing your workouts to your spouse’s or your friend’s workouts.  Comparing yourself to your last year’s self.  Comparing yourself to the version of yourself that you hope to be.

Capitalizing on the ten times better reference, let’s talk about ten ways that you can be a better athlete without that pesky comparison problem getting in the way.

• Be realistic.  You are never going to be the same as you were last year, 5 years ago, ten years ago.  And you don’t know if or when you will get any better in the future.  The only thing that you CAN do is to be the best that you can be RIGHT NOW.

• Be honest.  Do you really know how much time everyone else took off?  Do you know what other things they might have been doing in terms of cross-training, nutrition, recovery?  No two people train or recover the same way, so you shouldn’t expect to come out of the gate the same way, either.

• Be present.  When you tackle a workout, be an active participant in each moment of it.  Don’t zone out to your tunes or worry about that 20-mile run you have planned for next weekend.  Pay attention to your breathing, your foot strike, your posture.  Take in the nutrition and hydration that you need.  Make each workout count.

• Be in the know.  Why are you doing a workout?  Is it a recovery run?  Is it a threshold run?  Is it a VO2max workout?  Knowing WHY you are doing a workout can be as important as the workout itself.  If you don’t know why you are doing a certain workout, ask your coach.

• Be patient.  Every run is not going to be a PR, nor should it be.  Eighty percent of your workouts should be easy, well below your threshold effort.  If you get annoyed because you aren’t getting faster each time you run, refer to #4.

• Be happy.  Yes, smile while you run!!  If you don’t believe that smiling can make your runs more enjoyable and more effective, ask Eliud Kipchoge.

• Be observant.  Feeling particularly fatigued after your long run?  Check back over what you did over the past few days.  Did you get enough sleep?  Did you hydrate well?  Did you fuel properly?  Or did you binge watch Criminal Minds all night while scarfing ice cream and knocking back Red Bulls?  Often the reasons we feel sluggish after (or during) a run have nothing to do with running at all.

• Be encouraging.  Instead of getting frustrated at your friend’s pace and thinking snarky thoughts, drop them an encouraging message.  Cheerleading for someone else has a sneaky way of making YOU feel better.  Spread some joy and watch it come back to you – and it might just make your feet lighter on your next run, too!! 

• Be a participant.  Seek out your local running club and offer to be a sweeper on their next group run.  Not only will you get your miles in, but you’ll most likely be a big help to someone else who is struggling.

• Be kind – TO YOURSELF!!  We are our own biggest critics, no secret about that.  Make your relationship with yourself a priority and think about the things you say and think about yourself.  Would you say those things to your best friend?  

Remember, running is supposed to be fun.  You may want to get a PR, or a podium spot, or finish that 100 miler, and that’s great!!  However, running is about the journey and not the destination, and each of our journeys is different.  Stop worrying and enjoy the process.  Happy running!

You have an athlete you’ve been working with for a while now.  They’ve not always been the most consistent, but they usually get most of their workouts done.  Each week, you email or text to check in and you get a response 70% of the time.

Fast forward a few weeks, and now the athlete is barely doing workouts and your emails and texts go unanswered.  Then, soon after, even the workouts stop getting done.  You wonder what’s going on when the answer hits you.  You’ve been ghosted.

You look back over your communications with the athlete, searching for signs of what went wrong.  You scour workout histories and race results.  In the end you are still left scratching your head and wondering if you could have done something different, and not only have you lost an athlete, but your self-confidence probably took a hit, too.

The truth is, chances are that you did nothing wrong and neither did your athlete – at least from a coaching standpoint.  Oftentimes the problem begins before you even sign the athlete on.  There are a few things you can do to hopefully avoid circumstances that allow for ghosting to happen.

It starts with the initial contact.  Whatever method you use to fill your athlete pipeline, you can have multiple points at which you can use effective interviewing questions to gather information and create an athlete profile.

Have a few key intake questions attached to your contact form or scheduler that the athlete has to fill out before confirming an initial consult.  Ask things that are absolute deal-breakers for you. Questions that clearly reveal a discrepancy in philosophy or show that this may not be a good athlete/coach relationship could save you trouble down the road.  Based on the athlete’s answers, you can either do some follow-up questioning to dig a little deeper or send a respectful reply in which you explain that your roster is currently full, and you are not taking new athletes at this time.  Be sure to have a network of coaches that you can refer them to so you can end the communication on a positive note.

If an athlete answers the initial questions and you determine that the relationship might be a good fit, go ahead and book that consultation.  It is during this consult call that you will have another opportunity to ask questions.  It is important for you to understand that you are interviewing the athlete, not the other way around!  It is YOUR business, and you determine who you work with.

When interviewing an athlete be sure to ask them how much they value communication and what their preferred method of contact is.  Also ask what he or she thinks a coach does, what they expect from a coach, and what he or she thinks you will expect from them as an athlete.  Questioning like this will help you establish a good foundation with an athlete and will also point out some red flag behavior.

Finally, have a clause in your athlete/coach contract that clearly states what you consider ghosting to be in terms of communication and getting workouts done and what the consequences of those actions (or inactions) are.  Be sure to stress to the athlete to read the entire contract before signing it.  You can also add spots for the athlete to initial (next to the points of the contract that might get “skimmed”) so you can later point out to them that he or she agreed to these points if the need arises.

Ok, so you’ve done all your questioning and the athlete has signed the contract, and you determine you are going to start working together.  A few months down the road you begin to see early signs of ghosting behavior.  What can you do to mitigate the situation before you have to enforce the contract clause?

If the athlete is still communicating with you at all, you can use some motivational interviewing to see if you can figure out what is causing the ghosting behavior.  Does he or she have family issues going on that is preventing workout compliance?  Could he or she be sick, injured, or burned out?  Have the goals changed?  Does the athlete just not want to run anymore?

Use the answers as a guide to change the plan going forward, or to gently end the working relationship if that is what the athlete needs.  Try not to take anything personally – life is organic and dynamic and sometimes things happen that require the athlete to redirect his or her attention and focus less on running.

If all communication from the athlete has ceased yet they are still doing their prescribed workouts, you will have to decide whether or not to keep them on your roster.  While your job as a coach is to provide your athletes with workouts tailored to get them fit and ready for their goal races, it can be very difficult to assess progress and recovery without their input.

If communication has ceased AND the athlete is not compliant in his or her workouts, then it might be time to enforce the contract.  If you need to take this action, be sure to outline in your final email any attempts by you to contact them, note the prescribed versus missed workouts, and state your intention to terminate the contract (include the exact date and remind them of the contract clause regarding ghosting).

Every coach hopes to avoid encountering a ghost athlete, but the reality is that we will all most likely have at least one during our coaching careers.  Use these tips to refine your athlete on-boarding and remember that each athlete, from the 100% compliant to the ones that disappear, will teach us something about ourselves and our methods.  Find the positive in each relationship, and you will become a better coach and a better person.

Happy coaching!!

What is HRV?

HRV is the measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is divided into two components, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the fight-or-flight mechanism and the rest-and-digest response, respectively.

The ANS works regardless of our desires (hence the name autonomic) and regulates a variety of metabolics, including heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and digestion.  A higher HRV means more variability between heart beats and indicates a healthy and rested system.  Conversely a lower HRV means less variability, meaning the body is overly stressed or may indicate a brewing illness.

Why is HRV important?

The clinical importance of HRV was first recognized in 1965 when doctors noted that fetal distress was preceded by changes in heartbeat intervals before any change occurred in heart rate itself. During the 1970s, researchers devised a number of simple bedside tests used to detect autonomic nerve damage in diabetic patients and this furthered our understanding of the connection between HRV and overall health.

The association of higher risk of death after a heart attack with reduced HRV was first shown by researchers in 1977, and in the late 1980s it was confirmed that HRV was a strong predictor of death after a myocardial infarction event.

So, what does this mean for us as athletes and how can we relate HRV to training and performance?  It’s actually quite straightforward.  If we are stressed, our HRV goes down and we are less able to perform a strong workout. If we are recovered and relaxed, our HRV goes up and our bodies are primed to hit the hard intervals or the weights.

How do we measure HRV?

There are several devices on the market (WHOOP, which I personally use, and Oura, for example) that measure and track HRV.  You can also measure HRV using a standard chest strap heart rate monitor and any number of apps available on your smart phone.

If using the chest strap and app method, the measurement needs to be taken upon waking, before eating or drinking anything. Measurements should be done 4-5 times a week in order to get a proper baseline and trend.

If using one of the devices available, your job is even simpler.  The device automatically reads your HRV during your sleep phase and records it to the device’s platform.

What controls HRV?

HRV responds to changes in the autonomic nervous system activity associated with stress. Studies show that HRV changes in response to stress induced by various methods.  Some contributing factors to changes in HRV are the amount and quality of sleep, healthy eating habits (or lack thereof), a stressful day at work or a relaxing day at the beach.

The ANS responds to all of these inputs by sending signals to either the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) or the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest), and HRV will reflect the most active system.

Myocardial infarctions (heart attack), diabetes mellitus and heart transplants are just a few health issues that can cause long-term changes to normal HRV.  Some drugs and supplements can cause short-term changes to normal HRV and should be taken into consideration when tracking HRV.

High HRV equates to proper recovery and effective management of stress. 

We can counteract the effects of life and training stress by getting plenty of sleep, eating a variety of high-quality foods and hydrating properly.  Avoiding alcohol and caffeine also seem to contribute better recovery and subsequently, higher HRV.

Long-term stress contributes to a persistent low HRV because the body is in constant fight-or-flight mode, and may indicate overtraining syndrome or simply a need to reduce overall lifestyle stress.

How can we use HRV to train effectively?

Tracking HRV is a great tool to motivate change. It may encourage a runner to get more sleep or drop that extra tempo workout if his or her HRV is unusually low.  Conversely, it may motivate a runner to work a little harder at those intervals or push a bit to get those last few miles of a long run if his or her HRV is high and the body is primed to take on extra strain.

While monitoring and training using HRV obviously can’t help us avoid stress, it could help us understand how to respond to stress in a healthier way by adding meditation or by aiming to get a little more rest.

The body doesn’t know miles, or hours at work, or a fight with our spouse.  It knows stress.  By tracking the body’s response to stress, we can create a training program that works to progress the runner without overdoing it.

Since HRV is a marker of all life’s little stressors, altering the training plan according to a higher or lower HRV is more appropriate than rigidly sticking to a plan that might ultimately be the runner’s undoing.  In this way we can potentially avoid overtraining syndrome, illnesses or injuries that often accompanies hard training without getting enough recovery.

Further Reading:

Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being

Heart Rate Variability Standards of Measurement, Physiological Interpretation, and Clinical Use

Stress and Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature

As a running coach, I am put in a particularly sticky situation.  My athletes look to me for guidance and motivation as they set their sights on a particular goal.  When they join my team, I have them fill out an athlete profile where they answer questions regarding their goals, their lifestyles, and the time they have to devote to training.  It helps me to devise a plan that fits into their lives, but it also shows me where their running goals and their time to train might not be in alignment, especially when you add in strength training, yoga, or other complimentary activities.

Prioritizing is often thought of as a dirty word.  It usually means we have to assign importance to the myriad of things we have to deal with on a daily basis – and this is a problem for us because we think everything is important.  But the truth is there are some aspects of our lives that must get top billing, and that means that something has to be at the bottom of the list and might need to get booted if we run out of hours at the end of the day.

I fell into the trap of overbooking myself while training for the Hartford Marathon in 2015.  I was working full-time, going to college, and aiming for a marathon PR which meant speed training, long runs, and strength training sessions.  I chugged along, running six days a week and cramming in 3-4 days of strength training.  Unfortunately, I forgot about an important aspect of training – I’d neglected to plan in rest and recovery time.  As a result, I arrived at the start line fatigued, and my marathon suffered.

So, what is important to a runner and how do we figure out what we need to be a strong, healthy athlete while juggling family, work, and other obligations?  To get some perspective, I asked a couple of my friends to share some of their advice on what to do and when to do it.   

Professional runner Mike Wardian says, “I am a runner, so my focus is running.  I do some cross training by cycling and/or swimming, but mostly I run.”  He continues on to say that while he believes that running should be a priority, he also understands that a runner can benefit by weight training to create a more rounded, healthier athlete.  “My weight training sessions have become non-negotiable, and it really comes [down] to when I need to get up,” Mike claims. “I try to be as efficient as possible.”  He calls some of what he does “invisible training,” meaning he will run or bike to work and get some miles in that way, or he would run or walk with the stroller when his kids were small. By heeding Mike’s advice, it’s easy to see that by incorporating some of life’s daily chores into our workouts, we can alleviate some of the time-crunching that inevitably occurs in a busy lifestyle.

“You’re asking a good and important question, one that all runners must come to grips with,” says Amby Burfoot, former editor of Runner’s Worldmagazine and winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon.  He continues, “The answer depends on several things, but mainly, what is your current primary goal?”  Amby feels that if your short-term goal is to attain a PB at an upcoming race, then your focus needs to shift to your running workouts.  However, he agrees with Mike on strength training, and advises that “regular strength training is important for its anti-aging effects; we all lose strength as we age.”

Okay, so we all agree that runners need to run, and that to be well-rounded we need to strength train.  Prioritizing – that dirty word again – needs to be implemented so we can be efficient in our training and still have time to play with our kids, sleep, and enjoy time with our spouses.  A great way to do this is to set up a plan, so we can evaluate all the activities that need to happen and in what order they need to happen in.  We can also look to see how we can combine certain activities (as Mike mentioned above) and maximize our training time.

Amby also offers some different ideas on getting that training in. “Don’t overlook steady-paced walking; it’s a great workout,” he says.  So, how about a quick power walk at lunch?  Or during your child’s baseball practice?  Or maybe a family hike on the weekend?  Mike thinks “having the family involved is so cool,” and feels that is an important way to combine training and family activities. “Everything is possible,” Mike says. He has two boys, a dog, a full-time job as an international ship broker, is a coach, and a full-time professional athlete, so finding ways to train that have a minimal impact on family and work obligations is key for him.

Taking Mike’s and Amby’s advice into consideration, what could I have done differently in my marathon training that might have resulted in a better outcome?  First, I could have dropped my running down to 5 days a week to give me a little more recovery time.  Second, since I was targeting a PR, I could have dropped one or two strength training sessions a week to focus more on running.  Finally, if I had made a plan for all my projected activities before I registered for the marathon, I may have realized that I didn’t have the ability to properly train for that goal, given everything else I had going on.

Having a job and a family and being an athlete can be a struggle, but if we plan it right it can be extremely rewarding.  Sometimes we may need to forego a run or a strength training session, but this will not make or break our race and shouldn’t be worried about. The bottom line is that running and working out should be enjoyed and not be a source of stress, but it can be a difficult journey if we try to wing it.  If you’re not a planner, it’s time to become one so that you won’t have to give up your sport, miss your child’s soccer games, or anger your spouse for not making them a priority.  In the end you’ll have a happier family and you’ll be a healthier (and less stressed-out) athlete – and you just might find that you end up with more free time than you thought you had.

Mike Wardian is an ultrarunner and marathoner.  He has a long list of accomplishments to his name, including holding the record for the World Marathon Challenge and wins at the US 50K, 50M and 100K championships. He lives with his family in Arlington, VA.

Amby Burfoot is a marathoner who grew up under the coaching of legendary runner John J. Kelley. In addition to his win at the 1968 Boston Marathon, he holds the record for the most consecutive completions of the Manchester Road Race at 57 times and is the former editor of Runner’s WorldMagazine.  Amby lives with his wife in Mystic, CT.

Today was a really tough run for me.  Not because it was 30 miles (it was 7).  Not because it was a mountain run (it’s pretty flat here in Groton).  And not because it was hot and humid (its barely 32*F and cloudy).  It was tough because my mind told me it was going to be.

In true New England fashion, Mother Nature had decided to wait until March to start dumping snow in our region.  Between last night and this morning we got the highest snowfall of the season, and I grumbled my discontent as I tried to figure out how I was going to get my training run in.  I finally decided to go with the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” program and just run the trails in the snow.

Everything conspired against me from the start – or so my brain told me.  I hadn’t planned on running alone but I had no choice because my best trail buddy is injured and all my other training partners either live too far away or had other plans. Then I had arrived at the trail head thinking that no one else would be stupid enough to be out in this crap.  Ha!!  Dozens of footprints (both human and dog), and a ton of fat bike tire and cross country ski tracks had turned the trails into a sloppy mess.  And what I thought would be a light fluffy snow turned out to be wet and slushy.  Ugh.  I had a crappy mental outlook right from the get-go.

The first mile wasn’t too bad, but then the shit hit the fan.  Slipping around in the slick footing sapped my energy and made me even crankier.  I tried to make the best of it, running when I could and walking when I had to.  I slogged through another mile, repeatedly saying to myself how hard this was and how shitty I felt, and how I could have possibly thought this was a good idea.

I thought back to yesterday, and the conversation I had with a fellow runner (and podcast host – hint, hint).  We discussed how many people try to take the “hard” out of running and racing, looking for flat courses to PR on and expecting full-on gourmet smorgasbords and heaters at aid stations.  His comment of “if you’re looking for easy, you’re in the wrong fucking sport” echoed in my head.  Remembering that trail running is not easy helped get me through another mile before the shitstorm in my head took over again.

I had been in a foul mood for quite some time when I looked up – and there it was.  My favorite part of this trail.  The fire road climbs though the trees and then all of a sudden you’re at the top of the bluff, the sea rolling out in front of you.  Today the addition of the sunlight struggling at the edge of the storm clouds took my breath away.  I remembered how blessed I was to have this wild place to run in, and I used this feeling to push me onward.

A few minutes later my energy flagged – again, and I sunk into my crankiness – again.  My mind was filling up with snarky remarks about how dumb I’d been to come out here when I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy run, and how I should have just stuck to the road instead of being an idiot.  It never fails to amaze me how hard we are on ourselves when a decision we’ve made doesn’t meet with our expectations.  I, especially, have never been good about rolling with the punches and it was clear by my running inner diatribe that I still hadn’t mastered this skill.

A quick glance up ahead alerted me to the presence of a hiker, and I moved over to the side of the trail and gave him a half-hearted wave.  As we passed I heard him say “keep it up!!”  Did he somehow know I was struggling, I wondered?  Or was he just being kind?  Then I realized it didn’t matter why he said it.  The encouragement from this random stranger was just what I needed to propel me down the trail.  And it lasted all of about 10 minutes before exhaustion ground me down once more.

About a half mile later the trail opened up on one side, bordered by the waters of Mumford Cove.  Most of the time I’d had my head down, trudging forward as best I could, but something drew my gaze over towards the water.  I watched as a seagull glided silently, just above the water’s surface and landed at a spot down the beach.  I stopped as he grabbed himself a snack and contentedly munched away, watching me watching him.  I was again filled with the sense of being incredibly lucky to be able to enjoy this place, even though I was suffering through this run.  The deep feeling of gratitude got me though another mile.

I slowly became aware of how each time my mental energy (and let’s face it – my physical energy) started to lag, something would happen to lift me back up.  And even though the moments of respite were brief, they were there – and I was managing to get the miles done. I was mulling all of this over when suddenly sentences started to link together in my mind.  I remembered a runner/writer friend of mine telling me that he composed entire books in his brain while out running, and I spent the last two miles of my run mentally writing this blog post.

I arrived back at my car, totally spent.  I knew I had made this run much harder than it had to be, just by starting off in a negative frame of mind. While I could have found peace and wonder by enjoying my favorite place, instead I punished myself by repeatedly drowning in disappointment at the difficulty of the run.

The lesson to be learned here is twofold.  One, your mind is a powerful tool.  Program it properly and it can help you reach goals you never thought possible.  Give in to negative, cranky thoughts and guess what – you’ll have a negative, cranky experience.  This really hit home for me today as I watched myself vacillate between the physical highs and lows based on my mental programming.

The second lesson is quite possibly more important and can be summed up in one of my favorite movie quotes.  In “A League of Their Own”, Tom Hanks’ character remarked “Of course it’s hard.  It’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it.  Hard is what makes it great.”

Now get out there and run!!

~ Coach Faith

Podcasts

Trail Running Women

Hilary Spires

A great podcast for women, by women.  You’ll hear women trail runners talking about everything from running while pregnant, to eating disorders, to overcoming incredible obstacles.  Badassery abounds in this “ask me anything” format, and Hilary brings out the absolute best in her guests. Be sure to listen in – you might be surprised at who you’ll hear!!

The Strength Running Podcast

Jason Fitzgerald

Information on training and discussions with world-class athletes.  A great addition for anyone who wants to improve their running (and let’s face it – that’s all of us!).  Listen to your idols talk about their experiences, get tips from elite coaches, and get inspired by all the guests of this podcast series.

Ultra Stories Podcast

Human Potential Running Series (“Sherpa” John Lacroix)

No one tells it like it is like Sherpa John.  He’s opinionated, sometimes foul-mouthed, and about as real as it gets.  His episodes range from recaps of the races that he directs, to interviewing the runners who attend his “Stories Ultra”, to hearing about what it’s like to run with mental illness.  His podcasts encapsulate the true spirit of the ultrarunning community and are as funny as they are informative. Go for a run with Sherpa John and get some fuel for your soul.

Books

ROAR

Dr. Stacy Sims

“Women are not small men.” This is the basis of Dr. Sims’ research, and the premise that this book is founded on.  An overwhelming number of women train and eat like men, thinking this will make them stronger, faster, and healthier.  This could not be further from the truth! This book outlines proper nutrition and training strategies specifically for women at every stage of life and is packed with information to help women be the best athletes they can be.  ROAR should be a part of every woman’s library if she wants the best advice for a lifetime of health and fitness.

Fast After Fifty

Joe Friel

Let’s face it – none of us wants to admit that time keeps marching forward and robbing us of our health and fitness.  Current research shows that this doesn’t have to happen! Joe Friel’s advice on training for athletes over 50 gives hope to mature athletes and shows us how to stay strong and healthy for our entire lives.  Just as women should not train and eat like men, mature runners have different needs than our younger counterparts and we should treat our bodies as such. This book has contributions from from many experts who show us that age is just a number.

Training Essentials of Ultrarunning

Jason Koop

When I picked up this book last year, I never imagined it would become such a focal point of training for my third VT100k.  The principles Jason uses for both mental and physical training are based in science and are easy to implement into your own training program.  From goal-setting for your season to planning your pacing and nutrition for race day, this book covers it all. I highly recommend it for any serious ultrarunner, whether they are completing their first 50K or going for a 100 mile PR.

Endure

Alex Hutchinson

In his latest book, Alex Hutchinson combines stories with cutting-edge research to tease out the limits of human endurance.  Are limits physiological? Or are they psychological? Or mental? Or emotional? This complicated relationship is explored in depth and is supplemented by incredible stories of successful (and unsuccessful) feats of endurance, ranging from Roald Amundsen’s race to the South Pole to the Nike 2 hour project.  The book is an entertaining as well as inspiring and informative read, and is regarded as one of the best books on endurance ever written.

Let Your Mind Run

Deena Kastor

Deena Kastor shares with us the inner workings of the mind of an elite athlete and lets us in on the secrets that helped propel her to the top of US women’s marathoning.  The book recounts her life from her attempts at a young age to find an outlet for her athletic energy, to her almost burnout from the pressure of winning as a college track and cross country star,  to her position as a top-ranked masters runner. Deena teaches us to think about our running and our lives, and how we can improve both by employing visualization, positivity, and gratitude. A great read and the perfect addition to any runner’s library.

Gratitude in Motion

Colleen Kelly Alexander

This one has been an absolute favorite of mine.  Colleen sustained life-threatening injuries in a cycling accident involving a distracted driver, but didn’t let that dampen her spirit.  With hard work, mental toughness, and the love of her husband, she made it through a mind-boggling number of surgeries to emerge as one of the most amazing pillars of strength I have ever encountered.  This book is her memoir and chronicles her journey from a shy girl from the Florida coast to a powerful advocate for cycling safety and spokesperson for the American Red Cross. A must-read for anyone who needs a little inspiration in his or her life.

Movies

Unbreakable: The Western States Endurance Run

This movie provides a glimpse into the oldest and one of the most prestigious ultra marathons in the US.  It follows four top runners (Hal Koerner, Anton Krupicka, Killian Jornet, and Geoff Roes) as they battle to traverse the hot canyons, steep ascents, and brutal downhills of the Western States Trail and be the first to cross the historic finish line at the Placer High School track.

Boston

This moving documentary surrounds the bombings at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon and the amazing resilience of the city of Boston and the athletes from around the world that come to compete at this race, intertwined with the rich history of the race and the legendary runners who have made their marks on Boylston Street.  If you’ve never run a marathon, this film will make you want to register for one.

Finding Traction

Nikki Kimball is a driving force for women’s equality in sports.  In this film Nikki sets out to break the FKT (fastest known time) on the 273 mile Long Trail in Vermont, and not only did she want to set the record for women, she wanted to break the men’s record,  proving that women can stand on equal ground with men. Throughout her quest Nikki had to face difficult terrain, uncooperative weather, and physical challenges while maintaining forward progress. Her tremendous determination to complete the trail will leave you wanting to take the journey yourself.

Inspired to Ride

Inspired to Ride chronicles the inaugural Trans Am bike race.  Follow cyclists on their journey of 4233 miles through ten states, from the Pacific coast to Virginia, and be inspired by their incredible determination to be the first to complete the cross-country race.  Throughout the movie you’ll learn the riders’ stories, and you’ll cheer at the triumphs and cry with those that fall short of the mark. Even if you don’t ride, this is a must-see film for anyone who wants to watch a bunch of crazy people go after an extraordinary goal.

Miracle

Do you believe in miracles?  You will after you watch the true story of Herb Brooks and the 1980 US Olympic hockey team.  Herb took a bunch of mismatched and rivalling hockey players and turned them into the best team in the world, all while teaching them to believe in themselves and each other.  Watching the US team triumph over the heavily-favored Soviet team will leave you feeling like anything is possible, as long as you believe.

Without Limits

This movie is one recounting of the life and career of Steve Prefontaine, one of the most influential and legendary amateur runners that ever lived.  From his modest start in a middle class household in Coos Bay, Oregon to his defeat of almost every top track runner in the world, Pre held fast to his views on running and racing and always held himself to the highest standards.  “A race is a work of art” was how Pre felt, and this film sets out to show how his gritty demeanor and single-mindedness on the track indeed made each of his races a masterpiece.