Ok so ever since I started to try to run on “correct form” Landing on the sole of my foot instead of bottom to tip I have discomfort every time I am done running. The sole hurts and sometimes the heels. Does it ever get easier or should I go back to bad form running 😅

I haven’t ran on a treadmill in years, Today I decide to jump on and do 6 miles and it kicked my butt! It felt harder to me than running outside. I’m curious is this the same for you? Which is harder to you?

There is an art and a science to training for a half or full marathon. The science is pretty simple… Run farther to build endurance and lift weights to get stronger. For this post, I want to focus on the art of training for a race. The typical training plan just tells you what to do. It will say what days to run and how far to run. Which is good, until you run into a problem. And then, if you don’t know how to solve that problem, that problem becomes a bigger problem. Which then could affect your ability to train, run your race, and/or leave you with unwanted expenses. I hear all the time that a runner will get a nagging injury. But instead of addressing the problem or adjusting their training, they will continue to run through it. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if you don’t give your body enough time to recover from that injury, then that injury gets worse. And sometimes it gets so bad that you have to go to physical therapy and stop running for several months. The thing is most of these problems can be solved if you know how to think. And this is where the art of training comes in. If the science of training requires you to build up your endurance to run 26.2 miles, then the art of training allows us to have some flexibility on how we do that. And one of the things I incorporate into my training is low impact cardio exercises. Over the years I have dealt with a few minor injuries and rather than run through them, I replace the runs with low impact exercises. These exercises are great for building up your endurance while giving your body the rest it needs to recover. So the next time you are dealing with an overuse injury, rather than push through it, just replace your runs with a low impact cardio exercise. Here are a list of my top five low impact cardio exercises: #1 - Stationary Bike #2 - Stair Master #3 - Walking/Hiking #4 - Elliptical #5 - Swimming Add one or all of these into your marathon training plan. If you got value out of this post, share this with someone who is training for their half or full marathon.

So I used Tony's 16 week full marathon training plan. I tried to give myself a little bit of extra time in case of minor injuries or illness, but it turns out I overshot how much extra time I would need. As it stands, I would be starting my final week of the program which is 4 miles, 3 miles, and "full marathon". My race is August 25 in Santa Rosa, CA, so just about a month out. I've read in the past that you should not run a full 26.2 miles in your training program...so I am curious what I should be doing in the remainder of this next month, any advice welcome!

Before I break down what to do, I want to give you some context on how I think about training for a half or full marathon.⁣ ⁣ I look at training for a marathon like a math equation. It’s endurance plus strength equals marathon.⁣ ⁣ If you only run, then you will build up the endurance to run 26.2 miles, but you won’t build up the strength to run 26.2 miles.⁣ ⁣ And this is actually something that I experienced first hand.⁣ ⁣ When I ran my first marathon in 2019, the last several miles were a struggle. My pace per mile slowed down significantly by about two minutes a mile.⁣ ⁣ And it wasn’t because I was winded, out of breath, or out of shape, it was simply because my legs were tired and in so much pain.⁣ ⁣ And when your legs are tired and in pain it affects you mentally.⁣ ⁣ Our brains are designed for survival and so when you are in pain or in discomfort, our nervous system sends signals to our brain saying that we are in pain and that we need to get out of the situation.⁣ ⁣ So, in the case of running, we will naturally slow down, walk, or even stop altogether.⁣ ⁣ And if you are someone who wants to finish your race in a certain time, you don’t necessarily have the luxury to slow down.⁣ ⁣ You definitely can’t stop or walk.⁣ ⁣ So what do you do?⁣ ⁣ The simple answer is to get stronger.⁣ ⁣ You see if you get stronger then you will be able to delay the time of when your legs start to feel discomfort and/or pain.⁣ ⁣ My goal while training is to get so strong that it’s unreasonable for me to slow down until I cross the finish line.⁣ ⁣ You can see how strong you are by going for a run and looking at your splits.⁣ ⁣ If your pace starts to slow down by about 2 minutes per mile, then you know where your strength starts to wane.⁣ ⁣ And so what does this actually look like in practice?⁣ ⁣ Well, it means going to the gym and lifting weights.⁣ ⁣ Doing a weekly leg workout that consists of compound lifts and isolation exercises.⁣ ⁣ Here is a leg workout you can do every week.⁣ ⁣ - Leg press⁣