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Getting Quality Sleep During Your Marathon Training

By on July 5, 2014 in Health and Wellness, Podcasts

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I must admit that I love to sleep. I was this way even as a child where I could sleep nearly anywhere. Even in my teenage years I would happily sleep 10 hours a night.

This started to change when I had to work 12 hour night shifts in my early years as a nurse. Then, unfortunately our oldest son did not share my sentiments about sleep and his babyhood was literally a rude awakening for me.

The first year of his life made me doubt if I’d ever sleep through the night again. Parents of young children can probably relate to this.

Now maybe you’re not as fixated on sleep as I am but most people underestimate its importance and many struggle with sleep difficulties. Continue Reading →

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Time Magazine Says Scientists Were Wrong About Fat

By on June 27, 2014 in Fat Adapted, Low Carb, Nutrition, Weight Loss

I'm really enjoying this issue of Time Magazine.

I’m really enjoying this issue of Time Magazine.

Bryan Walsh’s recent cover story in Time Magazine exposes the conspiracy to slander FAT in the last four decades of nutritional science.

In 1980, the year I was born (thought you might want to know that), the USDA published dietary guidelines that warned Americans to stay away from fats and cholesterol in order to reduce the risk of heart disease.

They advised Americans to cut back on meat consumption, stop drinking whole milk, and replace our traditional eggs and bacon with “healthy” grain-based cereals and low-fat milk.

Cholesterol was blamed for heart disease and foods high in fat were put on the hit list. Notice this Time Magazine cover from 1984.

But not everyone was convinced. Philip Handler is quoted as being skeptical about these guidelines from the very beginning calling it “a vast nutritional experiment”.

Well, this experiment has gone very badly.

According to Walsh the prevalace of Type 2 diabetes increased 166% from 1980 to 2012. More than a third of Americans are obese which makes us one of the fattest countries in the world (which country is fatter?).

And what’s ironic is that conventional wisdom told us that cutting fats out of our diet would help us lose weight. Cut fat to lose fat, they thought. Continue Reading →

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Marathon Success Story with Jeriod Turner

By on June 23, 2014 in Interview, Podcasts, Success Story, Weight Loss

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In this podcast episode we talk with Jeriod Turner a member of the Academy who has been on a life changing transformation in his health and fitness.

He has lost 50 pounds in the last six months. He recently ran a 1:31 half marathon and is currently training for his second full marathon in September.

Jeriod works as a commercial lender for Commerce Bank he is married and has two kids and lives in Hannibal, Missouri.

His progress has inspired us all!

See before and after picture. Continue Reading →

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Do Muscle Scraper Really Work?

By on June 22, 2014 in Guest Perspective, Sponsored Post

Published on June 22, 2023

What is Muscle Scraper?

A muscle scraper, also known as a gua sha tool and soft tissue mobilization tool, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) tool, It is often made of stone, jade, or stainless steel. Muscle scrapers are used in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve pain, improve circulation, and promote healing. In the western world people also known it as a Graston tool, Use for break up adhesions, scar tissue, and fascial restrictions. Muscle scraper used by many practitioners on muscle therapy such as massage therapist, athletic trainer, physical therapist and personal trainers. Continue Reading →

I Should Not Be a Runner

By on June 18, 2014 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Motivation

Eyrn_LynumGuest blogger Eryn Lynum shares her epic journey of finding life, health, and running after Addison’s disease and anorexia.

I should not be a runner.

In fact, there are a lot of things I should not be. I should not be a mother. I should not be a writer. I should not be healthy. I should not even be alive.

When I was fourteen years old my adrenal glands gave up on me. Or rather they put up one heck of a fight yet lost their arduous battle against my very confused immune system, which attacked them until they were completely destroyed.

Never again would I feel the heart throbbing thrill that rushes through your veins as you peak the top of a roller coaster, and then let gravity have its way as you race back to the bottom. Never again would I take a simple ride in an elevator without an inevitable and debilitating dizzy spell at the end. Never again could I trust my body to come to my rescue with its “fight or flight” response when I was in a bind and needed just that extra bit of super strength or endurance. Continue Reading →

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Be Awesome! Interview with Desert Runner Samantha Gash

By on June 9, 2014 in Interview, Podcasts, Ultramarathon

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In this episode we talk with Samantha Gash an ultra marathoner from Australia who became the first female and youngest person to complete Racing the Planet’s Four Deserts Grand Slam in one calendar year.

This race series included the following 250km ultra-marathons:
Atacama (Chile) the driest desert
Gobi (China) the windiest desert
Sahara (Egypt) the hottest desert
Antarctica the coldest desert

Samantha considers herself to be an ordinary runner who decided to attempt something extraordinary.

Take some inspiration from her story, dream big, go out and be awesome! Continue Reading →

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Importance of Running for Elementary Students

By on June 1, 2014 in Sponsored Post

Physical education is crucial for the development of elementary students. Elementary students involved in running/exercise have a lower risk of suffering from chronic disease, obesity, diabetes, and depression. It might even help them get to sleep faster. As per one study, exercises including running resulted in quick sleep and improved sleeping time. The more you exercise, the more you are in need of sleep. Therefore, after running, you won’t travel across your bed trying to fall asleep. Continue Reading →

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Marathon Pacing

By on May 29, 2014 in Pacing, Podcasts, PR

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One of the most frequent questions that I get as a running coach is about marathon pacing.

Runners often wonder which time goal they should shoot for, what type of strategy they should use during the race, whether they should run with a pace group, if they can qualify for Boston during their first marathon, etc.

For example, Jeff sent in this email:

“How do you avoid losing motivation when you get to the point in a marathon where you realize you aren’t going to finish close to your time goal? In my last two marathons, I felt a horrible deflating feeling when I got to the point when I knew I was not going to be happy with my finish time. I get really down on myself, and it is hard to push through those final miles. I feel particularly awful when I get passed by the pace groups. . . I use my time goal as motivation during training, and then when I fall hopelessly off pace in the later miles my motivation leaves me like air out of a popped balloon. It is just hard to press on when you are dealing with that amount of disappointment.

I hate for people to feel awful about their marathon times, so let’s talk about some of the factors related to marathon pacing. Continue Reading →

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Birthday Trail Run

By on May 20, 2014 in Trail Running

IMG_20140520_125511_502Taking a trail run with your best friend is the coolest way to celebrate one’s birthday.

I turned 34 today (not sure what to make of it).

I wish I could say we ran 34 miles -one for each year of my life, but . . . since I’m only up to marathon distance, trying to go 34 miles would have taken the “happy” out of “happy birthday”.

So, we ran 3-4 miles instead.

It turns out the park was short on trails but it was abundant with beautiful vistas -especially for southern Illinois.

Life is short, go on adventures.

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Race Recap: The River Towns Marathon

By on May 16, 2014 in Race Recap

rivertownsWhen I’m traveling I often look to see if there will be any marathons in the vicinity—especially in a new state that would put me closer to my 50 States goal.

When I decided to visit family in Pennsylvania I found the River Towns Marathon which was only 2.5 hours away from where I was staying.

As a bonus, it was easy to convince my youngest sister Autum to join me for the race. Here’s my recap (with pics!).

Continue Reading →

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Interview with Joe De Sena – Founder of the Spartan Race

By on May 8, 2014 in Books, Interview, Podcasts

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In this episode we talk with Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena about his new book Spartan Up – a Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles And Achieving Peak Performance.

Joe’s Bio:
Joe De Sena is the founder of Spartan Race the world’s leading obstacle race series with events taking place all over the planet. In addition to being an accomplished businessman, he is a hard core ultra endurance athlete. He and his wife and their four children make their home in Vermont.
Continue Reading →

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