This is episode 433, featuring a live QA on long runs strength training balancing intensity and more from a team strength running coaches chat.
Welcome to the strength running podcast.
I'm coach Jason Fitzgerald, and I want to help you become a better runner.
Today's show features a live Q&A with our team Strength Running members.
We get together to do Ask Me Anythings, where everyone in the group can ask me anything they'd like about their training, race strategy, scheduling races, injury prevention, structuring their workouts and a lot more.
If you'd like to join the team, go to strengthrunning.com slash join.
We have runners around the world leveling up with our training plan library.
Our library of extra interviews and coaching calls support from your peers and coaching guidance from me.
And I'd love for you to be our newest member.
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And now please enjoy this live team strength running coaches chat.
All right.
Well, I'm excited for yet another Team Strength Running Q&A here.
Thanks, guys, for your patience.
We are going to spend a little time chatting about anything that you'd like to chat about.
This is your opportunity to ask me anything, to get clarity on your training, to make sure that you understand anything that might be in our training plans that you don't understand, and really just hopefully get that clarity so that you know you're doing the right thing.
You know, I have found over my coaching practice that as long as you have a plan, you are in a much better position than someone who doesn't have a plan.
And so I want to make sure everyone here has a plan for their running.
They know what to do.
They know how to execute on that training, because you're just going to get a lot closer to your goals if you're operating with that kind of a strategic approach.
So let's get into this.
All right, here's a question from Matt.
Hey, Matt, hope you're doing all right.
Let's see.
Matt says, I did my parkway 20 milers on Sunday.
I assume it's fine to do my next two 20 milers scheduled as long as I don't go too hard.
I'm on week 13 of your intermediate plan.
Yeah Matt, I think you know.
If you've already run 20 miles, you're training for a marathon, then yeah, You can certainly do another 20 miler.
You know, I have a funny little quip I like to say about long runs and marathon training.
What's better than a 20 mile long run to 20 mile long runs?
You just really end up getting, you know, two doses of that stimulus.
And you'll find that you know, the more competitive you get, the more of those longer, long runs in that sort of 18 to 22 mile range that you'll find yourself doing.
So as long as you're feeling good, as long as you're not carrying a whole bunch of soreness into that next 20-miler, then I think definitely you can certainly go do it.
And one thing to think about, Matt too, is I think there's value in just running good long runs, but we can also make those long runs a little bit more complex.
This is one of the things that I love to see with runners who, you know, get their long run distance up to a comfortable say, 14 or 15 miles at the very beginning of the training cycle for a marathon, because then you're not just playing the game of increasing the distance of your long run.
Then you can start adding a little bit more quality.
You can add, you know, some goal pace running and you can do some long run workouts.
And so one of the things you can think about Matt, is You know, if you want to do two more 20 milers, I think that's great.
You can include some quality running in one or both of those 20 milers.
So something like, you know, finishing the 20 mile run with three to 10 miles at goal marathon pace.
Now, 10 miles is very advanced.
And if you haven't already done five to seven miles in a long run at goal pace, I might recommend that you choose one of the shorter distances here.
But running a certain number of miles at the end of the long run is a really specific way of mimicking what you're going to experience on race day.
And it's just a great way to get a little bit more out of running marathon pace.
It's a great opportunity to practice fueling, especially while you're fatigued, while you're running at marathon pace.
You know, there's something to be said about taking in your fuel at marathon pace versus easy pace.
I think you get a little bit more out of taking in that fuel at marathon pace because it's a more stressful situation for you.
You know, you're running faster, there's more jostling, there's more bouncing around.
It's honestly not ideal for digesting carbohydrate, but you know, that's sort of what we have to do as distance runners.
Um, so the answer, Matt is yes, as long as you're feeling good.
And if you are feeling really good and you want to add a little spice to those 20 milers, you can certainly add a little bit of quality there too.
I think that'd be exciting.
Okay.
Let's see.
Our next question comes in from John.
John says, uh, as a more Senior runner, balancing volume and higher intensity is a challenge.
I know strength training is the key to injury prevention.
How to balance it at all?
John says he's currently following our 10K advanced plan.
Yeah, John, you're right.
I mean, you certainly have to find that right balance of both volume and intensity.
And I do think as you get older, you have to start sacrificing some volume and Because you just can't handle the higher workloads that you'll typically see in more advanced training plans.
But I think it's probably a good idea to maybe replace either all of it, which would be a more aggressive option, or some of it with some cross-training, especially cross-training where you're not bearing any weight and there's certainly no impact.
So something like cycling is a really good option here.
So One of the things I like to see with any more senior runner who's still trying to compete but wants to stay healthy and keep progressing, is a slight reduction in volume, a maintenance of intensity.
So in other words, your speed workouts, that kind of stuff can usually stay the same.
But one of the difficulties here is changing the overall structure of the plan.
So you may not be able to do a workout on Wednesday and a long run on Saturday.
You might need three days in between your two hard sessions.
So rule number one is maybe now is not the time for two workouts a week.
Maybe you just do one workout in the long run and you might need some additional time to recover in between those two hard days.
And so that's, I think, one of the the biggest key to balance here is the actual schedule itself.
So you know, I like to see you know if three days in between your hard sessions is what's needed.
That's sort of going to mean that you're on kind of like an eight day schedule, because you know you might do a workout on a Tuesday, then you'll do your long run on a Saturday.
But then you might do your next workout on a Wednesday, because you might need that extra recovery before your next session.
So the days that you're exercising hard, your long run and your workout are going to change a little bit.
And I know that's not great for a scheduling perspective.
You know, I'm a big believer in making training manageable and predictable.
And I think that just makes it easier to adhere to.
So I'm a big believer in the almighty schedule.
Let's make sure that we know what when and where we are running so that we can be more consistent.
This does make that a little bit more challenging, but it might be a good idea if you need that extra recovery.
So, number one, let's reduce a little bit of volume.
You can reduce a little bit of intensity.
It kind of depends on what you personally feel like you are impacted negatively most by.
So for me, I was okay doing the workouts.
I tended to really need recovery after long runs.
So, for example, one of the ways that would manifest is I would be okay lifting after a workout, but there's no way I could do a weightlifting session after a long run.
I just feel too tired, too depleted.
It was probably a fueling issue.
You know, knowing what we now know about fueling, you know I would have fueled a lot more in those long runs.
But That's a good place to start.
John is making sure that you're not overdoing the volume side of things.
You're doing a little bit of cross training in place of it, or you're just not doing it at all.
And we're making sure we get that better schedule of separating our key hard days by a little bit more time, because that's essentially what, you know, slightly older runners need is just a little bit more time in between those key sessions.
Okay, here's a good question from Lisa.
Let's see.
There are so many mixed messages about how we should strength train.
I had been lifting barbells because I saw messages I should lift as heavy as I could, and also that I should do this as a postmenopausal woman.
I injured my back in June doing a hex bar deadlift too heavy.
I'm okay now but after my rehab I'm lifting with bands and dumbbells and kettlebells and I'm doing better than ever in my running.
How important do you think heavy barbell lifting is?
I realize the only injuries I've had since 2020 have all been from strength training and not running.
Now my strength really enhances my running, doing it my own way.
Yeah, this is a really good question, Lisa.
And I would say that there's probably a couple important principles that we should think hard about when it comes to strength training.
But just like with running, there is a lot of flexibility.
You can do things a lot of different ways, right? many roads lead to Rome.
So one thing that I will say is lifting heavy gives you certain benefits that no other type of lifting are going to give you.
So the best running economy, power development, and muscle fiber recruitment benefits.
In other words, muscle fiber recruitment is almost a proxy for speed.
You know, if you can teach your body to recruit a lot of your muscle fibers, then that's gonna be really helpful for you as you try to sprint at the end of a race.
So those things are going to be best trained with heavy weightlifting.
Now it sounds like you're doing great with bands and dumbbells and kettlebells and you're not really doing the heavy lifting.
And you can also be very successful without the heavy lifting, because one of the other really great benefits of weightlifting strength training is the fact that it does improve your general coordination.
So you probably just feel a little bit more like an athlete on a day-to-day basis.
And it also just makes you stronger and more resilient to injuries.
So you probably feel great.
You probably just feel strong.
You feel sturdy.
You don't feel like you're constantly dealing with these tiny little aches and pains and niggles.
That is a very common experience with strength training.
What I would say is, Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I think if someone got hurt doing a speed workout, which happens all the time, that's not a place to then say well, speed workouts are dangerous.
Let's never do them.
We would just never achieve our potential if we didn't do any kind of speed work.
We just have to be cautious with it.
We have to do it at the right time.
We've really got to appreciate the nuance of doing hard things.
A long run is challenging. deadlifting is challenging.
Speed work is challenging.
An easy run, not so much.
You know, we can do an easy run most days of the week, but our injury risk is really going to spike when we're going long.
We're going intense, we're doing something new and novel or something that just has a high inherent risk, like a deadlift, because form is so important.
So Lisa, the only thing I would say is you know, if you're feeling great and you're healthy and you like what you're doing, I'm really hesitant to have you do anything too much different.
You know, maybe in a little while you can think about how to incorporate some heavier lifts into your training.
Um, maybe you get a personal trainer for one or two sessions and you're not really hiring them for a workout.
You're hiring them to really learn those specific movements so that hopefully you know you can do it with with the right form and and you can prevent yourself from getting hurt that way.
Another thing to remember is that the movements themselves have inherent benefit.
It's not just about how much you lift.
So I noticed that you said, you know, you were doing a hex bar deadlift that was too heavy.
Maybe if you were doing it lighter, you wouldn't have gotten hurt.
And that's probably the ideal scenario here is let's do all the work that makes you feel good, but maybe once or twice a week.
If you can do a little bit of heavier weightlifting in a safe way, then I think that would be beneficial.
Now, the key here is let's not go too heavy.
Let's remember that the movements themselves have value.
You don't have to constantly try to lift the most weight.
You don't have to be, you know, right near your one rep max.
You don't even really have to know your one rep max.
This is almost like with workouts.
Let's run appropriate paces and I think every running coach might agree with that.
And when we're in the weight room, let's do the same thing.
Let's lift appropriate weight.
And when in doubt, let's just lift less weight.
You know, it's almost like in a workout.
When in doubt we can run a little bit slower, because I'd rather you get some of the benefit of a workout rather than overreach, get hurt, have to take time off, because that's not in our best interest, for consistency and our development.
So Lisa, I hope that's helpful.
I mean, it sounds like.
It sounds like you're doing almost everything you should be doing, but the heavier weightlifting is going to be really beneficial for bone density.
I think it's really great hormonally.
I noticed you mentioned you're a postmenopausal woman and strength training is arguably the most important form of exercise for older people.
It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman.
I think strength training is arguably more important than running or cycling or any kind of aerobic fitness, because getting a little more extra muscle mass is really important for longevity.
It's going to reduce the risk of falls.
It's great for bone health.
It's really great for keeping you functional. into your older years.
And it's something that I'm personally paying a lot more attention to now that I'm, you know, in my 40s.
And when I started strength training or strength running, I was, you know, in my 20s.
And I didn't do the heavier weightlifting that I'm doing now, almost because I kind of didn't need to.
Although if I would have changed something, I would have lifted regularly.
All right, great question, Lisa.
I hope you continue to, you know, feel good and and thrive with your strength training.
Let's move on.
Here's a question from John.
Higher carb fueling for endurance events is gaining popularity.
What do you recommend?
I definitely recommend high carb fueling.
I think it's really important for, you know, marathons and ultras.
In a half marathon.
You know, I don't think you need to eat 150 grams of carbohydrate per hour, although 60 to 75 might be a good idea, especially if your half marathon takes longer than two hours.
If it's longer than two hours, maybe you do want to do the 90 to 120 grams of fueling.
It's just that we're seeing, you know, not just study after study showing the benefits of high carb fueling.
And it's not just performance.
Like, yes, we're going to run faster.
We're also going to recover sooner.
There are hormonal benefits to fueling more.
And so I'm really excited in favor of high carb fueling if you're doing the necessary endurance work.
So yeah, John.
I mean, if you have any specific questions on high carb fueling, definitely let me know.
But I think if you're let's say you're running a marathon, I would say let's experiment with about 90 grams of carbohydrate.
You can go a little bit higher, a little bit lower, find what works for you.
I think one of the keys here is to find a fueling product, In other words, a gel or the equivalent of a gel if you're someone who likes, like waffles or chews or something like that.
But finding the equivalent of a gel that has 40 grams of carbohydrate per hour.
Because if you wanted to go on the low end of fueling, you could have one of those 40 gram gels every 30 minutes.
And so you're essentially getting 80 grams of carbohydrate in per hour, much more than the 48 grams that I got during my PR marathon.
Back in the day, where I think about it now and I'm just wondering well, was I surprised that I didn't feel good in the final five miles of the marathon?
Of course, we weren't fueling enough back then.
But if you could do that, that would cover the low amount of fueling.
And then you could do one of those gels every 20 minutes if you wanted to go up to the entire realm of fueling at 120 grams per hour.
That's what I think is really great for the marathon.
Very similar for the ultra marathon, especially if you know you're running pretty much in zone two for the entire time.
I think there's something to be said about using whole foods or fueling a little bit less.
If you're an ultra runner, where you're going to be doing a lot of walking and the intensity is a lot lower, you're going to be able to process you know food rather than gels, and i think that's probably better for you in the long term.
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John also wants to follow up and he says, what about for training runs, like the weekly long run?
Yeah, I think the weekly long run can be viewed very similar to a marathon.
You know, you want to fuel very well.
It's going to help you perform better, which is then going to prompt a stronger adaptation signal.
So that is going to help you get better in the long term.
And you're also going to be recovering better.
I mean, one of the real benefits of fueling appropriately for the work that you're doing is the fact that you're going to recover faster and you're going to actually absorb the work more.
One of the things that we used to do in the.
You just have to recover a lot after these big sessions because we weren't eating as much as we should have.
And that you know it sounds a little dystopian or toxic, but it's not because we were trying to not eat.
It's just that we were ignorant.
We didn't understand how much food calories, carbohydrate were actually necessary to fuel and recover from these workouts.
So I would treat the long run and even a longer, you know workout that you might do midweek fuel those you know.
Make sure you start well fueled, you know.
Make sure that you're getting, you know, maybe 45 to 75 grams of carbohydrate per hour.
I don't think you have to go crazy with carb fueling up to the 90 to 120 gram level for every run and workout.
Certainly, if you're, you know, running easy for less than an hour, you probably don't need any carbohydrate, but for the longer sessions, And certainly when you're including some quality, it's definitely a good idea.
So in other words, don't reserve it strictly for the race.
And that's also because you want to train your gut to handle all of that extra carbohydrate.
And it's going to be really hard to train your gut to do that if you're only ever experiencing those carb levels in the race itself.
All right, we're going to move on to a question from Matt again.
Let's see, Matt says, my first and best marathon six years ago, I went out faster at the start.
I started the next two marathons slower, but I fell off just as much as the first, even though that was my fastest.
CIM has a lot of downhill for about four to six miles.
Is it okay to go 20 to 30 seconds over goal pace instead of starting slower on purpose?
My training cycle is way better than the last two years.
P.S.
I do lots of up and downhills where I live, so quads are pretty solid with downhill running.
Yeah, that's a good question, Matt.
So I'm always a little bit hesitant about going out that fast in a marathon, because any time that you bank time in a race like the marathon, you're going to have to give it back later.
And so what I would say, Matt, is maybe you just got a little lucky in that first marathon.
But if you're in a better position now you're in better shape, you've been practicing uphills and downhills you just might be better off to run a more appropriate goal pace and be more consistent with it and not fade as much at the end, particularly because you've been doing those, all those hills, which is going to be really great for physiological resilience.
And that literally is a measure of your decline.
You know the decline of your running economy, your VO2 max and your lactate threshold and how that impacts your race performance.
So you know, maybe I'd go out a little bit faster, but my typical advice is to go out a as part of their warmup, because most runners are not running before a marathon.
You know if you're, if you're a much more competitive runner.
Yes, you're going to do a little bit of running before the marathon, but it's typically not a good idea just because you're burning carbs.
You're incurring, you know, a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of muscle damage just by running like you always do.
So it just makes me very nervous.
So I would say that if your goal pace is eight, 50 for the Just run 850, and then use the course at CIM to give yourself a little bit more time back.
So in other words, don't just start fast.
Use the downhills later on in the course to run a little bit faster, because it's happening later in the race, which I think is more beneficial.
Plus, you also get to kind of wait until you can take advantage of the course and, And that, I think, is a little bit better of a scenario than you trying to make up some extra time at the very beginning of the race.
I like to see runners start a little bit slower, run mostly on pace for the majority of the race.
And then once they hit mile 20, mile 21, then at that point if they're still feeling good because they pace themselves a little conservatively at the beginning and then really smart in the middle, then they can start picking up the pace.
And just running, you know, even 10 seconds faster a mile than your goal pace is going to give you a lot of extra time by the end of the race.
So that's my two cents, Matt.
You know I tend to be a little bit conservative with marathon pacing because the marathon is just a very difficult event.
And, you know...
If that doesn't go right, you are going to be in a world of pain and your marathon might start falling apart at the halfway mark.
I'd rather not that happen.
I like to see runners have confidence-inspiring races, and starting a marathon faster than goal pace is probably a quick way to not feel too inspired about your race performance later on, because you probably have to slow down a lot.
Okay, so Matt also says I assume there's lifting advice for the taper in high-performance lifting, but do you have any extra advice?
Yeah, I mean, high-performance lifting is periodized just like a training plan.
So yes, basically the weightlifting is tapered as well, because the entire goal of high-performance lifting yes, let's make you stronger, let's make you more powerful and injury resilient, but let's also periodize the weightlifting so that it matches the goals of your running plan.
And you are primed for that peak performance on your goal race day.
And so that means not doing a big, long, hard workout four days out from the race, obviously.
You want to be doing a weightlifting session that almost looks sort of like your running workouts.
So what do we do in a taper?
We typically cut volume.
We either maintain or slightly increase intensity.
And we sort of just... do that to get ready for the race.
I mean, what does a taper do is?
It keeps us sharp while reducing fatigue, and it lets us absorb and adapt to more of that hard training so that, by the time race day rolls around, we are as fit as we can be.
We haven't reduced training enough to start the detraining process, but we're also fast quick, sharp and just ready to go.
Like we are at our peak primed, level for a really good performance.
So the only thing that I'll say is besides, just kind of follow the workouts in high performance lifting, and that will take care of the tapering for the weightlifting for you.
The other just general advice I would say is when in doubt, cut the volume.
Extra volume is a really great capacity building strategy, whether we're reps in the gym.
It builds your capacity for future training.
And almost always I want runners thinking long-term, thinking about building that long-term capacity.
However, the week of your race or 10 days before your race, this is one of the few times where we do not want to be building long-term capacity.
We want to be thinking short-term.
We want to be thinking okay, how do I get ready in a week?
You know, most of the time as a coach, I recoil.
I recoil when runners say, help me get ready for a marathon in four weeks.
You know, like I really think that kind of short-termism is not good for runners.
It's not good for the sport.
But we have to be short-termists when we're 10 days out from a race.
So cut the volume if you feel like you need to, but maintain the intensity.
In other words, with weightlifting, that's the weight.
And you know it's almost like doing very short but fast running workout.
That's essentially what we want to do in the weight room a very short but hard lifting session, not enough to make you really sore, but enough to prime the nervous system, to engage all those muscle fibers and and really get us primed for race day.
All right, let's get another question from lisa.
Lisa says my training cycle has been going better than expected and my marathon pace seems too slow.
What a great problem to have, lisa.
This is amazing.
How do I know though, what my new pace is without a race?
I ask because in all my marathons, I have the fade around mile 15.
Not hitting the wall, though.
How do I know if I'm truly able to hold a pace when my progress exceeds my race prediction from the start of the block?
Oh, man, this is the million dollar question, Lisa.
So I think the key part of your question is how do I know this without a race?
Because that is the easiest way to know.
You would probably go and race maybe a 10K, a 10-mile race, or a half marathon.
And look, if you show a lot of progress, you can base your marathon pace off of that performance.
So in other words, let's say you sort of have a goal of breaking four hours in the marathon.
Your marathon PR is 404.
Your half marathon PR is 153.
Well, if your tune-up half marathon, you know, all of a sudden is 144 well, you just had a breakthrough.
And you're most likely going to break four fairly easily.
And so there, I think, is a good opportunity to reevaluate your fitness level and give yourself a more challenging goal pace.
Now, if you don't have a race, it's really hard.
It's sort of like, what grade am I going to get on the test if I don't ever take a practice test?
You know, you can sort of study and believe that you're going to get an A, but without that practice exam you never actually know.
So what I would say is, if you are fading around mile 15 most of the time in a marathon, I might still be a little bit conservative, because I want to prolong the time that you can run your actual goal pace without you fading.
Now some of this is going to be, you know, just proper pacing.
You know making sure that you're not going out too fast.
You're fueling well uh, you know you're just being consistent with pacing throughout and you're not, you know, having surges or you're running any of those miles just too fast.
That's going to burn through your glycogen stores, you're going to incur extra muscle damage and then that fade at the end of the race is just going to be more pronounced.
So, as long as we're a little bit conservative at the beginning, i think a big goal for you is let's try to delay that fade until about mile 20.
Now, most runners tend to positive split a marathon and fade a little bit.
It's kind of normal.
It's okay.
There are elite runners who can negative split a marathon, but they're kind of genetic freaks.
They've been given skills and talents that the average person simply doesn't have.
And I think if we were to try to negative split a marathon, you know, and kind of run a race like that with that kind of intensity, it's not going to work out very well for most of us because we're not elite runners.
We don't have those skills.
So goal number one is let's be a little conservative.
Like, sounds like things are going better than ever.
So maybe you should still shoot for that PR.
But instead of a big PR, maybe you shoot for small PR.
But then as the race unfolds, you can start adjusting on that strategy.
So for example, you can start picking up the pace at mile 15, at mile 18, at mile 20.
I think there's a much better opportunity for you to run a little bit faster later in the race than there is earlier in the race, kind of for the same reasons that I talked a to Matt about with the same topic.
Is you know, going faster earlier is almost always a recipe for disaster in a marathon.
You know, one thing that you can do is you can wear a heart rate monitor and you can ensure that you're staying, you know, in an appropriate intensity.
You know you certainly don't ever want to get near lactate threshold.
You know your zone four effort.
You want to stay mostly in zone three for the marathon for the most part.
So that's another way to sort of keep your effort in check.
But unfortunately there's no perfect way of figuring out what your race pace should be, unless you run another race.
And this is one reason why I love runners doing a whole bunch of middle distance races, occasionally taking some time away from the marathon running a lot of mid-distance races, because you know more accurately what your limits are, what your capabilities are, what you can run in a, a mile, a two mile, a 5K, an 8K, a 10K, and you just get really dialed.
You can't really get dialed running marathons because you don't run very many of them.
You can only run a couple a year.
And even then, if you're running two or three marathons a year, there's probably a better way to go about your race schedule.
And so doing more of those middle distance races is just really good at figuring out all of your paces, because then you can extrapolate from there.
You can say, okay, what's an equivalent performance in the marathon to say, for example, my 5k time.
And if you've gotten some experience with those middle distances, you'll find that your mile, your two mile, your 5k, your 8k, you know, whatever distances they may be, they all sort of line up.
They're all sort of equivalent to each other, right?
Um, And then you can start looking at, well, what's an equivalent marathon performance now?
And then you can work up the chain from the shorter distances.
That's a little bit of an easier strategy to always kind of know where your pacing should be.
But you know Lisa, you actually you followed up and you said I'm thinking of starting with the pace group that finishes about two and a half minutes faster than my former goal.
I like that.
That's actually a really good strategy for two reasons.
Number one, it's not substantially faster than your original goal.
I feel like it's enough of a nudge forward that you're putting yourself in a really good position to have that breakthrough, but not so aggressively that you're playing with fire and you might just crash and burn.
I also like it because what you're doing is setting yourself up with a group.
It's always easier to attack a big goal with a group.
That's the whole reason for team strength.
Running is that we can come together, we can learn from each other, we can support each other, we can cheer each other on.
And just getting that kind of peer support and feedback and even guidance from me occasionally.
It just makes this whole process a lot easier.
So I think running with a group is a really good idea. tuck behind someone a little bigger than you.
They'll block the wind.
You know, you don't really have to think about much.
You can kind of just lock into the effort and just sort of zone out for you know five, 10 miles as you execute on that pace.
So I think that's a really good idea.
And also amazing work, Lisa.
You're just, it seems like you're crushing it with everything you're doing.
You're finding strength training that's working for you.
You're training cycle is going better than ever before.
You're thinking about having an even better personal best.
I mean, what a place to be.
That is just awesome.
Congratulations.
Oh, cool.
Lisa, I'm glad that you focused a little bit more on speed.
And now you're crushing it.
Like that is so amazing.
And it's not amazing because you just followed my advice.
It's amazing because you're experiencing the results.
And that's really what I care about.
So Good on you, Lisa.
Congratulations.
Best of luck with moving things forward.
Thanks again for a good call, guys.
Again, if you ever want my direct advice in our private group, just tag me.
Happy to respond.
Sometimes I miss things.
I honestly don't go on Facebook too much, but I'm there occasionally and I'll definitely see that notification.
So thanks, guys, for coming out and talking some shop.
We'll be in touch soon and keep on crushing it with your running.
Really really excited with where you guys are at.
Feel free to email me at support at strengthrunningcom, or you can search our website at strengthrunningcom.
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We'll be in touch.