mfr-podcast Archives - Mojo for Running

MFR 142: The Challenge of the Holidays and a Challenge for the Holidays

Mojo for Running Podcast

No time of the year challenges your commitment to running more than the holidays, the weeks between Thanksgiving and the new year. For that reason, I thought I’d share some my perspective in the hope that it will motivate you to stay the course. You, of course, may not run ‘all the miles,’ and I sure get that, as I explain, but you don’t want to let go of too many of your planned miles.

Let’s talk about that.

To help with accountability, to give you just a little bit more of a nudge to stay the course, in this episode, I explain the Holiday Running Challenge I have planned for you. It starts, today. Are you in?

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MFR 141: Returning from a Break

By Debbie Voiles

Returning from a break

Whether you are new to running or you’ve been running for years, there will be times when you stop running weeks or even months. Matybe you have a health issue, and maybe you had an injury. My runners miss long periods, sometimes, maybe due to caring for elderly parents, maybe due their own medical problems, and sometimes a running injury or some other injury that requires a long recovery period.

Sometimes, it’s weeks of overtime or school. Three of my runners in the last half dozen years, have missed more than a year when working on their doctorates. All came back, but it wasn’t easy.

And then, there’s the more common situation that I liken to falling off a diet. You know how, sometimes you’re being very careful with sticking to eating reasonable portions of healthy food, but then Thanksgiving rolls around, and you decide to let yourself go a bit for the holiday weekend, thinking that you’ll return to your healthy ways right after the weekend, but then Monday rolls around, and you find it’s too easy to just decide to wait one more day before getting back on the healthy eating bandwagon, but then Monday turns into Tuesday, and pretty soon, you’re saying to yourself, “Oh, well. I’ll just enjoy myself over the holidays and get back to my normal smart self after the first of the year.”

Well, sometimes running goes that same way. You take a week off, maybe due to going on vacation, planning to get right back out there on Monday, but Monday turns in to Tuesday, and so it goes. Before you know it, three months have passed, and with every passing week, you think about how much harder it will be than it would have been if you’d only been on a month-long break. Now, you’re less motivated because you realize how hard it will be.

No matter the reason, you know you need to return to running. I hope this podcast episode will help you ease back into a smart, consistent running schedule.

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MFR 140: My Thoughts on the ‘Brittany’ Movie, Running Goals, and Your First Marathon

By Debbie Voiles

Recently, Hubby and I actually went to a theater, which we hadn’t done in over a year, to see the movie, Brittany Runs a Marathon. In this episode I discuss that film, and, knowing that it will inspire many, that leads to the topic of running goals and running your first marathon.

No worries, I don’t give away the plot. I hope you’ll listen, and in this episode, since I talk about running ‘your’ first marathon, I also suggest that you listen to the four-part series I did on running your first marathon. Yes, it took four episodes of this podcast to sufficiently cover that topic. They are episodes 55, 56, 57, and 59.

In this episode, I also invite you to my race, the Run Tampa Tinsel Run, on December 21st, at Al Lopez park, right here in Tampa. I would love to have my listeners participate.

The race will be gnome-themed this year, and besides finisher medals, we’ll have age group awards, three deep in 5-year increments, and those awards will be gnome figurines. You’ll love them. The finisher medals will be, a gnome ornament. You’ll want to collect them every year; so, don’t miss this first one.

Below is a picture of the artwork that will be on the shirts. Here is a link to register. We’re capping registration at 500; so, register right away. Whether you live in the area or are visiting from out of town, it would be great to have you.

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MFR 139: The Mental Side of Running

By Debbie Voiles

Even before you were a runner, you had probably heard the oft repeated line, “Running is 90% mental.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard any long-time runner argue against this, because you realize pretty quickly that this is true. iF your mind wills it, if your heart is in it, if you have the necessary grit, the you will become a runner, and you will achieve the goals you set. It may take time, and it will certain require more mental tenacity than physical. This is what non-runners do not understand.

In this podcast, I pick apart the reasons why it is so mentally difficult, sometimes more than others, of course. You may not always realize the true cause of your mental struggle. I hope that understanding the root cause will help you deal with the mental side of running, and that will lead to greater success in every area of your running journey.

In this episode, I mention The Human Race, and Velma Radloff, in particular. I hope, if you haven’t seen the documentary yet, you will. Here are a couple of photos of Velma. Velma is 81 and still running, of course.

Two of my favorite runner girls. Both are in “The Human Race.”

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MFR 138: Base Miles

By Debbie Voiles

Mojo for Running Podcast

How is your running base coming along? This is one of the most critical considerations for any runner’s success, but in my experience, the great majority of recreational runners ignore it. With this episode of the Mojo for Running Podcast, I hope to raise awareness to motivate every listener to give this area of their running life the attention it deserves.

A great percentage of your running success – or failure – will be due to a properly executed training, but if you miss a key area of training, no amount of effort to the remainder of your training will make up for the gap. It’s that important.

By base, I mean the number of miles you run per week. If you keep a record of your miles – and most runners do – then go to your log book, right now, and see how many miles you were averagjng, per week, at the start of your last training cycle.

This episode is likely to change your attitude about this often neglected factor that plays a critical role in your running success as regards the effectiveness of speed work, your success in avoiding injuries, and your comfort all the way to the end of races.

Your training base is that important.

**In this episode, I mention my son’s new podcast. His name is Ben Voiles, and his podcast is The Internal Work. I hope you’ll check it out, especially Episode #3 about confidence. That one would be particularly helpful to any runner. His podcast is on Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher.Click the graphic to check it out.

***In this episode, I also reminded you of our documentary film, The Human Race. I decided I’ll mention one of the featured runners in each of the next several episodes. In this episode of mention Riorita Gaon. Here is a pic. I hope, if you haven’t watched The Human Race, you will. I promise it will provide great motivation. Many runners have told me they bought it and watch it whenever they need motivation. That’s Rio in the pink sunglasses and with the mimosa, with friends Maureen Wallace and Nancy Hannas. Click here to see a trailer for the film.

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MFR 137: Boston

By Debbie Voiles

Boston. That word inspires emotion in every runner, as it does with me. I’ve always been a word person, which is just part of the reason I was an English teacher for 15 years. I think about words. Those six letters move me. They have for years but much more, now. Six letters that, to me, carry a level of emotion just below the word, family, and that is saying a lot.

Whether you’ve only watched the race on TV, been one of the thousands lining the race course on marathon race day, or you’re working toward a BQ right now, the word has the power of few others.

I hope you enjoy this podcast about my Boston Marathon race a couple of months ago, the first time I have ever qualified to run it. Whether you ever get to do that race or not, I highly recommend you travel to Boston and do one of the many races there that you can get into every year. I took my Run Tampa group to Boston to do the Boston Run to Remember Half and 5 mile in May of 2018, a fantastic trip. The course is different, but we went out and ran the last mile of the marathon course, a great experience for all.

If you aspire to run it, then go for it. Most people can qualify, but it will require a year of careful planning and strategic training. For others, it might seem impossible, and may require many lifestyle changes and several years to get there.

If you want to do it, and qualifying is out of the question, then, by all means, seek out a charity bib and commit yourself to honoring the opportunity and raising the money you pledge to raise.

One way or the other, it can be done, and I hope this podcast inspires you.

Boston Marathon qualifying times

Athlete’s Village in Hopkinton

The video is too big for my site, but I will put it on Facebook.

Run Tampa

Carly qualified in her very first marathon and requalified in this year’s race with a blistering time of 3:19. Yowza!

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MFR 136: Three Reasons to do a Plank Every Day

By Debbie Voiles

If you just do one exercise for your core, this should be it. Planks have many benefits for runners. In this episode, I explain the various ways of modifying the standard plank for even more benefit.

Adding this exercise to your cross training, will, I guarantee, impact your running performance and go a long way toward preventing injuries.

With publication of this episode, I’m launching a Plank Challenge. Instructions in the podcast. I hope you’ll participate. It starts on Sunday, May 26th.

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MFR 135: How to Crush Your Goal Race With Microcycles

By Debbie Voiles

I know very few runners not focused on getting better, improving their running performance, scoring PR’s, but sometimes there are ways to improve, even quite basic ways, that never become common knowledge to non-elite runners, certainly not common knowledge to people who aren’t working with a coach.

One of the most basic concepts is periodization, which means, in case you didn’t listen to Episode 134, the period of training, usually several months, leading up to your goal race, and that period of time is broken into three segments or microcycles. In this episode I explain what those three segments should look like and why.

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MFR 134: How to Optimize Performance with Periodization

By Debbie Voiles

Mojo for Running Podcast Most runners run because they know it keeps them fit and because it’s a great hobby. For some, it’s mainly the camaraderie. Others are attracted by the endorphin rush, but virtually all runners also want to get faster.

Is that you? Even if you only do the occasional race, you may want to keep improving, set a new PR at least once in a while.

Then there are also the hard core runners that mainly enjoy the competitive aspect.

Whichever group you fall into, you will benefit from some basic knowledge of periodization, the concept of training cycles that facilitate your fitness. Unfortunately, unless you’ve worked with a coach, and most runners have not, then you probably haven’t even heard of it.

Well, no worries. In this podcast and the next, I explain the concept of macro and micro cycles that comprise periodization. Knowing this concept will improve your running, even if you don’t go all in to apply it fully. Once you listen, you’ll see what I mean.

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MFR 133: From Brutal to Boston

By Debbie Voiles

Mojo for Running Podcast 133

The topic of Episode #132 was dreadful runs. This is a followup that, I hope, will always help you put those runs in perspective. But more than that, it shows you what can happen later in your running career. No matter where you are, now, in your running journey. You can still set lofty running goals and achieve them, but you may need to make some changes.

It’s always the same with running, and maybe this is just as true with other sports, but you continue to evolve as an athlete. You learn more from your body, your experiences, the experiences of your friends, and from running coaches. You become more skilled, your body changes, and you change the way you train and the way you respond to the messages from your body and race performances. That’s a lot, but if you keep an open mind and are willing to continue to try new things, you just may experience a level of success you never thought possible.

This episode is about the contrast between the worst run of my life and the best run of my life, separated by just three weeks. I hope it inspires you.

Three weeks from today, I’ll be running the Boston Marathon for the second time. The first time I was offered a charity bib, which I, of course, enthusiastically accepted, but every step of that 26.2 miles, I was envious of all the runners who had qualified, and I pledged to continue to work on my marathon until I, too, qualified. Well, it took a while, but at age 65, last summer, I did qualify, when I had the best marathon of my life.

I hope you’ll tune in for my videos and posts from Boston three weeks from today. In the meantime, you may enjoy this post about the time, a year ago, when I took about 35 members of my club to Boston to do the Run to Remember Half Marathon. It was a blast, something worth doing for any runner. That race is not on the Boston race course, but while we were in town, we went out to the one-mile point of the Boston course and ran it in and took photos at the finish line. Pics and comments here.

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