MARCH

Newsletter

MR Runningpains! Run on my friends...

March!!! Adventures have begun and many lie ahead! I hope you can take away much from this newsletter that may help in your journey towards your goal! Thanks for reading & run on...

The trails are calling...will you answer?

-Aaron Saft

MR Runningpains

What I'm Up To...

 

Both pictures above are from my recent run from the French Broad River up to the summit of Mount Pisgah and back. At the summit, the cloud inversion was spectacular! The top picture is the fire tower on Frying Pan Mountain sticking out of the clouds. The picture directly above was my favorite. I felt a direct connection to the peaks reaching out of the clouds just as I had done to be able to take this photo.  

 

I love this quote by Vera Nazarian, “When you reach for the stars, you are reaching for the farthest thing out there. When you reach deep into yourself, it is the same thing, but in the opposite direction. If you reach in both directions, you will have spanned the universe.” It is beautiful in the regard that I feel it summarizes running. We must span the universe in this regard in order to reach our goals. It's that perfect combination of physical and mental capacity that allows us to do the amazing feats we perform on a daily basis.  

 

As you'll read below, I've had to simplify a bit to return my joy for running. The article delves deep into things that can weigh us down. I hope this article will allow you to make this assessment for yourself and make sure you have only what you truly need to make yourself successful. 

 

This months training article focuses on the hill drills/strength phase. This phase is vital in your training build in order to sustain your later training load and stay injury free, and I'll discuss why this is.

 

As always, thanks for your support, for reading, subscribing, and sharing these resources. You can find a complete archive of my previous newsletters and podcasts on my website (PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW).

 

Keep running my friends!

The trails are calling...will you answer?

-Aaron Saft

MR Runningpains

Visit my Website HERE

Coaching Services

 

AT THE CURRENT MOMENT, I DO NOT HAVE SPACE FOR NEW ATHLETES. I WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE MORE AVAILABILITY AFTER HELLBENDER (EARLY MAY)

 

As a certified coach (USAT&F Level I, RRCA Level II, UESCA Running & Ultrarunning, & Lydiard Foundation Level II) I want to make sure each athlete not only gets the training they need, but to maintain the joy and fun that running should be! I love running, and I want to make sure each runner finds and maintains their love for the sport as well!!!

 

My Philosophy:

I believe that running is a journey that should be shared and enjoyed along each step of the way. By coaching, I create a partnership with each individual athlete in which we get to know the individuals needs and ways in which we can find the most success in helping the athlete achieve his or her goal(s) through training. We cannot be successful without building trust in one another, and that begins with our daily honest communications as to how the athlete is performing in running and how daily life may be affecting their run for the day, week, or beyond. I believe in a comprehensive approach to training in which we have to consider the athlete’s history with training (successes & failures), strengths & weaknesses in training and how we can capitalize on the strengths and strengthen the weaknesses, and keeping a long term view for the athletes longevity and health in the sport. My goal for each athlete is to keep them healthy and enjoying the sport in route to helping them build stamina & endurance, while getting faster & stronger. 

 

I coach Middle School Aged to Adults and distances of 5k to Ultramarathon. 

 

For $125 a month, my coaching provides:

 

  • Online Training Plan Using Training Peaks Premium Edition

  • Daily Feedback & Weekly Email and Communications 

  • Unlimited text, emails, & calls

  • Flexible Schedule Changes

  • Private Facebook & Strava Groups

  • Weekly Topic covered in a Zoom Conference w/ Q &A Sessions

  • Crewing & Pacing at events

  • Running Form Analysis

  • Footwear and Gear Selection

  • Private Events/Races so even if events are cancelled, you'll have something to look forward to!

 

If you're interested in having a conversation, please don't hesitate to reach out by clicking the button below. I currently have spots available.

 

 
Contact Me

Apply or Nominate for the Shoe Scholarship

 

I have decided to use the Patreon dollars received each month to donate a pair of shoes to a person in need each month. This brings up two points:

1. If you are in a financial pinch, and need a new pair of shoes, please reach out to me. At this point in time, I can only do one pair per month.

2. If you can financially help support this, please donate to my Patreon page (see link below).

 
PATREON

Reflections

 

I fell in love with trails and specifically running on them at an early age. I specifically remember hiking up a mountain in the Adirondacks of northern New York. We were of elementary school age at the time. When we reached the summit, I turned to my friend and said, “I’ll race you down.” I remember bombing down the trail and jumping over roots and rocks. I remember the surprised looks on the faces of the people we passed. But most of all, I remember the feeling of freedom I felt and the joy that made me smile from ear to ear as I descended without care of pace, distance, or thought of a Strava segment. It’s for that feeling of freedom and joy that I continue to run today.

 

I love to share this sport, and get others involved. That said, if I look at what I do, say, post, record, I can see how others may view those things and think, “Nope, that’s not for me!” So, I try to remember when I do anything that can be viewed or seen publicly, I must remember that I need to be inviting, welcoming, and not overwhelming.

 

Remember what you post on social media reflects who you are. Also, keep in mind that this is coming from someone that doesn’t post much. My social media has simply become sharing the beauty of what I see in the world. I don’t comment or hash tag. I want others to view the picture and have their own reaction. I’m not saying this is the right way to manage social media. Others use social media in other ways such as promotion and advertisement. I understand that value, but again, it’s not who I am or how I want to be perceived. For me, this keeps things simple and enjoyable for me. I realized that by doing a daily YouTube video I could share lots of information with others, but it isn’t the real me. I love sharing this sport and helping others learn, but it felt forced and stressful, and it was taking away from my enjoyment of the run, so I stopped. It’s not that I can’t create content but doing it during my runs was not how I wanted to go about it. I just want people to think about who they are and stay true to themselves.

 

Trail running can be as simple or as complicated as we make it. That early memory I described earlier of running down the mountain, I didn’t even have running shoes. That was running in its most simplistic form. I recently noticed, going back to when I was creating a daily YouTube video, that I was weighing myself down with way too much. To start my run, I had to put on my chest heart rate monitor, unlock my watch and acquire GPS signal and heart rate data, turn on and connect my blue tooth earphones to my phone, start the podcast on my phone, and finally stow my phone and GoPro camera. When I recognized this, I decided it was time to simplify! I had to declutter and unplug to return to the simple joy of running.

 

I looked at my shoe collection, and I felt guilty. I need a few different shoes for the mileage I do, but I had a gross excess. I was disgusted with myself. Again, I had to simplify. I packed large trash bags full of shoes, some I had barely ever used, and donated them to the More Foundation https://www.morefoundationgroup.org/ at my local run shop.

 

I thought back to the first time I ran the Art Loeb trail (roughly 30 miles) in 2009 and how simple my nutrition and hydration was. Again, I looked in my closet at all the hydration powders, gels, chews, bars, and various other caloric edibles I had and asked myself, “What the heck man!?!” When did I become so complicated and spoiled? How did I create these habits of hording shoes, accessories, and even food?

 

I believe this is rooted in that I can be too minimalistic at times, and this has led to my failure in finishing events. I have overcompensated due to my fear of failure in an event because I didn’t have what I needed to be successful.

 

There is a balance in life and running. I have tipped my scale into excess. I realize this and with the goal of completing the Bigfoot 200-miler in Aug., I will continue to find what is truly needed and what I can do without. As I figure this out, I’m finding my happiness and confidence increases. I’m finding that inner kid that flew down the mountain in the sheer bliss of wonderment and peace due to the simple act of running. I want the inner kid to line up at Bigfoot!

RACING TIP

 

PRACTICE 100-MILE PACING IN TRAINING

 

Lordy lordy lordy! To be disciplined enough to run a 100-mile race is amazing! To be disciplined enough to pace yourself correctly from the start of a 100-mile race is other worldly!

 

I have this conversation with athletes I coach regularly as a 100-mile race approaches. And it usually goes like this:

-Me - I'd like you to practice 100-mile pace on the long run this weekend. Try to stay at a 3-4 RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion) or zone 2 heart rate.

-Athlete - I can't go that slow.

-Me - You need to learn how to, and that is why we're practicing during your long run.

-Athlete - But it feels awkward.

-Me - So does mile 80 when you go out too hard!

-Athlete - ...

 

We all (usually) feel great at the start of a 100-mile event! Ready to tear into the course and put those miles in. We've trained, done plenty of long runs, and our confidence in ourselves and our ability to finish.

 

What we don't think about, and this is why I ask athletes to practice pacing for 100-miles in training, is our normal training paces is sometimes minutes faster than our average 100-mile race pace. Why is that? Well our training pace feels easy, so why shouldn't it on race day? Because that training pace is unsustainable for 100-miles.

 

We must learn to slow down. Teach our body that it can run at an easier sustainable pace. Learn to shuffle along on your recovery runs and a few of your long runs in those last few weeks prior to the 100-miler.

 

If you can learn this effort, your average pace will be much faster in your overall finish time, and you'll feel much better when you're able to still run at 80-miles versus hiking it in to a painful finish!

 

Training Corner

 

Strength/Hill Training Phase

(Image Courtesy of lydiardfoundation.org)

 

Last month I said that the aerobic base phase of training is vital to the success of everything that comes thereafter! Well, now that you've gone through the base phase, the Hill/Strength Phase is vital to the success of everything that comes thereafter!

 

In the base phase, we discussed the aerobic benefits that build you into a cardiovascular efficient machine, and that's awesome! However, if we go forward in training without catching up the musculoskeletal system, we are begging for injury. It's not to say that we are not working the musculoskeletal system in the base phase, it's just that it takes longer to develop than the cardiovascular system, so we must catch up the musculoskeletal system to keep our body in balance and decrease the likelihood of injury.

 

So how do we do this? By using the Lydiard principles of training, and performing his hill training drills to strength your musculoskeletal system. This includes doing the drills twice a week for four weeks.

 

For those experienced with performing drills, there are three basic drills to be completed during each session; high knee slow jog, high skips, and bounding. All should be performed uphill at a gentle grade (8-10%) for up to 200m depending on level of fitness.

 

The picture above at right shows how these should be performed on a rectangular course or city block. Ideally, the right side of the rectangle would be uphill and the left side downhill. The top and bottom sides of the rectangle should be flat. Road is fine, but ideally you would perform these on grass or dirt. 

 

The workout would go as follows:

  • Jog warmup - Whatever length feels like it adequately gets you loose
  • 4-6 strides on the flat to get muscles good and ready
  • Begin your first drill up (slow jog high knee) the right side of the rectangle (uphill). 
  • Jog across the top
  • Stride the downhill (left side of rectangle)
  • Jog across the bottom
  • Repeat this for 2-3 laps
  • Upon completion of 2-3 laps with high knee slow jog, switch to 2-3 laps of high skips, then 2-3 laps of bounding.
  • Once all three drills have been completed (6-9 total laps), cool down jog

 

If you are not experienced with drills, you should only use the high knee slow jog drill, but perform the workout as described above completing 6 laps at first and building to 9 laps over the course of four weeks.

 

If you do not have access to a hill with this setup, you can manage this workout by performing the drill uphill, taking time to rest, and striding back downhill to the start. Once recovered you just repeat until the workout is complete. You can also perform this in a parking garage or bridge to get the incline.

 

If you don't have access to any of these, you can supplement with jumping rope and box jump workouts. You may have to be more creative in how much and how you perform these, but their plyometric nature will fit the bill.

 

I made a video for these drills that can be found at:

https://youtu.be/9SBRcbfeQDU

 

B.R.U.T.E Challenge

 

Last year, I was asked to interview Natalie Daniel about her attempt to run five classic south eastern routes within a calendar year. This was known as the B.R.U.T.E. Challenge or Blue Ridge Ultra Trail Endurance Challenge. That conversation (https://themrrunningpainspodcast.podbean.com/e/natalie-daniels-3-unsupported-fkts-on-her-way-to-completing-the-brute-challenge-episode-56/)

peaked my interest as I had never heard of it before, so I had a follow up episode with Natalie and the creator of the challenge, Charles  Raffensperger. (https://themrrunningpainspodcast.podbean.com/e/natalie-daniel-finishes-the-brute-challenge-creator-of-the-brute-challenge-charles-raffensberger-episode-67/) 

 

To give you some more on the challenge, one must run or hike the following routes within a calendar year; Pitchell (NC), Foothills Trail (SC), SCAR (TN), Georgia Loop (GA), and the Massanutten Loop (VA).  

 

Most of these are bucket list runs for me, so to do them all in one year just seems like the kind of bad idea I love! Mind you, there is no buckle for completion. No FKT to be had. There's just the simple acknowledgement on the B.R.U.T.E. Challenge website that you completed the task following all the rules set forth by Charles (these can also be found on the website - https://blueridgeultratrail.wordpress.com/)

 

At the time this newsletter goes public, I will have 12 days until my attempt to run SCAR (the Smokies section of the Appalachian Trail). 

 

I'll keep you updated through Strava (Aaron Saft MR Runningpains), YouTube Channel (Aaron Saft), and through the newsletter.

 

I can't wait!

MR Runningpains Podcast

 

Learning from Our Mistakes So You Don’t Make the Same Ones w/ The Ultra Running Guys - Episode 103

 

I bring in The Ultra Running Guys to discuss mistakes we've made in our own running and how what we suggest so as not to repeat those same mistakes.

 

 
Listen Here

Hellbender 100 Podcast

 

A Focus On Pacers for The Hellbender 100 - Episode 13

 

We wanted to make a resource that might help your pacers just as we did for the crewing episode (#11), so Lyle Mitchell (paced Hellbender twice so far) came on and shared his experiences and pacing knowledge with me. We hope this helps your team & I hope you'll have a listen!

 

 
Listen Here

Aaron's YouTube Channel

 

Journey to Bigfoot 200 Training Update

In this video I talk about my 35-mile run, which is my first big effort and step along my path to Bigfoot 200.

 

 

Using Naked Belt to Fasten a Kogalla Ra Light

Shoe Review

Freet Feldom

 

My good friends at Foot Rx turned me onto this company and specifically this model. With more and more brands popping up, it's certainly difficult to know which ones to give a chance and which ones to forego.

 

Let me start this by noting that Freet is a minimalistic footwear brand. What I like about the fit is that it has a natural toe box. They remind me of the brand Topo in that regard. They are a bit higher volume, keeping in mind I have a narrower/low volume foot, so I had to synch down the laces to get the foot locked down. Once I did, I felt comfortable and secure.

 

I like the outsole lug pattern. I ran on gravel and it didn't pick up any stones and gripped well in soft dirt/mud. There isn't a midsole to this shoe as the carbon rubber outsole is all the underfoot protection. While I did feel some stones (it is a minimalistic shoe), the lugs were long enough to provide good overall protection.

 

The upper was soft with just enough overlays to make the foot feel laterally secure as well.

 

Overall, a great new option in the minimal market. They do have multiple shoe offerings from lifestyle to other activities/sports.

 

 
Check Out the Feldom Here

Gear of the Month

 

Naked Running SL Band

 

This waist band is the product I used in the above YouTube video to attach my Kogalla Ra. It comes in 1 inch increments to get the perfect fit for you. With generous open mesh drop in pockets, you can carry a lot of gear without bounce. I carried my cell phone and GoPro camera without causing bounce. They have a larger model that has deeper pockets if you really want to pack it with a soft flask, nutrition, keys, phone, etc. I've been very pleased with this addition to my gear line up. You can check it out in the link below.

 

 
Find Out More Here

Fuel of the Month

 

Long Haul Sports Nutrition

 

When runner Chris Roberts announced he was coming out with his own drink mix (all-in-one electrolytes & calories), I knew it had to well researched and a quality product based on the kind of guy he is. Chris, a great ultra runner in his own right, has so much experience and tested the product on himself before bringing it to market in the Big's Backyard Ultra where he ran 350 miles to come 2nd to Harvey Lewis. A testament to the product!

 

 
Check It Out Here

Book of the Month

Running with the Kenyans

by

Adharanand Finn

 

This was the first book I read by Adharanand Finn. I previously reviewed his third book, "Rise of the Ultra Runner". Another great read. 

 

In this book Mr. Finn submerses himself not only in the Kenyan training style, but the Kenyan way of life by moving he and his family to Kenya to live and train with the Kenyans in order to learn their ways and try to become a better marathoner himself. 

 

I truly enjoyed this book as it took us through, not only Mr. Finn's journey, but those he trained and raced with. A well written book I'm grateful to have read! 

Podcast of the Month

 

 Strength Running Podcast

 

Training Essentials for Ultra Running with Coach Jason Koop

 

From their show notes:

"Jason and I dig into many of the most common training questions from both new and experienced ultrarunners. He shares his knowledge and detailed, science-based explanations on many aspects of ultra training, including:

Why there is no set distance for your longest long run, and why it is more important to create a dress rehearsal for race day
Common failure points in ultrarunning and how to address them
Why fitness is always your best preparation for a race, no matter how mountainous
Addressing the elements of the unknown in longer races, especially in races of 100k and beyond
Why staying in the moment may sound cliche, but it’s one of the best thing ultrarunners can learn how to do
The benefit of back to back long runs (hint: it’s not just about running on tired legs)
Jason is a wealth of knowledge on all things ultra, and this is a podcast you won’t want to miss!"

 

Have a listen...

 

 
Listen Here

Song of the Month

ADD THIS TO YOUR RUNNING PLAYLIST

 

I Look Good

by

O.T. Genasis

 

You probably have seen the commercial that uses this song as its background music "I look really good today!" It's catchy and brings a smile to my face each time I hear it!

 

  Have a listen! 

Upcoming G5 Trail Work Days

 

Mar. 4 - Kitsuma

Mar. 12 - Star Gap

Mar. 18 - Trail Work Weekend

 

 

For more information and to reserve your spot, please click the button below.

 

 
Visit Here for More Info

Trail Maintenance

 

Carolina Mountain Club has trails that need a trail maintainer to adopt them. You can find out more information on the Club and contact them through the link below.

 

 
Click Here to Visit CMC Website

American Trail Running Association 

 

The American Trail Running Association, ATRA, was formed in mid-1996 as a Colorado not for profit corporation to serve the mountain, ultra & trail (MUT) running community. Our mission is to represent and promote mountain, ultra & trail running.

 

 
Sign Up for Newsletter

ITRA

 

Born in July 2013, the ITRA (International Trail Running Association) aims to give a voice to parties involved in trail running in order to promote its strong values, its diversity, the safety of races and the health of runners, as well as to further the development of trail running and ensure a constructive dialogue between the national and international bodies with an interest in the sport.

 
Learn More

POW helps passionate outdoor people protect the places and lifestyles they love from climate change. We are a community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders advancing non-partisan policies that protect our world today and for future generations.

 
Learn More Here

XOSKIN Discount

 

Receive a discount on your next order my using code:

MR Runningpains 

at checkout on your next order!

 

Check out their line by clicking the button below...

 

 
XOSKIN Website

Want to check out Xero Shoes? Click the button below...

 
Check Out Xero Shoes Here...

Kogalla Lights 15% Discount

 

I'm a Brand Ambassador for Kogalla. You can purchase through the link below, use code MR Runningpains, and receive a 15% discount.

 

 
To Buy Click Here

Get in Touch

Love this community, and happy to share what I know. Please reach out if you have any questions in any aspect of running, training, and or racing!!!

 

Sincerely,

Aaron Saft

MR Runningpains

 
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