678 357 6406
We are happy to answer your questions

ask the coach

ASK THE COACH ARCHIVES ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
WE'LL TRY TO ANSWER YOUR RUNNING RELATED QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE SOME NUGGETS OF WISDOM. KEEP IN MIND THAT DIAGNOSIS IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR PHYSICIAN. COMMENTS POSTED HERE SHOULD NOT BE MISCONSTRUED AS MEDICAL ADVICE! USE THE FORM BELOW TO SEND IN YOUR OWN QUESTION FOR THE COACH. ASK THE COACH ARCHIVES ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

Have a question for the coach?

Radio
Programming question - Aiden
Hey Coach, I wanted to ask for your advice on my current training setup. Right now, I’m following a 7-day weekly routine, but I’m wondering if I should switch to a 10-day cycle to give myself more recovery time. Most of the time, I’m still sore going into my next workout, and I’m not sure if I should be pushing through that or adjusting the plan. (I'm a new sprinter 100m, 200m, maybe 400) Here’s what my training week currently looks like (other days are rest): Monday (High Intensity): Acceleration + Weightlifting Wednesday (High Intensity): Top Speed + Weightlifting Friday (High Intensity): Speed Endurance + Core Do you think there’s a better way to structure this that would help me progress more consistently and avoid burnout or injury? Also, I’ve heard that your training should change depending on the season (off-season, pre-season, in-season, peak). I’d really appreciate it if you could explain how that works and why it’s important. I’m taking my training seriously and want to do everything I can to perform my best this season. Any guidance or feedback you could give would mean a lot. Thanks so much for your time!,
reply coach janet
Hi Aiden, the questions you ask are quite complex and entire books have been written on different forms of program periodization. It's hard to know exacty what's right for you without knowing a whole lot more about you - your age, running experience, previous injury history, competitive history, etc. Start with the basic premise that you are having soreness that is unresolved by the time you start your next workout. That implies to me that you've not recovered from the previous workout. While that isn't a problem on a rare basis - it does seem that if you're having that on a regular basis that you are pushing too hard for where you are right now. If you're a student - perhaps it would be good to get in touch with your school track coach to get some guidance. Generally speaking off-season is devoted to building tissue strength and stamina, with limited amounts of high intensity work. That progresses as you're getting into pre-season where you ramp up the focus on specific intensity stuff for the race distance you're doing. In season you have to juggle a race schedule along with training - so some weeks will be different than others. I'm sorry I can't give you a more specific answer but that would require a lot more info from you. Best of luck with your racing! Coach Janet Hamilton MA, RCEP, CSCS, USATF-level 1, RRCA-certified coach.
neutral vs. stability shoe - emma
Hello! I started my running journey last summer and began running in the Hoka Clifton 9's (neutral) which were great to begin with. I then signed up for a half marathon and began training for that and halfway through needed new shoes. I went with the Saucony Hurricane 24s solely because I thought they were cute, not knowing that they were a stability shoe. I trained and ran my half marathon in those shoes but needed new shoes as I began training for my full marathon in October. I bought the New Balance Fresh Foam 1080s and began running in those but have been feeling posterior tibial muscle pain. Is there a possibility that training in the stability shoe and then switching to a neutral shoe could have caused this pain? If so, would you recommend trying to strengthen my posterial tibialis or going back to a stability shoe?,
reply - coach janet
Hi Emma, first of all congratulations on the recent half marathon! Can I safely assume this will be your first marathon this fall? If so - it could be that the increase in training load is one factor that's contributing to your posterior tibial pain. In addition, switching to a shoe that is less stable may also be part of the issue. If you did well in a more supportive shoe before, there's no reason to switch out of that. It may be that you could get away with a neutral shoe if you're just running low mileage, but your biomechanics may be such that if you push to higher mileages that the cumulative strain is too much. Think of shoes and orthotic supports sort of like you think of glasses or contact lenses. You wear those because your own eyes are deficient in some way and the lenses offer "support" or correction of that deficiency. Shoes and / or orthotics do the same thing. If you pronate a bit too far, or too late or too fast - then a shoe with a bit of stability can assist your musculature in supporting you. My standard advice with posterior tib symptoms is this: Make sure you're training smart (proper pace, proper distance progressions etc), wear footwear that is not fatigued and is appropriate for you biomechanics, and stay on top of calf flexibility (tight calves make pronation issues worse) and hip strength. I'm happy to help with more details if you like. Feel free to reach out via email to coach at runningstrong dot com. Good luck on that marathon! Coach Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, USATF-level 1, RRCA-certified coach
Our Athletes Share their stories
"We are undefeated coach! We prepared for 5 marathons together and we set a PR every time!" Paul S (NY)
"Janet's education, experience in patient care & as an educator give her a credible resume for advising runners. More importantly to me, she is able to reach out and see where I need a boost - nutrition, race day preparation, etc. She is intuitive in reading my running log and tweaks my training accordingly. I have worked with Janet for several years and I have been injury-free while snagging half marathon PRs." Cheryl (KS)
Over the years my running goals have evolved, and, thanks to Janet, I’ve achieved them all! Janet’s background in physical therapy and biomechanics was invaluable to get me back on my feet after a bad hamstring injury. Janet uses her knowledge of the latest scientific evidence to optimize performance. With Janet’s help, I’ve reached the podium for races from the 5K to the marathon and qualified for Boston. Most importantly, Janet has a positive, supportive coaching style, and is a pleasure to work with! Kathrine T (GA)