Today's guest is Anya Mullen - she's not a pro runner, she’s not a PT or a coach, but she is a regular runner just like you and me.
She also has been working for Strength Running for the better part of a year now, helping me refine some of the content that you see on our various channels. We first met back in 2015 at a group run and started working together earlier this year.
Her running career spans nearly a decade and her life has changed quite a bit over that time, along with her running. Anya has run everything from a 5K to an ultra, including an unsupported, unofficial 50 miler that her partner talked her into (listen to the podcast for the full story!).
Anya Mullen lives in Colorado and has been juggling running with her work, family and home life. And that’s a big part of what we’re talking about today: just how we fit it all in, plus reflections on whether or not you’re a “real” runner, goals and how they evolve over your running career, especially after you have a family.
This episode is more personal and explores some of the issues that prevent us from training as much as we’d like. I hope you’re left with a few ideas on how to fit your running into your schedule, plus affirmation that yes, you are a real runner.
Show Links & Resources:
PATH Projects continues to be a great supporter of this podcast! I'm grateful for their partnership and want to share more about their products that I've been loving because they so functional and comfortable.
In particular, I’ve just started wearing their 3” Sykes shorts and they’re a little different from the 5” Sykes shorts (you can see those in action here). The material is thinner and lighter, which is perfect in a performance short, and they’re obviously shorter. I’m not sure if my wife thinks they’re too scandalous or loves them, but I’m wearing them constantly. And now that we’ve partnered for a few months, I can confidently say that their gear is durable.
PATH Projects is an online-only retailer of high-quality running gear and apparel. That means there is no retail markup, making their products quite affordable.
PATH uses new technical fabrics, like the Japanese fiber called Toray Primeflex, to create award-winning apparel for endurance athletes. In fact, their Brim shorts and Tahoe base liner won Runner’s World’s 2018 Gear of the Year award. And the Pyrinees hoodie was named one of the best six sweatshirts for running in the cold by Gear Patrol.
You know you'll be wearing the best when you select PATH Projects!
Todd is a former attorney turned manual therapist who scratched his own itch. After years of experiencing pain, he set out to understand what causes it, how to move better, and effective strategies for reducing pain and improving your athletic performances.
He has written two books, A Guide to Better Movement and Playing with Movement, which are interdisciplinary ways of looking at the problems of injury and pain. He brings in a broad diversity of disciplines like stress physiology to complex systems theory and then explains how that all relates back to athletes.
This conversation was wide-ranging and touches on subjects like static stretching, mobility, dynamic flexibility, how much of pain is mental, and strategies for having more fun in your training. Todd also gives us some tangible advice on:
I was also excited to hear that Todd is training for his first 5K. Tune in to hear about how the training is going for him!
Show Links & Resources:
I’m excited to announce our newest sponsor SureFeet. They make a colorless, odorless shoe spray that stops your running shoes from getting so smelly. They make their Odor Eliminating Shoe Spray in the USA and each bottle can treat about 10 pairs of shoes.
SureFeet sent me a sample and I used it on my worst smelling shoes and guess what? It worked great! This pair smelled from across the room but after a quick application of the spray, I’d say the smell was reduced by 95%. After wearing them a few more times, the smell was probably 80% less than how it smelled before I used SureFeet.
It works and my wife is very thankful for that. Just one quick suggestion: don’t put it on too thick because it won’t dry completely clear.
My next project is using it on a pair of new running shoes because it’s best as a preventative tool, rather than on already smelly shoes. It doesn’t wash off, wear away, or contain any nasty chemicals. Be sure to check out SureFeet and get a twin-pack of their spray.
Our guest is none other than 2004 Olympian Carrie Tollefson.
You might recognize her as a 3-time national champion, or the 1998 NCAA Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, or maybe you’ve just seen her on TV a lot. She’s been a broadcaster for years, having commentated on races for ESPN, NBC, ABC, and USATF TV. Her commentary has appeared in numerous world class races from the Boston Marathon to Footlocker Nationals, to the Tokyo Marathon.
In our conversation, you'll hear about her many accomplishments in the sport. But beyond those, she's a very engaged member of the running community and an active mom of 3 kids.
We discuss what us recreational runners can learn from the pros and her advice to new runners on how they can become more involved in the running community. She also shares her experience about the advantages of long and short runs, depending on where you are at in your running career.
Show Links & Resources:
PATH Projects continues to be a great supporter of this podcast! I'm grateful for their partnership and want to share more about their products that I've been loving because they so durable and comfortable.
PATH Projects is an online-only retailer of high-quality running gear and apparel. That means there is no retail markup, making their products quite affordable.
In particular, I’ve just started wearing their 3” Sykes shorts and they’re a little different from the 5” Sykes shorts (you can see those in action here). The material is thinner and lighter, which is perfect in a performance short, and they’re obviously shorter. I’m not sure if my wife thinks they’re too scandalous or loves them, but I’m wearing them constantly.
PATH uses new technical fabrics, like the Japanese fiber called Toray Primeflex, to create award-winning apparel for endurance athletes. In fact, their Brim shorts and Tahoe base liner won Runner’s World’s 2018 Gear of the Year award. And the Pyrinees hoodie was named one of the best six sweatshirts for running in the cold by Gear Patrol.
You know you'll be wearing the best when you select PATH Projects!
David Monti is the founder, editor, and publisher of Race Results Weekly, which is a weekly subscription service for the world’s running results. David also used to recruit elite athletes to race at New York Road Runners events and worked as a sports media consultant.
Through his work, he has a fascinating perspective on the sport. He attended and watched some of the most electrifying races the world has ever seen - and we talk about the races that most stick in his mind after all these years.
David’s consistent exposure to the highest levels of the sport of running also gives him a certain wisdom about where running has been, where it is now, and where it’s going in the future.
We talk about what has changed most in the running industry, what will likely stay the same, and what we might look forward to in the coming decades.
We touch on many different topics, including:
A big thanks to our newest sponsor, Elemental Labs, for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors.
Their citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite and I’m drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It’s tasty and delicious and I find that I’m not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn’t eating enough sodium.
There’s now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you’re worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.
And I’m encouraged by the fact that Navy SEAL teams, Olympic teams, and pro athletes have started using Elemental electrolyte supplements to improve their performance. Learn more about what they do at their website.