The Running for Real Podcast

For this special edition of Together Runs, join Tina and a group of friends for a run around Venice Beach, California. While this is an Allbirds event that it may feel you need to be at, Tina is constantly finding ways to bring in listeners at home. We do our usual body scan, senses check ins, and conversation, but this run is a little more upbeat than usual. Hear inspiring stories from previous podcast guests like Jordan Marie Daniel and Natalie Mitchell, and new friends met on that day. Check out Allbirds Weekly Strides Episode 8: What Should I Do If I Think I Have an Injury and How Can I Prevent Reinjury? Running Chicago Marathon? NYC marathon? Live in LA? Let Tina know! Find Tina on Instagram @tinamuir88 and facebook here. Sign up for 100 days of sustainability Through a monthly donation on Patreon. To sign up, click here. You can share on social media and let others know about what you are loving in these together runs. You can leave a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could be listening to, but we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that topic will relate to them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you for joining, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

What steps should I take if I think I have an injury, and how can I prevent reinjuring myself? That is a difficult one without knowing what the injury is and what your definition of injury is. During my training I would have many instances where I would have a pain, spiral into a world of panic that my season was done with, and then a few days later the pain would miraculously have disappeared. There are other pains that we deal with for a while as it progresses slowly from discomfort, to a little pain, to a good amount, to suddenly too much to bear, in which case you will likely be in a very different situation. The best advice I have is that if something hurts all of a sudden while running and is enough to make you limp or change your running form at all, or if it hurts the rest of the day after running, take three days off immediately. It can be hard to be in those three days and wonder if you are wasting your fitness when maybe it would go away on its own, but in my experience it has always been better to play it cautious than add that extra three days of impact that makes it worse. If it feels better after a day, resist the urge to jump back in; stick with the three days. If it still hurts beyond the three days, go see a medical professional. Resist (as much as you possibly can!) the urge to ask Dr Google, as it will tell you you have 736 different injuries depending on which dark hole you end up going down ;). If seeing a physiotherapist, physical trainer or athletic trainer, or chiropractor is not possible, go see your general practitioner to get advice from them. As for how to prevent reinjury, injuries are a part of running life; that is just a reality for us. However, you can give yourself the best opportunity to avoid them by first listening to that little voice in your head that says "Maybe I should stop" or "I'm too tired today" or "This doesn't feel right." We have been trained to push through that voice and listen to the critical one that tells us we are lazy or we are a failure if we don't get it done. Most injuries are because of overdoing it in the combination of stressors that we have in our life. The second thing I would add is to go find a strength coach to figure out where your weaknesses are, especially the one that has led to this injury. Even if you have a pain in your foot, the issue is not necessarily in your foot or even your leg, it could be overcompensation from your hips or glutes or even your back. A good strength coach will be able to look at the body as a whole and figure it out. Here are a few experts I recommend reaching out to if you live near them. If you have a question that you'd like answered, you can email kat@runningforreal.com and she'll pass it along to Tina! Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we're honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. Thank you for listening; we look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Actress, writer, and producer Juno Rinaldi gets her most creative ideas when she's running. A self-described "leaper," she never hesitates to try new things. She's one of the stars of the hit Canadian comedy, "Workin' Moms," on Netflix, and her web series, "My Special Guest," began its second season this week. For complete show notes and links, visit our website at runningforreal.com/episode317. Thank you to Athletic Greens, Tracksmith, and the Running for Real for sponsoring this episode. AG1 is a simple and easy way to get 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole food source ingredients to help strengthen your immune system. It's simple to make and it tastes good! Go here to get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D and five FREE travel packs with your subscription. Tracksmith is a Boston-based company that truly cares about the quality of their running clothes. Running can be demanding on our clothes; they definitely go through wear and tear to where we may be purchasing new clothes constantly. Tracksmith designers work with the finest materials and keep you in mind as a runner, with spots for your keys, phone, and fuel. Go here and use the code TINA15. You'll get free shipping and Tracksmith will donate 5% of your purchase to Runners for Public Lands! Running for Real updates: If you're in recovery from amenorrhea or RED-S, we'd love to talk with you about a project that we're very excited about. Please reach out to Tina on any of the social media platforms or to Sally at sally@runningforreal.com, so we can tell you more about it! Besides these regular Friday episodes, be sure to check out our short Weekly Strides episodes on Wednesdays, or join Tina for a Together Run on Mondays. Speaking of Together Runs, if you're running the Chicago Marathon or the New York City Marathon, or if you'll be in the L.A./Venice Beach area this weekend, let us know! Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. "Thank you" to Juno. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.

What should I look for in a running watch? Can I be cheeky? What do you want out of a running watch? If you are like me, you just want the basics. All those extra features are cool, but I can't really be bothered to read up on how to use them. Laziness, sure, but I also enjoy the fact that I'm keeping things simple. I have two watches that I use, a Coros and a Garmin. I love the Coros (this is not sponsored, by the way!); it has a long battery life, and I think that's probably my favorite feature. Garmin is a traditional option; it's very easy to use and the one I have is solar powered, so that makes me happy. And I also love that I can align that one with the Paceline app so I can get 5% cash back on health and wellness purchases just through doing my runs and going on Garmin. So that's really cool. For me, another important feature is that it loads quickly. When we have limited time to get our run in, the last thing we want to be doing is spending 15 minutes staring at our watch as we wait for it to find satellites; to me, that is important. But beyond that, a lot of watches have cool settings to help with workouts. I have used some of those for my fartlek sessions where you can set the time or distance you want to run for a rep and then the recovery time to match. For me that doesn't always work, as I don't have set times for my recoveries. They are often 30 - 60 seconds, or 90 seconds - 3 minutes, basically until I feel the right amount of recovered. For me, that's typically around two minutes for most things I do, but it's not set, it's kind of when I feel ready to go and I know that's not a very easy answer to transfer to your own life. You have to be able to listen to your body, but unless you're using one of our marathon training plans - we have marathon, half marathon, 5K/10K plans, and a speed training program - you may not have that problem. If you are using our programs, you probably won't be able to use the workout parts of it, because they are going to train you how to listen to your body in the same way that I do. One other feature I would say is important is that it hooks up with Strava easily; that is how most runners track their runs and connect with the community. Both Coros and Garmin make that easy, so I enjoy that. Beyond that, going back to my original throwing-back-the-question-at-you, "What do you want out of a running watch?" You know what features matter to you, so select one that works for you based on that. If you have a question that you'd like answered, you can email kat@runningforreal.com and she'll pass it along to Tina! Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we're honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. Thank you for listening; we look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Together Run 62 and the first since the news of Eliza Fletcher's death rocked the running world. Tina takes us through the usual grounding, meditative elements (which we needed more than ever) before talkign through the realities of being a woman. Herself running in the dark as she recorded this, this was raw and real. Together Run 62 has body scans, senses check in, nature check ins, mental health checks, and conversation about how we move forward. Join us for Together Run 62. Check out Weekly Strides Episode 7: What Are Some Maternity-friendly Training Gear or Clothing Brands? Tina is hosting a group run in LA next Sunday, September 18th at 9am from the Venice Beach Allbirds store, come join! Running Chicago Marathon? NYC marathon? Live in LA? Let Tina know! Find Tina on Instagram @tinamuir88 and facebook here. Sign up for 100 days of sustainability Through a monthly donation on Patreon. To sign up, click here. You can share on social media and let others know about what you are loving in these together runs. You can leave a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could be listening to, but we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that topic will relate to them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you for joining, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sidney Baptista is a coach, leader, and activist, and the founder of PIONEERS Run Crew in Boston. He's also the founder and CEO of PYNRS Performance Streetwear, which was selected to be part of REI's "Navigate" program and won the grand prize at the Black Ambition Gathering on the Vineyard competition this year. Yet despite those successes, as an entrepreneur, he still faces challenges. For complete show notes and links, visit our website at runningforreal.com/episode316. Thank you to Allbirds, Athletic Greens, Together Runs and Weekly Strides for sponsoring this episode. Allbirds' products are made from natural and recycled materials, and best of all, they know who they are. They are confident in what they do, and are changing the entire running industry before our eyes. You can see their entire collection on their website, and be sure to check out their latest running shoe, the Tree Flyer. AG1 is a simple and easy way to get 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole food source ingredients to help strengthen your immune system. It's simple to make and it tastes good! Go here to get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D and five FREE travel packs with your subscription. Together Runs give you company on a run, even when you're by yourself. They're for those times when you don't have someone to run with, but you don't want to feel alone. Tina accompanies you all along the way, sharing conversation, mindfulness practices, and helpful tips - it's as close as you can get to running alongside a friend without being next to them in person! Have a question about running? Ever wondered what a Running for Real guest has been up to since you heard them interviewed? Would you like to get to know the Running for Real community better? On Weekly Strides, Tina will answer answer your questions, catch up with previous podcast guests, and chat with members of the #Running4Real Superstars. The episodes are short, fun, and rewarding - the podcast equivalent of runners' strides! Together Runs come out on Monday and Weekly Strides is released on Wednesday. You can find them on your favorite podcast player and on our website. Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. "Thank you" to Sidney. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.

What are some maternity-friendly training gear or clothing brands? I tested out a lot of different products, and some of my favorite items are no longer being made, which is such a shame, and I hope that does not represent that brands are moving away from them. Brooks Juno was my favorite bra, but I was told recently they are no longer making it. Molly T. has a really cool bra, which I found wasn't quite tight enough for me, but if you are a little smaller than I was, it might be helpful for you. I also really liked the Lululemon Enlite, which wasn't a nursing bra, but they do have a front zip version, which helps. It was really comfortable when I had big boobs that I wasn't used to. That said, I think Cadenshae is doing a fantastic job with giving women cute clothing that fits well and is functional for life as a pregnant and postpartum woman. I had a lot of their bras and clothing, and I really liked all the items I had. One thing to note though, is that your boobs will change sizes A LOT during pregnancy and postpartum, which is a bit frustrating as you either have to purchase a few in different sizes and just wash the one that is your current size endlessly, or purchase them in one size and wear bras that are not quite right a lot of the time, either too big or too small. During my pregnancies and postpartum periods I went from a 32C all the way up to a 34E (so I needed C, D, DD, E, then back down again). And sometimes I also changed my band size. I would recommend having at least one of the biggest size for those early few weeks post-baby; you will need that support. You can also wear that really big one on top as you start to come down in size, wearing an additional nursing bra underneath. That's how I got some more life out of mine, but the unfortunate reality is that there is a lot of changing sizes and it's going to require multiple sizes. Maybe you could ask a friend to see if they have any to share with you. Then when you're done with them, you can pass them on to a Buy Nothing group, or a friend who might need them. If you have a question that you'd like answered, you can email kat@runningforreal.com and she'll pass it along to Tina! Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we're honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. Thank you for listening; we look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Runners needing something new on their runs, these Together Runs are a way to feel connected with the community, feel like you are running with someone else, while at the same time, having lots of quiet space and down time to ground yourself and ask yourself some grounding questions. Every Together Run includes a nature check in, body check in, senses check in, and mental health check in. Tina leaves space for you to answer each question she asks, and this run, before the sun comes up as Tina ran will set you up for your day. Join us for Together Run 61 (even though Tina says Together Run 63!) Tina mentioned Weekly Strides Episode 6 Running Chicago Marathon? NYC marathon? Live in LA? Let Tina know! Find Tina on Instagram @tinamuir88 and facebook here. Sign up for 100 days of sustainability Through a monthly donation on Patreon. To sign up, click here. You can share on social media and let others know about what you are loving in these together runs. You can leave a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could be listening to, but we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that topic will relate to them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you for joining, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Chris Koehn has completed 17 marathons, but for many years he viewed running purely as a warm up exercise. Today it's a part of his life, connected to what he calls his "hobbies" of architecture and music. We normally think of the things we like to do as our hobbies, but, he says, "Those are our true passions. And the more we connect with what we most love to do, the more it can lift up our spirit." For complete show notes and links, visit our website at runningforreal.com/episode315. Thank you to Athletic Greens, Tracksmith, and the Running for Real training plans for sponsoring this episode. AG1 is a simple and easy way to get 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole food source ingredients to help strengthen your immune system. It's simple to make and it tastes good! Go here to get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D and five FREE travel packs with your subscription. Tracksmith is a Boston-based company that truly cares about the quality of their running clothes. Running can be demanding on our clothes; they definitely go through wear and tear to where we may be purchasing new clothes constantly. Tracksmith designers work with the finest materials and keep you in mind as a runner, with spots for your keys, phone, and fuel. Go here and use the code TINA15. You'll get free shipping and Tracksmith will donate 5% of your purchase to Runners for Public Lands! If you've decided it's time to accomplish a new running goal, check out our 100% effort-based training plans. You'll run entirely by feel and if you've never done that before, don't worry; this plan is going to teach you how to trust your body to tell you what it's ready for. It will leave you confident, prepared, and in the best shape of your life. There's a 5k/10k plan, a half marathon plan, a marathon plan, and a one mile/speed segment plan. You can find them all here on our website. Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. "Thank you" to Chris. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.

What kinds of gym /strength training workouts should I do to support my running? I wish there was a simple answer to this one, but there is not. This is just too complicated to be able to give you any answer at all, and you probably aren't gonna like what I have to say here: Get a strength coach to find out. I know, I know, that's the last thing you wanted me to say, and as much as a certain running publication might try to tell you that there are eight exercises that will support your running and keep you healthy, the reality is, that is just not the case. But wait! Hear me out before you exit out of this page. I know that finding a strength coach can be more of a financial investment than you are able or willing to spend, let alone how overwhelming it can be to find someone who will be good at it. It also potentially requires a gym membership and finding time to go to the gym. I get it, and here is the thing, I struggle with finding the time for it too, or making the time for it. I am gonna be brutally honest here, and this could get me in trouble with the running community, but I will share anyway. Before I do though, if you are someone who has been struggling with injuries, if you are a masters runner, or if you have a goal that is really really important to you, then there is no way around it. You do need a strength coach, someone who is going to show you how to do the exercises correctly and watch you to make sure your technique is correct. With strength training, your form is everything. However, if you are like me right now and running is important to you, but you are willing to take the risk of injury over making time for strength training, you might be okay. But I want you to make sure you have weighed your options there. By not doing strength training correctly, you are at risk of injury. Okay with that? Doing exercises incorrectly may not injure you, but it probably won't help you either. We don't want to develop bad movement habits when our goal is to become better movers (runners). If time is in short supply, doing a longer dynamic warmup is one way to focus on technique in a controlled manner. We are going to be putting out some videos very soon about what that could look like, but for the time being, here are some from maybe 2014. No laughing! It's absolute amateur video quality, but it will help you with that technique side of things. And then for those who are in the stage of needing someone - if you've had recent injuries, if you are a masters runner who knows you need it, or if you have that big goal, here are a few things that will help you find a strength coach. Talking with other runners in your city can be helpful to find a qualified trainer. Additionally, searching for trainers close to where you live and contacting them for a conversation or a free consultation, if they offer that, may be helpful. Lastly, reach out to your chiropractor or physical therapist for a referral. I also like to ask trainers their thoughts on "core" exercises. If they start to talk to you about sit ups or crunches, that is a HUGE red flag to stay away from them. Your core actually includes the full trunk of your body, multiple groups working together as one. A plank is an example of an exercise that brings all those muscles together, as are the other four primary exercises my coach, Drew Watts, recommended as a starting point: split squats, glute bridges, pushups, and rows. While this answer is a little complicated, it really is best to start with adding to your warmup or to your post-run exercises. From there you can find a coach for a few sessions to find out where your weaknesses are or add in more strength training. Makd sure you are not increasing it during your peak running buildups. If you have a question that you'd like answered, you can email kat@runningforreal.com and she'll pass it along to Tina! Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could listen to, and we're honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that the topic will resonate with them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe? You can find out here. Thank you for listening; we look forward to hearing your thoughts!