Below is a transcript of an episode of The Marathon Podcast. It’s been lightly condensed and edited for clarity. You can watch a video version of the episode above, or via our YouTube channel (subscribe here), or on Spotify, which now supports video podcasts. You can listen to the episode in the embedded player below, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
At Marathon Handbook, we talk a lot about the big stuff: record-breaking marathon times, the evolution of the super shoe, the psychology of race day. But this week, we’re zeroing in on the deeply personal, sometimes weird, always passionate questions that runners like you send us every day. Our Spring 2025 Mailbag episode is a reminder that for all the headlines and headlines-grabbing milestones, running remains—fundamentally—an intimate experiment in self-discovery.
We fielded dozens of questions from our audience across YouTube, Spotify, email, and social media, and we tackled them with our usual blend of coaching experience, gear nerdery, and mutual roast sessions. The results? A wide-ranging, occasionally ridiculous, and often surprisingly useful discussion.
There were practical inquiries, like: “Why does my heart rate spike at the beginning of a run?” (spoiler: it’s probably not your watch). Others came with an existential edge, like: “What’s the right pacing strategy for a marathon?” And then there was the internet’s latest enigma: “What are speed goggles?”
These are the kinds of questions that can’t be answered by AI-generated PDFs or impersonal Google searches. They require a panel of running nerds willing to dig deep into lived experience, physiological nuance, and yes, the difference between cardiac drift and Tokyo Drift.
Coach Katelyn Tocci broke down training cycles and helped listeners structure their mileage and intensity like a seasoned pro. Alex Cyr delivered confessions about his lazy calves and his personal war against the treadmill. I shared thoughts on coaching kids and why popsicle sticks might be the best motivational tool known to humankind.
We also revisited our running shoe hot takes, responded to accusations of Puma neglect, and settled (kind of) the debate over whether super shoes are just for elites. They’re not, and if a pair of Hyperions makes you feel like a racehorse, we say go for it.
And yes, sunscreen. And tattoos. And sunscreen-proof tattoos. It’s all here.
So whether you’re training for your first 5K, chasing a Boston qualifier, or just trying to figure out why your heart rate won’t behave, this episode has something for you. Maybe even a new favorite band (shoutout to Godspeed You! Black Emperor).
Scroll down to read the full transcript, lightly edited for clarity and speaker names.
Introduction + Boston Tease
We are doing a live show, Boston Marathon Weekend, April 19th, 5.30 PM, the Trident Cafe and Booksellers on Newberry Street. That’s in like, what, like 10 days, Caitlin?
Yeah, just a little approval. We’ll be there. Thanks for, I know why you’re saying that to me. I’m nervous.
Kaylin is running the Boston Marathon, but before she runs down Boylston Street, Victorious, we are gonna be on stage live doing yet another live show, our second ever live show, super excited about it. There are a limited number of tickets still available. You’ve got a RSVP, let us know that you’re coming. There’s like really only, I think, a handful of tickets left. We’re pretty much sold out, which is totally amazing.
We’re going to have some special guests. We’re going to do some giveaways, some special exclusive Boston weekend swag from us. And there’ll be free food and drinks as well. And it should be a really awesome time. And I’ve already seen the guest list. I’ve already seen who’s RSVP’d and there’s some like, there’s some special guests that are going to be in the audience. So I, yeah.
record holder. Can I say that? There’s a world record holder who’s signed up. I don’t want to say who. You got to keep a bit of the intrigue, right?
Katelyn Tocci (01:24.41)
my gosh.
Michael Doyle (01:28.216)
There will be a Boston Marathon winner and a world record holder for sure.
And that’s not the same person. We’re talking about two different people.
So April 19th, it’s on Saturday, nice and clear of Monday, which is race day. So you can come check us out 5.30 PM on Newbury street Trident booksellers and cafe. Great venue. Really awesome venue. Got set up there, but only a few tickets available. We will put a link in the show notes for you to get your ticket to RSVP for it. I would do so as soon as you hear this so that you’ve got an opportunity to come by if you’re in Boston.
And if you know somebody who’s going to be in Boston, share this with them so that they can come check us out. All right, let’s get into the show.
Michael Doyle (02:19.714)
This is the Marathon Handbook Podcast and I am joined today by my pair of Carrie Bradshaw’s, Caitlin Tosse and Alex Sear. Who does that make me? Does that make me, am am I, am I so a Samantha? Am I more a Charlotte?
Everyone knows you’re Miranda. Also, there could only be one Gary Bradshaw. Come on.
Yeah, we’ve got to switch it up. I’ve never seen it. I don’t know. And it’s you.
For those who have not watched a show that has been open on it. actually, I guess they did a remake of it or like a reboot of it a couple of years ago. Sex and the City. The main character is, of course, an advice columnist of sort. So today we are going to be bestowing our wisdom. We’re doing a mailbag episode. We’ve gathered together all of your questions over the last couple of months. We like to do one of these, let’s say quarterly. We’re sort of getting into a
quarterly routine here with the mailbag. And we hit a lot of questions actually through all of our various channels. YouTube, Spotify now allows questions and comments as well as emails directly to us. You can email us at hi at marathonhandbook.com if you’ve got any questions at any point or just post a question or comment on our YouTube channel as well or on Spotify. So are you guys ready? Are you ready to dole out your pearls of wisdom? I’m ready.
Michael Doyle (03:48.108)
Yeah. We’re to break this down into into three different categories. I’d say we’re going to do talk training. I’m to talk gear and shoes. We’ll let Mr. Sears steer the bus on that one. Lots of gear and shoe questions. And and then a third category, which the Jeopardy category, the potpourri category of the grab bag. So. All right. Before we get into this little tease for you guys.
I was in Atlanta for like 30 hours. I just got back this morning, recording this on Wednesday afternoon. The pod goes out on Thursday mornings. So I was there for a brief period of time for a secret mission with a couple of our colleagues. And all I can say about it is that there’s a video that’s going to drop mid next week, just before the Boston marathon that I think has.
the greatest piece of advice on how to run that damned Boston Marathon course that I’ve ever heard from anybody. And it’s from one Mr. Amby Burfoot, 1968 winner of the Boston Marathon and a guy who I discovered yesterday has run that race 28 or 29 times. He’s lost count. That’s how many times he’s run the Boston Marathon.
need that advice.
No, takes this person to impart advice on Michael about the Boston Marathon because you’re already so convinced, I think, that you know how to run that car.
Michael Doyle (05:12.065)
Either advice.
Michael Doyle (05:24.59)
Hey now I I am a student of the sport and I am a student of the Boston Marathon and I am fascinated by it and it is a unique a unique experience running that race because and don’t want to freak you out Caitlin because I know you’re running it in like 10 days time is uniquely challenging it it really is probably the trickiest course to just to get right
And, and he gives a really incredible piece of advice in this video that we’re going to drop on our YouTube channel in the days leading up to the marathon, which I’m really excited to see it. We, we traveled a long way to, to make this video. So it’ll be, it’ll be super exciting. So there’s the little like a little teaser, a little breadcrumbs that I’ve scattered here for, you to, so if you don’t subscribe to the YouTube channel, do so so that you’ll find out what that incredible advice is.
And while I was in Atlanta, was staying in a rather Tony sort of like residential area north of the city, very hilly, didn’t know where the heck I was. I was only there for essentially one day and our video editor Koske and I went and explored the hilly, Tony, it’s like kind of a suburb almost of Atlanta and ran around and a nice 14 K run in. And we went in search of a track.
Which have you ever, I have question for you, for you both. Have you ever gone for kind of an exploratory run while traveling and just happened upon like, kind of like a little Shangri-La of running, be it like a track or a trail or just a loop that you discovered that like you’ll never forget. And maybe you’ll never get back to, but it was like a special moment.
Hmm. Yes, I have one. have one, but I can’t say that I just discovered it. I sought it out because last year I was in Nashville for a conference for five days and we were in the middle of Nashville and it dawned on me on the first day that the only place where I could run, because I was in this big conference center, the only place I could run outside was like around this nearby shopping mall and it was an American shopping mall, some massive shopping mall.
Alex Cyr (07:44.064)
It took like two miles to circumvent the whole thing. Whoa. And so I had a new pair of Hoka Sky Flows. I remember I was reviewing the shoes. I just put on this pair of shoes and ran around the mall. after three days of running around the mall, I was so sick of it. And I found a runner at this conference was not even a running conference. And she told me the one place where people from Nashville run and it was at this park on the whole other side of the city. And you had to Uber there. And it was incredibly inconvenient.
But the cool thing was that when I actually got there, I took the Uber, I made it there and it was like this nice lush park. was like a three mile loop. There were deer all over the place, but they didn’t mind you. So I was kind of freaked out at first, but I just did the best workout. And I was like, the coolest part, sometimes the nicest runs come when you least expect them. And when you struggle through completely shitty runs for a few days before.
No, I have something so similar, Alex. Last year, I was in Massachusetts because we had just run the White Mountains Marathon up in New Hampshire. So I was staying in Natick and it was after, was it before or after? It was after the marathon. We were going to do a little touring around Boston. I wanted to show some of my friends where I’m from. And so we were staying at this house in Natick and literally, I had no idea, literally,
50 meters, not even a block away from the house where we were staying, there was this entrance to a trail and we just jumped on it. It was like a recovery walk, run a few days after the marathon and it just went on and on and on and on this like beautiful, pretty flat, well taken care of trail just in the middle of nowhere in NADAC and it crossed through.
You never heard of the famous Natick Trail, Caitlin? Where have you been all these years?
Katelyn Tocci (09:36.193)
Exactly. and I, you’re probably right. It actually probably has a name and it’s this, it was just this trailhead in a cul-de-sac at the end of a street in this little neighborhood. And it was amazing. So it was a great surprise. And I ran on it every single day. I was like, I really wish there was a nice trail like this near my house where I could just step out and, and go as far as I wanted to go. Cause it just seemed like it went on and on and on. So it was a really nice surprise.
Yeah, Koska and I ran, it was about like three or four K to get to, he wanted to check out this track. It was like a middle school track. And once we got there, it was like nestled in a ravine. was that orange, orange, Mondo surface track. it was, think seven or eight lanes. was perfectly manicured. Somebody had clearly set up benches at, at lap at lane four. So you could like.
your bottles there and grab bottles. It was just a couple of other guys doing a workout and then a guy and presumably his son and their little dog playing in the field. it was like perfect, know, twilight hour, magic hour, the light was incredible. I just cruised around this track while Koske threw down this like sprint cut down workout because he’s a 400 meter guy. So he did
200 150 150 with like max rest in between and was just flying and I was just kind of jogging along the entire time It was like kind of a kind of one of these special nights that I won’t forget. So Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that about running and I love I love like when you just find this kind of magical place It’s like a little moment in time that you’ll never forget a little treasure
A little treasure.
Michael Doyle (11:28.142)
All right, guys, you ready to reach into the mailbag?
Training Questions
Start answering questions. So we’re to start with the training questions. Very first one is about marathon training and confusion around how to approach that. So S L Dorse 42 on YouTube asks us, uh, they are
Presumably a recreational marathon runner. don’t know how much experience they have with the marathon, but they have this question, which is, I’ve seen two different ways to approach a marathon training plan. Either you build up your base to high mileage and then you just add intensity through intervals and long runs, but the mileage stays about the same besides down weeks. Then the other way is building base to about 80 % of the peak week.
And then you add intensity and mileage each week until that peak timing. Which do you think is better for continued growth? was reading that most pro runners build the base a lot higher before adding intensity. Did not know if you had any thoughts on that method for non elites, presumably this listener slash viewer. right. Coach Tossie, we’ll to you first here. I think probably to.
to unpack that a little bit further. There seems to be sort of this like confusion in the listener about what is the best course of action for them so that they continue to get better.
Okay, well let’s take a look. It’s going to, of course, depend on your experience as a runner. So I have a specific method that I use depending on if you’re a beginner and this is your first marathon or if you’re an experienced runner. So for a beginner, I would really focus just on that base mileage, right, for the most part, because it’s mileage that you haven’t run before and you want to really focus on that and not worry so much about speed, not worry about pace, not worry about time, right?
Katelyn Tocci (13:29.506)
we’re working on just increasing your endurance and getting that mileage up there for the marathon. Now, when we’re thinking about more of an experience run, things can get a lot more complicated. So you can get better at so many different aspects of running, right? So what I do when I put together a marathon training plan for someone who is more experienced, who have run a couple of marathons before, is we begin with the base, or if the base is already worked up from years and years of training, then we can jump right into the speed part.
You of course have to have your, your base. Now, when we begin the macro cycle for the marathon, what I do is I like to start with the least specific training. And then as we get closer to the marathon, the training gets more specific, right? So that’s the way I work. So what does that mean? The least specific training for a marathon is going to be short intervals, but short intervals help us because they help us with our speed and our power and we want to get faster. So I would do the first block with short.
speed intervals, and then I would go work more into long threshold intervals that are on the shorter side, and then tempo runs, which is on the longer side, right? And then work into marathon pace and marathon pace and threshold pace and just get as specific as possible for the marathon. So what I’m trying to say is not only would I add intensity from the beginning, but I would also gradually increase the volume as I went. So we would see kind of like an increase in both of those things, but
the intensity would change, right, based on the cycle that I’m in. So whether that would be speed at the beginning, threshold, tempo, or marathon pace. Okay, so that’s way I look at it. And I hope that that’s clear as to kind of how I would set up a marathon training plan for an experienced runner, not an elite runner.
Mr. Sear, does that check out for you as well?
Alex Cyr (15:17.07)
mean, listen, Caitlin seamlessly fit the word macro cycle in her answer. I’m not going to try to top that. What I want to add, and I think is important to add is, see in Mr. SL Doris’ answer, I see the words continued growth. Continued growth. Okay, for continued growth, you need a good base. And the best base is a base that you carry from season to season. And so I think the big picture thing
to keep in mind when you’re doing that and when you’re going those last few weeks is, you’re working to get that last five to 10 % of your fitness, like to get that extra last minute off your marathon time. Don’t sweat too much about the training that you’re putting in and like worry that you didn’t put in, you know, one extra session of intensity in the third week before your marathon. Make sure you finish the season healthy and come back. And that’s…
I think that’s the main ingredient in continued growth. This is a great question because like you need, want to get that last 10%. Like why not try to show up at the race a hundred percent ready? But I think at the, the, the underlying on the underlying level, try to make it healthy and then go at it again next year or next season. And, and then, and then you can entertain those like secondary questions, right?
Yeah. If you’re, if you’re a somewhat experienced runner or even you’re sort of, you’ve maybe done a couple of marathons and you’re, you’re now starting to think along these lines. You’re starting to think in terms of program, in terms of structure to your running, in terms of being like very like, uh, deliberate with what you’re doing every day and every week. Definitely look into the fancy term that Caitlin used macro cycle, meso cycles, which are the
the few blocks of training within your macro cycle of training for a marathon, the entire build and really kind of you. But I fully recommend becoming trying to become a student of the sport as a runner and nerd out on it if it’s your thing. And there’s we’ve got a lot of resources, obviously on our site. And you can ping us for more specific questions in the future for sure. But yeah.
Michael Doyle (17:23.576)
Peaks and valleys to your training. It’s not just a straight trajectory up on a graph. You need to take up weeks, down weeks, and then weeks in between as you climb up to the peak and then the sort of the peak within the meso cycle, a little block within your bigger training block. And that that has to all have a purpose as well. Right. So often elite runners, not elite runners alike, I think in the first sort of phase of your base, base building, doing lighter workouts.
shorter, faster stuff, even just strides once a week, 10, 15 strides once a week, like little 80, 100 meter sprints, really great for you. Hill sprints really great for you. A shorter punchier, fart-like workout based on time, like 30 seconds on, 30 seconds easy, 30 seconds off, a minute on, a minute off, that sort of thing, sort of bread and butter stuff to get you kind of like back into the swing of things.
and get you to that second phase of your marathon build healthy. Right. there’s a danger in trying to do too much too soon, both in terms of like intensity and volume usually leads to like just being injured like four weeks in. I will scuttle, scuttle your dreams. All right. Let’s move on to the next one. All right. So this one is about.
We’ve discussed zone two training in the past. We’ve taken on zone two training when we did our like trends and fads episode a couple months back now. And there’s some confusion here about zone two, upper limit and figuring out your zones. So Alex Turton, T O V O through two T O three VO.
Asks and he’s specifically asking our colleague Brady here because Brady did a great video on Whether or not zone 2 is the be all end all But we’re gonna take it on here Talks about your zone to upper limit being a large percentage of his max Because he’s more trained. But is this something that watches can do for you or do they just do?
Michael Doyle (19:41.326)
Do they just work for your max heart rate and create a standard threshold for each band below? In other words, how do we establish our zone to threshold or zone to what our zone to let’s call it for lack of a better term short of going to a lab. If we think that we are decently trained Mr. Sear. What’s your thoughts on this? Like how do we figure out? It’s a great question. Like, especially if we don’t trust her watch.
Hmm.
Michael Doyle (20:11.574)
Is our watch trustworthy? Should I trust my watch?
Yeah, I’m glad someone asked the question because it’s a question that I receive in person a whole lot. Like I had a friend who was purposely slowing down their runs, like to a shuffle because they wanted to stay in zone two. like, recognize we’re in this like weird zone two craze right now. It’s not a new concept, but it seems to be popular for whatever reason. like, how do you know you’re in zone two? Should you trust your watch? I talked to a physiologist about this actually, and he’s not all that bullish.
on watches when it comes to heart rate calculating not only what your heart rate is in the moment, he says chest straps are a whole lot more accurate, but also like whether or not that’s actually at your individual zone too. That’s asking a lot for a watch because it’s like, it has to keep in mind what your heart rate is and what your max heart rate is. And I don’t think every piece of tech can do that. this physiologist, I won’t name him here because I didn’t tell him that I was interviewing him for this podcast, but he’s a
a prominent well-known physiologist in the Canadian running world said that a better way to think about zone two when you’re running is to think of it as a rate of perceived exertion. So basically from zero to 10, how hard is it? And if you say you’re in three to five, so you can run, you can speak, but it would be hard to hold a real conversation, then you’re probably in the right zone. And I think that’s probably a better strategy than to like keep looking at your watch and
have it tell you that you’re in zone two because there you can really run into trouble. Now, as an example, my watch tells me that every single one of my runs is a threshold run and either I’m way less fit than I think I am or the watch is wrong. And so I think there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of error inside of that. So I think be careful.
Michael Doyle (22:01.056)
And so of course, Alex is like, the watch has to be wrong, right?
Right.
I hope so. I hope so. If not, I have the hardest training schedule of anyone in the world.
I mean, I run with my, my, my running best pal has a, a heart rate that is, have the exact same watch and he has a heart rate that sits about 10 points higher than mine. It’s just, and he’s slightly better runner than I am. So, you know, it’s, it’s a very subjective variable. And it’s something that I think that once you become a more experienced runner, you get a really good sense of where you’re kind of like your heart rate zones or where your workout zones are as well. Like easy run.
a steady state kind of like low lactate threshold, a more like core lactate threshold that’s a higher end and then VO2 max and then 15 seconds you’re going to collapse pace. So yeah, I think that that I think that covers it off pretty well. OK, so next one is an email from Adam Max Moxon Carter. Sorry, Adam, if I pronounced your last name incorrectly.
Alex Cyr (23:08.974)
I think.
email we got. Yeah, mox and Carter, we got this email eight or nine days ago and I promise you Adam, I’m to actually email you and provide you more detailed information here, but we’ll cover it off in broad strokes for everyone who’s listening. I’m going to start, he writes, I’m going to start helping with my daughter’s elementary school running club. Curious what tips Michael has for keeping it fun and motivating while also teaching them.
something along the way. Thanks. Okay. So long time listeners of the pod will know that I coach my kids elementary school track and cross country teams. And I would say coaching small children, elementary school age kids is a very specific subcategory of coaching, obviously very different than dealing with adults. And something that I’ve really kind of had to study and
wrap my head around the last few years of volunteering as a coach. And I would say first things first, you’ve got to embrace and program for the fact that each individual kid needs to feel like they’re a part of something and that it’s a learning experience for them and that it’s something exciting for them to do. you know, like I think the
The age old thing was that like running was punishment, right? And thankfully I feel like our culture is moving away from that mentality lately. And you’re given this incredible opportunity working with kids like, you know, show them that running can be fun and that they’re able to master something that at times is hard and challenging and that that’s a fun thing to do. Doing hard things is fun. And so my approach has been with each kid to find
Michael Doyle (25:03.478)
a goal for them to set for themselves. And that can be as simple as like we do popsicle sticks. Like we have volunteer parents come out and stand at a certain point on the course and they handed a popsicle stick for every lap and you set goals as simple as that. It might be a more performance based goal if the kid is a little bit older and they want to like compete at a track meet and they want to run a certain distance and they want to focus on that. And that’s great. But then even within that, you have to be very
aware that competition and being competitive, while it can be fun, you have to be very careful with it with a kid, right? You’re looking for, as we talk about with adults, intrinsic, not extrinsic goals, Outside the medal, winning the podium. You kind of almost, it’s valueless to talk to a child about that stuff. And I think it’s actually borderline dangerous to talk about.
that stuff with a kid. It’s more about like, what are you what what’s your goals going in and how are we going to be successful with the race? How are we going to be successful with your training? And that’s like a huge life lesson that you can impart on a child is like, basically kind of like going from nothing to something and figuring things out. It’s sort of what life is all about. Right. Another thing we do that I think is really important is we do the same
or a version of the same warmup before every single, every single run. So we have two to three practices a week and we get the grade six kids, cause grade six is the oldest grade in my kid’s school. Get the grade six kids to lead the workout, to lead the warmup. And we just do a little active like dynamic stretching warmup, know, the A’s and B’s and the C’s and all that stuff to get them warmed up. And I’ve
come to realize that that becomes this really powerful thing you can carry on your entire life. I’ve now seen kids that like are in middle school and high school now that I’ve coached when they were in elementary school. And they’re like, I still do that exact warmup before my cross country city finals race. And it grounds me and it sort of like kind of reassures me that I’m like doing things right. And I think that that’s a really valuable thing you can impart in kids. And there’s like a million other things I can go through right now. Get parents involved.
Michael Doyle (27:27.264)
allow the younger kids to come out and run with the older kids as long as a parent is there. Cause like kids in like kindergarten and grade one sometimes have a difficult time staying focused on running laps of a track or whatever. So yeah. So we get the parents involved, which is great. And they can sort of like, they can start their, they can start early and it doesn’t seem like a daunting thing later on for them. Okay. So Adam, will, I will write you a more
Small training manual via email in the coming days. but a great, great question and a fascinating topic. Okay. Next up.
Heart Rate + Physiology
Why does my heart rate spike at the beginning of a run and then level out after, after the first 10 minutes, is this a watch issue, the band too tight, so on and so forth?
Alright.
Katelyn Tocci (28:23.82)
got this one the other day. Yeah, I got this on the other day from one of my athletes. hmm. They sent this to me. I’ll take it. They sent this to me. And we started going through their, their runs on training peaks. And it was very funny because it was, yeah, it was like this little blip at the beginning and then went back down. But I remembered, I mean, this happens to me all the time. It used to happen to me all the time when I started a race. So I would start a race, a trail race. It would usually be pretty long. So it wasn’t something that would be so intense, right? You would probably think, okay, I’m going to run.
50 miles, so I’ve got to start out at a pretty even pace because it’s going to be a really long race. So what I would do is I would start out all of these races and the same exact thing would happen to me. My heart rate would be super high. And then after about five kilometers, it would start to even out and then it would level out for the rest of the race. So I, in that case, what I, what I realized it was is that I wasn’t warming up enough, right? So this is one thing because
You’re jumping in, you’re sympathetic nervous system activation, right? You’ve got to make sure that you warm up your body sufficiently beforehand because you’re going from zero to 60 and just beginning to run. So I feel like a heart rate spike at the beginning could be from a lack of a really good warm up before you get going. So that’s something that you could try out.
a watch issue. did a deep dive. I studied, I went onto a bunch of sites. I also spoke to a cardiologist. So I have a ton of different reasons or possibilities as to why this could happen. But that one kind of seems like the most common. Like you’re jumping into something, you’re jumping into an activity. And so then your body begins to level off and your heart rate begins to normalize. If you check your watch, make sure that the band is nice and tight. Also the skin.
It needs to be a bit like wet. If you start to sweat, it’s going to work better than if it’s on dry skin. And as Alex mentioned, the best thing to use would be a chest strap. You’ll probably get a more precise reading with a chest strap than if you’re using one around your wrist. And so these are the things that I found were the most common.
Katelyn Tocci (30:35.598)
They could take a step further and say there could be, know, metabolic factors such as, know, hormone imbalances, thyroid related stuff, but that’s getting really serious. And this is what the cardiologist told me. If you see a lot of issues and a very, and this continues and continues and the warmup doesn’t work and a lot of things don’t work and it starts to stress you out.
Then of course, it’s always a great idea to maybe get checked out. You could take a stress test, know, go see, go see your healthcare providers. Just make sure it’s nothing out of the ordinary. But when it’s something out of the ordinary, when it’s something ordinary, I would say tighten up that watch strap, get a nice warmup in before, before your workout and see if, if it, if it ends up leveling out. I don’t know if, if this has happened to you guys before or something you’ve seen.
I, this is something that, I experience like often, it certainly, if I’m running a race, I experience it for sure. I’ve, don’t know about you, Alex, but like for, especially for like a five or a 10 K I need to warm up for at least that distance before I’m ready to roll. I can’t just jump into a hard five K it just kills me. And if I’m doing a workout, I really need to warm up and five to six K just like you, Caitlin, like five or six K before my heart starts to.
I feel things start to kind of self-regulate. I think that’s just how the body works, right? I think so. takes a while for the engine to warm up.
Yeah.
Alex Cyr (32:02.638)
Yeah, I now have this thing where I’ve realized that the shorter the race I do the longer the warmup I need which is really weird because the 5k you start you’re going super intensely if you’re running a marathon You’re not hurting off the start so you can use the race as a warmup a little bit You’re still running at race pace, but it takes a while to start hurting So yeah for a recent 5k. I warm up 5k then I race the 5k it takes that long
Now I see that we’ve also got a question that’s like very similar, is why does my heart rate continue to rise throughout a workout even if I’m running at the same pace or effort the entire time?
famous cardiac drift.
Cardi confused with the third installment of the Fast and Furious series Tokyo
Tokyo Drift!
Michael Doyle (32:52.536)
Fast and Furious Cardiac Drift. Yeah, I think this is like, it’s a bit of a like, physiological phenomenon that you shouldn’t be super worried about. I would offer that if it’s like an easier run, maybe you’re running a little bit too hard. Take it, you know, run easier. I don’t know. Like, but apart from that, yeah, I don’t think it’s anything you need to freak out about.
Next one, training on a treadmill is versus always running outdoors. Do you think it may in some ways be optimal to do so? So what’s your opinion guys? What’s your
I would thoughts on training on treadmill versus always.
You go, you go first, Alex.
Okay, so this winter challenged me more than any other winters when it came to deciding whether I should go outside or be on the treadmill, because the winter in Canada was particularly brutal. And I came up with a rule. When I have the urge to go on the treadmill, instead of going outside, I have to ask myself, is it because I think the outdoors will ruin the quality of the workout? Or is it because I think the outdoors will be unpleasant?
Alex Cyr (34:11.903)
And if I can answer the former, then I go on the treadmill. But if the answer is the latter, I can use that day to improve my mental toughness and go outside.
Yes, totally.
Good rule. That’s a really good rule. I would say, and since you guys are in some serious weather, some serious cold frigid winters, of course the treadmill is an amazing tool because sometimes you just need to use it. I mean, that’s the way you’re going to train. you’re not going to train or you have to train on a treadmill, of course you want to train on the treadmill. Also, it can be a nice tool if you have a really, really specific workout and you don’t have a really great place to run it in, like a long threshold.
Work out like the workout you did, Alex, with your video where you need to have a very specific pace and you don’t want to be adjusting and looking at your watch every few minutes to make sure that you’re still on that pace or you don’t have a great place to, okay, yeah, can be a very, very useful tool. However, I feel like if you’re going to be doing outdoor racing, that outdoor running is generally going to be more beneficial, right? Because you need to be able to…
face the elements, you know, there might be wind on race day, there might be uneven terrain, you need to get used to it. Running on a treadmill does feel different. I don’t know about you guys, but my rate of perceived exertion, actually running on a treadmill is a million times harder for me. And I have athletes say the opposite, but I feel like, I feel like I’m flying and I’m like, all right, I’m going at six.
Michael Doyle (35:40.652)
Yeah, it feels like, yeah, it feels like you’re, it feels more stressful to run a treadmill. I think in part because you kind of know that the thing is just going to keep moving and keep dragging you through that pace, which creates a bit of anxiety. But then I also feel like it’s easier to run really fast on a treadmill because it’s just like, well, that’s the pace I’m running at. So I’ve got to, I’ve got to match this pace versus sort of like forcing yourself to actually get to that pace. So I agree with both of you. think that.
If it’s a key workout and conditions are not ideal out there and they’re going to compromise your workout and you want that workout to just tell you something specific about where you’re at in your fitness, for example, do it on the treadmill if you’ve got access to one, but otherwise enjoy the great outdoors. Indeed, indeed.
Face the elements.
And rate of, you know, rate of perceived exertion too, right? Like if you’re not hitting your numbers, but there are some pretty adverse conditions out there, that’s cool. It’s okay. You know, just like we don’t have to like, doesn’t, we’re not going for perfect scores here, right? Your body doesn’t know the difference between, you know, X mile pace and Y mile pace. All it knows is the feeling and you’re still, you’re getting that adaptation. So trust in the training. Okay. Next one.
