Episode 11: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes with guest Lori Thomson

In this episode of the All Things Endurance podcast, host Rick Prince chats with self-defense expert, James Jankiewicz.   It is an unfortunate reality that recently, a month or two do not go by without hearing about someone being assaulted while exercising outdoors, often with horrific consequences. As the growth of trail/ultrarunning and gravel cycling is on a meteoric rise, there are more athletes running and cycling in isolated areas than ever before. While learning self-defense is important for everyone to know, it’s never been more important amongst those that exercise in isolated environments.   This is not noted as a scare tactic but that of reality. In this podcast, James discusses the following areas:1.       James’s background 2.       How is the form of self-defense discussed by James different from other forms of self-defense and why is it the most effective?a.       Discuss traditional self-defense models3.       What are some of the most important aspects to the recommended form of self-defense?4.       What are some situations to try to avoid if possible (ie. Running in isolated areas by themselves)?5.       What about carrying things such as pepper spray or other things like that?6.       What are some of the key target areas on a human?7.       What about defending yourself against animals such as dogs, wildlife?8.       Discuss the difference when self-defense become necessary between doing it when tired (during a run) or when not tired and how to train for this.9.       Does the size/weight of an attacker influence one’s response? As noted in the podcast, James is developing a self-defense specialization course for UESCA which will be free of charge for everyone due to its importance. When this course launches, UESCA will announce it via newsletter and social media channels. 

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with Geoff and Heather Hart, co-owners of Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching. The podcast topics center around how to scale one’s coaching business, with a lot of emphasis on how and when to bring on other coaches to work for you. They focus on road runners and ultrarunners, as well as strength training. In addition to coaching, Heather was also a presenter (strength training) at last year’s UESCA Ultrarunning Coach Conference. As Geoff and Heather have built a very successful and sustainable coaching practice, if you want to build a solo coaching practice, or one that employs other coaches – this podcast is gold! Some of the topics discussed are:1.       What got you and Geoff into coaching? What did you guys do before coaching?2.       Have you always been ultrarunning-focused coaches?3.       When, and how did you decide to bring on another coach(es)?4.       What are the main qualities that you look for when bringing on more coaches?5.       Are there any legal considerations to consider when hiring coaches?6.       How much time do you spend on your clients vs. managing your business/other coaches?7.       How do you market your coaches/coaching business?8.       What are some of the biggest challenges of having coaches work for you?9.       When an inquiry comes in for coaching, how do you determine what coach you select to work with the athlete?10.  If someone was looking to hire coaches under them, what is some advice you would give them?

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with cycling race director, Micah Rice, about the rise in popularity of gravel riding/racing, and what the future or gravel riding looks like. Micah is the race director of one of the most popular gravel races in the United States, SBT GRVL, and other gravel and mountain bike events such as Pikes Peak Apex.   Micah has over 25 years of being involved with some of the most prestigious cycling events in North America, including a role as VP of National Events with USA Cycling. As such, Micah brings a level of experience and knowledge regarding the current and future of gravel riding/racing that few others possess. 

In this episode of the All Things Endurance Podcast, host Rick Prince chats with renowned ultrarunning coach/author and UESCA principal, Jason Koop about training considerations for 100+ mile ultramarathons. Across many endurance sports disciplines, there is a trend toward longer distance races, and ultrarunning is no exception. Some of the topics that Rick and Jason discuss are:1.       Why do you think there is such an interest in 100+ mile ultras now?2.       From a volume perspective, are there any general training guidelines that athletes looking to target 100+ mile races should pay attention to?3.       From a nutritional demand standpoint, what, if any are the differences between a 100+ mile ultra and a < 100+ mile ultra?4.       Should someone racing a 100+ mile ultra, still include intensity in their training program?5.       Are there any race distance prerequisites that someone racing an 100+ mile ultra distance should consider?6.       Any special training/race prep considerations to take into account if training for a 100+ mile ultra?

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with strength and conditioning specialist, Lori Thomson regarding strength training for endurance athletes. Lori is a former gym owner and is currently a strength and endurance coach, as well as a Ph.D candidate in exercise science. Below are some of the topics that were discussed in this episode:Strength training is often at odds with endurance athletes, why is this and is this changing?Benefits of strength training for endurance athletesHow should an endurance athlete integrate strength training into their program?What is concurrent training and how is it best implemented?Should endurance athletes stay away from lifting heavy weights?When in a training program should endurance athletes perform strength training?What exercises apply to most endurance athletes?

 In this episode of the All Things Endurance Podcast, host Rick Prince chats with physical therapist, Sammie Lewis on injury prevention, prehab and rehab. Sammie discusses a wide range of topics to help athletes and coaches better understand injury prevention and when to see a physical therapist. 

If you’re interested in learning about optimizing your health and performance via nutrition, consider this podcast a must! In this episode, host Rick Prince chats with registered sports dietitian, Bob Seebohar. Bob is a seasoned sports dietitian who specializes in working with endurance athletes. In this podcast, Bob discusses a wide range of topics that relate to nutritional programming for endurance athletes. 

In this episode, All Things Endurance Host, Rick Prince, speaks with Jayme Linker. Jayme is a Colorado native who, along with her team, is planning to become the first individuals to row the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans consecutively. They will be attempting this in 2024. Jayme discusses what it takes to train for such an endeavor, as well as what is required from a logistical point of view. It's a fascinating discussion.  This podcast episode is unique in the fact that ocean rowing is not one of the ‘mainstream’ endurance sports and therefore, it contains a lot of eye-opening information. We hope you enjoy it!

In this episode of the All Things Endurance podcast, host Rick Prince speaks with environmental physiologist, Corrine Malcolm. In addition to being an environmental physiologist, Corrine Malcolm is also a professional ultrarunner with Adidas Terrex. Rick and Corrine discuss a wide range of topics pertaining to athletic performance in various environmental conditions such as heat, humidity, cold, altitude, and air pollution. 

In this episode, Cindy Abrami, who is also a partner at UESCA, discusses how to start and structure a group training program. Among endurance athletes, training in groups is quite commonplace – whether it be teams or social gatherings, group training is a popular offering. As such, a common question of new coaches is how to start a group training program. People start group training programs for all different reasons. Some of these reasons include marketing for their coaching practice, revenue generation (fee-based program), raise money for charity as a group, etc... Regardless of the reason for starting a group training program, there are several key things that someone would need to be aware of to give them the best possible chance of success. In this podcast, Cindy discusses all of these key areas and more!