Fix My Running

Leaking urine when running is way more common than it should be. Every week I meet a runner in the clinic with this problem. The degree to which urinary incontinence with exercise has been normalized is really disheartening. This is a significant medical problem. It is NOT normal and it CAN be treated. If you, or someone you know, is having trouble with leaking when running you are going to be so...

Achilles Tendinitis is one of the most common running injuries out there. It is also one of the most difficult to overcome. Research studies suggest that many runners with Achilles pain are still experiencing symptoms years after it starts. My guest today is Mike Morton. When we met a couple of years ago, Mike had been suffering from severe Achilles Tendinitis and had been unable to run for almost...

Symptoms of perimenopause can start as early as your 30s. They can include irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep problems, mood changes, vaginal and bladder problems, decreasing fertility, changes in sexual function, reduced bone density and a whole host of other issues. Pelvic Health Physiotherapist Michelle Lyons joins me on the show today to discuss the specific problems that might be affecting...

Some common mistakes runners make when carb loading for marathons include focusing too much on the night before, including foods that contain high amounts of fat and trying to eat more food overall - rather than just more carbs. In today's episode, Endurance Sports Dietician Stephanie Small will walk us through the nuance of carb loading for half marathons, marathons and ultra-marathons. Carb Load...

Do you suffer from cramps? Do you find you perform poorly when running in the heat? Do you ever experience a kind of malaise that leaves you unable to hold your pace? Have you ever dropped out of a race or ended up in the medical tent? Do you come home from runs drenched in sweat? Do you find salt stains on your running gear?   If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may need to le...

Today, we're chatting with Stephanie Small about Running to Lose Weight. Steph is a Registered Dietician who specializes in helping recreational and competitive athletes. You can find her at Stephanie Small Coaching.com . In this episode, we discuss the role of running in fat loss, how to avoid gaining weight if you're training a lot and how to modify your diet to allow you to lose body fat withou...

Click here to download your Free Marathon Training Plan Looking for an exciting new challenge? Feel like a marathon or an Ironman might be a little bit easy? Adventure Racing might be for you! In today's episode Triathlon Coach, Teresa Harrison is back to give us her guide to Adventure Racing 101. How to get into Adventure Racing 00:00:00 Introduction 00:05:43 What is Adventure Racing? 00:19:55 Ho...

Irregular periods are extremely common among female runners. However, just because something is common, it doesn't mean that it's normal. Menstrual cycle disturbance can be an early warning sign of something called low energy availability . This is when the athlete is burning more calories than they're taking in. This situation drives the body into a kind of crisis mode during which it will only f...

YouTube video of this episode Online Running Technique Analysis Discussed in this episode... 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:54 What does the evidence say? 00:03:11 Overstriding 00:04:23 Vertical Oscillation 00:05:40 Knock Knees and Dropped Pelvis 00:07:17 What is good running form? 00:07:55 Cadence 00:10:43 How to fix your running form Cool stuff mentioned in the show... 00:14:44 Top 4 Running Form T...

YouTube video of this episode Can I keep Running Through Pain? This must be one of the most common questions I hear as a Physiotherapist. The shorter answer is, actually, yeh, probably. However, as with most things, it's not quite that simple. So in this episode, I'm going to break this down into 6 separate questions. Is this a niggle or an injury? Can I keep running through the pain? Do I need to...

YouTube video of this episode The secret to avoiding running injuries is more simple than we often think. When runners get injured they will often jump to blaming their shoes, their technique, tight muscles, weak core...the list goes on.  Sometimes these things can be important, however, one thing is always important if you want to avoid running injuries, Adaptation . More from Matthew Boyd P...

Planning on doing a marathon this year? Hansons Marathon Method tosses out mega-long runs and high-mileage weekends—two old-fashioned running traditions that often injure and discourage runners. Runners using the Hansons method will gradually build-up to the moderate-high mileage required for marathon success, spreading those miles more sensibly throughout the week. Running easy days mixed with pr...

These training zone calculators help you determine your individualized training zones for running. We use three field tests that you can do with just a GPS watch or a running app on your phone and a heart rate monitor. We take the results from those three field tests to determine your specific training zones and track the effectiveness of your training. Full show notes for this episode including a...

Nowadays most runners know that including strength training in their program is likely to improve their performance. However, most runners aren't actually doing any strength training, and those that are may not be seeing the benefits they hoped for. In order to help runners optimize their strength training, I invited Rich Blagrove, author of the book Strength and Conditioning for Endurance Running...

This episode is part of the Running Fundamentals Course. A free online course to help runners understand the foundations of running performance. Just click the link to get the full course sent to your inbox. Running Fundamentals Course Why are my Running Heart Rate Zones not accurate? Have you ever wondered why the running heart rate zones on your GPS watch or running app seem way off? So, for exa...

There is certainly no shortage of "advice" out there about running form. If your social media habits are anything like mine, you can't scroll down your feed more than two or three times without seeing some video or image depicting "bad running form" or "good running form" or some sort of transition between the two. Heck, I've put up quite a number of these posts myself! BUT! What does the evidence...

Are you confused by Training Zones? Me too! There are many different systems out there that you can use to determine your training zones. These can be based on heart rate, pace, power, speed, effort. There are systems with 2 zones, 3 zones, 5 zones, 7 zones and even 11 zones! How are we to make sense of this? Well, we need to ask the question, what do all of these zones have in common? What are th...

Periodization is an idea that has been around since the middle of the 20th century. If you listen to other endurance-themed podcasts like this one, I'm sure you have come across it before. The basic concept revolves around structuring your annual training in such a way as to have you "peak" for a specific event or series of events. In order to achieve this, many great coaches have adopted styles o...

Hitting the wall is an experience most runners and triathletes are familiar with. Sometimes it's mild. Your energy feels totally drained and you want to stop. You may be able to continue but you have to slow your pace down drastically. Other times it can be a complete disaster. You crumple to the ground and wait for death. Sometime later, you seem to regain enough composure to stagger home or call...

Every runner gets injured at some point. Estimates on how often runners get injured vary, depending on which study you read. In any given year it is estimated that your risk of getting injured is somewhere between 20 and 80%. Many studies settle on an estimate somewhere in the middle, around 50-60%. Now, don't quote me on the math here as statistics are definitely not my thing, but doesn't that me...

In a previous episode , we examined the energy systems using a story about my cousin and I in a 5k race. Now, I don’t want to seem too self-centred, so in this story, I will not be the protagonist. Instead, we’ll invent a new runner…Carri. We’re going to examine Carri’s performance in the 10k and how it relates to her lactate threshold. Then we’ll discuss how Carri can alter her training in order...

So you love to run, but now you've got the news that you have knee osteoarthritis. You thought it was the end of your running career but you stumbled across a wonderful podcast that convinced you otherwise. After listening to episode 19 with Dr. Greg Lehman you are now feeling much more optimistic about your knee osteoarthritis. You're feeling that perhaps the diagnosis isn't a death sentence for...

A few years back my cousin, Adrian, invited me to do a Park Run . Park Runs are a popular event in the UK. Each weekend runners line up for a 5k race in parks all over the UK. It’s free to join in and a wonderful initiative that I hope finds its way to Red Deer someday. At the start line, Adrian said something like “I’m going to push it today, so I’ll just find you afterwards”. The clear implicati...

As runners, we don't think about the brain much. Running is really hard sometimes, but not in the way that quadratic equations are hard. So who the hell cares about the brain? Just keep the heart beating and the lungs breathing and let me get on with my race! Well, my guest today thinks that runners should be paying more attention to their brains. If they did, they may be able to enhance performan...

Osteitis Pubis is a relatively uncommon cause of pubic bone pain in runners. However, when it occurs it can be a real nightmare to get rid of it. A few months back I received a question about it from a listener... "Hi Matthew, I’ve been watching your podcasts on YouTube they’re really good. I can’t come to see you as live in England. I’m a 51 year old ________ trying for 5 years to beat 1hr45 for...