Run4PRs

Welcome back to the run4prs the podcast dedicated to helping you conquer the 5K and unleash your inner speed demon! I'm your host, Victoria Phillippi, and let's be honest, in the world of distance running, the marathon often steals the spotlight. But at run4prs we also specialize in shorter distances & we know that the 5K is where the real speed and grit are showcased. It's a distance that demands...

Strava can be a great source of motivation as it gamification of the sport of running, but can there be some downsides to the app? While it can be fun to scroll through and see what friends are doing for runs, does it promote constant comparison? In Jan 2023 I started to feel like people were ‘watching’ my training as I geared up for Boston 3 months postpartum from baby number 3.. Were people actu...

We talk a lot about marathon training on this podcast, but we should take a step back and chat about how to know if you are READY to train for your first marathon. It’s always about balancing risk vs reward. Training for a marathon is HARD on the body and if you don’t have a strong base going into the training you are increasing your risk of injury or burn out. We developed a prerequisite to marat...

Knowing what kind of runner you are is key when it comes to planning races. You may have seen a lot of hype on social media or the media in general about the world major marathons like NY and Boston. Even when I tell people I coach runners, I often through out names like “we help people train for the NYC marathon”. Why? Because most people have heard of these races. But just because they are well...

Treadmill running As we head into the winter months, it can be hard to train outside in the sub zero temps but it can also be dangerous with the icy footing. Many people opt for the treadmill for a number of reasons. It can be a topic of mixed emotions for many runners. I know I personally felt shamed by runners in the past for utilizing the treadmill despite exclusively training on a treadmill fo...

271. Did you peak with running already or is it a plateau? Have you ever heard the quote “what would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?” that is a good one for todays podcast episode. A lot of people would love to look into a crystal ball and see what their full potential is if they gave running their all. Many people allow fear of failure to hold them back from giving 100% commitme...

Before getting into the running, I was actually a SMOKER who couldn’t even run down the block. I used to hold onto the belief that marathons and races in general were for people who were not like me. I genuinely didn’t know that it was physically possible for me to build up to be able to run long distances let alone a FULL MARATHON. Now I have 27 marathons under my belt and have helped thousands o...

Winter is upon us! We are located in Minneapolis, MN where it can be sub zero temps and often hits -40 f windchills every winter at least once. When you running outside in January it’s usually a sea of ice and snow so much so that our ‘running trails’ now become ski trails with natural snow. We like to think of ourselves as experts in training outside during the winter months since it can snow her...

As we approach a new year, there are tons of athletes setting new years goals and resolutions for 2025. But in order to really achieve goals in the future, it is important to reflect back on what we have done in the past. Is there anything we want to change going forward? How can we become a better version of ourselves in the future? Many people set intentions to become better in the future but th...

How do you fuel a marathon Need to fuel every 20-30 min  60 grams of carbs per hour 1000 mg of sodium per hour This is not something that should be new, This should be practiced How to handle upset stomach due to gels during the marathon Fueling during training How much speed work should you do in the offseason: I won’t actually run a 5k until the spring Type of training during the offseason from...

How to get into the right mindset before a race Practice race mindset during workouts Do races in the build up Visualization How do you incorporate heavy lifting Start light- make sure you have proper form Do it on hard days or day after hard running workouts Consistency is key You don’t build during peak marathon training Offseason How do you know whether or not you need a trainer/coach No one re...

If VDOT says I should run 8:00 pace for a marathon pace but I plan to run 9:00 pace, when do I practice/switch to running 9:00 pace in training? If my goal is to run a faster marathon (I am a new-ish runner_ would you recommend doing shorter races during the spring OR focus on building mileage/base and long runs. I am currently running 25 miles per week and ran my first marathon in 2019 but not si...

ASK THE COACHES. Here are the questions covered in the episode: Racing specific  HRV has been great but tanked during the taper How to run CIM Top 3 things to consider when buying marathon training shoes Training specific  How important is strength during the winter months?  If I can hold threshold for 1-1.5 hours, how long can i sustain zone 3 work (lower HR)

262. STRENGTH TRAINING BENEFITS) Runners love to go hard. We love to keep moving and push ourselves. When we get into different exercises practices that are not as ‘fast paced’, it can feel strange. I have heard runners describe strength training as ‘boring’ or not feeling like they are ‘doing anything’. I have also heard runners say that they are ‘too sore’ from strength training to do their work...

Breaking down the barriers to tri Jason and I recently finished Ironman California. We were asked to do a podcast episode of our experience and answer some of the FAQs we have been getting. I think many runners and endurance athletes have a bucket list goal of doing a tri or an ironman, and we wanted to shed some light on what it might look like to take the dive. I did my first ever tri less than...

261. ASK THE COACHES 1. Muscle cramps at 38k. How much sodium an hour should I be taking? Only drank water and 1000mg of sodium in gels 2. Best snacks during carboloading & traveling 3. My HR zones and different in training peaks vs Garmin: which is accurate? https://help.trainingpeaks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017420092-Zones-Calculator-Overview 4. What are your personal favorite gel brands to...

You may have heard the phrase the ‘reverse taper’ lately. It can be all the rage on social media to use the term, but what does it really mean? I personally don’t love to use this term because after a goal race you don’t literally reverse the taper. If you did literally reverse the taper, you would probably end up injured and burnt out. The idea behind the reverse taper is that you would gradually...

Intentional training is key to success. We all know this in regards to marathon training or half marathon training. We will try to find the perfect plan leading up to our goal race. We stick with it, we train with a purpose! We practiced our fueling. We hit the mileage. We run the workouts… But marathon training blocks are usually only 12-20 weeks long. What are we doing the other 40-32 weeks out...

With fall marathons occurring soon, we are right around the corner to offseason training. If you follow runners on social media you will notice a few trends… Either there are the athletes who take time off after their goals races and then there are those athletes who appear to continue to train and put in some serious mileage even after 2 back to back marathons this fall. Why do some people appear...

Pacing properly in a race is key to actually racing to your potential and being able to run a time that is reflective of your fitness. The biggest mistake more athletes make is going out ‘too fast’ in a race. There can also be the mentality of holding back too much or starting too slow, but they are rare. We want to aim for our races to be even split or even a slight negative split. In recent year...

256. HELPING WITH RACE NERVES Worrying is suffering twice :) We have all been there. We all get nervous on race day to an extent. Some suffer from more race day anxiety than others. We care about our performances. We put a lot of time and energy into our training, and we hope that it all pays off on race day. It is good to care about your running, but we don’t want to be so nervous for a race that...

A lot of our content on the podcast and social media is about running marathons. Naturally many people want to improve their running which is sometimes measured in running your ‘fastest times’. This podcast episode is going to be talking about all the ways you can run your fastest marathon time. We won’t limit this episode to just ‘training tips’ but we will also add ways you can select a fast cou...

As we get closer to fall races, more athletes are getting ready to run their fall races. As we get closer to these races, it is good to talk about one of the most important parts of your training plan: the taper! What exactly is the taper? It’s not exactly a time to kick back and relax/do nothing. The taper is going to give you a chance to peak for your race at the right time. If you do too short...

We focus a lot on setting time based goals. Round numbers always sound and look cool, but what else is there when it comes to setting goals? Did you know there are other ways to measure progress? Non-time based goals can be great for all athletes because they allow us to measure progress against

Most athletes are on a quest to improve. People like to see progress and no one wants to see that their hard work is actually moving them in the opposite direction of where they want to go. However, when there is not enough recovery in your training program, your body is not able to recover from the stressload of training. If you cannot recover from the stress of training, you will not be able to...