Tag Archives: running coach

READY FOR LP REVIEW – Who Is The Best Beginner Runner? It’s NOT Who You Think!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

So, Who Is Really The Best Beginner Runner? It Might NOT Be Who You’d Think!

ARE 20 YEAR OLDS BETTER AT BEGINNING RUNNING?

Have you always had the desire to become a runner, but you’re 50+ and you think there’s no way that that’s probably going to happen? Well, think again! haha I call BS on that!

I think I’m pretty much an expert on this topic, not because of me my personal experience. I started running in my late 30s, just so you know, and that’s not that old! I hate to even use the word ‘old’.

If I think about it, I know that 20-year-olds sound like they’d be ‘the perfect beginner runner,’ right? Because they’re young, they’re fresh, and they can do pretty much whatever they want with their bodies. But that’s one of the reasons I think they’re not the best.

ARE 50+ YEAR OLDS BETTER AT BEGINNING RUNNING?

So let me tell you some of the reasons why I think a 50+ year old (woman, especially) is perfect to become a beginner runner. I’m a running coach – and again, I started a little later in my life, not quite in my 50s, but close – and the people I coach are mostly 50+.  As a matter of fact, I had one of my runners, who is now 64, do her first 100K last month! (A 100K is 62 miles, btw!) Now, okay, that’s a little bit out of control in the sense that, if you’ve never even thought about running, I know that sounds crazy to you! But that’s what happens when you actually get into a community of women who help support you and want you to do whatever you want and whatever feels good for you.
So let me tell you why I think again that we 50+ women are the best candidates to become beginner runners.

ASKING FOR HELP

First of all, we’re generally not afraid to ask for help. I teach ChiRunning – a running technique I think is a hugely beneficial skill for anybody starting to run, but especially as we get older! Learning technique is huge.In my ChiRunning workshops, I’d guess about 80 percent of the people who show up are women mainly 50+. I’ll get a couple of younger women, or maybe even a couple of guys, but I think as women in this age group, we’re just not afraid to ask for help. By the time you reach this age, if you need some help you’re going to look and you’re going to try to figure out the best way to find it.

MORE SELF-AWARE OF OUR BODIES AND PAIN

Another important thing is that we’re more aware of our bodies as they are aging. We want to make sure that we’re doing things the right way to avoid injury.

In my workshops you’ll learn how to run and get technique tips that will make your running easier and more efficient. As opposed to somebody who’s younger – and even though I’m stereotyping here – stereotypes are there for a reason. You’d probably agree that someone who is younger is maybe not as open to getting help or guidance, and is more likely to try to push through any pain or potential problems.

They might think, ‘Oh, this shin pain is probably normal’ or ‘This knee pain is normal. I’m just going to keep pushing through without really thinking about the consequences that are going to be there in 20 years or so.’

I think, as as we age, we’re just more aware of this. So, if you really think about those two things and what what that actually means or what they have in common – and I think this is just something I feel I’ve learned about myself as I’ve gotten older and wiser – is that we tend to drop the ego. Running can be a very egocentric sport. You see it all the time with people comparing their paces and how fast are you and as soon as you get done with a 5k or any distance. You’ve probably had people asking you, ‘What was your time?’ so it can be a very egocentric sport.

CARING LESS ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK OF US

As we age, we kind of really start caring less about what people think. Don’t get me wrong, this is still probably one of the biggest mindset things that I work with with my TRU Tribe ladies, but at the same time, I think we’re much more open to the fact that we have to let our egos go, right? So if that’s the case, then you’re going to be more likely to learn how to run (and, hey, I can definitely help you out with that! 😉 )

SURROUNDING OURSELVES WITH A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY

Then the other thing is, I think as women and as we get older, we tend to find other women that we can bond with around things that we enjoy. And that’s really pretty much exactly what my TRU TRIBE (this is my online community of women) is all about!

Bringing women together into a community is what I do! We have an online community and that’s exactly what we do there. Pretty much everybody’s about 50+ and at all different levels. I have people who have just completed their first 5Ks, and I have somebody who just did her first 100K!

does this sound like YOU??  

  • Do you feel comfortable asking for help?
  • Do you feel more self-aware of your body and avoiding the aches and pains?
  • Are you less worried about what others may think of you as you get older?
  • Do you enjoy the company and camaraderie of other women who feel like you do and are looking for more ways to enjoy their lives?

This is us! This is our TRU Tribe community! 

JOIN US TODAY

If you are even in the slightest bit interested in joining an awesome community of 50+ women, just send me an email Lisa@TheRunningUniversity.com and say, ‘Hey I saw your your video and I’m interested in a 30-day free trial in your TRU Tribe!’ I’d love to have you come in check it out. 😊

The Key to Avoiding Knee Pain When Running

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

‘Running will be hard on your knees,’ they said… and, hey, they’re not wrong, but it’s not ‘running’ that causes pain. It’s HOW you run.

Today I want to talk a little bit about running technique. (Of course, if you’ve been following me for a while, you already know that I’m a ChiRunning Master Instructor and that ChiRunning has absolutely changed my life.) A lot of times, when we talk about knee pain, there are various things in your run that will cause knee pain. I’m going to lay them out for you. At the end of this blog post, I’m also going to give you the quickest tip on how you can avoid all the things I’m talking about without really having to focus on them.

HEEL STRIKING

So first of all, one the major underlying causes of knee pain is heel striking – putting your front foot too far ahead of you during your stride. If you’re looking to avoid knee pain, you really want to avoid heel striking. Ideally, you’re going to land on a midfoot strike.

OVERSTRIDING

The two biggest causes of knee pain are overstriding and heel striking, and many runners do both at the same time. What that looks like is this (see video for demonstration). You can see here that I’m overstriding AND I’m heel striking. When you bring your foot out in front of you, it’s that impact from the heel strike and your foot landing in front of you which can cause knee pain. Again, it’s directly related to overstriding. What happens is that runners reach out with their foot, they heel strike, they land, they brake, they put that impact on the knee, and then they paw their way across the ground to move forward. This style of running ‘technically’ works, but running this way is also potentially an easy way to get injured. And it’s also pretty inefficient, since you’re actually slowing yourself down when you’re heel striking.

LIFTING THE KNEES

Another thing I see a lot of runners do is that they lift their knee. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos and I see a lot of people talking about lifting your knee for power. While this style might be appropriate for power sprinting quick short distances, it’s much less efficient for longer distances and actually takes more energy, so we don’t do that at all in ChiRunning. We keep our knees down because we use our core and posture to help us fall forward. By lifting your knee higher, you’re going to be using a lot more leg muscle than we like to do.

If you want to become a more efficient runner, you’ll want to avoid heel striking AND you want to avoid lifting your knee as much as possible. You always want to make sure that your knee is bent and it’s soft when you land, instead of it coming out in front of you and locking.

FOOT SPLAY

You also want to make sure that you don’t have a ‘splay’ in your gait. That would mean that your feet should always be pointing straight forward. If your feet splay out like this (see video for demonstration), what’s happening is you’re torqueing your whole entire leg, which is basically affecting your entire kinetic chain from the hip all the way down.  Over time and miles, this is going to have a negative effect on your running and your body.

RUNNING CADENCE

Keeping a good cadence is another way to avoid knee pain and that will actually bring everything together. 170 to 180 bpm is the ideal cadence that you want to keep. This cadence will keep your strides shorter and quicker, which should naturally help you heel strike and overstride less.

HOW TO INCORPORATE ALL THESE WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT

Now, for my favorite tip on how to avoid all of those things without focusing on them…
What I have found as I’ve been teaching running technique to thousands of runners over the last 10 years is that when runners think too hard about not overstriding and not heel striking and not doing all the things they’re trying so hard to make it happen, that they’re really not RELAXED anymore.

So, the best way to go about it is to really think about moving from the center of your body (basically your center of gravity). In ChiRunning and in Tai Chi, we call it your ‘dantien.’ Basically, your dantien is going to be about a couple of inches below and about one to two inches behind your belly button. That is your center of gravity. It’s just a location in your body that is an energetic location but also your center of gravity or your center of mass.

So what you want to do is you always just want to make sure that you’re keeping the center of your body directly above your feet, so your feet should never come out in front of the center of your body. It’s going to look something like this (see video for demonstration). And the wrong way to do it would be to reach out in front of you like this.

So these are a few individual elements to avoid developing knee pain. These technique focuses all build on one another, but instead of focusing on each ‘individual’ thing that your leg should not be doing, just try putting your center (dantien) ahead of your feet, and this could eliminate the heel striking or lifting the knees as a result of this one change.

At this point in the workshop, people often ask me about opening up their stride and getting faster! That topic is a little too much to go into right now, so I’ll save that for another video. But yes, that’s how it will eventually happen. Your stride will open up behind you as you move your center farther forward and you pick up speed. Just keep in mind that, as you get faster, your stride doesn’t open up IN FRONT OF you (which can bring back the heel striking and lifting the knees), but BEHIND you (which avoids these potentially harmful and less efficient motions).

A QUICK TRU REVIEW: HOW TO AVOID KNEE PAIN FROM RUNNING 

  • Avoid Heel Striking
  • Avoid Overstriding
  • Don’t Lift the Knees
  • Check for Foot Splay
  • Running Cadence of 170 to 180 bpm to Keep Shorter Quicker Strides
  • Move your center of mass/gravity (your dantien) forward (in front of your feet)

Let me know how it goes!

How To Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Runners

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

 How To Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Runners

Most Runners Compare Ourselves to Others At Some Point

Hey, I’m a running coach and I still have issues with my self-confidence. Don’t get me wrong, I’m getting better at it, but, you know, there are a lot of times that you can really get in your head when it comes to running, especially when it comes to comparing yourself to everybody else.

Running is really one of those sports that it’s so easy to compare yourself to other people: you can compare your paces, how much time others run, how far everybody else is going. It can be really hard on your mind and you can they can really make you feel like s*#& and, honestly, that’s really hard to deal with, especially when you’re in the middle of maybe a run or a race and you just start going down the rabbit hole.

Strava and Garmin

This is one of the reasons that you won’t find me on Strava. I am on Garmin, but I keep that very I keep that secret and it’s only available to my TRU Tribe team to see. I’ve listened to people or watched people on Strava say things like, “Oh, the reason I was slower this time is because I was with so and so.” I’ve actually seen people stop their watches when they take walk breaks, so it’s only tracking their running. Hey, to each his own, I always say. Everybody’s writing their own running story, so I’m not judging, but for me, Strava was one of those things that, by comparing myself to other people, was just driving me crazy, so I just chose not to care. You won’t find me on Strava, because I just don’t need that extra pressure. So the great thing is that I continue my running journey and I keep learning more and more. So I’m going to share some of my tips about how you can really work on stop comparing yourself to others.

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote that ‘comparison is the thief of joy,’ and it really is! Think about it. When you compare yourself to other people, it doesn’t really serve any purpose, whatsoever. Also, you really don’t know what everybody else is going through, anyway, right? I’ve been in races and I’ve talked to people and discovered that somebody maybe did a marathon the day before, because of whatever their crazy training plan is. You know I’ve been in races where you have people who were sick just the day before, and they’re going to be a little slower than normal. There are so many reasons that can affect what’s going on in your run, and it really doesn’t matter what’s happening to everybody else. So here are some of the steps that that work for me that, hopefully, will help you out, too.

Becoming more self-aware of your thoughts 

Number one is really just becoming self-aware of when you’re going down that ‘comparison rabbit hole.’

Self-awareness is basically just being aware and realizing when you start going down the rabbit hole. For me to improve my self-awareness, I really found that meditating (that could be a whole other video, lol) really helps. The more you meditate, the more you become self-aware of your thoughts (especially negative thoughts!) that come your way. So, as soon as I notice those thoughts, the first thing I really do is I sit with it  (but not for too long, though). So, I just sit with those feelings for a little bit. I’m going to just kind of pay attention and observe what feelings I’m having, and just to allow myself to feel and consider them. So, that’s the first thing I do. I recognize it. I sit in it. Maybe take a couple of deep breaths to slow everything down mentally.

find a favorite running mantra

Number two. The next thing that I do is I think about my favorite running mantra: “I am writing my own running story.” Then, I think about whomever I might be comparing myself to, who either just sped by me, or whatever the case is, and try to focus on the fact that they’re writing their own running story too, right? I don’t know what their story is (and, really, it doesn’t even matter if I know their whole story), I just need to be focusing on myself.

I remember one thing that really struck me, when I was going through my meditation practice one day. One of the first meditations that I learned was from Deepak Chopra, and it was this whole idea of feeling inferior to other people, which is really what you’re doing when you’re comparing yourself to others. It’s not often that you’re thinking, “Well, I’m faster than everybody else.” When you’re comparing yourself to others, you’re more often in a bad place, because other people are faster than you, or are going longer than you, or something they’re just doing better… than you. This insight is something I go back to a lot now, when I think about comparing myself to other people:

If I am thinking that I’m inferior to maybe one person, then it probably means that sometimes I’m also feeling superior to another person. When I realized this, it really didn’t sit well with me.

I don’t want to feel superior to people, either! So, that’s one of the things that I always go back to. It’s always a constant in my head just to think about those words, because I don’t want to feel superior to anybody. And again, I’m writing my own running story. It doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing, really.

Practice Keeping Yourself Out of the Comparison ‘Rabbit Hole’

So, those couple of steps work for me, but here’s the deal. We each have these neurological pathways that we have created because of our life experiences. Over time (especially if you are somebody who finds yourself going down the rabbit hole and comparing yourself to other people quite a bit), you know that’s a pattern that you’ve built for yourself and it’s not going to go away on its own.

So, what I would recommend that you do is just to keep practicing. Anytime you’re out there, whether you’re in a training run, or you’re with a group of people, or you just realize that you start going into your head and comparing yourself to other people, follow those steps and I really hope that help you break these old ways of thinking about yourself and about those around you and creates more positive habits.

I hope you’ve gotten some helpful info here and hope to see you soon!

Run Solo Or Join a Group? That’s the Question!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

Run Solo Or Join a Group? THAT Is the Question!

Is running better alone or with a group of people? By the end of this blog, you’re going to be able to make that decision for yourself. Hey, it’s Coach Lisa here from The Running University, and I’m here to help you put the fun in your run!

I remember when my running journey started, I could only run ‘with people’. It was the only way I would do it. I didn’t like listening to music and I kind of started off running with a group of people, because that was really what I enjoyed the most. I truly just love being in groups and I hated running by myself. It wasn’t fun at all. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t keep myself accountable running alone. I just really didn’t like it.

Today, it’s a whole other story.

So, is running in a group better than running by yourself or not?? Let me give you some pros and cons for both.

ACCOUNTABILITY

So if you’re somebody who’s not self-motivated, then meeting a group of people at a specific time will help you stay more accountable. Because of this, I would definitely say, from that perspective, meeting with a group will make you more accountable.

Conversely, if you’re already a very self-motivated person, then maybe you don’t need a group for accountability.

SCHEDULING

Maybe it depends on your schedule? A lot of group runs have very specific times and days that they run, so they may or may not work with your own personal schedule. If you are lucky enough to have a more flexible schedule group runs might work for you, but if you don’t, then it might just be easier to go run on your own. That might be in the morning, afternoon, or whenever works best for your schedule.

MENTAL STRENGTH

I would say that you develop your mental strength with both of these, maybe in different ways. If you run alone, it does require a lot of mental strength to initially get motivated to get out there on your own and to do some of those harder workouts on your own.

With a group run, you might have a little bit of the different mental strength being worked with as far as, once you’re already out and moving, trying to push yourself a little bit more. Many of use are afraid of being the last person in the group, so if you know you have to push yourself a little more to keep up and avoid that, then maybe that’s also going to strengthen your mental capacity performance.

PERFORMANCE

You might be better with one or the other at different times and for different reasons. Again, this is going to be on an individual basis. Sometimes running with people who are maybe a little bit faster than you, it might help push your speed workout a little bit more, so that would be a great performance benefit to running with a group.

It’s also sometimes easier to get motivated to go run those harder performance-focused runs with groups, whether it’s hill workouts or track workouts. Whereas, if you can do this better when you’re running alone, you also might be more motivated to do those things on your own. Again, a lot of this depends on your own personal motivation.

SAFETY

Safety is something to consider I definitely always feel safer when I’m with a group of people. Of course, this also depends on what time of the day you’re running, but from a safety perspective, you know when it’s better to be with a group of people vs being by yourself. Running by yourself, you just need to remain super aware about staying safer and also about expending energy.

FOCUS

I know that when I’m running with a group of people, I tend to talk a lot more, which also helps the time go by but I’m also expending more energy. Another thing I’ve noticed is that I can’t really focus on my technique as much, so I’m probably a little less in tune with my body when running in groups.

When running alone, I definitely can focus inward better. I can feel what’s happening in my body. I can be more in tune with what’s happening. Choosing to run alone or with a group might depend on your own personal running goals for that specific day, whether you want to focus on technique, body sensing, or if you just really need to be social that day.

COMMUNITY

One of the biggest reasons for me is really that sense of community! Sometimes, I just really enjoy being with an awesome group of people! I love the energy that I get from running in a group. The time goes by so much faster. I’m often chatting a little bit more. I know maybe I’m not running as hard, but I’m just having a good time that day using that time to be more social. This is one of the ways I like to make running fun for me.

I do a lot of group runs with my athletes and we do those because they’re a lot of fun! Sometimes, at group events, they become even funner, because we create themed events. I’m the organizer for Running For Brews – Tempe, so sometimes we’ll have specific themes. Like, we’ll do a pajama night, or maybe a Hawaiian theme. Sometimes, by working with a group of other runners, you get to experience some different runs, which makes it a lot more fun.

Finally, as somebody who leads a lot of group runs consisting of runners at various and different levels of speed, abilities, and distances, I’m going to tell you THE BEST WAY that I have found to to keep a group somewhat together when you’re running.

I always like to to have each person coming into a group run feel comfortable in their pacing, so I call my groups, ‘Nobody Left Behind’! (OK, you might be left behind for a little bit, but not for too long!) It really depends on all the other people that might show up that are at that pace group. Usually what I like to do is that I want people to be able to do their own pace for that run, so I will instruct all my faster runners to go run at their own (faster) pace, too. So, they’ll get a little bit ahead, whether we’re on a trail or canal, BUT… then I’ll give them either a time or a mileage to turn back around. So what happens is that the faster runners get to go farther ahead at their own pace. Maybe I tell them, “OK, after each mile, turn around and run back toward the last person in the group.” So what happens is that they’ll run back and they’ll collect the other people (running at a slower pace) on the way. That way, the faster runners end up being at the end together with the slower-paced last runner. We all stay together and run for, you know, maybe a few minutes to chit-chat, and then I send the faster runners back out again.

So, that way, the people who are faster will also get a little extra mileage because they’re looping back, but also the person at the end, whether they’re running alone or running with somebody else at their own (slower) pace, will still get the chance to be with the larger group.

So that’s my way of keeping everyone more-or-less ‘together’ in my group runs. I actually have rules and I tell people, “If you don’t like looping back, or if you don’t like being looped back in as the last person, well then, you probably don’t want to come to my group runs, because those are the rules and my intentions for our group runs really are about social and all the extra camaraderie on our longer runs.”

That’s all! It’s about getting the mileage and having fun! Sometimes, we go out to breakfast after, so, again, for me personally, now that I’m a running coach and I’ve been doing this for a while, I really like both, honestly. Based on all these points that I shared with you, sometimes I just want to focus on myself and focus on my form and to, you know, be in my own body and work on my own technique.

Then, other times, I just want to socialize and just get the run done, so we can get to breakfast and chat.

Both of these work for different reasons and different times!

 

 

Fix Your Chin Position To Run Faster & Breathe Better

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

Fix Your Chin Position To Run Faster & Breathe Better

Common Head Positioning

If you remember that scene from the movie Jerry Maguire, you may already know that the human head weighs eight pounds. 😉 

All this weight can also down your run! Today, I want to talk a little bit about a technique tip that will really help you out with this. I see this happen a lot in finish line photos, where people have their chin way up high. Not only are they cutting off their airway, but let’s talk a little about what happens with the different positioning of your head. 

If you just notice (in the video), by tilting my head back, it’s throwing all my energy backwards and it’s slowing you down. Now, it might not matter at the very end at the finish line, because you’re done with your run. But I see it happen a lot when I do video analysis throughout my workshops. Let me tell you the quickest way to fix this, and you can actually follow along with me and even feel this out.

Improved, More Efficient Head Positioning

The first thing we always do (and this is, of course, part of ChiRunning) is that we get into our posture. So when we get into our posture, I’m going to give you just the quickest tip (there’s a lot more to this but..) go ahead and just lift through the crown of your head. So, (in the video) I have my ponytail in my hand and I’m gently pulling upwards and lifting through the crown of my head. This will help me engage my core.

NOTE: What often happens is that people think ‘lifting through the crown of your head’ is something different that what it actually is. If you’ve never done this before, it’s easy not to realize and feel like ‘crown of their head’ is your forehead. So what do many people first do? They tilt their head backwards to lift up their forehead. That’s not what you want to do! The ‘crown of your head’ is actually the highest point of your head. Like the point you used to measure and mark on the doorway when you were a kid! You want to lift through the crown (topmost part of your head). Here’s how to check to know if you’re doing this correctly.. put your hand right behind on your neck and your neck should be nice and flat. Now keep your right hand there and if I were to lift my chin, I’m crunching my right hand with the back of my neck. My chin is going up so that’s a good way to feel if your chin is in the right position or if you’re holding it maybe too high. 

When I do this correctly, you can see that my chin drops slightly. My next step in a run would be to fall forward. So, if my chin is facing in that direction, it’s going to help propel me forward, okay? If I tried to start running and my chin was up here I will still fall forward, but now because my head (which we already know now, weighs eight pounds or more) is lifted up this way, that’s going to cause me to slow down (weight more toward the back, rather than toward the direct I’m running/falling).

What else can I do to improve my running efficiency?  

You probably already know there are a lot of things involved in your running technique that can really impact what you’re doing. Many people just think that running is just when you put one foot in front of the other, but there’s so much that you could do in your body that’ll help make your run so much easier and more efficient, which then, of course, will make it funner!

I love to do running video analysis. I try to do one on myself periodically, just to check in to see how I’m doing. (If you go check out this video right here, you’ll see one of my very own video self-analyses.

I Was Dead Effin’ Last & Here Is What I Did About!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

I Was Dead Effin’ Last & Here Is What I Did About!

First, the Acronyms…

I just got back from a race weekend in Colorado with my true tribe team – literally, I just came back – and I trained them for this event, but somehow I came in DFL! If you don’t what DFL means that means ‘Dead F__ing Last’!! That’s right! The coach was Dead F__ing Last@ Do I look worried about it at all?? Of course I’m not! Well, outside of the fact that my ultra sign up score is going to get affected by it. lol But really… who cares?

First, let’s talk about a couple of these acronyms that you may have (or may not have) heard, depending on you where you are in your running journey. Right now there are three acronyms:

  1. DNS which means Did Not Start, then there’s
  2. DFL which is Dead F__ing Last, and then there’s
  3. DNF which is Did Not Finish.

There’s a common running community saying that says, “It’s better to be Dead F__ing Last than not finishing than not starting.” And, honestly, I used to subscribe to this idea, but not so much anymore. Why? I’ll tell you a little bit about that in a bit, but let me get back to my story.

My Race Goals…

So, on Sunday morning we were getting ready to do the race. We were doing an 11K and this is a really hard race. It starts at 9200 feet of elevation. You climb 1700 feet in three and a half miles. Then you turn around and come back down the same route. So, it’s a lot of elevation very quickly. It’s a very steep race.

So, as I prepared for this race myself, I really only had a couple of goals. The first goal was that I really wanted to keep working on my pole technique because at this point, I knew that I would be helping out at the TransRockies race – I volunteered to lead the back of the pack group and we use poles a lot. With this in mind, I just wanted to keep honing in on my poles technique and this race was perfect for that.

My second goal was that I just wanted to get more experience at altitude, because, again, I’m going to be back in Colorado at altitude for the TransRockies race. So, my two goals for this race really were not to ‘race’. My goals were really more to focus on those skills and experience. I wasn’t really focused on ‘racing’ that day.

DFL 

As I started, with a couple of the ladies in my tribe, we kind of just really noticed that we were at the back of the pack. We were ‘leap frogging’ with some other people for a while, but then, as we got farther and farther into the race, I kind of felt like we were going to be last. And, as a matter of fact, if you go look at the race stats right now for that race.. I ended up being Dead F__ing Last!

When we came in more-or-less together, they were a little bit ahead of me, but really, much of that was intentional on my part. I may have started the race thinking I didn’t care when I was going to finish. I was there to have fun with my tribe. Also, I had already decided that I was there to work on other things – elevation, poles, and altitude. I was not there for speed at all, so that was that. So, basically, even though I was DFL, I really don’t care, since the purpose I had chosen for my race that day was about the elevation, poles, and the altitude. So, I reached my goals for that race! That’s awesome!

How I Measure My ‘Running Success’

Generally speaking, I’m not the type of person who who measures my running success based on speed. If you go to this video, you’ll hear a little bit more about what I do, as far as what my success is and how I measure my success in a race.

So, let’s go back to that idea where we say a DFL is better than a DNF, which is better than a DNS, and break this down. Basically, this says that coming in last is better than not finishing is better than not even starting. Now here is why I don’t believe that anymore…

I used to believe this, but because I’ve grown in my running journey and I’ve coached more people along the way, really all of those just really depend on what’s happening on that day. Once you start your race, pretty much anything could happen to anybody.

DNS

A DNS is a Did Not Start. I also had one of those once. You know I very rarely get injuries, since I use body-sensing and ChiRunning, but making a call that morning of deciding not to start was very important for my growth as a runner. I had a little bit of an injury – I had ignored some signs recently and had overextended my running, so I was starting to get some plantar fasciitis. I had made some changes in my shoes, so I could have started the race that day. I had already spent the money on the race and I started thinking about all the training I’d already done to get to this start line. But, at the end of the day, I decided NOT to start. So, yes, I have a DNS on my record, but it was a really good call, because I could have made that injury so much worse if I had decided to push through and run.

So, I just decided not to start, and guess what? I volunteered instead and still had a fabulous time! I got to help out the other runners. So, if you decide not to start a race, maybe because you’re feeling a little injury or for some other reason, and you’re making the call not to start, that’s a great idea! That’s a much better and smarter plan versus starting it with an injury, then possibly injuring yourself Then maybe you won’t be able to run for the next six months. So really, at the end of the day, it boils down to what are your goals and how will this decision affect them?

DNF

If you think about a DNF (Did Not Finish), another great example that I have for a Did Not Finish was the same exact race last year. I did the 12 miler I was training for to get more mileage and I know that, at the top of the race, there’s a pretty steep short scramble up some rocks and loose gravel to get to the turn-around point… and I happen to be afraid of heights! lol So, when I got to that point in the race, I kind of looked at it, wondered if I should give it a good college try, and then I was like, “Nope! I’m out!” And that was my very first DNF. Of course, again, it goes on my ‘permanent record, on UltraSignup that I didn’t finish, but who cares? Right? My goal for that race was to get the elevation and the altitude and it was training I had done a for marathon the day before, so for me, the question was, ‘What is my goal for this race?’

‘Racing’ A Race

I’m rarely ever really ‘racing’ in a race. For me, they’re ‘events’, not ‘races’. Most of my races are training runs for another race and when I DO ‘race,’ I’m usually not racing others, but trying to beat one of my previous times or distances, instead. I know I’m not a fast runner. I’m not going to win the race, so, for me, it just depends on what goals I set for myself for that event.

Writing Your Own Running Story

One of my number one mantras that I’ve learned to use (and I really encourage all my runners to use) is to think about the fact that I am ‘writing my own running story’ and that everybody else also is writing their own running story. You just don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives and, you know what? Who cares if you’re there to do your own thing? Just keep focusing on yourself, regardless of whether it might be a DNS or it might be a DNF or it might even be a DFL. YOU have to make that call for yourself and for that one race.

Develop Your Own Personal Running Mindset

I believe this really speaks to the whole mindset part of running. It’s very easy to be disappointed in yourself if you’ve made a decision not to start or to DNF a race because you might hurt yourself. Or even just being Dead F__ing Last. Who cares, right? But these could be things that could affect you mentally, so these are exactly the type of things that we go over in my Tribe community. Who is the TRU Tribe, you ask? The TRU Tribe is my group of ladies. We train together. We learn together. And we grow together. These are the types of things that I teach in the TRU Tribe, so, if you’re interested in checking us out, send me an email at Lisa@TheRunningUniversity.com and let me know you are interested in a 30 day free trial. 😊

Why I Walk During My Runs & Still Call Myself a Runner!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

Can You Still Call Yourself a Runner, If You Walk During Your Runs??

By the end of this video, you’ll be totally fine walking during your runs AND still fine calling yourself a runner! 

Walking Has a Bad Reputation… and I’m Here to Change That!

Are you considered ‘a real runner’ if you walk during your runs? For some reason, walking has a bad reputation for those who want to be ‘runners’. I’ve known people who actually stop their Garmin watches when they take walk breaks. I’ve also known people who say they label people who walk, ‘not real runners.’ But, you know what??? Excuse my french, but that’s bull%&*!!  

First of all, I’m not going to win the race, okay? So, for me, personally, it really doesn’t matter when I get to the finish line, if I have no goals to have a personal record at a race. I’m not going to win the race or get a special medal for not walking, so honestly it’s just an easy decision for me. Now, unless I’m trying to have a personal record at an event, or I am running a race for speed, which is a whole different situation. 

But honestly, who cares if I walk or if I’m running? It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter, so just get that out of your head right now and know that it’s totally okay to walk sometimes. Sure, I might get there a little faster if I run (lol or maybe not!), but it really doesn’t matter in the long run. Actually,  there’s a method called ‘The Galloway Method’ that is called ‘a run/walk system’ and I absolutely love that system! I do things a little bit differently, but they’re actually planned interval walks in the middle of your run, and you’ll see different types of times that you would do this. So maybe you run for 30 seconds and then you walk for 30 seconds, but they’re basically timed intervals and it’s actually a great way to do a run. I don’t personally use The Galloway Method, because I’m a Chi Runner and a Chi Walker. The way that I go about doing it is I do it strictly by body-sensing. For example, I’ll be in the middle of my run and, if I start thinking that I might want to walk, then what I might do is to go through a couple of form focuses to see if I really need to walk. Maybe I’ll slow my run down just a little bit more, but IF I decide I need to take a walk, then I’ll take a little walk break. I always say you know I stop running when I’m tired or whenever I feel like I need to stop. And then when I feel guilty from walking too long or too far, then I just start running again. In this way, I try to keep those walk breaks short, for sure, but basically, that’s how I do it.  As soon as my heart rate comes back to normal, or as soon as I maybe see the pole that I said I was going to start running again – I’ll do that sometimes… I’ll look ahead and I’ll say, “Okay. I’m going to start running again at that pole,” and so I gave myself a quick break between here and there. 

Another reason why I love putting walk breaks in the middle of my run is just because it feels good! It just feels easier on my body. Running does have a high injury rate (of course, if you’re a Chi Runner or a Chi Walker, your chances of getting injured are going to be way less 😉😁 ), so I just like to include the walking in there. 

I love walking! It feels good to walk, so why would I NOT just choose to walk a little bit in the middle of my runs?? 

Another reason why you might decide to walk (and maybe even walk MORE than running in your runs) is maybe you’re coming back from an injury. Maybe you’re starting back running again. Maybe you’re a beginner runner and it takes a while to get used to that aerobic capacity? So just go ahead and just say that you’re going to walk during your runs. It’s OK! It really is, I swear! Sometimes, planning ahead to walk for a bit really helps me look forward to that little walk that I’m gonna take, so it’s just something that’s  gonna make me feel good. I might be in the middle of my run doing intervals or whatever, and I decide to take little walk breaks. I really just gives me something to look forward to. 

Walking also changes things up a little bit, right? I’m an ultra runner, so honestly, there’s no way that I would run an entire ultra WITHOUT walking part of it! I very rarely even run 5Ks without some walking. It just depends on what works for you, but, for me, taking quick walking breaks breaks up the monotony a bit for me. 

I’m on the trail a lot, so there are definitely times during during my run where, maybe I’m going up a hill, so if I decide that it’s easier for me to Chi Hike really fast up the hill (which might even be literally faster than me running up the hill! lol), I’ll choose to do that instead. It’s definitely necessary to add walk breaks the longer you go! I find that it’s a great way for me to better manage my energy. I don’t want to get to the finish line puking and uncomfortable. I want to get to the finish line feeling super good and still having some energy left, so maybe now I can have that beer at the beer garden. 🍻🍺🍻  

Another great reason is because, when you’re walking, you’re actually building your aerobic capacity! There’s a lot of evidence that shows when you’re in that Zone 2 or Zone 1 in your aerobic capacity, you’ll actually lose more weight, since you burn more body fat that way. Now there are a lot of other things that play into that, so I’m just listing that as one potential reason. Another thing for me is that I do also just like to bring my heart rate down once in a while and walking during a run is a great way for me to do that. 

Honestly, walking just makes you a better runner. It really does! I don’t know why it has such a bad reputation and common misconception that walking is not for runners, but, hey, take it from me……

I’m an ultra runner… I’m a coach… Walking… is totally… OK. 

What To Look For In A Running Shoe

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

My Favorite Running Shoes

Having a good pair of shoes is definitely a great way to make sure that your run is more comfortable and more fun, so there are definitely things that I look for in a shoe. (PLEASE NOTE: I’m going to be a little bit biased 😉 since I am an ambassador for Altra running shoes.) 

One of the best things you can do is to have more than one pair of running shoes. I know that can get expensive but if you think about it, it’s an up front cost. You can wear out one pair of shoes alone quicker than alternating between four pair. In the long run (pun intended), it will save your feet to have more options. I actually always have FOUR pairs of running shoes that I’m running in at any given time: two road shoes and two trail shoes. I also like to have a shoe that’s a little more minimal (I’ll explain that in a little bit) and those are usually for my shorter distances, whether that’s trail or road.

So those are two different shoes. If I’m going on a longer run, then I want to have a little bit more cushion, so I will tend to have a different shoe for a longer run on road or trail again.

Why Altra Running Shoes?

The major reasons I love Altra running shoes: 

  • They allow me to move my body as naturally as possible. 
  • They have a wider toe box that we call Altra FootShape™ technology. What happens is if you look at some at some running shoes they come to a point like a pizza box, right? A triangle! And our feet are not triangles! Unfortunately, the shoe industry has really really caused a lot more running injury issues for people, because they’ve used the shoe to help mask all the problems, which is why people don’t learn technique. So they use shoes to help them, but in the long run that’s not the best thing to do.

Toes in toe box Altra Running Shoes

  • Altra shoes are also specially designed so that your heel and your toe are basically at the same level. (If you watch the video, you can see that the heel and the toe are same distance from the ground.) This is called a Zero Drop. There’s no heel lift, because what happens is when you have a heel lift in your shoe (usually measured in millimeters) it’ll say, you know, “five millimeter heel lift.” Now you’re putting your foot in this position that is not natural, and when you put your foot in this position it’s changing your entire body alignment. 

ZERO DROP™ PLATFORM

  • Altra Running shoes are also very flexible! Your foot should be able to move naturally and, even with Altra models that have a little bit more cushion, you can still see (in the video) that my foot still actually moves with the shoe. They’re not very stiff. If you grab your shoe and it’s very stiff, then they can’t move and you can’t expect your foot to move naturally. 

My Shoe Rotation – My Altra Models 

  • Escalante 

    These are my road shoes for short distance because they do have less cushion. 

  • Torin 

    These have that same wide toe box as other Altra running shoes. Even though here you can see here (in the video) the cushion difference, my heel and my toe are still at the same level. There’s no heel lift in this shoe, so these are my preferred longer distance road shoes. The Torins are one of my favorite road shoes and they also allow my foot to move.

  • SUPERIOR 

    So I’ll start with my most minimal trail shoes. (lol, these are a little dirty! They’ve obviously hit the trail quite a few times!) One of the principles with ChiRunning™ is that we don’t push from our toes to move us forward. All we’re doing is lifting our foot, so we don’t have to push off. I never feel like I’m pushing myself out with my shoes. Everything just stays nice and in place. I use these as my shorter distance trail shoes and you can see here (in the video) that they’ve got these great grips! This is one of the other things I love about the Altra shoes. The grips don’t have so much to do with the mobility of the shoe, but from a trail perspective, these really help out with that. 

  • lONE PEAK

    This is my second of two pairs of trail shoes. Mine are purple – my favorite color. You can see the nice grip on here, so you know when you’re out on the trail, these grips help and there is also a little bit more cushion on these, so these would kind of be a medium cushion shoe for me. 

  • tIMP

    Last, but not least, this is other shoe that I like to wear for longer distances. These are newer to me – I usually wore the Lone Peaks – but I tried these and now I love them! Every time I try a new model, I can’t help it, but these have the most amount of cushion and all have the same qualities that I talked about at the beginning of why I really like these in a shoe. 

That’s why I just love the the Altra running shoes! They help me with my ChiRunning™ and they help me move as naturally as possible.  

The Story Behind My Mascot

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

The Story Behind My Mascot

The Backstory

What in the world does a monkey have to do with running? People alike to ask me  questions about how I came up with my business ideas. So, a couple of years ago I was trying to figure out a mascot for my TRU TRIBE. This is my online community of women. We learn together, grow together and train together. I was trying to come up with something running related. There are so many animals out there in the running world that are really overdone: turtles, snails and sloths to name a few. I really just wanted something different.
One day we were hanging out after a run, surely beer was involved. 😂 We were tossing this idea around and somehow the monkey came up. I started researching what they represented and thought, this is perfect!

The Meaning

Here are some things that really resonated with me:

  • Monkeys are playful, joyful and they love to have fun. One of my taglines is “Put the fun in your run”
  • They can be silly, carefree and they’re very social. Whether we are in person or on zoom (we have members around the county!), we are socializing!
  • Monkeys help us remember not to take life too seriously. This is our philosophy with our running too. Sure we can be serious about it but we mostly do this for fun.
  • They are curious. Remember Curious George? I always encourage them to be curious and encourage them to have first time experiences. This could be their first trail run, night trail run, ultra marathon or anything that will get them out of their comfort zone.
  • Monkeys form strong bonds. While our community is about running, it’s really about connecting with other like minded women. We do this in person and online!
  • They are wise! Remember Raffiki from The Lion King? We learn together, train together and grow together to be the best runners/humans we can be.

This is us!

The History

But wait, there’s more! LOL My nickname in high school was Monkey. My best friend RJ gave it to me at the time. I don’t really remember why but it was one more good reason!
Monkeys also seem to like me. I remember vividly being at a zoo in Italy with my family when I was younger and as soon as I got to the, they started getting all crazy. Like I was one of them and why I was out of the cage? 😂

The Reveal

Finally……DRUMROLL please 🥁 …..(sounds effects are much better in the video!)

and here she is:

If you are interested in checking us out, click here and you may win 3 Free Months with us!

3 RIDICULOUSLY EASY TIPS to Start Running!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

Do you want to start running? Not sure where to start?

Or have you tried it a few times and given up because maybe “running is not for me”?

Even if you’re not a beginner runner, these tips will help make your running more enjoyable. Here are 3 quick running tips for you as a Beginner Beginner Runner™:

Always make sure to check with your Doctor before starting physical activity.

  1. Running is not just a physical sport. Mindset and mental training go hand in hand with being a runner. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to this though. It’s easy to compare ourselves to what other runners might be doing, we may judge ourselves thinking we are too overweight or too old. Running has a bad reputation and many people get into the “no pain no gain” mindset…..which isn’t how it should be! Running should be fun! If you like it too hurt and that’s part of your running story than I’m probably not the right person to be following. If you want to learn to enjoy running, the first thing you have to do is forget about all the negative things you’ve heard about running. You are writing your own running story! If you tried it and it’s still hard then maybe my next two tips will help you too!
  2. Learning how to run can make or break your experience not only as a beginner runner but all runners. Putting one foot in front of the other sounds logical but there wouldn’t be a 65% annual injury rate for runners. Of course I am biased to ChiRunning but I always encourage all my runners to investigate different options because at the end of the day, our bodies are all different. In the video above, I share a form tip that will make a difference!
  3. Get a coach! I think newbie runners assume that coaches are for elite athletes…this couldn’t be further than the truth! Just because people run, doesn’t mean they have all the answers. I’ve seen the worst advice given in facebook groups. I don’t care if it’s me or not, but find yourself a coach that can show you the ropes and help make the experience so much more enjoyable. Here is link to a blog I wrote about finding a running coach.

There you have it! I am just relaunching my You Tube channel so head over to subscribe because I’ll be dropping a new video every week!

Let me know if you try these tips and they work for you!