Today, Coach Sandi Nypaver is going to guide you through some strength tests that you can do at home to check whether your body is evenly balanced or if there’s anything you need to work on. Many of these tests are similar to what a physical therapist might have you do, but she’ll help you learn how to perform them yourself and understand what to look for.
At home, self-performed strength tests help to see if there’s anything you need to work on to keep your body functioning optimally. As a runner it’s important both sides of your body show up equally and this newsletter will help you do that. If you’re in pain it’s always good to go see a doctor and/or specialist, preferably one who is well trusted by runners. If there is something you need to work on (I certainly have a lot to work on!) don’t view it as a bad thing. It’s a good challenge and the process can be rewarding when you notice improvements.
Let’s get started:
🥇: The Bridge Test Alright, the first exercise is a simple glute bridge. Make sure your back is flat on the floor and keep your pelvis stable in this position. Raise your arms so they don’t assist you, and then lift your hips straight up.
What you’re checking for is whether you can maintain proper alignment of your pelvis. If you feel your pelvis drop, take note. Also, pay attention to where you feel the effort. Are you feeling it in your glutes or your hamstrings, or both? Ideally, you should feel it in your glutes, and even a little in your hamstrings. That’s a good sign.
a. Test Questions: What muscles do you feel working the most? Does your pelvis drop or can you keep it stable? Does one side feel different than the other? Do you need to work on strength and/or activation?
b. Goals: Work towards keeping your pelvis stable and having your glutes take on most of the load. It’s okay if you feel your hamstring working a little, but your hamstring should not take on more work than your glutes.
Bonus Tip: Keep your spine stable. You should not be feeling this in your lower back.
🥈: The Squat Test Now, let’s do a squat test. And note that I’m using a hiking pole here – you’ll want something similar. First, make sure your spine is neutral, and align your toes with the bar of the chair. From there, try to squat down.
What you’re checking for is whether your knees want to move forward, preventing you from going lower. If that happens, it’s a sign you’re relying too much on your quads. What you want is to get your butt back while keeping a neutral spine and maintaining a good hip hinge.
If you’re using your quads more than your glutes, you’ll struggle to go down. Instead, aim to engage your glutes and keep that hip hinge, which is important when you’re running as well.
a. Test Questions: If you place a chair or box in front of your toes, do you find it hard to squat/does it feel unnatural? What muscles do you feel working the most, your quads or glutes?
b. Goals: Get that booty back and working! You may feel your quads working, but you want to aim for a glute dominant squat. Get the hip-hinge pattern right, keeping the spine stable.
Bonus Tip: Our bodies like the neuromuscular patterns we already have formed. Some of you will be able to do this exercise without being able to apply to your running right away. Keep working at it. You’ll get there!
🥉: The Single Leg Squat This is a typical single-leg squat. The key here is to compare how each leg moves.
Now, what you want to avoid is your knee collapsing inward or moving too far out to the side. Try to keep everything aligned, engaging your glutes and even a bit of your knee as you come up.
Focus on your knee position and check if you’re using both legs in the same way. Again, you don’t want your knee to collapse inward as you squat down. Keep your legs straight and make sure you’re engaging your glutes on both the way up and down.
a. Test Questions: What muscles do you feel working the most? Does your foot/ankle feel stable (can you balance here)? Does your knee want to collapse in? Is there a difference between sides?
b. Goals:
i. You want good lateral hip stability, so your knee should aim in the direction of your toes, not inward. This motion is controlled by your hips.
ii. Feel stable in your feet and ankles, keeping your weight even distributed in your foot tripod. It should not feel like all your weight is in your heel or forefoot.
These are just a few simple strength tests you can do right at home, either with the help of a friend or family member watching you, or by videotaping yourself to see how you’re moving. As you do these exercises, make sure to pay attention to which muscles you’re engaging!
I hope these tests help you gauge your strengths and weaknesses. Happy running!
For today’s newsletter, Coach Sage Canaday gives you 9 elements to consider as to whether you should be running or power hiking.
Altitude ☁️
As you climb to higher altitudes, running becomes more taxing because of the reduced oxygen levels. In these cases, power hiking is often the more efficient option to avoid overexerting yourself. Personally, I’ve found that when racing at higher altitudes, my breathing becomes a major indicator of when to switch from running to hiking. Once I start gasping for breath, I know it’s time to hike. This is especially important early in a race—if it’s a 100-mile ultra, for example, I don’t want to be struggling with my breathing too soon.
Steepness (Grade) 📈
The steepness of the trail is a major factor in deciding whether to run or hike.
5% Grade: This is the kind of incline you see on many highways or roads, and it’s typically runnable for most people. It’s gentle enough that maintaining a running pace doesn’t strain your muscles too much.
10% Grade: At this point, the hill is much steeper. Depending on your fitness level and how far into the race you are, you may start to feel the need to power hike. I personally enjoy running up moderate hills, but at a 10% incline, especially during a longer race, I start to seriously consider power hiking.
15% Grade: This is very steep, and most treadmills max out at this grade. For me, running a 15% incline for an extended period is exhausting, and I almost always switch to power hiking.
Race Distance & Duration 🏆
In shorter races, like a 30K or even a long training run, I might be more inclined to run up hills that I would hike in an ultra. But in ultra races—especially those that are 50K or longer—it’s critical to pace yourself. For races like a 100-mile or 160K ultra, you’re likely to be power hiking a lot of the uphills, particularly early on. In races like the Western States 100, you don’t want to burn out by running up every hill from the start. Power hiking early helps preserve your glycogen stores and saves your legs for later in the race when you really need them.
Fitness & Strengths 💪
Your personal fitness level and strengths as a runner play a big role in how much you can run versus hike. I consider uphill running one of my specialties, and I love runnable uphills. That said, even with strong uphill running ability, it’s essential to know when to switch to power hiking to avoid fatigue. Some runners may excel at downhill running, which means they can conserve energy on the uphills by hiking. For me, if the incline exceeds 20% (unless, say, it’s something like an all-out vertical K race), I’ll start power hiking to conserve energy.
Energy Conservation & Pacing ⏰
The most important thing to monitor when deciding whether to run or hike is your breathing and heart rate. I recommend staying in a zone where you can carry on a conversation—once you’re gasping for breath, you’re likely pushing too hard, especially early in a long race. I rely on this guideline during ultras: if I can’t talk comfortably, I know I need to slow down or start hiking. Power hiking helps me stay in the aerobic zone, avoiding spikes in heart rate that would deplete my glycogen too quickly and force me out of the fat-burning zone. This pacing strategy is essential in longer races like a 50K or 100-mile, where managing energy over the hours becomes critical.
Trail Technicality ⛰️
Another important factor is the technical nature of the trail. If the trail is smooth or paved, it’s easier to maintain a running motion, even on steeper inclines. But on rocky, uneven terrain, power hiking is often more efficient. If the trail requires you to step up or jump over obstacles, power hiking saves energy and reduces the risk of injury. I’ve had races where technical trails, especially with large rocks or steps, forced me to power hike even if I felt capable of running on a smoother trail.
Environmental Conditions ❄️
Sometimes, the environment dictates whether you run or hike. Icy or snowy conditions, for example, make running dangerous and inefficient. In such cases, power hiking is often necessary. I’ve also found that using poles can help in these situations—they provide extra balance and stability, allowing me to hike more efficiently without slipping or wasting energy.
Power Hiking Technique 📚
Like any skill, power hiking requires practice. It’s important to incorporate steep hill repeats, long uphill runs, and power hiking into your training, especially if you’re preparing for a mountain race. Personally, I like to include uphill tempo runs in my training, where I focus on sustaining a high intensity for 20-30 minutes. These workouts build my strength and help me feel confident in my ability to transition from running to hiking during a race. With consistent practice, you’ll find that you can hike efficiently on grades where you might have struggled before.
Fatigue & Bonking 😮💨
In longer races, fatigue is inevitable, and sometimes you’ll need to hike simply because running isn’t an option anymore. I’ve experienced this in races where, late in the event, I start feeling muscle fatigue, cramping, or even the early signs of bonking. If you’re low on fuel or dehydrated, power hiking can help you get through the tough moments without completely burning out. At this point, I focus on maintaining forward momentum, knowing that running could push me over the edge.
Personal Experience & Lessons:
In some races, I’ve seen other runners power hiking next to me while I continue to run, and they sometimes pass me. This highlights that power hiking can often be just as fast, if not faster, than running on steep inclines. It’s something that requires practice and confidence, but it’s also about understanding your own limits and strengths as a runner.
In shorter races (half marathon or less), you might push harder and run more of the uphills since you’re less concerned about bonking or glycogen depletion. In longer ultras, though, managing your energy is key. Avoid spiking your heart rate too high, and save your legs for later sections of the race when you’ll need every bit of strength to push through.
All in all, listening to your body, practicing your hiking technique, and staying mindful of your energy levels, you can make smart decisions about when to hike and when to run!
Our pawsitivity coach, Pacer, has been giving us advice for years, so we thought it was only right to turn the newsletter spotlight on her for this week!
Hey, come play!
Train less.
Don’t worry, you can run the same mileage.
We just want you to enjoy it more, stress a little less.
Why? Because when we’re always training, or running to get better, we might start attaching running and performance to our identity. And when we attach how we run to our identity, we can actually release stress hormones through our body that can negatively affect our health and well-being.
When we instead run to play, we can still practice good form and we can train to get faster and stronger, but we attach to the outcome less, which frees our mind and our body to move how it wants to, enables us to enjoy life and running more, and improves our health and well-being. (And honestly- I hesitate to say this so we don’t reattach, but this can actually improve performance.)
As an added bonus, research has now made it evident that exercise encourages neuroplasticity, making post run or workout a great time to focus on the thoughts you want to think and the beliefs you want to embody. Adding PLAY (described by David Hanscom, MD as a “mindset of curiosity, deep gratitude, listening, anticipation, awareness…”) can increase your sense of safety (reduce anxiety) and release oxytocin (love/bonding hormone) and potentially reduce inflammation!!!
Practical Application:
Still want to train for the fall race? Of course! We’ve got you.
Make play your INTENTION for runs. Even workouts are a chance to be curious, grateful, and present to your experience.
The race is your GOAL, secondary to your intention. Your joy is not dependent on the goal, but the goal is a helpful magnet to increase your desire to put joy and play at the forefront of your life.
It might take time to shift your brain from outcome based performance to play, and that’s okay. You might want to save this post and re-read it each week for a reminder.
*Play and work are two sides of the same coin. Mindset is the main difference between what you choose to experience.
Difficult workouts can be scary, but they don’t have to be.
Workouts that push us out of our comfort zones can often feel intimidating, especially when they involve endurance and speed. These types of workouts—long efforts mixed with speed—are often the ones that stir up the most fear among runners. The distance, the pacing, the uncertainty of how your body will respond can be daunting!
Today, Coach Sandi Nypaver gives you a few things to think about if you get too worked up before key workout or interval session.
The Root Issue:
When I talk to a lot of the athletes I coach, the conversation often turns to why certain workouts feel so daunting. Often, it’s because they’re worrying about things that are out of their control or they’re fixated on how much it’s going to hurt. It’s easy to get stuck in that mindset—focusing on the negatives.
But in my opinion, what it really comes down to is shifting that focus. Instead of thinking about the discomfort or the fear, frame it in a way where you instead recognize that this type of workout is exactly what’s going to propel you toward your goals. These sessions aren’t just tough physically; they build mental resilience, too.
It’s about seeing each challenge as a step forward, not just something to endure.
Take long run workouts as an example—they demand a lot of mental focus and require you to have confidence in your ability to stay strong as the workout progresses. That’s what I remind my athletes when we approach these longer sessions!
Mindset Matters:
It’s important to remember that you can feel strong during the workout, and when you do, it feels incredible. But so many people fixate on how bad they might feel, rather than focusing on how great they can feel when everything clicks. When you start to feel yourself slip into these thought patterns, it becomes even more important to focus on something good.
And if the workout doesn’t go as planned, that’s perfectly okay. One of the things I always tell my athletes is that failure isn’t a big deal—it’s part of the process. In fact, it’s expected. Every setback is an opportunity to learn and come back stronger.
Failing a Workout:
I’ll take the thought of failing one step further! If you’re not failing, you’re probably not pushing yourself hard enough or setting goals that truly challenge you. In my book, failing a workout is no big deal. It’s just part of the process when you’re trying to perform at your best. When a workout doesn’t go well, instead of dwelling on it, reflect on why. Were you too tired? Did something feel off physically? Or maybe you mentally sold yourself short before even starting?
All of these factors play a role, and when a workout doesn’t go as planned, you take what you can from it. Learn from the experience, and then move on. It’s part of the journey, and better workouts are always ahead. Over the years as a runner, I’ve experienced ups and downs, with plenty of failed workouts along the way. But that’s just part of the game. Each failure is a steppingstone toward the next success.
My challenge for you for, then, when facing a tough workout and not quite feeling up to it, is to shift your mindset. Instead of focusing on the pressure or the potential struggle, tell yourself, “I’m just going to give it a shot and do my best today.” By approaching it this way, you take off some of the mental burden. And who knows? If it goes well, it could end up being a huge boost for both your progress and confidence. Just giving it a try could be all you need to turn things around.
Coach Sage Canaday teaches you what it takes to run a sub 45-minute 10k!
A few weeks back, Coach Sage Canaday gave his advice on what to do in order to crack a sub 22-minute 5km. Now, he’ll take it one step further if you’re looking to run a fast 10k! These are tried-and-true training methods and workouts that can be adapted, whether you’re slightly faster or slower than these target times.
Let’s Start Off With The Math
To achieve a sub 45-minute 10K, you’ll need to maintain a pace of approximately 7:15 per mile or 4:30 per kilometer. Ideally, you should be able to run a 5K under 22 minutes—closer to 21:30 would be even better. If you haven’t yet reached that level, it will be challenging to sustain two back-to-back 22:30 5Ks, which is necessary for a sub 45-minute 10K.
Getting Started
So if you’re not quite there yet, focus on racing some 5Ks first to build up your speed and fitness. Once you’ve achieved a solid 5K time, you can then move up to the 10K distance and work on lowering your time there as well. The key is to develop your baseline speed for the 5K and then apply it to the 10K. About 80% of your baseline or “easy” pace should be about 8:45 per mile or 5:30 per km. If you’re in sub 45-minute 10km fitness, this is the easy pace that you’d be shooting for.
Since a 10K is twice as long as a 5K, it’s crucial to have extra endurance and stamina. But once you’ve built a strong mileage base and are consistent in your training, you can start incorporating quality workouts. These harder sessions include speed and interval workouts, similar to those in 5K training. For the 10K, it’s better to focus on longer repeats, such as mile repeats or 1600-meter intervals.
Advanced Workouts for 10K Training
To train effectively for a 10K, it’s crucial to include workouts that challenge both your speed and endurance.
Workout #1: Tempo Runs
Before starting the interval workouts, it’s beneficial to build up your stamina with tempo runs. Begin with a 20 to 25-minute tempo run at a pace slightly slower than your goal 10K pace, around 7:25 per mile or 4:35 per kilometer. This steady-state effort, at about 80 to 85% of your maximum, is controlled and sustainable, helping you develop the stamina needed for longer periods of sustained effort. Incorporate this workout once a week as part of your training routine to enhance your endurance and to get your legs and breathing accustomed to a near 10K pace.
Workout #2: Vo2 Max Workout
The next key workout is mile repeats. Aim for 4 to 5 repeats of 1 mile or 1600 meters each, targeting a pace of around 7:00 to 6:55 per mile. You can perform these on a track or a flat, measured path. Between each repeat, take a controlled rest break of 3 to 4 minutes. During this rest, you can walk or jog lightly, but your heart rate should not fully return to its resting state. This will keep you slightly fatigued, building specific strength and endurance for sustaining a high-effort pace over the 10K distance.
These intervals will elevate your heart rate to over 90% of your maximum and get your legs accustomed to running significantly faster than your 10K goal pace. This makes your goal pace feel more comfortable on race day!
Workout #3: 400-Meter Repeats
Similar to the 5K training, include 400-meter repeats at a pace faster than your 5K race pace. Aim for 8 to 10 repeats at 1:38-1:40 each on a track with a two-minute rest between each rep. This workout helps develop your top-end speed, which can be useful for a strong finishing kick in a 10K race. However, this is not as crucial for 10K training as it is for 5Ks. Consider doing this workout once every two weeks.
Workout #4: 2-Mile or 3200-Meter Repeats
The final key workout I’ll give you for today is 2-mile repeats or 3200-meter repeats. Perform these at your current 10K race pace, with the goal of gradually working down to your target 10K pace. For example, you might aim to complete each 2-mile repeat in around 14.5 minutes if targeting a sub-45-minute 10K. Try to do 3 sets of these repeats with a short, 5-minute rest in between. This workout covers approximately 6 miles of running at or near race pace, which is about the same distance as a 10K.
This type of workout is essential for building strength and stamina specific to 10K racing. It targets your 10K pace and is a staple for preparing your body to maintain that speed over the race distance. You only need to do this workout about once every two weeks.
The Five-Pace Theory
Think of your 10K pace as being in the middle of a five-pace spectrum. There are two paces slightly faster and two paces slightly slower than your 10K race pace. Training across this range ensures a balanced approach to developing both speed and endurance.
Let’s put it all together:
Structuring Your 10K Training Plan
In your training plan, it’s essential to include a variety of paces to maximize your 10K fitness. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key paces and workouts:
1. Easy Pace:Base mileage runs at a relaxed, conversational pace.
2. Tempo Runs:Sustained efforts at a slightly slower pace than your 10K goal pace.
3. 10K Pace: Longer intervals like 2-mile repeats performed at your current or goal 10K race pace.
5. 400-Meter Repeats and Strides: Shorter, high-speed intervals to develop top-end speed and running economy.
Mixing these workouts in a cohesive plan is crucial for achieving your best 10K performance. Proper timing and progression of these workouts are important, so be sure to build your base mileage first before adding in the harder sessions.
I hope this is helpful – happy running and have a great week!
